The Power of Local Email Marketing

Article by social bookmarking software

As a local business owner you realize the opportunities available on the Web, but you probably do not have the time or money to invest into a full blown web presence. The obstacles and costs in building a web site keep many local businesses on the sideline.

But as a local business there is an opportunity to exploit the marketing power of the Internet at little or no cost, and it does not require a web presence.

Through email marketing you can have a direct conduit to both your customers and prospects. You may think email marketing is complicated, but that is a misconception. If you are already using email to correspond, then you are quite capable of advertising through virtual mail. In fact, if you are communicating to your customers through email, in a sense you are already marketing online. You are probably aware that a small amount of customer communication can be very profitable, and email can generate considerable income.

All you need to do is start collecting customer emails, and send them occasional promotions or sale updates. The email advertisements do not need to be coded in html, plain text messages are quite acceptable.

So how do you start down the road to Internet marketing success? You begin by simply collecting customer email addresses, with their permission. Permission email marketing is a requirement. It is referred to as opt-in marketing. At all stages of email marketing you MUST respect your customers and their privacy. Only when they have accepted your request to send information, should you forward email promotions.

How do You Collect Customer Emails?

You simply ask! As a local business owner you are constantly in touch with customers and prospects, either in person or on the phone. As a retail business you could have a clipboard by your register or pre-printed index cards that your customers can fill-out. As a service business you just ask for their email address when you make contact.

What’s in it for Your Customers?

The opportunity to save money or be notified of special offers. People are always looking for a bargain, and through email you can keep them informed on the latest deals, in addition you can alert them to new services or products. This is very appealing. And customers will perceive this as a value added service, that makes doing business with you more appealing.

How Difficult is Email Marketing?

It is quite simple. If you email friends or family, you are quite capable of marketing through email. Initially your list will be small so you can manage it through the use of your current email client like MicroSoft Outlook. You place your customer emails in a “group,” compose a message, and hit the send button. Not exactly rocket science. (Note: Make sure you use the “blind box” feature.)

But from the start, you may want to consider using a professional email management service like ConstantContact.com. They have a service that is free for lists that are under 50. Their next level handles up to 500, and cost only $ 15 per month. A service like Constant Contact simplifies the management of your list. These types of services offer features like tracking, reporting, templates and customer support. In addition, they automate the process of people opting out of your list. An important factor with permission email marketing.

What Results Can You Expect?

Think about the potential profit from simply keeping your customers informed. This is not invasive advertising, but permission marketing, where your customers have willingly given their consent to receive your advertisements. It is like they are saying, “Please allow me to spend more money with your business.”

If you already have a web site then you will also want to add an opt-in box. Give your site visitors an opportunity to join your promotional list. Many will.

From a marketing perspective it doesn’t get anymore targeted then this. And your advertising costs are insignificant. A perfect example is a local wine store owner who works her list twice a week with special promotions. She makes a killing, and often sells out her promotional inventory through email alone.

As a local business owner there are opportunities and there are golden opportunities. This one is solid 24 karat. It’s simple, direct and very profitable. And yet few local businesses are taking advantage of email marketing. Why not lead the pack.

More Email Marketing Articles

Power Up Your Email Marketing Campaign

Email marketing plays an important role in online marketing. It has become the most popular marketing medium by which marketers reach out to their target audiences. So far so good; the results have been fantastic! In order to be able to achieve such great results, the basics must be properly laid out and made concrete. Every step that is being taken in devising effective strategies for your email marketing campaign must be given critical attention for it can either make or break your campaign.

How best and in what ways can you power up your email marketing campaign? I have proven ways that you may want to implement. The list is by no means exhaustive.

(1) Opt-in list construction

The very first thing you will need to do is to build up a good opt-in email list that will consist of the names and email addresses of subscribers who are actually your potential customers. This opt-in list is in effect equivalent to consensual marketing. The names and email addresses have been given to you willingly by the subscribers. You will not need to face the issue of spam. With this opt-in list in hand, you will be able to grow and manage it accordingly to your marketing strategies.

(2) Relationship building

As your opt-in list keeps on growing, there is more work on your part. You have got to manage it with personal touch. Provide each and every subscriber your best and undivided attention in relating to their immediate needs. You will next work very hard on building up good relationships with all subscribers. Bear in mind the viral effects of providing great services to your subscribers. More ears open up and traffic will next flow into your website. As the opt-in list is growing longer, you will surely need to keep on providing them your personal attention. Setting right the relationships with your subscribers will certainly help power up your email marketing campaign.

(3) Effective scripts

As far as email marketing campaign is concerned, what determines its success is none other than the actual sales copy. You will have to find ways that you can command the interest of readers as they browse through your sales copy. Think about how best can you write out that compelling copy that is sure to capture most response. Perhaps you should put in persuasive information that is actually being formatted for the sole purpose of capturing maximum response. Put in your best effort to create that killer sales copy that will make all the difference between success and failure.

(4) Get ready for the sendout

The opt-in list must be tidy and properly managed. You should have prepared your email promotion before you can start to send out your emails. Always bear in mind not to get involved in spamming. You should remove duplicate addresses from your list. Even spam addresses should be removed from your opt-in list without fail. Determine the best times to execute your emails. Your response rates can turn out to be a function of your timing for the mailout. So do spend some time thinking on the subject of timing.

(5) Ensure innocence with your emails

This is very crucial to your email marketing campaign. Always ensure that your messages do not appear as spam at all. Otherwise, it is highly possible that your subscribers will not be able to know about or see your offer. Never be blacklisted. Stay clear of this dangerous trap. You will still be able to do well with your opt-in rate as you put in your effort to increase your security.

(6) Conduct a test

It is beneficial to conduct a test before you actually send out any email promotion. Always ensure that you have drawn up a critical checklist against which you can look out for discrepancies that may have skipped your attention, and that may be detrimental to your conversion rate. Always remember that doing things correctly the first time round will definitely help to power up your email marketing campaign tremendously.

(7) Conduct follow-ups

Through the opt-in list and through time, your subscribers should know you to some extent. Relationships would have been forged, trust would have been gained, and confidence in your offer and service would have been sealed. This good work must be kept up with creative follow-up messages that should develop more of such positive results. Always remember that acquisition of new customers is always more expensive than the retention of current subscribers. All you will need to do is to just send creative follow-up messages.

(8) Believe in automation

Whatever tasks that are repetitive should be automated. If you are your own boss, you should devote more of your time on how to focus and grow your business instead of running it all by yourself. More of your time should be put to planning and making strategies to take your business up another level. You should be more concerned with the final results in terms of traffic, sales and profits.

(9) Beat your competition

There are your competitors that you must be wary of. Learn how to stay and keep ahead of them, perhaps in terms of technological strategies. Keep up to date with the advances in information technology. These may provide you with what you need in crafting that winning formula. Do some research on how best you can deliver your emails to your customers in ways that will beat your competition. These emails must reach your customers safely. Only then will your email marketing campaign get good results.

In conclusion, email marketing will be effective if it is being done correctly. If you want to succeed, there is no other way than for you to apply the above-mentioned strategies to power up your email marketing campaign. Do it right, right from the start!