5 Best Local Email Marketing Tips
Local Email Marketing is a Viable, Measurable and Economical Tool for the Small to Medium Sized Business
The title of this post, 5 Best Local Email Marketing Tips, has a larger goal than a discussion on any one municipality. What we are going to explore is email marketing as a viable, measurable and economical tool for the small to medium sized business to use in their local markets. The old slogan says, “all politics are local” and I contend so is all marketing. So here are five tips on local email marketing from a professional. Let’s work through them in the classic, who, what, when, why and how fashion.
#1 – Who are you sending Emails to?
This really means your database or recipient list. In plain speak, who are you sending your emails to? This requires building a simple email list that you can house in MS Excel or some other simple spreadsheet. This may sound daunting but you will be surprised at the number of data mining sources you already have at your disposal. Client lists that have been used for direct mail, your Rolodex, your MS Outlook contacts, etc. etc. They are all a start. More about opt-in later!
Related: 7 Deadly Marketing Sins, Email Blast or Email Campaign
#2 – What are you Emailing about?
Obviously, this requires your complete attention. Don’t waste an email on a topic that is not important to your business in a REAL sense. Even more importantly is to make sure the subject matter of your email is relevant to your recipients. After one or two irrelevant topics they will stop opening them. Too many folks spend lots of time on the content in their send and not enough time on making sure it is relevant to the reader.
#3 – When are you sending Emails?
This has two parts. One is, day and time of day. Two is, how often or frequency. Here is an idea. If you want to reach a business try sending your emails between Noon on Tuesday and Noon on Thursday. This gets you in a sweet spot of the business day after one weekend and before another. As to frequency, the Home Depots and Macy’s of the world are able to send multiple emails per week. However, in the small business space, I would suggest that you think about two per month. Above all, be consistent in your sending pattern so that the recipients get a rhythm.
#4 – Why are you Emailing me?
Be serious about the fact that you have to “touch” your clients some way. Perhaps currently that “touch” is when they visit your business, or when your sales force calls on them or when they read a piece of printed material. It doesn’t a matter to me because all those types of “touch” are way more costly than email marketing. So the why here is pretty apparent.
#5- How are you creating and managing your Emails?
Again, this is in two parts. The first part is the technology. You may want to try actually sending your emails using your current email client. MS Outlook for example. However, third party providers such as Constant Contact may be vastly more efficient for you. Part two of this how is to know the law. It is called the Can Spam Act and it is not to be trifled with. A corollary to that knowledge is an understanding of opt-in lists. This was raised in tip #1 when we discussed who you were sending your emails to. In other words, do not even contemplate the SPAM or “S” word.
