Small Business Email Marketing – How to Do it Right

No doubt you have heard about all the different ways you can increase your bottom line such as small business email marketing. Australia is no exception even though the small population makes direct mailing more affordable. As even the small cost of sending out flyers in cities such as Melbourne and Sydney would soon add up. Having a targeted email list who is eager to hear from you will produce much better results and works out cheaper in the long run. In fact that’s one of the advantages small businesses have as they can build a more personal relationship with their customers. Of course just as with any other form of marketing you need to do it right to see the results you want. This means making sure your emails get delivered, are opened, any action you want is taken and they remain subscribed.

1. Sign up for an Autoresponder
If your going to do something then you need to do it right.

Which is why I recommend signing up for an autoresponder service. As they have relationships with the different companies which helps to ensure your emails get delivered. Of course you can also set it up yourself on your domain. But if you get loads of spam complaints your domain will be blacklisted. Meaning little or no email you send from it will reach an inbox.

2. Make Sure Subject Line Stands Out
Once your email is in the inbox the next step is to make sure it’s opened. The easiest way of doing this is to make sure you state a benefit. For example if your having a sale make sure to mention that in the subject line.

3. Don’t Make Multiple Offers
Once you’ve got your email opened you’re in the home stretch. So you don’t want to blow it here.

Your email should contain one and only one offer. Thought of course you want to have multiply links to it. You should include one above the fold which just means it can be seen when you open the email. Then another one or two later on.

4. Don’t Bombard Your List
There are many different ways of doing small business email marketing. Australia is no exception though it’s the business your in rather than the country which will determine the best strategy for you. Though it’s generally a bad idea to constantly send out emails saying buy this as you’ll have no one left on your list. Instead you should try and send a mixture of good content along with any offers you make. Of course that might not be possible in which case a discount voucher or something similar would be fine. Basically anything which provides value without them having to spend money to get it.

5. Track Your Results
This is a really obvious thing to do but can bring great benefits. Earlier on I recommended signing up for an autoresponder another benefit of which is that it’s really easy to track your results. As it provides you with details of opt ins along with open rates. The reason that’s important is simple say you had an average open rate of 50% and then one email had a much higher open rate of 80%. You could either reuse that same subject or a similar one and your email open rate would again be above the average. Of course overtime you would work out which sort of subject lines work and get more people opening your emails. Meaning more people looking at your offers.

By implementing the above tips you’ll see better results from your small business email marking. Australia being no exception as the tips I’ve shared can be applied worldwide. Though due to the smaller population of Australia you will see better results. As most of your business will be from repeat customers anyway. Basically it boils down to having an autoresponder, making sure your emails get opened and not bombarding your list with offers. Then tracking your results so you can improve.

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