Email Marketing For
Small Business

Email marketing for small business is still the easiest … and best … way to create a virtual viral sales force.  And drive a stampede of visitors to your website, sales pages or wherever else you want them to go.

As you can read on my Home Page, email still rules!  It’s not even open to debate no matter what the social media people try to tell you.

The numbers simply don’t lie.

• As of 2021, there were 4.26 billion email users worldwide!
• 90% of consumers check their email every single day.
• Even more amazing, 50% of them check their email more than 10 times a day
• 58% of them check it the moment they wake up.
• Email accounts are expected to grow by 3% over the next three years. Another 100 million per year!
• 90% of Americans over the age of 15 use email.
• 93.6% of people between the ages of 25-44 use email.
• Email use is over 90% for all age groups except for the 65+ group still coming in at 84.1%.
• More than 333.2 billion emails are sent and received every day.
• Over 3.3 million emails are sent every second.
• There are more than 7.9 billion email accounts worldwide.

Email continues to be the most popular means of marketing on the planet.  There are more than 3 times as many email accounts as Facebook and Twitter combined.

Think about it.  Just about every single part of our digital world still requires an email account.

But let me be clear, email marketing for small business is as effective as email marketing is for large companies.  And far more profitable than any other means of marketing your business.

Email marketing for smll business is 33 times more effective than social media marketing!

Emails are used … by businesses and companies of all sizes … in two basic formats.   They’re sent out as either autoresponders or broadcast emails.

So what exactly are email autoresponders?  Well, when using these terms as they pertain to internet marketing, they’re interchangeable. An autoresponder is an email.

An autoresponder is actually the software that automatically delivers a pre-written series of emails.  But, in internet marketing, the message that goes out is also called an autoresponder.  So, like I say, they’re interchangeable.

Autoresponders are fantastic for making initial customer contacts.  And for sending something you may have offered for free to get them to give you their email address.  They’re also great for breaking the ice while trying to build a relationship with the reader.

Broadcast emails are emails sent out one at a time.   Not necessarily on a pre-determined schedule.

They may provide valuable content, a direct sales message, a reference back to your sales page.  Or your blog.  The goal is to get the click to wherever you want them to go.

They’re also your best vehicle for continuing to build a relationship with your reader.  And to build trust.

What’s the big deal about autoresponders and broadcast emails anyway?  And what’s the best way to use email marketing for small business?

Well, when used correctly, they become your sales force online.  The best … and lowest-cost … sales force you could ever hope to have.

A well-written … and there is a formula for writing them … series of autoresponders and broadcast emails sent out at little or no cost magnetically draws people to wherever you want them to go over and over again.

In most cases, that’s back to your sales page.

How Does Email Marketing For Small Business Work?

It usually starts with someone visiting your website.  Or your sales page.  But … for whatever reason … they don’t buy.  But they do something before they leave.

They sign up … or opt-in as we call it … for something.  Something they perceive to be valuable enough to give you … someone they don’t know … their email.

• a free report
• a newsletter
• a free eBook
• a video
• more information

In exchange for this information, they agree to give you their email address and their name.

A well-designed email campaign then sends that person a series of autoresponders … emails … delivered automatically on a pre-determined schedule over a period of time.

That series could be 6, 8, or 10 emails. 10 is the magic number for me.   It might even be 10 emails in 10 days.

Some marketers like to spread them out a little.  Some believe that giving them as much information as possible in the shortest time is the way to go.  Every day is the way they go.

And what do these autoresponders do?

Well … first of all … they give the subscriber whatever they signed up for.  Remember the list above.  But these emails do more if they’re well-designed.

They start building relationships.  By providing valuable content.  In addition to whatever information they opted in for.

And they also nudge them back to your main sales message.  Giving you many more chances to sell your products or services to them.

Think about it.  What do you do when you visit an online sales page?  Do you buy right away?  Maybe.  But usually not if you’re like most people.

If you’ve opted in and start receiving emails from that site, you know that they’re trying to get you to click on a link.  Usually back to a sales page.

And it works.  Oh how it works.  It’s like the old direct mail pieces (junk mail) we’ve all received in our mailbox.  You know, the box out front … somewhere … where you live.

These messages keep on coming with a different twist each time.  But they don’t require postage.

Why Is Email Marketing For Small Business So Effective In Growing Sales?

Well, it’s because the marketing equation has changed so much over the last three or four decades.  Up until the 1980’s, marketing … and selling … was a pretty simple process.

• First of all, the internet didn’t exist before that.
• So there were a lot fewer competitors.
• And, of course, a lot fewer choices.
• The economy was relatively low-tech. So information was hard to come by.
• Customers pretty much believed whatever an advertiser told them. They had no choice.
• There was much lower resistance so buying decisions were ... in some ways … easier.

Sellers … and marketers … had all the power.

But Something Changed In The 1990’s.  Entirely Brought On By the Internet

• Technology and the rate of technological change exploded.  Exponentially.
• Competition did the same.
• Information became available so fast, consumers were left breathless.

We were caught up in an entrepreneurial boom.  But the increase in technology … and information … led to:

• increased resistance.
• longer buying cycles.
• price wars with everything perpetually on sale.
• products becoming “commodities”.
• marketing messages becoming indistinguishable from one another.

And today?   The buyers now have the power.  And the sellers are at their mercy.

The Marketing Formula

There is a definite formula when it comes to marketing.  And that formula can be used to make email marketing for small business be the most effective strategy you use in your small business.

This formula works because buyers want to make the best decision possible.  It’s only human nature.  But what is that magic formula? The formula that entices buyers to develop a relationship with you instead of your competitors?

Well, the formula consists of four ingredients:

1. First, you’ve got to capture the attention of your qualified target market.  And you do it by offering them something for free.  Something they want badly enough to leave you their email address and name.  It interrupts their pattern.   And starts to engage them.

2. Then you’ve got to make it easier for your prospects to gather information.  To simplify their decision-making process.  How?  By giving them that free information in a manner which really isn’t very painful.  Free information that will make it easier for them to make a decision.

3. This information should educate your prospects by pinpointing crucial issues they need to know.  And how you … or your product … is the answer to their needs and concerns.  This is what you use a buzz piece or lead magnet for.

4. And then you continue to allow your prospects a risk-free means of taking the next step in the buying process. The more information you provide them, the more control they feel they have when it comes to making a final decision.

The Education Component

Your job as a successful marketer is to become the source of knowledge … the voice they listen to … when your prospects are trying to figure out what to buy.  And who to buy it from.

Provide them with enough information so they feel they understand the pertinent issues.  And are in control of the buying decision.

The bottom line?  The more you educate your prospect, the more successful your business will be.

Once again, your initial information could be a buzz piece or lead magnet.  Tied together with a simple follow-up “Thank You” email.

But once your emails start hitting their inbox, you’re establishing a relationship with your prospect.  Building a bond.

Why You Need An Email Campaign

Once your prospect … or one of your previous customers … starts receiving your messages and that relationship starts being created, it’s amazing how barriers go down.  And sales go up!  And that’s what a great email series does.

Big, successful internet marketers use email marketing because it works.  Better than anything.  And it explodes profits.  People who initially never thought of buying become buyers once that relationship is established.

They start seeing the product … or service … in a very different light.  Email marketing for small business is definitely a big deal.  As it is for big companies.

Because it works.

How To Create An Email Campaign For Your Website Or Small Business

Now that we’ve established the importance of using email marketing for small business to grow your brand online, what’s next?

Well, it’s vitally important that you do it right.  You can’t just throw a few emails together, add a few links and then expect people to click back to your sales page and pull out their wallet.

The 3 Questions You Need Answered Before Writing an Autoresponder Message

1.)  What is the goal of your email?  Are you delivering content?  A buzz piece?  Or an initial “Thank You” email.  Or is it a simple follow-up with the intent of trying to further your relationship with the prospect?

No matter what you deliver to their inbox, there must a link to some sort of sales message.  It might be a sales letter.  A blog.  Or just your website.  Your goal should always be to get them to click on that link.  Remember … though … that an email isn’t a sales letter.

2.)  Who are you talking to in this email?  Are you talking to prospects that have opted in to a free offer on your website?   Or are you writing to customers who have already bought from you?

Segmentation … available with a good ESP (Email Service Provider) … lets you target whoever you want.  Prospects, leads, actual buyers.  It’ll even let you send a series of autoresponders to one group and broadcast emails to those who’ve already seen your autoresponders.

Whether you write your own emails or have a freelancer do it, remember to always use a consistent voice.  If you’re talking to prospects, talk to them like they’re prospects.   If you’re talking to buyers, treat them like buyers.  They’re at different places in the buying cycle.

3.)  What are you going to do to get that click?  There are basically two ways to do this.  If you’re delivering a content-based series, you want to become the go-to source.  Someone who knows your niche inside-out.

Writing a content-based series is much like writing content for a website.  Talk to your readers like a 6th - 8th grader.   Don’t use big words.  Use sentence fragments.  Write the way people talk.

When writing a prospect follow-up series, I like to refer to it as being the guy on the barstool.  You want to just start chatting with them.  What’s on TV?  What’s in the news?  Be personal and transparent.  Build a relationship slowly and easily.  The key is to get them to start trusting you.

What Are the Keys to an Email Campaign That Blows up Your Sales?

•  Your emails must clearly align with what you do or what you offer.  You want potential clients to realize that you are knowledgeable, skilled, and professional.  And by presenting yourself … or your company … as a professional in your field, you become the go-to authority on the subject.

And if you are perceived as this expert, you dramatically increase the likelihood they’ll turn to you to provide the service or product they need.  And even recommend you to their associates.

•  Prospects must actually want the information you’re sending them.  Sure you may be able to create a series of emails that you think will work.  But what if no one reads them?  Or clicks on your links?

What if your prospects …or customers … hit the delete button as soon as they read the Subject Line?

•  Your subject line is the key.  Because of what I do, I purposely receive hundreds of emails each day.  Because I want to.  But, so many of them suck!

Be original.  Be provocative.  Be intriguing.  You've got to get your email opened.

•  The opener is probably the easiest part of the email to write.  Why?  Well, you’ve got somebody who has seen your subject line.  And is interested enough to click on it.  The opener is the first thing they're going to see in the message.

•  Now you write the meat of your email … your story … as if you were talking to a friend.  Use casual words.  Casual phrases.   And sentence fragments.  Use colorful words and phrases to paint a picture.

Remember, every element of your email is designed to pull your reader into the next part.  And write at a grade school level.  It’s far easier to read and understand.

•  When you start writing your story, have a point you’re trying to make.  Or one you’re trying to get to.  Where you make the connection between your story and the want, need, desire, or problem that your prospect is experiencing at that time.  Or the pain that you're trying to highlight in your email.

•  Finish with a short statement that’s going to get your prospect to take action.   A timely offer.  Bonuses.  Or a limited offer.  Something to get them moving right away.

•  The big ending?   Craft a killer P.S.  The P.S. is extremely important.  In sales letters, the second most-read part is the P.S. after the headline.  So your P.S. needs to be powerful.  Try something that gets them back to your sales message.   One final shot.  Timely offers.  Limited time bonuses.  A guarantee works real well.

And that’s how to use mail marketing for small business to blow up your results.  If you read through my site … especially the Articles section … you’ll be able to lean a lot more.

If you have any questions, drop me an email at rod@emailautorespondercopy.com or go to my Contact Me page.

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