Posted by James Cooper
How To Run Effective Small Business eMail Marketing Campaigns
eMail Marketing Is A Powerful Way To Educate, Communicate, Build Trust, And Solidify A Relationship With Potential And Existing Customers. Start Using It Today!
Why aren't more SMBs using eMail marketing? It is one of the most affordable, easy to understand and effective ways to drive more sales for any organisation, yet the relative take up is poor compared with the possibilities. The answer is more a question of time. Where are you going to get the time for another task in an already busy day?!
At mimosaPLANET we've considered this and we have got some useful recommendations that will have your business running regular effective eMail Campaigns no matter what your situation, check it out...
So Here Are Our Recommendations?
- Harden Up: Please, you can't find an hour or two once a month?! Come on! Heck, I do it weekly. If you're serious about getting leveraged results, block out regular time in your diary for the next 6 mths ahead to execute campaigns. You'll also need to select a provider or platform to use, as regular eMail doesn't have the tracking and reporting that you will require to be successful. There are many excellent providers out there, they do offer slight differences better suited to different businesses and situations, so contact us and we'll be happy to recommend a provider that suits you.
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Outsource It: Ok, I get it, you really are busy. That's cool, sometimes it's easier to just get someone else take charge who knows what they are doing, right? So, LET US DO IT FOR YOU. We can work with you on a number of different engagement models that will have your business successfully running eMail marketing campaigns;
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a. Setup eMail Marketing: We setup an account for you with the best provider for your needs, upload your logo and select a format/template. You supply us some content, then we launch your first campaign for you and train you or a member of your team in the process. We'll even schedule a calendar of events and tasks for you to follow to take over from there.
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b. Managed eMail Marketing: You simply supply the content and the mailing list and we do everything else. We can do this on a per campaign basis or per month basis.
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c. Professional eMail Marketing: We handle everything, we plan a promotion or campaign strategy, we organise a copywriter for excellent content, a graphic designer for a custom banner, manage your mailing list, launch campaigns and provide campaign reports, whatever is required to make it successful with-in your budget.
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If outsourcing sounds like it could be the option for you,
contact us to discuss further.
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Delegate It: If you have an office administrator, a PA, a marketing or sales manager or assistant, or a spouse who handles stuff like this... get them on to it. So executing will be just like recommendation 1 above, but instead of ‘Harden Up'... it's ‘Smarten Up'! Get them to contact us for a recommended provider.
So, What About The Campaigns?
You can send an eMail Campaign about anything really, just be sure to follow regular marketing principles of TARGET, OFFER, COPY.... See previous marketing articles for more details. The easiest place to start by far is the monthly newsletter, simple yet effective. 12 eMails a year... that's easy right? Other campaigns might not be so scheduled, they might just occur when required. But the most effective ROI is gained from a calendar planned schedule of campaigns. i.e.
1) Monthly Newsletter on the first Tuesday of every month at 1pm.
2) Monthly Promotion, 2 eMails per month sent on the 1st & 3rd Thursday at 7am. Promotional product changes each month, so does the offer.
If you are worried about "being a pest by sending too many eMails", people will tell you when you are sending too much, they'll unsubscribe, so then you scale it back. There are some companies that send many each week, it's more about relevance, make your content relevant and interesting and you're onto a winner. Here are a few ideas for campaigns;
- Monthly Newsletter
- Weekly Tip / Advice
- Special Announcement (new product, new team, new service, new area, milestones reached, birthday)
- Event Promotion (workshops, seminars, trade shows, expos)
- Special Offer
- Product Promotion
One more thing; if you are unsure about the Unsolicited Mail Act / Law in your country and how to compile, we recommend you read a short guide or report specific to your market to answer all your legal questions about eMail marketing. But in short; 1) no permission - no eMail. 2) Give option to "Opt Out" of receiving further eMail communication.
This week's Action Points...
Make a decision which of the 3 options will work best for your business, then make it happen. Small Business eMail Marketing; you won't find a quicker, more cost effective marketing solution to increase your revenue. The ROI is a complete no brainer.
