· 1 min read
Email marketing for a small business: start with ten people
You rent your followers on social media; you own your email list. How to start one honestly (ask, in person and on your site), what to send (one useful thing, once or twice a month), and what the law asks for (a way out and your address).
The short answer: start a list with the ten customers who already like you, send them one useful thing once or twice a month, and always make leaving easy. That is email marketing. Everything else is detail.
Why a list beats followers
A social platform can change what your followers see overnight. Your email list is yours: it reaches the inbox of people who said yes to you.
How to get your first ten
- Ask in person: "Want our specials by email, about twice a month?"
- A sign-up box on your website, near the top and at the bottom.
- A line on your receipts or invoices.
- Never buy a list, and never add someone because you have their address. Ask first.
What to send
One useful thing per email: this week's special, the question everyone asks you, a tip from your trade, a new service. A plain subject that says what is inside. Short. Signed by a person.
How often
Often enough to be remembered, rarely enough to be welcome. Once or twice a month is a good start for most local businesses.
What the law asks (in the US)
The CAN-SPAM Act asks that a marketing email says who it is from, has an honest subject, carries your postal address, and has a working way to unsubscribe that you honor. Many other countries also require clear consent before you email at all. Asking first keeps you right everywhere.
What to measure
Replies and clicks. Opens are a rough sign at best: many mail apps open every email by themselves.
Rather have it done? We also run email marketing for businesses that need to grow fast: human work, not cheap. This newsletter is how we would do it ourselves, by the way.
Questions, answered
How often should a small business send marketing emails?
Often enough to be remembered, rarely enough to be welcome. Once or twice a month is a good start for most local businesses.
Do I need permission to email my customers?
Ask first. In the US, the CAN-SPAM Act requires an honest sender and subject, your postal address and a working unsubscribe; many other countries require clear consent before you email at all.
What should a small business email say?
One useful thing: a special, an answer to a common question, a tip from your trade or a new service, with a plain subject and one clear next step.