Email marketing has a rate of return of 3,600%. Yes, you read that right! That means for every $1 spent on email marketing, business owners see an average of $36 in return. That’s the highest rate of return for any paid marketing that I’ve seen.

So if you don’t already have email marketing set up, you definitely should, and today’s episode will teach you how. We’ll dive into how to pick an email service provider, incentivize people to share their email address with you, and keep them on your email list. Plus, we’ll go over some common mistakes business owners make when it comes to email marketing.

 

Step #1: Pick an Email Service Provider

An email service provider offers email marketing services for emailing a bulk list of people and will give you a way for people to opt in and out. Here are some of my favorites:

• Constant Contact: Many of my clients use Constant Contact and love it. It has templates you can use, list segmenting, and the delivery rates are good. Try it free for 60 days here.
• MailerLite: Another great option with a wide range of preset templates that you can use as well. 

Repeat after me: we do NOT use Gmail to bulk email people.

 

Step #2: Get People on Your Email List

People want to hear from you, so let’s go through some ways you can get them on your list!

• Offer an incentive for joining your list. Create a sense of urgency!
  • If you’re a restaurant, offer 50% off their next meal for joining your email list
  • If you’re a hair salon, offer a coupon they can use at their next appointment
  • If you’re a gym, offer a free group fitness class when they join

 

Step #3: Communicate Your Email List to the World!

Now that you’ve come up with your offer, let’s go over how we can let people know about it!

• Have a pop-up box on your website that invites people to enter their email address
• Share on social media! Promote your email list in posts, Stories, Facebook banners, include the link to join in your Instagram bio. Share about your list on social media at least once per month
• Advertise your email list on Google MyBusiness
• Encourage people to join when they visit you! You can allow them to opt in via your POS system or just ask them if they’d like to sign up. Include a note at the bottom of their receipt about your incentive and where they can snag it!

 

Step #4: Nurture Your Email List

Now that they’ve given you that very sacred email address, how will you use it to give your customers what they want?

• Establish how often you will send out emails. Some ideas might be a monthly newsletter or weekly special. Whatever you decide, make sure you stick to it. 
• Show your audience some love! Let them know how much you appreciate them by including occasional special thank you messages or freebies/coupons

 

Don’t forget to check out my freebie for setting up your entire online marketing system in just one day. It includes a whole section about email marketing!