One of the best ways to market a business is through email. Studies show that a majority of businesses use email to reach and retain current customers and to attract new ones. Here are some tips to help promote a business by using your email lists to their best advantage.
Provide Useful Information
If a business’s emails are all about self-promotion, they’ll probably land in the trash file. Yet if instead, the business provides customers with information that can help them solve their most vexing problems, they’ll look forward to receiving the company’s emails as much as they do their favorite magazines. Look for common problems the company’s expertise can solve for customers, and then write regular emails that give step-by-step instructions that can help customers deal with these challenges. Not only will this position the company as a helpful source of information, but it will also build the company’s authority in the minds of its customers. When a company’s officers become the local go-to people in its field, that can be a powerful tool. Local journalists will seek out that person when they need a quote for an article about that field of expertise—giving the company free publicity in the process.
Provide a Reason to Sign Up
When a potential customer enters the store or office, greet them. Have a signup sheet nearby. After a little conversation to break the ice, offer them a small gift to sign up for the email list. A sticker, a label with your contact information along with emergency numbers, or a pen are all good ideas for introductory gifts. Once the company has the customer’s email address, send an introductory email—also with some useful information—to keep the customer wanting to read every email the company puts out.
Provide Incentives to Customers Who Refer Others to Subscribe
Customers who get their friends and colleagues to sign up for the company’s email newsletter are worth their weight in gold. Reward them with a an e-book, a web course, or another practical incentive that will help them in their daily lives.
Create a Feeder List from a Blog
Not only should a company send out regular emails to its loyal customers, but it should also create a blog on which it publishes helpful tips. Keep these tips more general, and save the more helpful stuff for the newsletter. On the blog, provide a form on which readers can sign up for your regular emails. Make sure they know that they will receive even more useful information when they subscribe to the email list.
Give Discounts to Email List Subscribers
Finally, a company needs to reward regular subscribers with discounts on goods and services. Create a coupon to attach to the email newsletter that customers can either bring in to show on their mobile devices or print out for a hard copy version. If the company provides its products or services online, create a discount code that they can enter to receive the reduced price. Treat regular customers like the treasures they are—and they’ll reward the company with their loyalty for years to come.
