How Email Marketing Can Support Your Growth When Starting a New Business

• Updated on: 2024-09-26
• Read original article here

In the US, there are around804,398businesses that have been operating for less than one year. 

If you’re still in the early days of running a business, you may be looking forstrategies for growth. You’ve probably already launched a website, and you could even have social media pages.

But have you thought aboutemail marketing? Even if you have an email sign-up form, are you using youremail listto its full potential? 

In a digital world, email is the way we communicate. By 2025, it’s predicted that376.4billion emails will be sent every day. If you’re not targeting your customer’s inboxes, you could be missing out on sales. 

So, how can email marketing support your growth when starting a new business? Read on to find out.

Before we dive into our email marketing tips, let’s talk about how you can kickstart your subscription list.

With brands fighting for the attention of internet users, you can’t expect them to sign up for no reason. Think about the exclusive perks you can offer in exchange for their email address. 

You canpromote your eNewsletterand collect leads on your website and social media pages. 

If you’re using apop-up form, make sure it matches the look and feel of your brand. Just remember, it should only appear once and be easy to close.

Do you run a service-based business? Are you trying to chase new leads? Potential customers may have to submit an inquiry to receive a quote. These people can become email subscribers. 

Just remember, signing up for your newsletter should be optional. You can use a form that clearly describes what they’re getting when they click “submit.”

Alternatively, if your customers are just browsing or you’re providing a free service trial, you can include amarketing opt-in checkboxor clear terms and conditions.

Once you’ve started getting a few extra subscribers, you’ll need to work hard to keep them engaged. 

Remember, more people willsign up for your email mailing listif you offer them incentives. You should fulfill any promises you make when they sign up.

Subscriber-only discounts, the latest news, and member giveaways can all boost youropen rate and your click-through rate.

For companies running a referral or affiliate program that rewards partners who bring in referrals, these special offers could be bonuses or a temporary increase in commissions. Announcing such special offers in your partner newsletter would both activate your partners and encourage them to keep reading your newsletters.

Try to be creative with your email marketing to help you stand out in a crowded inbox. One way you can do this is with promo codes. You can include discounts and special offers that followers will look forward to in your emails. 

Everyone likes a bargain, and promo codes could be the key to getting new subscribers and keeping existing ones. 

Make sure any offers you send are relevant to your audience. Your emails should give them a value-add and not feel like spam. The goal is to keep them coming back — not hit the unsubscribe button.

Next, you need to think about youremail design. If you’ve just started a new business, you have a chance to get your branding right from the beginning. 

Most brands use anemail templatethat’s been designed with the target audience in mind. If you’reusing automation, yourmarketing emailscan be filled with information and images pulled from your website.

Your emails should be eye-catching so that your subscribers will be curious about what’s inside. 

Your branding should be consistent and recognizable, but this doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with youremail campaigns. For example, add a touch of the holidays to your emails to recognize different occasions.

One way to do this is by getting creative with your logos. If you’re having a Fourth of July sale, why not change the color of your logo to red, white, and blue? When it’s Christmas, add a cute Santa hat. For those with a range of services, modify your logo slightly to differentiate between them.

As long as your brand is recognizable, it’s okay to give your graphics some personality. 

Email will only be one part of your business and marketing strategy. Software can help support your new venture and streamline your day-to-day operations.

Sending all of your marketing emails manually is too time-consuming, so you’ll needemail newsletter software. 

A cloud-based solution that lets you manage your mailing lists from anywhere is recommended. When you choose dedicated email software, you can keep track of your members and schedule campaigns. 

You could also benefit from accounting software. For example, if you’re starting an LLC (limited liability company), you’ll be protected from business debts. But, there will be certain tax obligations you’ll have to meet. 

You could be investing money into your email marketing, which means that any profit or loss will need to be reported accurately. When you work with an accountant and regularly update your bookwork, you won’t be overwhelmed come tax time.

When you implement the right tools early on, you’ll be supporting your business growth both short and long term.

Good customer serviceis about providing a friendly and customer-focused experience every time. When your communication is online, that personal touch can be lost. But it doesn’t have to be — you just have to do things a little differently. 

You can use email marketing to teach customers about your brand and show them that your values align with theirs. It’s also possible (and recommended) tocreate a personalized experience. If your customers feel like you care, you canincrease brand loyalty. 

You can also acquire new customers and retain the old ones by sending outabandoned cart emails, follow-up emails, and loyalty program emails.

When you add members to your email database, make sure you get their full names so you canpersonalize each email. Your newsletter software will let you pull their first name so you can address them directly. 

If you collect birthday details, you can even send them amilestone emailwith a special discount to help them celebrate their special day.

You can get creative with this and use things like demographics, psychographics, site behavior, and the other data points you have to deliver a truly personalized experience.

Technology is clever, and there are other ways to create a personalized email experience. For example, you can invest inCRM softwareto create segments for customers, potential clients, and leads. When yousegment your email list, you can create highly targeted campaigns that are tailored to fit the needs of each segment.

When you send your email campaigns, you’ll get access to a suite ofreporting features. The data you get will help you learn more about your followers.

But data quickly builds up, and it can be difficult to know what to do with it. This is where a process calleddata integrationcomes in.Google analytics setupis easy and can analyze data from different marketing campaigns, customer feedback, and website behavior. Analytics can help your business grow. This information will give you a picture of who your target demographic is and what their needs are. 

You can modify your email marketing as you learn more about your audience. For example, if you notice your subscribers are responding to specific products, promote other items that are similar or complementary.

Perform a/b teststo see what works and what doesn’t. Create link tracking and compare different strategies. What you learn from your data can help you make better business decisions. Thankfully, you canset goalsand track their progress.

When you use email marketing, the list of subscribers is exclusive to your business. While Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms can be good for marketing, there are risks involved.

When you rely solely on social media companies to plug your brand, they have the final say. For example, if Facebook removes your account, you could lose control of your business group.

Security is also an issue, but anintelligent email marketing program will clean up addresses and remove spam subscribers. If you’re experiencing ahigh bounce rate, consider a double opt-in process, so you know everyone on your list genuinely wants to be there.

With automation, you can choose to email your members at relevant times. For example, if someone has left a product in their cart, you can send them an email with a small discount to tempt them back. 

You can also give your members the option to receive daily, weekly, or monthly correspondence. 

If you’re the proud owner of a new business, email marketing can help your business grow. Make sure your site is set up to capture visitor information, like their full name and email address, so you can grow your list.

To send emails that are professional and on-brand, use templates that are customizable. And tap into automation so you can schedule emails at specific intervals. Remember to use the data you gather on your subscribers to segment your list so you can send personalized emails that are tailored for each segment. 

Lastly, never neglect reporting. Reporting data will show you what’s working, what needs to be reworked, and more insight into your customer behavior. 

Andy’s the co-founder ofOrbit Media, an award-winning 40-person digital agency in Chicago.Over the past 20 years, Andy has provided digital marketing advice to 1000+ businesses and written 500+ articles on content strategy, SEO, visitor psychology and Analytics. He’s also the author ofContent Chemistry: The Illustrated Handbook for Content Marketing.