I dislike spam as much as anyone. And sending random emails will neither earn additional business nor help your business reputation. That said, if you're not using email marketing to grow your #sidehustle, you may be missing out on a ton of new customers.
Why Email Marketing?
The most obvious answer is that it's relatively cheap. Especially compared to traditional advertising. Of course, you don't want to join the ranks of Nigerian spam farms, but we'll cover that later. If you have any lingering doubts about why you should be doing email marketing, consider the following statistics from Inc.com:
- 85% of U.S. retailers consider email marketing one of the most effective customer acquisition tactics.
- 27 percent of US online shoppers subscribe to store or product emails in order to save money.
- 59 percent of US moms would sign up for email updates from brands if rewards were offered.
- 52 percent of US cellphone owners access their emails from their phones
Stop to ponder those numbers. For all that we complain about having full inboxes, a huge percentage of us find it useful. And if you're trying to reach as many customers as possible, take a second look at the fourth number above. Which means that by using email marketing you're also sending a mobile marketing message.
Getting Started
For the new business, or a budding #sidehustle, it might seem that reaching out to customers, or potential customers, via email isn't possible. You still don't have the customers to send emails to. That mindset is shortsighted. If you're in business, you have at least a few customers, and that's a start. Don't wait for your list to reach some magical number before you begin marketing to them. And, there are ways to quickly grow your list.
Warning: Do not buy an email list! While there are dozens of sources of email lists that range from hundreds to millions of email addresses, you'll be considered spam by the vast majority. Yes, there's a chance you may get some business, but the cost of buying the list and the cost to your damaged reputation isn't worth it.
If you're looking for ways to grow a quality list that gets real results, Forbes has a list of fifty. Here's five of our favorites:
- Add a call to action at the end of your YouTube videos (and every article you post to your blog)
- Offer an exclusive subscriber-only discount and promote it on social media.
- Cross-promote with a complimentary business in your niche: Agree to promote each other's newsletters.
- Be regular in how often you send out emails to your list: When people see that you regularly send out great content, they're more likely to recommend your emails to their friends and colleagues.
- Offer customers a discount on their next purchase with email sign-up.
Managing Your List
Okay, so you're seeing some real growth in your email list. As a small business, it's just one more hat to wear, one more "to-do" that puts demands on your limited time. It's time to do some email marketing automation.
In the early days of the internet and running an internet business, handling, tracking, and managing email lists was cumbersome and time consuming. Today, email lists and campaigns can be not only automated, but customized in any number of ways. And, the systems are scalable. So as your business grows, the system grows with you. You won't outgrow what you create and have to start over from scratch.
Start Early And Stay Ahead of The Curve
How many times have you put something off only to realize later it would have been much easier to handle early on? The same is true of your small business and getting an email system in place. The best time to get started is now. That'll save valuable time later, plus help in growing your business along the way.
I'm a serial entrepreneur, with a resume that makes me look like a Jane of all trades. Pretty sure we are all reluctant Messiahs, travelling through life planting seeds where ever we can. Hopefully, most of mine have been good ones! MA from Miami University (Ohio, not Florida), BA from Cal State.
