Many businesses in Florida are asking whether Email marketing or social media is a stronger strategy.

In the world of social media, many business owners neglect the most powerful marketing tool they have at their disposal—email marketing. 

But neglecting your email list could be a big mistake. Not only is email still the most effective online marketing strategy, it also brings you the best ROI (four times that of Facebook!) In fact, for every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return on investment is $44. 

With more than 306 billion emails sent each day (and 90% of users saying they check their email at least once daily), and a projected $17.9 billion dollars in value this year, it’s clear that email marketing is still one of the top tools you need in your marketing tool belt. 

Read on to find out everything you need to know about email marketing—including why it’s so powerful, what types of emails you need to be sending, and what email marketing platform to choose!

Why and How to Grow Your Email List

One of the mistakes Florida businesses make in email marketing is not collecting emails or maintaining a list to communicate to.

But your email list is important for many reasons. First of all, when a customer signs up for your list, they’re asking you to communicate with them because they’re interested in you and your brand. 

Email lists are also valuable because you own them—unlike social media platforms which can change or close at any time. 

Here are some tips for growing your email list: 

• Make sure you have an opt-in form on your website to collect emails as visitors view your site. Simple opt-in pop-ups are effective in driving visitors to subscribe. 
• Use all of your available platforms to push toward your list, from YouTube video descriptions to your Instagram bio. 
• Offer an e-book or other lead magnet enticing people to sign up. 
• Promote your list on social media, running contests for those who sign up on your list and share.
• Collect email addresses at any in-person events (such as a website launch party or a brick-and-mortar grand opening).
• Consider doing a giveaway…Even before you launch your website, you can create a temporary launch site with a giveaway of your products. Send to all your friends and family or anyone you think might be interested.  
• Remember that more emails doesn’t necessarily mean better: you want a warm list who want to engage with your emails and hear from you. Regularly clean up your email list, removing non-active or non-valid addresses. 

Experiment with a wide range of strategies and see what resonates with your audience and increases your list. 

Why Email Marketing Matters

While social media marketing is valuable, there are limitations. Algorithms frequently change, limiting access to your audience and restricting your reach. You also have to find out which social media platform your audience is on and divide your attention and focus between platforms. 

But with email, you can put your eggs into one very powerful basket—a basket with 4 billion users worldwide.  

Email gives you the chance to curate and repurpose your content from other platforms into one targeted place that reaches those most likely to buy.

There’s another big reason why email marketing continues to provide high ROI for Florida businesses (and businesses everywhere)—because customers still prefer it. 

Unlike on social media, where users often express frustration at seeing unwanted ads, email puts the control in the hands of the customers. 

To join an email list, customers have to choose to opt-in. They then decide when and where they get to see information about your brand. That control pays off—61% of users want to hear from businesses via email at least once per month.  And that means that you have plenty of opportunity to promote your products to people who want to hear about them!

So how do you take advantage of that and make sure your email marketing strategy is effective? The first step is understanding what type of email campaigns to send. 

Email Marketing is About More than You

We’ve already established that customers want to receive promotional emails. However, promo emails are a two-edged sword. “Too many emails” is the number one reason users unsubscribe from email lists. 

However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t, or shouldn’t, email your list frequently. It simply means that you need to keep in mind the most important rule of email marketing—it’s about your audience, not about you.

Instead of overwhelming your audience with promotional emails, make sure you’re focusing on how to help them—offering education, value, resources, and freebies. Your email list is a prime place to build trust and relationships with your customers. Never lose sight of that fact! 

Personalizing your emails helps elevate the customer experience and built that trust. This can be as small as adding the recipient’s name to the subject line and body of the email (which increases open and click-through rates). 

But that personal touch should also go beyond just a name in the subject line. You need to give relevant, specific, curated content to your audience. 

That’s why segmenting your list is so important—by breaking your email list into multiple segments, you can make sure you’re putting valuable and relevant content in front of your customers.

For example, you might segment new customers into one list and returning customers in another. You can send welcome emails and informational emails about your business to the newer list while sending more advanced educational emails and promotions to returning customers. 

Or you can segment into active and non-active customers, targeting the non-active with emails to promote re-engagement. Emails with an actively engaged audience have higher open rates and higher purchase rates. That’s why it’s so important to segment your list and create content that is relevant to each segment. 

One of the best ways to ensure that you’re striking the best balance and creating value is by using email flows. 

Leveraging Email Flows

Unlike newsletters or general emails that go out to your entire list, email flows are sent automatically to certain portions of your list. These are triggered by various events—for example, when someone opts into your list or when someone makes a purchase. 

Email marketing automation is a beneficial tool for small businesses in Florida. Not only does it run without you, allowing you to focus on your business, but it also brings in a 359% greater ROI than email newsletters alone.   

Try some of these strategies for your email automation:

• Establish a welcome flow that thanks users for subscribing and educates them about your brand or some of your most popular products. 

• Create an abandoned cart flow that encourages users to go back and complete stalled purchases.

• Use a winback flow designed to entice customers who haven’t purchased in some time.

• Send product recommendations based on previous purchasing behavior.

Getting Started with an Email Management Software

In order to efficiently run your email marketing, you’ll need a reliable email marketing platform. Email marketing platforms allow you to set up automated flows, analyze your email insights, and send professional emails to your list. 

There are many different options, each with pros and cons. Here are some of the most popular options for small businesses:

MailChimp

MailChimp is a basic email marketing software that allows you to analyze metrics, segment your list, and send out flows. 

It’s very affordable, with a viable free option for small businesses with a list of less than 2,000 customers, making it a great choice for beginning businesses. Pricing ranges from $0-300 a month. 

However, it also doesn’t offer many robust features (such as landing pages). It also doesn’t integrate with Shopify for easy purchasing. 

Privy

Privy is another option for smaller or mid-sized businesses. It allows you to create landing pages, segment and manage your emails, and analyze insights. 

It does integrate with Shopify and Wix, making it a solid choice as you continue to grow. Pricing starts at $0 and is based on your number of contacts. Better email usability starts at $20 a month. 

The biggest drawback of Privy is that the emails are not optimized for mobile, which can be a deterrent for many businesses. 

Klaviyo

Arguably the most popular option for e-commerce businesses, Klaviyo is fully integrated with Shopify and allows you to easily sell through automated segmentation and flows, and to keep track of all of your metrics. 

It even contains easy-to-use templates and an image library to help you personalize your emails. 

Like Privy, Klaviyo’s includes a very basic free plan for a limited number of contacts, and the price increases based on the size of your list. 

The platform that is right for you will depend on your budget, your list, and your business needs. For most product businesses, Klaviyo is the most robust and versatile choice. 

The Bottom Line

Email marketing remains a valuable tool for small businesses in Florida and across the world—even more so with targeted strategies and flows. 

It’s effective, customizable, and it’s what your customers want! It’s also inexpensive but valuable, making it the perfect marketing tactic for businesses working with small budgets. 

If you aren’t building your list and using this tool for growing your business and increasing your revenue, it’s time to start! 

We’re here to help. Crème de Mint offers digital marketing services, including email marketing strategy, copywriting, and design. Our email marketing work for Alkaline Herb Shop increased their email revenue by 11 times in one year, bringing in 29% of their overall revenue. We’re happy to help you strengthen your email strategy—contact us today!  

The post From a Florida Email Marketing Agency: Why Email Should Be Your First Strategy appeared first on Creme de Mint design.