Permission Email Marketing Tips for Offline Small Business OwnersPosted by Nick Niesen on November 1st, 2010 Unless your small business is situated under a rock, you've probably heard something about email marketing by now, and you may have even wondered if it's time for your small business to get into it. In its simplest terms, email marketing means communicating with consumers through email. But there's a big difference between trying to talk to consumers who never asked to be talked to in the first place, and talking to your own customers, who at some point have said, "Yes, I'd love to hear from you." That's where permission email marketing comes in. Permission email marketing means giving valuable information to consumers who have requested to receive it. It is the ONLY legitimate way to send an email marketing campaign, and it is the only way your small business can benefit from email marketing. But how do you get your customers to say "I do"? If you have an online business, or if your offline business has a website that receives many visitors, compiling subscribers can be as easy as adding a subscription box to your website. You would offer users something valuable, like a periodical newsletter or emails with discount coupons and, in return, your users would subscribe to your mailing list. Sounds great. But what if your business is primarily offline, and what if you don't even have a website? Many businesses think that's reason enough to step out of email marketing altogether. But what they're missing here is that compiling a permission email marketing list offline can be as easy, if not easier in some instances, as building a list online. We have advised many clients on tips to collect email addresses at the point of purchase. Here are some of our favorite tactics: - Collect business cards, Offer a prize. The one thing to keep in mind here is that you MUST inform users that by submitting their business cards, they are agreeing to receive email communication from you. This can be as simple as adding a sign to the business card drop-off box saying: "We will send you an email to notify you if you have won. We may also send you periodical emails with special offers and announcements. If you do not wish to receive emails from us, please write 'No Email' on your business card." - Start a V.I.P. Club Again, when you're collecting customer emails for the V.I.P. Club, make sure your customers know they're signing up to receive email offers from you. *** Creating a campaign involves little more than selecting a professionally-designed template, typing text and choosing a few good images. Your campaigns will be scheduled and sent automatically, so you'll never have to worry about being involved in that part. What you will get to do (and this is probably the most exciting and most rewarding part of email marketing), is analyze your campaign after it's been sent. You'll be able to see how many people opened your email message, how many people clicked on each link within the message and, best of all, exactly who did what. Now that's what we call accurate, detailed, and immediate consumer research (you actually get to track your consumers' actions from the exact moment they happen). And while you would previously pay a fortune just to get this research data, today your small business can send professional email marketing campaigns and track detailed consumer behavior for less than it would cost you to print store flyers. It's the new age of marketing, and there's never been a better time for your offline small business to get into the game. Like it? Share it!More by this author |