E is for Email

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E-mail remains a powerful communicator and time-saver for business owners.

Yes, there always seems to be too much of it but consider that all online marketing is a numbers game and some email does get to your target market – and that email is free – and then ask yourself if you can think of any marketing strategy that delivers a better return on investment.

The real point about email is that it is generated by your Autoresponder which is also managing your list – which is the beating heart of your business. Lose everything else and if you still have your list you can begin again with a flying start. So anything that adds to your list is good.

Don’t forget that in terms of business risk, you do not own your Facebook page or Friends, or Twitter and your followers. Third party platforms such as Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest may be effective marketing tool today – but could be gone tomorrow. And if your business is dependent on them for your traffic and marketing messages then your business could go down the swanee with them.

In contrast, you own your own list and it makes sense to protect, nurture, grow and use it.

After ensuring that your website is focused on generating a direct response from your visitors, which may well be to opt-in to your email list in exchange for some useful information, the next priority for local business owners is to ensure that you have continuing communication with those prospects.

After all they have expressed an interest in your business by visiting your site. Are you seriously intending to ignore them?

Of course, you can Tweet and persuade them to Like your Facebook page but all that takes time – the one commodity of which you have least. Should you choose to use these strategies then do ensure that at some stage you provide a Call to Action to bring them to an email sign-up form where you can capture their information.

By comparison, with email, once you have pre-loaded your messages into your autoresponder your prospects will receive personalised messages from you for as long as you choose. And if they are already part of your Facebook or Twitter community then your presence in their life is simply reinforced to ensure that you remain ‘top of mind’ whenever they decide to buy whatever your are offering.

Email may well be diminishing in its impact and use but in terms of building a relationship with your prospects it achieves:

..and email remains a powerful tool in your local marketing armoury.