Susquehanna Business Life

How Email Can Boost Your Business

Many businesses, challenged by the current economic times, are looking for new ways to increase their business on a lean budget. E-mail marketing is not new, but it may be new to you.

How E-mail Can Boost your Business

By Dawn Brown

Just how valuable is email marketing? David Riklan, founder of SelfGrowth.com, states, "I am going to share with you the single element that every business must have in order to be successful. This is not a suggestion. In fact, I will be bold enough to say that without this ingredient...your business will fail. And what is it? Yes—an e-mail newsletter!"

Those are powerful words. You may argue your business has been getting along just fine without an e-mail newsletter, but how much do you really know about email marketing? Test your e-mail marketing IQ and find out.

1. E-mail marketing is the electronic equivalent of:

   • Direct mail (Letter, post cards, flyers, etc.)
   • Placing an ad with radio or TV
   • Placing an ad in a magazine or newspaper
   • All of the above
   
   

   Answer: When you send out a business letter, you send it on your business stationery, right? Your letterhead lets your clients know they are dealing with a professional. Shouldn't e-mail communication do the same? Why send out plain, boring text when you can send all of your e-mails in a professional and colorful format?

   E-mail marketing does not replace other forms of marketing, such as advertising in a magazine or a radio campaign. Those forms of marketing are necessary for reaching a customer base that you don't have yet. You should always use these formats to grow your database, by driving people to your Web site, and encouraging them to sign up for your e-mail newsletter.

2. Sending e-mail is the least expensive form of advertising.

   • True
   • False
   
   

   Answer: False. The least costly form of advertising is actually word of mouth, but next to that, e-mail marketing can give your business a big bang for your buck. Once you have an e-mail program set up, you can send 250 e-mails per day at about the same cost as one postage stamp! Obviously, there are many service levels and features that can increase that cost, but you are still looking at very nominal monthly costs.

3. "Full color" costs the same as black and white when sending e-mail campaigns.

   • True
   • False
   
   

   Answer: True. You have probably been faced with the decision of whether to print in full color or black and white. Full color makes everything look so much more appealing, but black and white is considerably less expensive in print formats. With e-mail, you don't have to choose. Send out every e-mail with a pop of color to maximize your message.

4. What is your company's most valuable asset?

   • Bank account
   • Rolodex
   • E-mail mailing list
   
   

   Answer: It might seem like bank account would be the correct answer, but if you don't have enough sales, your bank account will be empty anyway. Not too long ago, a Rolodex full of contacts was the sign of a healthy business. These days, your e-mail list is your most valuable asset.

5. Send e-mail campaigns to one or thousands with a single click.

   • True
   • False
   
   

   Answer: True. And so much easier and cheaper than addressing a thousand envelopes!

6. You can track who opened and clicked on your e-mail messages

   • True
   • False
   
   

   Answer: True. When you send regular mail, you have no idea how much of it ends up undelivered or in the trash without opening. E-mail marketing provides immediate feedback, showing who opened your e-mail campaigns, and what specific articles were of interest. This "click open" list is a great way to create a warm list of prospects; no more cold calling.

7. E-mail marketing can be used to:

   • Drive customers to your store or Web site
   • Remind clients of appointments
   • Send a coupon or promotion
   • Announce an open house or special event
   • Get referrals
   • Send surveys; receive replies
   • All of the above
   
   

   Answer: All of the above, and so much more.

Want to learn more? If you Google "e-mail marketing," you'll find hundreds of resources, articles and programs. Check out the "powered by" line at the bottom of any e-mail campaign you receive, to learn what provider others are using. (I am partial to Swiftpage, mainly because it is integrated with my database, but there are many options to choose from.)

How did you score? It really doesn't matter; what matters is that you begin your own e-mail marketing program soon. As motivational speaker Les Brown said, "You don't have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great!"

Dawn Brown is the owner of The Entrepreneur's Source in Lock Haven. She has used e-mail marketing to effectively market and grow her business.