Any small business should consider adding email marketing to your business at the outset, but if you’re completely new to it, it’s difficult to know where to start.
Ideally, you’ll have a well-planned out email marketing strategy so you can formulate a solid plan. However, I live in the real world, and I know from personal experience that it’s difficult to implement something you’re unfamiliar or unsure of when you’re lost in the weeds of starting a new business.
There is money to be made from email marketing and it’s important not to only rely on communications channels that you don’t own. I’ve heard of people with thousands of social media followers who’ve ploughed everything into their channels, only to have it shut down overnight with no recourse or chance to get it back.
You have full control over your email list and the likelihood of recipients seeing your emails is far higher than them seeing your posts on socials.
Won’t I Annoy People With My Emails?
It’s easy to think we’ll annoy people with email marketing, we all get far too many emails and have signed up for things that we no longer need or want anymore, some of them are annoying.
Of course, there will be people who don’t want to receive your emails anymore (and some might have only subscribed to get your freebie) and some might even express their annoyance with you, but they can unsubscribe at any time.
You are not forcing them to stay as a subscriber or open your emails. They have a choice, it’s up to them if they use it.
Most of the marketing emails I get don’t get opened but there are definitely some that do – the subject line is really crucial here.
Your aim is to tweak your content so that it’s of interest to your audience and they do actually WANT to open it and even LOOK FORWARD to it and they get VALUE from it.
What Do I Need to Get Started with Email Marketing?
The good news is that you don’t need a lot – some ideas and a way to deliver it to your subscribers.
If you have a content strategy, that is great, but plenty of people still wing it with their emails which is perfectly good enough.
Some people like to be consistent and send emails out at the same time every week, whilst others are sporadic and just send out news when they have something interesting or important to share.
There is no right or wrong way, but how your audience respond will help guide you in the future. And you can’t tell how they’ll respond until you get going.
On top of some content or some idea of what you’d like to share and when, you’ll need a way of delivering it to them. There are lots of email software options available that are worth looking at.
You want to avoid sending group emails manually from your email account as you’ll likely run into some trouble.
You cannot share emails so you’d need to make sure you were using the Blind Carbon Copy option (BCC) which is easy to forget, and you also need an easy way for recipients to unsubscribe from your email marketing which normal email is not set up for.
Do I need email marketing software if I’m just a small business?
Technically no, however I would advise it early doors. It helps keep you compliant and start to learn about tags and sequences and how the systems work (once you’ve mastered one you start to understand the terminology and how it works).
There are a whole range of options for email marketing and some are completely free for basic plans.
Popular options for start ups include Mailerlite, Mailchimp, Klaviyo and Convertkit, they all have different plans based on the number of your subscribers or what functionality you need.
If you start with one and then want to change across later, this shouldn’t be a problem to export your contacts from one system and import them to another.
Can I use Google’s Yet Another Mail Merge (YAMM) for email marketing?
If you’re a Google fan Yes, Yet Another Mail Merge (YAMM) is a popular add-on for Gmail that allows users to send personalised mass emails directly from their Gmail account.
It is commonly used for email marketing purposes as it enables users to create customised email templates, import contact lists, and track email campaigns.
With Yet Another Mail Merge, users can easily reach a large audience with personalized messages, track open rates and click-through rates, and analyse the effectiveness of their email campaigns.
This tool is user-friendly and cost-effective, making it a popular choice for small businesses, entrepreneurs, and marketers looking to leverage email marketing for their business growth.
Is Yet Another Mail Merge (YAMM) compliant with GDPR?
Yes, Yet Another Mail Merge (YAMM) is GDPR compliant. YAMM ensures compliance with GDPR by allowing users to send personalised emails to recipients without revealing their email addresses to others.
YAMM also provides options for users to easily manage and delete recipient data as needed.
Additionally, YAMM follows best practices for data security and protection to ensure that user data is handled securely and in accordance with GDPR regulations.
Users can have peace of mind knowing that their data is being handled responsibly when using YAMM for email campaigns.
What should I know about GDPR before starting email marketing?
After Britain left the EU, the GDPR rules have not changed as they were incorporated into UK law through the Data Protection Act 2018.
The UK government has also introduced the UK GDPR, which mirrors the EU GDPR but has some minor amendments to make it work effectively in a UK context.
These amendments include provisions on international data transfers and the appointment of representatives for data controllers not established in the UK.
Overall, the principles and requirements of the GDPR still apply in the UK, ensuring that individuals’ personal data is protected and businesses comply with data protection regulations.
What is the best website to learn about GDPR?
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in the UK is very useful, as they offer practical guidance, tools, and resources to help organisations prepare for and comply with GDPR requirements.
Reading official documents and resources from these reputable sources can provide a comprehensive understanding of GDPR and help individuals navigate the complexities of data protection laws effectively.
I Want to Incorporate Email Marketing but the Tech is Confusing!
This is a task that is easy to outsource to a VA, especially if you can provide the content for them on a shared workflow platform such as Trello.
Emails can be scheduled in advance so it can be really efficient to set up a run of emails in advance.
I Want to Incorporate Email Marketing but I Don’t Know What to Write!
This is a problem a lot of people share so don’t feel alone, you can get a membership that provides templates for email marketing, you just customise them and add anything specific to your business.
It certainly helps get you out of the writer’s block phase and helps you with consistency.
I hope you’ll consider adding email marketing to your business, let me know if this article has inspired you. If you are an expert in this area and would like to contribute to this article, please get in touch.