With so much business being conducted online these days, it's essential to have a solid email marketing strategy. Even industries that seem to exist mainly offline, such as construction, can benefit immensely from email marketing.
If you're a contractor who has yet to implement a consistent email marketing strategy, read on to learn why this tactic is crucial to your small business, and basic tips on how to start spreading your brand awareness through email.
What, Exactly, Is Email Marketing?
It may sound like digital buzzwords, but email marketing is a key aspect of growing your real-life business. To put it simply, it's the process of reaching out to your existing and potential customer base through emails. That's it!
You likely receive dozens of emails a day from brands hoping to share their services or sell their products, and the ones that you actually open and engage with are examples of successful email marketing. Good email marketing isn't spam; it's thoughtful, targeted campaigns meant to reach the right audience and inform them about your business.
Why Do I Need It?
If you've gotten to 2022 without relying on any type of regular email strategy for your business, you may think you don't need to start now. After all, it will take a small investment of money and time to craft these emails and compile customer bases. But it's proven that the ROI is worth it - this should be considered an integral part of your sales strategy.
Email marketing is a more meaningful form of communication with existing and potential customers than straight-up advertisements, which are often ignored in the real world and online. You can segment your different audiences so that you're sending out emails targeted to specific interests and demographics, and therefore have a better shot at selling your product or service!
There's also so much more room to be creative with email marketing. You can share more of your brand's personal story, write from the heart, and share photos and videos that aren't subject to strict social media platform requirements.
How To Get Started
If the talk of strategy and audience segmentation sounds daunting, don't fret: Of the many types of advertising, email marketing is relatively simple. You'll need to start by having a subscriber list, aka a list of emails to send out your marketing materials to. This can be accomplished by asking for signups on your website or on your social media pages, or by using existing email addresses you may have from purchases (make sure you have permission!). Or you can choose to purchase a list (for example, homeowners in specific ZIP codes) from a reputable data provider who is vigilant about keeping lists updated with the most recent information (name, email, etc.)
You can use an email platform to send the emails if you don't already have one. There are a number of platforms out there that are affordable for small businesses.
If it's your first time sending an email blast to your customer base, start with a "welcome" email, which is a sort of an introduction. Be friendly and use the voice of your brand. There are tons of online resources that can help you design and send your emails, as you'll want to make sure they're eye-catching, easy to read, and aesthetically pleasing.
Some tips: Don't include too much information, as many folks will delete it if it looks too bulky. Stick to your brand colors and include information on how to reach you and how to unsubscribe at the bottom of your emails. Break up longer chunks of text with photos or videos, too!
Be Consistent
Once you've started, set up a weekly and monthly schedule so that your emails are going out to customers on a consistent basis. You don't want to overwhelm customers with spam-like emails, so once or twice a week is key - make sure you're only highlighting information (like the latest roofing techniques or "green" products, tax incentives for certain roof installations, etc.) that they'll really want to know about.
It's also important to track analytics so that you know what works and what doesn't. Again, most online email marketing resources will easily allow you to see how many people open your emails or unsubscribe. It's good to take risks and experiment with different types of content - as long as you track the results!