One way to warm leads and increase interest is to leverage email marketing. 

A solid email marketing campaign can work to drive new clients to you and nurture relationships.

It can also become a resource for current clients, which is always a good idea. The easiest sale to make is to someone who already purchases from your business.

In this article, I'll run through a few basics, along with examples, and then finish up with some pro tips because who doesn't love pro tips?!

The very first step will be to collect emails. We can do this in various ways. 

Having a sign-up form on your website is obvious. People visit your website in search of information, and if they like what they find and want to stay in the loop, they'll likely fill out a form. Keep this simple! On my business website, I ask for a first name and an email address. That's it. People will skip signing up if you request their full names and phone numbers and have them answer a bunch of questions. There will be time later on to gain more insight into who is signing up for your list, but at this stage, we're simply looking for the email address. We'll touch on the first name later on in the article. 

Social media is another way to collect emails for your list. We utilize Instagram stories. Create your story, add a link from the options menu, and remember to personalize it. Personalize the link with a solid call to action (CTA) such as "Sign Up Today" or "Don't Miss Out on Our Newsletter!"

Another great option to experiment with is a giveaway! Let's look at a couple of examples.

A micro gym looking to fill a boot camp or group class might consider offering a free intro or beginners class. 

Potential customers will provide their email addresses to register for your free class. When the date gets closer, you can send some short emails letting them know what to expect, what clothing and footwear will be appropriate, to bring water, a towel, etc. 

People will get used to receiving and reading your emails because they're interested and excited about their upcoming class!

Another option for a micro gym would be something simple such as a PDF. Healthy dinner ideas are delivered right to your mailbox. Or you could create a PDF with at-home workouts designed to be completed with minimal to no equipment. I've had luck with both in the past. The goal is to spark interest in your premium services even if someone isn't ready to purchase today. 

A salon or barbershop could also offer a PDF. Create four templates, one for each season, and cover common issues people have with their hair and scalp. Update and rotate them according to what season is coming next. 

Another option for the hair industry is to offer a free mini-class. You could create a class called "Learn to braid your daughter's hair in 30 minutes!" and then market it toward, well, dads who don't know how to braid hair. They'll register by providing their email address. You can continue to market to them after by following up with tips and tricks, more beginner braiding techniques, and even a video walkthrough of the class.

When starting with email marketing, you'll want to lay out a plan of attack. 

You're busy running your company, so please trust me when I promise the last thing you'll want to do is scramble to figure out what you'll send to your list. 

I generally write my emails out in one-month blocks. Sometimes I'll have a more extended series, so I adjust by breaking things up or carving out time to get ahead and finish the whole series in one go. My last series was seven weeks, so I wrote all seven emails in one sitting.

If you need help figuring out where to start, grab a calendar and start brainstorming. Look at seasons, holidays, and important dates, and then solve problems for people. 

Automation is going to come in clutch for a small business owner. 

There are many platforms available such as Mailchimp, that offer automation. I bring up Mailchimp because it's what I've used for years. 

An email marketing platform will allow you to import contacts and create a sign-up form that you can embed into your website or share the link with people. 

Not only will you have the ability to write and schedule your emails in the future, but you'll also be able to automate certain other aspects. In Mailchimp, for example, these are called journeys. 

When someone signs up for your list, they'll get an automated welcome email. A welcome email will let them know they're all set and will begin receiving your emails. 

You can take things a step further and have follow-up emails set up at whatever time frame you decide. 

I have my business email journey set up like this:

A person registers for my list by providing their first name and email address. 

Immediately automation kicks in and sends them a simple welcome message.

There's a two-day delay, and another two-question survey is sent to them.

From there, they move into my weekly email list.

Now that you have a few ideas to get you up and running, let's cover some tips to keep your open rates high!

Personalization is huge. We connect when we hear or see our names, so there's no reason not to use them. Within Mailchimp, and I'm sure other email marketing solutions, you can use what's called, 'merge tags' to populate each person's first name. It may not seem like much, but I have had people think that I'm writing to them specifically in the past. That was cool because that's the goal, to create a connection! 

You'll also want to be consistent. If people enjoy your emails, they'll look forward to receiving them. 

If you promise someone a weekly email, but you start falling off, and missing weeks, they may become turned off. 

Pick a schedule you can manage, stick to, and make it happen for the best results!

*We send weekly emails, with most holidays being an exception. We skip the week if a major holiday falls on our regular send day. 

Your frequency of emails is up to you but keep in mind the little consistency bit we just covered. 

If weekly emails are too much of a commitment, that's 100% ok! 

Biweekly, monthly, and quarterly will all work. 

Length is another important consideration. 

My emails go out weekly, so I keep them very brief. A couple of short paragraphs at the most is my general rule. Once in a while, it's ok to go longer but be careful not to overwhelm your readers. 

The less frequently your emails go out, the more information they can contain. 

A monthly email could take on a newsletter-type feel that some people will enjoy! 

A quarterly email might be a short reminder that you exist but could also be used to dive deep into specific topics, creating curiosity in the reader, which could have them clicking that "BUY NOW!" or "LEARN MORE!" button. 

Creating urgency is a powerful tactic.

If you own a salon or barbershop, you could create weekly emails highlighting openings in your schedule. Some booking software will integrate so that you're not prompting people to book appointments if they already have one reserved. 

You can also keep things general if you're worried about overdoing it with appointments. 

Example:

"Hey *FNAME*, did you remember to book your next appointment? If not, don't worry! I got you! Click the button below, and you'll go right to our booking software. If you need help with anything, please let me know! -Your favorite neighborhood barber."

A micro gym may want to create urgency to fill upcoming classes.

Example:

"Hey *FNAME*, our super cool Saturday boot camp class is coming soon! We still have some spots available but only a few. We really don't want you to miss out on this opportunity, so all you have to do is smash the button below and claim your spot! -Your favorite neighborhood gym."

The last thing that I'll leave you with is something to avoid. 

Spam. 

You don't want to put work into building an email community only to end up in the junk folder. 

I'd encourage you to do some research and learn some best practices. 

Stick to what you've promised people. 

If you collect someone's email address by telling them that you'll send them specific information, then be sure to do that and not deviate into other marketing, for example. 

Don't abuse the access people allow you to have; you should be good to go!

Hopefully, this article has clarified some things or inspired new thoughts you can employ in your digital marketing efforts.

If you'd like to learn more about pingpong d + m and how we help small businesses like yours get more customers' attention, CLICK THE LINK!