| Dear Caroline, I've just returned from a fantastic weekend of snowmobiling up at our lake place in Northwestern Wisconsin. There wasn't a lot of snow (in fact, the trails were more like mud than snow), but we were able to ride all over the lake and we had a great time. This week's edition of "Small Business Maverick Secrets" is all about how to build and maintain an e-mail marketing list - and while that may not seem to have a lot to do with snowmobiling in Wisconsin, think again! Because of the weird weather we've been having (climate change, El Nino, global warming or whatever you want to call it), resort owners and businesses up there are dependent upon the weather to keep their business going. If there's no snow - or the weather predictions scare too many people off, then those businesses are going to have a tough time hanging on until next year. Smart resort owners have built an e-mail list that they maintain and protect - because they know it's like gold to them. They are able to stay in touch with their customers to let them know what the conditions are like "on the ground" - and can let them know that while the trails aren't great, the lakes are frozen more solid than any year in recent memory (so you can snowmobile places you never could before). Best of all, they can send their customers special offers for discounts on room rentals, meals or equipment rental to entice them to make the trek for the North Woods. If you own a small business of any type, then you know how important staying in touch with your customers is. What better or easier way to do so than through a regular e-mail newsletter? Return Path recently released their "Third Annual E-Mail Customer Survey" that they conducted in December of 2006. They surveyed 2,413 people ages 18 to 54 in the United States and Canada. Among other things, this survey found that the greatest factor contributing to whether a recipient opens your e-mail is "knowing and trusting the sender." Find out what else this survey had to say by visiting our blog, where I've posted the stats on "Why Consumers Open E-Mails," and "What Kinds of Subject Lines Most Attract Your Attention." Visit our blog today at: Small Business Mavericks Blog. Then, if YOU would like to learn how to use e-mail to grow your small business sales and find new customers in your local area, check out our newest e-book, "How to Use E-Mail to Skyrocket Your Sales, Without Burning a Hole in Your Pocket!" Unlike other e-books of this type, we don't just focus on e-zines - we'll tell you the top 5 ways you can use e-mail marketing to find new local customers, and give you tips that you can use right away to increase your sales. Visit our website at www.SmallBusinessMavericks.com to learn more about how YOU can use e-mail marketing to grow your business today!
As always, Caroline Melberg
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ISSN: Coming Soon! Published every week. Published by Caroline Melberg Note: IN THIS ISSUE: How to Build and Maintain a Powerful E-Mail Marketing List for Your Small Business
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How to Build and Maintain
a Powerful E-Mail Marketing List for Everyone has an e-mail address. In the ever-changing world of technology, e-mail appears to be the easiest form of communication. Offering the most convenient form of staying in touch with friends and family, e-mail is also the primary way for your small business to maintain a steady list of loyal customers. Standard postal mail is a product of the past that most consumers view as another weight that belongs in the trashcan, and telephone calls can feel invasive. Because of this, building a long-term e-mail list for your small business is one of the best ways to ensure your success. The first obvious step is having an easy way for potential clients and customers to subscribe to your e-mail list. A large bold “SIGN UP FOR OUR EMAIL LIST!” should be one of the most prominent features on your website. Include information that e-mail list members will be the recipients of special information and discounts. Few people turn down the opportunity to save money. If your business also runs a store, include an e-mail sign-up at the cash register. If they are already buying, chances are they will want to continue. A poll conducted by Harris Interactive recently showed that the “majority of adults welcome marketing e-mails from familiar sources.” The survey polled 2,541 adults over the age of 18 and found that 74% found e-mail communications from companies they do business with to be valuable. “Savvy consumers have come to rely on e-mail marketing communications as a resource to help them get the best deals possible,” said Kevin Johnson, president of Acxiom Digital, adding, “This poll demonstrates that e-mail marketing has evolved over the years to bring more value to consumers while proving to be a more effective medium for retailers than ever before.” Ok, so building is easy. Maintaining is the hard part. This is where so many businesses, both big and small, lose control of their customers. An e-mail update every three days is not necessary. Customers do not want to receive a barrage of messages about information that does not matter to them. Rather than clog their inboxes, consider a weekly or bi-monthly coupon offering. Customers will appreciate the opportunity to save money without having to read useless information each day. Be sure to keep these e-mails short. A reader’s time is just as valuable as yours, and he or she does not want to read six paragraphs of fluff. In the Harris Interactive poll mentioned earlier, 60% of those respondents who had received marketing e-mail cited substantial offers and discounts as motivation to respond, and 55% said that e-mails that were personalized to their interests and lifestyle were important to them. Depending on the type of business you run, an e-newsletter may be a great tool to use to keep your long-term e-mail list. Send a monthly update that includes any new successes, product releases or changes in your company. Always remember your audience, too. Writing for e-mail subscribers is a much different task than writing press releases or technical business information. Keep the writing conversational and fun. In your email sign-up, give customers a chance to include their birthdays. Customers who receive birthday messages or special offerings for their personal holidays are likely to remain avid readers of your business newsletter. Think of your small business e-mail list as a list of friends – the closer you become, the better your business. Do NOT add e-mail addresses without the request of the recipient. This is an automatic way to get identified as a spammer and lose credibility in the online world. The last thing you want for your small business is to end up in the junk e-mail category. With an understanding of what readers want from e-mail updates, your business can keep a long list of devoted customers who appreciate your efforts to give them relevant and valuable information. As your long-term e-mail list continues to expand, you will enjoy watching your business – and your sales - grow, too. About Small Business Mavericks
Small Business Mavericks - Your LOCAL Internet Marketing Experts Want to see more articles like this one? Visit our website and click on "Articles" - you'll find an entire library of articles that will help you learn to market your local small business online. You can even use our articles in your own publications - just be sure to keep our bio intact when you do. Want to use this article in YOUR eZine or business publication? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Online entrepreneur Caroline Melberg, "the Local Small Business Internet Marketing Guru" publishes the popular "Small Business Maverick Secrets " weekly eZine. If you're ready to jump-start your marketing, increase your sales and leverage the power of the Web to market your local small business, get your FREE subscription now at www.SmallBusinessMavericks.com. Caroline Melberg • Small Business Mavericks • caroline@melberg.com • www.SmallBusinessMavericks.com Be a Maverick. Take Control. Grow Your Sales Today! As a small business owner or manager, you are plagued by marketing firms, advertising salespeople and consultants who provide “advice” that is expensive, self-serving and – worst of all – doesn’t work! If you’ve ever placed an ad with your local newspaper, received zero lift in sales as a result and then have been told by your ad sales rep that you just need to run it longer (spending more of your hard-earned dollars in the process, of course) – then you know what we’re talking about. It’s time for that to stop! It’s time for you to take control of your small business marketing – to try fresh ideas that aren’t being done by every one of your competitors. It’s time for you to experience real results from your marketing efforts – and to measurably grow your sales. It’s time for you to be a Maverick! A Maverick is a business owner or manager who is fiercely independent, who doesn’t go along with the crowd. Someone who sets the standard and blazes a trail for others to follow. A Maverick Marketer is someone who knows that the ‘tried-and-true’ methods that all of their competitors are using are worn out and tired and just don’t work any more. Someone who knows that in order to succeed today, you’ve got to be ready to think differently about how you obtain and keep your best customers. If you’re ready to market like you mean it and to watch your sales soar as a result , you’re ready to be a Maverick! Step One: You've already made an important first step by subscribing to this eZine where every week we'll send you a Maverick Marketing Secret that you can use to attract new customers and increase your sales. Step Two: Visit us on the Web! We’ve developed a ton of effective Maverick Marketing tools to help you start marketing differently right away. Review our Articles and visit our Blog to discover Maverick Marketing secrets you can put to use today! Step Three: Register for our Small Business Mavericks Members Only Forum. You’ll have access to an online community of Mavericks who will share their Maverick secrets with you. Become a Maverick today! Small Business Mavericks Recommends: AutoWebBusiness Effective
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About the Publisher Entrepreneur and outdoor photography adventurer Caroline Melberg is President and CEO of Small Business Mavericks, a division of Melberg Marketing, Inc. She has over 20 years of experience creating marketing communications materials and affiliate program materials for some of the largest and most successful companies in the world including AT&T, AT&T Wireless, IBM, McDonald's, Exide Technologies, Motorola and Northwest Airlines. Her columns are syndicated online, and she publishes the popular
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