Springtime greetings, dearest reader! 👋
Thank you for joining me.
A hearty welcome to the new people joining this week. Let me know what you think of your first issue. Replying helps Google realize it’s not spam.
Now let’s get on with the show.
Customer Email List FTW 🏆
It is imperative for every small business to maintain an email list. The addresses on an email list give your business a direct link to the inboxes of your current and potential customers. Unaffected by algorithms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), unfazed by search engine optimization, and established through permission (opt-in), an email list is the gold standard for reliably contacting customers.
Which Email Marketing Tool Is For You? 🧐
You may have an email tool you love (or loathe). Right now, the number of good choices available is higher than ever. The starter price for most is just right (free). And getting started is simpler than ever with guided instruction, libraries of templates to choose from, and import tools. While you could use Gmail to maintain a mailing list and send out (BCC) messages to your list, you are not going to do that. Right?! The available tools are too good to pass up. Even a tool like Substack (which I use to send this newsletter) is free, easy to use, and awesome.
If you’re looking for a new tool…
6 Basic Questions to Ask When Picking an Email Marketing Solution
7 Best Email Marketing Software (March 2023) - Forbes (same number, different list)
Build (And Maintain) Your Customer List 📃
After selecting a tool, the next step is list building. At its core, building a list involves asking current and potential customers for their email address. When customers give you their email address, they are giving you permission to contact them. This permission is precious and should not be taken lightly. In return for their address, customers expect to receive thoughtful, helpful, and valuable messages. If not, they will unsubscribe. Quickly.
Capturing customer email addresses (aka list building)
Use a piece of paper and drop box (in-store).
Ask at checkout (your POS software may do this).
Complete a form (simpler the better) on your web site.
Complete a form via Facebook or other social media. Harness the power of the algorithm to add names to your mailing list.
Anna with Social Media Examiner recently posted about 8 Ways to Grow Your Email List With Facebook.
Add a call to action (CTA) link
Complete a form via one of your “free parking” spaces on the Internet. Like social media, you would add a call to action link.
Talk to me, Goose! 🗣️
Got feedback? Use the Comment button below (or reply to this email). I’d love to hear from you. Which tech tool is your favorite? What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know. Leave a comment with all the juicy details.
Share with a friend 💌
If you enjoyed reading this issue, please share with a friend.
In case you missed recent posts 📰
🦶 Shelfies, Instagram & Foot Traffic, Website Content Review
🔖 Increase Revenue, Loyalty and Connection Through Customer Subscriptions
📲 Local Search: You Control 91% of Post-Review Customer Journeys
📧 Email: Past, Present, and Future/Writing/Organizing & Optimizing
🤖 Google Business Profile, Delete Online Accounts, AI and ChatGPT
🗄️ Visit the archive
Mission 🧾
To provide valuable, actionable tech and business information for small business owners and leaders. I’ll share the tastiest morsels of useful news and notes while you focus on your success and your organization.
Until next time.
Take care and be well,
Rob
Tools used to create this post
Notion (information gathering)
Substack (newsletter publishing)
Emojipedia (yes, emojis)
Google Chrome (Internet browser)
Feedly (news reader)