Whether you own a startup or a well-established company, the single defining factor that gives you an edge over the competition is effective advertising. One of the most potent tools for reaching your target audience in the digital age is email marketing after conducting a thorough check if the emails exist. Sending out email blasts to people who might be interested in placing orders is perhaps the easiest and most economical strategy to gain visibility for your products. If customers like what they see, they can arrive at your website with a single click of the button.

But is this tool really effective? Read ahead and explore.

Experts Concede that Email Marketing Works!

Research conducted at McKinsey & Company on the best low-budget marketing ideas has revealed some eye-opening numbers:

• At least 99% of customers check their email everyday with most of them taking a quick glance all through the day. That’s 40 times more than the number of instances when users check their social media accounts.
• People who receive promotional emails are likely to make purchases 138% more than their counterparts who don’t receive email offers, discounts, and deals. Who wouldn’t want a slice of that percentage?
• Expect that any time and resources you divert toward this advertising strategy is likely to earn you a Return-On-Investment (ROI) of a whopping 4400%.
• Advertising using emails to contact your customers entices buyers to place orders worth 33.33% more than the sales you could make using social media promotions.

Ready to get started with one of the best low-budget marketing ideas for your small business?

Step 1 – Build an Email Marketing Database

The first step toward starting one of the most cost-effective promotional approaches is to put together a list of email IDs of prospective customers. And, to do that, you’ll want to interest people in giving out their contact information. Here are few simple ideas as advised by the folks at the HubSpot.

• Write and publish informative content on your website that establishes you as an authority in your particular field. Add a Call-to-Action and opt-in button that readers can click on to receive more information.
• Nudge readers to subscribe by clicking on the button and remember to add a “Share” icon so people can send the articles to their friends and family.
• Time the opt-in form at the precise moment when the visitor is ready to leave the website. Make the box eye-catching with appealing colors and images or add an element of humor.
• Offer freebies like an eBook, mobile app, or more detailed articles and blogs. To avail of the deal, readers only need to add their email ID.
• Request for reviews of the products and services customers have used. But to add the review, users must add their contact details and log in.
• Add gateways on your website to promotional offers available on channels like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram, for starters.
• Partner with another company offering products related to yours and run a joint email marketing campaign.

Step 2 – Clean Up the Email Database Regularly

Make sure that you’re reaching the right recipients by reviewing your list time and again. Begin by using some of the various tools available online to verify the validity of the emails on your list. This simple exercise ensures that you make the maximum impact in the shortest interval of time and get the responses you want. Here’s why it makes sense to scan the list before hitting the send button on the email blast.

• People making errors when adding their contact details to registration forms is more common than you think.
• Emails may not exist, so you could end up getting the hard bounce or permanent error reply.
• People change their emails often to deter hackers and identity thefts.
• The email may be getting too many spam messages which is why the user closed the account.
• Sending messages to non-existent emails results in spam protection filters reporting the sender’s IP address. If your sender’s ID gets blacklisted, you may not be able to reach other customers interested in hearing from you.
• Although emailing is undoubtedly a low-budget advertising idea, you could save on the time and effort that goes into contacting dead inboxes.
• You have a better probability of recipients opening your emails and reading them with higher click-through rates. You may also earn more conversions and sales.
• You maintain the company’s reputation with internet service providers as a legitimate business.
• You’ll eliminate past customers who are no longer interested in buying your products for various reasons. For instance, users with grown-up kids may not want to buy baby products.

A word of caution! Make it a point to always rely on organic emailing lists where people have volunteered their contact details and want to hear from you. Buying mailing lists may seem like a shortcut, but rarely works in the long run.

Step 3 – Design the Email for Maximum Impact

Now that you’re ready with the emailing list, prepare the content. Don’t lose sight of the fact that an average person is likely to spend 8 seconds or less checking out your email. And, that’s a fact corroborated by Campaign Monitor. If the recipients have opened your message, it’s indication enough that they’re interested in your products. You have just a very short window to get a click-through. So, highlight the main points in the content and have a clearly-visible, “Buy Now!” button. If you’re offering information, make the headline attention-riveting. And, if you have a freebie up for grabs, place details where everyone is sure to notice.

Email Marketing – The Indispensable Advertising Technique

Any small business owner looking for elbow room in a highly competitive arena cannot overlook the importance of adopting low-budget marketing ideas. Using emails as promotional tools is a highly effective strategy given the time all users spend on their mobile phones. The next time, a potential customer whips out a cellphone to kill a few minutes, make sure that yours is the first email to catch his attention and make a purchase!

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