Author: Kara McCartney

As a business owner, it’s all too easy to get caught up in the numbers game. Companies chase the number of likes, number of followers, and number of subscribers, never stopping to ask whether a higher grand total actually aligns with their goal. 

When it comes to sending an email blast, here’s a hard truth many business owners aren’t ready to face: Shooting for the higher number isn’t always better. In fact, sending an email blast to every single person on your email list is rarely a good strategy. Doing so will lead to high unsubscribes and a low engagement rate, which isn’t conducive to a healthy list. 

Want to capture new leads? You might want to start an email list. 

When it comes to building a strong sales funnel, email is one of the most lucrative marketing channels you can use. Here’s why: With email, you can streamline your marketing efforts to target the individual, rather than simply sending your messages out to the masses (as with a blog post or social media caption). In fact, research shows that marketers who started sending segmented email campaigns saw a whopping 760% increase in revenue.

When you need to send a message to a large group of people, one-to-one communication just doesn’t cut it.

Sure, handwritten notes or personalized emails are thoughtful, but if you’re sending the same message to hundreds (if not thousands!) of recipients, the carpal tunnel just isn’t worth it. To speed up the process, you can use a mail merge instead. With a mail merge, you can easily send wedding invitations, save the dates, business promotions, or flash-sale notices without the headache, time commitment, or stress of one-to-one communications. 

One of the biggest mistakes in email marketing is assuming it’s a one-sided channel.

Marketers like to think their content is always relevant, engaging, and stop-scrolling worthy. In reality, it’s your audience — not your own intuition — that makes that judgment call. If you’re pouring your heart and soul into every word you type, yet no one seems to be clicking any links, it’s a clear sign you need to tweak your strategy. 

When it comes to promoting your small business, email marketing is one of the most lucrative channels you can use. In fact, research shows that the average ROI for email automation is 122% — four times higher than other digital marketing channels.

Picture your most loyal customer. If you own a local cafe, it could be the woman who stops by at 7:15 a.m. sharp every day for her morning coffee. If you’re a fitness instructor, it could be the client who takes your class every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, no matter if you coach at 6 a.m. or after work hours.