In today’s digital age, growing a small business can feel like trying to be heard in a room full of shouting voices. The online world is saturated with businesses vying for attention, making it increasingly challenging to stand out from the crowd.

I’ve been helping small/medium business owners with online marketing for more years than I’d care to admit. Methods, platforms and loopholes come and go.

However, there’s one tool that has remained a constant and proven its worth time and again in cutting through the noise and fostering meaningful connections with customers - email marketing.

Email marketing is not just about sending out newsletters or promotional offers; it’s about building relationships, fostering trust, and creating value for your customers. It’s a powerful tool that allows businesses to reach their customers directly, in a space that isn’t cluttered with competitors.

In an era where consumers are bombarded with information from every angle, email marketing offers a direct and personal line of communication that can help your small business grow and thrive. In this article, we will delve into the importance of email marketing and provide practical tips on how to leverage it effectively for your small business.

Small business owners may not think that email marketing is for them, especially when they’re just starting out. They may feel that it’s an unnecessary small expense or that their customer base is too small to justify the investment. However, email marketing is a powerful tool that can help small businesses grow and build strong relationships with their customers.

By offering value through personalized content, regular newsletters, and special offers, small businesses can create a loyal customer base that is more likely to make repeat purchases and refer others. Additionally, email marketing allows small businesses to directly communicate with their customers, which can help build trust and establish their brand as an authority in their field.

While it may take some time and effort to build a quality email list and create engaging content, the long-term benefits of email marketing are well worth it for small businesses looking to grow and thrive in today’s competitive digital landscape.

Finding topics to write about in your email marketing campaigns can be a daunting task, especially if you’re just starting out. But as you become more comfortable with email marketing, you’ll find that the ideas will start to flow more naturally. You can draw inspiration from your customers’ frequently asked questions, industry news and trends, or your own business updates.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with different types of content, such as how-to guides, case studies, or interviews with industry experts. With time and practice, you’ll find that generating content for your email marketing campaigns becomes easier and more enjoyable.

Let’s look at a few examples of normal non tech small businesses and how they could use email marketing to grow their business, build a loyal client base and make more money.

Email Marketing Ideas for a Florist

1. Seasonal Campaigns: A florist can take advantage of various seasons and holidays to run email marketing campaigns. For instance, during Valentine’s Day, a campaign can be centered around promoting special flower arrangements or bouquets for loved ones. Similarly, during spring, a campaign can focus on promoting seasonal flowers. These campaigns can include special discounts or offers to incentivize purchases.
2. Loyalty Program Campaign: A florist can create a loyalty program where customers earn points for every purchase. An email campaign can be used to introduce the program to customers, update them on their points status, and inform them about exclusive deals or rewards available for loyalty program members. This can help increase customer retention and encourage repeat purchases.
3. Workshop or Event Campaign: If the florist shop hosts workshops (like flower arrangement classes) or events (like a spring flower showcase), an email campaign can be used to promote these. The emails can provide details about the event, the benefits of attending, and a call to action to register or RSVP. This not only promotes the event but also positions the florist as an expert in their field, strengthening the relationship with customers.

Email Marketing Ideas for Mechanics

1. Seasonal Maintenance Reminders: A mechanic can run email campaigns based on the changing seasons, reminding customers to get their vehicles checked and serviced. For example, before winter, a campaign can be centered around preparing vehicles for cold weather, promoting services like battery checks, tire changes, and antifreeze top-ups. Similarly, a spring campaign can focus on post-winter maintenance, such as alignment checks and tire rotations.
2. Special Discount Campaigns: Mechanics can offer special discounts or promotions through email campaigns. This could be a discount on oil changes, brake services, or tune-ups. These campaigns can be timed around slower business periods to help increase customer visits. They can also be targeted towards customers who haven’t visited in a while to encourage them to return.
3. Educational Content Campaign: A mechanic can run an email campaign that provides valuable information to customers about vehicle maintenance and care. This could include tips on how to improve fuel efficiency, the importance of regular oil changes, or how to identify common car problems. This type of campaign can help build trust and establish the mechanic as an expert in their field, which can lead to increased customer loyalty and repeat business.

Email Marketing Ideas for Restaurants

1. Seasonal Menu Campaigns: Restaurants can run email campaigns to promote their seasonal menus. For example, a summer campaign can highlight fresh salads and cool drinks, while a winter campaign can focus on hearty soups and warm beverages. These campaigns can include beautiful photos of the dishes, descriptions of the ingredients and preparation, and a call to action to make a reservation or order online.
2. Special Event Campaigns: If the restaurant hosts special events, such as live music nights, wine tasting events, or cooking classes, they can use email marketing to promote these. The emails can provide details about the event, the benefits of attending, and a call to action to book a table or buy tickets.
3. Loyalty Program Campaign: Restaurants can create a loyalty program where customers earn points for every meal they purchase. An email campaign can be used to introduce the program, update customers on their points status, and inform them about exclusive deals or rewards available for loyalty program members. This can help increase customer retention and encourage repeat visits.

Email Marketing Ideas for Plumbers

1. Seasonal Maintenance Campaigns: Plumbers can run email campaigns based on the changing seasons, reminding customers to get their plumbing systems checked and serviced. For example, a winter campaign can be centered around preparing pipes for freezing temperatures, promoting services like pipe insulation and boiler checks. A spring campaign can focus on checking for any pipe damage caused by winter freezes and preparing the plumbing for increased usage in the warmer months.
2. Emergency Services Campaign: Plumbers can run a campaign highlighting their availability for emergency services. This could include information on common plumbing emergencies, such as burst pipes or blocked drains, and how the plumber can help. The campaign can reassure customers that the plumber is available 24/7 for emergencies, building trust and encouraging customers to call the plumber when they have an urgent issue.
3. Educational Content Campaign: A plumber can run an email campaign that provides valuable information to customers about plumbing maintenance and care. This could include tips on how to prevent blocked drains, the importance of regular pipe checks, or how to identify common plumbing issues. This type of campaign can help build trust and establish the plumber as an expert in their field, which can lead to increased customer loyalty and repeat business.

Email Marketing Ideas for Hairdressers

1. Seasonal Style Campaigns: Hairdressers can run email campaigns based on the changing seasons, showcasing the latest hair trends and styles. For example, a summer campaign can highlight trendy short hairstyles and hair care tips for the hot weather, while a winter campaign can focus on festive hairstyles for holiday parties. These campaigns can include photos of the styles, descriptions of the services, and a call to action to book an appointment.
2. Special Discount Campaigns: Hairdressers can offer special discounts or promotions through email campaigns. This could be a discount on new services, such as a new hair treatment or a new styling service. These campaigns can be targeted towards customers who haven’t visited in a while to encourage them to return, or they can be used to reward loyal customers.
3. Product Promotion Campaigns: If the hairdresser sells hair products, such as shampoos, conditioners, or styling products, they can use email marketing to promote these. The emails can provide information about the benefits of the products, tips on how to use them, and a call to action to purchase the products either in-store or online. This can help increase product sales and encourage customers to try new products.

Email Marketing Ideas for Gardeners

1. Seasonal Gardening Tips Campaigns: Gardeners can run email campaigns based on the changing seasons, providing customers with valuable tips and advice for their gardens. For example, a spring campaign can focus on preparing the garden for planting, while a fall campaign can provide tips on preparing the garden for winter. These campaigns can include detailed advice, photos, and a call to action to book a gardening service.
2. Special Discount Campaigns: Gardeners can offer special discounts or promotions through email campaigns. This could be a discount on a specific service, such as lawn mowing or tree pruning. These campaigns can be timed around slower business periods to help increase customer bookings. They can also be targeted towards customers who haven’t used the service in a while to encourage them to return.
3. Educational Content Campaign: A gardener can run an email campaign that provides valuable information to customers about gardening and plant care. This could include tips on how to care for specific plants, the importance of regular watering and fertilizing, or how to identify common garden pests. This type of campaign can help build trust and establish the gardener as an expert in their field, which can lead to increased customer loyalty and repeat business.

You get the picture.

It’s not all about pitching offers, but you should include offers every four or five emails. If you are delivering value like useful information, entertainment and updates about your business they won’t mind if every so often you let them know about a new product, a new service or a special offer they can take advantage of.

Ninja Email Marketing Tip.

P.S. is a sneaky spot to place offers or a call to action. Some people skim email content, especially if it’s a long email. When they hit the end of the email, the dwell on the signature and P.S. under it.

So what do you need to do or consider when you want to start email marketing for your SME.

1. Build a Quality Email List: Start by collecting email addresses from your customers and website visitors. You can do this through sign-up forms on your website, at the point of sale, or during events. Make sure to get their permission to send them emails.
2. Segment Your Email List: Not all your customers are the same. Segment your email list based on factors like purchase history, interests, location, etc. This allows you to send more targeted and relevant emails to your subscribers. You can do this using tags or creating multiple lists.
3. Personalize Your Emails: Personalization goes beyond just using the recipient’s name in the email. It also involves tailoring the content to suit their interests, needs, and behavior. Personalized emails tend to have higher open and click-through rates.
4. Send Regular Newsletters: Keep your subscribers engaged by sending regular newsletters. This could include updates about your business, industry news, tips and advice, or special offers.
5. Offer Value: Make sure every email you send offers value to the recipient. This could be in the form of useful information, exclusive discounts, or early access to new products or services. At minimum make sure to inspire or entertain your subscribers.
6. Use a Clear Call to Action: Every email should have a clear and compelling call to action. This could be to visit your website, make a purchase, read a blog post, or any other action that benefits your business.
7. Test and Optimize: Use A/B testing to find out what works best for your email campaigns. This could involve testing different subject lines, email designs, call to actions, etc. Use the insights from these tests to optimize your future emails.
8. Automate Email Campaigns: Use email marketing automation tools to send out emails at the right time. For example, you can automate welcome emails, birthday emails, or cart abandonment emails.
9. Monitor Your Metrics: Keep an eye on key email marketing metrics like open rate, click-through rate, and conversion rate. These metrics can give you insights into how well your email marketing efforts are working and where there’s room for improvement.
10. Ensure Mobile-Friendliness: With more and more people checking their emails on mobile devices, it’s crucial that your emails look good and are easy to read on smaller screens. Make sure your email design is responsive and works well on all devices.

The Best Email Marketing Platform for Small Business

I use and recommend Aweber. It’s one of the original email marketing platforms and had been fine tuned and battle hardened over a decade. It has the best delivery rates, is easy to use, it is well supported and there is a ton of how-to information just a youtube search away.

Aweber also put out a guide on growin your business with email :

Need help setting it all up?

If the thought of technology or setting up sign up forms or landing pages is stopping you from starting your email marketing journey, I can help. Setting up an email list is the absolute number one priority for small businesses. If you want to get started, go grab a free version of Aweber to play with or book a call to get my help.

Book a Call

I’m based just North of Perth Western Australia, operate 100% remote and service clients across the world.

P.S. You can check Aweber out here for free: