One of the most consistent views when I talk to business owners about the value of email marketing, is along these lines: "email doesn't work. I get loads of emails and don't open them, people won't want to hear from us and could unsubscribe."

Whilst these are potentially valid observations, I counter them as follows;

• I get lots of emails I don't open - but I always take in who it's from and think about it - even if it's just for a split second. That's marketing - sometimes you just need to be reminded about something and all of a sudden you're interested again.
• If you don't ask, you don't get. Send the email.
• If people don't want to receive your emails, let them unsubscribe, that's fine. I unsubscribe from emails all the time - it doesn't mean I won't ever buy from that business, it just means their content isn't a priority in my inbox anymore. Equally, what's the point in having a massive list if most of the people don't want to hear from you. Focus on those that do.
• The world is busier and noisier than ever - you have to get in front of people on a regular basis in multiple ways/channels. If you're posting messages out on LinkedIn/Instagram etc, take a bit more time to get some of them out to your audience via email.
• If you're not emailing your contacts and your competitors are...what do you think will happen?
• Find a way to make your emails valuable and relevant and the rest will follow.

Another common objection to my (incredible) recommendations is that "our list is too small, it's not worth it." Well, how many people would you need to say yes to justify sending it out? The answer usually isn't many at all so don't fret. In most cases, the companies I'm working with day-in, day-out, aren't trying to topple Amazon and a few positive responses can result in a LOT of future business. Assess the opportunity and go from there.

A Few Quick Tips

You need to have a strategy for email which works for your business over the long-term. First, if you're having doubts about whether to do it, don't rush into it. You're probably in one of those glorious situations where you can afford to wait to make money... can you sense the sarcasm? But all jokes aside, how about singing up to some competitors newsletters if you can or even some big brands for inspiration. Look at what they do and how, then think what you could replicate for your audience.

More specifically, you need to think differently depending if you're marketing to businesses (b2b) or consumers (b2c). Here are some quick examples:

• B2B Businesses - it's not about the hard sell BUT it does require a hook! So use email campaigns to build interest and desire in your products/services but give people a reason to do something there and then. Make them interesting and keep them regular. You've heard of right time, right place...well that's hard with email because you never know when the right time is for your prospective customer, so instead make it right place (their email inbox) all the time (or at least, pretty often). Keep front of mind.
  
  With services like Hubspot, Mailchimp, Drip etc. you can get so many reports and alerts to help you work out where to spend the time to progress the sales conversation. Make the most of it but activity should lead to impact if it's well planned and executed. Also don't think too linear about it - not every person should get the exact same email at the exact same time. The more you personalise the approach and the content, the higher your chance of success.
  
  
• B2C Businesses - if you're in e-commerce, keep pushing our offers and incentives to get those credit cards out of wallets and paying for your goods! If you're in a more traditional sales cycle, use your content and offers strategy to get people to make appointments, request further interest, watch a demo etc. - anything that gives you a sign they are really interested. Then put a keep-in-touch strategy in place to keep them warm and move them along the sales funnel.

Give Choices Where Possible

It doesn't have to be all in or all out - some people like getting emails daily, others prefer weekly/monthly summaries. Equally, some like emails in the evening, others first thing in the morning. We're not all the same and there are systems which will take care of this for you if you let them. The data led approach is proving some very interesting impact results so where possible, give choice. On that note, really think through the potential for unsubscribes and what are they unsubscribing from? Everything or just a particular type of communication.

Final Bonus Secret:  The Best Day To Send An Email!

Don't tell anyone but after years of running email campaigns for a wide range of clients, we can say with confidence that we know when the best day to send an email is... but given how valuable this information is, we need to ensure you work for it and commit to not telling anyone else...so, here we go...

The best day...

...to send an email....

...is...

the day you want to make money.

You're welcome.