How to Optimize Your Email Marketing Strategies: 7 Email Marketing Best Practices for Small Business Owners

Email marketing gets a bad rap. People groan when they hear the term, thinking of overflowing inboxes crammed with spam messages. But done right, email marketing hooks new customers and reels in sales.

In fact, it’s a game-changer for small businesses looking to boost sales and engage with their customers. With an impressive return on investment (ROI) and low cost, email marketing puts you in full control of your messaging.

This post will explore essential techniques for creating effective emails and highlight how Townsquare Interactive’s platform makes email marketing optimization easy.

1. Understand Your Target Audience

Say you’re emailing a special offer to 500 people. If it’s generic, maybe 50 will bite. But if it’s tailored to their needs, you may hook 200. Everything starts with identifying your ideal customers.

Consider their demographics, interests, and pain points. Uncover what motivates them. Discover the challenges they face. Once you have a clear picture of your target audience, you can create content that resonates with them.

Segmentation: Divide and Conquer

Segmenting your email list is a smart move if you have multiple types of customers (which you likely do). Segmentation allows you to personalize content based on different groups within your audience.

Personalization can take many forms. Think addressing subscribers by name or sending targeted offers based on their interests. For returning customers, segmenting based on what they previously purchased also makes sense.

With your segmented list, you can tailor emails to each segment. Relevance will skyrocket, along with open and click rates.

For example, a restaurant could send one promo to weekday regulars and another to weekend customers. The same goes for plumbers marketing to residential rather than commercial clients.

2. Craft Catchy Subject Lines

Did you know 64% of email recipients open an email based on the subject line alone? Your subject line is the gateway to your email’s success. Here are some email marketing best practices for creating effective subject lines:

• Keep it short and sweet (under 50 characters).
• Use actionable language. Encourage recipients to take action with words like “join,” “download,” or “save.”
• Personalize when possible. Include the recipient’s name or mention a specific interest to grab their attention.

Testing different subject lines is key. Evaluate which ones drive more opens in your audience.

Don’t Forget The Messenger

Perhaps before they even check the subject line, people check who the email is from. Who’s emailing them? Make sure your sender name is clear and recognizable. For example, “Jake from State Farm” or just “State Farm” works well, but just “Jake” might be off-putting.

3. Design for Mobile

Over half of emails are opened on mobile nowadays. Many people are always on the go and checking their emails from smartphones or similar devices. If your emails aren’t optimized, readers will have to pinch and zoom to read your content, leading to a frustrating experience.

Email marketing optimizations for mobile devices include:

• Use a responsive design that automatically adjusts to different screen sizes.
• Keep your content concise and easy to read on smaller screens.
• Use large, easy-to-click buttons for your calls-to-action (CTAs) to improve usability.

Once again, remember to test your emails on various devices to ensure they look and function as intended.

Try Townsquare Interactive’s Email Marketing Templates

Creating visually appealing emails from scratch can be time-consuming. That’s where Townsquare Interactive’s Business Management Platform comes in handy. Our professionally designed templates are customizable and can save you tons of time.

To access and use the templates within the platform, simply login to your account and navigate to the email marketing section. Choose from various templates and customize them with your branding, images, and content.

4. Provide Valuable Content

Your subscribers receive dozens, if not hundreds, of emails per day. They don’t have time to read every little thing. To stand out in their crowded inboxes, you must provide valuable content that genuinely helps or interests them. As such, content should be at the center of all email marketing strategies.

Consider including industry tips and advice, exclusive promotions and discounts, or company updates and news.

Balance promotions with industry insights customers crave. For example, contractors could share safety information while lawyers provide legal guides. This builds trust while keeping your brand top-of-mind.

5. Call Them to Action

The goal of an email is not only to stay top-of-mind but also to drive action. They should inspire action like visiting your site, making a purchase, or scheduling a call. A clear call-to-action (CTA) aims to entice that precise action. Follow these tips when adding CTAs:

• Use action words like “Download,” “Register,” or “Buy Now.”
• Make them visually stand out with color, size, or images.
• Link to a relevant page on your site.
• Test different CTAs to see what drives most conversions.

For example, a law firm could use a CTA like “Schedule Your Free Consultation” and link to their online booking page. A restaurant could use “Order Now” and link to their online ordering system.

6. Pick the Right Time

When you send your emails can have a significant impact on open and click-through rates. Consider your target audience’s preferences and habits. Are they early birds or night owls? Do they tend to check their emails during work hours or on weekends?

Consider key factors when picking times:

• Your audience’s typical schedule
• Your industry norms and benchmarks
• Real-time testing – try different days and times to reveal trends

The sweet spot will vary. But with testing, you’ll land on your perfect window.

7. Monitor and Analyze Your Email Performance

Now that you know how to optimize email marketing, it’s crucial to monitor and analyze the results. Doing so will help you understand what’s working and what needs improvement.

Key metrics to track include:

• Open rate: Percentage of recipients who open your email
• Click rate: Ratio of clicks to total emails sent
• Conversion rate: Percentage who take your desired action after clicking
• Bounce rates: The percentage of emails that couldn’t be delivered to subscribers’ inboxes.
• Unsubscribe rate: Percentage who opt out of your emails

Review this data regularly. See what email elements drive engagement and sales. Then, refine your approach accordingly.

Always Be Optimizing

The work never truly ends when it comes to email marketing. Email marketing optimizations are a continuous process that requires constant testing. Regularly test different elements of your email campaigns, such as subject lines, content, and CTAs, to see what resonates best with your audience.

Let data guide your efforts. If something performs well, do more of it! Use data-driven insights to make informed decisions and implement changes that improve your email marketing performance over time.

If that sounds time-consuming, don’t worry. With a platform like Townsquare Interactive, you can automate all your email-related tasks, giving you time back to focus on your business. Our no-code solution enables you to send personalized messages and follow up with prospects automatically.

Launch Your Email Marketing Campaign with Townsquare Interactive

Small business email marketing helps SMEs in every industry expand their reach. With strategic messaging, mobile optimization, valuable content, and the right tools, your campaigns will flourish.

We invite you to explore Townsquare Interactive for yourself. See how our all-in-one platform helps small business owners master marketing with ease.

Now get out there, cast your nets, and start reeling in sales! The big fish are waiting.