ATTN: SMALL BIZ OWNERS. Email Marketing

Is Low Cost, Targeted, Measurable, Effective.

E-Marketing blog: http://helpamericaspeople.com/EWP/

 

The mission of this blog, started by the Founders of www.helpamericaspeople.com, is to raise awareness of the most cost-effective marketing tool for Small Business owners like you >>> EMAIL MARKETING

Why Email Marketing?

Few will disagree that the internet has taken its place among the greatest communications inventions in the history of the world:  the printing press, the telegraph, the telephone and television. The internet has leveled the business playing field.  Building a communications network in your home or small business office is now very affordable.  User-friendly, low-cost hardware and software are abundant.  With a well-thought out marketing strategy and nearly flawless execution, you can compete with the big guys.

There are many types of online marketing — search engine marketing, link building, banner advertising, search engine optimization, social media marketing and affiliate marketing.  This blog is dedicated to what we believe is the most cost-effective type of online marketing:  Email Marketing. As a marketing communications tool, email marketing gives you the most bang for your marketing buck.

With email marketing, you can stay in touch with your customers and prospects at a very low cost — providing them with relevant and interesting articles, white papers, how-to advice, tips, informational newsletters, along with special offers/coupons.  Since your customers and prospects have either already done business with you or inquired about your product or service, they’re highly likely to open emails from you.

Job#1:  Creating Your Email Marketing Plan

As an entrepreneur, you’re spending two of your most valuable assets: your time and money. You don’t want to squander them.  The best chance you have to be successful is to be rigorous about creating a written document that lays out your plan for success and continued growth — your business plan.  If you need help developing your business plan, visit the Small Business Association at www.sba.gov for free business plan templates.

One of the single most important sections in a Business Plan is the Marketing Plan.  In the Marketing Plan you will set objectives, strategies and tactics for each media vehicle you will use to build awareness of your business and ultimately sell your product (s) and service (s).  Media vehicles may include newspapers, magazines, trade publications, television, radio, billboards, signage, direct mail, public relations…and more.

This blog will stay narrowly focused on using Email Marketing to achieve your business ojectives.

Components of Your E-Mail Marketing Plan:

1.  Set Your Objectives

2.  Analyze the Situation

-Industry trends

-Competition

-Target Audience

3.  Develop Strategies to Achieve Objectives

>>>Remember, CONTENT is king on the internet!!!

4.  Create & Maintain an Email Marketing Calendar

5.  Execute the Plan (Tactics)

6.  Track & Measure Everything You Do

7.  Analyze Results, Make Adjustments to the Strategy

Setting Your Business Objectives

Your business objectives should cover a minimum of one year.  Don’t go through the exercise of writing your plan then put it in your desk drawer.  Review it every month and tweak it, if necessary.

Email marketing can help you achieve any or all of the following types of business goals:

• Increase your offline (storefront) sales
• Generate more qualified leads
• Gain registrants for your online seminars
• Generate subscribers to your enewsletter
• Increase direct sales from your website
• Drive more traffic to your website
• Keep your business on the mind of your customers and prospects
• Sell more to existing customers
• Turn prospects into customers

Some of these objectives may be relevant to your business, others may not.  No one knows your business objectives better than you.  Instead of storing them in your head, write them down in your plan.  Be sure to make your goals both qualitative and quantitative, i.e., generate an additional 10 qualified leads each week; increase newsletter subscribers by 25% this year, add a part-time Marketing Assistant on staff by July 1, etc.

Next Post:  Analyzing the Situation

 

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