Times columnist Ryan Windsor: Email marketing works
Times columnist Ryan Windsor. Picture: Sonya Duncan - Credit: Eastern Daily Press © 2015
Email marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to generate new business, as it would cost you nothing other than your time.
I recently helped a client generate more than £3,000 worth of new business in less than three hours - hence why I believe email marketing should be a regular and consistent part of every business.
We are all relying more and more on social media - Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn - to control our networks. However, we only truly own a network via email marketing.
So what can you do to boost your business via email as a marketing strategy?
First, I recommend you build your own database of contacts. This means you actually know all of your contacts first-hand.
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Ideally you ask permission to contact them in the future upon adding them to your database. Do remember you need to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office to hold client’s data.
You can further speed up the creation of your database by providing a sign-up box on your website.
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You should be offering something in return, such as a free consultation, an entry into a competition or even a regular newsletter with useful information for your costumers.
Make sure you keep the barriers low and only ask for strictly necessary information.
In addition, you can ask existing contacts to forward the email to their own network.
This can ensure a dramatic increase in readership and thus in potential clients.
Finally, if you find your own time can be spent more valuably within your business, do consider outsourcing your marketing.
It is definitely worth it to work with a professional, considering how crucial marketing strategies are for your business.
Email marketing can be an extremely powerful strategy.
It is direct and targets contacts whom you know first-hand, who have given you permission to market to them and who are truly interested in your products or services.
Just make sure to provide valuable and relevant information, never pass on client details and respect the trust you are given.
To ask Times columnist Ryan Windsor a question or for more information, email ryanwindsor89@gmail.com
