When it comes to email marketing strategies and tactics for small business, maybe it’s time we shed some light on the subject for those of you who are in the land of small business.

Ever seen an email message that landed in your inbox and you just knew it was going to be another advertisement with Sale! Sale! Sale! written all over it?

We all have and that’s why today’s topic is kicking off a series about email marketing and its direct correlation to direct response marketing. Now there’s more than enough articles and info products out there on the web about these two subjects, and even I have plenty of meat and potatoes right here at clickandmortarblog.com should you need some.

My point is this…

If you, the small business owner or manager is going to utilize email marketing in your business to build your customer base, then why don’t you test, use best practices and work towards connecting with your subscribers?

I know this takes time, effort, and planning and good copywriting. Yes – good copywriting is part of the equation when it comes to developing emails that get opened, read and clicked. Decent copywriting and creative can be the difference of an unopened email and one that gets thoroughly read and clicked.

More and more I see small business owners using email to ‘blast’ the people who have signed up or not signed up to their list. And the blasts they send are sale focused, not connection focused. 

This is not engaging, does not build credibility and is frankly very annoying.

The last thing a consumer or businessperson wants is another advertisement landing in his or her email inbox that screams sale! They already receive enough of these as it is and your pitch and shove doesn’t make them any happier or more eager to buy.

Soooo…. 

You, my small business friend, must look at the emails you create and send as more than just a digital version of a newspaper or magazine ad. These messages that are sent through cyberspace to the people whom have entrusted you with their email, are more than just advertisements.

These messages are relationship and bridge builders or at least the majority of them should be. Yes, you read that correctly. The majority of your email messages should be bridge builders and setups for a demolition crew!

The vast majority of the messages you send to your subscriber lists should be to build relationships, bridges, connections and if done properly – sales and long-term streams of revenue.

And with time-tested proven direct response tactics & strategies, you can make this happen in your email campaigns and even in your offline marketing. It makes no difference what business you are in; you can save yourself a lot of headaches and lost revenue by embracing direct response email marketing strategies and tactics that will work over the long haul.

So rest assured my small business friend, you too could attract, capture, connect and convert without screaming sale in every single email.

Look for more about how you can do this, right here at Clickandmortarblog.com (series to be continued) and through our friends at Smallbiz Mechanix.

Dave Krygier
Publisher