369: Is Email Marketing Dead? What Small Business Owners Need to Know - and Do!

Is Email Marketing Dead

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Well, hello, this is Kimberly. It's episode 369. And I'm so glad that you are here today because I'm asking the question, is email marketing dead? And what do we do about it? And I'm gonna go ahead and give you the answer because I want you to know what we're talking about today. So email marketing is not dead. And if you own a small business, it may be the most important tool that you have for 2027 and maybe even 2028. I even like I'm scared to say what anything's gonna be in future years because everything is changing so fast. But I do know for 2027, email marketing is important. So we're gonna talk about it, about why it's important, some stats, and then how you can just create a simple strategy for your business to be able to leverage email marketing and market to customers and help customers rebuy and all that good stuff. So if you're new here, welcome. I'm so glad that you found this podcast. I have no doubt it's gonna help you along your business journey, whether in the idea stage, starting or growing, this is for you, whether you have an online business, local business, coaching business, service business, mobile business, whatever it is, this is for you too. And I'm just so happy that you're here. So you can scroll down right now in the show notes. There are some links to some freebies that I have for you. If you are, especially a new business owner, I've got a checklist for starting your business. I've got all sorts of things that are going to help you. And then if you are starting a podcast, I do have something for you too down below. So just always check the below links because that will show the current offerings for y'all. So make sure you check that out. And I do have an online gift boutique called she's just getting started.com as well, where I have some really cute merchandise, mugs that say I'm just getting started, and my new 52 truth cards that you can display on your desk with a powerful message on the front, and then some more questions on the back with a link to podcast episodes. So make sure you check everything out at she's just getting started.com. So that is it. On to the episode. Well, hello friends. How are you? How is everything going in your business? I hope it's going awesome. I hope you're having a great week, a great day. We're talking about email marketing today. I know a lot of small business owners kind of dread email marketing. Like I've talked to many that are like,

Why Your Email List Is Yours

SPEAKER_00 2:39

I just don't even know what to do. I don't even know what to say. And I crack up because they're on Instagram and other places and they're saying all kinds of things. And I'm like, you know that email marketing is not that hard. It's a great way to actually, you know, connect with people. So, anyways, I think it's just funny when people say that because you actually have plenty to talk about on email. It's just kind of getting in that zone of like what email marketing really can do for you. It's really important to have a list of emails because it's your own list for your own business that nobody can take away from you. Right? If you have like an Instagram page, Facebook page, TikTok, anything, they can change the algorithms and your people may not see your stuff. I think they said on social media, Instagram posts, for example, only reach about 3%. 3% of your followers. Okay. And email marketing is a whole different ballgame. You can have 40 to 50% open your emails. It may not mean that they click or they buy, but people see them. I mean, that is a way higher return on your time, right? And they also say, as a general rule, email returns about $36 to $42 for every dollar spent on email marketing, right? So you could be making money just from your email list. But also, too, people who open your emails have already said yes to hearing from you. Like they want to hear from you via email. And so you're not really bothering them, right? You're you're the person they want to hear from, right? You're the business they want to get updates from. They want to stay in the know, right? That makes them warmer leads than just strangers that may be on Instagram, right? Someone may follow you on Instagram, but think

Stats That Change The Math

SPEAKER_00 4:49

about what a different commitment that is from someone who just follows you on Instagram versus signs up on your email list. Now, last week we talked about Substack, and that is an email newsletter platform that allows people to look for articles and it's a it's for people who like to read, like read articles. They do have video now, but they can sign up for your newsletter right then. And I'm finding that people who sign up on Substack for your email list there, where you keep it on that platform, are way more likely to open your email even than ones that are just regular email from your business, which is kind of interesting. We'll see how this all plays out in 2027. But I do know this that you should be collecting emails in your business. Even if you're too scared to send an email right now, you should be collecting emails even if your business is not open. You should start teasing your business opening and have people get on the list so that you can notify them when your business opens, right? It is just common sense that email is another way that people listen. Like 47% of people have emails. Okay. They have an email address. They're checking their emails. Now we may have AI checking our emails here. I just got a notice today on Gmail. I was like, do you want AI to like go through your emails? I haven't even done it, so I don't even know what I'm talking about yet. But I just saw a message a little while ago. And I'm like, okay, I'm gonna have to take some time to really look at that. I've already had like Grok look through my emails and it kind of tells me, okay, this is important. This is important for today. So I'm sure it's Gemini that's in there just updating me on what's important. So what you need to realize, people want to hear from you. They have signed up to hear from you. You need to have this list because it is your list. No one else can duplicate. And you're gonna get more reach than you are on other ways that you market your business. So you don't even have to have a big list. You could have 50 people on your list who actually care. That is going to beat 5,000 just rando strangers, right? But people who actually care. Okay. And what you have to realize too is that you can be creating emails and they can send at certain times in the future, whenever you want them to. So it's really neat because you can batch stuff like that ahead of time. So what do you do as a business owner? If you want to start an email list, what do you

The Simple Signup Offer That Works

SPEAKER_00 7:31

what do you do? Well, usually someone signing up on your list is signing up to get something. Okay. And for the past, gosh, six years since I started my business, it was always like for a service business like mine, it was like, give them the free checklist, give them a free guide. You're giving them something for free so that they will give you their email. Now, sometimes for product businesses, it's a coupon, a coupon for your first order. You will see this all the time. I bought makeup online, I've done all sorts of things. They're always offering a coupon, which I love. And they'll let you know about sales and promos coming up. So that is why people sign up for emails. Think about why you have signed up to get on people's email lists. Like, why have you signed up? I guarantee you got a coupon, and that's why you did it, or you got something free that they were gonna send you or a free video, free email, something that you wanted to know about. Now, you do get a percentage of people who just go, oh yeah, I like your site. I'll go ahead and sign up. But usually there's something that baits them in to do it. Okay. So, first of all, you need to have something that you can give them. What are you giving them? That's the first question. What are you giving them? Are you giving them a coupon? Are you giving them the promise of future updates or whatever it is for your business? Are you giving them a free download, a free video, free training, a free printable? What are you giving them? So that's kind of the first thing you have to do. Again, even if you haven't opened your business, you should be teasing. I will email you as soon as we have our open date, our open specials, our launch specials, whatever it is. So again, if you haven't opened your business, you're still on the hook for this. If you have opened your business, come up with something that your people would love, something easy that you can create on Canva, Google Docs, a video, a coupon if you have a business, right? Or even if you have a service business, right? I meant to say even if you have a product business, but even if you have a service business, you could do some type of coupon, free quote, free consultation, free, you know, discovery call. It can be anything like that. So think about competitors in your industry. What are they offering for free to get people, you know, on their email list? Or are they offering them a free call, a free quote? What is it? Okay. So what are you giving them? That's the first question. That's the first thing you need to decide is the is the offer that you're giving. Okay. And again, this isn't your paid offer. This is the free thing. So they'll give you their email address. Okay. And it sounds so like transactional if I'm like, you know, trying to get them to give you their email address. It's more like you're trying to capture the people that are actually interested in your stuff. So we're not just trying to get random people's email addresses. That is not helping you at all, at all. You would rather, as I said, have 50 really good people on your email list versus 5,000 that are just randos. Okay. You need it to be something that you're giving away that is relevant for your ideal type of client or customer. What would they really love? Right. Would they love to be in the know about new drops? Maybe you're a, you know, a clothing designer or joy designer, and you're like, we will keep you updated when we release new items, when we have sales and promos. That's enough for people to sign up. But if you have something else like 15% off, $100 off, a free, you know, consult at your house or whatever it is, that helps too. Right. So you want some to give them something they actually want, your ideal client. Okay. So what are you giving them? And again, make sure it's applicable to your ideal client. That's the first thing that to do. Okay.

Welcome Email And Automated Follow Ups

SPEAKER_00 11:21

The second thing is you're going to have to create an email that responds back and says, hey, welcome. I'm so glad you're here. Here's your free thing. Whatever it is that they want that they want. And this email will be automated in your email marketing system. It's a reply, it's a confirmation that automatically happens when people sign up on your email list. This one is super important because they will most likely open it because they were waiting on something from you. So this is gonna be the one that that needs to be the great email right away because they're gonna read it, they're gonna get their free thing, and now you're in. Okay. So it's gotta be that first. We call it an auto-responder. It responds to them once they sign up for your email list with the coupon, the free download, the link to the video, whatever it is that you offer. Okay. So you're gonna come up with that free offer that you're giving them, that free thing. What are you gonna, what what are you gonna um promise to them? What are you promising? Okay. And then they're gonna read it. So you're gonna have that email right there, that autoresponder welcome email. Okay. I like to call it a welcome email. So you're saying, welcome, here it is, here's the thing you wanted. Then you can be sending out emails about the story behind your brand. You can even set it up where it's automated. So after day one, when they get that welcome email, maybe on day two or three, you send a story email that shares the behind the scenes or the reason that you started your business, why it means so much to you, how happy you are that they are there. And you can create an email like that that's an autoresponder. So it automatically goes in like two or three days, whatever you want, after they sign up on your email list. You do not want to bombard them with a ton of emails that first day they sign up. Give them what they signed up for. And then, you know, they're you're glad they're here. Maybe the next day or the next day you send another email. Maybe you share a cool story. Maybe you tell them you're happy, you know, that they're there. And so I would do that. I would tell your story at some point or behind the scenes or something about your brand that you're known for, something that's important that they know. That's the third kind of email that you would want there. And then you can be sending emails

Weekly Emails That Sound Human

SPEAKER_00 13:42

out weekly about anything you want. If you have a YouTube channel, you can just say, hey, I've got a new video that talks about this. If you have a podcast, like y'all will get emails from me if you're signed up on my list. So make sure you sign up if you're not already and go to she's just getting started.com. I send out emails about podcast episodes. I send emails about sales for the She's Just Getting Started gift boutique and all the new products that are coming out, my journal that's going to be coming out soon. You can get updates on that. So make sure you're on the email list, right? And so that's what you do. You can send weekly updates about things. You can even email a couple of times a week. Like you can do whatever you want. You could also tell about a personal story, something that will really help them connect you to them. Like that's what this is for, is to create real connection. And this is not just like some transactional thing and it's just robotic. Don't let it be all AI. You can use AI to help you. But I would first draft, write an email that you would write to your favorite customer. What would you want to say? You could have AI enhance it. That's fine. Just don't make it sound robotic. Then you've lost the whole uh specialness of these emails, that they come from a human. So make sure you have your human factor in there. I know it's tempting to just like have everything like done by AI, but please make sure it has your personality. It's got to have your personality and personal touch. Okay. So then you do weekly emails and then you can do sales, promos, anything. Y'all having an email list is not that hard. It is not that hard. To me, it's a badillion, badillion, if that's a world number, times easier than Instagram or anything on social. Because I feel like you're like sending them a message, almost like you're leaving them a quick voicemail, right? You're telling them something important that they need to know and they're already interested in hearing from you because they signed up on your email list. Are y'all hearing me? So your email list can make you money. You can run a promo on something during a given week and get revenue from that promo. How awesome is that? Okay. You don't have to create a whole video. You don't have to edit anything. You just create a simple email that goes out. It can be short, it can be long, whatever you feel like your people will read. Okay. So email marketing is super important. It is still everything I'm reading, is that it is still the thing for 2027. And it is super important for you to be building your whole customer base. Because if you pivot your business or you want to expand your business or move your business or change your business name, anything like that, you need also a way to just contact people and let them know about something, right? You need a way to communicate with your people. You don't just want to be out on the airwaves on your podcast or whatever you're doing and just like having no idea who is listening or following you. You need to be offering something so that they will get on the list and so that you can create a relationship, a real relationship, not spammy, not annoying, none of that, right? Because I know so many of you think that it can be super annoying. And the truth is, you just talk to them like they're your best client

Tools And Platforms To Send Email

SPEAKER_00 17:12

and just take the time to write them a little note. Okay. So I think it's super important. I'm excited for 2027 because I think things are becoming easier. We do have help with AI and Grammarly and things that make the workflow of your email platform so much easier. And by the way, if you're trying to figure out an email platform, there are a lot out there. I currently use OmniSend because I have the Shopify store. I also use Kajabi's email because I've had my workshops and courses on Kajabi. And so I still have that right now. And so I'm using Kajabi email for those people, but I'm combining it all into one into Omnisend to make my business more efficient on the back end. And Omnisend is great. Like if you have a Shopify store and I loved Flowdesk. Flowdesk is one that I really liked. MailChimps been around. So there's, oh, let me think. Also Mailer Lite. So there are many there, but you can check out OmniSend or any of these because I think they're all great. I mean, they all have their great things about them. And then, you know, they also have some of them are quirky too. And you'll see. And maybe you just test a couple and see which ones you literally click with, right? So, anyways, I want you to know that email is important. It's important you have your list because if something happens to you on social media where Instagram changes their algorithm or Facebook does something, you can lose all those people that follow you if you do not have their email address. And you can also put your email address in your link and I'm sorry, you can put a form link into your LinkedIn bio that goes to your website or someplace where you have links where they can sign up for your email list, check out your website, all that good stuff. You can link to it from your social media platform and all that. So no one be afraid of email. It's super fun. It's really the best thing going right now, still. It has hung in there since I started my first business 20-something years ago, 26 years ago. We were using email. We were using it and it's still there. And as much as the young people hate it, they they when they go to college and stuff, they have to start checking it, which is funny because my daughter is a senior in high school and she never used email. And I'm like, you gotta stay on your email. All this stuff for applications and maybe going through rush and all this stuff. But, anyways, my point is it's still here. It's not going anywhere. We can't avoid it. And you need to keep track of the people that are actually interested in your business. It's super important. And it's your business. I mean, if you go to sell your business, your email list is a big part of it. It's a big part of your what's what's worth it because to get people's email addresses

Quick Recap And Next Steps

SPEAKER_00 20:08

is hard. So to review, really quick too, before I go, what is your promise? What is your free offer? Number one. Number two, make sure you have your autoresponder that has your welcome email. Number three, maybe send another email, schedule it for like the third day that they're there or the second day and tell your story. And then also number four, send weekly emails and just send updates. It could be something personal that's related to the business. It could be a promo, it could be a new product. Uh, it could be a product that you're, you know, ending, closing down that's on sale, not on sale. So you have so many options with the email, and it's so fun once you get really into it. I just don't want you to overlook it because it's super important. So that's it. Y'all are amazing. Have a wonderful day, and make sure you check out everything at just getting started.com. Have a good day. Bye. Now, this episode may be over, but our relationship does not have to end here. Head on over to Kimberlybrock.com, and yes, you can get more valuable information for your journey. And you know what? You don't need to go through this alone. I would love to help. Thank you so much and have a great day. Bye.