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Email Marketing: Still the Most Powerful Tool to Take Your Business to the Next Level

Posted: 22 Sep 2020 09:02 AM PDT

The key to running a successful business is enticing customers and clients to do business with you. So whether you're scrambling to lure customers back during a global pandemic or expanding your markets during "normal" business times, the question is, How do you do that? What are the best ways to get customers to come to your store, website, restaurant, office, etc.?

We all know the answer: it's marketing. But marketing is not a simple process. There are various practices, tactics, and strategies that are part of an overall marketing plan—and they are constantly evolving. It can make formulating a marketing plan for your small business overwhelming.

To help simplify the process, there is one marketing method that has maintained its claim to fame. Email marketing still promises to deliver the highest ROI of all marketing channels—$42 back for every dollar you spend.

That's not to say email as an industry, and your approach to it, isn't evolving—it is, or it should be. As Tom Kulzer, CEO and founder of AWeber, a leading email marketing solution for small businesses, says, "The most effective [email] marketing strategies adapt, grow, and innovate."

AWeber recently released its 2020 Small Business Marketing Email Marketing Statistics Report, featuring insights from small business owners and industry experts. These are the techniques that are working for other small business owners. See if they'll work for you as well.

While email marketing can boast about its effective ROI, not all small businesses are using it. According to the report, 66% of businesses surveyed say they use email marketing to "promote their businesses or communicate with leads and/or customers."

If you are not among that percentage, it's time (past time, actually) to incorporate email into your marketing strategy. If the ROI isn't enough to convince you, remember, email is the marketing channel most consumers say they want businesses to use to communicate with them.

Still, you likely have questions if email marketing will work for you. Take a look at some common questions the survey addresses.

How effective is email marketing?

Very. Of those surveyed, 79% say it's "important" or "very important" to their businesses. However, while business owners acknowledge the importance of email marketing in general, only 60% think their own email marketing strategies are "effective" or "very effective," while 26% say it's either "ineffective" or "very ineffective."

Effective email strategies are "personal, targeted, and crafted with the customers' objectives and objections in mind."

How do you measure success?

You cannot know how effective your email marketing is without defining the parameters you want to measure. The two most common measurements for small businesses are open rates and click-through rates:

  • Open rates—65% of small businesses average open rates between 11% and 50%.
  • Click-through rates—The study showed many small businesses need to improve their click-through rates; 77% of small businesses average email click-through rates between 0% and 10%.

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How often should I send emails?

Nearly 40% of survey respondents report they send emails "at least once a week but less than daily." More than 30% send emails "at least once a month but less than weekly." And about 12% either send emails daily or less than once a month.

Still not sure what to do? Mark Asquith, the cofounder and CEO of Rebel Base Media, advises those who are just starting to use email marketing send an email once a week. "Rather than sending more, test what you already do. Then test frequency," he says.

His main point is you shouldn't be sending more emails that don't work and less emails that do work—and the best way to determine that is to "Test, test, test!"

But, warns Ramit Sethi, the author and founder of I Will Teach You to be Rich, don't worry that much about how often you send emails. Sethi doesn't think frequency is the most important factor for email success; he believes content is. "Writing amazing emails that provide value is [most important]," he says. "If your emails are incredibly entertaining, informative, and engaging, you can send as many as you want." To measure their effectiveness, Sethi says, "Watch your open rates and unsubscribe rates closely."

Does list size matter?

Most (43%) of the participating small business owners have email lists between 0 and 500 subscribers. Slightly more than 30% have between 1,001 and 9,999 email subscribers, and less than 7% of small businesses have more than 50,000 subscribers.

Does the size of your list impact effectiveness? Yes, but don't let that discourage you. It appears having at least as few as 500 subscribers makes a difference. Of the small businesses surveyed, 42% with more than 500 subscribers say their email marketing strategies are effective or very effective, while only 20% of businesses with 500 or less subscribers say the same.

Obviously, growing your list is important. "The bigger your list, the more conversions you can achieve," says Kath Pay, the CEO and founder of Holistic Email Marketing. She advises small business owners to "ensure your subscribe form is above the fold, in a prominent, easy-to-access position on your website. Have this form available on every page of your site."

Think of email marketing as one of the most powerful tools to jump-start your small business and take it to the next level. It's effective, it's affordable, and it works.

RELATED: 4 Little Email Marketing No-Nos That Could Land You In Big Trouble

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Is Amazon the Right Place to Sell My Products?

Posted: 22 Sep 2020 08:34 AM PDT

By Teddy Smith

Retailers today are turning to online marketplaces as a way to get their products in front of a bigger audience. One marketplace that has become especially popular is Amazon. Amazon Prime had a staggering 112 million U.S. users as of January 2020 and has a global reach which is unmatched by any other marketplace.

While Amazon offers a huge opportunity for entrepreneurs in terms of customer reach, how do you know if it's the right place to sell your product? If you’re considering doing business on Amazon, here are answers to some common questions.

Is Amazon the right place to sell my premium products?

Amazon is where you go to buy inexpensive books or kitchen products, isn't it? Amazon has traditionally been seen by many premium brands as a discount retailer, and for that reason many brands have been reluctant to sell on the platform because of the perceived damage it could do to a brand. Another concern premium brands have is the risk of their products being sold on Amazon by hijackers and disreputable third-party sellers, and the negative impact it could have on customer perception.

Amazon has worked hard to try and reposition itself away from being a discount retailer and many luxury brands have recognized the value of having a presence on Amazon and the ability to reach a huge consumer base (particularly important at a time when many department stores and malls across the world are in lockdown). Beauty brands are a good example of this, with many high-end brands such as Stila and Elizabeth Arden reporting sales spikes during the pandemic

Amazon alternative? If you have reservations about selling on Amazon, an alternative would be to sell through your own website where you have complete control over your brand and the customer experience. You might also consider niche marketplaces such as aftcra which specializes in American handmade goods. Total number of customers may not be as large, but you will be reaching an audience that is more likely looking for products similar to yours.

Is Amazon the right place to sell my handmade products?

Pre-2017 the answer would have been no. For a long time consumers associated Amazon with mass-produced generic products, but then Amazon launched Handmade on Amazon.

Amazon Handmade is a store dedicated to customers looking for unique, handmade products, and features more than 1 million handcrafted items. Amazon protects the quality of this category by requiring sellers to meet a strict list of criteria.

Amazon alternative? Etsy is the obvious alternative to Amazon Handmade. Etsy has over 35 million buyers, all of whom are looking for unique, craft products. Etsy can also end up being cheaper for some sellers as it charges lower commission fees, although it charges listing fees and the listings have expiration dates (unlike on Amazon Handmade). Many brands sell their products on both platforms to the best of both worlds.

Is Amazon the right place to sell expensive products?

Amazon used to be the place where consumers could find their favorite products at a low price. Offering customers value for their money is at the heart of Amazon's offering, and many companies offer product discounts and coupons in order to stay competitive.

This is one of the reasons that so many consumers use Amazon as a price comparison tool. One survey found that 66% of U.S. consumers typically start their search for new products on Amazon, compared with 20% who start on search engines such as Google.

So is it worth selling high-ticket items on Amazon? Surprisingly, yes, it can be. On Amazon you'll find brands selling high-end sports equipment, expensive technology, art, and even memorabilia—and doing really well through the marketplace. While there are plenty of bargain hunters on Amazon, there are many shoppers who use Amazon to find exclusive products which may be harder to find in retail stores.

The key is making sure your products listings are fully optimized so they clearly display the quality of your products. That means using high-quality lifestyle images and writing persuasive copy so that customers can feel confident about the product they are buying.

Amazon alternative? If you're not convinced about selling premium products on Amazon, perhaps you would rather sell from your own website where you can target a select audience and provide a high-end experience. You can also market your products via one of the many niche marketplaces. Houzz,which stocks a wide range of houseware brands, and Poshmark ,which showcases a diverse range of fashion labels, are two good examples.

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Is Amazon the right place to sell large products?

When you look at the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) fees and inventory storage fees that Amazon charges for large, oversize products, plus the cost of shipping, you may decide that selling large products simply isn't worth it, and you would rather fulfill items yourself. But don't immediately write off FBA—it all depends on your margins.

If you're selling high-priced items, such as high-quality coffee tables or armchairs, for example, then you may find that you are able to absorb the higher fees and still make a considerable profit. The other thing to consider is you will have far less competition selling large, oversize products as most sellers stick to small, light products, and your advertising costs will likely be lower.

Amazon alternative? If selling your large products on Amazon isn't economical for your brand, then you may be better off selling via your own website where you won't have any fees. Another option is eBay, which has a large customer base and lower fees.

Is Amazon right for you?

Amazon is not the right platform for all brands and products, but it's worth considering, if only because of the size of its huge global customer base. The site has changed a lot over the last few years—it's shaken off its discount store origins and now caters to a wider range of consumers with varying tastes and budgets. However, if it's not the right fit for your business, there are other marketplaces that might be better for you.

RELATED: Lost in the Amazon: How to Write Amazing Online Descriptions That Help Your Products Stand Out

About the Author

Post by: Teddy Smith

Teddy Smith is an e-commerce consultant and founder of AceListing, a management and product listing service for Amazon sellers.

Company: AceListing
Website: www.acelisting.co
Connect with me on Facebook and LinkedIn.

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Type A Entrepreneurs: Here’s Why You Should Never Outsource Any Job

Posted: 22 Sep 2020 08:30 AM PDT

I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that more than half of the people reading this article are Type A entrepreneurs. Don’t look behind you. I’m probably talking to you. Do you:

  • Think your way of doing things is the best/only way?
  • Find it hard to hire people as smart as you?
  • Find yourself overwhelmed with work because there’s no one else who can do a good job?

Yeah, I thought so. And yet maybe you’ve reached a point in your career where you see the value of outsourcing certain tasks that you simply don’t have the time or skill set to handle.

Do us both a favor—don’t!

You will never be happy with the work produced by another human, so why pay to learn that lesson? Here are more reasons you Type As should not outsource.

The product will never match your vision

Let’s say you want to hire a content marketing firm to handle your blog content and ghostwrite for you as a thought leader. Your vision of the outcome is that you’re now an author on hot sites like Forbes and your inbox is bombarded with meeting requests from people who have read your content.

So when the writer follows your instructions to a T and creates content for the blog that you aren’t promoting and you get two visitors a month (hi, Mom!), you’re pissed. Where’s the fame and glory?

The fact is: Type A entrepreneurs are driven by success, but sometimes when it’s outside of their wheelhouse, their expectations are higher than they should be. Better to not have a content presence than one that isn’t going to get you a call from Oprah, right?

You’ll have to micromanage

You want to outsource so you have more time to run your business, but you just know that you’re going to have to hold that service provider’s hand throughout. You don’t have time for that.

Yes, they’ve been doing this for decades, but clearly they’ve never worked with you or your business, so you need to be there for every decision, don’t you? You can’t just tell them what you want and have them deliver excellence, can you? They need you to help them!

You could probably just do it yourself

Accounting. Marketing. Design. None of them are your specialty, but you’re smart, dammit. You can do anything you put your mind to. So why pay thousands of dollars for a logo created by some kid who went to design school and studied the psychology of branding when you could throw something perfectly good together in a couple of hours … er, maybe days?

And after all, just because your intern wrinkled her nose at the logo you created doesn’t mean the rest of the world won’t love it, right?

They’ll try to nickel and dime you

So you hired an accountant, and let’s say he quoted you a set rate for X hours of work each month. Of course, you’ve been calling and emailing him several times a week to follow up on his work, and now he’s trying to charge you for that time. That’s not fair. He’s working for you, so why shouldn’t he be at your beck and call at the same rate he initially quoted you?

Or you’re working with a designer, and her quote included two rounds of changes. But after those two rounds, you still weren’t satisfied. Six rounds later, she’s not returning your calls and you get a giant invoice for the other rounds. If she had just done her job right the first time, you wouldn’t have had the back-and-forth, am I right?

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It’s lonely at the top, isn’t it?

This article is in jest. I hope you got that. Type A entrepreneurs may certainly find it challenging to work with other people on a project when they have very clear visions of what they want. But that doesn’t mean you should completely give up on having help. Here are some tips to help you learn to rely on and trust others.

1. Be very clear about what you want

You can’t get upset if you don’t get the results you wanted if you didn’t clearly communicate them, so spend time thinking about exactly what you want to achieve with a given project. Set expectations with the service provider. What metrics can you use to measure results? The more specific, the better.

2. Trust them to do their jobs

This is so challenging for Type A folks, but realize: you hired this person or company because of its reputation for excellence. Let them be excellent. Once you’ve set expectations, walk away. Certainly, get status reports on the project, but resist the urge to get involved beyond your expected role.

3. Give constructive feedback

Whomever you outsource to wants you to be happy as the client. It may take a while to get aligned in how you work together, so be patient. Provide useful feedback (“This sucks” does not qualify). Help the service provider understand how he or she could do better and guide them to understanding your point of view.

Outsourcing key tasks, once you master the art of doing so, can work wonders for your company. Once you’re able to trust the people you work with, you can focus your energy on doing what you do best.

RELATED: 7 Freelancers That Can Benefit Any Business

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Remote Brainstorming Sessions: Try These Great Tools and Tactics

Posted: 22 Sep 2020 08:22 AM PDT

Much of the business world has been working from home since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While some businesses have returned to some degree of in-person collaboration, many have remained remote, and will stay that way for the near future. According to one Intermedia survey, 57% of small businesses expect to stay remote even after pandemic restrictions end.

In the days before the pandemic, businesses dabbled in occasional remote collaboration. Many months in, we're at the point where companies must consider how to brainstorm and collaborate in a remote "new normal."

How do you connect with employees to come up with new ideas, launch new initiatives, pursue new strategies, and build your company's future in an isolated world? Remote work doesn't have to derail your brainstorming. In fact, now is a more important time than ever to use brainstorming to think creatively about your company's future.

Why online brainstorming is important right now

Brainstorming helps generate new ideas and empowers people in your organization, especially during these disconnected times. Brainstorming, by its nature, is a communal activity, which should promote community and cooperation between teams that may be lacking right now.

When you brainstorm towards a common goal, you loop in multiple stakeholders and can begin to think about the most important challenges facing your company. The global economy is in decline, small businesses are closing every day, and the future is murky in the midst of this pandemic. Brainstorming could be one of the best ways to think creatively about navigating these difficult times and thriving into the future.

Unfortunately, remote brainstorms present some challenges. When people aren't in a room together, they may feel less accountable and less inclined to participate. Choppy internet connections can cut people off when they're speaking; illustrating points is difficult without the presence of a whiteboard or other visual aids and cues. Even the lack of body language can make remote brainstorms feel stilted and unengaging.  

That's why we've laid out some things to consider when hosting brainstorming sessions.

How to have effective remote brainstorming sessions

1. Use the right technology

Remote success begins and ends with technology. Technology is essential for strong communication, project management, operations, and every other aspect of your business. Naturally, it's a crucial element of good brainstorming sessions.

While many companies use video conferencing tools like Zoom and Google Meet to great effect, they don't quite cover all your brainstorming needs. An effective brainstorming session needs notes.

An online whiteboard is a helpful tool here. Tools like Whiteboard Fox, Conceptboard, and MURAL offer real-time virtual whiteboards that brainstorming participants can contribute to simultaneously. As long as contributors have a Wi-Fi connection, they can add notes, images, texts, drawings, or anything else to illustrate an idea or a point. You would likely use a whiteboard during an in-person brainstorm; there's no reason you shouldn't do it remotely, as well.

Additionally, if you're video conferencing while using the whiteboard, make sure everyone has their cameras on. Research shows that facial expressions and body language make up 55% of communication, so having video on gives you instant insight into how people feel about certain ideas based on their reactions.

2. Distribute an agenda

Nobody wants to sit around for an hour throwing out an occasional idea only to leave a meeting feeling like nothing was accomplished. Before any meeting, you should send out a comprehensive agenda of what you plan to discuss. 

For a brainstorming session, your agenda should state the general theme and goal of the meeting a few days beforehand, and invite participants to share any topics they want to cover in the meeting. Then, when the meeting begins, you'll have a few more granular ideas to explore as a jumping-off point for your session.

Plus, agendas give participants a chance to prepare for the meeting and lets them know you appreciate and value their contributions. That's crucial to running a successful remote operation.

3. Include everyone

Speaking of making participants feel appreciated, inclusion is crucial to a good brainstorming session. All participants in a brainstorming session should feel they have a real stake in the problem you're trying to solve or goal you're trying to reach.

Don't create groups that are so large that people feel like there's no point in them being there. A great brainstorming group is about four to eight people, made up of team leaders and core contributors. Also consider inviting a couple of people who aren't as clued into the problem you’re trying to solve. They will have a more limited idea of what can't be done, giving them fresher perspective and potentially being able to offer more innovative solutions.

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4. Create a positive environment

Brainstorming sessions should be collaborative, which means inclusive. In remote situations, that can be challenging. Some people may be on mute, some may have cameras off, and some may be very committed to sharing every idea that pops into their head.

Creating a positive environment means reminding participants that there are no bad ideas and that no one person has all the solutions. Facilitating is difficult in an in-person environment. In a remote environment, you should be ready to check-in with participants to make sure everyone is up to speed and following along. That doesn't mean putting them on the spot with difficult questions, but when you hear a point that falls under the expertise of a quieter participant, steer the conversation their way to see if they can add anything.

5. Try different styles

It may surprise you to hear that there are dozens of different methods of brainstorming. Not every type works for all groups and all problems. Trying different methods of brainstorming can be a good way to figure out what works best for your remote team and helps to keep things interesting.

Of course, be sure to let the team know before the meeting if you're going to be creating a mind map, doing brain writing, running a S.C.A.M.P.E.R., performing rapid ideation, or other process. If people aren't familiar with your chosen method, be sure to include a primer on what the brainstorming style entails. Invite them to ask any clarifying questions.

Working remotely alone every day can get lonely; mixing up brainstorming styles can be a productive way to keep people engaged and excited about work.

6. Be transparent and open to feedback

Finally, every team and every problem is unique. Not every brainstorm is going to go perfectly. There will be days when it feels like you're wasting time, and there will be moments when you wonder if your team is completely checked out. Very few companies have experience being completely remote. We're all figuring this out together which means you, as a leader, must be transparent about challenges and open to feedback.

Give participants a chance to comment on the meeting either in the last few minutes of the allotted time or privately in a survey or personal message after the meeting. Use their input to make improvements where necessary and don't give up because of one unproductive brainstorming session.

The bottom line

Running remote brainstorming sessions isn't easy. Keeping participants engaged, on task, and accountable requires some careful planning and adept facilitation. But if you're using the right technology, keeping groups small, and running action-oriented, agenda-focused meetings, you're in good shape to run some high-quality brainstorms. Hopefully, this guide will help you succeed.

RELATED: 5 Time-Tested Tips to Sparking Your Team's Imagination and Creativity

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