If you are a small business owner, then the best form of marketing without spending too much is via the Internet. Email marketing is one such tool that is used by most corporates across the world. It is a good start point to build customer relationships. In fact, it has been observed that it is best to use email marketing as a tool for both small and large business. Read on to know more about email marketing.

What is email marketing?

• Email marketing is sending out mass emails to groups of people to broadcast or market a product or brand.
• It is a medium for promoting products and/or services.
• Email marketing helps develop relationships with potential customers.
• It is one part of internet marketing that helps marketers sell or publicize products.
• It is similar to direct mail just that the mail is not delivered through postal services but via email or electronic medium.

How do you start email marketing?

• Define your goal before signing up for an email marketing tool.
• Build on a targeted email list.
• Choose the type of campaign that you want to send.
• Create the first campaign and do a soft launch to test its efficacy.
• Measure the results of the first campaign and if it is successful go for a full-fledged email campaign.
• Use the software that is the best email marketing tool for a business.

What are the benefits of email marketing?

• Email marketing is a cost-effective way of marketing. There is no investment of time and effort needed to sell products or brands.
• Email marketing is easy to set up and track. All you need is one of the best email marketing software for a small business. It will automatically set up the emails, track them and give a detailed analysis of its usage.
• Often small businesses find it tough to reach audiences across the globe due to budget constraints. Email marketing helps overcome that barrier.
• Give targeted messages- Most of the time marketers would like to spend money on those who are already interested in their brand. Email marketing can help in that regard, by sending out emails to only those subscribers who can meet some criteria.
• Increase revenues- It is a great way of taking advantage of impulse buying. It is one platform wherein a customer can purchase an item within two clicks without having to make the effort to go out and buy that item.

What are the problems of email marketing?

• Email deliverability can be a challenge as it is determined by the number of emails sent versus the ones that actually reach the inbox and are read by the user.
• Retaining subscribers can be a challenge as most often such mass emails are put into spam.
• Most often people check their emails on their phones so if the emails are not mobile-friendly they go unread.
• Measuring ROI through email marketing is tough because you are not driving consumers to an online conversion sale.

What are the effective ways of email marketing?
A good way to reach out to audiences globally is through the best email marketing tool for a business as it does not cost much. Here are a few tips that can make it more effective.

• Make it easy to subscribe- let the subscription form be short and easy to understand.
• Let the subscribers know what to expect and how often to expect it.
• Let your email campaign match the look and feel of your brand with company logos and insignia.
• Send relevant content to people instead of sending mass emails to all. Sending different emails to different groups can get you more conversion rate.
• Make the messages mobile friendly as most people read emails while on-the-go via their smartphones.
• Spend a little money initially but get the best email marketing tool for your small business so that there are no glitches in the long run.