Your next campaign

If you like the layout of the first campaign you sent, you can save time when creating your next campaign by duplicating the first one you sent.

So what will you talk about?

Email is a great place to begin, or continue, a conversation with your customer base. However, while talking about promotions and specials deals is great, it’s not very conducive to conversations. A good rule of thumb is that, 80% of your communications should be content that brings value to your customer, and only 20% should be a sales pitch.

Here are a few ideas beyond the latest greatest deal you can talk about:

Be the expert

Give them relevant information about your industry: If you’re a hair salon, you can separate your customers by hair length, and suggest different styles for each. If you’re a restaurant, you might even consider sharing a recipe for salad dressing, or give wine and meal suggestions.

Reminders

If you’re a mechanic, you can send an email to remind customers to change their winter tires, or get their Air Conditioning checked.

It’s okay just to say “hi”

Sometimes, you can just say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy New Year” without saying “Big Blowout Special!”

It’s even better to say thank you

Did you attend an event and meet up plenty of great new people? Acknowledge them: send them an email, thanking them for their time, and asking them questions about what interests them.

Oh wow – you remembered!

By asking people when their birthday is, you can send them “Birthday Present” via email: they can bring a printout of the email you sent them to redeem their gift. You won’t have to remember the day either: just create twelve groups (one for every month), and schedule a campaign to be sent out on the first of the month.

Share a story

If you’re a wedding planner, and you saw a really awesome tradition take place, you can tell your other clients about it – it might help them create new traditions.

Any company changes

Going to a tradeshow out of town? Send an email to your customers in a city to tell them you’ll be nearby. Moving? Tell your loyal following about your new address.

Are you visiting?

Are you attending a tradeshow? Hosting a special event? Send out an email invitation to your customers. It’s cheaper than paper invitations, greener and you can actually see who reads it.