If you’re a small business entrepreneur, chances are you’ve read/heard a lot about email marketing. It’s a cost-effective and easy to use channel that has shown promising results over the years.
A few stats:
81% of small businesses use email marketing to get new customers, and 80% of small business entrepreneurs use email marketing to engage and retain existing clients.
That’s massive! Isn’t it?
But how exactly can you—the spa, salon, barbershop, or wellness business owner— actually put email marketing to use?
Read on, and by the end of this article, you’ll be armed with some actionable ideas, insights, and templates that you can start using right away, and make the most of email marketing.
The benefits of salon email marketing are plenty—from boosting visibility to increasing sales—there’s a lot that email marketing can do for you. That being said, it’s a decision that should make sense for you, and one that should be taken after much consideration.
More importantly, before you commit to email marketing, you should be aware of how specifically it can help your beauty, hair, and wellness business.
To make it simple, we’ve listed four critical reasons for you to consider this marketing channel if you haven’t already!
Email marketing for salons is practically free when compared to the other channels you would consider to promote your business. That’s one. Another thing is that you can control it fully. You can say what you want to say, how you say it and how often you say it.
Traditionally, as a small business, you’d be more inclined to use local advertising methods like flyers or advertise your business on local cable or get a spot in the local newspaper/magazine to promote your services.
It has its benefits, but isn’t it hard? Think about the time it will take for you to get the flyers designed and printed. Or the time it will take for you to talk to the people at various agencies to get that ad out. Phew!
Even if you do put in the effort, there’s no way for you to know how many people saw the message.
When it comes to email marketing, you can get reports and insights into how many clients saw your message, how many responses did you get and how many clients clicked on your offer links.
These insights will help you understand if your campaign is working fine or if it needs changes. You can implement the changes immediately in the next campaign, unlike with flyers, where you have to get them reprinted with the new messaging.
For every dollar you spend on email marketing, it gets you $38 in return!
Isn’t it exciting?
As a small business entrepreneur, you have the advantage of knowing your clients well. For example, you would see when a client is interested in a referral, a discount, or just educational content. An email with a genuine intent of building a relationship will give you repeat business from clients.
That’s a win-win for both you and your client.
Communication is key to any healthy relationship. It’s unreasonable to expect loyalty from clients when you don’t put in the effort to communicate, educate, or entertain them regularly.
Email lets you do all of it effectively and is a great way to stay on top of your clients’ minds.
Email is a private space. Therefore, sending messages directly to clients’ inbox—which only they have access to—will allow your small businesses to create a more personal connection with your clients.
Email is an easy way to establish your small business branding because they help build a deeper connection with your client. Each time you share something with them, you are allowing them to get to know your business and its vision a tad better.
Now that you’ve seen the benefits of small business email marketing, the next part is to craft emails that fetch results. Here’s how you can do that.
With an email automation tool, you can do a lot—the most exciting bit is its ability to let you filter your client list and send personalized messages.
For example, you can send a different message to the group of clients who visited your salon and opted for a haircut, then who chose beauty service like a pedicure. You can also tailor your message based on time.
You know that your clients love your service, and you’d want them to feel the same with your email as well, isn’t it?
So how do you ensure that your emails are as striking as your service? Here’s how:
A schedule is essential to familiarize your client with your email frequency. It’s good practice to create a content calendar that outlines the necessary details of the email. You can do it weekly, monthly, or even quarterly!
Why do you need to plan it?
Because when the date creeps up, it can get overwhelming to brainstorm something at the eleventh hour!
Following the principle of reciprocity, offering a substantial discount that your clients can use right away is a great way to get them to sign up for your email newsletter. If you’re looking at emails as a long term strategy (as you should be), this technique promotes an email-based relationship where your customers look forward to your promotional emails.
You also get their email, allowing you to form a relationship, foster dialogue, and market to them in the future.
Humans have short attention spans—8 seconds to be precise which is less than that of a goldfish— so unless you tell them what to do next, they’re going to close the tab and forget all about it. Adding a call to action button guides them to the action swiftly.
Think of what they need to do and how that action can help your business—for example, adding a call-to-action (CTA) like ‘Book Now’ creates a sense of urgency and makes them book the appointment right away.
You’re convinced that email marketing is where the moolah is—you are also armed with the tips to be successful at it. Now let’s dive into the different types of email content that you can play around and engage your clients with.
You’ve probably used promotions at your brick and mortar shop. After all, it’s a great way to attract clients. You can apply the same strategy to your email marketing as well.
Send a welcome promotion code for first-time visitors, or share a specific coupon code like PEDICURE50 that lets them avail a discount on a popular service.
If you have a loyalty program in place, an email is an excellent way to convey the nitty-gritty. Use this as an opportunity to send them an update on their loyalty points and how they can redeem these points.
You can also use it to inform how close they are to reaching a reward status. This increases the motivation, reminds the clients that they have additional value at your business, and discourages them from visiting a competitor!
Small businesses like yours can utilize newsletters to keep the brand top-of-mind for clients, establishing authority in your industry and notifying them of any new products or services.
You can also bring your expertise to the table and put your tips from your niche in a newsletter.
Are you opening a new store location? Are you adding on services to your business? An email is the best way to communicate with your clients!
When you run out of ideas, simply ask clients what they’d like to see in the emails, and you’ll be sitting on a goldmine of ideas.
All said and done, implementing the tips and content does take time. As a small business entrepreneur, we know you can’t have enough hours in a day. Here are five email templates to make your life easier and shave off a few hours from your busy day.
Hey [Name],
Happy birthday, you wonderful person!
Celebrate your birthday in style with us! Take 20% off your next service.
Remember, this offer is valid only till the end of the month. We’ll see you soon!
Hey [Name],
Did you know you can get $10 off your next haircut when you bring your friend to [barbershop name]? The more, the merrier!
It’s time to pick up the phone and start calling your friends.
Share your love for a good haircut!
Hey [Name],
Long time, no see!
It’s been 90 days since your last manicure. Isn’t it time to show those hardworkin’ hands some love!?
We’ve added a new range of gel polish to our manicure kit that our clients are raving about…
Here’s what Martha has to say: “I got a French manicure done with the new range recently. I can’t stop staring at my fingers. Lovely staff & nice setup! Cheers!”
To book an appointment, click on the button below. See you soon!
Button: <Book Now>
Hey [Name],
Namaste!
We hope you liked the hot Yoga session with Janice.
Did you know that we have a studio membership, where you not only get discounted prices on Yoga classes but also have access to other workout classes like Barre and Pilates?
Drop into our studio within the next 10 days and enjoy a flat discount of 10% on the 3-month membership. We look forward to seeing you soon!
Hey [Name],
Thank you for signing up at our counseling center for our newsletter. You’ll receive an email every Wednesday with mental health tips.
I’ve been a counselor for 20 years, and I’ve never had two people with the same problem. Which is to say, don’t compare yourself to others, because your circumstances make your problems unique.
Here are four quick tips to get behind whenever you fall into the comparison trap on social media:
Set particular times for social media usage
Mindless scrolling is not only a time-sucker but also a soul-crusher.
Start your mornings with affirmations
“I will not compare my behind-the-scenes to someone else’s highlight reel.”
See how far you’ve come
Scroll down your timeline to see how you’ve grown each day.
Talk to someone
Some days, it feels like we need help from others to get back up. And that’s okay. Talk to your friends or a counselor about how you feel.
If you feel like you could use some help, click on the link below to schedule an appointment.
Button: <Book Appointment>
And if you are looking for more examples, you can explore this massive list of templates and design tips by our friends at Venngage.
There you have it—all the tips, templates, and insights that you need to master email marketing for your small business.
It’s time that you start with a concrete plan that helps you envision how you plan to engage your clients through email. Don’t forget to measure your success along the way. You’re all set to creating a lasting impression in your clients’ minds!
