West Coast Cyber Chick

There are all kinds of online review sites out there, Yelp and Google being two of the biggest.   Question is, which one should you focus your efforts on?  Short answer - focus on Google but don't ignore Yelp.  Here's the Why:

Google Reviews are Better for Business - Take Advantage!

Google is the king of search these days and Google Reviews has surpassed Yelp and every other platform in the online review world.  Google makes it easier to leave a review, there's less competition at the moment, they don't get filtered the way Yelp reviews do and they help your local search engine rankings. What more could you ask for!

Despite the rise of social media and unsolicited spam email (which is never a good marketing strategy, by the way), email remains the most effective way to nurture leads and turn them into customers.

The Importance of Email Marketing

Despite the rise of social media and unsolicited spam email (which is never a good marketing strategy, by the way), email remains the most effective way to nurture leads and turn them into customers.
There are many reasons you should make email marketing one of your top priorities, but here are a few of main ones:

• Email is the #1 communication channel. Did you know that at least 99% of consumers check their email on a daily basis? That can’t be said of any other communication channel. In fact, over half of the population in the US over the age of 15 check their email before they do anything else, including checking social media. (Source: Optinmonster)
• You own your list. On any social media platform, your account (along with all your fans and posts) could be suspended or deleted at any time, for any reason, without notice. However, you own your email list. No one can take those leads away from you. That my friend is called an asset.
• Higher Engagement Rate: For the “Big 3” of social media (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter), the engagement rate isn’t even 0.6%. Compare that to email’s average open rate of 22.86% and even its click-through rate of 3.71%. And that’s assuming that your social media followers even saw your post to begin with.
• Email converts better. People who buy products marketed through email spend 138% more than those who do not receive email offers. In fact, email marketing has an ROI of 4400%. That’s huge! And if you are wondering if social media converts even better, think again: the average order value of an email is at least three times higher than that of social media.

Email is one of the most effective ways to make sales online. According to MarketingSherpa, about 60% of consumers subscribe to a brand’s list to get promotional messages and deals compared to only 20% that follow brands on social media.

Use email to connect with subscribers with relevant content.

• Engage, tell a story.
• Be authentic to your brand and your message.
• Be respectful and appreciative. Allowing someone into your email inbox is not unlike inviting them into your home. Be gracious

How to Start Email Marketing

Your email list.

You also shouldn’t just email everyone who’s given you a business card as they’re not necessarily likely to purchase from you.

Add a Call-To-Action (CTA) button on your website – SUBSCRIBE! Make it easy for people to click and subscribe. Highlight it in the top navigation bar or header; add it prominently on your home page. I like to have a CTA button in the sidebars of my sites and in the body of the content; that way they’re on every page. 

Ask existing clients to subscribe to your email list. Most will be happy to hear from you as long as you don’t bombard them with emails. Back to that respectful thing I mentioned.

There are a lot of great tips and tools for growing an email list. I’ll cover that in later blog posts.

Email Providers

You can’t just mass email people from your Gmail account. I know it seems like the simple, inexpensive place to start, but no, don’t do it. You’ll be quickly marked as a spammer and you’ll find all of your outbound emails being blocked. Again, just no.

Effective and “best practice” email marketing requires a reputable email service.   Anti-spam law is changing. In the European Union (EU), a new set of rules called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was introduced in May 2018. These new rules affect every email marketer who sends emails to people in Europe.  Eventually, in my opinion, we'll be seeing rules like GDPR being implemented in the US as well. 

A professional email service will give you the ability to manage your email list easily, create opt-out links and follow industry standard protocols.

The other benefit of a reputable email marketing provider is that your campaigns will be mobile-friendly. Mobile has surpassed desktop in email readership and will only continue to grow. Don’t miss an opportunity to connect with a poorly designed email.

Two of my favorites are Constant Contact and Mail Chimp. Personally, at least for the time being, I’m using Mail Chimp. My larger clients are all using Constant Contact.

Constant Contact

Constant Contact is one of the largest and fastest growing email marketing service in the world. WPBeginner.com rated Constant Contact as the #1 Email Marketing service in 2019. It is also one of the easiest to use and beginner friendly email marketing services. You can easily manage your email lists, contacts, email templates, marketing calendar, and more.

Mail Chimp

Mail Chimp is great if you have a smaller list or you’re just starting out. Their platform isn’t as robust as that of Constant Contact’s, but it works nicely for a small organization.

Mail Chimp offers a forever free plan which allows you to send 12,000 emails for up to 2,000 subscribers. This plan is fairly limited because you don’t get features like send-time optimization, advanced segmentation, multi-variate testing, etc. You are also required to display their branding in your email.

I cannot stress enough the importance of growing and maintaining an email list. And your list doesn’t have to be big to start, just start. Even if it just consists of a few friends and family. They know people… who know people. Get my drift?

For me, hey at least I know my mom enjoys reading my newsletters. Hopefully you will too.

This post was selected as one of the top digital marketing articles of the week by UpCity, a B2B ratings and review company for digital marketing agencies and other marketing service providers.

SHOW NOTES

Just Start #1

 Welcome to the 1st episode of the West Coast Cyber Chick podcast! Get prepared to hear cyber tips, interviews with small business owners, tools, and techniques to grow your business. You’re going to find encouragement and support and most of all motivation to simply get started. It’s important to simply start working on and towards your goals and in doing so, you’ll be ahead of those who prefer to stay comfortable.

If you’re not uncomfortable, you’re not growing!

 What we’re talking about

 -       Your Podcast Host, Laura Brown

-       Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone

-       It’s Time To Just Start 

Your Podcast Host, Laura Brown

 Laura Brown is a marketing guru, tech geek and podcast lover who has discovered that podcasting is a communication tool that simply can’t be ignored. Laura is filled with cyber tips and tools that she wants to share with small business owners to help you grow and to simply get started on whatever goals you have made for yourself. The key is to not only set goals, but to go after them.

 Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone

 Being comfortable is actually a bad thing and can make you feel stuck. If you want to see different results, then you need to take action which might make you feel uncomfortable. Laura shares how in trusting her own instinct and following her heart, she has been able to achieve her goals even when it’s meant going down a new and different path.

 It’s Time To Just Start

You have goals and dreams, but the one thing that is stopping you from achieving them is that you simply haven’t started chasing them yet. It’s time to get off the couch and start moving down the path of progress. It won’t be perfect and results won’t happen overnight, but the goal is progress, not perfection. Just starting to work on your goals will actually put you ahead of so many others who have yet to take that leap. Whether you are thinking about a new business, growing your business or following your heart in any way, it’s time for you to just start!

What’s sitting on your heart?

LINKS MENTIONED

Shoreline Marketing Website

Laura Brown’s Email

Get Off The Couch and Go

TIMESTAMPS

2:55 (16 sec) – We all like comfortable and most of us do not like change, but to achieve a different result, you’ve got to make a different path and I’m no different from you or anyone else here. What I’ve been doing is trusting my instinct and following my heart.

QUOTES

1. I’m all about encouraging people. Sometimes all we need is support and some motivation.
2. Follow your heart. Set some goals. Go after them.
3. You’re already lapping everyone on the couch by getting up and starting.
4. Progress, not perfection.