It’s no secret that I am email’s biggest fan.

Seriously – like wear the t-shirt to the concert, “i’m in love, i’m in love, and I don’t care who knows it” energy.

And I’ll be the first to admit, this is pretty dorky, but IDGAF. Why? Because email is a not-so-secret weapon for indie retailers.

Email marketing has the power to increase your sales, build relationships, grow with your shop and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

Before we dive into strategies, I realize that email doesn’t have the best reputation. It’s not the sexiest strategy out there – in fact, odds are you’ve even thought to yourself “No one reads emails, so why should I bother?”

I get it! You have enough on your plate as a retail entrepreneur, so why would you invest time into something you aren’t totally convinced even works?

That’s why, if you’ll allow me, I want to wax poetic about the perks of email marketing for your shop. I’m here to convince you why email and retail go together like PB + J.

And I’m going to embrace my inner dork here and do it in the form of an acronym – INBOX.

Investment
Nuance
Baller Results
Owned Growth
Xray Vision

Investment

When it comes to marketing your shop, there are a lot of strategies, companies and platforms who are jonesing for your hard earned dollars. “Gotta spend money to make money” right? Eh, not necessarily. Email is super effective (more on that shortly), but it also isn’t going to break the bank. You can start an email list for free! As your list grows and strategy expands, you will likely take a monthly fee ranging from $19 – $150 per month (for lists up to 10k). That same amount won’t get you very far with some of those other platforms…lookin’ at your Facebook

Nuance

Through email marketing, you have the opportunity to give every subscriber a unique and personalized experience. This is huge! So much of marketing can feel cookie cutter – one member of your audience is receiving the same information, content and offers as another. By building out customization and segmentation in your email list, you can serve more head nod, “they really get me” moments. And that, babe, is irreplaceable.

Baller Results

Okay, but like does it work? YES! Email marketing can have a huge impact on your bottom line – in fact, a well optimized email program can drive 25-35% of sales. DAMN! Can you imagine growing your sales by 1/3 through one channel. Still not impressed? On average, paid social will drive $4 per $1 spent…Email? $42. Yes, that means it’s 10x better than digital ads. Boom!💥

Owned Growth

Email is the only channel you own 100% as a business owner. The list, the contact information, the content, the experience – it is yours to control. No algorithm to combat, and no finger crossing involved! When you want to get a message to your audience, email gives you the creative control over how information is packaged and delivered, which allows you to serve your customers better AND learn more about them.

Xray Vision

Email can give you so much insight into your customers! By analyzing email performance you will learn what entices them, what doesn’t, the content they prefer, where there is resistance; you will uncover questions, interests and new ideas. All of this will help you make better decisions across all of your content channels to serve your community better. That’s a win-win!

So what do you say, are you ready for email to help grow your shop?