The Green Industry's Resource Center

FLC2000 · #1 03-25-2012, 08:28 AM

Anyone try it? Opinions?

grandview (2006) · #2 03-25-2012, 05:04 PM

Junk mail /spam =delete.

kirkmbrown2001 · #3 03-25-2012, 09:11 PM

I have almost all of my current and past customers subscribed to our e-list. I now have 60 subscribers and an average email open rate of 40%! Remember, the industry average open rate is 15%!

The key to email marketing is to make customers WANT to open it! If it is all about your business and nothing they would be interested in, your open rate will suffer. Therefore, I put DIY lawn care facts and other stuff that would engage the customer. My general rule, Half of the email is about my business and half is about something they would be interested in.

Ideas I have used in the past for my email newsletters:

DIY Lawn Care Tips
Lawn Care History
Fact or Crap - Lawn care myths revealed
Weed of the month
Lawn Pest of the month
Lawn Care Trivia
Featured blog post

In addition to the exclusive offers my subscribers receive, they automatically get coupons just for being a subscriber. It automatically sends a coupon on my customer's birthdays and they get a coupon for subscribing. One incentive to subscribe and another incentive to stay subscribed.

Now of course, I always try to upsell my services to my customers through my emails. Whether that is reminding them that we do lawn aeration or announce new services offered. We also keep our customers updated with business changes like billing and price changes. We make them "plugged in" to whats going on within our business. It shows that we like to communicate with our customers and keep them informed.

Plus it is MUCH cheaper than mailing letters! Each email only cost me 3 cents versus a stamp and envelope. I use a service called MailChimp to manage my email list. They have monthly plans or pay-as-you-go plans.

To see my March E-Newsletter, CLICK HERE!

It works! Just takes some trial and error!

grandview (2006) · #4 03-25-2012, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kirkmbrown2001

I have almost all of my current and past customers subscribed to our e-list. I now have 60 subscribers and an average email open rate of 40%! Remember, the industry average open rate is 15%!

The key to email marketing is to make customers WANT to open it! If it is all about your business and nothing they would be interested in, your open rate will suffer. Therefore, I put DIY lawn care facts and other stuff that would engage the customer. My general rule, Half of the email is about my business and half is about something they would be interested in.

Ideas I have used in the past for my email newsletters:

DIY Lawn Care Tips
Lawn Care History
Fact or Crap - Lawn care myths revealed
Weed of the month
Lawn Pest of the month
Lawn Care Trivia
Featured blog post

In addition to the exclusive offers my subscribers receive, they automatically get coupons just for being a subscriber. It automatically sends a coupon on my customer's birthdays and they get a coupon for subscribing. One incentive to subscribe and another incentive to stay subscribed.

Now of course, I always try to upsell my services to my customers through my emails. Whether that is reminding them that we do lawn aeration or announce new services offered. We also keep our customers updated with business changes like billing and price changes. We make them "plugged in" to whats going on within our business. It shows that we like to communicate with our customers and keep them informed.

Nice. But wondering if he was thinking more of sending out emails to places to get business not current customers.

tonygreek · #5 03-28-2012, 07:07 AM

FLC2000, could you go into more specifics of what you're looking at and what the source of the addresses is? I assume you're referring to purchasing/renting a list of email addresses. If so, your effort and money is better utilized elsewhere.

FLC2000 · #6 03-28-2012, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonygreek

FLC2000, could you go into more specifics of what you're looking at and what the source of the addresses is? I assume you're referring to purchasing/renting a list of email addresses. If so, your effort and money is better utilized elsewhere.

Not really any specifics as of now.

I saw a website called icontact.com and started to read about it. Basically just putting an ad together and sending it out to potential customers via email.

Of course Im concerned it would just go into the spam folder so I was wondering if anyone had ever done it and what kind of success rate they had.

ptjackson · #7 03-28-2012, 05:48 PM

Kirk almost always nails these posts and gets to them before me.

Buying a list and trying to get business that way is a long battle that's probably not worth it. He mentions open rates of 15% it's less than that if you buy a list AND it's pretty hard to even send them out, most providers will block you from "spamming people" Even with 15% open rates you'll do lucky to get a 1% click rate and less than that will "convert".

If you do use mail marketing again Kirk is right us it with your customer base, maybe offer a free service for referral to a new customer. Mailchimp or tiny letter is great. Or use Facebook and ask your current customers to "like" you.

tonygreek · #8 03-28-2012, 06:37 PM

unless they've add to their service line, icontact has always been an email campaign manager, similar to mailchimp. I think we were mostly under the impression you were interested in purchasing an email list to market to.

mailchimp is phenomenal and their "forever free" plan would be something that likely suits your needs.

my advice mirrors kirk's in that you should strive to make any email marketing/newletter educationally engaging.

corey4671 · #9 03-28-2012, 06:43 PM

Email marketing is a dinosaur. Want to see how to REALLY market in 2012? this is a service I began usioh late last month. Text theyardboy to 90210 on your mobile phone. I actually have that on the back of my trailer and people do just that when they read the sign. It sends them a text with all my contact info, a short video about me and a link to my business Facebook page. Once they opt in, I get alerts that they have requested my info AND I can now send out text blasts of specials I am running, short video of a job I just completed or even have a promotional giveaway.
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