Greg here,
If you’re reading this, chances are you found it because you got an email from me, and clicked on the link in that email.
And that’s because…after years and years of ever-increasing social media – email is still by far the most powerful form of digital marketing you can do!
People value their email inbox a lot more than they value their Facebook or Twitter inbox. Why? Because email is personal, and it is bound to remain that way.
Still, there are many small business owners who find email marketing to be an outdated or an old-fashioned method.
Social media is the new cool kid on the block and it is hogging all the attention.
Which makes traditional email feel like the medium with smaller reach.
But I’ve been doing a lot of research. Social media has not dethroned email. Not at all.
While social media marketing has its own place, it is yet to catch up with email in terms of marketing power. It has a long way to go.
Every major social network knows this and understand the importance of
email. Donʼt take my word, try signing up with Facebook or Twitter without an email address. You canʼt.
Because even social media sites know the importance of email.

Seven years ago, Wales-based jeans company Hiut Denim was on the brink of collapse.
Co-founder David Hieatt got the idea to start a thoughtful email newsletter full of content people would like whether they were buying his jeans or not.

Today, these emails include tastefully curated roundups of the articles, videos, products and quotations that Hiut employees found fascinating that week, and his email campaign has become incredibly successful, creating a loyal band of followers…and buyers.
“If you ask me, would I want a mailing list with 1,000 people on it or 100,000 followers on Twitter, I’d take the 1,000 emails all day long, because the business you get from 1,000 emails will be much more than you get from 100,000 people on Twitter or Instagram,” says Mr. Hieatt.
According to a study by the Direct Marketing Association in the US, email marketing can give your business a whopping 4,300% return on investment.
Thatʼs a number that social media marketing hasnʼt even come close to.
Still not convinced? Here are some stats to turn you into an “email believer”:
More than 65% of US. Internet users (online consumers) have bought something after receiving promotional emails.
A staggering 91% of online consumers visit their email inbox daily. 72% of purchases made via mobile were motivated by marketing emails.
When compared to popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, email marketing campaigns yield a 50-100 higher click through rate.
47% of Internet consumers prefer being communicated about products/services via email.

As my colleague, friend and mentor George Slater has been nagging for years:
“The real money is in your list. Your list of customers, clients and prospects. Because you have their contact details, you can communicate with them directly, over and over again.”
Here’s something that few small business owners ‘get’:
You don’t have control over how you communicate with your followers and fans on social media.
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have that control. Not you.
A targeted list of email subscribers who have given you permission to email them is often seen as huge asset.
Because these subscribers know you and trust you, which makes them qualified leads that you can convert. Right from getting repeat traffic to repeat sales, marketing suddenly is a lot easier with a quality email list.
How well you monetize your email list and drive revenue from it depends on how you well you manage your subscribers.
The relationship you share with them matters to a great extent. Which means building a quality, responsive email list can be challenging if youʼre not careful about developing and maintaining your list with care.
Hereʼs Why Email List Building is Important for Your Small Business
Your website may already be getting consistent traffic that you work on converting into clients or customers.
You may already have an audience that is familiar with your brand and products.
This current audience of yours may comprise of potential customers, new customers and as well as the ones who have bought from you before.
They could be at any stage of the buying cycle. However, if they donʼt have a way to maintain their relationship with your business, you may not be getting the most out of your customer base.
When you give your prospects and customers a way to stay connected to you through a medium like email, you have the opportunity to give them value, build a relationship and take your business to the next level.
You Cannot Solely Depend on Social Media
But HOW do you build your email list?
Well, the easiest way is with a lead magnet.
At Worldwide Salon Marketing, we build, optimize and maintain hundreds of websites for salons & spas all over the world. (We’re currently in the process building sites for salons in Michigan, the United Kingdom, Melbourne, New Zealand and others.)
And on ALL of these sites, we install some kind of lead magnet that encourages visitors to hand over their name and contact details in exchange for some kind of free gift.
And the easiest free gift any salon or spa can offer for first-time visitors is a Gift Voucher.
Take a look at this one, on a site we built for Allura Hair Boutique in Berwick, a suburb of Melbourne.
See that easy and neat technique, right on their home page?
In the last 12 months alone, more than 1,000 prospective clients have filled in that form.
Those details go straight into the salon’s email list.
And the salon has turned more than three hundred of them into regular clients!
Your subscribers will be happy to hear from you, given that you are delivering value-oriented information to them.
They wonʼt mind learning from you, buying your products or taking up any relevant offers, because they have given you explicit permission to contact them.
Last but not the least, your social media message may not reach each of your fans. But with email, thatʼs simply not the case.
You can rest assured that your email message is being seen by your target audience. Because youʼre connecting with them in their inbox, their most guarded place on the web.
Email list building can change the way you do business. With access to a responsive email list, you can experience increased sales, better feedback, and freedom from spending big money on advertising.
Is YOUR website set up to give you the best chance of capturing leads?
Enter your website address into our free analyzer tool and see what it discovers…
I have had an online magazine for 3 years, and we are looking to spice up the website. We’ve used Joomla, but are now looking for something new. Is WordPress better than Joomla? We will be adding content rich items on the site: videos, etc. Any suggestions?.
Yes, WordPress as the content management system, combined withi Divi as the content builder, we find to me much more user friendly than Joomla. Particularly so if you’re not an experienced developer. DIvi makes it very easy for even a novice to update pages, images, videos etc.
Happy to discuss if you want to reach out by phone or email. Our number is at the top of the page.