Get Found on Small Business Saturday and Beyond

American Express launched Small Business Saturday (SBS) in 2010 to recognize the positive impact that small businesses have on their communities. What better way to call attention to them than by reminding customers to “shop small” and “dine small” the Saturday after Thanksgiving? Black Friday and Cyber Monday already have people in a money-spending mood that weekend. SBS simply shifts the attention from the big box retailers and online giants to the local businesses that are integral to every community.

The new tradition quickly took hold and has become one of the holiday season’s most popular shopping days. In 2015, more than 95 million customers spent a combined $16.2 billion on Small Business Saturday. With SBS fast approaching on Nov. 26, it’s never too early (or too late) to plan what your business will do to encourage customers to shop small and dine small with you. 

We’ve already written about how to use social coupons to your business’s advantage on SBS, as well as how to deploy SBS email campaigns. But how do you make sure that customers find your business when they search in their local area? And how do you make sure that when they do find you, the reviews they see are positive ones?

Here are our tips for making online listings and reviews work for your business — on Small Business Saturday and all year long.

1. Claim your online listings.

Step one in ensuring you can be found online is to claim all the online listings for your business. Many sites automatically generate bare-bones listings for businesses, but their information is often minimal and/or inaccurate. Take possession of your online listings and fill them out completely. Read more on where to claim your online listings and what to include in them.

2. If you update one listing, update them all.

Just as crucial as maintaining online listings is ensuring they all work together — featuring the same accurate information. Listings sites can include everything from your logo and photos of your business to information on hours, specialities and events. While all of this is amazing advertising, it can backfire if you don’t keep track of it. Keep a spreadsheet of all the sites that have a listing for your business. Then, when you update one site, you can quickly go down your list and update all the others too. If your business opens at 9 a.m., but Yelp says you open at 10 a.m., and Google says you open at 9:30 a.m., a confused customer is apt to go somewhere else to find what he or she is looking for.

3. Post Small Business Saturday events and specials on listings sites. 

Many of the most popular listing sites offer a way to post special events and other limited-time happenings at your business. Update these sites with details of your SBS event or promotion, so when customers find your listing, they’ll also see what your plans are for the big day. Of course, this guideline applies for any special event or happening you want to promote during the year, not just on one Saturday in November. 

 

4. Get reviews by reminding customers you’re on review sites.

It’s a huge no-no to offer payment or services in exchange for good reviews (that will get you banned from listings sites), and it’s frowned upon to ask customers to review you if they liked your service. But it’s never a bad idea to simply remind your customers that you have online listings, hopefully spurring them to give you a review. Here’s how to remind them:

• Post Yelp, Facebook, Foursquare, and other listings sites’ stickers and signs at your place of business and near your registers where customers can see them.
• Add Yelp, Google+, Facebook and other sites’ badges to your website and your emails.
• Add “Look for us on Facebook!” or similar language to your printed receipts and order confirmation emails.
• Include the URL to your top listings on business cards, pamphlets and any printed material that customers can access.

5. Reward check-ins.

Asking for reviews? Bad. Asking for check-ins? Good! Offer a special Small Business Saturday promotion, gift, or discount to people who check in on Yelp, Facebook, or other sites when they visit your business on Small Business Saturday. Their connections will see that they’ve checked in, and instantly you’ve raised awareness and visibility for your business.

6. Celebrate other small businesses.

Small Business Saturday is about all the small businesses that contribute to a community. Offer goodwill and good publicity to other small businesses in your area by retweeting and reposting their Small Business Saturday social media activity. Not only does this increase visibility for other small businesses in your area, but in many cases it results in their doing the same for you, introducing your business to their customer base.

7. Have a game plan for bad reviews.

Even the best businesses get online complaints or bad reviews once in a while. As startling and hurtful as they are, accept that they are simply a reality of being online. As such, they require a cool-headed and measured approach. Here’s what we recommend:

• Cool off first. Responding immediately often means a slapdash response, and you may say something you wouldn’t have with a cooler head. Wait a few hours or a day, and then address the reviewer in a calm, professional tone. Of course, don’t let a review fester indefinitely — try to respond within 24 hours if at all possible.
• Apologize. Resist the urge to point fingers or pass blame, even if you’re correct. “We’re sorry your experience wasn’t up to our usual standards” is a good way to start a response. Address the items you can control. Ask the reviewer to contact you privately if you can be of more assistance. In many cases, just the fact that your business took the time to read, think about, and respond to a negative review will help your business look better to other users.
• Move offline. Don’t let yourself be drawn into an escalating war of words for all to see online. If a situation can’t be addressed in one public response to a negative review, encourage the reviewer to contact you directly to reach a solution.

With these seven tips for maximizing the third-party sites that funnel customers to your business, getting ready for Small Business Saturday is a snap. Make it a great day!   

Get Started on Social Ready to jump into the social ad space? Deluxe has a team of specialists ready to help you get started on your new, easy to create campaigns. Connect me with a social ads specialist

© 2016, John Habib. All rights reserved.

The post Get Found on Small Business Saturday and Beyond appeared first on Vertical Response Blog.

14 Powerful Tactics to Increase Your Email Click-Through Rates

Have you ever sent what you thought was a really amazing email only to find that your click-through rate was below average?

Getting high email click-through rates is really important, and not just because it’s frustrating to spend time building an email that no one clicks.

When subscribers click on links within your emails, you can send them to your blog and website content (like a product page), which ultimately brings them closer to making a buying decision. And when the time is right, you can then ask them to buy.

But before that can happen, you need to write and design emails that convince your audience to click through – which makes increasing these rates a top priority.

Are you ready to skyrocket your email click-through rates?

Here are 14 proven strategies to help you do just that.

1. Stick to one call to action

When you’re creating an email, it may be tempting to include multiple calls to action (CTA) in the hopes that your subscribers will respond to at least one of the offers in an email. After all, the more options you provide, the more likely they’ll engage with one of them, right?

Well, not exactly. In fact, this can hurt your click rates rather than help them.

Too many links can distract and overwhelm your subscribers, decreasing click-through rates in your emails. To get optimal click through rates, include one call to action in your emails to focus your subscribers on taking one action.

In fact, Whirlpool was able to increase their click through rates by 42 percent after limiting their CTA to just one.

In the email below from EOFire, there is one clear call to action and no question of what the subscriber is supposed to do – join the class.

2. Segment your emails

Different people have different interests. So do your email subscribers.

If you send the wrong people on your list an offer they’re not interested in, your click through rates will most likely plummet.

For higher click-through rates, segment your subscribers and send tailored emails based off their interests. You’ll see better click through rates when you send the right offer to the right person.

3. Create a sense of urgency

The fear of missing out (FOMO) is real, and eliciting this feeling in your subscribers can influence them to click on your calls to action right away.

If you have an offer that ends soon or a limited number of spots at a webinar, for example, you can create a sense of urgency by adding words like “now” or “today” to your emails.

We can tell you first hand that creating a sense of urgency works, because it worked on us.

We received the email below a few days ago, and it convinced us to act rather than wait. (Big props, DigitalMarketer. We’ll see you in San Diego!)

4. Personalize your emails

Have you ever received an email that didn’t apply to you at all? This kind of email may leave you feeling like a nobody on a huge list of email subscribers. And this feeling of alienation doesn’t encourage you to click.

Instead, when your subscribers receive an email for you, they should feel like you are addressing them alone. Truly personalized emails will feel like something written just for you. That kind of connection leads to higher click through rates.

Here are a few simple ways you can personalize your emails:

• Include your subscriber’s name in your email. While this technique isn’t fresh, it can be effective. Instead of adding subscribers’ names at the beginning of an email, try adding them in the middle or at the end.
• On your email sign up form, ask for information about your subscribers’ interests. Then, send segmented emails based off their responses.
• Collect your subscribers’ birth dates on your sign up form and send them a celebratory email on their birthday.

For more ideas on how to personalize your emails, check out this post on Engaging Subscribers with Contextual Emails.

5. Create mobile-optimized emails

Fifty-three percent of emails are opened on mobile devices.

And that means if your emails are difficult to read on a phone, there’s probably a huge percentage of your subscribers who aren’t getting the best experience and are most likely not clicking on your emails.

To make sure your emails are easy to read from any device, use email templates that are mobile responsive instead of mobile-friendly.

Mobile responsive emails are easier to read on both desktops and mobile devices, because text, images and buttons automatically adjust to fit the screen size. Additionally, multi-column email layouts adjust to single columns on mobile devices, and content is easy to access with both a mouse and a touchscreen.

Mobile friendly emails, on the other hand, scale down to fit the size of the screen, but don’t adjust layouts or fonts.

See how this mobile-friendly email below is difficult to read because the double-column layout makes the images, fonts and headlines too small?

Compare that to this mobile-responsive email below, where fonts and images are resized for the small screen and double columns turned to single columns:

If you’re not an email designer and have no idea how to make an email responsive, fear not! Many email service providers (like AWeber) provide mobile-responsive email templates for their customers.

6. Include colorful, clickable HTML buttons

One of the simplest ways to increase click-through rates is to ensure your subscribers know where to click. While plain text calls to action work for some people, a big button with a contrasting color immediately draws attention and can significantly improve click-through rates.

If you’re adding a button to your email, there are a few reasons why you’ll want to use an HTML button rather than an image button:

1. An HTML button can be responsive, which means it’ll resize for people on different devices.
2. Images in emails may not display for certain subscribers. And if your call to action doesn’t display as a result, click-through rates will tank.
3. Email load times will be faster with fewer images in your emails.

You can code your own HTML button, or rely on your email service provider’s drag-and-drop editor (which will usually allow you to add customizable HTML buttons).

7. Don’t over complicate your email design

Complex isn’t always better, and this is often the case with email design. Avoid overwhelming your subscribers with an overabundance of images, icons or different fonts. Not only does this make for a disharmonious email, it’ll also take attention away from the content of your email and your call to action.

This beautiful, yet simple email from Evernote incorporates a clean font, one image that works with the content of the email and a clear call-to-action button:

8. Use action-oriented CTA copy

Your email call to action copy should encourage people to take a specific action. Instead of using a generic call to action like “click here,” use verbs that describe the action you want subscribers to take, such as:

• Shop
• Learn
• Get
• Grab
• Submit
• Send
• Start
• Try
• Reserve
• Take
• View
• See
• Watch
• Read

By doing so, you’ll frame the subscriber experience in a way that influences them to want to take action.

9. Pique their curiosity

“The first and simplest emotion which we discover in the human mind is curiosity.” – Edmund Burke

Everyone has been curious about something at one point in their lives. And when a person is curious about something, they are inclined to resolve their curiosity.

Fortunately, you can also leverage curiosity in your email copy to encourage people to click on your emails.

Birchbox, for example, does this in the email below by offering a free mystery prize with a purchase. To find out what they would get, they need to click on the call-to-action button.

Hopefully the prize is a good one, but at least it gets the click!

10. Include social proof

Believe it or not, people like to do what other people do. When they notice multiple people or a famous person doing something, they’re more likely to want to do it themselves. This is called social proof, which is a phenomenon where people are persuaded to take an action by seeing that other people have taken that action before them.

You can use social proof in your email content to encourage people to click on your calls to action. Glossier does just that in the email below. By showing off how customers use their product and sharing their success stories, they tap into the power of social proof.

11. Write engaging headlines

If you use a headline in your email content, it will be the first thing your subscriber sees when they open your message.

A good headline quickly grabs the attention of your subscriber, engages them and gets them to read the rest of your email. And when subscribers read your email content, they become more likely to take action – which makes headlines pretty darn important.

For the email below, MailCharts used the subject line “Are your subscribers annoyed?” and then followed it up with the headline “You don’t know, do you?”

By linking the headline to the subject line, it guides the subscriber to continue reading through the rest of the content. You’ll also notice MailCharts does a good job of raising curiosity, which gives readers even more of a reason to continue reading and click the call-to-action button.

12. Use video

People love to watch videos. They’re engaging, easy to follow, and often fun to watch. Plus, if people are in your videos, you can build relationships that written words often can’t.

While video doesn’t play in many inboxes, the inclusion of a thumbnail image of your video and a play button can boost click through rates tremendously. In fact, Wistia increased their email click through rates by 300 percent by incorporating videos in their emails.

Check out how we used video in the email below. The thumbnail image and play button encourage people to click and helped us get an above-average click-through rate.

Bonus tip: You can also try using GIFs in your emails to add motion to your emails and boost click-through rates.

13. Cater to what your audience likes

If one of your emails had an insanely high click through rate, it’s apparent that your subscribers liked what you did in that email. So, do it again.

Your audience should be your main barometer for what is working in your email strategy and influence the content and design elements you include.

Do you see high click through rates when you send short emails or long emails? Does your audience click more when there’s an image or video? Does a certain kind of content lead to higher clicks?

Take a look at your past emails and see which ones got the highest click through rates.

Then, repeat, repeat, repeat.

14. Feature the right images

Images in your emails can be a powerful way to grab the attention of your subscribers and convince them to click. However, you need to use the right images.

Email images should add meaning, support the content of your email or help make a relevant point. Additionally, you should use alt text in case your images don’t display.

Check out the image in MarketingProfs email below, which serves multiple purposes:

There are a few things that work well here.

1. It summarizes the content of the email briefly and immediately, giving the reader everything they need to know in the space of a few seconds.
2. It supports the content of the email and provides additional meaning.
3. It includes a call-to-action button, which encourages people to click on the email.

For the subscriber who skims or doesn’t read the email content, this image does it all. It catches their attention, tells them about the offer and gives them a place to click.

Go get yourself a sick amount of clicks

Ready to try these tactics for yourself? Test them out with your subscribers and see what tactics increase click-through rates.

Then, send engaging emails that’ll build relationships with your subscribers and possibly even turn them into customers.

Have any questions or comments about what works for you? Share them below.

The post 14 Powerful Tactics to Increase Your Email Click-Through Rates appeared first on Email Marketing Tips.

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An Email Feast: 40 Thanksgiving Subject Lines Your Customers Will Gobble Up

The trick-or-treaters have come and gone, skeletons are back in the closet, and Halloween is officially behind us. Overnight, twinkly lights have gone up, carols and jingles are playing in every shopping mall, and you can’t ignore the giant tree in the town square. It would seem the December holidays are upon us. But wait! What about Thanksgiving?

Between Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and even Small Business Saturday and Giving Tuesday, Thanksgiving can often be overlooked. After all, your consumers are likely busy feasting, watching football, and slipping into tryptophan-induced food-comas. Right? Well, not exactly. Your customers might be house-bound, but in 2015, consumers spent $1.73 billion online on Thanksgiving Day, a 25 percent increase year-over-year.

We hope you get to take the day off and spend Thanksgiving with your family and friends — but not before you set up some delectable email campaigns to remind your subscribers what your business has to offer this holiday season. We collected some of our favorite email subject lines to send before, during, and after Thanksgiving.

1. 14 Delicious Ways to Eat Thanksgiving Leftovers — The Dish from Food & Wine
2. We’re thankful for you! — Doughbies
3. Tomorrow: Turkey Banh Mi — Good Eggs
4. Let us show our thanks — Nordstrom
5. Thanksgiving – thanks to everyone for helping to make SF better — Nextdoor San Francisco
6. Happy Thanksgiving + Black Friday Preview! — GrubMarket
7. Start Thanksgiving with the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot — KQED
8. Giving Thanks — Move Loot
9. A Thanksgiving Gift for You: 20% Off + Free Shipping on the item of your choice — Pottery Barn
10. TDM Update | Thanksgiving | Black Friday Sale | Holiday Specials — The Dailey Method
11. Happy Thanksgiving! Special Savings Inside Just for You — Williams-Sonoma
12. TT | It’s Thanksgiving go time — Tasting Table
13. Enjoy 40% Off: A Happy Thanksgiving, Indeed — Barneys New York
14. Have the happiest Thanksgiving (plus, 30% off your purchase & lots of gift ideas) – J.Crew
15. Happy Turkey Day! The BIGGEST Black Friday doorbusters start NOW online — Old Navy
16. Gobble Up These Laughs — JibJab
17. Your Holiday Parties Need These Festive Cocktails — Liquor.com
18. From Us To You: Happy Thanksgiving! Plus: Enjoy 20% Savings — LivingSocial
19. Start A New Thanksgiving Traditions + A Home for the #PAWLIDAYS — Zappos
20. How to temp your turkey with confidence — Panna
21. The perfect Thanksgiving outfit — LOFT
22. GOBBLE. THIS. UP. 50% off ALL Thanksgiving Essentials +$10 coupon — World Market
23. Happy Thanksgiving! — Body Temp Yoga
24. The Perfect Thanksgiving: Coming to a restaurant near you — OpenTable
25. Designing a Beautiful Thanksgiving — Homepolish
26. Turkey Burn Class & Discount — CORE40
27. Give thanks with Farmgirl Flowers – now 10% off! — Farmgirl Flowers
28. The Best Vegetarian Thanksgiving Main — Epicurious
29. Friendsgiving — 18 Reasons
30. Place Your Order By Tonight + Thanksgiving Deals — GrubMarket
31. Get Your Turkey Orders In Now! — Local Mission Market
32. Last Change for FREE Thanksgiving Delivery! — CHEFS
33. A Thanksgiving we’ll never forget — Anthropologie
34. Where to Buy Your Thanksgiving Turkey — 7×7
35. Celebrate a GMO-free Thanksgiving! — Real Food Company
36. Devour this Decor: Thanksgiving Table Accents You Need — Wayfair
37. How to stay healthy and fit this Thanksgiving — Aetna
38. 20% off — early bird gets the sale — Jonathan Adler
39. Thanksgiving Dinner Has Never Been Easier — Munchery
40. November Treats and Thanksgiving Ideas — Ferry Building Marketplace

Whether you’re offering a promotion, ramping up for the retail weekend, or just saying “thank you,” Thanksgiving emails are a great opportunity to connect with your customers and celebrate the season.

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© 2016, Tori Tsu. All rights reserved.

The post An Email Feast: 40 Thanksgiving Subject Lines Your Customers Will Gobble Up appeared first on Vertical Response Blog.

The 5 Most Common Subject Line Mistakes to Avoid

Advertising legend David Ogilvy once said, “Five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”

Like a headline for a blog post or news article, the subject line for your email needs to capture people’s attention and convince them to open your message. A subject line can make or break the performance of your email, so it’s important to spend extra time crafting one that’s memorable and effective.

Good subject lines get to the point, create a sense of urgency and are relevant to the subscriber, but it’s easy to make mistakes when writing them. Committing these subject line sins can drastically reduce your open rates, but avoiding them is easy if you know what to look for.

Here are five of the most common mistakes people make when writing email subject lines, as well as tips to improve them and boost your open rates.

1. Using ALL CAPS or too much punctuation(!!)

Imagine receiving an email with a subject line like this in your inbox: GET 40% OFF YOUR NEXT PURCHASE RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chances are you would take one of three actions: ignore it, delete it, or mark it as spam.

Before pressing send, keep in mind that USING EXCESSIVE CAPITALIZATION AND PUNCTUATION SCARES AWAY SUBSCRIBERS AND KILLS OPEN RATES!!!!!  It can come across as though you are yelling, which can have a negative impact on your email performance. So you should use capitalization and punctuation cautiously. 

Occasionally adding phrases like “Free” or “Act Now” have been shown to improve open rates, but I recommend using them sparingly to avoid diluting their impact. 

On a similar note, be sure to avoid using too much punctuation. You have limited real estate for your subject line, and multiple exclamation marks can come across as spammy. Special characters such as * % & # and ^,  have been known to trigger spam filters, so be sure to use them sparingly as well.

Do this, not that:

Now that we’ve gone over the punctuation mistakes to avoid in your subject line, you may be wondering which characters leads to more open rates.

The answer? Question marks, exclamation points and periods. 

According to Touchstone, two to four percent of email subject lines should end with a full stop or a period. They also found that subject lines with exclamation points can expect an open rate that’s one to 20 percent higher than average – just as long as you don’t use them in every message.

While this can vary depending on your industry, your audience, and the content of your messages, I recommend testing multiple subject lines to see which forms of punctuation your subscribers are more likely to respond to.

Here’s an example of a subject line from Enchanting Marketing:

By using simple language, asking a question, and using proper punctuation in her subject line, founder Henneke is able to pique the reader’s interest and entice them to read the message.

Exclamation points, periods, and question marks are all part of a healthy email marketing strategy, so don’t be afraid to mix up the punctuation you use in your subject lines.

2. Using Spammy Words

Adding certain trigger words to your subject line can activate a recipient’s spam filter, even if the message you’re sending is legitimate.

To prevent this from happening, Mequoda recommends avoiding certain words, phrases, and symbols like “$$$,” “100% free,” “cash off,” “cheap,” “weight loss,” and “serious cash”. Even if your email makes it into the inbox, it can come across as spammy to your subscribers.

Do this, not that:

To ensure your readers take your emails seriously, choose the language of your subject line carefully by avoiding some of the trigger words and symbols listed above.

Finding the right verbiage for your subject line can be tough, especially with the sophisticated spam filters out today. Luckily, HubSpot put together an exhaustive list of email trigger words to avoid when composing your subject line, so reference it before sending your next message.

While there are plenty of recommendations for words to avoid in subject lines, there’s no hard and fast rule for ones to include; what works for one industry may not work for another. Be sure to try different variations of words to see what resonates best.

I also recommend focusing on specific words that tie back to the content in your email. Check out this example from our friends at Social Media Examiner:

The subject line tells you exactly what you’ll get by opening up the email. And by focusing on that, it eliminates the risk of including words that might appear spammy.

3. Making It Too Long

Consider the environment in which your subscribers are reading your emails. Chances are, they’re on-the-go or quickly scanning their inboxes between work meetings.

Since you have only seconds to capture their attention, you want to make sure your subject lines aren’t wordy or redundant.

Long subject lines look spammy and get lost in cluttered inboxes, especially if readers are using mobile devices.

Do this, not that:

Our favorite rule of thumb is one recommended by our friends at Litmus, who say to keep subject lines no longer than 50 characters. To do so, aim to get your message across as quickly as possible and cut any unnecessary terms or phrases.

As important as it is to get your message across quickly and clearly, make sure it expresses a complete thought and offers value to the reader – you don’t want to write a subject line that’s too short, either. Avoid one-word subject lines and strive to be helpful and relevant to your subscriber.

Professional photography blogger Courtney Slazinik conveys her message concisely with the following subject line:

By building a message around a numbered list and including the word “secrets,” Courtney offers value and creates a sense of mystery around her content. As a result, this subject line is easily skimmable and irresistibly clickable.

4. Writing misleading content

Let’s say you send an email with the following subject: Get an exclusive 50% discount on our entire inventory!

But when the reader opens the email, it’s a pitch to sign up for a webinar or free online class.

Not only is this tactic dishonest, it also tends to backfire. No one likes to be deceived, especially when they receive an email that promises one thing and delivers another. You might get people to open your email initially, but this alienates subscribers and can hurt your open rates and spam rates in the long run. If your subscribers lose trust in your emails, they’re more inclined to ignore future emails and mark you as spam.

To build and maintain trust between you and your subscriber, make sure to align the content of your email and your subject line.

Email Overload Solutions also recommends avoiding subject lines that include RE: or FW:.

These tend to trick the reader into thinking the email was part of another conversation, which doesn’t leave a positive feeling with subscribers.

Not including this text also gives you more room to work with in your subject line, which can be used to convey helpful and relevant information instead.

5. Including spelling or grammar errors

Subject lines (or any other content in your email) with typos, misspelled words, and misplaced punctuation look unprofessional and can hurt your open rates.

Emails are an opportunity to establish your brand as a helpful source of information. Subject lines with spelling or syntax errors make a bad first impression, and undermine your ability to establish trust with your subscribers.

Do this, not that:

To optimize your email open rates, be sure to review your emails for grammar and spelling prior to hitting send. No one will take the time to read your email if the subject line is loaded with grammar mistakes, but basic copy editing can prevent these errors from slipping through the cracks.

Crafting subject lines that sweep subscribers off their feet

The subject line is one of email’s most important components, so it’s important to get it right before you send your emails. And by avoiding the mistakes above, you’ll be well on your way towards improving your email engagement.

Do you have any subject line best practices that weren’t listed in this article? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

The post The 5 Most Common Subject Line Mistakes to Avoid appeared first on Email Marketing Tips.

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5 Big Ideas to Make the Most of Small Business Saturday

We love small business. It’s part of our DNA and drives us to do what we do every day. So it’s no surprise that when Small Business Saturday rolls around, we’re all in to support your business and encourage customers to “shop small” and “dine small.”

If you’re not familiar with Small Business Saturday, it was an initiative first launched by American Express in 2010, prompting customers to shop and dine at local businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Black Friday belongs to the big-box national retailers, and Cyber Monday drives shoppers to online stores, but Small Business Saturday carved out a space for the local restaurants and businesses that are such an integral part of their communities. Since its launch, it’s grown steadily with every year; in 2015, 95 million customers shopped and dined small on Small Business Saturday, to the tune of $16.2 billion.

It’ll also be here before you know it.

To help your business take part, here are some useful tools you should take advantage of:

1. Personalize, plan, and promote

Create personalized Small Business Saturday marketing materials with your business name, information, and even an image from the Small Business Saturday site. You’ll need to provide a few details about your business, such as name, address, and website. The site provides downloadable, personalized email images, digital banners, images for social media posts, and logos to use on your blog or website.

With these Small Business Saturday marketing goodies, you have several options for promoting the event, but it’ll require a little planning. Because Small Business Saturday falls during one of the busiest shopping weekends of the holiday season, decide now which products, services, sales, or specials you want to promote, especially during the holidays.

Plan at least one social post per week leading up to the big day. The more frequent the posts, the better, if you can manage it. The images provided on the Small Business Saturday site work well for both social posts and emails, which creates consistency. Plan to send at least two emails about Small Business Saturday; one to save the date, and one the week of to remind people. If you also send a newsletter, include information to encourage your subscribers to visit your business or website and shop.

2. Spread the word offline

It’s never too early to get people fired up about events you have planned. Print Small Business Saturday signs or posters to hang by your point of sale, or inside your business’s window. Consider creating postcards to send or pass out to remind customers about Small Business Saturday. Keep in mind that printing and mailing can take some time, so plan for your postcards to be printed and ready to mail 10 days before you need them to arrive.

3. Have a “Shop Small” soiree

There are several fun event ideas you can plan around Small Business Saturday, including a kick-off breakfast or a collaboration with several other local small businesses. To help your event efforts, sign up for an event kit, which contains welcome mats, shopping bags, and other goodies. To qualify for the event kit, you’ll need provide information about your businesses and the event plan. Request your kit soon as supplies can run out!

4. Get social

Use the hashtag #ShopSmall and/or #SmallBiz Sat on any Tweets you write about Small Business Saturday so they’ll appear on the main Small Business Saturday Twitter feed. Also, check out the helpful Small Business Saturday Facebook page for ideas and info about special shopping day. Get customers in on the action as well by encouraging them to tweet about shopping small, or sharing pictures on Instagram using the #shopsmall hashtag.

5 bonus ideas to maximize your Small Business Saturday efforts!

• Expand your day: Remember, Small Business Saturday is your day, so make the most of it! If you usually open at 10am and close at 6pm, consider opening at 8am and closing at 8pm instead. Use email and social media to remind customers of extended hours.
• Follow Black Friday’s example: Door-busting deals and limited-time offers work to bring customers in the day after Thanksgiving, and you can do the same for Small Business Saturday. Make sure you consider your strategy and analyze your profit margins to ensure your promotion gives your bottom line a boost and not a bust.
• Partner up: The right partnership can make your small business feel like a bigger business on Small Business Saturday; combine your marketing and promotions with a like-minded store in your community. For example, if you’re a baker, partner with the coffee shop next door. Strategic cross-promotions can benefit you both and help everyone make the most of Small Business Saturday.
• Give back: Small Business Saturday is the perfect time to give back to the community that has given so much to you. Consider donating a portion of your sales to a local charity of your choice, and display this for your customers to see. You may also consider matching donations from your customers to your chosen charity.
• Create a memorable experience: Your personal touch is what makes your business special, so highlight it! If you have a bookstore, hold a reading. If you are in the food/beverage industry, host a tasting. Make your Small Business Saturday experience memorable so customers will think of you the next time they’re making a purchasing decision. Lastly, don’t discount the importance of writing “thank you” notes to everyone who made your Small Business Saturday special. Set up an email campaign to your customers on Sunday to say “thank you” and “we appreciate your support/business,” or even drop handwritten “thank you’s” into shopping bags with each purchase. Your customers will remember it, and it gives your business a personal touch that differentiates you from larger competitors.

With these tips, your business should be well on its way to a successful Small Business Saturday.

Don’t Have a VerticalResponse Account Yet? Or Ready to Start Sending #ShopSmall Emails? It’s easy to use and free to get started. Sign up or log in and send up to 4,000 emails per month for free. VerticalResponse

Editor’s Note: This blog post was originally published in November 2014 and has been revamped and updated for accuracy and relevance.

© 2016, Tori Tsu. All rights reserved.

The post 5 Big Ideas to Make the Most of Small Business Saturday appeared first on Vertical Response Blog.

6 Ways Social Sharing Can Grow Your Email List

Crafting great content isn’t enough to get your content to go viral. In a world where sharing is social currency, social engagement is more important than ever if you want the world to see your content.

And it could be the key to getting more eyes on your emails (more sharing = more website visitors and exposure to your email sign up forms).

However, shareability is a skill that requires a lot of strategy and iteration. So we teamed up with our friends at AddThis to talk about social sharing. (After all, they are the experts.)

Read on to see what to share, when to share, and how to measure its success.

Sharing is the key to successful content

Sharing can help distribute your content to new audiences that it may not have reached before.

Think of it this way: People share things they find relevant and cool. Content that fits their own personal brand. If you wouldn’t want to see it in your own Twitter feed, is it even worth sharing?

It helps to know your customers. Do your research and identify the things these people are sharing and use this as a basis for developing your content.

Ask yourself:

• Will my audience find this useful?
• Is there a unique point of view?
• Does it make the reader feel something?
• Would you want to share it?

They’ll be more likely to share it and your content will get seen by people like them.

Q1 Why is sharing so important for content? #EmailChat http://pic.twitter.com/EvpMqAtNP2

— AWeber (@AWeber) November 3, 2016

A1 Sharing helps distribute and expose your content to new audiences, which'll drive more traffic. #EmailChat

— AddThis (@addthis) November 3, 2016

A1 Sharing shows that your audience finds your content useful. It's a good indicator of engagement and relevance. #EmailChat

— Olivia Dello Buono (@oliviadello) November 3, 2016

@AWeber #EmailChat Sparks conversations. Comment sections are dead. The good discussions happen over social.

— Really Good Emails (@reallygoodemail) November 3, 2016

Creating shareable content is a skill

The average American spends nearly 20% of their time online browsing social media networks. And during that time, they’re being inundated with content. Content that is competing for their attention alongside your own.

So how can you make sure your content is better than the rest?

For starters, it needs to be easy to share. This means adding sharing buttons, interactive elements like Click-to-Tweets, or simply including a note at the end of your content to pass it along to a friend.

It’s also worth noting that the types of content that get the most shares are relevant and timely. Take note of trending topics and hashtags and deliver content that works in the moment. (A great way to repurpose your content!)

Q2 How can we make content more shareable? #EmailChat http://pic.twitter.com/s5g1ZtMZ3O

— AWeber (@AWeber) November 3, 2016

A2 First, you need share buttons. Second, you need great, timely, and relevant content. Third, a great brand. @AWeber #EmailChat

— AddThis (@addthis) November 3, 2016

A2 It's so helpful when the content is relevant to what people are talking about in the moment. We call it trend jacking @AWeber #EmailChat

— AddThis (@addthis) November 3, 2016

A2 Well-written and unique content that solves big problems makes people want to share. Share buttons make it easy to share. #emailchat

— Liz Willits (@lizwillits) November 3, 2016

THIS is the best place to put share buttons

Now that you have a better understanding of the types of content to create, where is the best place to put your social sharing buttons?

We use AddThis on our own blog – those buttons over to your left. We love that they follow the reader as they scroll, so there’s no searching around. They aren’t intrusive either, which is a plus.

You can also add contextual sharing buttons throughout the content experience. These work best when they feel natural, like when the reader has that “a-ha!” moment.

Q3 Where should we put share buttons? #EmailChat http://pic.twitter.com/JyFjoOgLoO

— AWeber (@AWeber) November 3, 2016

A3 You want them to be interspersed into the reading experience. @AWeber #EmailChat

— AddThis (@addthis) November 3, 2016

A3 I like share buttons that follow you down the page as you scroll. You never need to search for the share buttons. #emailchat

— Liz Willits (@lizwillits) November 3, 2016

A3 They should be noticeable, but natural. Where do they feel contextually relevant? When is the reader most likely to share? #EmailChat

— Olivia Dello Buono (@oliviadello) November 3, 2016

Here’s how to measure the success of your shared content

Likes, shares and retweets are important.

But if the goal of your content is to drive traffic and get more eyes on your content, clicks matter. Bonus points if you can measure the time people spent on your page.

Q4 What metrics are important to content sharing? #EmailChat http://pic.twitter.com/r39vVXRX5z

— AWeber (@AWeber) November 3, 2016

A4 Likes, shares, retweets, upvotes. As algorithms change – looking at you, @Facebook – engagement in all forms matters. #EmailChat

— Olivia Dello Buono (@oliviadello) November 3, 2016

A4 It's not just shares. It's clicks. You want those shares driving traffic back. @AWeber #EmailChat

— AddThis (@addthis) November 3, 2016

A4. Clicks & time spent on page if possible. Reach is cool but you want to make sure people are engaging w/ your content! #emailchat

— Kristen Dunleavy (@KristenWritesIt) November 3, 2016

Social sharing can help build your email list

Now that you know that the goal is in the click, how can you utilize that traffic to build up your email list?

Teasing your email content on social is a great start. Letting people know that the best stuff awaits their inbox generates the buzz your list needs.

Make sure that there’s a prominent sign up form on the page you’re driving traffic to, as well. Just like with social sharing buttons, don’t make your reader work too hard to find it. Or better yet, serve it up at an opportune time.

Q5 How can content sharing help build an email list? #EmailChat http://pic.twitter.com/BuDDcgEeE3

— AWeber (@AWeber) November 3, 2016

A5 Sharing should drive inbound traffic. The goal is then to leverage that traffic to become new email subscribers #EmailChat

— AddThis (@addthis) November 3, 2016

A5. Tease your email content on social & let people know they need to sign up for your list to access aaaalll your best stuff. #emailchat

— Kristen Dunleavy (@KristenWritesIt) November 3, 2016

A5. Sharing drives more traffic to your site and then you can convert that traffic with emails sign up forms on your site. #emailchat

— Liz Willits (@lizwillits) November 3, 2016

The way we share has shifted in the past decade

Online content has changed significantly over the last 10 years. Brands have to fight more than ever now to get their content in front of the eyes of their target audience.

And people are being more selective about what they’re sharing, favoring substance over click bait.

As Really Good Emails put it, brands need to know their audience more than ever in order to serve up great content.

Q6 How has sharing changed over the last 10 years? #EmailChat http://pic.twitter.com/g9gO3Bs19N

— AWeber (@AWeber) November 3, 2016

A6. I'm calling it: I think click-bait-y content is over. People want to share vetted, trusted content that has actual substance. #emailchat

— Kristen Dunleavy (@KristenWritesIt) November 3, 2016

@AWeber #EmailChat A6 Brands now need to know more about their audience and how/where their content is being shared.

— Really Good Emails (@reallygoodemail) November 3, 2016

A6 It's just going to grow. It's consolidated around specific social networks. @AWeber #EmailChat

— AddThis (@addthis) November 3, 2016

Mark your calendars

We’re ending the year with a bang! Join us on Thursday, December 1 at 12pm ET for a very special #EmailChat. We’ll be joined by our friends from Litmus, Movable Ink, MailCharts, Really Good Emails, AddThis (and more TBA) to talk about the Best of Email 2016.

This is the one chat you won’t want to miss.

The post 6 Ways Social Sharing Can Grow Your Email List appeared first on Email Marketing Tips.

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Make the Most Out of Social Coupons for Small Business Saturday

This holiday season, we’re all about using social coupons to boost business during the hectic last months of 2016. We recently blogged about social coupons in general, and also about how to use coupons to your business’s advantage during the holidays. With Small Business Saturday fast approaching on November 26, we wanted to take a look at how social coupons can prompt your customers to think of you when they “shop small” and “dine small.” 

If you’re not familiar with Small Business Saturday, it was an initiative first launched by American Express in 2010, prompting customers to shop and dine in their local communities on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Black Friday belongs to the big-box national retailers, and Cyber Monday drives shoppers to online stores, but Small Business Saturday carved out a space for the local restaurants and businesses that are such an integral part of their communities. Since its launch, it’s grown steadily with every year; in 2015, 95 million customers shopped and dined small on Small Business Saturday, to the tune of $16.2 billion. 

Email marketing in one way to take advantage of Small Business Saturday. Social coupons are another tool in your Small Business Saturday kit. As we discussed in our recent blog post, social coupons are great for these reasons: 

• They help you track which social media platforms drive the most traffic to your business.
• They create word-of-mouth buzz by encouraging your followers to share the coupons with their friends and family.
• They create urgency.
• They can drive foot traffic.
• They can generate sign ups for your email lists.
• They take advantage of customers’ price sensitivity, which is often more important to them than brand loyalty. 

In the run-up to Small Business Saturday, all of these advantages come into play. Here’s five ways to make them work for you.

1. Use Small Business Saturday to create urgency.

Small Business Saturday is but a short day in one of the busiest holiday weekends of the season. Social coupons help focus your customers’ attention on the fact that they need to take action — either by visiting your business or your website — on that day in particular. Drive traffic with a social coupon that’s good only on Saturday, November 26.

2. Use social coupons to stand out from the crowd.

Small Business Saturday is a great way to call attention to all the small businesses in a community, of course. But in a world of increasing competition, giving yourself an edge never hurts. Social coupons click with price-conscious consumers who may pay more attention to the bottom line than to brand loyalty. Use your Small Business Saturday social coupon as a loss-leader to get traffic in the door (or on your site), and then upsell those visitors on other products and services. This is especially important if your business sells a common product line or service that customers can find elsewhere.

3. Use social coupons to raise money for charity.

Social coupons don’t have to be just for discounts or promotions, of course. Try running a social coupon campaign where your business donates a certain amount (or certain portion of sale proceeds) to a local charity. That way you can drive traffic to your business, upsell the customers while they’re there, and still do some good at the end of the day.

4. Social coupons can help advertise a Small Business Saturday event.

Two days after Thanksgiving, a lot of people are waking up from their turkey comas, or they’re sick of eating leftovers, or they’re feeling daunted about the crazed holiday weeks yet to come, or they’ve had enough football. Or maybe all of the above. Chances are they’re a little bit stir-crazy and ready to be out and about. Give them a reason to visit you by holding a Small Business Saturday event at your business, and use social coupons to dish out free beverages, extra discounts, or other holiday-themed treats to those who stop by. Encourage them to share the coupons with their friends and family to ensure you have a steady crowd.

5. Use Small Business Saturday hashtags so people can find your social coupons.

#SmallBizSat, #ShopSmall, and #DineSmall are some of the most common Small Business Saturday hashtags. Make sure to affix them to your social coupons so your posts are searchable in Facebook, Twitter, and your other social networks. 

If you haven’t already, Small Business Saturday is a great way to start using social coupons to boost your business. Follow these tips, and you’ll cut through the clutter this Thanksgiving weekend.

Get Started on Social Ready to create your #ShopSmall social coupons? Deluxe has a team of specialists ready to help you get started on your new, easy to create campaigns. Connect me with a social ads specialist

 

© 2016, John Habib. All rights reserved.

The post Make the Most Out of Social Coupons for Small Business Saturday appeared first on Vertical Response Blog.