How good would it be if you could sell your small-biz wares while you sleep? Get tucked into bed with a good book and wake up to a new sale or three by the time your alarm goes off? It’s actually not too ludicrous! If you get your email marketing sorted with automated sends and nail your newsletters, this could become your new delightful reality!

To get some tips on bringing this dream scenario to fruition, we enlisted the help of web designer Katie Zana who runs her own studio Pearler. We know she has the goods because we recently asked her to share her email marketing secrets in a webinar as part of our Strictly Business ‘Lunchbreak Lessons’ series in partnership with Squarespace (which you can watch here… even if it’s not lunch time).

But if you’re short on time and want the cheat sheet, here are some top tips to take your email marketing from go to woah!

OWN IT Part of the reason everyone is going email-wild lately (in a good way) is that it’s become harder for small businesses to reliably reach their audience via social media. “Email is still one of the highest-converting marketing tools out there,” says Katie. So don’t overlook it! What sets it apart from social media is that you actually own your audience, you’re not at the whim of the ever-changing social media algorithms. Katie loves it because it’s direct, personal and “more likely to lead to genuine engagement”.

SET AND FORGET If you run an online store, you’re probably already sending transactional emails but are you using them to their fullest potential? “These automatic emails actually have the highest open rate of any email type,” says Katie. “Usually around 60 per cent.” Take a simple ‘order confirmation’ email as an example: Katie says a heartfelt thank you, as opposed to generic text, can be “the first step to creating a loyal customer”. Likewise, a fun and engaging (read: not pushy) ‘abandoned cart’ email can be the nudge someone needs to reconsider an almost-but-got-distracted purchase.

BETTER NEWSLETTERS Reckon newsletters are just a place to sell? Katie recommends a different approach: newsletters are all about creating community. “It’s about connection, storytelling, building community, providing value and resources,” she says. “When people feel like they’re part of something, they keep coming back.” And you don’t have to pump them out just for the sake of it. “Quality beats quantity!” says Katie. Stuck on what to sayI? Blend updates, helpful tips, and a touch of personality – let your newsletter be an extension of your brand, not just a sales pitch.

MAKE IT PRETTY You don’t have to be a designer to make your emails pop. Katie loves using platforms like Squarespace which “make it easy to design emails that feel genuinely ‘you’ with a beautiful, branded feel that sets you apart in the inbox”. She recommends avoiding big chunks of text; being liberal with bolded text, italics and bullet points; and going hard on emojis and gifs if/when it suits your brand. Another hot tip? Always check your emails on a phone-size screen before sending. “More people open emails on their phones,” Katie says. “So make sure your email looks good on screens of all sizes.”

WRITE STUFF Do you read every word of every email in your inbox? Absolutely not! “People skim emails,” Katie says. “So make every word count and keep them eager to read on.” That means you should write like a human (like yourself – not how you ‘think’ you should write). Making your tone unmistakably ‘you’ builds trust and, according to Katie, “will help you resonate with the right people”. Not using personalisation? You could be missing out. “Adding someone’s name or mentioning their last purchase makes them feel seen,” Katie advises. “It turns your email into a personal note instead of a generic blast.”

THE BORING STUFF You’ve done all this amazing work, so we have to make sure the email actually reaches their inbox. Deliverability is super important not to overlook. “Stick to best practices to stay out of spam folders and get seen,” Katie says. What does that look like? Katie recommends avoiding spammy or ‘taboo’ words, not sending a welcome email and inconsistent sending. It’s not sexy, but it’s essential!

These helpful tips were brought to you in partnership with Squarespace, providing entrepreneurs and small business owners with the tools they need to bring their creative ideas to life, online. Using their all-in-one platform, you can claim a domain, build a website, sell online and market your brand. Use code ‘STRICTLYBUSINESS’ for 20% a monthly or annual subscription - learn more here.