Want to know a secret? No one knows exactly what they’re doing. Have you ever heard that saying, “Fake it ‘til you make it?” Most stationers who are just starting out are doing just that. Owning a stationery business means learning how to bridge the gap between being a creative and being a business owner—and it’s hard work! But here’s the best part: You don’t have to spin your wheels too hard if you use the right tools. Email marketing is one of the best things you can use to reach your audience and turn them into customers.
A great email campaign has the potential to increase your return on investment (ROI) and raise your bottom line . . . to the tune of $36-$40 per dollar spent.1 So, if you’re ready to get off that hamster wheel and start converting your subscribers into customers, keep on reading.
Why Email Marketing Is Important for Your Stationery Business
In today’s economy, where everyone on social media is selling something life-changing, it can be really hard to cut through the noise and market to your ideal customer. That’s where email marketing comes into play! Instead of churning out content that they may or may not see in their daily scroll, you get an invitation to market to them—straight to their inbox.
“An email address is an invitation to a direct line of communication.”
Email marketing helps your stationery business by:
Once you’re able to share your stationery products and brand directly with your customers, the easier it is to get (and keep) their attention. And it’s important to remember that those followers and fans that you’ve spent so much time building on different social platforms could be lost instantly if those platforms ever shut their doors. As business owners, it’s extremely important to learn how to take your followers from those social media platforms and transfer them to a place that you can actually own. Guess what? That’s your email list.
When you spend more time on the marketing tools that have the potential to increase your sales and build customer retention and relationships, you’re going to see that reflected in your bottom line. Turns out, building and owning your email list is a big deal.
Email Marketing Tips for Stationers
Let’s talk about how to take your email list and turn it into a marketing machine that benefits both your stationery business, and your customer.
Email marketing done well can be one of the biggest ways to care for and connect with current and future customers. A successful email creates an exchange of value for your customers. Think about the emails you look forward to receiving. Is it a newsletter from your favorite nonprofit? A brand email that shares some behind-the-scenes content? Educational content from a fellow stationer? Whatever it is, think about how you could make your own marketing emails worthy of being read.
Let’s say you made a sale today. That purchase automatically added that new customer to your email list. And because you’ve segmented your email lists, they get added to the list of people who have purchased from your business. Now, anything you share with this list is done with an assumption that they love your brand and want to see new products, hear about market dates, and other fun things they may be interested in. You can speak to them as if they’re familiar with you and your products.
Or, if someone gives you their email address in exchange for a discount code, you can create a special “future customer” list and market to them differently. With this list, you’ll need to focus on introducing yourself, your products and brand, and show them why your stationery needs to be in their home or office.
The best part about email marketing is that you can automate it! By creating email campaigns, you can take your customers on a journey from introduction to connection to purchase—all on a schedule of your choosing. Your emails have the opportunity to meet your customers where they are and nurture them on the journey with your stationery business. Your goal is to continue to nurture that relationship in the hopes that they’ll become repeat and loyal customers for years to come.
What do you want your readers to do with the content you’ve shared? Every single newsletter or email needs to be linked back to your shop or website, or a specific product you want to sell. Missing a call-to-action means missing out on an opportunity to make a sale!
Become A Stationery Expert With PrintsWell
Email marketing for stationers is all about trial and error, seeing what works and what doesn’t, and figuring out what your customers are interested in. Remember, email marketing is a powerful tool. When you do it well, you have the power to convert someone from “just browsing” to “loyal customer.”
Want more helpful content like this? Visit PrintsWell University—you’ll become a stationery expert in no time with our free business resources. And if you’re looking for a printing partner that will level up your stationery, we’d love to work together! Fill out an application here and let’s get started.