These days, it’s not easy to do business without a website that people can visit for information, buying opportunities, or even just a chance to connect with your business. However, if you don’t have a website, you are not alone. In fact, only 72% of small businesses have a website.
We won’t sugar coat it: email marketing without a website is not easy.
A website is a great way to bring everything together. It can be a landing place for your email subscribers, it helps carry out your marketing efforts, and it is a part of the voice of your business.
With all of that said, it’s not impossible to do email marketing without a website. There are some strategies and tips that you can put into play to ensure you get great results, even without a website. In this article, we will show you a few ideas that you can make your own!
6 Ways to Approach Email Marketing Without a Website
1. Send visitors to your social media pages
The internet has opened up a lot of opportunities. It is not entirely necessary for all businesses to have a full website.
Many businesses put a lot of their focus on their social media pages. Beautiful Instagram photos can help sell a product or service very well. In fact, Instagram is still a rapidly growing platform and ripe for helping your business connect with new fans.
Almost all email marketing campaigns have a link to social media profiles these days. Whether a business has a website or not, their social media channels are an invaluable tool for staying connected with customers on the platforms they use most.
If you don’t have a website, you may want to make your social media buttons more visible within your email campaigns. In addition, you may wish to include a more powerful call-to-action instead of simply just inserting links to your social media pages.
Give your subscribers somewhere to go after they are done reading your email. The more time they spend connecting with you, the more opportunity you have to make a strong impression.
2. Keep fans updated with newsletters
If your business doesn’t have a website then you are missing a valuable tool you can use to keep fans updated.
Many businesses, whether or not they have a website, use newsletters to connect with their subscribers and customers. A business without a website should use newsletters frequently to make up for their missing online presence.
Newsletters can tell customers about upcoming sales, important events, and major announcements. Since there is no website to visit for this information, people are depending on you to deliver it to them.
Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to do that. Using your email newsletter, you can direct customers to popular social media posts and other links you may wish to promote. Using images, bright colors, and bold text will help capture the reader’s attention and keep it from the top of the email to the very end.
3. Deliver new content directly to email inboxes
One of the main reasons many businesses have a website is to provide a location for customers, fans, and potential buyers to view their content. Blogging has become very popular for all types of businesses and a website is like a content aggregator for your original ideas.
However, without a website, you don’t have a one-stop-shop location for your content. Blogs, images, and videos make for great email content. Even though you don’t have a website, you can still produce these effective forms of content and deliver it directly to your fans or customers.
Even if you decide to get a website down the road, this method of email marketing is still very effective. You can use exciting content to promote different areas of your business. Want more YouTube followers? Share your newest video in an email. Excited about your growing blog? Share a piece of unique content to get people hooked.
4. Run contests for email subscribers
In marketing, the most basic question marketers must ask is, “Why?”
Why would someone follow through on a call to action? Why would they follow your social media page? Why would they subscribe to your email list?
Simply offering an email list is not an exciting enough proposition to get people to sign up. Exclusive content will definitely help earn some subscribers. Another effective way to grab attention is to operate email contests.
Use contests to build email subscribers and use email marketing efforts to grow areas of your business you wish to grow.
For example, announcing a new contest by email and then directing subscribers to complete requests like following your business on social media is a great way to capture fan’s attention on two different platforms.
These contests can also be promoted in a physical location if you have one. Encourage visitors to sign up for your email list in order to receive exclusive contest offers. This allows you to connect with customers even after they have left your building and ensure that your business stays top of mind.
5. Point subscribers to online stores
Many businesses today sell products online and, yet, do not have a website.
That’s because websites like Etsy or eBay offer fantastic storefronts with little to no management required on the part of business owners. These online stores offer a great shopping experience without the stress and cost of managing your own online store.
However, in order for your business to make money, people actually have to be able to find your products online. Sending out email communications showcasing products and linking to your Etsy, eBay, or Amazon storefront is a great way to boost sales.
Best of all, people trust these storefronts already and may be regular shoppers. Making that first purchase could be much easier than if they had been directed to a standalone online store.
This is also a great technique for affiliate marketers who don’t sell products themselves but, instead, help others sell products or services. Craft an exciting email, point people to the website where they can make a purchase, and then collect your commission for the sale. Having your own website isn’t necessary for making sales with the many alternative options available.
6. Offer exclusive deals and coupons
Getting flyers into the hands of customers is an expensive way of doing marketing. Not to mention, flyers are annoying and wasteful. Most people see a flyer on their front step and immediately drop it in their recycling or trash bin.
Email marketing is the modern way of a classic form of marketing. Sending out special deals or coupon offers by email reduces waste, delivers coupons directly to customers, and ensures that people are aware of the sales you are currently running.
You may not have a website, but people are still looking for a digital method of connecting with your business and getting the best deals. Not only does a coupon or sale offer a great reason to get them out to visit your store, but it is also a fantastic chance to reach out and connect with customers. Best of all, you get to offer value with each and every email you send.
Wrap up
There is no denying that marketing is easier with a website. However, email marketing without a website can be done and, most importantly, it can be done effectively.
Email marketing allows you to add value to your business and stay connected with customers. Since there is no website for customers to visit, you can use email marketing to get out the information you would have included in a website.
Plus, without the time and cost of managing a website, you can focus even more on creating stunning email marketing campaigns.
A little bit of thinking outside the box can ensure that your next email marketing campaign gets you the results you hope for.
Ready to start crafting professional emails to boost sales, social media followers, or simply connect with customers? Try Campaign Monitor for free today!