Small Business Email Marketing

Build a list people asked to join
Decide what you'll send

With email, you hold the list yourself, and the people on it asked to hear from you. Do it well, even if you only send one email a month.

This guide covers building a list, deciding what to send, the US legal basics from the FTC, and how to judge whether it's working. If you're looking for wording for payment reminders or follow-ups on unpaid invoices, those have their own guides, linked below.

Build a list people asked to join

Build a list of people who chose to hear from you, not a long list of strangers. Give people a clear reason to sign up and a clear idea of what they'll get.

Put the sign-up where interested people already are: your contact page, the footer of your website, the confirmation page after someone books or requests a quote, and your Google Business Profile.
Say what they're signing up for: "a short monthly note with seasonal tips and openings in our schedule" can set clearer expectations than "subscribe to our newsletter".
Offer something useful in return, if you have it: a checklist, a price guide, early access to booking slots.
Don't buy or borrow lists. People who didn't ask for your email may mark it as spam, and those complaints can follow your sending address.
Ask existing clients directly. Ask a one-line question at the end of a project ("Would you like our quarterly update?") instead of adding everyone without asking.

Decide what you'll send

A small business can cover a lot with three kinds of email:

A welcome email sent when someone joins: who you are, what they'll get from you, and one useful link.
A regular update on a schedule you can keep: a tip, a recent project, a seasonal reminder, any change in your services.
An occasional offer or announcement: a new service, a booking window, an event.

Keep these separate in your head from transactional email, such as invoices, receipts and appointment confirmations. Those go to people because of something they bought or booked.

In the US, the line between the two matters. The FTC's CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business (US, dated August 2023, edited January 2024) says: "Despite its name, the CAN-SPAM Act doesn’t apply just to bulk email." The guide quotes the law's definition of a commercial message: "any electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service". The guide adds: "The law makes no exception for business-to-business email."

Follow the CAN-SPAM rules (US)

The same FTC guide (US, August 2023, edited January 2024) lists what every commercial email must do. A few of its rules shape how you set up any email tool:

Accurate subject lines: "The subject line must accurately reflect the content of the message."
A postal address: "Your message must include your valid physical postal address."
A way to opt out: "Your message must include a clear and conspicuous explanation of how the recipient can opt out of getting marketing email from you in the future."
Fast removal: "You must honor a recipient’s opt-out request within 10 business days."
Vendors don't take the responsibility off you: the guide says "you can’t contract away your legal responsibility to comply with the law."

The FTC guide covers more than this list. If you email people outside the US, or you're unsure whether a message counts as commercial, ask a lawyer.

Keep segments small and simple

Segmenting means sending different emails to different groups. For a small team, two or three groups can be enough:

Clients and prospects. People who've paid you may want different news from people who are still deciding.
By service. A landscaper's lawn-care clients and design clients may care about different seasons.
By timing. Someone who booked last week doesn't need the "book now" email.

Tag people when they join, from the form they used or a short question on sign-up. Then you aren't sorting a spreadsheet by memory later.

Write emails that get read

One purpose per email. If you want people to book, don't also ask them to follow you, read a blog post and fill in a survey.
Send from a person. "Maria at Green Leaf" can read like a note from someone they know; a bare company name can read like a promotion.
Write the subject line last, after you know what the email says, and keep it true to the content.
Make the next step obvious: one link or button, with words that say what happens ("Choose a time", "See the spring prices").
Keep it readable on a phone. Short paragraphs and a single column survive any screen size.

Pick a schedule you can keep

Choose a monthly email you can send every month over a weekly one that stops after three weeks. Pick a day, put it in your calendar, and keep a running note of ideas: questions clients asked, jobs you finished, changes in your season. When the day comes, you'll have something to say.

Measure replies and bookings, not only opens

Clicks show whether the email gave people a reason to act.
Replies and bookings show whether it brought in work. Note where each new booking came from.
Unsubscribes and spam complaints tell you when you're sending too frequently or to the wrong people.
Opens are a rough signal. Treat them as a trend, not a score.

Change one thing at a time (the subject line, the day, the offer) so you can tell what made the difference.

A simple first month

Week 1: add a sign-up form to your website and contact page, and write the welcome email.
Week 2: ask your last ten clients whether they'd like your updates.
Week 3: write your first update: one tip, one recent job, one clear next step.
Week 4: send it, then note clicks, replies and any bookings it brought in.

Worked example: six months of a monthly email

Sample figures, not typical results:

Emails sent: 1 a month for 6 months, so 6 emails
Replies: 2 an email, so 6 × 2 = 12 replies
Bookings you can trace to an email: 3, at $450.00 each, so 3 × $450.00 = $1,350.00
Time spent: 1.5 hours an email, so 6 × 1.5 = 9 hours
Booked work per hour spent: $1,350.00 ÷ 9 = $150.00

Run the same sums on your own numbers after six months, and compare them with what an hour of client work earns you.

Where Billed fits

Keep marketing email separate from the emails that go out with your invoices and receipts. Billed's invoice software page says: "You can customize the emails Billed sends to match your business voice, or set up your own SMTP settings so they come from your own email account." It also says: "After a client pays, you can send them a payment receipt."

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a marketing email need to include in the US?

The FTC's CAN-SPAM compliance guide (US, August 2023, edited January 2024) says "Your message must include your valid physical postal address." It also requires "a clear and conspicuous explanation of how the recipient can opt out of getting marketing email from you in the future", and an accurate subject line.

How fast do I have to remove someone who unsubscribes?

The same FTC guide says: "You must honor a recipient’s opt-out request within 10 business days."

How frequently should a small business send marketing email?

As frequently as you can send something useful on a steady schedule. Start with once a month, and keep a regular rhythm.

Does CAN-SPAM apply to emails I send other businesses?

Yes. The FTC's guide (US, August 2023, edited January 2024) says: "The law makes no exception for business-to-business email."

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Email Marketing for Small Business: A Practical Guide