Published 1st February 2015
Why is building an email list of clients so essential for your beauty business?
The answer is simple… because your database is your most important asset and no matter what happens to your business, you still have your list!
Email converts new customers and clients more effectively than any other digital medium, including Search (Google) and Social. The key is having the right people on your list - the ones who want to hear what you have to say, are interested in the treatments and services you offer and are most likely to become clients of your beauty business. And this is where Facebook comes in.
Your Facebook fans have probably liked your page because they already know of your business or are interested in what you have to offer. That’s a great place to start in finding a narrowly targeted audience who are most likely to visit your business and become regular clients. Some of your Facebook fans may decide to book in for a treatment as a result of seeing a couple of posts on your page, but the majority will take a lot more nurturing.
An email list can be a powerful tool for any business looking to make a sale or attract new clients. With a clearly planned strategy, over time emails can be used to build trust between your business and the person receiving them.
Creating a relationship with your list will also give massive value to what you have to offer and make it easier to upsell other services to one-off clients. Including links to blog posts on your website related to treatments or services you offer can position you and your business as the ‘expert’ in the field. Backing this up with gift vouchers, promotions and special offers could then be the deciding factor that will trigger a decision to book in with you further down the road.
There are plenty of apps that will integrate with Facebook and allow you to run targeted competitions, landing pages and email capture forms, but let’s be honest; cool apps won’t build your list. You need a smart plan that’s based on understanding your audience - your marketing budget will be much more effective if you carefully choose who to spend it on.
Start by focusing on your ideal prospects and leads. Who are they? You probably know some of them already. These are the clients you enjoy working with and who need your services. They recognise that becoming one of your clients is essential for them and they will get great results from visiting your salon… and will happily send you lots of referrals!
Facebook allows you to show ads to people who are in your target audience. You can choose what age, gender, relationship status, location, and interests you want to target with your ads.
For example, to attract new business for your salon in Blackrock that specialises in skin treatments, you will first need to decide on an audience to target. You may start with:
• Females
• Aged 40 – 65
• Location: Blackrock + 10km
• Interests: facials, microdermabrasion, skin treatments, beauty salons
To build a strong email list that provides high conversions, you must appeal to your target audience and weed out the rest. A small list of 300 highly targeted leads in your area is far better than a random list of 3000 from all around the country.
This targeted list will convert more leads into clients, earning you good money! A simple lead funnel gives context to the process. By engaging with your Facebook fans, you build trust. From there you can ask your fans to sign up for emails that share information they’re interested in. With strong email and marketing tactics, you end up with sales and long-term customers.
Now you know who you want to target, how do you encourage them to give you their email address? The compelling ‘offer’ is what you present to your prospect to grab their attention and entice them to opt in. It is otherwise known as the ‘irresistible free offer’. The offer matters because it helps the prospect self-select themselves as an ideal client. Hosting a Facebook giveaway that offers a prize targeted specifically to your optimal subscriber gives you a better chance of finding those prospects. Before starting any marketing campaign, ask yourself “How much am I willing to give away to get a good lead?”
While you have someone’s attention, make the most of that moment. Do some crowdsourcing to find out what products they like or want to see, or encourage them to share the campaign with their friends. Those friends of friends are likely to be quality subscribers as well.
As a beauty business owner with an internet presence, a website and social media pages, you should be making use of email marketing. We are in a digital age and you are giving a service by providing value and resources to your email list, informing them about all the services and products your business provides.
Beauty Blog written by Liz McKeon from our expert Panel!
