Let’s face it, passwords are annoying. But the hassle is nothing compared to the cost and damage resulting from a malware attack. While most of our clients are well aware that threats exist, they’re surprised to learn that vast majority of attacks are not specifically directed at their business. It’s simply a numbers game where automated attacks are directed against millions of online accounts at random. Hackers are simply hoping to exploit the weak or unprepared.
 
Keeping your online systems secure with multi-platform anti-virus and malware protection is essential, just as is active management of those systems. Most businesses rely on an IT partner to protect these systems.
 
The true weak spot for most businesses is password hygiene. Why? Because managing complicated passwords is cumbersome. A weak password allows hackers to bypass your system security and successfully attack your system. Then you and your IT partner are faced with cost and damage that takes significant time and effort to repair.
 
Password Hygiene Best Practices
To practice good password hygiene, create strong, unique passwords, use a password manager, enable multi-factor authentication (MFA), and avoid reusing passwords or sharing them.
 
Here's a more detailed breakdown of password hygiene best practices:
 
1. Create Strong Passwords:

• Length: Aim for passwords that are at least 12 characters. We suggest 18.
• Complexity: Use a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
• Avoid: Don't use easily guessable information like names, birthdays, or common words.
• Passphrases: Consider using passphrases (a combination of words) instead of traditional passwords, as they are often easier to remember and harder to crack.

2. Use a Password Manager:

• A password manager helps you store and manage your passwords securely, allowing you to use strong, unique passwords for every account without having to remember them all.
• Consider using a reputable password manager like LastPass or 1Password

3. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA):

• MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring a second form of verification (like a code sent to your phone) in addition to your password.
• Enable MFA whenever possible for your accounts.

4. Avoid Password Reuse:

• Reusing passwords across multiple accounts can be a major security risk, as a compromised password can expose multiple accounts.
• Use a unique password for every online account.

5. Don't Share Passwords:

• Sharing passwords, especially with those you don't fully trust, can compromise your accounts.
• Never share your passwords with anyone.

6. Regularly Change Passwords

• Periodic Updates: While you don't need to change passwords constantly, consider updating them periodically, especially if you suspect a password might have been compromised.
• Password Expiration Policies: If you manage passwords for an organization, consider implementing password expiration policies to ensure passwords are regularly updated.

7. Secure Your Devices:

• Use a VPN when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks to encrypt your internet traffic and protect your passwords.
• Ensure you are using HTTPS for all websites, especially when entering sensitive information.
• Avoid Storing Passwords in Browsers: Don't store passwords in your browser, as they can be easily accessed if your device is compromised.

8. Password Encryption:

• Password encryption is a crucial aspect of safeguarding sensitive data and preventing unauthorized access.
• Adhere to best practices and implement robust password management policies.

Wrapping Up
Good password hygiene is essential for protecting your business from cyber threats. By following best practices such as creating strong passwords, using a password manager, enabling multi-factor authentication, avoiding password reuse, not sharing passwords, regularly changing passwords, securing your devices, and implementing password encryption, you can significantly reduce the risk of a successful attack. Investing time and effort into password management now can save you from costly and damaging consequences in the future.
 
💡 Need help growing your business? Grey Partners optimizes your digital communications to help you attract, engage and grow your business. Let's talk!

Why You Need a Social Media Management Tool
Our clients often come to us for help with social media. They struggle with consistency. Expanding impact across multiple social media channels can be overwhelming and time-consuming.
A social media management (SMM) tool simplifies the process, allowing you to plan, schedule, track, and analyze your content in one place. Whether you're a small business or a growing brand, an SMM tool helps maintain consistency, improve engagement, and reach more potential customers efficiently.

Transform Chaos Into Engaging Consistency
✔ Effortless Content Planning & SchedulingPlan and schedule posts across multiple platforms from a single dashboard. Keep your content calendar organized and never miss an opportunity to engage your audience.
✔ Improved Engagement & Customer Interaction
Monitor and respond to comments, messages, and mentions quickly. Build stronger relationships and boost brand loyalty by staying responsive.
✔ Data-Driven Insights & Performance Analytics
Track key metrics like impressions, reach, and engagement to see what works. Adjust your strategy with real-time analytics to maximize impact.
✔ Seamless Team Collaboration
Work with your team efficiently by assigning roles, streamlining approvals, and ensuring a smooth content creation workflow.
✔ Cost-Effective Alternative to Hiring
An SMM tool is a fraction of the cost of a full-time social media manager while still providing professional-level execution.
✔ Stay Ahead with Optimization & Trend Tracking
Access built-in guides, best practices, and competitor insights to refine your strategy and stay relevant in a fast-changing digital landscape.

Top Social Media Management Tools to Consider
Choosing the right tool depends on platform support, features, ease of use, and pricing. There are dozens of providers. Here are five highly-rated options that our clients recommend:
 
🔹 Buffer – Affordable and beginner-friendly, with a free plan available.
🔹 Hootsuite – A full-featured powerhouse with robust analytics and enterprise capabilities.
🔹 Vista Social – Offers strong features at an affordable price.
🔹 Loomly – Easy-to-use with excellent optimization tools.
🔹 Sendible – Simple, intuitive, and great for small teams.
 
Most SMM apps offer free trials—test a few to find the best fit for your needs!
 
💡 Need help growing your business? Grey Partners optimizes your marketing strategy to help you attract, engage and grow your business. Let's talk!

Is the quality of your site content keeping customers from finding your site? You’ve likely spent a lot of time creating content for your site. But, does your site content actually give your customers what they’re looking for?
Quality content is defined by effectiveness in accomplishing two goals:

1. Giving your target audience relevant, meaningful and engaging content.
2. Provides search engines the information they need to return relevant search engine page results.

Search engines use a variety of factors to assess the quality of content, including engagement metrics, the content itself, and how authoritative it is.

Engagement metrics

• Click-through rate (CTR)
• Bounce rate
• Time spent on page
• Interactions with content, such as likes, shares, and comments
  

Content factors

• The frequency of content publication
• The quantity of quality content
• The age of the domain
• The keywords and search terms used in the title tag and headlines
• The number of authority websites linking to the content
• The social validation the content gets
• The popularity of the content
• The use of images and videos
• The length of posts and webpages

Authority

• The E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness) metric
• Whether the content is produced by a subject matter expert
• Whether the content's topic aligns with the website's knowledge in that specific area 

​If your business is struggling to be found online, reach out. Our experts will help you be found fast, impress and convert people into customers.
 
💡 Grow your business. Let's talk.

TULSA, OK JANUARY 9th, 2025 // RICARDOS Mexican Restaurant, Tulsa’s favorite Tex-Mex restaurant for 50 years, today taps Grey Partners as web design firm. As such, Grey Partners will deploy their branding, website design and search optimization teams to accelerate RICARDOS market share based on the changing needs and behaviors of Tulsa restaurant goers.

Owner Thomas Hunter is excited to break the cycle of sporadic marketing efforts commenting, “I’m blown away by the ability of such an experienced team to hit the ground running, give our customers what they want and need while taking a bite out of our competition!”

Chris Lowers, president of Grey Partners relayed his feeling that, “The thing that holds small business owners back from marketing effectively is a lack of clear strategy and inability to execute consistently. They’re simply wearing too many hats to be effective.”

Grey Partners helps small business owners grow through strategic digital marketing solutions focused on achieving results through consistently responsive execution.

ABOUT RICARDOS: Ricardo's Mexican Restaurant has been serving made-from-scratch Tex-Mex favorites since 1975. Locally owned and cherished by the community, we pride ourselves on warm hospitality, authentic recipes, and a true taste of tradition. Whether you're craving sizzling fajitas or cheesy enchiladas, Ricardo's is where locals gather for an unforgettable dining experience. Join owner Thomas Hunter and his staff for a Tex-Mex feast certain to delight!

ABOUT GREY PARTNERS: Grey Partners is an award-winning, full-service digital marketing agency helping small and medium organizations grow by attracting, engaging and converting people into patrons. Capture demand today and build for tomorrow through the power of Grey Partners integrated branding, website design, SEO, search marketing, creative content, and lead-generation solutions.
 
MEDIA CONTACT:
[email protected]
 
RELATED LINKS:    
www.GreyPartners.com
www.RicardosTulsa.com

User-generated content (UGC) can make or break your businesses reputation. Engaging reviews with inviting photos attracts new customers, while fuzzy or unflattering images can drive them away. Here’s how to encourage great UGC while minimizing poor-quality contributions.

Proactively Encourage High-Quality ContentAsk happy customers to share. One of the simplest ways to get high-quality UGC is to ask customers directly. Train your staff to encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews and share photos. A simple prompt like “If you enjoyed your meal, we’d love for you to share a photo and review on Google!” can work wonders.

Create in-store and digital prompts. Use subtle but effective reminders to encourage quality content:

• Add a note on receipts or menu footers: “Tag us in your best food pics on Google & Instagram! @YourBusiness #YourBusinessName”
• Use a QR code that links directly to your Google review page with a friendly message: “Love your meal? Share your experience with a photo!”

Leverage social media to set a standard. Customers tend to mimic what they see. Regularly post high-quality images of your products on social media. When you showcase stunning UGC on your own platforms, you set an example of what good content looks like.

Minimize Low-Quality Content (Without Discouraging Reviews)Subtly educate customers on “good” photos. Instead of explicitly telling people what to post, guide them subtly by posting social media content like, 'Voted best pics' or 'How to snap the best review pictures'.

• Offer controlled photo opportunities. Set up a well-lit “photo spot” in your business, like a fun/stylish/festive backdrop, table, or area. This naturally encourages better photography by giving your customers the tools to show your business in the best light.
• Limit the impact of bad UGC photos by encouraging a wave of positive reviews and better pictures to push it down.
• Upvote better images so they appear more prominently.

If a photo is particularly misleading or inappropriate, request content removal. Most 3rd party sites have a process such as Google's Removal Tool.

Monitor & Manage Your Online Presence
Be consistently vigilant. Regularly check reviews & photos - especially those posted to Google. Keep an eye on Google reviews and photos, up-voting high-quality ones to make them more visible.
Report any misleading or inappropriate images.
Encourage reviews on platforms with better photo quality. Google compresses images, sometimes reducing their quality. Encourage reviews on Instagram, Yelp, or Facebook, where images appear more polished, and then re share them to Google via posts.

Incentivize High-Quality Reviews While Adhering to Google Policies
Offer small perks for engagement. While you can’t pay for reviews, you can encourage participation:

• Host monthly contests. Run social media contests like “Best photo of the month wins a BOGO coupon!” to encourage customers to take better pictures.
• “Show us your review at checkout for a surprise treat!”
• “Tag us in your favorite food pic & we might feature you on our page!”

Follow, promote and attract local micro-influencers so they seek out your business. Invite local foodies or micro-influencers (1K-10K followers) to review your business. They’re more likely to take high-quality photos and help set a better UGC standard.

Final ThoughtsSet the standard for your brand. Proactively encouraging great content, subtly guiding customers, and leveraging incentives, you can shape your online presence without needing to remove bad content directly. The more high-quality UGC you help generate; the less impact poor content will have on your brand.

Need more help?  Let's talk.

Here are some of the most common questions small business owners have about Google Business Profiles (GBP) along with clear answers:

Why are Google Business Profiles important?Optimized and actively managed GBP is essential because it helps your business attract new customers, drive sales and take opportunities away from your competitors by:

• Increasing your local visibility
• Improving your search ranking
• Building trust & credibility
• Driving online and direct traffic
• Enabling direct customer engagement
• Helping you compete with larger brands
• Showcasing your goods and services

When should I consider hiring a marketing firm vs. managing GBP myself?
Handling GBP management in-house can work for very small operations with minimal competition. However, most small businesses struggle to consistently manage their GBP due to lack of time and inconsistent efforts. As a result their business either disappears from search results or worse, has erroneous information that misleads customers. Professional marketing firms ensure that your profile is optimized, active, and driving real business results.

How do I create a Google Business Profile?To create a profile, go to Google Business Profile, sign in with a Google account, and follow the steps to add your business information. You'll need to verify your business, usually via a postcard, phone, or email.

Why is my Google Business Profile not showing up in search results?Your profile may not appear due to reasons like incomplete verification, incorrect business details, or low engagement. Ensure your profile is fully optimized with accurate information, photos, and regular updates.

How do I update my business information?Log in to your GBP dashboard, select your business, and update your details (address, hours, phone number, etc.). Changes may take a few hours to reflect on Google.

How do I get more customer reviews?Encourage happy customers to leave reviews by sharing a direct review link from your GBP dashboard. Avoid offering incentives, as this violates Google's policies.

Can I remove a bad review from my Google Business Profile?You can't directly delete reviews, but you can flag inappropriate ones for Google to review. Respond professionally to negative feedback to show excellent customer service.

How do I add photos or videos to my profile?Go to your GBP dashboard, select “Photos,” and upload high-quality images or videos of your business, products, or services. Regularly updating visuals improves engagement.

What should I do if my business information is incorrect on Google?If someone else has made unauthorized changes, you can request corrections in your GBP dashboard. If the changes keep happening, consider restricting edits or contacting Google support.

How do I optimize my Google Business Profile for search/SEO?Ensure that your business description is relevant, clear and concise. keep your information up to date, respond to reviews, post updates, and add high-quality photos. A well-maintained profile improves local rankings.

Can I use Google Business Profile if I don’t have a physical location?Yes! If you operate a service-based business or work remotely, you can set up a service area instead of a physical address. This helps customers find you without displaying a specific location.

How do I check my profile’s performance?Google provides insights in your GBP dashboard, showing how customers find your business, search terms used, and interactions (calls, website visits, etc.). Analyzing this data can help improve engagement.
 
 
💡 Need help managing your Google Business Profile? A professional marketing firm can save you time, improve rankings, and grow your customer base. Let's talk.

While ADA compliance isn’t mandatory for every business website, it should be. Open your business up to all your customers. If your business provides a service to customers, it should comply with ADA regulations provided your business meets the following criteria:

• You provide a service for the benefit of the public.
• You are a state or local agency.
• You have more than 15 employees. 

Even if your business’s website doesn’t meet the ADA’s compliance criteria, creating an ADA-compliant website ensures that you are serving your customers to the best of your ability.  
The ADA’s guidance on website accessibility has caused confusion because there are no explicit standards. Instead, the ADA recommends looking at existing technical standards like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). 
You want to ensure an effective website design with feature accessibility so everyone can navigate it easily, including individuals with vision issues, hearing loss and other differences.

• Audio files: Audio files that accompany text can make your website easily accessible for viewers who are blind or have low vision.
• Alt tags for images: Alt tags are text descriptions in HTML code that help create a mental picture of the images on your website. The assistive devices vision-impaired people use can convert alt tags to Braille or read them aloud. Other images on your site – including dropdown menus, icons and buttons – also need alt tags.
• Images without text: Text-to-speech technology won’t be able to pick up on images that include text.
• Captions for videos: If you have video on your website, include captions to ensure deaf or hard of hearing visitors can understand and enjoy the content.
• Vision accommodations: For customers with vision challenges, make text-resizing options straightforward and use an optimal contrast ratio. 
• Optimized navigation systems: To better understand your site’s accessibility, use the up and down arrows, tab button, and other keyboard commands to navigate your website rather than relying on your mouse. This will help you determine where to add text-based navigation for those who use a keyboard only.
• Error alerts: If your website includes online forms customers must fill out, add error alerts so they know precisely what to correct. 

These are just a few ways to improve website accessibility. To learn more, consult the full WCAG. 

NEXT STEPS
When you’re ready to ensure that all of your customers can access and easily navigate your site, reach out to our experts. We’re standing by to help build your online presence. Learn more at GreyPartners.com

Everybody is in a panic, as they always are after a Google update. This time we’re cheering Google's massive March 2024 update that makes some long overdue changes designed to reduce unhelpful, low-quality content as part of a broader effort to combat content spam. This is great news for SMB’s that invest in SEO as it should reduce some of the competitive clutter that’s been working against them.

Effective SEO creates value for users. Googles latest update rewards organizations that publish original content based on proprietary data, fresh perspectives, and subject matter expertise. Google is open to Ai generated content when used thoughtfully to enhance quality within a people-first context. For example, when developing content for a client in the chemical manufacturing industry, we work with the client to establish subjects that they’re customers inquire about most. Gather data and insights from various departments within the organization. Prepare a brief, then use Ai to find additional information that may also be valuable to readers. We’re using Ai to enhance copywriters efficiency and ensure that we’re not missing an angle important to our audience – rather than pumping a headline into Ai and letting it generate blind content.

That’s a tall order for SMB’s and requires focused investment. It’s also why you find so much low-quality content online.

Many SEO companies ‘game the system’ by generating content solely to manipulate search rankings. Those that have relied on AI-generated content began feeling the pain. Some sites received ‘Pure Spam’ notifications via Google Search Console and found their sites had disappeared from search results. 
If you’re shopping for an SEO provider, ask them about how sites they manage weathered the March update. Ask for references. And, inquire about these three practices that Google now considers content spam:

1. Templated Content Scaling – Scaled Content AbuseThis is an SEO tactic increasingly used by SEO Agencies and Consultants to manipulate search rankings. This includes mass-produced content created to game rankings, whether human or AI-generated. Learn more about  in this article from our friends at Embryo. Thankfully, Google is taking on cringeworthy content in favor of useful information that people value. It’s all about helping you, the user, find well curated, helpful and original content.
Google spam policies list specific examples of scaled content abuse which include:

• Using generative AI tools or other similar tools to generate many pages without adding value for users
• Scraping feeds, search results, or other content to generate many pages (including through automated transformations like synonymizing, translating, or other obfuscation techniques), where little value is provided to users
• Stitching or combining content from different web pages without adding value
• Creating multiple sites with the intent of hiding the scaled nature of the content
• Creating many pages where the content makes little or no sense to a reader but contains search keywords

Google recommends that, “if you’re hosting such content on your site, exclude it from search.” We couldn’t agree more.

2. Expired Domain AbuseExpired domain abuse is a particularly nasty practice that involves repurposing expired domains to host low-quality content to manipulate search rankings. The practice has been growing over the past two years driving ethical SEO professionals crazy. Google aims to end this practice by punishing clearly irrelevant domains when comparing their old content to new content.

3. Parasite SEO – Site Reputation AbuseParasite SEO refers to a digital marketing strategy where unethical marketers leverage the authority of established platforms to rank their content quickly with less effort, typically by posting content on these platforms with backlinks to their own websites.
The practice involves piggybacking on trusted sites' authority to boost low content volume and/or poor quality content. Typically low-quality content is hosted on high-authority websites to gain ranking benefits.
The March 2024 update specifically targets this practice, aiming to remove the incentive for using reputable sites to rank low-value content. At the SERP conference last week, Gary Illyes, analyst on the Google search team, said that Google has taken steps to combat what some of us call parasite SEO in the most recent Google algorithm update.
Manual penalties have already come down from Google with many sites being removed from search results specifically for parasite SEO practices.

Moving Forward
Successful SEO content development must be fully focused on people-first, original content that delivers value from the users perspective. To accomplish this, we recommend that content developers:

• Leverage propriety data to stand-out and provide authentic value.
• Offer expert insights based on unique, real-world interactions.
• Develop your content from unique experiences that can't be easily replicated.
  

If you’re struggling to gain or rebuild your search rankings, our experts are ready to help build your online presence. Learn more at GreyPartners.com

Image use can be tricky. Check out this quick read to better understand how to proactively safeguard your business and your marketing assets.

Are you using images legally online? Learn how to avoid copyright infringement and protect yourself from legal consequences with this guide.

Images are an essential component of online content – and it’s obvious why. Images aren’t just pretty—they’re powerful marketing tools that help you stand out. They pique your audience’s attention, enhance your messaging, and significantly enhance the appeal and effectiveness of your content.

Whether you’re creating a social media post, a webpage, an ebook, a blog post, or something else, adding visuals goes a long way in improving the overall user experience. However, you can’t just pull images off the internet and use them – and it’s your responsibility to determine if and how you can use the image without breaking the law.
If you violate copyright law – even accidentally – you can face serious consequences. Many online platforms, such as Google and YouTube, have copyright policies that streamline copyright claims and enforcement actions. Often, a minor violation will result in receiving a DMCA notice and the content being removed or demonetized. However, if a violation is egregious or impactful enough, you could face heavier consequences such as hefty fines, court trials, and, in extreme cases, even jail time.

In this article from our friends at Search Engine Journal, you can learn how to navigate these murky waters to ensure that you’re using images ethically and legally online.

 Marketing to customers via email is an art, but it’s one any small business can master and use to grow and retain customers. All businesses need to grow but small businesses struggle to afford traditional marketing channels. Direct mailers can cost up to $1 per target, while billboards could run you $14,000 apiece in major cities. And television commercials can run into the millions, once you include the cost of production and placement.
What if I told you there was a way to grow and retain customers for much less? It’s not magic, you just need to harness the power of email marketing.

Why Use Email Marketing For Your Small Business? When it comes to reaching new audiences, heating up cold leads, or staying top of mind with existing customers, there’s nothing quite like email marketing – and not just because it’s cost-effective.
The main reason you need to be using email campaigns is that they’re extremely effective. The average open rate for marketing emails in 2023 was a whopping 21.5%. That makes it by far one of the most effective ways to advertise.
Professional marketers know it works – that’s why 41.5% consider it a very critical factor in their company’s success. In 2023, email marketing provided a return on investment (ROI) of an unbelievable $52 for every dollar spent. That means you can’t afford not to use it.

While price and effectiveness are two key selling points for running email marketing campaigns, one that tends to appeal to busy small business owners is that it’s something you can do in-house.
You don’t have to outsource your email campaigns to an agency or hire more staff.
With a little elbow grease and the information you gain here, you’ll be able to create and launch your own effective campaign in no time.

How To Start Email Marketing For Your Small Business1. Choose The Right Email Marketing Platform For YouHaving the right tools is an essential part of any job, whether it’s carpentry or marketing. And for business marketing, that means selecting the right email marketing software.
You could forgo this step and build all of your lists and campaigns manually in Gmail, Outlook, or whatever other email service provider you’re using, but you have a business to run.
Manual list building is a tedious, time-consuming process that takes your attention and energy away from other areas.
Plus, an email platform gives you the opportunity to personalize your messages while collecting performance metrics. These things alone make it worth the investment.
When deciding between the dozens of programs available, you need to find one that has the right functionality for you.

Some features you should consider are:

• Personalization features – Targets are 26% more likely to open personalized emails. Look for a platform that can parse your list for names and automatically insert them into emails.
• Custom branding – Your customers associate your small business with certain colors and a logo. The software you choose should make it easy for you to customize your emails with your brand.
• A/B testing – Version testing is one of the pillars of modern marketing. You should select a platform that allows you to try different subject lines and other content to find what works best for your field.
• Drag-and-drop – If you don’t know how to code, you’ll want software that lets you create great-looking emails without a thorough knowledge of HTML or CSS.
• Responsive design – 81% of emails are opened on mobile devices; Make sure your email builder automatically scales them to different screen sizes.
• Segmentation tools – To get the best results, you’ll want to target different groups with different messages. Look for a platform with a segmentation tool that allows you to divide your list into smaller groups.

Some of the most popular email marketing platforms include:

• Constant Contact
• HubSpot
• MailChimp
• Mailerlite

Over the past decade we’ve found that most email service providers (ESP’s) give you similar functionality. The real difference comes down to ease-of-use, support and price. And, ESP’s tend to raise their prices and limit support in line with their growth. No surprise that newer, hungrier ESP’s provide greater value. Right now we’re recommending Mailerlite to most of our small business clients. All of the four listed are excellent email service providers however, Mailerlite offers a fantastic balance of functionality, ease-of-use, support and price.

2. Build Your ListThis is the most challenging barrier to overcome for most clients. Why, because you must grow your list organically. In most cases this takes significant time and effort.
To build your list:
First add a signup form to your website and connect it to your ESP. This makes it quick and easy for interested visitors (who are hopefully hot leads) to subscribe and automatically be opt-in to your mailing list.
Second, add an interstitial or pop-up to your site with an incentive to subscribe. You’ll be shocked by how many new emails you can generate just by adding an interstitial to your site offering a 10% discount in exchange for an email address.
Third, add your current contacts and existing customers to an email list and offer them an incentive to subscribe. Go through your contacts, pull out the business cards you gathered at industry conferences, and comb the internet for the contact information of the people you want to reach. While time-consuming, this is an invaluable investment because these are the people most likely to subscribe, share and help you reach new customers. When they subscribe, send them a substantial reward of at least 20% on their next purchase.
Fourth, leverage the power of your social media accounts to generate subscribers. Offer them incentives for subscribing.
Never buy a list. Sending people emails without their consent is SPAM and it’s illegal. Yes, lists are for sale and unethical organizations deploy them. Beyond the ethical question of sending SPAM, there is additional risk that your sending domain will be ‘blacklisted’ by the major email service providers. So if you send SPAM from an email with your organizations primary domain, you run the risk of all email being identified as SPAM and blocked from delivery.

3. Plan Your CampaignNow that you have your targets assembled, it’s time to start figuring out what you want your email campaign to achieve.
What are your goals? Do you want to send promotional emails promoting sales and special offers? Do you want to send transactional emails like abandoned cart messages or upsells? Are you soliciting referrals or reviews from existing customers?
Once you have decided what you hope to accomplish, it’s time to create your campaign. There are five common types of emails that will suit most of your needs:
Blast emails – used for general announcements to a large audience.
Monthly newsletters – to keep your business top of mind and update your audience about new developments.
Welcome emails – For new subscribers or customers.
Promotional emails – offering sales, benefits, or incentives to encourage transactions.
Reminder emails – encourage targets to complete purchases or make another.
One of the more common sequences consists of a welcome email after initial signup, one or several promotional emails enticing sales, followed by promotional emails or reminder emails.
Create interesting, relevant content that will attract the right type of people. Include a link to subscribe. Communicate value with content that’s valuable from their perspective.
Re-engage past customers or warm up leads who have gone cold with email marketing. A typical sequence for this consists of a reintroduction email, reminding them of your brand, followed by a “we miss you” message that offers a discount or other incentive to use your business again.
There are many other uses for emails, too. Perhaps you’re hosting an open house and want to invite the recipients. Maybe you have a monthly newsletter that helps establish your credibility and authority. The beauty of this medium is its versatility. All you need to do is customize your messaging to your goals.

4. Create Your EmailsThis is where your emails become reality. Keep it simple and straightforward. A common mistake many inexperienced marketers make is wanting to add too many bells and whistles. Not only does an overly elaborate design distract from your key message, but it also confuses customers.
Keep your design clean and simple. Some businesses opt for plain text emails, which contain no graphics aside from maybe a logo in the signature.
This may be too extreme for you, however.  It’s okay to brand your emails, just make sure you keep them simple.
Once you have settled on a design, it’s time to focus on messaging. Again, keep it simple. Communicate one idea only.
The first battle is getting your message opened, and that means a compelling subject line. Try to inspire curiosity or offer some other motivation, e.g., “You won’t believe this deal,” “25% off sitewide,” or “Mistakes that can cost you.”
Now that you have your reader’s attention, it’s time to make your case.
Avoid overwriting and keep it simple. Explain what you’re offering or hoping to achieve, then include a call to action (CTA). Any salesperson worth their salt will tell you, you have to ask for the sale. CTAs in emails and other collateral are the marketing equivalent.
Some people find it helpful to imagine writing to a specific customer they know well.
Avoid jargon and colloquialisms – what may be obvious to you can be confusing or make them feel ignorant. Use simple, common language to get your message across.

5. Send The Campaign And Analyze The ResultsThe email platform you selected back in step one should provide you with all the information you want about how your messages are performing – and this should give you an idea of where you can improve them in the future.
Are you not getting enough opens? You could have a bad list or maybe you need to try a different subject line.
Are you getting opens, but no conversions? Try changing your content.
Are you seeing a lot of unsubscribes? You could be sending too many emails that lack value from the readers perspective. Avoid being a pest.
If your results are poor, don’t worry. Email marketing is an art and no one gets it right the first (or second, or third) time. That’s why you want to take advantage of A/B testing.
But if you put in the work, you’ll get a feel for what does and doesn’t work in no time and start generating the results you want.

Bonus Tips
Here are some additional ideas to help you maximize your email campaigns:

• Focus on quality, not quantity.
• Encourage signups wherever it makes sense (social media, on your website, etc.).
• Segment your list so your messages are more targeted.
• Automate messages where you can. This includes welcome messages, purchase confirmations, and re-engagement emails.

Get Started
Email marketing provides the opportunity for a massive ROI, without a lot of upfront costs. But it takes focused effort to drive consistent results.
Plan your strategy, do the work, track your results and tweak your messages (in other words, follow the tips provided here), and you’ll find your campaigns getting great responses in no time.
Hopefully this guide armed you with all you need to get started. If you find yourself struggling, reach out. The Grey Partners team is ready to help you build your brand and grow your business.

About Grey PartnersBe found fast & impress. At Grey Partners, our objective is simple: grow your business. We are your force multiplier delivering website design, search optimization and lead generation solutions for small to medium businesses. We help you reveal your most critical opportunities, focus with purpose and achieve extraordinary growth outcomes. Learn more at GreyPartners.com