Rose Van Hemmen
We all know how competitive the online food market is, and how fast it continues to grow. But how do you get your home-based Ontario food business to stand out?
Over two-thirds (64%) of small businesses rely on email marketing to connect with customers. So get ready to promote your products and drive engagement (and sales!) with our actionable tips to help you write newsletters that convert.
Why Email Marketing is a Must For Peak Success
Boost Sales:
Targeted email promotions can significantly increase sales of specific items or limited-edition menus. Imagine you’ve created a seasonal summer picnic basket filled with fresh local baked goods. An email that subtly highlights this item can drive sales while not being overly promotional.
Build Loyalty:
Regular, informative newsletters keep your brand top-of-mind. With overflowing food options, staying connected with your customers is what you need. Regular newsletters that showcase your latest creations, share interesting recipes, and offer helpful, personalized tips can keep your brand at the forefront of their minds when they’re planning their next purchase.
Gather Valuable Data:
Email analytics help you understand what resonates with your audience, allowing you to refine your marketing strategy. Tracking open rates, click-through rates, and other email analytics lets you know what your audience actually wants to see! This lets you tailor future newsletters to your customers, ultimately bringing you higher engagement and sales.
Startup Roadblocks: Challenges to Look Out For
Standing Out:
With hundreds of emails flooding inboxes daily, grabbing attention and getting opened requires strategic planning. Eye-catching subject lines, a clear sender name, and a well-designed layout are all part of what gets your subscribers to open your email and discover what you have to offer.
Creating Compelling Content:
Keeping emails fresh and engaging takes time and resources! But remember that your passion for food and the story behind your business are what drives your content. By showcasing your unique value and the emotion behind your food, you can create content made by real people, for real people—that will resonate more than any promotional business email.
Staying Organized:
Managing email lists, segmenting audiences, and sending out emails consistently requires a system. While it may seem daunting at first, there are user-friendly email marketing platforms available that can streamline this process and make it easier to stay organized.
We’ve Got You Covered: Proven Email Marketing Solutions
The Welcome Email: Craft a Lasting First Impression
A welcome email is the first glimpse at your newsletters a new subscriber gets! Make it count:
Give Your Business a Face: What does your business have that lots of food companies don’t? Someone behind it who is connecting directly with your subscribers! Introduce yourself and let your audience know that your business is run by someone who actually cares about the content that makes it to the newsletter.
Introduce Your Brand Story: Share the story behind your business in the first welcome email. Briefly explain your passion for food, your commitment to using local ingredients, or your unique culinary approach. This personalizes your brand and helps subscribers connect with your values.
Highlight Best Sellers: Showcase your most popular menu items, recipes, or videos (without being overly promotional!). Use visually-pleasing pictures and short descriptions so your audience gets a general idea of your offerings and the value content they can expect in future newsletters.
Craft Irresistible Lead Magnets: Attract and Convert
Offer a valuable resource right away. That way you can show subscribers that you’re not just any email newsletter—your content gives them something they can do for themselves:
Offer Downloadable Resources: Implement a resource that empowers your audience to take action (with a little startup help from you!) This could be:
An e-cookbook with exclusive recipes
A free downloadable meal planner template
A quiz to help users discover their perfect meal prep style
Solve Problems: The best lead magnets solve a specific problem for your target audience and give them something to use. For example, if your business specializes in baked goods for busy families you could add a template for “Weekly Meal Prep in 30 Minutes” guide featuring some of your offerings as ideas. This directly addresses their time constraints and gives you a chance to showcase your expertise.
Don’t Be Overly Promotional: While it’s a great idea to feature some of your items in your lead magnets, don’t be pushy with your offerings—give your audience generic alternatives so they know that you care about more than just sales (which will actually drive them back to your brand!).
59% of subscribers think that the brand emails they receive are useless to them. That’s why offering a lead magnet shows your subscribers what you have to offer.
Know Your Audience: Segment Like a Pro
Crafting newsletters and emails that resonate with your audience is key to driving engagement and sales. But they won’t do well with a one-size-fits-all approach! Here’s where segmentation comes in.
Segment by Demographics: Use signup forms or surveys to gather customer information like location within Ontario (think catering options and preferences for Toronto vs. Kingston) or age groups (if your customer base is widely families with young children, they might appreciate kid-friendly food options). Then personalize your emails based on these different groups!
Identify by Purchase History: Segment your list based on past purchases. Did someone order your popular lasagna last month? Target them and others with content that offers more value to them, like pasta recipe ideas or Italian meal prep weeks.
Diverse Content for Dietary Needs: Cater to specific dietary needs by segmenting your list based on preferences like vegetarian, gluten-free, or nut-free. Content made without dietary needs in mind shows certain customers that you don’t value their restrictions—so tweak when necessary so everyone gets the most out of your newsletters!
78% of surveyed brands say that the top strategy for successful email marketing campaigns is segmentation.
Personalize Your Touch: A Warm Welcome Goes a Long Way
A personal touch helps you solidify the relationships you need with your audience and builds loyalty:
“From” Name Matters: Don’t settle for a generic “From” name or no sign-off at all. Use your business name and include your name too to create a familiar and approachable sender identity. People want to connect with people, not just a faceless logo!
Subscriber Personalization: Personalize the greetings in your emails with the subscriber’s name. Tools like Mailchimp can make this happen for you! Imagine how much more exciting a newsletter is when the subscriber feels valued and seen versus a generic “Check this out!”. It makes a big difference in how the quality of your emails is measured!
Location-Specific References: If your business is focused on your local community, incorporate location-specific references. Welcome new subscribers from Kingston with a “Hey [Name], Get ready to learn all about what the Kingston food industry has to offer!”
Craft Captivating Headlines: Headlines that Hook
Your subject line is your first impression, so make it count!:
Use Subject Lines They Won’t Ignore!: It’s easy to skip over a subject line that trails on and on. Aim for 50 characters or less to make sure your entire subject line appears in inboxes.
Speak With Urgency & Scarcity: Create a sense of urgency with phrases like “Tips I Learned Today That You’ll Need by Tomorrow” or “Food Trends You Need to Know Before Your Next BBQ” can trigger the common fear of missing out (FOMO) and encourage immediate action!
Apply Personalization: While personalization is usually implemented in the body of the email, you can use subscriber names or location-specific references to personalize your subject line. For example, “Hey [Name]! Don’t Miss Toronto’s Weekly Food Fads” can grab attention and increase open rates.
Subject lines that spark curiosity, mention special offers, and cater to individual interests are most likely to get opened.
Beyond Text: Visuals That Add to Your Value
Emails that include images or videos tend to perform better than plain text emails. Remember not to substitute content with images, but rather use them to supplement your value!:
Take High-Quality Photos: Make sure all your visuals are high-resolution photos that showcase the appeal of your dishes and other value offerings. Use your smartphone camera, natural lighting, and angles for the perfect pictures.
Showcase the Preparation Process: Offer a glimpse behind the scenes by linking short video snippets or video blogs capturing the love and care you put into preparing your food. This gives your customers someone to connect with and gives you a chance to showcase your personality through a different medium.
Move Past Photos: Consider adding infographics and graphs when necessary! Don’t overdo it to avoid info overload, but one every or every other newsletter can show your audience that you’re knowledgeable and a good source of up-to-date info.
Spotlight Success Stories: Let Your Customers Do the Talking
Positive customer reviews and testimonials are powerful tools for building trust and credibility for your business:
Feature Positive Testimonials: Include a short quote or experience from a customer praising the impact that your content has on their life—whether it be the deliciousness of the food they made with your recipe, a successful party thrown with your birthday cake ideas, or the convenience of your downloadable templates. This social proof reassures subscribers about the consistent quality of your offerings.
“Subscriber of the Month”: Highlight a loyal subscriber/customer each month and share their positive experience with your food with eye-catching headlines like: “Meet Mary, a vegan home baker from Hamilton!”. Feature a short interview with them and ask for their tips as well as how they’ve benefitted from yours. This personalizes your brand and fosters a sense of community.
Use Storytelling Images: Use the visuals you have to supplement the stories you tell. Feature photos of happy customers enjoying the food they meal prepped with your help at a picnic or showcase a tour of the local farms you source your ingredients from! These pictures and anecdotes draw your audience’s attention and keep it there.
Interactive Content: Engage & Get Feedback
Move beyond static content and add interactive elements to boost engagement in your emails:
-
Polls & Surveys: Gather valuable customer feedback and insights through polls and surveys. Ask subscribers to vote for their favourite item off a new meal prep template or their favourite meal times. This interactive approach not only keeps them engaged but also provides valuable data to inform your future offerings.
-
Interactive Recipes: Offer interactive recipe elements within your emails. Include a short video demonstration of you prepping a cake alongside your recipe available for free and show subscribers how to adjust the recipe based on their needs! This interactive approach adds value and lets your audience understand how to use your lead magnets.
-
Ask Questions and Offer Help: Ask your subscribers questions that they can respond to, like: “Hey [Name], What did you think of the meal prep template? If you’re having any trouble or want to chat about any of my services, feel free to reply to schedule a call!” This increases the level of interaction your emails receive and makes your audience feel supported and valued.
Know Your Numbers: Tracking Success with Email Analytics
Use your email analytics to understand your audience and continue to update your content to be more and more relevant in a changing industry:
-
Use Built-In Tools: Most platforms offer built-in analytics tools that track key metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates. These insights help you understand what is working for your audience and what isn’t doing so great.
-
A/B Testing: You may not get your emails right on the first, second, or even third try, but that’s okay! That’s why you practice through testing—test different subject lines, email layouts, and call-to-action statements to see what gets the most interaction.
-
Update Your Email List: If certain subscribers haven’t interacted with your content in a while, it’s time to scrub them from your list. Look, it might be hard to get rid of names when you’ve spent so much effort getting your number up. But keeping dead-end subscribers is actually hurting your email system (and could even be costing you more money, depending on the platform and plan you use!). Stop hanging on to numbers that aren’t giving anything back to you—look over your subscribers at least once every 3 months to see who’s ignoring your emails and scrub them off the list.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings