Email lets you write to people who asked to hear from you. This guide covers building the list, the setup, the first messages and the consent rules to check.
To start email marketing for a small business, collect addresses only from people who agreed to hear from you, choose an email tool that handles sign-ups and unsubscribes, authenticate your sending domain, then send a welcome email followed by a useful rhythm you can keep. Rules on consent differ by country, so check the law that applies to your subscribers.
What email marketing is and when it suits a business
Email marketing means sending messages to people who gave you their address and agreed to receive them. An email goes straight to each person's inbox, and the list of addresses is held by your business, not by a platform. That suits businesses with repeat customers, a long decision before a purchase, or news that changes, such as new arrivals, booking dates and reminders.
It suits less well a business that has no way to collect addresses, or one with nothing to say more than a couple of times a year. A Google Business Profile or messaging conversations may do more for that business. The wider picture of channels is in the guide to digital marketing channels, and the trade-offs between email and social posts are in email marketing vs social media marketing.
What you need before the first email
- A reason for people to subscribe. Say what they will get, such as early notice of new stock, seasonal booking dates or practical advice. "Join our newsletter" is not a reason.
- A place to collect addresses: a form on your website, a field at checkout or a sign-up sheet at your counter.
- An email tool that stores the list, sends to many people at once, adds an unsubscribe link and records who has left. An ordinary mailbox lacks these. When comparing tools, look at how easily you can import and export a list, how unsubscribes are handled, whether sign-up forms are included, what the reports show, whether the tool supports domain authentication and how the price changes as your list grows.
- A sending address on your own domain, so that you can set up the authentication described below.
- One named person who writes, sends and reads the replies.
How to build an email list properly
A good list grows slowly and is worth more than a large one. Every address should come from a person who knew they were signing up for your emails.
Where addresses can come from
- A sign-up form on your website, in the footer and on pages people read before buying, with one plain sentence on what they will receive and how often.
- A tick box at checkout or on an enquiry form, left unticked and worded separately for marketing email. A request for a quote is not necessarily agreement to a newsletter.
- A sign-up sheet or QR code at the counter, at an event stand or in a delivery.
- A link to the sign-up form from your social media profiles.
What to avoid
Do not buy, rent or scrape lists. Do not add people because you hold their business card or because they are in your phone contacts. They did not agree, and such addresses are often out of date. Sending to them brings spam complaints, which damage your ability to reach the people who did sign up. Google's own guidance for email senders says to send only to people who want your messages.
Keep a record
For each address, record the date, where the person signed up and what the form said at the time. Most email tools store some of this. If anyone asks how you got their address, you then have an answer. Consider asking new subscribers to confirm by clicking a link in a first message. Google's sender guidelines recommend confirming each address before subscribing it, which also catches typing mistakes and sign-ups made by somebody else.
Consent and the rules on marketing email
Rules on marketing email differ by country and they change. Some countries expect clear permission before you send a marketing message. Others allow sending if the message is honest, names the sender and offers a working way to opt out. The rules can depend on where your subscribers live, as well as where your business is.
Data protection laws in many countries treat an individual's email address as personal data, and the rules change over time, so check the current position with the official regulator in each country where your subscribers live.
Some habits hold up under most rules. Ask for permission in plain words on the form and leave boxes unticked. Say who is sending. Put a visible unsubscribe link in every message and act on requests promptly. Keep your records of consent. Link to your privacy policy wherever you collect addresses.
This is general information, not legal advice. For your own list, ask a lawyer, or read the official guidance from the regulator in each country where your subscribers live.
Set up your sending properly
Mailbox providers decide if your email reaches the inbox, so a few settings matter before the first send.
- Authenticate your domain. SPF, DKIM and DMARC are records kept with your domain provider that prove your email really comes from you. Google's sender guidelines ask every sender to Gmail accounts to use SPF or DKIM, and large senders to use SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Your email tool's help pages show which records to add, and your domain provider or developer can add them.
- Use a sender name people recognise and a reply address that somebody reads. Customers do reply with questions.
- Send a test to yourself at more than one mail provider. Open it on a phone, click every link and try the unsubscribe link.
- Make unsubscribing easy. Google's guidance says always to give recipients an easy way to leave. A person who cannot unsubscribe may mark the message as spam instead.
What the first emails should say
Plan a short welcome sequence before you write the first newsletter. A new subscriber has just shown interest, and the first messages set expectations.
| When | What it does | What to include | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confirmation | Straight after sign-up | Checks the address is real | One button to confirm and a line on what they signed up for |
| Welcome | Straight after confirmation | Sets expectations and delivers what you promised | Who you are, what you will send and how often, the guide or offer you promised, and how to reply |
| A useful email | A few days later | Shows what future emails will be like | One answer to a question customers ask often, with a single link |
| A look at your work | The next one | Builds trust | One recent job or product, a customer story with permission, and one way to get in touch |
| Regular message | On the rhythm you promised | Keeps the relationship going | News, stock, reminders or dates that matter to the reader |
Write the way you would speak to a customer who walked in. Give each email one purpose and one main link or button. Make the subject line say what is inside, and avoid capital letters and pressure. Most people read on a phone, so use short paragraphs and make buttons large enough to tap. Do not send one large image in place of text, because some mail apps block images until the reader allows them.
How often to send
No frequency suits every list. Tell people at sign-up what to expect, then keep to it. For a small business, a rhythm of once a month or once a fortnight that you maintain is worth more than weekly emails that stop after two months. Raise it only when you have enough useful news to justify it, and watch unsubscribes and replies after each change. If the business has a busy season, say so in advance and warn subscribers that you will write more often then.
As the list grows, you can split it, for example into customers and people who only enquired, so each group gets messages that fit. Do not send every sale notice to everyone.
How to measure email marketing
Read a handful of numbers each month: how many emails were delivered, how many clicks each link got, how many people replied or unsubscribed, and how many enquiries or orders followed. Treat open counts as a rough signal only, because some mail apps load images automatically and inflate them. Tag the links in your emails so Google Analytics can show visits that came from email, and ask new customers whether an email prompted them. The guide to digital marketing KPIs explains which numbers belong in a regular review.
Compare each month with the one before and change one thing at a time, such as the subject line or the day of sending, so that you know what made the difference.
Common mistakes in a first year of email
- Sending to a bought or inherited list.
- Collecting sign-ups and then sending nothing for months, so that people forget why they joined.
- Sending in bursts: five emails in a week, then silence.
- Putting several topics and a dozen links in one message.
- Hiding the unsubscribe link, or making it hard to use.
- Skipping the test send, then discovering a broken link after the email has gone out.
- Treating anyone who enquired as a subscriber.
Doing it yourself or getting help
Choosing a tool, adding a sign-up form and writing the first emails are realistic to do yourself. Help is worth considering for domain authentication, for connecting sign-up forms to a website or online store, for designing templates and for fitting email into a wider plan. The Liftup digital marketing page describes the team's work in this area. Whoever sets it up, keep the email tool and the list in an account held in your business's name.
Questions and answers
How do I start email marketing for a small business?
Pick an email tool, add a sign-up form that says what people will receive, and collect addresses only from people who agree. Set up domain authentication, send a welcome email, then follow with a rhythm you can keep. Check the consent rules that apply to your subscribers before you send.
How do I build an email list properly?
Collect addresses through a website form, an unticked box at checkout or a sign-up sheet in person, and tell people what they will get. Never buy or scrape lists. Record when and how each person signed up, and consider asking them to confirm their address.
How often should I send emails?
There is no frequency that suits every business. Tell subscribers what to expect when they join, then keep to it. A steady monthly or fortnightly email you can maintain beats frequent emails that stop. Watch unsubscribes and replies if you change the rhythm.
What should the first emails say?
Send a short welcome that says who you are, what you will send and how often, and delivers anything you promised. Follow it with one genuinely useful email, such as an answer to a common question, and then a look at recent work. Keep one purpose and one main link per email.
What do I need to follow the rules on consent?
Rules differ by country and change, so ask a lawyer or read the regulator's official guidance for each country where your subscribers live. Common good practice is plain-language permission, unticked boxes, a clear sender name, a working unsubscribe link and a record of when each person agreed.
Can I email people who gave me their business card?
Not automatically. Handing over a card is not always the same as agreeing to marketing email, and the rules vary by country. The safer course is to send one personal message inviting them to subscribe, and to add them to the list only if they say yes.