​Okay, so this might not be a “secret” weapon, but email marketing can help extend the push to shop small that began on Small Business Saturday. These types of gentle reminders can keep customers buying from you all season (and all year) long. You just need a couple of great ideas, an email marketing tool (like MailChimp or Constant Contact), and of course an email list.

​Who has time for a newsletter? If you want more sales and a more loyal audience, you need to find the time. The magic of newsletters is that they are a way to distribute your content on a regular basis straight to someone’s email inbox or phone. It creates a privileged communication when you do it correctly. But when done poorly, it can feel like a boring monologue of self-promotion.
 
If you don’t have a newsletter, it’s time to start building a list of emails and creating a newsletter. Whether you’ve been a longtime newsletter publisher or one just starting, here are a few ideas to spice it up.
 

​Do you have a business newsletter? If you don't, what's holding you back? Is content the issue? Are you just not sure what you're going to tell your customers in every newsletter?
 
Newsletters are a great way to stay connected with your audience, especially if you have a long buying process or you run a business that thrives on repeat business. If either of those things is true, sending out a newsletter can keep you top of mind even when your customers aren’t quite ready to buy what you sell. Newsletters are a good nurturing and connection tool when you offer your audience something they want.
 
This comes down to content.
 
You want to make sure that you offer your audience something of value. To help with that, we've detailed a few things that you should put in a newsletter to get more opens.