How NOT To Market Your Small Business

This is one of those secrets that most people unfortunately have to learn the hard way. You won’t be one of those people, because you have Juble and we learned the lesson for you. The hard way.

The secret to how NOT market your new company is via an unsolicited mass email campaign, otherwise known far and wide as SPAM.

Spam is one of the worst things you can do to your small business. It does nothing for your profits or customer base except destroy them. No one likes spam, I don’t, you don’t, potential clients or consumers don’t either. There is nothing worse than opening up your email inbox and finding it flooded with mass marketing solicitations for products you have no desire or intention of ever using. That’s not to say that a few people won’t actually read the email, and maybe even click on the link to the website. Once they get there, they might even spend their money on the merchandise or the service offered. However…most of the emails sent in that campaign will never even reach the inbox. They will instead be sent directly to the trash or spam folder. Thousands of potential customers never even saw the email.

Why does this happen you ask? It happens because the mail servers are designed to pick up the many clues that spam contains. Most mass marketing email is written according to a template, which uses the same basic keywords and phrases. Then, they are addressed by a mailing program that attaches a bunch of addresses with similar spellings or words, in order to send out as many, and reach as many recipients as possible. When someone’s mail server catches these emails, it discards them as spam. Which is good, no one likes spam. It tends to leave the reader slightly irritated, and occasionally a bit offended.

There are programs and systems available which offer to give you the ability to write and send mass-market email that won’t be labeled as spam. For only a minimal fee, you can reach thousands of people just waiting for a chance to hear from you. Sorry, the systems that I have seen do not actually work that well. Spam is still spam, no matter how much you spend to have it written.

Now, don’t be completely discouraged. It is quite possible to reach out to your future buyers by using email. It must be done with consideration and professionalism though. Gather a list of your friends, former and current business associates, and even casual acquaintances. Then draft a courteous and professional letter describing your new business, perhaps consider offering them some type of “personal discount” which you can send to them. 

Joining forums and other websites that are relevant to your type of small business is also an excellent way to network. You can use these as a way to meet new people who just might have an interest in what you are offering. Once you have introduced yourself, and gotten to know people a little bit, you contact them via your email which isn’t spam, but actual communication.