The five emails every small business should have running
Most small businesses think of email marketing as a newsletter — something you have to write, that takes an afternoon, that you feel guilty about not sending. That is the least valuable form of it.
The valuable form is a handful of messages that send themselves at the right moment. Build them once and they work for years. Here they are, in the order worth building them.
1. The welcome email
Sent the moment someone joins your list or buys for the first time. It is opened at a far higher rate than anything else you will ever send, because the person just chose to hear from you and you are still fresh in their mind.
Use it to set expectations — what you send, how often — and to give one genuinely useful thing straight away. Do not sell in it. You have their attention; spend it on being worth listening to.
2. The enquiry follow-up
Someone asked for a quote and you replied. Then nothing. A short, polite message a few days later — not “just checking in”, but something useful: a relevant example of similar work, or an answer to the question people usually ask next.
This is the highest-value email in the list for most service businesses, and almost nobody sends it. Silence after a quote is usually indecision, not rejection.
3. The abandoned basket (if you sell online)
Someone added items and left. One reminder, sent within a few hours, with the items visible and a link straight back. A second a day later if needed, and then stop.
Do not lead with a discount. You will train people to abandon on purpose, and you will discount sales you were going to make anyway. We covered the mechanics in abandoned carts: the fixes that recover the most revenue.
4. The post-purchase or post-job message
Sent after the work is done or the order has arrived. Check they are happy, tell them how to get help, and — if it went well — ask for a review. This is when goodwill is highest and the request is easiest to make.
It also catches problems before they become public reviews, which is worth the send on its own.
5. The reactivation email
For customers who bought once and went quiet. A single message acknowledging it has been a while, with a reason to come back — something new, a seasonal reminder, or a service that is due.
Reaching someone who has already bought from you is dramatically easier than finding someone new. Most businesses have a list of past customers they never contact again.
The rules that keep you out of trouble
- Consent, properly. People opt in knowingly. A pre-ticked box is not consent, and buying a list is a fast way to damage your sending reputation permanently.
- A working unsubscribe in every message. One click, no login, honoured immediately.
- Your real business identity in the footer — name, and a genuine postal address.
- Authenticate your domain. SPF, DKIM and DMARC decide whether you arrive at all. Skip them and even wanted mail lands in spam.
Start with two
Welcome and enquiry follow-up. Between them they cover the two moments where attention is highest and effort is lowest. Add the others when those are running.
We set these up as part of ongoing digital marketing, or as a one-off if you would rather run it yourself afterwards. Book a call and we will tell you which two matter most for your business.