Email marketing for small businesses: where to start

Email marketing has been declared dead approximately once a year for the past two decades. It keeps outperforming almost every other channel available to small businesses.

The average return on email marketing in the UK is estimated at around 36 pounds for every pound spent. No other channel comes close consistently. And yet most small businesses either do not do it at all, or do it so sporadically that it generates no results.

Here is how to start, and how to do it in a way that actually compounds over time.

The list is everything

Email marketing is only as good as the list it is sent to. A list of 200 people who genuinely know your business and have chosen to hear from you will outperform a purchased list of 10,000 strangers every single time.

Start building your list now if you have not already. Every customer, every client, every person who has enquired, ask permission to add them. A simple sign-up form on your website. A QR code on a receipt or invoice. A gentle ask at the end of a job.

The list grows slowly at first. Then it compounds. Three years from now, the list you start building today will be one of the most valuable assets your business has.

Pick a platform and start this week

The platform matters far less than starting. Mailchimp is free up to 500 contacts and the easiest entry point for most small businesses. Klaviyo is better for e-commerce with more sophisticated segmentation. GoHighLevel suits businesses that want email integrated with CRM and booking. Kit works well for content-led businesses and creators.

Pick one. Do not spend three weeks evaluating options. Send your first email this week. You will learn more from one real send than from any amount of research. what to expect when you work with Makeproper

What to actually send

The most common mistake is waiting until you have something to sell before contacting your list. By the time you have something to sell, your list has forgotten who you are and your open rates reflect it.

Send regularly and send things that are genuinely useful to your audience, a tip, a seasonal observation, a short case study, a reminder that a service is available at a particular time of year. One useful thing per email. One clear call to action if there is one. Nothing more.

When you do have something to sell, your list is warm and receptive. That is the difference between a launch that converts and one that lands in silence.

The three automations every small business should have

Welcome email: sent immediately when someone joins your list. Introduces who you are, sets expectations for what they will receive and gives them one useful thing straight away. This is the email with the highest open rate you will ever send, most people open it. Make it count.

Post-project follow-up: sent seven days after a job or project completes. Thanks the client, invites a Google review and plants the seed for future work or referrals. This single automation, running in the background, compounds significantly over a year. how to get more Google reviews for your local business

Re-engagement: sent to subscribers who have not opened an email in six months. Gives them a reason to stay or an easy way to unsubscribe. Keeps your list healthy and your open rates meaningful. A smaller, engaged list is worth far more than a large, disengaged one.

How often to send

Once a month is enough for most small businesses. Twice a month if you have the content to justify it. Weekly only if email is genuinely central to how your business communicates.

The worst mistake is sending inconsistently, three emails in one month, then nothing for four. That pattern erodes trust and trains your list not to expect anything from you.

Pick a frequency you can maintain and maintain it. Consistency is the whole game. five things every small business website needs in 2026

How Makeproper approaches email

For clients on marketing retainers, we set up the platform, build the core automations and plan the monthly send schedule. For clients running paid campaigns, email is often the follow-up channel that converts the leads ads generate.

If you want to start doing email properly without spending weeks figuring it out yourself, get in touch.