What Makes You Open One of My Emails?

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So goes the never ending subject lines that are a regular part of the daily emails.
I am guilty of being part of the email conundrum.

How do I communicate with a level of responsibility of all of the things we are doing in a world where everyone wants a piece?
Advertising is different than it used to be; in the old days it used to be direct mail or newspaper ads that let people know about the specials and promotions of a business. You would set up a marketing calendar, meet with the advertising department and set up your plan.

For quite some time now, traditional advertising has been tossed on its ass and unless one has a full on marketing department, it is every business owner for themselves.

Deciding How and Where to Post Requires a Lot of Brain Power

• Do I post on Instagram and if I do, is it a reel, a story, a post?
• Do I do a live video, a series of photos, a combination?
• Do I add closed captioning, music, emojis? How often? 
• Do I tag my friends, share it endlessly?
• Do I post on Facebook? On my business page or my personal page? 
• Do I do it as a story, a post, a paid ad?
  
  

Instagram and Facebook posts don’t take 5 minutes, it may seem like they do, but believe me, they don’t if you are posting for business.
TikTok is a whole other category I can’t even attempt because I can barely keep it together with all of the other posts. 

I’m exhausted just re-reading this.

What to Post is a Time Consuming Experience Too

Blogs, newsletters, promotions, recipes, openings, skin tips, events, workshops. 

How many do I send? Who do I send them to? How do I measure any of this? What does any of it even mean?
I received a great email from one of my heroines, JILL MARINELLI, the other day on choosing the right bathing suit.
I immediately sent her an email to tell her how great the blog was. Her reply was hilarious and at the same time I could hear the exhaustion in her reply.

"Thank you, Alayne, it took me three hours!"

My response likely surprised her.

"Yes Jill, this is how long they take."

Is Any of This Worth the Time?

Each email when done as best as we are capable of with the limited skills of a 50 or 60 something can take that long.

How we use headers, subject lines, photos, who we tag, how we send, when we send all play huge roles in how we land in your space. We barely know what happens behind the scenes with all of the algorithm set up from the big tech companies that sometimes I wonder if any of it is even worth my time.

But then a client walks through the door and says, 

"Alayne, I saw that fun workshop you are doing and I signed up."

Or I see 4 openings fill because I sent out an openings email. 

Or my friend, Patti, a loyal follower from far away sends me a message that says, 

"Alayne, I even buy things from you when I don’t live near you! "

Sometimes I get great messages from random clients that they have tried a recipe that is now a family favorite. One here, a few there, this makes my heart sing and makes me think that all of this does make a difference after all.

This is my aim when I spend 3 hours writing a blog post like this. To make a difference, to create a pause in the way you might think about something you otherwise never really considered. To teach and educate the consumer of all running a business is way more than just hanging a sign and unlocking the door.

Do You Love What You Do?

I love what I do because I have built my business for the last 25 years to support me in my dreams and desires. I never wanted to have my business take over my life which is probably why I struggle with the many times I wake up with the feeling that I am a total slacker and don’t do anything, but then I get an email from a client/ friend who says, 

“You and your emails are a breath of fresh air.”  

I am promptly reminded that I do what I do when I do it because I have created this life for myself I get to live in. 

Because of my 2 hands, a big heart, a most creative mind and a passion for connecting with people that I hope is contagious in a good way

I love owning a business and I have spent my entire career attempting to enjoy the many facets of what it means to run a successful business so that my business does not run me (into the ground:)

Just the other day, a client pointed out that she has admired and enjoyed watching me navigate my business with so many different ideas epecially since Covid.

I am driven because there is really no other option. This is what I know. It is what I do. I have a small and very mighty team who drives me to be as productive as I can so that they enjoy their careers as much as I enjoy having a place for them to have a career in.

Just Opening an Email Makes a Difference to a Small Business

When you get an email from me or another small business or you see a post on one of the many channels you might subscribe to, know that each and every post is at least an hour or more, that we have probably paid someone in our businesses to help up with something within that post too and in turn has created employment.

When you open one, when you reply or like with a ❤  or comment, when you share or collaborate by giving a shout out, even if you don’t buy a thing, it helps us business owners think that what we do matters. 

Your engagement makes a difference and keeps us going in what is sometimes an uncertain business world.

Your simple participation really makes a difference and I thank you for reading this.

If you made it through, please use the code smallbizlove and receive $25 gift towards your next $125 purchase or more.

ps. This blog post today took three hours start to finish, not counting the pictures we took yesterday and the resizing of them so that they would fit properly.