If you've been a customer of Frozen Solutions for a while you are no stranger to our emails that we send out.

And if you're not, I am sure you get plenty of emails from other companies with information about their brand, sales, industry info and more. It's no secret that email marketing works to reach your customers.

In fact it is one of the most used and most effective marketing strategies even in 2021.

So how can a dessert store, or any other brick and mortar business effectively use email marketing?

First things first... Why bother? This answer is actually pretty simple. Companies that use email marketing will beat the competition hands down, year over year. It allows you to quickly let customers know about sales, new ice cream flavors, toppings, holiday specials and events.

But how do you collect emails? Here are some of the most efficient ways.

1. Have a simple sign up sheet at the front of your store. This can be a piece of paper or a board hanging on a wall. Offer customer 10% (or more) off of their next order for signing up. Once you take that customers email at the end of your workday, and add it to your email database (we will explain that below) you can set it up to automatically send them a 10% voucher. They can screenshot it, or bring their phone in to show you the voucher to redeem.

2. Have a sign up pop-up on your website that offers a discount or free item the next time they come in. This one is great because you don't have to do any work once it's all setup. People visiting your site to place orders, check flavors etc... can sign up there with the click of a button. If you are on yelp and have a "visit website" button, many people will use this to view your flavor menu. Take full advantage of this! It can be a powerful tool.

3. QR codes! Add a QR code to your custom cups, you can have the QR code and text above it that says "Scan For 10% Off". The customer scans it and gets sent to a page with an email sign up. They get a % off once they enter their email. While this may sound complicated, it's quite easy to do. We can help get this setup, just send an email to vincent@frozensolutions.com and we can help you out!

4. Post about your newsletter to your social media accounts. One Facebook you can post direct links to your signup page. Let people know that when they sign up they get a discount. And also let them know that you will not send them spam or too many emails. But that signing up will be well worth it! On Instagram you can add the link to your bio once per month, for 24 hours. Make a story letting people know that it is there.

These are 4 of the easiest ways to get a newsletter list started. 

Which company should you use to start your email list? 

Mailchimp is the easiest to get going, followed by Klaviyo. Klaviyo is a little advanced but well worth it if you are willing to invest some time or pay someone to set it up for you.

Once you purchase newsletter software you simply fill out all of the details they ask for, and then you can start importing emails right away. 

If you are going the more automated route, you can setup an email popup, which can be designed with a drag and drop editor. Most websites have a mailchimp or klaviyo plugin. So you usually don't have to do any extra work. Just enter your account information and they will set up the basics for you.

If you need help getting your email marketing going our team can help you get this all setup in a snap. So make sure to reach out.

Is it really worth the work? In short... YES! Especially if you want to build a brand. Something that will keep growing or something you can sell for big bucks down the road. If this is you, it's pretty much a requirement.

Let's say you have 3,000 emails and Halloween is in 4 days. You can email a coupon code to your 3,000 customers letting them know that you will have special treats on Halloween and subscribers get 15% off. You can bet your Halloween sales will be great!

It's not too late to start your email list. Good luck, let us know if you have any questions.