The Found Gen

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Drive More Business: Email Marketing Tips

Unless you’re Google, you can’t (reasonably) claim to have anything that’s driverless about your business. It seems like we all walk uphill, both ways, in the snow and barefoot just to make ends meet. But I have news for you: it doesn’t have to be that way (enter email marketing).

Is there some trick that changes everything, one that gets you on the cover of Fast Company and driving a Bugatti when you’re tired of the helicopter? Not quite. But there is one that simplifies your entire marketing strategy, turns more leads into sales and makes your clients more loyal than you could possibly imagine. And it is straightforward—so much so that too many businesses ignore it. It’s email. And it will drive your business this year. Here’s why:

Everyone is Doing It

Today, almost every productivity hack includes some way to avoid checking email as regularly as we all do. The reason? Most everyone measures their days by how many emails they get. We get separation anxiety with our phones not because of our love of SnapChat but because we are focused on reaching inbox-zero.

Put simply, email is the key to getting in front of your current and prospective clients. Getting someone’s email address is the 21st century’s equivalent of a door-to-door salesman getting invited into a prospect’s home…which segways perfectly to my next point:

Sales Pitches: Kid Tested, Mother Approved

Regardless of what industry we’re actually in, we’re all in sales. And, ironically enough, most everyone’s weakest point in business is sales. Barring the rare artiste that is a natural at the cold-call, anyone would be remiss to pass up a tactic that can actually simplify the sales process while practically handing you converted leads.

People expect a sales pitch in an email. And while people expect to see sales pitches in ads across every medium, that’s not why they open the magazine or watch TV. But it is why they open your email.

What You’re Thinking Right Now

Now, I know what you’re thinking: ‘Sure, those points make sense, but I get tons of those promotional emails and I just ignore them. Why should I waste time just to have people delete it?’

To be honest, it’s a good point. But here’s a challenge: start paying attention to how many you actually open. Odds are you open at least 10% of them. Of those you open, you click through the links to check out what they’re saying. Once you start paying attention, you’ll discover that you actually end up buying from them more often than you ever thought possible.

Email Marketing: By the Numbers

Here’s a little math to back it up: let’s assume you have a contact list of 1,000. If you get a conversion rate of 1%, and average $200 a sale, each email you send will make you $2,000.

But this isn’t even taking into account all the other benefits of email marketing: the ability to tell your brand’s story, staying in regular contact with your clients (and stay in the front of their mind), further establishing yourself as a thought leader—the list goes on. In fact, you’d be surprised at the response rate (not to mention, some great personal responses) to a well-conducted email marketing campaign and how people begin to look forward to your emails.

Want to learn how to craft fantastic emails that will drive your business in 2014? Feel free to contact us today!

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What to Expect in the World of Marketing in 2025

Ready or not a new year is upon us, and with it comes uncertainty tinged with opportunity. While no one knows quite what the year will bring, we are all poised to make our predictions. No doubt technology will continue to play an ever-increasing role in the ways we interact with products, services and each other, but that doesn’t mean we should abandon traditional marketing tactics. 

On the contrary, now may be the perfect time to lean into that which we can control – the content you post on your website, the emails you send to your prospects and clients, and other tried-and-true marketing strategies that yield results year in and year out. 

New Year, Same Game Plan

As you begin putting your 2025 marketing strategy in motion, bright, flashy objects will surely garner your attention. Generative AI, voice search, viral videos and more will all be relevant and impact how we market our businesses. They just shouldn’t dominate your focus. If you let your eyes veer too far off the mark, progress will suffer. 

Likewise, social media is another bright shiny object we love to hate, and at the present moment, it finds itself going through some serious upheaval (see Twitter, Meta, TikTok). As a business, you should be prepared for big changes on platforms you don’t have control over.

Instead of putting all your eggs in one marketing basket (especially a basket you have no control over!), stick with what works – put your efforts into blogging, email marketing, and more traditional or outside-of-the-box strategies rather than relying heavily on social media this year. Your future marketing efforts will thank you.

As we wade into the waters of 2025, stay focused on your short- and long-term goals. Avoid the temptation of getting swept up in what everyone else is doing and take charge of what you can control – building relationships, sharing insight and serving up solutions that meet your clients’ needs. Our team at the Found Gen is here to help. Call us today to schedule a consultation. 

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How Often Should You Refresh Your Branding

Some brands seem to have life eternal – Nike, Coca-Cola, BMW. Everyone knows these and other power players of our time, and while they’re in a league of their own, even these big hitters have to make tweaks to their brand and image over time to stay relevant with their audience.

You should be doing the same, but exactly how often you need to refresh your branding can be a bit nuanced. Here are some things to keep in mind as you consider the question of how frequently to refresh your branding. 

Brand Evolution vs. Revolution

Trends evolve annually, but even the most fashion-forward of us aren’t going to refresh our brand that frequently unless it becomes necessary (like if you merge with another business or undergo a major business change). After all, brand recognition is built on consistency. Too many haphazard changes is just confusing.

Instead, it’s helpful to consider your brand’s look and feel in terms of an ongoing evolution rather than waiting to drop a full-scale brand revolution. This type of approach enables you to make smaller upgrades on a more frequent basis to keep your style fresh and relevant to your readers.

3 is the Magic Number

These brand refreshes should be considered every three to five years, though this may vary depending on the medium in question. For example, websites, email templates and social channels benefit from upgrades like a new font or other visual refreshes that modernize the brand every three-ish years, whereas printed materials can be stretched a bit farther. 

With everything, the general idea is that you’re always continuing to move forward – even if the updates are subtle. You need your brand to represent your business as it stands today (and tomorrow) – it can’t be stuck two decades in the past. If it is, you’ll immediately lose credibility before you even have a chance to earn it.

Call Us Today to Get Started 

If it’s been 8, 10 or (gasp!) more years since you’ve thought about your logo and brand, it’s time to call us at The Found Gen. We can help revive your brand and keep your messaging and design on point for the future. 

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How to Set Attainable Marketing Goals Next Year

Goal-setting season is upon us, and with it come big dreams and bold ambitions. And while yes, dreaming big is key to your business’s success, if those ambitions are not grounded in reality, you simply will not be able to attain them. 

No one wants to fall flat. So, don’t. Keep your goals and expectations aligned so you can realize success more quickly. 

To that end, here are some strategies to help you set attainable marketing goals in 2025.

Start Where You’re At

Goals only work when they’re meaningful and relevant to where you are and where you want to go. Plucking a random metric out of the air helps no one and will only result in failure. We’ve worked with clients who’ve said they want to generate 100 new leads per month. Ok, that’s great, but what’s the context behind this number? If said client is currently pulling in only a handful of leads per month, expecting to suddenly achieve 100 will only lead to frustration. 

Instead, review your current data. If you want to increase your email open rate, look at your numbers and consider industry averages so you have a baseline for setting new goals. 

Identify Your Marketing Objectives

Similarly, your marketing goals should align with your overall business objectives. Make them meaningful. Consider your organization-wide priorities, and then develop new marketing goals that are relevant to these objectives.

Train for a Marathon and the Sprint

Breaking down larger goals to include several short-term milestones can help you knock out wins more quickly. An effective goal-setting strategy generally includes both short- and long-term marketing goals. 

Short-term goals are achievable within 3-6 months. They help drive immediate results that build momentum. Long-term goals usually span 6 months to several years. They focus on sustained growth, such as building brand authority, achieving market share or developing a loyal customer base. A healthy mix of both goal types helps focus your efforts, so you start seeing results faster.

Make Your Goals SMART

Lastly, you’ve heard this before, but that’s because it works! A SMART goal is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Using a goal-setting framework like SMART helps you stay focused on your mission while establishing clear and timely parameters for completion. An example of a SMART marketing goal might be: “Grow organic web traffic by 50% in 12 months by optimizing content for SEO and targeting relevant keywords.”Setting attainable goals drives success, but it takes work to develop them. It requires reflection and foresight, but when done well, it can help accelerate your marketing efforts. To learn more about setting goals and building a successful marketing program, contact our team at The Found Gen today. 

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What are the Most Successful Marketing Tactics Today?

Trends come and go, but the good stuff? That stands the test of time. And when we’re talking about marketing, specifically digital marketing, that good stuff can be boiled down to the Big 3: newsletters, blogs and social media. These tactics were successful 5, 10, 15+ years ago, and they are still effective today. 

So before jumping on the trend train or dropping all your budget on ads (which isn’t a long-term solution anyway), stick with what works. Create content and they will come.

Newsletters

Email marketing is one of the most cost-effective tools you have in your arsenal, and the people on your distribution list are eager to read what you have to say (otherwise, they’d unsubscribe). Capitalize on this captive audience by staying top-of-mind with readers. 

Whether you publish weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, newsletters keep you in touch with your customer base, even if some of those customers tend to purchase infrequently. What’s more, they can be a key source for referrals.

Blogs

Blogs are the foundation of your entire content marketing strategy. Without an active web presence, clients will never find you, and the best way to improve your online presence is by blogging. As web crawlers index your site, they’re looking for fresh content. When you add at least four new pages of content to your site every 28 days, the web-crawling bots will keep chomping on your site. This puts you in the best position to boost your SEO ranking and remain useful to a user’s online search. 

Social Media

Rounding out the trifecta of digital marketing tactics that work is social media marketing. The key to making this tactic work, however, is leveraging the channel(s) your audience actually uses. Don’t post on IG if your clients are only on LinkedIn, for example. 

Like with all marketing, you need to meet your audience where they’re at with relevant and timely content. In general, keep the 80/20 rule in mind. 80% of the time you should be giving something to your audience: knowledge, insights, recommendations, a breath of fresh air. And 20% you can ask for something. 

Contact Us for Help

If you’re ready to try out these tactics but don’t have the time or resources to tackle them, just give us a call.We’re here to help.

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How to Identify Short-Term and Long-Term Marketing Goals

What comes first – the chicken or the egg? Well, in marketing, it’s pretty clear. You need goals before you can celebrate wins because, without a goal, how do you really know what constitutes success anyway?

Embracing Goal Setting

Like with many things, it can be easy for marketers to become hyper-focused on results. Results, results, results. You hear it all day long from the literal or metaphorical boardroom. But what is a result anyway without a goal attached to it? 

Before you go down the rabbit hole of scouring data to come up with results, define your objectives first. Here’s what to know about identifying short-term and long-term marketing goals for your business.

What’s the Purpose of Your Goal?

Short-term goals are generally achievable within 3-6 months. Looking for a quick win? That’s a short-term goal. They help drive immediate results that build momentum.

Long-term goals usually span 6 months to several years. They focus on sustained growth, such as building brand authority, achieving market share or developing a loyal customer base.

How Do They Align with Your Objectives?

Next, you want to tie your goals to business objectives. Does that mean boosting revenue? growing web traffic? building brand loyalty? The key is to balance short- and long-term marketing goals to maintain momentum while building lasting business and brand success.

Make Your Goals SMART

Yes, you’ve heard this before, but it’s because it works! A SMART goal is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. An example of a short-term SMART goal might be: “Increase email newsletter sign-ups by 15% within 3 months through social media ads and blog CTAs.”

Similarly, a long-term SMART goal could be: “Grow organic web traffic by 50% in 12 months by optimizing content for SEO and targeting relevant keywords.”

As you set about identifying goals for your marketing objectives, keep the short and long game in mind. Sometimes you need bursts of speed while balancing endurance, but whatever you do, make sure you have a plan. Goals help focus your efforts, so you start seeing results faster. 

To learn more about setting goals and building a successful marketing program, contact our team at The Found Gen today.