I recently spoke with a past client of ours, a Columbus small business owner, who asked whether they should do email marketing through their own domain. After investing so much time and resources into launching a strong website and brand, my resounding answer was hell no!
Instead, I walked them through my recommendations. Even though we did not have an active contract in place, the right thing to do for any good marketing agency was to guide them in the right direction. Accordingly, the same advice and approach are presented below to help other small businesses and DIYers close the learning gap in email marketing.
1. Pick an Email Marketing Platform
The first thing you need is a platform. Without a good platform, you’d have to send emails manually, one at a time, which is not realistic for any growing small business. There are plenty of email marketing tools out there, and each one does things a little differently. Here are a few to consider:
- Mailchimp for just emailing and nothing else
- CRMs, such as Zoho and Hubspot, for more advanced emailing and automations
- Apollo for the DIY crowd – you set everything and manage it
Any of these platforms will help you send emails at scale, track performance, and schedule campaigns.
2. Configure a Look-Alike Domain
If you plan on sending cold outreach or frequent email marketing campaigns, protect your business domain at all costs by using a separate domain. Why? Considering the following:
- When you get unwanted emails, you might ignore them at first.
- If these emails keep coming, you will probably report them as spam.
- When enough people do that, your main domain reputation takes a big hit.
- As a result, your real emails, even the important ones, will never reach an inbox.
Buying and configuring a look-alike domain (e.g., if your domain is example.com, then a look-alike domain might be example.co, examplesite.com, or example.biz) is cheap insurance. And if you haven’t already, make sure to implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for your email domain to improve your chances of landing in an inbox rather than spam.
3. Refine Your Email Approach Based on Your Campaign Goals
Always start with your audience in mind, which begins with a marketing segmentation. A newsletter usually goes out less often than cold outreach. A cold outreach campaign requires a thoughtful cadence and short, direct messaging. A newsletter works best when you lead with your strongest content and give it clean, simple designs. Pay attention to your analytics to see what people are reading and what they skip.
4. Write Targeted, Personalized, and Engaging Content
This is by far the most important aspect of any email marketing campaign. Good email content takes a lot of effort and goes a long way. You can use AI automation tools to help you research prospects and draft unique emails at scale. Remember, cold outreach shouldn’t feel cold; it should feel personal and relevant.
On the other hand, newsletters should give your customers something they want to read. For example, Realtors often get better engagement from existing homeowners by sending them home valuation updates rather than general home-buying advice. CRMs help with segmentation so you can tailor content by customer groups. Using the same Realtor example, you could offer three newsletters:
- One for existing homeowners, featuring their home’s value
- One for potential home buyers, featuring buying advice
- One for potential home sellers, featuring selling advice
You can achieve similar results with platforms like Mailchimp, but it will take more effort outside a CRM.
5. Respect the CAN-SPAM Act and Offer Opt-in and Opt-out Selections
Email service providers and federal regulations are strict about solicitation. Make sure to abide by their rules. Additionally, cold outreach is challenging in 2025 because of two things:
- Email service providers are much better at detecting spam
- Email service providers have made it much easier for customers to report spam
People know right away when you’re pitching something. And if they feel overwhelmed or annoyed, they will mark your email as junk. As such, make it easy for people to unsubscribe, especially Gmail users, so they don’t go through the trouble of reporting you as spam. Additionally, the more emails you send, the quicker you will become spam, so slowly ramp up and test your emails.
6. Warm up Your Email Domain
Whether you’re running an email marketing campaign or just starting your business, do not send mass emails from the start! Many email service providers (ESP) monitor new email account activity, and mass emailing is an indicator of solicitation or spam. Therefore, your own ESP may mark your email as spam before your prospects even receive it!
The fix is to either send emails to verified prospects or use an email warming service like Instantly.
7. Monitor and Optimize Your Email Campaigns
Setting up a campaign is the easy part. The hardest part is managing it. Watch for dips in deliverability, spam flags, or low open rates. If your domain reputation starts to slide, revisit your subject lines, timing, and message style. Sometimes, you only need a small change to get better results and avoid being flagged as spam.
Bottom Line
Email marketing is absolutely something a small business owner in Columbus can do, but it takes care and consistency. Follow the tips above, and you will avoid some of the most common mistakes.
And if you reach a point where you don’t have the time or resources to manage email marketing, reach out! Our marketing experts can help you get your email marketing under control so you can do what you do best: running your business!
