Email Marketing Has the Highest ROI of Any Digital Channel

For every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return is $36–$42. That’s not a typo. Email consistently outperforms social media, paid search, and display advertising when it comes to return on investment — and it’s a channel you own. Unlike Instagram followers or Google rankings, your email list can’t be taken away by an algorithm change.

For small businesses in Riverside and the Inland Empire, email marketing is one of the most underutilized growth tools available. Here’s how to do it right.

Step 1: Build Your List the Right Way

Never buy an email list. Ever. Purchased lists have terrible deliverability, damage your sender reputation, and are often full of invalid addresses. Build your list organically:

• Add a simple opt-in form to your website footer and contact page
• Offer a lead magnet — a discount, a free guide, a checklist — in exchange for an email address
• Collect emails at the point of sale or after service completion
• Ask in-person customers if they’d like to receive updates and promotions

Step 2: Choose the Right Platform

For most small Inland Empire businesses, Mailchimp is the right starting point — free up to 500 contacts, easy to use, and integrates with most websites. As you grow, Klaviyo (better for e-commerce) or ActiveCampaign (better for automation) become worth the investment.

Step 3: Send the Right Types of Emails

Most businesses only send promotional emails — discounts, sales, announcements. That’s a mistake. A healthy email mix includes:

• Welcome email — sent automatically when someone joins your list. This is your highest-opened email. Make it count.
• Educational content — tips, how-tos, industry news relevant to your customers
• Case studies and testimonials — social proof sent as storytelling
• Promotions — seasonal offers, referral bonuses, limited-time deals
• Re-engagement emails — sent to subscribers who haven’t opened in 90+ days

Step 4: Write Subject Lines That Get Opened

Your subject line determines whether the email gets opened or ignored. A few principles that work:

• Keep it under 50 characters so it displays fully on mobile
• Create curiosity or urgency without being clickbait
• Personalize with the subscriber’s first name when possible
• Test two subject lines (A/B test) and see which performs better over time

Step 5: Track What Actually Matters

Open rate and click rate are vanity metrics if you’re not connecting them to revenue. Track:

• How many emails led to a website visit
• How many website visits led to a form submission or call
• Revenue or leads generated per campaign

How Often Should You Email?

For most local service businesses, once or twice a month is the sweet spot. Enough to stay top of mind, not so much that people unsubscribe. Consistency matters more than frequency — a reliable monthly email beats sporadic weekly blasts.

Maven Web Prints Email Marketing Services

We build and manage email marketing campaigns for Inland Empire businesses — from list setup and template design to monthly campaign management and performance reporting. If you’ve been meaning to start email marketing but never had the time, we handle everything.

Learn more at our email marketing services page or call (951) 293-4355.