As a small business owner, trying to develop an eMarketing strategy, it is not an either/or situation.   You do not have to choose whether you  communicate through a blog or email.  The best strategy is a little of both.  Your blog is an ideal way to create a two way conversation with your readers.  Short posts, with questions or discussion starters make your blog an enjoyable read.

But not everyone has time to stop by daily or weekly to read your posts. To reach this audience, a once a month email, with a summary of your favorite posts, or a completely different article can help to strengthen your brand. 

At Roundpeg, we began as an email marketing company and have migrated to social media.  Because of our starting point, I found it interesting to read a post by Chris Garret who wrote a post for bloggers  considering making the opposite transition.  He outlined both the benefits and risks of pursuing this strategy.  One of his most compelling points was the fact that a good email will build the subscriber base to your daily posts.

Other benefits include: Speed, ease of use, viral nature as people can easily forward a message.  And certainly the cost.  Using one of the popular tools available today, you can reach hundreds or even thousands of people for less than $50/month.   In addition, most email tools include a level of tracking and feedback so you know who is reading your email.

We have used Constant Contact for about six years and have found it to be extremely beneficial and easy to use.

If you are going to add email to your marketing mix remember this is more invasive then a blog so be sure  to ask permission to send the email and respect requests to unsubscribe so you are not labeled a spammer.

This won’t replace your blog, but can be a nice add on.  And while you are at it, consider an occasional piece of snail mail to round out the mix.

Find out what it takes to write a better blog. Give Roundpeg a call today!