What are the most important ways for you to get new clients? Facebook? Instagram? Word of mouth? How about turning "once in a while" clients into loyal clients? What if I told you there's probably another way to do this, which can make 3800% return on the time you spend doing it?

It's actually pretty simple: email marketing. Email marketing is one of those overlooked hidden gems when it comes to marketing to your both new and old clients, and it makes a huge difference to your bottom line. The return on investment (how much money you make vs. how much time or money you put into it) is 3800%!

But where to start? Here is a simple three-step process to jump start your salon's email marketing.

1) Capture email addresses at every chance (even on your website) and have an automated process in place

The most important start for your salon's email marketing is to get an extensive list of email addresses from your clients, website visitors, and former clients. It sounds simple, but you'd be surprised how many businesses are missing important places to collect email addresses.

Here are several different places that you can get email addresses:

• Through your online booking software

• On your website (see more on this below)

• On your Facebook page

• In-salon before, during or after appointments (you can use an app like Mailchimp on a tablet or writing on paper)

• In your database (find your older clients' email addresses)

• In order to join your loyalty program

How to capture email addresses on your website:

90% of your website visitors will take a look around your site and leave without you ever hearing from them again. It's really too bad, but there is actually a way that you can keep in touch with these people and eventually turn them into paying clients: Get them to sign up for your mailing list with an offer they can't refuse, like this one:  

Here are three tools you can use to get in touch with your website visitors and turn them into clients:

Sumo List Builder: put a popup on your website that captures your website visitors' attention just before they're about to leave. You can offer than 10% off their first visit if they sign up for your mailing list.

Mailchimp orCampaign Monitor: Two of my favourite apps for automated emails and monthly newsletters. You can integrate them with Sumo listbuilder to automatically send a welcome email with your offer as soon they give you their email address. Mailchimp is simpler to use, but Campaign Monitor has better templates and more automation options available.  

2) Make sure you're sending the right emails to the right people

  Not everyone should be receiving the same email marketing campaigns from you. Segmenting your emails means that you will have higher click through rates, more interest, and ultimately more actions taken.

Segmenting means that you can separate current and former clients. older people from younger people etc, and send them emails that are made just for them.   Here are some ideas of different kinds of emails you can send to different types of people in your email list:

• Men: Promotions on men's products, fathers day specials, valentines day (for their wife)

• Older women: Senior's promotions, skin care for older women, events specifically made for them

• Younger groups: Focused more on social media (Instagram and Snapchat), student discounts, events for youth

• Older clients: Updates on your salon since they were there, exclusive discounts just to get them in the doors again

How do I segment my list of email addresses?

• Use your booking software and database and sort people by their last visit. You can have a group of people who have visited in the last 6 months, in the last year, or in the last 3 years.

• Ask people for their birthday when they sign up: you can use this as a way to give a surprise email or discount for their birthday, but also a way of getting their age

• Select the gender of the person when you put them into your database

• If you get people to sign up on a tablet, have them put in 2 questions (no more) about themselves. Too many questions will decrease the number of responses or seem more like an inconvenience. You can ask them if they are a parent (for special mom promotions), when their birthday is, or any other info that might be useful to know about them.

3) Keep your emails interesting, entertaining, and not just promotional

  Make sure that your emails are always welcomed in your clients' inboxes!   Make your emails interesting, exciting and varied with these ideas:

• Include your most recent Instagram pictures

• Every month send out your salon pic of the month

• Seasonal info: ideas for seasonal styles (trend alerts)

• Tips for hair styles (link to video or Instagram video with tutorial)

• Promotions of the month (invite a friend, loyalty cards, get 10% off products with a blowout or highlights etc)

Make sure that every email you send out has one part that informs (eg. hair style video of the month), one part that excites (eg. Instagram pics) and one that leads to an action (eg. "claim your special promotion").

Also remember that at the bottom of your emails in your signature you always have links to your social channels as well as a link to book an appointment. This could be a link to the booking page on your website or a link to a phone number which opens up a call when clicked from a cellphone.

BONUS: Make sure that your emails are mobile optimized and look good on different types of email apps

This might seem like a small detail, but it actually makes a huge difference to how many people open your emails and then actually read them.

Most email templates with Mailchimp and Campaign Monitor are now mobile optimized (meaning they look good on a phone, which more than half of your contacts will be using), but you should always send text emails to check. Also make sure to check test your emails on your desktop, your phone, and different providers (Gmail, Hotmail) if possible, to make sure they'll look good for everyone.