I’m a small business.
Should I bother with email marketing?
Algorithms change, reach disappears and the marketing tactic everyone swore by six months ago gets replaced by something new. But there’s one channel I keep coming back to — and it now contributes around 50% of Tyler Aromatherapy’s annual revenue.
Stranger → Subscriber
They’ve discovered the brand and handed over their email address. Now the welcome flow does the job that one Instagram post never could: introducing the story, the products and why they should care enough to stick around.
Subscriber → Interested
Not every email needs to sell. Founder stories, education, behind-the-scenes moments and useful content create familiarity and trust — so when the customer is ready to buy, your brand already feels like the obvious choice.
Interested → Customer
They nearly bought, but life got in the way. An abandoned cart flow continues the conversation automatically — reminding them what they loved, answering objections and giving them a reason to come back.
Customer → Loyal customer
The relationship shouldn’t end at checkout. Post-purchase emails help customers get more from what they’ve bought, bring them deeper into the brand and give them another reason to come back.
This is the email ecosystem working behind the scenes of my multi-six-figure brand. Here’s why I think every small business should be building one.
If you're running a small business, chances are you're already trying to do approximately 700 things at once. Instagram, TikTok, SEO, Pinterest, Meta Ads, Google Ads… and then somebody comes along and tells you that you should be doing email marketing too.
So, is email marketing actually worth bothering with when you're a small business?
My answer is 100% yes.
In fact, if I were starting my business again tomorrow, building my email list would be one of the first things I'd do.
I talk a lot about content and social media because they've played a huge part in growing Tyler Aromatherapy. But getting somebody's attention is only the first part of marketing. You then need to turn that stranger into someone who knows your brand, trusts you enough to buy and, hopefully, becomes a loyal customer who comes back again and again.
That's where email marketing comes in.
Everything in marketing is changing
One of the hardest things about marketing a small business is that it feels like the goalposts are constantly moving.
Instagram changes its algorithm. Your reach goes up and down. The type of Reel that performed brilliantly six months ago suddenly doesn't. Advertising costs change. New platforms appear. Trends disappear almost as quickly as they arrived.
Email marketing has remained one of the most valuable marketing channels throughout all of that.
Why? Because instead of constantly trying to get somebody's attention, you're communicating directly with people who have actively said, “Yes, I'm interested in your business and I want to hear from you.”
That's incredibly valuable.
Is email marketing actually worth it?
The numbers suggest so. Email marketing consistently delivers one of the strongest returns on investment of any digital marketing channel, with research from Litmus putting the average return at around $36 for every $1 spent.
But personally, I think the biggest value goes beyond immediate sales.
When somebody follows your business on Instagram, you're still relying on Instagram to show them your content. They could love your brand and still not see another post from you for weeks.
When somebody joins your email list, you've created a direct line of communication with them.
And that's why I don't see my email list as somewhere to send promotions. I see it as one of the most important parts of my customer journey.
Email marketing generates around 50% of our annual revenue
And no, that doesn't mean I'm constantly sending emails shouting about discounts.
Email works for us because it's woven throughout our entire marketing funnel.
Someone might discover Tyler Aromatherapy through an Instagram Reel, visit our website and join our email list. From there, our welcome emails introduce them properly to the brand, tell our story, show them our products and give them reasons to stick around.
If they browse or add something to their basket without purchasing, our automated emails can continue that conversation. Once they eventually become a customer, email helps us nurture that relationship and encourage them to come back.
Then alongside those automated emails, I send campaigns about new products, launches, restocks, behind-the-scenes moments, founder stories, useful content, seasonal inspiration and promotions.
Social media helps me get discovered. Email helps me build the relationship afterwards.
The emails every small business should have
You absolutely don't need 47 complicated automations before you can start email marketing.
I'd begin with three.
1. A welcome flow
This is the sequence someone receives after joining your email list. Rather than immediately trying to sell to them, use it to introduce your business properly. Tell your story, explain what makes you different, introduce your bestselling products and give them a reason to care about your brand.
2. An abandoned cart flow
People get distracted. They add something to their basket, answer a WhatsApp, start making dinner and completely forget they were shopping.
Your abandoned cart emails simply continue that journey and remind them what they left behind. You can also use these emails to answer objections, share reviews and reinforce why your product is worth buying.
3. A thank-you / post-purchase flow
The customer journey shouldn't end when someone checks out.
Your post-purchase emails are an opportunity to say thank you, help them get the most from their purchase, tell them more about your business and eventually give them a reason to return.
Get those three foundations in place and you've already created a simple email ecosystem working behind the scenes while you're busy doing everything else.
“But I don't know how to make pretty emails…”
Canva! Seriously.
You don't need fancy software or a graphic designer to create beautiful branded emails. Use your fonts, colours, photography and other brand elements in Canva to create email graphics that feel instantly recognisable, then bring those assets into your email marketing platform.
But remember that pretty isn't the strategy.
A beautifully designed email that nobody wants to read isn't going to magically generate sales. Start with what you want your customer to think, feel or do and then make it look good.
Want to see exactly what I send?
I've put together an Email Marketing Lookbook filled with the actual emails I send behind the scenes at Tyler Aromatherapy. Inside, you'll see my welcome flow, abandoned cart flow and thank-you flow — not made-up examples, but the emails being sent inside my multi-six-figure brand.
