One of the recent trends in email marketing for small business is staying relevant and keeping the recipient engaged. Simply sending your email with info (even if you think its exciting, may not be enough).
In order to stay relevant in 2026 and beyond, you’ll need to add a little something extra to your email campaign. One idea / strategy is to include some sort of monthly contest.
Create a monthly contest / giveaway – keep it simple to start, make it exciting, and offer something people will really love to win. The key here is consistency – keep on it so your audience knows this is a regular, and ongoing initiative; you will see better open rates as a result
Announcing the winner is easy – and always do that inside the email. This will ensure more people open and engage with your email.
BONUS#1: have the winner come in to claim the prize (if applicable) and take a photo – include the photo in the following month’s email. This will build credibility and further bring engagement within your network and business community.
BONUS#2: If the winner is another local business – offer a business showcase within your email campaign. You’ll further boost engagement and continue to connect the local community.
Setting up your contest is as simple as creating a signup form inside your Constant Contact account. Use the same link each month for consistency and share it to social media too. This will help build your list as a direct result of this initiative.
Remember to move all the contacts into another list monthly as a way to maintain and “reset” your contest entries.
Next Steps: Set up a monthly contest including methods for gathering entries and announcing the winner(s) via email.
