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If you’re in search of a new ESP, Gmail might not be your first thought. The platform is meant primarily for individual email accounts, not marketing purposes.
But since it’s completely free, Gmail is hugely helpful for small businesses that are ready to expand their email marketing. Check out these tips for free email marketing with Gmail as your email service provider.
Gmail is hugely helpful for small businesses that are ready to expand their email marketing Click To Tweet#1. Setting up your Gmail ESP
Free tools such as Gumbamail, a free Chrome extension, are helpful for transforming Gmail into an email marketing tool. This email marketing tool lets you schedule and send mailing campaigns to your subscribers without leaving Gmail. When you install this browser extension and BEE Templates for Gmail, you’ll be able to create beautifully designed mass email campaigns inside your Gmail account.
#2. Creating your email list
Make your email list using Google Contacts. In Google Contacts, select the addresses you want to include and then add them to a new or existing label. When you’re through, send a Gmail message to each person on that list with GMass. Alternatively, you can use Google Sheets to create a Gmail mail merge, or use a free email marketing tool like Yet Another Mail Merge, which pulls addresses from a Google Sheet and then tracks your email campaigns.
#3. Don’t forget about regulations
The GDPR, or General Data Protection Regulation, has several guidelines that email marketers need to follow. For example, before sending someone a promotional email, you need to obtain their consent. While some ESPs have built-in features to help you comply with these regulations, Gmail doesn’t. That means with a Gmail mass email, you’ll need to double check that everyone on your email list has opted in and hasn’t unsubscribed. This will take some time and work, but it’s an essential task to complete.
#4. Send mass emails
Remember, Gmail has a built-in send limit that caps you at 500 emails in a 24-hour period (this applies whether you’re sending to 500 recipients in one email or 500 separate emails in one day). Based on these email sending limits, Gmail is best for companies that have a small email list. Gmail’s free email sending capabilities are an excellent choice for small businesses that are just getting started.
#5. Consider deliverability
If you send a mass email from your personal email address — one that ends with @gmail.com — there’s a greater chance that message will be flagged as spam and never reach its recipient. Platforms like Gmail are truly meant for personal use, not marketing. So make sure your sender address incorporates a domain name. This both looks more official and boosts the chances that the message will land in your recipient’s inbox.
#6. Use BEE templates
Gmail has one big downfall as an ESP: Its design capabilities are non-existent. Add-ons or extensions are the only ways to create beautiful HTML emails with Gmail. Luckily, with BEE Templates for Gmail you can send professionally designed emails directly in your Gmail account, and it’s completely free. To set up the add-on with your Gmail account, install BEE Templates for Gmail in Google Workspace Marketplace.
After the installation process is complete, you’ll see the BEE icon in the right-hand sidebar of your inbox.
Open any email in your inbox and then click the BEE icon to select a template.
Once you’ve added your images and text, send the message to your email list. To learn more about this Google Workspace add-on, check out this video:
If you have a BEE Pro account, you can also connect with Gmail from within your BEE dashboard. (Click here for a free BEE Pro free trial). This will allow you to send email templates for Gmail in the BEE editor (where you have additional editing capabilities) and then push them over to your Gmail account. BEE has dozens of email templates for Gmail, many of them free, that work for a wide variety of events, holidays and marketing purposes.
Wrap-up: Email templates for Gmail
Gmail for email marketing is a great choice for small businesses with manageable email lists. And when you combine Gmail with free email marketing tools like the add-on, your email marketing will soar to a whole new level.
Take a look at our Template Catalog!
BEE’s email templates for Gmail can take your marketing to the next level!
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