What email marketing works for a Houston small business?
Sequences rather than newsletters. A welcome sequence, a follow-up sequence for enquiries that did not book, and a reactivation sequence for past customers are written once and run for years. A newsletter has to be rewritten monthly to produce anything, which is why most stop after three issues.
What we mean by email marketing
No weekly newsletters nobody asked for. No 10-email "drip campaigns." Three-email reactivation series for dormant lists. Five-touch nurture sequences for new leads. Post-service follow-ups that ask for reviews. Cadence designed so subscribers reply, not unsubscribe.
The four sequences most Houston small businesses need
- Reactivation series — wake up the list that has not been emailed since last year. Three messages, fourteen days apart, each useful even if the reader never re-engages.
- New-lead nurture — five emails over thirty days for web inquiries who did not close on the first call.
- Post-service follow-up — same-day thank-you, three-day review request, ninety-day reminder.
- Seasonal campaigns — Q4 wrap-up, summer prep, hurricane season for home services.
Deliverability first
Before a single send, we set up SPF, DKIM, DMARC, run sender warm-up, and clean the list of bouncers and unsubscribes from the last twelve months. Most Houston small businesses we audit have at least one of those broken; deliverability fixes alone often double open rates.
Platform-agnostic
We work with Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Customer.io, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, and Klaviyo. We do not push you onto a new platform unless yours is genuinely failing.
Who writes the emails
James Henderson drafts; you approve. We do not ghost-write fake "founder voice" emails — readers smell that immediately and unsubscribe.
Investment
Monthly engagements run $1,000-$3,000 depending on send volume and sequence complexity. Setup of the initial reactivation or nurture is included in the first month.
What to do next
Call James at 832-338-2926. Twenty minutes on the phone is usually enough to know whether your list has life in it or whether you need to rebuild first.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I email my list?
For most Houston small businesses: every 2-4 weeks for educational content, plus event-triggered emails (post-service, reactivation, seasonal). Weekly burns the list.
Why are my open rates below 20%?
Usually one of three causes: subject lines that read like ads, sender reputation issues from infrequent sending, or list rot. We audit on the first call.
Newsletter vs nurture sequence — which do I need?
Nurture sequences for new web leads. Reactivation series for dormant lists. Newsletters only if you have something genuinely useful to say every 2-4 weeks. Most do not.
Can you write the emails for me?
Yes. James drafts, you approve before send. We do not ghost-write fake 'founder voice' content — readers detect that and unsubscribe.