The cannabis industry is booming, which means more competition than ever before. Failing to employ effective cannabis email marketing strategies to stand out in a crowded market will leave your business in danger.
using email for cannabis marketing allows you to reach a wider audience by sending targeted messages directly to their inboxes.
You can also use it to develop relationships with existing customers.
But it doesn’t just stop there – email marketing has proven to be an effective way for businesses in the marijuana industry to promote their products and services.
In this article, we’ll cover the basics of email marketing in the industry and provide some tips on how you can make your campaigns successful. Let’s get started!
Key Takeaways
- Email marketing can be an effective way to reach customers in the cannabis industry, but it’s important to follow regulations and guidelines to avoid legal issues.
- Personalization and segmentation are key to creating targeted and effective email campaigns in the marijuana industry.
- Building a quality email list is essential for success in cannabis email marketing. This can be achieved through lead magnets, opt-ins, and other tactics.
- Email content should be informative and valuable to subscribers, providing insights and education about cannabis products, news, and trends.
- Testing and analyzing data is crucial to optimize email campaigns and improve engagement rates in the industry.
Guidelines for cannabis email marketing
Cannabis email marketing can be a great way to reach your target audience and promote your product or service. However, there are a few things you need to keep in mind when creating your marketing campaign:
1. Know the laws and regulations regarding cannabis marketing in your area. Make sure you are compliant with all local laws before sending any emails.
2. Keep your mailing list clean and up-to-date. Remove any bounced or invalid email addresses from your list regularly.
3. Use a professional email service provider that is cannabis friendly. This will ensure that your emails are delivered properly and avoid potential deliverability issues.
4. Create compelling subject lines and content that interest your target audience. Keep in mind that people who receive cannabis emails may be seeking information about specific strains, products, or services.
5. Include a call-to-action in every email you send, such as an invitation to visit your website or shop online. Make it easy for recipients to take the next step with you.
6. Test, test, test! Send test emails to yourself and others before launching your campaign to ensure everything looks and works as it should.
Follow these guidelines to create a thriving cannabis marketing campaign to reach your target audience and help promote your business. If you need help with cannabis content, get in touch with us.
Best practices for email marketing
Email marketing is a powerful tool for cannabis businesses. It lets you connect with your customers and prospects, build relationships, and drive sales.
However, using email for cannabis marketing is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. There are best practices that all businesses should follow to ensure their email campaigns are successful.
Here are some of the best practices for email marketing:
1. Define your objectives
Before sending emails, you must know what you want to achieve with your cannabis marketing campaign. Do you want to increase brand awareness? Drive website traffic? Generate leads? Convert prospects into customers?
Once you know your objectives, you can create an email campaign.
2. Build your email list carefully
Your email list is the foundation of your cannabis marketing campaign. It’s crucial to build your list carefully, ensuring that it consists of people who have opted in to receive your emails and are interested in what you offer.
There are several ways to grow your email list, including offering something of value in exchange for an email address (such as an ebook or whitepaper), running a contest or giveaway, or integrating an opt-in form on your website or blog.
3. Write compelling subject lines
Your subject line is the first thing people will see when they receive your email, so it’s essential to make it count. A good subject line should be creative, concise, and compelling. It should also give recipients a reason to open the email.
4. Use segmentation and personalization
Segmenting your email list allows you to send more targeted emails tailored to each recipient’s interests. You can segment your list based on age, gender, location, purchase history, or other factors. Personalizing your emails with the recipient’s name can also increase engagement.
5. Monitor results and refine your strategy
Once you start sending emails, monitoring the results and refining your strategy as needed is important. Review metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and unsubscribes to determine what is working and what isn’t.
Make changes accordingly to get the most out of every email you send.
Benefits of email marketing for cannabis
Email marketing is a powerful tool for any business, and the cannabis industry is no different. Here are some key benefits of email marketing services for cannabis businesses:
1. Reach a Wide audience: Email allows you to reach a broad audience with your message. There are over 3 billion email users worldwide, so your target market is using email too.
2. Cost-effective: Email marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to reach your customers. It’s often free or low-cost to send emails, making it an excellent option for small businesses and startups.
3. Build relationships: Email marketing can help you build relationships with your customers and create a deeper connection with them. You can use email to stay in touch with customers, share updates about your business, and build loyalty over time.
4. Boost sales: Email marketing can directly boost sales for your cannabis business. By sending targeted emails with special offers and discounts, you can encourage customers to buy from you again.
5. Measure results: With email marketing, you can easily track and measure results. Most email platforms come with built-in analytics that let you see how many people opened and clicked through your emails
Recommended email types
There are four types of emails that we recommend sending to your cannabis customers:
Prospecting email
This is the perfect email for reaching out to new customers interested in your products or services. In this email, you’ll introduce yourself and your business and explain what you have to offer. Be sure to include a call-to-action (CTA), so recipients know what you’d like them to do next.
Engagement email
Once you’ve contacted a potential customer, you should start engaging with them regularly. Engagement emails can take many forms, but they all have one goal: keeping your business top-of-mind.
You might send an engagement email when you have a new product or service to promote or check in and see how things are going. Be sure to include a CTA in every engagement email so recipients know what action you’d like them to take.
Announcement email
Have some big news to share? An announcement email is a perfect way to do it! You can use announcement emails for everything: from announcing a new product or service to sharing important updates about your business (like changes in hours or locations).
Whatever the news you’re sharing, be sure to make it clear in the subject line so that recipients know what they’re opening before they even begin reading.
Restrictions on cannabis email marketing
There are a few restrictions when marketing cannabis through email.
First and foremost, evevry email marketing strategy must comply with the Cannabis Act and its regulations. This means that emails must not be sent to anyone under 21 and must not contain any false or misleading information.
In addition, all email marketing messages must include a valid physical address for the sender and a working telephone number and email address. The message must also include a statement that indicates that the recipient is of legal age to consume cannabis in their jurisdiction.
Lastly, it’s important to note that while there are no specific restrictions on the use of images in cannabis email marketing messages, any photos used should be appropriate for all audiences and should not be excessively graphic or violent.
Importance of ADA compliance
As the marijuana industry grows, businesses must be aware of ADA compliance. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and more.
To comply with the ADA, businesses must provide reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities.
This can include ensuring that your website is accessible to people with disabilities, providing Braille or large print materials upon request, and offering assistance in using your facilities.
There are many resources available to help businesses become ADA-compliant. The U.S. Department of Justice’s ADA website provides extensive information on the topic, including a business self-evaluation checklist. The ADA offers technical assistance through its toll-free ADA Hotline (1-800-514-0301) and online chat service.
Cannabis-friendly email marketing platforms
Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach customers and promote your business. However, if you’re in the industry, you may wonder if any email marketing platforms are friendly to the industry.
When it comes to email marketing and cannabis, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. First and foremost, the CBD and THC content of the products featured in your emails should be within the legal limit. In some states, your emails should not contain more than 0.3% THC products.
If you want to reach the widest audience possible with your email marketing campaigns, you need to focus on adults who are 21 years of age or older. Additionally, your email marketing strategy should not target minors.
In other words, you should not try selling cannabis products to people under 21. Not only is this illegal, but it’s also unethical.
Finally, you must ensure that your email marketing campaigns comply with all applicable laws and regulations in the state you operate.
This includes federal regulations and general laws governing email marketing (such as CAN-SPAM). Failure to comply with these laws could result in hefty fines or even jail time, so it’s not worth taking the risk.
If you follow these guidelines, you’ll be able to create effective and compliant email marketing campaigns to help grow your business.
Now for the good news, several email marketing platforms welcome cannabis businesses with open arms. Here are a few of the best options:
CBD and THC content permitted
Alpine IQ
Alpine IQ is great for email marketing automation. It can help businesses streamline the process of creating and sending automated email campaigns and provide detailed analytics on the effectiveness of each campaign.
The platform allows users to create custom templates that can be used for any email marketing campaign, even those sent out weekly or monthly.
Alpine IQ also includes features like A/B testing, segmentation, and personalization to ensure that emails are personalized for each recipient and targeted to the right audience.
Email Octopus
Email Octopus is the perfect tool for cannabis businesses who want to send emails on a budget.
With Email Octopus, you can send up to 10,000 emails per month for free using Amazon SES.
Plus, their pay-as-you-go pricing means you only pay for the emails you send over your monthly free limit. And, with Email Octopus’ easy-to-use interface, you can create beautiful emails without any design experience.
Emurcury
Emurcury is an email marketing service that allows cannabis businesses to send emails containing both CBD and THC content.
The platform enables companies in the marijuana industry to reach their target audience through targeted and personalized email campaigns with its user-friendly interface and advanced email marketing tools.
Emurcury offers features such as A/B testing, automation, and reporting to help businesses optimize their email marketing efforts.
Flodesk
Flodesk is an email marketing platform that enables you to create beautiful, engaging emails that reach your customers and clients.
With Flodesk, you can easily design custom emails using their drag-and-drop email builder or one of their many pre-designed templates.
You can also segment your contact lists, automate your email marketing campaigns, and track the results with detailed analytics.
Hubspot
Hubspot is a comprehensive email system for marketing, sales, and customer service professionals. HubSpot helps you attract website visitors with SEO and content marketing.
The platform enables you to convert those visitors into leads with calls-to-action and forms.
Finally, Hubspot is designed to delight customers with personalized support and help them become brand advocates by engaging them in online conversations.
Klaviyo
Klaviyo is an AI-powered email marketing platform that helps you turn more prospects into loyal customers. It’s easy to use and has all the features you need to nurture your leads and grow your business.
Klaviyo offers a range of features, including segmentation and automation tools, lead scoring, reporting and analytics, visual workflow building, A/B testing, and more.
Klaviyo integrates with popular e-commerce platforms like Shopify and Magento and CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot. With its powerful features, Klaviyo can help businesses increase sales by engaging customers at scale through automated emails.
MailerLite
If you’re looking for an email marketing solution for your cannabis business, you can’t go wrong with MailerLite.
With its easy-to-use interface and wide range of features, such as e-commerce integration, MailerLite is ideal for companies of all sizes. Plus, it’s affordable, making it an excellent option for small businesses and startups.
Moosend
Moosend is a powerful email marketing tool that can help you quickly reach your target audience. With its easy-to-use interface, Moosend offers a range of features that allow you to manage your email campaigns and track their performance easily.
You can create automated emails, segment your lists for better targeting, use drag-and-drop design tools to create stunning emails, and more. The platform also offers various integrations with popular web applications like WordPress, Shopify, and Salesforce.
CBD-only email marketing platforms
After some research, there seems to be a single platform that has no issue with anything related to CBD on its own:
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is a powerful email marketing tool that can help cultivate relationships with your customers and grow your cannabis business. With ActiveCampaign, you can create and send beautiful email newsletters, automate your email marketing tasks, and track the results of your campaigns.
Email marketing platforms prohibiting cannabis content
If you’re in the cannabis industry and looking to do email marketing, you need to be aware of the various email platforms that prohibit cannabis content. Here are four of the most popular email marketing platforms that currently prohibit cannabis content:
MailChimp
MailChimp has a strict policy against sending emails that promote illegal activity. When it comes to cannabis, things get a bit more ambiguous. Mailchimp does ban any content associated with illicit drugs, including images, videos, and links. Their automated system is known to suspend users using their services to send cannabis-related content.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact also has a policy against promoting illegal activity through its platform. You can’t use Constant Contact to send emails about cannabis or anything else associated with illicit drugs. If your account is found to violate this policy, it will be suspended.
AWeber
AWeber has a similar policy to MailChimp and Constant Contact, prohibiting the promotion of illegal activity through their platform. This means you won’t be able to send emails related to cannabis or other illegal drugs through their services. Your account may be suspended or even terminated if you’re found in violation of these guidelines.
SendinBlue
SendinBlue has a policy that prohibits using their service for sending any content related to cannabis, including both CBD and THC. Anyone using SendinBlue to send emails promoting cannabis products or services can be immediately banned from the service.
What else do you need to accomplish a great cannabis email marketing campaign?
There are a few other key components that you’ll need to ensure a successful email marketing campaign. In addition to having high-quality content, you’ll need to confirm your email list is segmented and that you have a solid call to action.
Here are a few more tips to help create an excellent email marketing campaign:
1. Keep your emails short and sweet. No one wants to read a long, drawn-out email about cannabis. Keep your emails concise, and to the point so your readers can easily digest the information.
2. Use images and infographics. People are visual creatures, so using images and infographics in your emails will help capture their attention. Just ensure not to overdo it – too many images can be overwhelming.
3. Use an enticing subject line. Your subject line will persuade people to open your email, so make it count! Use actionable words and avoid being too salesy or spammy sounding.
4. Timing is everything. Make sure to send your emails when your audience is likely to check their inboxes – generally, early morning or late evening works best. Avoid sending emails on weekends when people are less likely to check work-related messages.
5. Have a solid call to action. Your email should have one clear goal, and your call to action should reflect that goal. Whether it’s making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or visiting a website.
Conclusion
If you want to make the most of your email marketing campaign, it is essential to understand the basics of email marketing and how to use it to reach your target audience.
By following the tips outlined in this guide, you can ensure that your email marketing campaign is successful and helps you achieve your business goals.
Before beginning any email marketing campaign, be sure to familiarize yourself with the regulations in your area.
This will help ensure that you are compliant with all applicable laws and regulations and can maximize the success of your email marketing campaign. Additionally, it is essential to remember that cannabis laws vary from state to state and country to country.
Jack Alexander Morrison Austin is a content marketing maverick, driving sales, and growth through high-quality content and advanced SEO strategies.
As the creative engine behind Grassroots Content, Jack’s mission is to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, ensuring brands get noticed in the crowded digital landscape.
Hailing originally from the UK, Jack now calls Da Nang, Vietnam his home, an inspiring backdrop for his audacious vision of revolutionizing content creation to catalyze tangible growth in business performance. His approach is not just about words or SEO for SEO’s sake; it’s about creating a unified vision that genuinely assists customers and primes brands for Google’s ranking.
With a keen interest in Google’s Natural Language Processing and algorithm analysis, Jack masterfully crafts content that is compelling and designed to surge traffic, skyrocket click-through rates, and multiply sales. Every month, he and his team deliver over 500,000 words to delighted clients worldwide, paving the way for unprecedented growth in their business performance.
When he’s not immersed in crafting top-notch content or decoding Google’s algorithms, Jack can be found indulging in his love for football, music, and outdoor adventures. A fan of camping, he thrives on the thrill of exploring new terrains, much like his approach to content marketing.
Ready to transform your content strategy and experience the Grassroots Content difference? Feel free to contact Jack for a free consultation. Be part of the revolution in content creation that drives organic growth and boosts conversions. Jack Austin is here to amplify your brand and turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.