Stay booked with email marketing for restaurants

No one likes junk mail. But almost everyone loves exclusive invites and coupons to a favorite store. When an email makes your eyes light up and inspires you to pull out your wallet, that’s a sign of good email marketing.

If you own a restaurant, chances are you’re already bringing in new customers through social media and good old word of mouth. But an email marketing strategy could give you a much-needed boost.

“Strategy” is the operative word here – emails have to deliver the right content at the right time to be of value to the reader. The goal here is to entice, not annoy. So before you start drafting that first email, let’s explore the ins and outs of restaurant email marketing.

Why you need a restaurant email marketing strategy

Email marketing builds connections and community and incentivizes customers to come in again and again. Here are some of the key ways a good strategy boosts business:

Stay in better contact with customers

Many people check email before even rolling out of bed in the morning. We keep our inboxes open all day while working. Even the most passive glances at subject lines send bits of information to our brains. We know who’s having a sale, who wants our feedback, and who’s hosting an upcoming event. Sending emails with thoughtful, attention-grabbing subject lines will keep your restaurant fresh in people’s minds. Just remember that email marketing is a dish best served in moderation. If you communicate too frequently, customers may lose interest and unsubscribe.

Turn drop-ins into loyal customers

Someone may stumble upon your restaurant on a Friday night and have a great experience, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll come back anytime soon. Your odds of transforming one-time visitors into loyal customers increase if they sign up to get relevant content that gives them a reason to return. What’s relevant will depend on your customer base: family restaurants may see good results from coupons, but an invite to an upcoming tasting might be more enticing for diners looking for an upscale meal. Don’t be afraid to test different offers to see what works best for your restaurant.

Support efforts on other marketing channels

If you’re connecting with customers on Facebook and Instagram, your marketing plan is already in motion. But not everyone gets their news through these apps. Some customers will come to your restaurant website for information, and you can invite them to join your mailing list there. Cross-promote your presence online by linking to your social accounts on your webpage and in emails and linking to your website in your social bios with a Linktree URL, which can redirect followers to multiple sites, including your mailing list landing page.

Save money on marketing

Some platforms’ plans start at zero dollars, so you can run an email marketing campaign for free. As your restaurant following grows, you may want to shell out for all the bells and whistles like analytics, automation, and aesthetically pleasing email templates, but simple campaigns are still effective. If your mailing list is small enough, you can even send out birthday coupons and other customer-specific emails one by one.

How to build an email list

Before creating your first email campaign, you’ll need to build a mailing list to send it to. To do that, customers need to provide their email addresses. Here are some tips for getting people to sign up:

• Build a landing page to gather email addresses. Landing pages often contain forms or pop-ups for collecting information. The most popular website builders have a user-friendly option for creating one.
• Direct people to your landing page with social media posts containing a call-to-action (CTA) that invites them to join your mailing list. Add the link to your Linktree so they can get there from your bio.
• Extend a special offer or discount to anyone who signs up for your mailing list. Customers will often happily hand over their email addresses in exchange for good deals, such as a coupon for 10% off their next dinner, a complimentary cocktail with their meal, or a buy-one-get-one promo.
• Send your subscribers useful, relevant content and convert them into loyal customers. Your foodie following is more likely to open emails if they know they’ll find a worthwhile coupon, invitations to fun events or details about a celebrity chef takeover.

Marketing ideas for restaurant emails

We’ve touched on the meaning of “relevant content,” but let’s explore it a little further. The idea is to make mailing list subscribers feel like insiders and show them you understand who they are. Here are a few ideas that may appeal to your most loyal customers:

• Limited offers and discounts: Offer a deal exclusive to recipients, and give it an expiration date to incentivize diners to make reservations quickly.
• Special events for subscribers: Don’t just let your mailing list know about special events at your restaurant: host one for them. Have a wine pairing event or invent a one-night-only tasting menu, and provide a reservation link in the body of an email.
• Menu change announcements: We all have our go-to dishes at our favorite restaurants, but there’s something intriguing about specials and new menu items. Let your customers know what you’ve got cooking by keeping them updated on menu changes.

Tips for seamless email marketing for restaurants

Here’s the good news: you already have a lot of the tools you need to implement your strategy. We’ve got a few final tips to help you get off to a strong start:

• Use analytics: Many email marketing platforms offer analytics that displays everything from open rates to the amount of revenue generated by each email. This is how you’ll know what people are responding to so you can keep getting results.
• Never buy an email list: Grow your email list organically, not by buying names. Bugging people who didn’t ask to stay in touch will drive them away instead of drawing them in, and your content may get flagged as spam. Genuine engagement is the way to go, so limit emails to the people who have chosen to receive them. They may want to opt back out for any number of reasons. Making them jump through hoops to unsubscribe will give them a bad view of your restaurant. Show them your intentions are good by adding an easy-to-find unsubscribe button to the bottom of each marketing email.
• Use automation: Marketing software allows you to automate emails for specific dates or in response to “triggers.” This means you can set birthday or anniversary coupons to go out automatically or trigger a welcome email with a discount code for someone who just signed up.
• Test emails before you send them: Send yourself a test of every email so you can do a quality check on your desktop and mobile device. Images that won’t load, typos, broken links, and other mistakes can make your restaurant look unprofessional, but they’re easy to catch and fix if you take the time to send a test.