Because email can (and should be) one of your most profitable resources.

Business is having a moment. Things are getting busy, and if you’re a motivated business owner, that’s your cue. But let’s be real—the “standard” way of growing is becoming exhausting. Most people are tired of shouting into the social media void or paying an “algorithm tax” just to reach their own customers.

That’s why the smartest brands are doubling down on email marketing to reclaim the inbox. Email is cool again because it’s a channel you actually own. Whether you use Klaviyo email marketing, Mailchimp, or ActiveCampaign, we’ll show you why this is your most profitable resource.

Hmm, maybe that didn’t ping like I thought it would.

Well, that’s for a reason. Email is often seen as spammy and annoying. We regularly speak to business owners who don’t like using email because of this. But our thoughts are always: Well, don’t send spam!

Just because you might not like getting emails doesn’t mean your customers feel the same. Some of them—brace yourself—like them. They want the offer, the reminder, the little “Hey, we’re still here.” It’s comforting. Like getting a text from a friend.

The stats back it up: around 70% of customers prefer to be contacted by email. Email still works. It’s growing. It’s personal. It costs peanuts compared to paid ads. And it can quietly become your most profitable channel without shouting or dancing or trying to “go viral.”

So let’s not waste breath justifying it. This is your playbook for email marketing. Not diluted info with a sales pitch at the end. Just real advice for real business owners.

Local Business: In Focus

Some regions grow quietly; others are rewriting their own stories. With new businesses opening faster than they close and growing populations on the rise, the business landscape is shifting.

8 Key Stats That Matter (The Big Picture)

Audience Reach: Most adults check their email at least once a day, and for many, it’s the first thing they do.
Projected Growth: Global email users are set to grow by hundreds of millions over the next few years. That’s a lot of inboxes.
The “Older & Wiser” Factor: Significant purchasing power sits with the 35–55 age bracket. They aren’t always on TikTok, but they are in their inbox.
ROI: Email marketing continues to offer one of the highest returns on investment in the digital space.
Human Connection: People prefer receiving brand updates via email over any other channel.
Mobile Dominance: Over 50% of emails are opened on mobile devices—usually while people are out and about in their own neighborhoods.
Small Business Strength: Small, independent businesses often see higher engagement rates than giant corporate entities.
Digital Evolution: As social media algorithms become more “pay-to-play,” owning your list is the only way to ensure your message gets through.

Your message has to work harder than ever. Good email marketing helps you punch through the chatter. In a place full of potential, the real trick is being heard.

The Business of Being Local

Why Your Community Connection is Your Secret Weapon

Lately, business is a bit of a hustle. From family-run shops to logistics firms, local business isn’t just growing—it’s evolving, diversifying, and getting sharper.

Key Features of the Modern Local Business Scene:

Independent Spirit: Thousands of businesses are small, scrappy, and independent.
Diverse Industries: From healthcare and construction to retail and tourism—real businesses doing real work.
Resilience: New business births continue to outpace closures in growing regions.
New Hubs: Co-working and professional services are rising as people trade long commutes for local offices.
Grassroots Networks: Local networks thrive over bacon, eggs, and flat whites, not boardroom bagels.

This is a world where big things happen in small buildings. These businesses are nimble, community-driven, and built to last. If you’re marketing here, think of it like this: you’re not selling to strangers—you’re talking to neighbors.

Business isn’t just business. It’s personal—and email is perfect for that.

Why Email Still Wins

Because connection matters.

In a fast-paced world, attention is the scarcest resource. Add social media algorithms and noisy inboxes into the mix, and you need something reliable. Email delivers directly. It’s predictable, effective, and human.

Key Benefits of Email Marketing:

Direct delivery to an inbox you own—not buried in feeds.
Higher ROI, often outperforming social platforms for small budgets.
Personalization at scale: segment by location or interest; speak directly.
Build trust over time through consistent, helpful emails.
Actionable metrics—opens, clicks, and engagement give clear feedback.
Adaptable formats: stories, offers, event invites, guides—all in email’s court.
Automation: welcome flows and reminders that run while you sleep.
Mobile-first design—reaches your audience between errands.

Email isn’t flashy, but it’s steadfast. It’s the channel that lets you use names, build trust, tell stories, and make offers without paying the “algorithmic toll.”

Timing Is Everything

When to hit send for maximum impact.

Sending emails whenever you “feel like it” is a hunch. That’s the fast-track to the spam folder. The right timing can be the difference between a message that lands and one that barely registers.

Timing Tips for Local Email Sends:

Best days: Tuesday through Thursday consistently show higher engagement.
Primetime window: Aim for 9–11 AM—after the morning rush and before the lunch lull.
Secondary timing: A slot between 4–6 PM can catch commuters heading home.
Avoid Mondays and late Fridays: They get drowned by the “weekend mental load.”
Seasonal timing: Send highlights before school holidays and local festivities.
Subject line cues: Add time-based triggers like “Tonight only” to build urgency.
Test your list: Use A/B splits for time-of-day and day-of-week.

When your audience is juggling coffee, school runs, and daily life, an email arriving at the wrong moment gets lost. Timing isn’t guesswork. It’s strategic.

Voice & Personalisation

Make your emails feel conversational, like they came from a friend—not a bot

Generic emails read like robot weather warnings. They might be informational, but they are also impersonal. In a local community, people appreciate real talk. Emails that feel like they came from a real person: thoughtful, local, warm.

Voice and Personalization Strategies:

Use first names and locations: “Hi Sarah in [Suburb Name]” beats “Hi there.”
Local references: Mention landmarks, nearby events, or community in-jokes.
Casual tone: Ditch the jargon. Be warm, humble, and conversational.
Storytelling: Drop short anecdotes about your team or your day-to-day life.
Skimmable formatting: Short paragraphs and punchy lines.
Clean design: Always include a plain-text fallback for a more “personal” feel.
Segment by audience: Speak differently to regulars versus new leads.
Offer value first: Treat emails like friendly advice, not just promotions.

When your voice feels authentic, emails don’t feel forced—they feel like a conversation with a neighbor. That trust gets opens, clicks, and even replies. And replies count more than opens.

Content That Clicks

What emails really need to carry momentum and conversion

You can’t just email “BUY NOW” and hope for a real connection. The best content educates, entertains, and solves a problem.

Content Types That Work:

Community stories: Feature a local collaborator or a team member.
Promotional offers: Use location-based discounts or specific “insider” deals.
Event invites: Markets, business expos, or local cleanups.
How-to guides: Helpful tips related to your specific industry.
Seasonal content: School holidays, public holiday hours, or seasonal events.
Behind-the-scenes: Life at your business before the doors open.
Customer testimonials: Quotes from happy local clients.
Re-engagement: Tickle inactive subscribers with a quick survey or story.

Variety keeps things fresh. When your email feels helpful first and selling second, it becomes part of someone’s morning, not just another notification.

Real Emails. Real Results. No Smoke. No Mirrors.

We could keep banging on about open rates and ROI. But you know what’s more convincing? Businesses that actually put this stuff into practice and watched it work.

Here are three stories straight from the Oddball lab. Each one is a little different. Each one a solid reminder that email isn’t just alive, it’s kicking.

Port Stephens Animal Adventures
They had a dusty old list and a bumpy off-season. We brought the list back to life. Turns out, when you treat your subscribers like people—not numbers—they come back. And they book.

Portable Analytic Solutions (PAS)
Scientific niche, big inventory, and a whole lot of moving parts. We built them an email strategy that followed the temperature—literally. Timely reminders, smart segmentation, and serious ROI when the mercury rose.

Pro Speed Racing
They had customers clicking “add to cart” and then disappearing. We fixed that with smart, simple automations. Result: 22% more people came back to finish what they started. Cha-ching.

Tools & ESPs

Email platforms that do the work, so you don’t have to

Which email platform fits you? Well, like most things, each email platform has their pros and cons. If you’re starting out or scaling local campaigns, the right ESP gives you templates, segmentation, automation, and pricing that make sense for you at that stage of your business.

Let’s take a closer look.

Which Platform Fits Your Business — At a Glance

1. Mailchimp

Best for: Beginners or small lists (up to ~1,500 contacts)
Pricing: Free tier available, paid plans start at around US $13/month
Strengths: Easy drag‑and‑drop editor, Canva design integration, basic automation
Limitations: Advanced features locked in higher tiers; costs rise steeply as contacts increase

2. ActiveCampaign

Best for: Businesses ready for automation, CRM, behavioural targeting.
Pricing: Starts around US $39/month (~A$55) for Lite level (~1,000 contacts) 
Strengths: Multi-step automation, built‑in CRM, segmentation, great deliverability
Limitations: Slightly more setup time; adds cost for CRM features.

3. Moosend

Best for: Small businesses or startups that want automation affordably.
Pricing: Paid plans start from ~US $9/month (~A$13), unlimited email sends
Strengths: Clean interface, essential workflows, affordable scale.
Limitations: Fewer integrations, fewer advanced segmentation tools.

4. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)

Best for: Businesses needing email plus SMS or chat in one tool.
Pricing: Free tier with limited sends; paid plans from ~US $25–60/month (~A$35–85)
Strengths: SMS support, marketing automation, affordable list size scaling.
Limitations: Free tier caps daily send limits.

5. Campaign Monitor

Best for: Brands prioritising beautiful designs and ease of use.
Pricing: Starter plans from ~US $9–30/month (~A$12–40), depending on contact count.
Strengths: Stunning templates, simple automations, great support.
Limitations: Advanced features and testing limited in lower tiers.

6. Klaviyo

Best for: E‑commerce brands syncing customer behaviour data with email.
Pricing: Free tier up to 250 contacts; growing quickly beyond that (~US $20+).
Strengths: Deep Shopify, WooCommerce integration, dynamic content, cart reminders.
Limitations: Cost scales sharply, steeper learning curve for non-retail.

7. Encharge

Best for: Those wanting advanced automation plus local support.
Pricing: Entry tiers competitive; upgrades unlock behaviour-triggered flows and discounts
Strengths: Visual automation builder, audience growth tools, Australian support.
Limitations: Newer platform with smaller install base.

8. HubSpot Marketing Hub

Best for: Businesses combining CRM, sales pipeline, and email marketing in one platform.
Pricing: Free basic CRM; Starter marketing plans around US $45/month (~A$65); advanced tiers pricier
Strengths: All‑in‑one CRM, native analytics, landing pages built-in.
Limitations: Costly at scale; more features than most small businesses need.

If you’re just starting and want simplicity, Mailchimp or Moosend are strong, budget-friendly picks. Planning to grow into automation or CRM territory? ActiveCampaign, Klaviyo, or Encharge offer that flexibility. Want multi-channel push or design polish? Brevo and Campaign Monitor deliver.

Pick the platform that fits today and lets you scale as your business grows smarter.

Wrap Up & Next Steps

Your email journey starts here

Whether you are searching for the best email marketing tools to do it yourself or you need a specialist email marketing agency to handle the strategy, the goal is the same: clarity, voice, and relevance.

Your Next Steps:

Review your current send-cadence and timing.
Pick one segment to personalise based on interest.
Write an email copywriting piece that tells a story, not just a sale.
Track your metrics. Learn. Tweak. Repeat.

Email done well isn’t just marketing—it’s community in the inbox. If you’re looking for an email marketing service agency to help with email marketing lead generation or advanced Klaviyo marketing, we’re here to help. Start small, think local, and watch your inbox become your most valuable asset.

Email Is Cool Again—Here’s Why