298. Erika Tebbens on Email Marketing Strategy for Small Farms

How can you use email to build customer relationships and get more sales as a small farmer? In today’s episode, Erika Tebbens returns to the show to talk to us about email marketing. Erika is passionate about relationship-driven, connection-centered sales and marketing practices; and loves being a catalyst for micro enterprises to thrive. She has been running & supporting businesses of all kinds and sizes for 20 years now, from solo-operations to multimillion-dollar companies with teams. Over those two decades she has served hundreds of clients, helping them develop business strategies in alignment with their values. Today you’ll learn how Erika tackles email marketing for farm businesses!  FREE DOWNLOAD:"4 Ways to Gain Email Subscribers and Grow Your Audience"   Episode Highlights: Strategy: Why would farmers want to do email marketing? [3:28] Starting Out: How would you go about getting folks on your email marketing list? [8:39] Choosing Platforms: What platforms does Erika use for hosting emails? [16:18] Frequency: How should you approach email scheduling? [19:53] Writing: How can you craft compelling content for your emails? [30:21] Outcome: How can you construct a clear CTA? [38:22]   About the Guest: Erika Tebbens is the Director of Impact at Taste the Local Difference. Taste the Local Difference is a woman-owned and woman-led local food marketing agency for purpose-driven food and farm businesses. While businesses can hire Taste the Local Difference directly, one thing that sets them apart are their Impact Partnerships, which Erika oversees. By partnering with economic development agencies, nonprofits, schools, health departments, farmers markets, food-system support organizations, state agencies, federal programs, and more across the U.S., they help expand the impact local food can have both for producers and consumers.  Before joining TLD, Erika spent a decade working with entrepreneurs on their sales and growth strategy, and she used to have a very small farm and apiary in upstate New York.    Learn More About Taste the Local Difference: Website: localfoodmarketing.com Instagram: @localfoodmarketing  Facebook: @localdifference   The Thriving Farmer Podcast Team would like to thank our amazing sponsor! Do you have more tasks on your farm than you have time? Stop interruptions and focus on what matters most. Delegate repetitive duties in your tunnel to Orisha. Sleep better, knowing that they’ll call you if anything goes wrong in your greenhouse. Be sure to check out their ebook with helpful tips to reduce your workload and simplify your days on the farm. Download the ebook here. Learn more about Orisha, including their popular leasing options with no upfront costs on orisha.io    Join the upcoming event: This year's Midwest Mechanical Weed Control Field Day, organized by Sam Tilton, is September 11th in Lafayette Indiana at Purdue University! Listen to the episode for more details. This is THE event to see weeding tools and machinery for farms of all sizes for vegetables and row crops (hand tools, two-wheel tractors, up to camera-guided row crop cultivators). The event includes a trade show, educational sessions, and field demonstrations. Click here to register!