Email Campaign for SBA Loans

General Email Campaign Tactics for Your Industry

We need to sound different and avoid spam filters.  Mail servers know the vast majority of emails advertising small business loans do not get any engagement. If we sound like a typical small business loan broker by using the terms that a typical small business loan broker would use, we’ll probably end up in spam – or at least the promotions tab.

We need to keep the reader interested long enough to let us make our pitch.  The more we sound like a typical ad, the faster the reader will delete us or let us fall off the first page, never to be seen again.  

Confusion is very engaging for people and for algorithms. If a recipient isn’t immediately sure what the email is or where it’s from, they’ll pay attention to figure it out. If the mail server algorithm can’t tell whether we’re a cold email or an email the recipient has been waiting to get,  we stand a better chance of getting passed through. Emails that are likely to get passed through could be from a friend or a referral from someone who actually knows what the recipient needs.  (If they don’t need anything and it doesn’t apply, then the email never mattered anyway.)

Sending times are also important. 

Ideally we appear when the recipient (business owner) is in their inbox or as recently as possible when they get there. We may want to consider that this is different from the typical common email hours we think of for most office workers. Small business owners may work weekends or late nights.

We want to simulate a friendly email with our timing just as much as our tone. This may be “first thing when we get to the office,” or “last thing before we leave.” 

Background

There are two most common reasons businesses apply for small business loans. Neither of them are decisions that are made overnight. They are:

1: To solve cashflow issues.

Business owners likely try to deal with cashflow issues on their own for months before they decide to take out a small business loan.  Most business owners have probably seen ads for business loans many times before and considered applying to deal with cashflow issues but decided to pass and make an attempt at handling it on their own. 

• As payroll begins to fall short, they will pass on a number of their own paychecks. 

• They will likely be behind on terms to vendors.

• They will likely have increasing balances on personal credit cards. 

They already understand the benefit of getting the loan. Our goal is to make them decide that if they’re going to finally take the step in considering this solution, it might as well be with us. 

2: To expand inventory production via equipment purchases or bulk production orders. 

When business owners fund expansion, it’s something they’ve typically been wanting to do for a long time. Many people have the desire to grow their business but they’re not all willing to take the risks to actually do so.  

For large equipment purchases they’ve been unsure when it will be the right time to commit. They always have the option of waiting on continuing profits to pay for expansion, but they understand that slows the growth of their business. 

When business owners have mid to large purchase orders from fail safe national retailers, it’s an easy decision to get a loan to fund production or purchase materials. But with less proven customers, they want to fulfill the orders but understand they’re taking a risk to do so.  

Our goal is to convince them that now is the time to take the next step in growing their business. We need to inspire them to take the leap by making this the email they respond to. 

Campaign Concepts

I’m proposing two concepts which could each be run over multiple campaigns.  Each email in the series would be targeted to one of the specific customer types identified above, and could be sent multiple times to maximize penetration. 

The two concepts are called “The Call-out” and The “Catfish”

The Call-out

This concept is meant to get the recipient to identify with us by showing them we know exactly what they’re going through. 

We’re identifying your stress, your fear, and your excitement at getting this problem solved, and putting your business on the right track. 

You’re not alone. We’ve done this before. We can help you through it.

The Catfish

This concept is to differentiate our offer from all the others by playing on the idea that we can give them more personalized attention than the standard business loan broker. 

This does not feel like a mass email.  

We’re more small business consulting firm than small business loan broker.  

We make our living by helping businesses grow, not by making loans. 

We’re not the same as the companies in all the postcards you’ve thrown away and all the efax messages you’ve ignored. 

We’re almost a personal friend, or we’re going to be once we work together. So if you’re going to get a loan, it’s less scary to do it with us.

An email from “The Call-out”

Subject: Stop thinking about it and take the next step. You can do it. 

Preview Text: Today’s business owner motivational message.

Message Body:

Growing a business is scary.  

Even when things are going well, taking the next step is a risk. There’s a lot of pressure to get the timing right.  You don’t want to expand too early and overextend yourself, but if you wait too long, you know you’re holding the business back.  

We know because we’ve been there too. 

Today could be the day that changes everything. 

Find out what your options really are by sharing some information about your business and your goals for the future. If nothing else, we can at least help you figure out if you’re on the right path. 

[hyperlink to application form “The first step”] takes just 60 seconds. 

You got this.

John Doe

Business Name

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An email from “The Catfish”

Subject: Hi [First Name – if your list includes that info]. Would your business be open to investment?

Preview Text: (none)

Message Body:

Hi [First Name], 

My name is John Doe and I have a little bit of familiarity with (“your business” | [Business Name – if your list includes that info]).  With just the bits of information I have, I think there could be great potential for you to really take it to the next level.  Depending on what you think you need, I could help get it paid for.  

If there’s some project you’ve been considering, or if you’re looking for creative ways to pay for something important, please reach out. 

My direct number is (phone number) or you can obviously just reply to this email.

I really hope to hear from you.

John Doe

Consultant 

(phone number)

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