Email for small businesses
Small business email marketing, written and sent for you
Turn past customers into repeat business with automated emails and a regular newsletter, set up on a platform you own and written in your voice.
- Your list, your account
- Automations that run daily
- PECR-aware list building
Quick answer
ProntX runs email marketing for small businesses in London and across the UK, from salons and clinics to shops and trades. We set up your platform, clean your list, build welcome, review and win-back automations and send regular campaigns. Plans start from £450 a month on a rolling contract, with platform fees paid direct.
Small business email marketing is the cheapest way to turn people who already know you into repeat customers and referrals. ProntX plans, writes and runs email marketing for small businesses across London and the UK: list building, automated sequences and a regular newsletter people actually open.
A channel you own
Google can change its rankings and Meta can change its ad prices, but your email list belongs to you. For a small business with a few hundred or a few thousand past customers, that list is often the most valuable marketing asset it has, and it is usually sitting unused in a spreadsheet, a booking system or a till.
Who we run email marketing for
Salons, clinics, gyms, restaurants, independent retailers, online shops, tutors, accountants and trades who see repeat or seasonal demand. Some have never sent a campaign. Others send an occasional newsletter when they remember, and want a reliable routine without writing every email themselves.
What is included
What do email marketing services for small business include?
Platform setup, list clean-up, a small set of automations that earn money while you work, and a monthly or fortnightly campaign written and sent for you.
- Choice and setup of the right platform for your size and budget
- Import and clean-up of existing contacts, with consent checked
- Sign-up forms on your website, checkout or booking flow
- Branded, mobile-friendly templates you can reuse
- Welcome sequence for new subscribers
- Post-purchase or post-job emails, including review requests
- Win-back emails for customers who have gone quiet
- One or two campaigns a month, written, designed and scheduled
- Domain authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) so emails reach the inbox
- Monthly report on opens, clicks, sales or bookings and unsubscribes
Start here
Which emails should a small business send first?
Start with automated emails triggered by what customers do, because they keep working without effort. A newsletter comes second.
1
Welcome sequence
Two or three emails over the first week after someone signs up: who you are, what you are best at, and a reason to buy or book now. New subscribers are at their most interested, and a welcome series is usually the highest-performing email a small business sends.
2
After the sale or job
A thank you, care or aftercare tips, and a simple review request a few days later. For a clinic that might be aftercare advice; for a café, a loyalty reminder; for a trade, a review link and a note about annual servicing.
3
Quote and basket follow-up
Many enquiries go cold simply because nobody follows up. A short sequence after a quote is sent, or after a basket is abandoned on your shop, recovers sales you have already paid to attract.
4
Win-back
Customers who have not bought or booked in a set period get a friendly check-in, and later an offer. It costs far less to bring back a past customer than to find a new one through ads.
Staying legal
Can a small business email its customers without consent?
Sometimes. UK rules let you email existing customers about similar products under the “soft opt-in”, but everyone else generally needs to have opted in, and every email must offer an easy unsubscribe.
The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, enforced by the ICO, set the rules. Individual customers who bought from you, or negotiated to, and were given a chance to opt out at the time can receive marketing about similar products. New prospects need clear consent. Business contacts at limited companies can be emailed without prior consent, but they must also be able to opt out.
That is why we never recommend buying email lists. Bought lists of consumers break the rules, bought business lists tend to be stale and damage your sender reputation, and both lead to spam complaints. We would rather grow a smaller list of people who asked to hear from you. We log consent sources during setup, and your own data protection lead approves the approach.
Tools
What is the best email marketing software for a small business?
The one that fits your list size, your shop or booking system and your budget. For most small businesses that is Mailchimp, MailerLite, Brevo or Klaviyo, and we are not tied to any of them.
| Platform | Often suits | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | Service businesses starting out | Simple and low cost; free tier limits have been reduced, so check current terms |
| Mailchimp | Businesses already using it | Familiar and well integrated; free plan has lost features and pricing counts all stored contacts |
| Brevo | Shops wanting SMS as well | Prices by emails sent rather than contacts |
| Klaviyo | Shopify and ecommerce stores | Strong product and purchase data; costs rise with list size |
Platform fees are paid by you, directly to the provider, so you keep the account and the list if you ever move on. If you run an online shop, our ecommerce marketing team can connect email to your product and order data.
Frequency
How often should a small business send marketing emails?
Monthly is a sensible start for most small businesses, moving to fortnightly or weekly only if you have genuinely new things to say. Consistency matters more than volume.
A café with weekly specials or a shop with new stock can email weekly without annoying anyone. An accountant or a roofing firm may do better with a useful monthly or quarterly email plus well-timed automations. We set the rhythm from your own data: if unsubscribes climb or opens fall after a change, we pull back. We also watch for spam complaints, because a few too many can push all your emails into junk folders.
What goes in a small business newsletter
One clear message per email works better than a round-up of everything. Good topics include a seasonal reminder, a short answer to a question customers ask you, a new service, a behind-the-scenes story or a time-limited offer. Each email gets one main button, so we can measure whether it worked.
Pricing
How much does email marketing for a small business cost?
Our email marketing starts from £450 a month ex VAT on a rolling contract. Your email platform subscription is separate and usually modest for a small list.
| Plan | Typical monthly fee | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Essentials | From £450 | Setup, welcome and post-purchase automations, one campaign a month |
| Growth | Typically £650 to £900 | Two to four campaigns a month, quote or basket follow-up, segmentation |
| Ecommerce | Typically £900 to £1,400 | Full Klaviyo-style flows, product feeds, testing and SMS |
Final pricing depends on how many emails and automations you need. See our email marketing service and the pricing page for the full picture.
Why ProntX
Why small businesses choose ProntX for email marketing
We write emails that sound like you, connect them to your website and other marketing, and leave every account in your name.
Written for your customers
No generic templates stuffed with stock photos. We interview you, read your reviews and write in your voice, so emails sound like the business people already trust.
Joined up with your other channels
New sign-ups from your website, your social media and your SEO traffic flow into the same list, so every channel feeds the one you own.
Monthly and flexible
Rolling contracts, published prices and your list, templates and automations stay yours if you leave.
Free audit
Find the money sitting in your customer list
We will look at your contacts, your website sign-up points and any emails you send now, then record a personal video audit within two working days.
Over six years ProntX has worked with more than 200 clients. Request your free growth audit, email [email protected] or call 020 3048 4022.
How it works
What happens after you get in touch
- 01Free audit
We review your site, search visibility, ads and competitors, then send a short video walkthrough with the quickest wins.
Request audit - 02Plan and price
A one-page plan with goals, channels, timeline and a fixed monthly price. No surprises later.
See prices - 03Launch in weeks
Tracking first, then quick wins, then the bigger builds. You see progress in the first month.
See our work - 04Report and grow
Monthly report in plain English: leads, sales, cost per result and what we do next.
Talk to us
Same industry
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FAQ
Small business email marketing questions, answered
Still unsure? Ask us anything. We reply within one working day.
Is email marketing worth it for a small business?
For most small businesses with repeat or seasonal customers, yes. Email reaches people who already know you, costs little to send and does not depend on an algorithm. It works best when you have at least a few hundred contacts and a reason to stay in touch, such as servicing reminders, new stock or seasonal offers. If your list is tiny, we focus first on growing it.
How do I build an email list for my small business?
Add a clear sign-up to your website, checkout, booking form and receipts, and give people a reason to join such as a useful guide, early access or a first-order discount. Ask in person at the till or at the end of a job. Never buy lists. A smaller list of people who chose to hear from you will outperform a large bought one.
Can I email my existing customers without asking first?
Often, under the soft opt-in, if they bought from you or asked for a quote, were given a chance to opt out when you collected their details, and you only email about similar products or services. Every email must include an easy unsubscribe. New prospects generally need clear consent. We check how your contacts were collected during setup, and your data protection lead signs off the approach.
Which email marketing platform is best for small businesses?
It depends on what you sell and how many contacts you have. MailerLite and Mailchimp suit many service businesses, Brevo is useful if you want SMS too, and Klaviyo is strong for Shopify shops. Free plans have been trimmed back across the market, so we compare current costs for your list size before recommending one, and the account stays in your name.
How often should I send emails to customers?
Start with one good email a month alongside automations such as a welcome series and review requests. If engagement stays healthy and you have genuinely new things to say, move to fortnightly or weekly. Watch unsubscribes and spam complaints after any change. Sending regularly and predictably matters more than sending often.
What results can a small business expect from email?
Results vary by sector and list quality, so we avoid promising figures. What you should see within the first few months is automations running, a growing list, steady open and click rates and sales or bookings you can trace to specific emails in your reports. We judge success on revenue and repeat bookings, not on open rates alone.
Do you write the emails or do I?
We do. We learn your products, customers and tone, then write and design every campaign and automation for your approval. Most clients spend around fifteen minutes a month reviewing drafts. If you prefer to write some emails yourself, we can edit, design and schedule them instead, and adjust the fee accordingly.
How much do email marketing services for small businesses cost?
Our plans start from £450 a month ex VAT, covering setup, core automations and a monthly campaign. Businesses wanting more campaigns, segmentation or ecommerce flows typically pay more. Your platform subscription is paid directly to the provider. See our pricing page for how our services compare.
Works well with
Related services
Free growth audit
Find out what is holding your growth back
Tell us about your business in four quick steps. Within two working days you get a short video audit of your website, search visibility and ads, with the three changes that would make the biggest difference.
- Personal video walkthrough, not an automated PDF
- Covers SEO, AI search, ads and conversion
- No obligation and no hard sell