10 Reasons Email Still Outperforms Facebook (Even in the Valley)
Still pouring all your marketing energy — and ad dollars — into Facebook?
Let’s be real: Likes don’t pay the bills. Comments go sideways. Algorithms shift. Organic reach is risky. And Facebook ads are another type of gamble. And most of your potential customers never even see your posts.
Meanwhile, there’s one tool that’s been quietly outperforming social media for years — and it doesn’t cost you a dime to get started. And, it increases your chances of your target market actually seeing your marketing messages.
We’re talking about email marketing!
Email newsletters — aka email marketing — land right in your customer’s inbox. No guessing games, no noisy feeds, no gatekeepers between you and your next sale.
10 Benefits of Capturing Emails from Locals VS Facebook Posts
Email marketing isn’t just another marketing buzzword — it’s a powerful, proven way for local businesses to connect with customers and grow sales. Unlike social media, where your posts can get lost or ignored, emails land right in your customer’s inbox.
Wish more customers actually saw your updates? Tired of posting on social media and getting crickets?
Here’s why email is still one of the smartest (and easiest) tools you can add to your local business toolbox:
- You Own Your List: When someone gives you their email, they’re saying, “I want to hear from you.” This means you can talk directly to people who already like your business — no middleman or platform algorithm deciding if they see your message.
- Low Cost, High Impact: Sending emails costs almost nothing compared to ads or printing flyers, but it can bring in a lot of customers if done right. You get more bang for your buck.
- People Actually Open Emails: Unlike social media posts that get lost in feeds, people actually open emails — the average email open rate for small business emails is around 30–40%. That’s way higher than most social media reach.
- Set It and Forget It with Automation: You can create emails that send automatically — like a “Welcome” message when someone joins your list, birthday discounts to make them feel special, or reminders about items left in their online shopping cart.
- Builds Customer Loyalty: Sending regular updates, tips, or special offers keeps your business top-of-mind. Customers are more likely to choose you over competitors when they feel connected and appreciated.
- Targeted Messaging: Not all customers are the same. You can send a coupon for kids’ shoes only to families or a discount on landscaping services to homeowners. This personal touch makes people more likely to respond.
- Drive Sales When Business Slows Down: If you notice slow days or seasons, you can send special deals just to your email list to encourage repeat business and keep cash flow steady.
- Instantly Announce New Products or Services: No need to wait for social media trends or advertising budgets. Email lets you tell your customers right away when you have something new or exciting.
- Track What Works: Most email platforms show you who opened your emails, clicked links, or made purchases from your messages. This helps you learn what your customers like and improve your future emails.
- No Social Media Noise or Competition: Your email goes straight to your customers’ inbox, where it won’t get buried under memes, videos, or ads. You control the message, timing, and look—so it’s all about your business. That means, your posts (free and paid) aren’t fighting with cat videos or trending drama in someone’s inbox.
Ready to give it a try? Let’s look at how to start email marketing for free—no fancy tools or tech skills required.
How to Get Started with Email Marketing for FREE
The most important thing you can do right now? Start collecting emails.
Don’t stress about what to send or how to automate—it’s okay if you don’t have that figured out yet. What matters is that you begin capturing customer contact info today, so when you’re ready to market, you’ve already got a list waiting.
Here are a five free tools to help you get started—some let you send emails right away, others are just to help you start building your list:
1. In-Person Sign-Up Sheets
For brick and mortar locations and mom and pop shops where customers physically walk inside, every visit is a prime opportunity to collect email addresses. Make that your number one priority with all signage — especially at your checkout counter, event booth, or service table.
Let customers know they’ll get updates about sales, promos, or events — the kinds of things they already care about because they’re standing in your shop.
It’s a simple, low-tech method that works — and later, you can transfer those emails into digital tools like Google Forms or Airtable to start organizing your list and preparing to automate your marketing emails.
2. Google Forms + Gmail
If you don’t already have Gmail, you’re missing out on essential free tools that help brick and mortar and mom and pop shops stay visible and organized — like Google My Business (for showing up in local searches) and Google Forms (for collecting customer info online).
With Google Forms, you can create a simple sign-up form customers fill out on their phones or on a tablet at your counter. Responses go straight into a Google spreadsheet, keeping your email list neat and ready for your next move.
Then, use Gmail to send out DIY messages — like sales alerts, promo codes, or thank-you emails — manually. It’s not automated, but it’s totally free and works great until you’re ready for a more advanced system.
3. Airtable Forms & Bases
Our CEO, Kiesha Joseph-Malone, highly recommends Airtable for all things forms. She uses it across multiple brands, for her marketing clients, and even to manage household info with her husband.
Airtable combines the best features of Microsoft Excel, Google Forms, and Microsoft Access. It functions as a smart spreadsheet and lightweight database system — perfect for organizing email contacts, adding notes, tagging customers, and tracking where and how they signed up. Plus, you can easily share data with your entire staff or marketing team.
Whether you’re a brick and mortar, a mom and pop shop, or any other type of Hemet or San Jacinto small business, Airtable helps you collect and manage emails from sign-up sheets and forms in one organized place. When you’re ready, you can export your list into your preferred email marketing tool to start sending messages or setting up automations.
4. Use Your WordPress Website
If you have a website, don’t let that valuable traffic go to waste. Add a free email signup plugin like WPForms or MailPoet to start collecting emails from your visitors right away.
These tools let customers subscribe directly from your site — perfect for local brick and mortar businesses, mom and pop shops, or service providers offering quotes or appointments online.
The free versions don’t include automation, but you can regularly download your list and import it into a spreadsheet, or Google Forms, or Airtable until you’re ready to launch your first email marketing campaign.
When you’re ready to level up, you can either upgrade your plugin to unlock automations, scheduling, and design templates — or start sending directly through your chosen email marketing platform.
5. Free Email Marketing Plans
There’s no reason not to get started right now — it’s completely free, even if you’re not ready to send emails yet. At the very least, these tools will capture and organize your contacts for you, so your list is growing and ready when you are.
[If you need assistance, we’ll be more than happy to come out to your location and help you set things up.]
What do these free email marketing plans do? They help you:
- Collect and store customer emails safely in one place.
- Organize your contacts into lists or groups for targeted messaging.
- Create and send professional-looking emails or newsletters without needing design skills.
- Schedule messages to go out automatically at the right time.
- Track how many people open your emails and click on your offers, so you know what works.
These tools take the hassle out of managing your marketing and let you focus on growing your business.
Popular free to start email marketing options include:
- Mailchimp
- MailerLite
- Sendinblue
- Benchmark Email
- Moosend
Start building your email list today—because every contact you capture now is a customer ready to hear from you when you’re ready to grow. Don’t wait—get your free email marketing plan set up and watch your business thrive!
Ready to Take Your Local Marketing to the Next Level?
Email marketing is a great way to connect with your customers — but getting started can feel tricky. If you’d like, we’d be happy to come by your storefront, shop, or office and help you set everything up in person.
Whether you provide local services off-site, own a brick-and-mortar location, or operate a home business in Hemet or San Jacinto, capturing your customers’ emails is the key to growing your brand locally.
