What strategies have you found most effective in reaching and engaging a local audience through email?

Anyone want to contribute? 

In my experience, a strong connection starts with personalization. I feel like everyone gets stuck on using the customer's name in the first few lines and calling it a day. Personalizing emails is definitely more than just that. I've been experimenting with a few tools, and I'm currently using this ChatGPT Gmail plugin, which helps me write authentic, tailored emails quickly. One thing I've found super helpful is focusing on local updates and promotions that are directly relevant to my community. For example, mentioning local events and weather or even referencing a nearby landmark adds a personal touch that resonates well.

When it comes to promotions, offering something exclusive in-store, like a local-only discount, or creating a special event for email subscribers has worked great. I'm also using QR codes in my emails for easy access to coupons or loyalty programs. QR codes are a great way to connect the digital world with the physical one. I found this to drive foot traffic and also boost engagement. Scan the code, and you get an offer you can redeem in my store. Voila, people are coming. Of course, track and analyze your campaigns and see what worked well. There are many ways to use QR codes for marketing, so I combine my email campaigns with other marketing efforts thanks to these little things. Also, the generator I use offers integration with Google Analytics, and this data gives me ideas on what to adjust.

Now, building custom email lists doesn't really go fast, but I experiment here. For example, I've partnered with other local businesses to cross-promote, which helps reach more people. Speaking of content, I often create campaigns that address very specific pain points of my audience - this works great.

My best tip, in general, would be to offer value beyond just the sales pitch and keep testing different approaches.

great!