Think about how many ways you can stay in touch now. Texts, instant messages, online forums, social media. It’s overwhelming.
But there’s one channel that’s been dependable for over 40 years and it’s still going strong in 2024. 4.1 billion people use email. Compare that to Facebook’s 2.9 billion active users. Email’s reach is massive.
For contractors, email is a serious business asset. It’s how you re-engage past clients, build relationships over time, and generate repeat jobs. When you execute email right, it works. We’ve worked with home services companies that turned email lists into consistent revenue streams. This guide walks you through what makes email marketing work.
Effective Email Marketing Strategies
Track Customer Behavior
Most email platforms let you track everything. Which customers come back? What services do they ask about? How do discounts affect your margins? You can segment your list and test different approaches.
Start with these questions about your customers:
- Is my average revenue per customer going up over time?
- What services are most booked right now?
- How do seasonal discounts move the needle on bookings?
- Which customers drive the most revenue?
- Are certain segments going quiet? If so, what re-engagement works?
Data answers these questions. Use those answers to build smarter campaigns and influence how you market across all channels.
A/B Testing
A/B testing follows the scientific method. You hypothesize, test, measure, and learn. It doesn’t have to be complicated.
Start small. Test a subject line or send time. Let’s say you have 2,000 email subscribers and you want to see how send times affect job bookings. You send one email at 8 a.m. and another at 6 p.m. and wait for the data.
You hypothesize more people open the morning email because it hits their inbox first. That’s logical. But here’s what you might actually find: more people open it at 8 a.m., but they’re at work and don’t book anything. By 6 p.m., they’re home, thinking about home projects, and actually schedule jobs. The 6 p.m. email has fewer opens but higher bookings. That’s the insight that matters.
Some easy tests to start with:
- Subject line tests: try different lengths, offers, or questions
- Send times: mornings vs. evenings, weekdays vs. weekends
- List segment tests: message past customers differently than new leads
- CTA copy tests: “Book your inspection,” “Claim your discount,” or something bold
- Incentive tests: percent off, money-back guarantee, free service call add-on, free estimate
The framework is what counts. Develop hypotheses based on your real business, test them, and learn. Don’t test for testing’s sake. Every test should teach you something.
Own the Channel, Own the Relationship
Look at a typical marketing mix. Google Ads, social media, SEO, affiliate marketing. All valuable. But they’re all dependent on someone else’s rules.
Facebook changed their algorithm years ago. Organic reach tanked. Now you have to pay to get in front of the people who already liked your page. Google updates their algorithm constantly. What ranked yesterday doesn’t rank today. When you market through other platforms, you’re at their mercy. They care about their business, not yours.
Email is different. When someone subscribes to your list, they’re giving you permission and showing intent to hear from you. You own that list. You own that relationship. No platform can change the algorithm and cut off your access overnight. You control the message, the frequency, the timing.
That’s powerful for home services. Your customers might forget you exist until they need a service. Email keeps you top-of-mind. Build your list. Segment it. Test it. Own it.
Re-Engage With Customers
Getting someone to buy once is tough. Getting them to buy again is much easier because they already know you work.
People buy again when what you sold them still matters. The problem isn’t that they don’t want to buy. It’s that your company isn’t on their radar anymore.
Keeping in touch through other channels gets expensive and doesn’t scale. You could call customers, but that’s labor-intensive. You could post on social media, but organic reach is dead. You need paid ads to reach anyone.
Email works because you reach hundreds of past customers for a few dollars. Tools like MailChimp are cheap to start. More sophisticated solutions with automation and segmentation cost more, but the return justifies it. A well-run email campaign has a huge multiplier on its ROI.
Email Marketing Services from Valve+Meter
Whether you’re starting your first email campaign or refining an existing one, this channel deserves your time. Email alone won’t grow your business, but it’s a critical piece of a strategy that works.
We work with home services companies. We build plans around results, not vanity metrics. Every email campaign supports your bookings goal. Learn more about our “Math Before Marketing” approach, or request a free analysis.