Look, if you’re running a business in Brisbane—whether you’re a sparky in Coorparoo or running a boutique in Paddington—you’ve probably been told a thousand times that you "need to do email marketing."
But here’s the problem. Most people just guess. They send out a random newsletter once every three months, see that a few people opened it, and think, "Yeah, that’ll do."
It won’t do. Not if you actually want to make money.
In my experience, most small business owners are flying blind. They don’t know if their numbers are good, bad, or embarrassing. They’re comparing themselves to global tech giants when they should be looking at what’s actually happening on the ground here in Australia.
I’m going to level with you: email is still the best way to get more sales without spending a fortune on ads. But you have to know what the goalposts look like.
Let’s break down what actually matters, what the numbers really mean for your industry, and how to stop wasting your time on stuff that doesn’t move the needle.
Why Most Small Businesses Get Email Wrong
Honestly? Most business owners treat email like a chore. It’s that thing they do on a Sunday night when they’re exhausted. They find a template, slap some text in, and hit send to their entire list.
That’s a waste of time.
If you send the same generic rubbish to everyone, people stop opening your emails. Then Google and Outlook decide you’re a spammer, and your emails start landing in the "Promotions" tab or the junk folder. Once you’re there, you’re invisible.
You need to understand that your email list is likely the most valuable asset you own. Unlike Facebook or Google, you actually own these contacts. If Mark Zuckerberg decides to change his mind about how business pages work tomorrow, your email list still belongs to you.
But to make it work, you need to know if you're winning. That’s where benchmarks come in.
The Real Numbers: What’s "Normal" in Australia?
I see a lot of "industry reports" from big US companies. Most of them are useless for a local plumber or a law firm in Brisbane. The scale is different. The culture is different.
In Australia, we’re generally a bit more sceptical. We don’t like being shouted at. We like things that are useful and direct.
Open Rates: Are They Even Looking?
Across most Aussie industries, you should be seeing an open rate between 25% and 35%.
If you’re below 20%, you’ve got a problem. It usually means one of three things: 1. Your subject lines are boring. 2. You’re sending emails to people who didn't ask for them. 3. Your emails are going to spam because your email platform costs are low but your reputation is lower.
If you’re a professional service—like an accountant or a lawyer—your rates should actually be higher. People expect to hear from you. If you’re in retail, expect them to be a bit lower because people get bombarded with sales stuff.
Click Rates: Are They Taking Action?
This is the only number that really starts the process of making money. An open is nice, but a click is an intention.
For most small businesses, a 2% to 5% click rate is solid.
If it’s lower than that, your "call to action" (the thing you want them to do) is probably buried or confusing. Don’t ask them to do five things. Ask them to do one. "Book a quote." "Buy this now." "Read the full story."
Industry Specifics: Where Do You Sit?
Not all businesses are created equal. A cafe in Milton shouldn't have the same strategy as a builder in North Lakes.
Tradies and Construction
You guys usually have the best open rates if you do it right. Why? Because people usually only deal with a tradie when they have a specific problem.
If you send an email to a past customer saying, "It’s been 12 months since we serviced your AC, want us to come check it before summer hits?", your open rate will be massive.
The Goal: 35% Open Rate / 5% Click Rate. The Strategy: Focus on customers who already paid you. It’s five times cheaper to sell to an old customer than to find a new one.
Professional Services (Lawyers, Real Estate, Accountants)
People look to you for expertise. If you send out "5 things you need to know about the new tax laws," people will read it.
The Goal: 40% Open Rate / 3% Click Rate. The Strategy: Don't sell. Educate. If you prove you’re the expert, they’ll call you when they need help.
Retail and E-commerce
This is a volume game. You’ll have lower open rates because you’re competing with every other shop in their inbox.
The Goal: 20% Open Rate / 2% Click Rate. The Strategy: Use automation. If someone looks at a pair of boots on your site but doesn't buy, an automatic email ten minutes later can claw back that sale. You can literally turn leads into sales while you’re sleeping if the tech is set up right.
Three Reasons Your Numbers Are Rubbish (And How to Fix It)
If you’ve checked your stats and they’re looking a bit grim, don’t panic. Most businesses are in the same boat. Here’s how we usually fix it for our clients.
1. You’re Boring
Harsh, but true. If every email is "Monthly Newsletter - October," nobody is going to click.
Write like a human. Use a subject line that sounds like something you’d say to a mate.
Instead of: "Special Offer for Our Valued Clients" Try: "A quick favour? (And a discount for you)"
2. You’re Sending Too Much (or Not Enough)
There’s a sweet spot. If you email every day, you’re a nuisance. If you email once every six months, they’ve forgotten who you are and they’ll mark you as spam.
For most local businesses, once or twice a month is plenty. It keeps you top-of-mind without being a pest.
3. Your List is Dirty
This sounds weird, but it’s a real thing. If you have 1,000 people on your list but 500 of them haven't opened an email in two years, they are hurting your business.
Google sees that half your list doesn't care, so it assumes your content is bad and sends it to the junk folder for the 500 people who do care.
Delete the people who don't engage. Seriously. It feels scary to have a smaller list, but a small list of people who actually buy is worth way more than a big list of ghosts.
The "So What?" - How This Makes You Money
At the end of the day, I don’t care about open rates and I don’t think you should either. Not really.
What we care about is Return on Investment.
If it takes you two hours to write an email and it results in $5,000 worth of bookings, that’s a huge win. If you pay an agency to do it and the profit from the sales is more than the fee, you keep doing it.
Email marketing isn't about being a "content creator." It’s about building a bridge between you and the people who have already shown they like what you do.
My Honest Advice for Getting Started
If you’re sitting there thinking, "I haven't emailed my customers in a year," don't try to get fancy.
1. Pick a simple tool. Don't get bogged down in complex software you'll never use. 2. Gather your contacts. Get them out of your invoices, your phone, and your spreadsheets. 3. Send one helpful thing. Don't try to sell anything yet. Just say, "Hey, we're going to start sharing some helpful tips once a month. Here’s one thing that might save you money this week." 4. Watch the clicks. See what people actually care about. If they click on a specific service, that’s what you should talk about next time.
Look, marketing shouldn't be a mystery. It’s just about talking to the right people at the right time with something they actually want to hear.
If you're tired of guessing and you want to know exactly how to turn those old enquiries into actual cash, we should talk. Most agencies will try to sell you a complex "funnel" that costs a fortune. We’d rather just show you what works for businesses exactly like yours in Brisbane.
You can reach out to us at Local Marketing Group here: https://lmgroup.au/contact. No jargon, just a straight chat about how to get more people calling your business.