Own your audience, don’t rent it.
If your laundry business relies solely on social media to connect with your audience, you don’t own squat. You’re basically renting your audience from those platforms, and they can pull the plug at any time.
Why shouldn’t I rely on social media?
Remember the TikTok ban in the U.S. a few weeks ago? Thousands of businesses lost access to their followers overnight, and if the ban would’ve stayed in place, many would’ve lost their businesses. Algorithms are constantly changing, and accounts get hacked all the time. Imagine waking up one day and poof—your entire audience is gone. Just like that.
No plan.
No backup.
No way to reach your audience.
Another major reason is that likes don’t pay the water bill and views don’t cover payroll.
Chasing likes, views, and followers is a waste of energy. I know several laundry business owners/operators who admire accounts with high follower counts and wonder how to increase theirs.
Spoiler alert: those big accounts probably aren’t converting to laundry sales. If they are, it’s highly unlikely they can show proof of their conversions. Most of them make their money from content creation rather than, you know, actual laundromat revenue.
Thinking about the thinking of laundry:
When you realize the most valuable thing isn't your laundry business?
Don’t get me wrong, content is important, but you aren’t running a content house. You’re running a laundry business.
The Secret Weapon You’re Ignoring
Here’s the truth, an email newsletter puts you in control. You own your email list and aren’t at the mercy of Zuckerberg’s whims or an algorithm change. Unlike social platforms, your email list is stable, direct, and personal—and you can do whatever the heck you want to do with it.
With email, you can:
- Share exclusive offers with loyal customers.
- Promote new services or upgrades (like that PUD service you just started).
- Highlight other local businesses (more on that in another editorial).
- Share community news to build connections.
- Build relationships without worrying about a ban or algorithm tweak.
Social media is great for visibility, but an email list? That’s where the control, attention, and sales are.
That's all I got for you today.
Waleed
Echoing the thoughts of Jeff Weiner.
Data really powers everything that we do.
David Hieatt based his entire marketing strategy around a simple email newsletter for his small business.
In his book, Do Open: How a simple email newsletter can transform your business (and it can). He shares the insight, strategy, and methodology he used to grow the business into a creative global jeans business with a fiercely loyal community.