Email marketing for trades: the easiest money you're not making
Most trades think email is dead. They're wrong. Here's how three automated emails can get you repeat business, more reviews, and fill your quiet periods without lifting a finger.
6 min read
Every job you finish without collecting an email address is a customer you'll probably never hear from again
Most trades think email is dead. They're on Facebook. Running Google Ads. Posting on Instagram. And completely ignoring the one channel that costs almost nothing and reaches people who have already paid them money.
Every job you finish without collecting an email address is a customer you'll probably never hear from again. Not because they didn't like your work. Just because they forgot about you.
That's not their fault. It's yours. And it's an easy fix.
In this article:
Your customer list is worth more than you think
Google can change its algorithm and wipe out your rankings overnight. Facebook can tank your reach. Instagram can suspend your account.
Your email list? Nobody can touch it. You own it.
Every customer who's ever paid you is a future job, a referral, or a repeat booking waiting to happen. But only if you stay in front of them.
Most trades collect a phone number, do the job, and disappear. The customer moves on. Six months later they need more work done and they Google someone new because they can't remember your name.
That's the problem. Email fixes it.
The three emails every trade business needs
You don't need a newsletter. You don't need to write essays. You need three automated emails that run on their own and do the work while you're on site.
That's it.
The thank you and review email
Goes out automatically 24 hours after a job is marked complete.
Short. Simple. Thanks them for the job, asks for a Google review, gives them a direct link so it takes 30 seconds. No friction.
Most trades ask for reviews awkwardly on the doorstep or not at all. This does it for you every single time, without you remembering to do it. Your Google rating goes up. New customers trust you more. More calls come in.
One email. Massive knock-on effect.
The seasonal reminder
A plumber sending a boiler check reminder before winter hits. A landscaper nudging past customers about spring tidy-ups. A roofer reminding people to get a check done before the bad weather comes.
You're not being pushy. You're being useful. You're reminding someone who already trusts you that you exist at exactly the right time of year.
Most of your competition aren't doing this. The ones who are? They're fully booked while everyone else is quiet.
The we're nearby email
This one is underused and genuinely clever.
When you book a job in a specific area, you send a short email to every past customer in that postcode. Something like: "We're going to be working on [street name] next Tuesday. If you've got anything you've been meaning to get sorted, it's a good time to get it done while we're local."
It fills gaps in your schedule. It saves you travel time. It generates jobs from people who already trust you, in places you're already going.
None of this needs to be done manually
That's the whole point.
You set it up once. It runs on its own. Job marked complete, review email goes out. Winter approaching, boiler reminder goes out. New job booked, nearby email goes out.
You're on site doing the work. The system is getting you the next job.
This is built into the Systems package at Chrisp Design. It connects directly to your job management, runs the emails automatically, and lands everything in one inbox alongside your other messages.
Stop finishing jobs and moving on. Every customer you've ever had is a potential repeat booking. Start treating them that way.
"Most trades do the job and disappear. The ones with a system stay in front of past customers automatically, and those are the ones with full schedules all year round."
Key takeaways
- Your email list is the only marketing asset you fully own. Google and Facebook can disappear overnight but your customer list is yours
- Most trades finish a job and never contact that customer again. Email fixes this without any extra work on your end
- Three automated emails cover the most valuable touchpoints: post-job review request, seasonal reminder, and nearby job notification
- Setting these up once means they run forever. You're on site, the system is getting you the next job
- This is included in the Chrisp Design Systems package and takes days to set up, not weeks
