This article discusses the importance of effective email marketing for small businesses, highlighting its great return on investment and ability to speak directly with customers. However, it also notes that only if done correctly can email marketing be successful. The author shares their experience at Front Signs, a commercial sign-making company, where they initially made several common mistakes in their email marketing strategy, including sending too many emails, not using data to inform decisions, and not segmenting their lists. They then implemented changes with the help of an email marketing tool, Mailchimp, which led to significant improvements in their open rate, click rate, and conversion rate, ultimately increasing their customer engagement and business success.