Email marketing for markets: building a list you own

Ask at the moments people already say yes

The best time to ask someone to hear from you is while they're already dealing with you. StallsApp asks at two points: when a stallholder applies, and when a shopper buys tickets. Each form has one optional box — "Keep me posted by email about" your market — that is never ticked in advance. Stallholders can change their answer later from their profile, and anyone can unsubscribe from any email.

Pre-ticked boxes, bought lists and "everyone who ever bought a ticket" aren't consent. Under Australia's Spam Act, commercial email needs the recipient's consent, must identify who sent it, and must carry a working unsubscribe. Asking properly is also what keeps your emails out of junk folders, which matters more than the rules.

Two kinds of email, two sets of rules

StallsApp separates promotional email from updates. A promotional email — news, the next market, what's on — goes only to people who opted in, carries an unsubscribe link, and can be sent by an owner or admin. An update is about something a person is already part of: setup instructions for the stallholders booked on Saturday, a change to gate times for ticket holders. Updates go to the relevant people whether or not they opted in to marketing, are limited to one market, and can be sent by staff.

Don't dress marketing up as an update. A "reminder" to every stallholder you've ever had that applications are open for spring is promotional, and the people who didn't opt in will notice.

What to send, and how often

For a regular market, the email that works is short and arrives two or three days before each market day: the date and times, what's new or in season, three or four stallholders worth meeting with a photo each, and one link. Cadence beats polish — a dependable short note before every market does more than a monthly newsletter assembled out of duty.

Beyond the regular note: open stall applications for a new season, early-bird tickets for an event market, and a thank-you after a big day. Each email should have one job and one button.

Sending from StallsApp

Start a promotional email from Email & SMS inside the market, or from All campaigns. A promotional email goes out for one market at a time, so replies have one inbox to land in. Choose stallholders, ticket buyers or both; StallsApp works out who can be reached and lists everyone who can't, with the reason — unsubscribed, never asked, an address that bounced. Write a subject and message, add a button if you want one, and use placeholders like the recipient's name. Send a test to yourself before the real thing: it's the only way to see it the way they will.

Replies go to your market's contact email, so set one under Market website → Details & contact before you send — StallsApp won't send a newsletter nobody can reply to. Unsubscribes, bounces and spam complaints are handled for you and checked again just before sending, so someone who unsubscribed yesterday doesn't get today's email.

Email marketing is included on the Standard plan (2,000 recipients a month) and the Pro plan (10,000 a month); every person each email goes to counts towards it, updates included. On the Starter plan, or once a month's allowance is used, Australian organisations can buy email credits — A$10 for 2,000, with no expiry. If you'd rather use Mailchimp or another tool, Market settings → Marketing list exports everyone who opted in as a CSV.

Know whether it worked

Put a tagged link in your newsletter instead of the plain ticket link — the Marketing page has one ready, labelled Email newsletter — and ticket sales from it show up under Sales by source. For a free market without tickets, the honest measure is the one in your inbox: replies, and stallholders telling you shoppers mentioned the email.