Written by Gavin Hewitson, founder of the email marketing agency In-box.co.nz
Amidst the noise of social media and instant messaging, email remains one of the most consistent and predictable mediums for generating sales. It’s been around for as long as digital marketing has been around and it has largely remained unchanged. As a lead generation tool for businesses, email isn’t just a way to chat – it’s a way to educate your audience while conveying your expertise and brand. Here’s your go-to guide for using email for your lead
generation along with the factors that I like to consider when running my own campaigns.
Understanding the Dynamics of Email Marketing
Why Email for Lead Generation?
Beyond sending a letter to someone’s house or calling them up on the phone, emails are one of the most direct methods for getting your prospects’ attention. With the right strategy, they can be personalized, timed, and crafted to fit the exact needs and preferences of your potential customers.
Now you do have to factor in a bit of the old lead gathering here. From a direct to consumer email marketing perspective, if you have a list of contacts, you have probably gathered them from a sign up form on your website or from an event that you have been to. As a result, the people you are talking to are most likely already your ideal customers. However from a B2B lead generation perspective, this list you build is usually a result of you going out to the market, and building it up manually. It’s important to then be mindful of who you are adding to your list. Be strict about who you are reaching out to and ensure that whatever service you are offering, has the ability to solve a problem that they definitely have.
Setting the Groundwork for Email-Based Lead Generation
Building a Quality Email List
Before diving deep into strategies, it’s pivotal to have a robust email list. Focus on quality over quantity. There are plenty of lead generation tools out there on the market but by far and away, the most effective way of getting solid leads, and manually scraping the internet. Now this takes time, obviously, so I always recommend hiring someone to help with this process, typically you
can find someone that will charge something like $.40 USD per lead.
Compliance with Regulations
Familiarize yourself with email marketing laws, like GDPR and CAN-SPAM. It’s crucial not just for legality but also for building trust. In the world of cold email, we can often find ourselves dancing a fine line between compliance and breaking the rules. To learn more about this, click the link here.
Crafting the Perfect Email for Lead Generation
Once you have built up your list of contacts, its now time to actually go about building and email strategy for these prospects. The next few paragraphs are going to be talking about B2B lead generation emails rather than D2C emails.
The Art of the Subject Line
Your subject line is your first impression—make it count! It should be catchy, relevant, and, most importantly, honest. Also, personalization is always good, add some first names to the subject lines to spice things up a bit. Also, just remember that a lot of people are cold emailing nowadays, so try to be different with your outreach. I like to use things like RE // John – your
newsletter. Believe me, subject lines like this crush.
Engaging Content is King
Once they’ve opened the email, it’s the content that holds them. Don’t include any graphics. Keep your message short and sweet. The rule of thumb here is to simply start a conversation, don’t sell, just try and get a response, that is your mission. Try something as simple as:
Hey John,
I noticed an issue with your Facebook ads. Would you like a suggestion on how to fix it?
Regards,
Gavin
Measuring Success and Refining Strategy
Key Metrics to Monitor
For B2B lead gen, the only metrics you want to focus on are the following:
? Open rates: The higher the better
? Response rates: The higher the better:
? Unsubscribe rates: The lower the better
A/B Testing for Constant Improvement
It’s a game of trial and error. Use A/B testing to figure out what resonates best with your audience. Test subject lines, body copy… everything. The bigger your database, the more variables you can test.
Feedback is Gold
Encourage feedback from people who jump on a call with you. It’ll provide invaluable insights and help you refine your strategy for the future.
Advanced Techniques and Best Practices
Drip Campaigns: Nurturing Leads Over Time
Not all leads convert immediately. Drip campaigns allow you to nurture them over time, gradually moving them down the funnel. Have multiple follow ups. You would be blown away by how many people respond to my emails after the 4th or 5th follow up.
Automating the Process
Obviously, if you are doing this at scale (anything more than 10 emails a day) you are going to want to use some form of automated software. I really like Lemlist.
Integration with Other Marketing Channels
Ensure your email marketing aligns with other channels such as LinkedIn, if you have the budget and the time. Hit people on as many platforms as possible for a more holistic approach to your lead generation. Platforms such as Lemlist allow you to integrate LinkedIn lead generation.
Conclusion
Email marketing absolutely crushes it when it comes to lead generation, but it is really about scale, and ongoing optimizations over a long period of time. At my peak, I was sending out 200 emails a day, at 20 emails per email domain (I had 10 different email addresses sending emails)
If you want some more tips on how to do email marketing feel free to reach me at gavin@in-box.com or check out my website here.
FAQs
Why is email marketing effective for lead generation?
Email marketing allows businesses to establish direct communication with potential customers, offering personalized content that resonates with their needs and preferences.
What are the key components of a successful email?
A catchy subject line, engaging content, a clear call-to-action, and a responsive design are pivotal for a successful email.
How do I build a quality email list?
Manually jump onto websites and find ways to add people’s contact details to a spreadsheet.
How often should I send marketing emails?
It varies based on your industry and audience.
What’s the importance of A/B testing in email marketing?
A/B testing allows marketers to understand which content or design elements resonate most with the audience, enabling continuous improvement.
Can I automate my email marketing?
Absolutely! Tools like Mailchimp, HubSpot, and ConvertKit allow for comprehensive email marketing automation but I prefer to use Lemlist.
Why is email marketing effective for lead generation?
Email marketing allows businesses to establish direct communication with potential customers, offering personalized content that resonates with their needs and preferences.
What are the key components of a successful email?
A catchy subject line, engaging content, a clear call-to-action, and a responsive design are pivotal for a successful email.
How do I build a quality email list?
Manually jump onto websites and find ways to add people’s contact details to a spreadsheet.
How often should I send marketing emails?
It varies based on your industry and audience.
What’s the importance of A/B testing in email marketing?
A/B testing allows marketers to understand which content or design elements resonate most with the audience, enabling continuous improvement.
Can I automate my email marketing?
Absolutely! Tools like Mailchimp, HubSpot, and ConvertKit allow for comprehensive email marketing automation but I prefer to use Lemlist.
Greetings! I’m Kyle Duncan, Magnetize Web’s CEO, specializing in personalized on-page SEO solutions and holding SEMrush certifications.