Email marketers often begin with an empty email list and a pressing task: email lead generation. Building your list the right way takes a little time and thought, but it’s definitely worth the trouble of generating leads and building your subscriber list.

On average, email conversion rates are 40 times higher than social media conversion rates. The online form of communication is also one of the most prevalent in the world, with the number of active email accounts around the globe in 2019 expected to reach more than 5.5 billion.

That said, an email marketing initiative won’t perform well without a proper strategy and an audience. Email lead generation is crucial to the long-term success of your email marketing campaigns.

• How do you make an Email Campaign more Effective?
• What is the key to a Successful Lead Generation Campaign?
• How do you Write a Lead Generation Email?
• What are Lead Generation Strategies?

How do you make an Email Campaign more Effective?

The marketing organization’s role has evolved significantly since the beginning of this decade.

Marketing organizations are no longer measured on customer acquisition and brand awareness. Rather, according to a report from The Economist Intelligence Unit, they are evaluated based on their impact on revenue and customer engagement.

Read Also: How to Create a Lead Generator Site?

Continuing to focus on creative initiatives will have little impact on ensuring company viability. Marketing organizations must cast a laser focus on driving engagements that result in a quantifiable revenue impact.

Technology coupled with data is key to delivering on these expectations. The combination can help drive relevant engagements and measure the impact on the business.

With the advent of marketing technology tools for emailing (e.g., Silverpop, Eloqua, Act-On), marketers can send as many emails as frequently as they want. And why not, if the premise is that increasing email activity will improve prospect conversion odds, and the cost of sending another email is zero?

But the reality is that relevant engagement happens when a personalized message or content is provided to a tightly defined segment. When too many emails are sent, and there’s no consideration of persona, buying cycle or need, the relationship with the prospect is weakened.

The result is that prospects and customers stop listening. When the listening and engaging stops, marketing’s effectiveness is shattered.

What follows are six keys for leveraging technology and data that, when coupled with high-quality content, will ensure your email marketing efforts drive revenue.

1. Create strong content

Focus on creating and sending high-quality (personalized) emails versus many general emails that don’t provide value. Creating personalized emails for tightly defined segments takes time and money. But the results speak for themselves.

Personalized email messages improve click-through rates by an average of 14 percent and conversions by 10 percent.

2. Determine optimal email frequency

This is not a one-size-fits-all number. Segment your database based on email engagement (highly engaged, limited engagement, no engagement).

Test to understand what is optimal for each group, and define a threshold of emails that ensures engagement but leaves no money on the table.

Monitor the number of emails sent at the prospect level. If the threshold is met (on a daily, weekly or monthly basis) stop sending more emails to that prospect.

Kerry Reilly, the director of product marketing for Adobe Campaign, says marketers must minimize email blasting and wide-sweeping messages. Instead, they must maximize contextual engagement in every message by leveraging their data in smart ways.

An Adobe case study found that by decreasing total emails sent by 16 percent (and including more relevant content), they realized a 60-percent improvement in open rates.

3. Prioritize communication

Determine which emails are most important while suppressing those of less significance. This is a matrix decision based on buying cycle, focus of emails and the business unit that owns the email.

Maintain open and fluid communications within the entire marketing organization. This can be tricky when disparate teams are involved.

Jon Russo of B2B Fusion has seen significant improvement in marketing effectiveness when all marketing teams within an organization share campaign communication information. “We’ve enabled enterprises to cut their email volume by over 59 percent and improve email engagement by 12 percent by actively managing the email process,” he told me. “These aggressive steps are fundamental to help improve revenue conversion.”

4. Standardize data for segmentation

Use picklists or lookup tables instead of free-form text for fields to help you better personalize communication. For example, instead of a title field, use job function.

Map existing values to the standardized fields. Create processes to populate the non-standard values in the standardized fields or begin using the standardized fields in your data capture efforts (e.g., form submits, file uploads).

5. Ensure key data for segmentation is available

Clean and accurate data is needed for the segmentation that drives personalized emails. For example, industry or job function might be fields in your segmentation strategy that are the basis for your communication.

If these fields are empty or have out-of-date information, refresh your data through a third-party service. Then, once the data is clean, you can segment and kick off your campaign.

6. Measure results and optimize tactics

As modern marketers, we rely heavily on metrics to validate our results and report up to the C-suite. Couple these metrics with lower-level tracking to monitor the effectiveness of campaigns and contact engagement.

Analyze lead scores for campaigns and specific segments to understand how effective the marketing effort is. Low overall engagement lead scores indicate there’s an issue, while high (on average) lead scores show the marketing organization is effective.

With so much on a marketer’s plate — from revenue generation to brand awareness and the overall customer experience — every effort needs to produce maximum results. And given that email is one of the most powerful ways for marketers to communicate, there’s no room for suboptimal results.

What is the key to a Successful Lead Generation Campaign?

As a company, you are always on the lookout for ways to generate leads. You fail and you succeed, but you should never give up trying. Whether using PPC, emailing, or social media there are key factors that will ensure that your lead generation campaign is successful.

1. Understand the buyer

Knowing your buyers, their patterns, and what drives them is important if you want to create empathy with them, acquire long term customers or close sales. You need to know what they have in common and their location. The more you know, the easier it will be to generate leads.

For example, if you are selling beauty products, you need to define your target market, such as women between 18 and 40, and create a message that will resonate with this audience. Trying to market to a broader audience will not be as effective since those above or below the target age group will not be interested.

Before starting a lead generation campaign, you need look at the market afresh. For example what need is fulfilled by your service or product and who is the ideal customer? Most businesses want to sell to everybody. Your results will be better if you focus on at least two target groups. You need to learn all you can about your target customers including interests, values, geographic location, income level and age.

2. Revisit and refine your list

The prospect list is the most critical aspect in any lead generation success. Everything starts with trial and error so as to get a list of high quality. When you want to turn your list into leads, you need to nurture as something living so that it can thrive.

As you get names through referrals, trade shows, inbound marketing and sales calls and once the outbound campaign is done adjust your prospect’s contact information in relation to phone numbers and other contact data. Track the emails opt-outs, and those interested and those that become customers. Your credibility will take a hit if you do not continuously update your customer database.

3. Movement

Set goals that are tangible with lead generation campaigns. When you do not have a clue where you are going, you will end up somewhere else. Your prospective customers will not act until you have demonstrated your value proposition clearly.

Remember, not all leads are created equal as some will be ready to buy now and some will but later. You need to give your target group an incentive so they will give you information as they rarely give their information out for free. Additionally, you can think of other incentives such as gifts, free trials, discounts and promotions.

4. Communicate clear values

Do not assume that consumers understand why they are in need of your service or product. It is critical that you a look at what consumers value in relation to your service or products so your sales team can provide valuable information.

With this, you are able to come up with lead generation campaigns that will speak to the needs of your customers as well as show how you can add more value than that of your competitors.

Your whole company needs to adopt the value statement so that any communication given to the prospects is the same. No one should raise questions on what you are doing and what your service or products are all about.

5. Don’t sell. Educate

It is important to remember that lead generation is about credibility, rapport and brand recognition. You will attract more buyers when you offer to teach your prospects something valuable rather than simply trying to sell them your products or services.

Remember most leads will not automatically turn to a sale. Most will need to be nurtured over time so that the prospects have your solutions at the forefront of their mind. Track all your conversions as this will help you build a pipeline of strong prospects.

6. Measure success

Keep track of your lead generation activities. Log the number of clicks and open emails in an email campaign. Track all opportunities that have been created and the deals that have been closed. Keep in mind your objectives and give time for the plans you have made to bear fruit.

The messages that you send out need a strong headline that will engage your audience. For example, when you are marketing beauty products, you need to first give an engaging headline and follow it up with benefits the products offer and the services or products your problem solve. Include testimonials and proof and structure a call to action that will impact your audience to action.

There are technical tools that can help you know what is working and what is not. They help you measure the result and adjust the campaign of lead generation accordingly to help improve ROI.

Persistence and patience will be the key to having a successful lead generation campaign and not everything you try will work. Keep searching for opportunities to tweak the campaign so that you can get the best results.

How do you Write a Lead Generation Email?

B2B lead generation emails are being utilized more than ever in marketing. The sudden increase in their use is closely tied to the utility of emails. For long, emails have been utilized as primary tools for marketing and also communication. 

91% of businesses use emails to create demand. It’s quite effective, efficient, and has a wide outreach as compared to other tools used in marketing and communication.

As much as emails are used on a daily basis, knowing how to write one to a good standard is quite a task. This is because the recipients are diverse, having different personalities, different needs, varied attitudes and specific preferences.

Thus, crafting a B2B lead generation email that has an impact is more involving and may require adherence to specific guidelines. The ulterior motive is to avoid the emails being put away or disregarded by our target recipients.

Let us consider 6 tips for writing an effective B2B lead generation email to guarantee a positive impact on sales, marketing and getting clients.

1. Craft a list of prospects

If you’re not new to the world of email marketing, then you probably know what an email list is. For the newbies, this is a list of email contacts that you intend to broadcast a message to. These should be permission-based, so you should use different techniques to capture email addresses which grant permission.

You must also offer the option to unsubscribe.  It could be drawn from professional contacts and also social circles. These lists should serve as your primary B2B lead email prospects. When crafting these lists, ensure you sort out and narrow down to:

• The most receptive individuals
• Groups
• Businesses

Include all those that revolve around your core business or could have a direct or indirect interest in your core business. About 83% of B2B marketers use such lists for newsletters.

2. Use a power subject line

It’s a fact that many people receive a lot of emails, but they ultimately make the decision to read based on the subject line. Thus, it calls for one to write in an engaging tone. The subject line has to be powerful and catchy such that it immediately engages the reader at first instance.

Important Guidelines

When writing a subject line to your B2B lead generation email, ensure that it’s short and concise. Add an element of personalization and curiosity to make the reader get the recipient to open the email and read it.

You should view the subject line as a movie trailer. If the movie trailer does not arouse any interest, suspense and anticipation then it’s likely that fewer people will pay to watch that movie. Therefore, incentivize your readers to open the email by putting a powerful and catchy headline.

3. Be brief

This cannot be over-emphasized. Business emails and B2B lead generation emails have to be brief by default. It’s not really a matter of choice, but an imperative since it’s assumed that everyone in the workplace setting is busy.

There’s also the aspect of time; time is far too valuable to spend most of it reading long emails; at least that’s the mindset of almost everyone who receives tons of emails in a day. Therefore, the gist of a message, and in our case B2B email, should be conveyed at the earliest instance.

Use an essay writing service to assist you if you encounter any difficulties. The truth is, most people frown upon an email with large blocks of texts. In fact, most of them develop an attitude when trying to read it, if at all they decide to read it. There are also other competing emails and tasks that might occupy your recipient’s time.

Get to the Point

Be brief and concise with your wording and expressions. It does not add any value writing whole paragraphs and long phrases; a few sentences and short phrases are sufficient. If need be, use a complete proofreading guide to check on brevity. If you doubt this, try writing whole blocks of texts and monitor your response rates.

4. Enhance personalization

Nothing triggers the interest and input of individuals than a message that’s specifically directed to them and appeals to their inner person. This is what personalization is all about. B2B lead generation emails should be tailored and customized to each recipient. They should strive to address the issues that exclusively affect them.

How Can One Go About This?

It is simple:

• Carry out extensive research on your prospects

If it is a company, get to know the company name and the industry in which it operates. With modern day tech, it is quite easy to do this. You can even get information with regard to the company location, and the core business.

If your prospect is an individual, you can get more personal by knowing their first name, the respective company that they work for and also their job function. Statistics show headlines that have the recipients can increase open rates by 20%

• Be more personal about yourself by simply finishing the email with your name. A word of caution though, avoid being redundant by frequently introducing yourself.

5. Have a compelling call-to-action to qualify a prospect

Call to actions (CTA) are what convert leads into clients. They come after telling the prospects of your wonderful opportunity. It’s more of a directive that tells the prospect what they should do next.

Through offering the right types of content which indicate interest in your product, you can identify potential leads who may be interested in your product.

For example, you could have them call you directly through your number to set a meeting. It could also be specifics as to how they can sign up for your services. This call to action should be conspicuous and clear. Consider adding a design to it so that it can appear irresistible and compelling to the reader.

The best place to put the call to action is just right after the initial pitch. It can then be repeated at the end of the email for it to be imprinted on the mind of the recipient.

6. Create a sense of urgency and an element of scarcity

Sometimes, the only way to motivate and stimulate action on individuals is to create a sense of urgency and an element of scarcity. This comes after showing them the value of what you’re pitching and your ability to resolve their issues.

By this time, you have already shown them that you understand their unique problems and that you’re best placed to offer an effective remedy.

What remains is for them to act swiftly in order to enjoy the benefits. All emphasis should be placed on the call to action and why it should be done ‘now’ rather than later.

Also, try to suggest that the offer won’t be in place for a long period or there are limited offers left. That should stimulate your prospects to spring into action. The prospect or lead might turn into a client as fast as they can so as not to miss out.

What’s more, they could even refer you if they themselves are not particularly interested but have friends, family, acquaintances or business associates that might be interested.

Well-crafted B2B lead generation emails can have a positive outcome on sales, marketing, advertising and any other related field provided the above-highlighted tips are carefully implemented. The 6 tips above are sure to help you achieve just that!

What are Lead Generation Strategies?

A lead generation strategy includes tactics that attract interested prospects and convert them into leads. A lead is a person who has shown interest in your brand by taking some action. They have shared their contact details or otherwise implied that they may want to do business with you.

Both B2C and B2B lead generation strategies include four components.

• Lead Capture: a way to collect information from a lead. Information may include the lead’s name and contact information as well as relevant qualifying details about them or their organization (e.g., business name, position, number of employees).
• Lead Magnets: an incentive that drives prospects to become a lead.
• Lead Qualification: a process that uses the lead’s information to determine how likely they are to buy.
• Lead Segmentation: the process of segmenting leads based on their information, habits, and activities (e.g., job title, lead magnet attracted them, pages they visited on your website).

Below are 10 reliable lead generation strategies that you can use to support each of these components.

1. Create gated content

Gated content is online material only accessible to users once they fill out a form. Unlike normal blog posts or landing pages, the content is “locked.” Audiences must complete a lead capture form to access the content. This is an effective lead generation strategy, as it gives the audience something of value for free while attracting high-quality leads that are interested in topics related to your brand or offerings. Gated content assets often include:

• White papers
• E-books
• Guides
• Reports
• Courses
• Worksheets
• Online tools

2. Create a value-packed newsletter

Another way to use content as a lead magnet is by creating a must-read newsletter. Create a value-packed monthly or weekly newsletter to encourage interested prospects to connect and stay in touch with your brand.

This allows you to stay top of mind with customers as well as share promotions for your products and services that can drive prospects further down the purchase funnel. Content for your newsletter might include:

• New blog posts
• Updates about your products or services
• Special offers
• Upcoming events
• Recommended reading from other thought leaders

3. Host an event

Lead generation strategies can happen online and off. Host an in-person or online event to attract and serve your target market while capturing their contact information via event registration.

Also, use live events as opportunities to connect with customers in real time so that you can answer questions, respond to objections, learn about your audience, and actively guide prospects through the sales funnel.

• Webinar
• Workshop
• Seminar
• Meetup
• Conference

4. Offer a coupon or discount

Convert prospects who are interested in your products and services by offering a coupon or discount as your lead magnet. This attracts valuable long-term and short-term leads. In the long term, you have attracted someone interested in buying from your brand.

In the short term, you can quickly convert the lead into a buyer because coupons serve bottom-of-funnel prospects who are ready to buy.

5. Provide a freemium product or free trial

Capture leads from interested and qualified prospects by offering a free trial or freemium product. Free trials and freemium products attract qualified, interested prospects who aren’t ready to buy. They also allow your brand to convert free users into paying customers by teasing paid features and delivering drip email campaigns that promote the benefits of upgraded accounts.

6. Use a live chat on your website

Live chat prompts audiences to ask questions about products or services while visiting your website. It can be used as one of your lead generation strategies by requiring users to provide their contact details to submit a question or by promoting some other lead magnet like a demo.

When customers have questions, they want answers fast. Live chat allows you to provide the instant information prospects want while collecting valuable data for your lead nurturing campaigns.

7. Optimize your website to promote your lead magnet

To generate more leads, make sure website visitors can easily find your lead magnet. Design on-site funnels that segment your audience and drive them toward the lead magnet most likely to resonate with their needs and interests. Accomplish this by promoting leads magnets around your site.

• Highlight it as the primary homepage call to action.
• Promote relevant lead magnets at the end of blog posts and pages.
• Use a lead gen. pop-up.
• Create a resource library filled with gated content.
• Add a lead gen. hello bar (that sits at the top or bottom of your site).
• Promote your lead magnet in the sidebar.

8. Optimize your social profiles to promote your lead magnet

When you have a valuable lead magnet, make sure your social followers know about it. Highlight it on your social profiles so that when users engage with you, they see your offer and the clear next step toward working with you.

Promote your lead magnet in hero images on profile pages. Also, leverage call-to-action buttons by adding links to your lead magnet instead of driving users to your homepage.

9. Pay to promote lead magnets on social media

Use paid social ads as one of your lead generation strategies. Leverage Facebook’s and Instagram’s targeting options to show ads to the people most likely to be interested in your products or services. Targeting options on paid social ads are extremely powerful.

Read Also: How to Create a Lead Magnet That Converts?

You can target people on macro levels (using demographic segmentation) or micro levels (using behavior and psychographic segmentation), allowing you to connect with a very specific audience.

10. Target top-of-funnel keywords

To attract interested prospects and drive them toward your lead magnets, create a plan to target the terms they search for. Do keyword research to discover keywords your ideal prospects look for at the top of the purchase funnel. Then, target those keywords in multiple ways.

• Create evergreen content that is optimized for the target terms.
• Develop an on-site blog strategy around the target keywords.
• Target the terms in pay-per-click marketing.
• Guest blog on sites that have a high share of voice for the target terms.

Be sure to follow best practices for SEO to boost your chances of showing up on page one. The more visible you are in search, the more interest and traffic you’ll generate from potential leads.