If you surveyed every sales team in the country and asked them to name the number one thing holding them back from consistently exceeding their revenue targets, most would say they need more high-quality leads. And if you asked marketers the same question, many would tell you they need more resources to help them drive more demand in less time.
Email marketing lead generation is an excellent tool to help you solve both issues. Strategic and highly effective email marketing can help you fill your funnel with well-qualified leads to keep your sales team busy. And it can help you do so quickly and with a better ROI than any other marketing channel, according to Campaign Monitor.
But not all email marketing is equal. Like most lead-generating strategies, email success requires a little finesse and a lot of expertise. To help you create your pipeline-filling machine, we’re sharing eight tried-and-true strategies every business should know.
What is email marketing lead generation?
Just in case you need a refresher, email marketing lead generation refers to leveraging email to connect with prospects, earn their interest in your offer, and drive them to take action. It’s a process that typically starts with gathering information, including a prospect’s email address, through an opt-in form.
Once you’ve added contacts to your email list, you can begin nurturing them through well-timed, strategic messages until they’re ready to be passed along to your sales team.
8 Proven email marketing lead generation techniques
Here are eight things the most successful businesses do to ensure they can amass a healthy flow of leads through their email marketing efforts:
- Clean, Mobile-Friendly Design
Good design isn’t just about aesthetics — although sending emails that are pleasing to look at will certainly help your brand. Effective design also helps drive recipients to the essential elements in your message, like your call-to-action (CTA), and ensures a positive experience regardless of device. According to Upland Adestra, mobile devices account for 62% of all email opens. If an email is too cluttered, has too many visual elements, or doesn’t render correctly on mobile, there’s a good chance it’ll be ignored or deleted.
- Attention-Grabbing Subject Line
Imagine you’re at an industry event and spot a prospect you’ve wanted to chat with for quite some time. Several of your competitors are nearby and also eager to chat with this individual. You need a good opener to grab and hold their attention long enough to spark their interest and ensure a future conversation.A subject line is the digital equivalent of an icebreaker — a catchy, intriguing statement that will pique recipients’ interest enough for them to open your emails. It also has to be short. According to Convince and Convert, 82% of successful email marketers say their subject lines do not exceed 60 characters.
- Captivating, Reader-Friendly Copy
A great subject line might hook a reader, but excellent copy will keep them engaged until the end. As with design, though, less is more. Instead of attempting to cram in as much information as possible, focus on highlighting the key details and keeping your copy concise. After all, an email is just an invitation to take action — there’s no need to get verbose. According to a study by Boomerang, emails between 50 and 125 words drive the best response rate.
- Clear and Compelling Call-to-Action
What do you want a contact to do after reading an email? Sign up for a webinar? Download an ebook? Schedule a demo? Whatever the case, it’s crucial you ensure your CTA is obvious. Remember: your buyers are busy professionals with overflowing inboxes just like you. If you don’t make it easy for them to take action, there’s a good chance they’ll move on.
- Leverage High-Quality, Gated Content
Gated content is an excellent way to grow your email list. But remember: the content must be worthwhile. (Like, for example, a data-rich report or well-written guide chock-full of valuable information that will help your audience overcome a relevant challenge.)For people already in your database, you can gate content with an additional ask, like details about their organization or whether they’re currently in-market for a solution like yours. You can also offer this content ungated, but factor their activity into your lead score. For example, if someone engages with a mid-funnel asset, that might indicate they’re ready to be introduced to a salesperson or begin receiving messages about setting up a demo.
- Test, Test, and Test Again
One of the great advantages of email marketing is that you can test nearly everything. For example, you can set up an A/B test for subject lines, CTA copy, button color, and more. The more you test, the easier it will be to refine your approach over time and optimize your open and conversion rates. Remember: every email campaign is another opportunity for a test.
- Personalize Wherever Possible
In addition to using a name personalization token, it’s also a good idea to segment your emails into various sub-sections of your audience to ensure your message resonates. For example, you might segment your list by funnel stage, industry, company size, geographic location, and more, depending on the campaign. Be sure to tweak your copy to appeal to each segment’s unique needs and challenges. And, if you have advanced email automation, you might even personalize further.While this can sound time-consuming, it will undoubtedly pay off. A whopping 80% of consumers are more likely to purchase after a personalized experience, according to Epsilon.
- Work with an Expert Demand Generation Email Partner
Of course, building a list can be challenging. And in some cases, you may begin to saturate your database and need to get your message in front of new audiences. This is where a demand generation partner comes in handy. By working with a service like ViB Emails, you can tap into a community of millions of professionals who are verified as in-market for the products and services you sell. A great partner will handle all the heavy lifting to ensure your message gets to the right people at the right time.
Email marketing lead generation is a highly effective tool for driving new demand, nurturing existing marketing qualified leads, and ensuring your sales team has a steady pipeline of buyers ready for a good conversation. By using these eight techniques, you can quickly increase the effectiveness of your email marketing efforts. Â
Ready to expand your reach? Learn more about ViB Emails.
