Email marketing lead generation is tricky. People are naturally reluctant to turn their information over. They know that when they do, their inbox will pay for it later.
Even when your product or service is desirable, the marketing message probably won’t be. People are busy. They aren’t usually interested in volunteering their time for a marketing message.
An effective lead generation and email marketing campaign must be good enough to cut through this. A compelling offer coupled with a clear message can help you get leads and keep them.
This article examines what lead generation is, what tools are available, and how to conduct an effective campaign. Read on to find out how to increase email leads.
First, what are email marketing leads?
Essentially, leads are just the contact information of a potential customer. Traditionally, consumers opt-in to provide you with their information. This might be done in exchange for a promotional gift. Customers may also provide their information because they are interested in the product itself.
Lead Generation Tools
Lead generation tools automate much of the work. They can help you create a user-friendly email drip campaign. Drip campaigns involve sending pre-written messages to your leads over time. Striking the right messaging and frequency is the difference between success and failure.
Lead generation tools make it easy to automate your drip schedule. MailChimp is a prominent example of a good lead generation tool.
Most lead generation sites cost money. Often, they operate on a subscription basis. However, you may be able to find free sites. Alternatively, most providers offer a temporary free or reduced-cost trial period.
SEO Lead Generation Tools
SEO-based lead generation tools help aid with search engine optimization. The idea is to use keywords and other considerations to produce content that brings people in organically. SEO-based tools can help by monitoring the structure of your messaging efforts.
Search engine optimization usually rewards scannable messages. This is because emails and articles are often read on mobile devices. A “scannable” text will usually involve two to three-line paragraphs that can easily be read on a small screen.
SEO tools monitor the structure of your posts. They also help with headings and keyword placement. Yoast and SurferSEO are both prominent SEO tools. They may be featured as an integration for your existing lead generation tools. This means that they could be accessed from within the lead generation tool.
Alternatively, many lead generation tools will have their in-house SEO tools.
Know Your Audience
Scattershot marketing is quickly going extinct. We are now in the era of information. Use some of it to create a customer profile. Who is most likely to benefit from your product? Why? This information can help you figure out how to tailor your marketing message.
While email marketing does rely on volume, your efforts should still be as targeted as possible. Develop a buyer persona. Make a point of understanding what your customers want out of a product. Create a message that addresses their specific pain points.
Email marketing lead generation can happen organically when you have what the customers want.
Email Lead Generation Marketing Offers
Keep in mind that every consumer on the market knows about email marketing. They might not understand on a nuanced level. However, they do know that when they hand their information over, it will be used. Often, more than they prefer.
Good lead generation efforts hinge on a value-driven message. Be like the Godfather. Make them an offer they can’t refuse.
For example, Uber offers new customers a “flat rate” package. When they opt-in for the email marketing campaign, customers enjoy a flat fare between the locations they travel to the most.
Make Them Stick Around
Of course, you also have to give them a reason to stick around. An excellent promotional item or offer is a way to bring people in. However, if your drip campaign isn’t up to snuff, people are sure to leave after they’ve received the initial benefit.
Good email marketing campaigns:
· Are concise: The average adult can read about 250 words a minute. That’s about the maximum amount of attention you can reasonably expect them to give you. Hit them with more than that, and there is a good chance your message will be ignored.
· Are compelling: The email subject line will probably determine if your lead opens the message or not. You aren’t their friend. Your name alone isn’t enough to get the job done. The subject line should tell a story. A story of what the customer gets for opening it up. A discount? A new promotional offer? Make it compelling.
· Justify their existence: Every message needs to provide a distinct value. For example, Starbucks uses its email marketing campaigns to alert customers about seasonal items. They might also include information on discounts. This works because it is information the lead actually wants. Don’t waste people’s time. It’s not hard to hit the unsubscribe button.
It takes a lot of effort just to get good leads. Don’t squander the opportunity.
Be Good Custodians of Their Information
When a lead gives you their email address, they are also giving you a little bit of trust. They expect and hope not to be bombarded with emails. Keep in mind that the average work-aged person can easily get 100 emails a day.
Your messaging needs to be able to stand out amongst a sea of others. By being a good custodian of customer information, you help ensure that the lead won’t just hit delete.
Email frequency is a hotly debated topic in the world of marketing. A delicate balance must be struck. You don’t want to be forgotten. However, you also don’t want to overwhelm the customer.
Some experts recommend weekly updates. Others suggest you make it monthly or twice monthly. While more than once a week will usually be too much, there is plenty of wiggle room when determining frequency.
Undoubtedly, time will be the best teacher. However, until you have the benefit of experience, let value drive your efforts. How often do you have something to say that the customer will want to hear? How often will a customer reasonably want to interact with your product or service?
Starbucks might be able to get away with a higher volume of marketing emails. Not only are they a well-known quantity, but they also offer a product many people consume multiple times a day. If, on the other hand, your offerings are only of value some days, you should factor this into your outreach.
Timing is Everything
Good email lead generation and implementation also hinge on smart timing. As we mentioned earlier, the average person could get up to 100 emails a day. That’s a flood of information. If you aren’t careful, your messages will drown in it.
There is a certain logic to smart email timing. Think about the average person’s schedule. When do you check your own email?
Many will check their messages first thing in the morning. That means 8 AM or earlier may be a good time to catch your lead’s attention.
They might check their email again at lunch. This means marketing messages at around noon or 1 o’clock have a high potential to get noticed.
Around 5 or 6 PM, your leads will be returning home from work. Perhaps they check their phones as they ride the subway? This is another acceptable time to try and capture their attention.
After that, they may be home for the day and done checking their email. Messages after dinner have a lower chance of getting noticed.
The nature of your product or service may also inform the best time to make contact. For example, if you sell coffee, you might lean into the morning, when people are most likely to need caffeine. You might also target the afternoon when people need a pick me up.
Framing Your Offer
Value drives any marketing campaign, but you also have to know how to frame it. To keep things simple, you can divide marketing messages into two parts. There is the message itself. Why you are contacting the customer. What they will get from it.
Then there is the tone. How you tell your story.
The latter can be difficult to master but is also critical to the process of email marketing. Your brand story can help shape the tone and voice of your outreach efforts.
Is your product or service formal? If so, the voice of your marketing efforts should match that tone. If, on the other hand, your product is more lighthearted, your messaging should be as well.
Make your message grabbing. Clear. And actionable. After reading it, the customer should understand:
· Why they have been contacted.
· How they can benefit from your message
Accomplish all of that in as few words as possible and you will have crafted a good marketing message.