“Lead nurturing is like gardening,” says Banish Angural, founding father of Banish Media. “It’s about time, relevance, and a positive setting to count on the expansion from the seeds you may have sown.”
And as a B2B marketer, I couldn’t agree extra. B2B services and products take time to promote. It’s tough to take a prospect from not realizing about your organization to creating a sale with out warming them up.
That’s why lead nurturing emails are some of the efficient methods to reinforce your gross sales funnel and email marketing strategy, lower advertising prices, and improve conversions. On this publish, I’ll stroll you thru what I discovered from talking with advertising consultants, the perfect practices for lead nurturing emails, and how one can write them successfully.
Desk of Contents
What’s a lead nurturing electronic mail?
A lead nurturing electronic mail has one objective: transfer your prospect down the gross sales funnel. How? By participating, attractive, and inspiring your results in work together together with your model additional. As they turn into extra conversant in your organization they are going to be transformed into prospects (and upsold on different merchandise).
The Benefits of Lead Nurturing Emails
- Lead nurturing results in extra gross sales. Corporations that use lead nurturing efficiently generate 50% extra sales-ready leads at a 33% decrease value (Marketo).
- The ROI of lead nurturing is so excessive as a result of you’ll be able to tailor your messaging to the shopper. In spite of everything, there’s a motive the best electronic mail advertising methods are segmentation (78%), personalization (72%), and automatic electronic mail sequences (71%) (HubSpot).
- Lead nurturing emails join your buyer to your product with out laborious promoting. Half of customers buy from advertising emails month-to-month (Salecycle).
- Automated emails on triggers with excessive intent usually deliver the best ROI. Deserted cart emails have triple the conversion price of different automated emails (Email Tool Tester).
How does lead nurturing work?
In my expertise, lead nurturing is all about constructing and sustaining relationships with potential prospects who aren’t fairly prepared to purchase. It’s a approach to keep top-of-mind and supply ongoing worth — in order that when the lead is able to buy, your model is the primary they consider.
In that sense, Paul Stainton, director of content material and search engine optimisation at AgencyAnalytics, thinks of lead nurturing emails as “strategic touchpoints to interact prospects and remind them why they linked together with your model within the first place… Consideration spans are quick, and it is easy for potential results in overlook why they initially confirmed curiosity in your organization.”
The method begins when a lead first interacts together with your model, whether or not that’s by signing up for a e-newsletter, downloading a whitepaper, or attending a webinar.
At this level, they’re usually on the high of the advertising funnel, simply starting to find out about what you and your organization supply. And from there, a sequence of focused emails helps information the lead by the funnel.
(Tip: In the event you’re unfamiliar with lead nurturing, we encourage you to take our free lead nurturing course.)
Are lead nurturing emails efficient?
Nurtured leads make 47% larger purchases than non-nurtured leads. In addition they produce a 20% improve in gross sales alternatives (on common). So, briefly? Sure. Lead nurturing emails have confirmed to be extremely efficient at transferring potential prospects by the gross sales funnel and finally driving conversions.
As an illustration, Stainton seen that some customers had been signing up free of charge trials however not finishing a key onboarding step wanted to totally make the most of the platform. To handle this hole, he began “sending a easy reminder electronic mail urging customers to discover these options, which resulted in a 15% improve in consumer activation.”
Equally, Joe Kevens, director of demand technology at PartnerStack, shares that the model normally sends its leads “emails like ‘5 straightforward steps to construct a accomplice program’ containing a ‘Partnerships 101: The Final Partnerships Guidelines’” as a part of its lead nurturing electronic mail sequence to assist them construct their accomplice basis and set them up for achievement.
General, I seen a couple of commonalities among the many entrepreneurs I spoke with. Your lead nurturing electronic mail wants to realize three separate targets concurrently to be efficient:
- Get your prospect’s consideration.
- Be customized to the way in which they discovered your model.
- Educate your prospects on options and advantages they won’t pay attention to.
What’s a lead nurture electronic mail marketing campaign?
A lead nurture electronic mail marketing campaign is a sequence of focused emails despatched to leads over a time frame with the objective of transferring them nearer to a purchase order choice. It’s a strategic warming-up tactic that’s usually customized and optimized with the objective of constructing relationships and belief with potential prospects who’ve proven curiosity in your model.
That mentioned, because the phrase nurturing implies, you usually don’t ship a single electronic mail. It takes a couple of emails to realize the targets I listed above. So entrepreneurs, right here’s how you are able to do simply that:
Lead Nurturing Electronic mail Sequence
A lead nurturing electronic mail sequence is a sequence of emails which can be robotically triggered when the lead takes a sure motion. For instance, as soon as a buyer provides an merchandise to their cart, a lead nurturing electronic mail sequence might embrace a purchase order reminder, a limited-time supply, or an inventory of comparable merchandise they might like.
I’ve discovered that the extra segmenting and personalization you’ll be able to add to a lead-nurturing electronic mail marketing campaign, the higher it’s going to carry out and the extra conversions you’ll get.
Now that you just perceive how lead nurturing suits into your funnel, I’ll dive into some finest practices.
Lead Nurturing Electronic mail Greatest Practices
- Present invaluable, focused content material that addresses pursuits and/or ache factors.
- Concentrate on one related subject per electronic mail.
- Hold it quick.
- Make sure the emails progress naturally.
- Check your emails and monitor key metrics.
- Personalize and section the emails.
- Keep constant together with your model.
I’ve discovered that lead nurturing emails take time to optimize. It’s difficult to place collectively an electronic mail sequence that may convert at a excessive degree the primary time round. As with all advertising initiative, testing is the way you see what works finest. And when you discover a working method, you’ll be able to apply it to all of your electronic mail campaigns.
That mentioned, listed below are some common finest practices that may assist enhance your electronic mail sport.
1. Present invaluable, focused content material that addresses pursuits and/or ache factors.
Your lead nurturing emails ought to be all about your viewers. Take the time to grasp their pursuits, challenges, and targets. Then, craft content material that speaks on to these wants.
In the event you’re nurturing leads who downloaded an e-book on 10 Ideas for Higher Electronic mail Advertising and marketing, use your follow-up emails to dive deeper into every tip. Share actionable recommendation, real-world examples, and your individual experiences. The extra focused and related your content material is, the extra probably your leads will interact with it.
Stainton agrees and emphasizes, “In the event you can resolve a possible buyer’s fundamental drawback, they’re much more prone to flip to your organization after they need assistance fixing a extra complicated drawback.”
Professional tip: I’ve seen the largest needle movers in lead nurturing emails are the concepts behind the e-mail — not essentially the copy itself. In the event you’re a SaaS firm, which may imply testing completely different options in your electronic mail, as an illustration.
2. Concentrate on one related subject per electronic mail.
Much less is commonly extra with lead nurturing emails. I’ve discovered that specializing in one key subject per electronic mail is much simpler than making an attempt to cram a number of concepts into one electronic mail. It retains your emails concise, digestible, and straightforward to behave on.
Plus, it means that you can actually dig into every subject and supply worth somewhat than simply skimming the floor. For instance, in case your lead downloaded a whitepaper about immutable backups, you recognize they may be concerned about some type of information safety.
Your first electronic mail may be about how one can promote the concept of information safety to your workforce. It’d be counterproductive to speak about an irrelevant subject, like VPNs, in case your objective is to promote them on cybersecurity companies.
3. Hold it quick.
Take into consideration the final time you opened your inbox and took the time to learn an electronic mail for greater than 5 minutes. The reply is prone to be fairly far and few between. That’s why I all the time attempt to hold emails quick.
Most individuals simply scan their inboxes — particularly if it’s an electronic mail from a model they’re not conversant in. Knowledge means that your emails ought to be between 50 and 125 words. Purpose for that vary, however don’t be afraid to go a bit longer if it’s good to flesh out a subject.
For instance, some B2B subjects are way more complicated and require in-depth explanations, whereas an electronic mail for an ecommerce retailer may not want as a lot copy.
Professional tip: As a reminder, Chad Debolt, founding father of Surchability, says, “Electronic mail nurturing isn‘t meant to speak about your self…it’s meant to nurture. Folks need you to assist resolve their issues,” so make certain your language is customer-focused.
4. Make sure the emails progress naturally.
A fantastic lead nurturing sequence ought to really feel like a pure, logical development. Every electronic mail ought to construct upon the final, guiding your leads towards a particular objective or motion. I prefer to map out my sequences prematurely to make sure a cohesive, compelling narrative.
Take into consideration the place your leads are of their purchaser journey, what info they want at every stage, and how one can steadily transfer them nearer to a conversion.
Use cliffhangers, teasers, and calls to motion to create momentum and encourage results in open your subsequent electronic mail. By crafting a sequence that tells a transparent, purposeful story, you may hold your prospects engaged and invested within the lead nurturing course of.
5. Check your emails and monitor key metrics.
As entrepreneurs, everyone knows testing is the secret. And lead nurturing emails aren’t any completely different. What works for one viewers may not work for an additional. That’s why I all the time advocate A/B testing completely different subject concepts.
Past subjects, I like to recommend testing topic traces, content material, calls-to-action, and even the timing and frequency of your emails. Nevertheless, ensure you’re testing one variable at a time.
For instance, you could possibly arrange your electronic mail sequence to ship emails day-after-day consecutively to 50% of the checklist and each different day to the opposite 50%.
Throughout email testing, take note of these key metrics:
- Open charges. Decided by the topic line and preview textual content.
- Click on-through charges. Decided by the “massive thought” and call to action within the electronic mail.
- Conversion charges. Decided by your supply, touchdown web page, and the way nicely you’ve conveyed your message within the emails.
6. Personalize and section the emails.
With high-tech electronic mail instruments, personalization and segmentation are the largest levers you’ll be able to pull to see the perfect outcomes when used alongside testing.
Generic, one-size-fits-all emails merely don’t lower it anymore. To really resonate and join together with your new leads, it’s good to personalize your emails based mostly on their distinctive pursuits, behaviors, and stage within the funnel.
For instance, Lyn Collanto, outreach specialist at KBA Net, personalizes lead nurturing emails this manner: “If a lead visits our pricing web page a number of occasions however does not convert, we would set off a particular welcome email sequence that highlights buyer success tales and presents a limited-time low cost.”
I like to recommend creating a number of automated electronic mail sequences based mostly on particular actions. Some companies might have extra alternatives than others, however by personalizing the set off level, you’ll be able to give attention to the precise intent of the lead.
To take it one step additional, you’ll be able to section inside every electronic mail sequence. As an illustration, if a lead doesn’t open the primary two emails, you may wish to ship them down a special path — like emails with extra intriguing topic traces.
Or, in case your leads are opening emails, clicking hyperlinks, and even replying however not changing, you’ll be able to set off a lead-nurturing electronic mail sequence designed to beat objections.
7. Keep constant together with your model.
Do not forget that your lead nurturing emails are an extension of your total model. They need to really feel cohesive and according to the remainder of your advertising supplies, out of your web site to your social media posts.
Use colours, fonts, and imagery that align together with your model tips. Write in a tone and magnificence that feels genuine to your model voice — whether or not that’s pleasant and informal or skilled and authoritative. Consistency helps construct belief and credibility together with your leads over time.
That mentioned, displaying your persona in emails can assist make you extra memorable, constructing connections quicker. The extra real and human your emails really feel, the extra probably your leads are to attach with them on a private degree. It’s one thing I like to recommend you check.
The best way to Write a Lead Nurturing Electronic mail
- Establish a objective.
- Personalize the greeting and topic line.
- Deal with ache factors.
- Embrace testimonials.
- Share a information bomb.
- Use a CTA.
- Embrace an unsubscribe button.
- Observe up and optimize.
Now that you recognize what makes an awesome lead-nurturing electronic mail, I’ll information you thru the method of making one. Let’s dive in.
1. Establish a objective.
Earlier than crafting your electronic mail, take a second to think about its objective inside the total lead nurturing sequence. Ask your self: What do I need this electronic mail to realize? Is it meant to coach the lead, encourage them to take motion, or supply a particular resolution to their drawback?
I’ve discovered that having a transparent, targeted objective for every electronic mail helps me create extra compelling content material that resonates with the reader and strikes them nearer to conversion.
Professional tip: Riccii Terro, advertising supervisor at Intellek, recommends you attempt to visualize the entire image at this stage as a result of: “Tailoring the messaging and content material supplied to particular teams based mostly on their business, position, or stage within the shopping for cycle is essential.”
2. Personalize the greeting and topic line.
In my expertise, personalization could make a world of distinction in electronic mail engagement. As an illustration, you’ll wish to tailor topic traces to how your leads work together together with your model. In the event that they signed up for a lead magnet about content material advertising, your topic line might be “The key to Google’s 2024 replace…”
I like to consider the topic line as a promise — what worth will the reader achieve by opening this electronic mail? This inherently builds curiosity and can get your prospect’s consideration.
Professional tip: Try this information on how to leverage segmentation to take your personalization efforts to the following degree.
3. Deal with ache factors.
Upon getting their consideration, it’s time to handle potential ache factors together with your resolution. Put your self of their sneakers and ask:
- What retains them up at evening?
- What obstacles are stopping them from reaching their targets?
- How will you body your electronic mail to point out that you just perceive their drawback and might actively resolve it?
4. Embrace testimonials.
Whereas not each lead nurturing electronic mail would require social proof, you need to embrace it whenever you’re actively promoting. It’s contextual. Sharing success tales or testimonials from glad prospects helps leads envision how your services or products can profit them.
For instance, you could possibly embrace a number of quick testimonials. Or you could possibly write a complete story-based case examine electronic mail that exhibits how considered one of your prospects solved the precise drawback potential prospects are dealing with together with your resolution.
5. Share a information bomb.
I all the time try to incorporate at the very least one aha! second in every lead nurturing electronic mail. This might be a shocking statistic, a thought-provoking perception, or a invaluable piece of business information.
In advertising, you wish to persuade the prospect to consider their drawback in your phrases. This shifts your prospect’s perspective and positions your model as the appropriate resolution to the issue.
For instance, let’s say you’re in a cybersecurity agency and determine to ship out an electronic mail masking information safety. In that case, you might cite statistics about how X% of companies know information safety is a matter, however solely X% are efficiently avoiding threats by utilizing your organization’s distinctive resolution to guard information on the highest ranges.
6. Use a CTA.
Each lead nurturing electronic mail ought to have a transparent, purposeful CTA that guides the reader towards the following step of their buyer journey. When crafting your CTA, ask your self: What do I need the result in do after studying this electronic mail?
Is it to schedule a demo, obtain a useful resource, or just interact with one other piece of content material? Make sure that your CTA is outstanding, unambiguous, and aligned with the general objective of the e-mail sequence.
7. Embrace an unsubscribe button.
Whereas it may appear counterintuitive, you all the time wish to embrace an unsubscribe button. As a marketer, I’d all the time select a lean, 5,000-person electronic mail checklist that’s actively engaged and able to purchase over a 50,000-person electronic mail checklist that’s not.
Plus, together with an unsubscribe button retains you consistent with authorities and ensures your deliverability price is excessive.
8. Observe up and optimize.
Lead nurturing is an ongoing course of, and there is all the time room for enchancment. That’s why I constantly monitor key electronic mail metrics like open charges, click-through charges, and conversions to determine areas for optimization.
If an electronic mail isn’t performing in addition to anticipated, I’ll experiment with completely different topic traces, CTAs, or content material angles.
Lead Nurturing Emails Are Important
Lead nurturing emails bridge the hole between preliminary curiosity and remaining conversion. And sometimes they’ll construct belief, set up credibility, and information leads towards a purchase order choice inside the two factors of preliminary curiosity and conversion.
Efficient lead nurturing saves time and sources by specializing in probably the most certified leads. It means that you can section your viewers, personalize your messaging, and ship the appropriate info on the proper time.
When your lead nurturing technique is completed accurately, it’s going to aid you appeal to extra of the proper prospects whereas filtering out the unsuitable prospects.
Editor’s observe: This publish was initially revealed in December 2021 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.
