6 Best Ways to Generate Leads Through Email Marketing

What Is Email Lead Generation?

Email lead generation simply means gathering a list of email addresses. To be useful to marketers, this information needs to be as accurate and relevant as possible: you’re only interested in warm leads, not people who are unlikely to ever make a purchase.

Once you have such a list and added as much detail on each consumer as you can find, you can serve personalized content to prospects, something that’s a key component of successful inbound marketing strategies. (“Inbound”, in this context, means you contact potential customers instead of waiting for them to contact you.) 

In practice, this database is optimized through segmentation, after which targeted messaging is used to build trust with potential customers. These are nurtured with careful follow-up emails in order to lead them down the sales pipeline.

This marketing tactic offers very competitive ROI – as much as 3,600%, according to some estimates. This attractive figure, unfortunately, obscures how hard effective email marketing can be in practice. If you want a consistent lead flow for your sales team to act on, you need to learn more about effective lead generation.

Importance of B2B Email Lead Generation

Some companies make a profit by earning $1 from each of a million transactions, others rely on generating a few large sales per year. In the latter case, your best accounts will probably be other businesses. Acquiring B2B (Business-to-Business) leads implies special challenges and opportunities:

• High ROI: By creating an ongoing relationship, each conversion you achieve results in more revenue. CRM (Customer Relations Management) software tracks the performance of marketing efforts, ensuring that resources are used efficiently. 
• More rigorous gatekeeping: Senior personnel don’t always put their personal emails where anyone can see them. Obtaining verified contact information for decision-makers may be difficult as a result.
• Increased engagement: Due to the two-way nature of email communication, it’s a great tool for fostering ongoing engagement with leads, understanding what they’re really looking for, and speaking about issues that are important to them. In this way, outreach marketing dovetails neatly with more traditional sales techniques.
• Wider reach: There is a chance that, between you and your competitors, the market you’re targeting is close to being saturated. Fortunately, email marketing works much the same regardless of geographical boundaries and differences between industries, giving you access to new, unexploited segments.

Crucially, any B2B email outreach campaign requires validation of lead quality. Having tons of weak, outdated, or irrelevant leads gets you exactly nowhere. This is one reason to work with BookYourData: since each of their email addresses is validated in real-time, this company boasts a guaranteed 97%+ accuracy rate.

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How to Create a Newsletter That Generate Leads

One traditional method to generate email leads is to publish a newsletter that regularly arrives in each prospect’s inbox. Opt-in forms on companies’ websites generally result in a steady trickle of qualified leads, as subscribers’ willingness to receive email content implies a certain level of interest in your company’s service or products.

In order to get potential customers’ attention through a newsletter, you need to:

1. Make your content as interesting, timely, and relevant as possible. Research industry trends, events, and concerns and offer actionable advice readers can apply in their own businesses.
2. Let subscribers promote your newsletter by including content that can be shared on social media.
3. Where appropriate, include coupons and discount codes aligned with current promotions.
4. Take care to use a consistent brand voice. If all your other content marketing strategies utilize a formal tone, your newsletter should, too. Take this opportunity to highlight the same values showcased on your website and social media posts.
5. End each newsletter with a strong CTA (call-to-action) that encourages readers to learn more about how your company can help them. Don’t leave them excited but unsure about what they should do next.

Identify Your Target Audience

Many of the same principles apply to both newsletters and email communication. Most importantly, you need to speak to what resonates with recipients: employment agency leads have to be cultivated along different lines than construction firms’, so tailoring your messages to each market segment significantly increases the chances of lead conversion.

Identifying and defining your target audience is both a science and an art; even experienced marketers sometimes get it wrong when moving into a market they’re not familiar with. There are a few general tips that can always be applied, though:

• Create one or more ideal buyer personas, meaning a list of characteristics your best prospects have in common. These are commonly drawn up in terms of industry, company size, location, and any demographic information that supports personalized marketing efforts.
• Mine your existing customer database for insights and segmentation criteria: who buys most and most quickly? Use this knowledge to refine your buyer personas.
• Conduct market research to identify underserved market segments. Study your industry and competitors, or simply have in-depth conversations with businesses other than those you currently target.
• Analyze existing subscriber behavior. Many lead-generation tools and cold-emailing software packages incorporate powerful analytics that can track engagement metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates. If a particular sales approach is working well, find ways of building on that success.

Build a B2B Email List with BookYourData

While lead generation certainly helps in attracting potential customers, it takes a while to implement strategies that result in a steady influx of new prospects. In this case, or if your chances of meeting this quarter’s sales targets look dim, the easiest way to get your email marketing off the ground is to purchase an existing lead database.

Unfortunately, while there are numerous websites to buy email addresses, the quality of the contact information each provides varies significantly. Your best bet, unless you want to build and curate your own list from scratch, is to use a reputable lead generation service like BookYourData. 

• You may buy as many or as few leads at a time as you need. There’s no need to sign any kind of long-term contract. This makes BookYourData a valuable resource for both smaller companies and those that need to give their outreach marketing strategy a boost.
• Advanced list filtering capabilities mean you only pay for relevant leads. Their database contains upward of 500 million contacts, of which over 250 million are B2B prospects. These can be screened by your own market segmentation criteria, which greatly facilitates lead scoring.
• All email leads are verified in real time; they are guaranteed to be current at the time of purchase. Aside from company email addresses, information like personal phone numbers and emails is usually provided.
• BookYourData’s list format integrates with CRM systems for better management of large-scale campaigns. Several other, additional functions to support automation workflows are provided free of charge.

Create Catchy Emails

So, you’ve bought a high-quality email list, downloaded a few sales message templates, and you’re ready to start marketing. Hold on a minute, though: writing email copy that converts is harder than you probably think.

In fact, there’s a pretty firm correlation between engaging and attention-grabbing email content and higher conversion rates. While space constraints mean we can’t include a crash course in copywriting in this article, you should at least keep the following in mind:

• Carefully write, rewrite, and refine the subject line. People see this, along with the “From:” field, before they open the email. If the topic seems insipid, unimportant, or too sales-y, you’ll never get a chance to convert potential customers. 
• Use visuals – sparingly. Relevant graphics like your company logo and product photographs can be used to craft a professional-looking message. All types of media increase the message size, though, which can become a problem for mobile data users.
• Don’t forget the CTA (Call-to-Action). If you manage to catch a prospect’s attention, they should see a clear path forward. Depending on what goal you’ve set for the email, you could include links to a sales page, exclusive content offers, or an invitation to phone you up.

Use Social Media

While email campaigns can and do yield results, they’re at their most effective as one prong of a multi-channel marketing strategy. Simply put, when people see your messages repeatedly and in several different formats, their combined influence is magnified. At the same time, you can capture their contact information for future use. Social media, in particular, is a good way to boost email lead generation. Some things you can try include:

• Post regularly: Gaining more Facebook followers is a good sign that your content has traction. However, this only happens if you supply people with a constant stream of interesting and engaging content.
• Make it interactive: Though less relevant to the B2B environment, hosting interactive events like contests or surveys may attract enough warm leads to be worthwhile.
• Don’t overlook paid ads: All social media platforms give you the option of showing display and/or PPC ads to specific kinds of users. Some, like LinkedIn, also offer paid features like Sales Navigator that can significantly enhance your lead generation capability.

Leverage Personalization

While the broad strokes within each email campaign will be the same, spending a little effort on tailoring each message to its intended audience bears huge fruit. Note that personalization can be enhanced with automation tools: read the software manual to learn how email templates can be enriched using supplementary information on each lead. 

• Do your research by reviewing company landing pages and other online materials. Try to determine how you can best offer value to each potential customer.
• Vary your CTA (Call-to-Action). Some prospects may be ready to place an order, while others will require more nurturing.
• Ensure subject lines are highly relevant to each audience – you only get one shot at making a first impression.

Update Your Email List Regularly

Every email address database has a half-life: unless it’s maintained, the quality of information steadily degrades. Pretty soon, you’re left with a bunch of undeliverable addresses and obsolete company details, causing serious harm to your digital marketing strategy. The only antidote to this is to regularly sanitize your list:

• Use an email verification tool like that offered by BookYourData to remove invalid addresses before sending them any messages.
• Remove duplicate addresses. Each address should receive only one copy of each email.
• Identify inactive subscribers by monitoring open rates and other metrics. Cold emailing software typically measures the effectiveness of marketing campaigns using these, but they can also flag prospects who are unlikely to ever convert.
• Ensure that any new leads you add are both relevant and correct. Use only reputable lead generation companies and, if possible, review each entry for accuracy and usability.

Best Email Lead Generation Software

When it comes to email lead generation, you’re basically spoiled for choice with software to make the process of converting prospects into qualified leads a little easier. Mailchimp, Kaspr, Hunter.io, AeroLead, RocketReach, and many others are all good options. There’s a world of difference between these, though; when selecting a package, take a good look at:

• A/B testing capability: You should be able to easily test multiple subject lines, follow-up sequences, and personalization options to determine which performs best. 
• CTM integration: Your chosen package should “play well” with your existing software tools, opening up numerous opportunities for automation.
• Pricing models: Some lead generation tools work on a subscription model, others charge high one-off fees. Consider the size of your business, your budget and cashflow, and what functionality is offered at each tier.

BookYourData

The sheer number of software tools that can help you prospect for email leads can be intimidating. Fortunately, there’s one that allows you to get your feet wet with email marketing and digital sales funnels without any significant initial investment of time or money. Furthermore, the same platform provides all the enhanced functionality your marketing team needs to perform at scale. Some features that may whet your appetite include:

• Guaranteed 97% accuracy: This industry-leading precision promise helps you avoid bouncing emails and increases conversions, even without using other, third-party email verification tools. 
• Pay-as-you-go pricing model: Some similar services are geared to provide leads either in bulk or at a fixed monthly rate. This makes little sense if lead generation is a service you may only want to use occasionally.
• Real-time address verification: Many email lists contain a large proportion of digital ghosts; chasing these only wastes resources and harms your email sender reputation. It’s way better to focus your efforts on validated prospects instead of throw-away addresses.
• Try before you buy: BookYourData in the quality of their leads that they’ll supply you with 10 free leads matching your chosen criteria, with no implied obligation whatsoever.

Common Email Lead Generation Mistakes to Avoid

Email marketing isn’t rocket science. However, though the learning curve is a short one, there are a few pitfalls you have to recognize and avoid:

• Not defining your target audience: Sending out masses of unsolicited emails without thinking about who’s expected to read them is unlikely to capture many prospects’ attention.
• Ignoring lead nurturing: While personalizing your messages is essential, few potential customers convert after a single interaction. Schedule regular, appropriate follow-up communications.
• Missing or confusing CTAs: Sales growth requires continuous nurturing of prospects, but it’s not enough for them to just know you exist. Each newsletter or email should encourage them to take some positive step: scheduling a consultation or downloading a brochure, for example.

Popular Ways to Generate Email Leads

While simply buying a qualified, segmented email database is quick and often costs less than you may think, there’s no reason for you not to get creative ideas to generate leads. Which of the following you choose will depend on your market: referrals can work wonders in a tightly-knit B2B community, while social media campaigns are a great way to reach a mass market.

Social Media

The beauty of platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn is how they can be used to engage prospects in a two-way conversation. They can then easily be added to your email list; first, however, you need to get their attention and interest:

• Nike’s “Dream Crazier” campaign featured inspiring woman athletes and resonated deeply with the female half of their customer base.
• Charmin successfully trended with, of all things, toilet paper by creating a loveable teddy bear character and using it on various social media platforms.
• Apple’s “Share Your Gift” campaign encouraged individuals to upload user-generated content and reinforced the brand’s reputation among creative people.

Lead Magnets

“Gated” content, meaning material that’s not accessible to casual internet browsers, is automatically perceived as more valuable. It’s not difficult to create, either: simply compile valuable resources, promote them on your landing page and chosen social media platform, and offer to send them to anyone who opts in to your email list. Depending on your customer profile, these resources could take the form of:

• Ebooks on any subject relevant to your industry.
• Webinars designed to attract qualified leads.
• Case studies illustrating how your product or service solved a real-world problem.
• Research studies potential customers will find interesting.
• How-to guides for users of your products.

Referral Programs

More often than not, prospects and existing customers not only have a great deal in common, they move in the same circles, use the same online forums, and are mutually perceived as more trustworthy than any form of advertising. You can use this to your advantage by encouraging existing customers to recommend your business:

• Offer an incentive to the referrer, the prospect, or both: free trials, discount coupons, etc.
• Make sure customers know about your program. Promote it through your newsletter, social media, or in regular sales interactions.
• Set reasonable KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and monitor them continuously to ensure you’re getting your money’s worth.

The Highs and Lows of Email Lead Generation

• Email marketing can produce impressive results and high ROI when done carefully.
• The first step is to generate usable contact information for prospects.
• If you’re in a hurry to get started, purchasing qualified leads is fastest.
• Don’t neglect other lead-generation techniques, though, including social media and referral programs.
• Above all, focus on getting the most relevant leads and personalize your messaging for best results.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Often Should I Send Emails to Potential Leads?

More isn’t always better: you don’t want to overwhelm or irritate prospects with unsolicited messages. At the same time, you should contact them frequently enough to maintain their interest. In general, contacting them once a week is a good starting point.

Can Automated Emails Be Effective in Lead Generation?

Automation allows you to send cold emails at scale but quickly reaches a point of diminishing returns as customer engagement grows. Lead nurturing campaigns require a human touch as prospects progress down the sales funnel.

How Can I Collect Email Addresses Ethically?

Aside from facing fines if you ignore regulations like GDPR and CCPA, you don’t want to get a reputation for being a spammer. Instead, ask prospects to opt in to receiving messages from you and only purchase leads from lead generation services with a commitment to ethical best practices.

How Can I Ensure My Emails Stand Out in Crowded Inboxes?

Craft catchy subject lines, include only content which will interest recipients, and avoid mistakes that can get your messages flagged as spam. Also keep an eye on open rates and other metrics, and adjust your approach depending on what people respond to.

How Should I Segment My Email List for Lead Generation?

In the B2C game, demographics (age, education and income level, gender, etc.) make for useful segmentation criteria. For B2B marketing, company information like industry niche, number of employees, and purchase history give hints as to what kind of personalization you can apply.

What Types of Content Work Best for Generating Email Leads?

A number of lead magnets can successfully generate email leads, including webinars, ebooks, contests, white papers, and social media posts. Whichever you choose, remember that whatever you publish and curate has to be relevant and interesting to your target audience.

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