How to Generate Leads Using Email Marketing
By Daryl Colwell | VP, Business Development
Every good marketer knows that to generate leads, they need a robust database. And a good call-to-action. And a means of reaching the potential customers in their database in a timely and efficient manner.
While those ingredients alone won’t necessarily improve your lead-generation campaigns, they will set the stage for the one tool that is a must in any online marketer’s arsenal: email.
But how do you ensure your emails stand out from the crowd? In an age when consumers and business prospects receive hundreds of emails — some great, some OK and many just plain awful — the standard prospecting email won’t cut it anymore.
What you need is great email creative. It’s what helps turn an immediate delete into a potential prospect.
When developing your email creative, keep in mind that not all lists are the same.
Say, for example, you were a credit card issuer that wanted to acquire new customers. You would want to make sure you reach out to different audiences with different messages and cards. If you were mailing out to a group on a fantasy football list, you would want to message that user an opportunity to get a card with his or her favorite team’s logo on it. You could also message a sweepstakes to win a trip to the Super Bowl or detail how they can earn enough miles to fly to one of their team’s pivotal road games.
If you were reaching out to a list of future brides, you want to focus on cash back on housewares, earning miles or points to redeem for that crown honeymoon destination, etc.
These lists are at opposite ends of the spectrum, but they prove a point. You don’t turn on ESPN and see ads for diapers and perfume. You see relevant ads that the audience is interested in viewing. Email marketing is no different.
The key to effective email marketing creative is determining the anatomy of the list and sending consumers the appropriate and most relevant message/offer.
Email inboxes are highly cluttered these days. It’s important to make sure your email message/offer stands out with a great From and Subject line. If you’re a big brand, or a highly relevant offer/product, make sure that’s illustrated in the From line. Make your Subject line splashy by promoting a savings or unique proposition to the consumer. And always personalize the message where you can in order to capture the consumer’s attention.
Once the consumer opens the email, make sure the creative follows what the From/Subject line promised. Consumers will be quick to delete your message or unsubscribe to your offer/list if you’ve falsely advertised in the subject line.
To stand out from the crowd and ensure your prospecting email actually performs its intended function — prospecting for new clients, not annoying them — start with great creative. It is the key ingredient to lead-gen success from email in the digital age.
What are some of your ideas for ensuring high-quality email creative?
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