Email

Email is a great way to generate sales leads, whether you are trying to activate dormant contacts in your own database or using a third party database to engage with a new audience. Email is also usually a critical part of any lead nurture campaign.

38. Recipients are vanity, leads are sanity

Like many aspects of digital marketing, it's easy to get seduced by the numbers. Particularly when running e-mail campaigns, it's often easy to focus on the size of the database to which you'll be sending emails. Quality is always more important than quantity. Make sure you focus on relevant contacts and build analysis around those results rather than the number of emails you send.

39. Write great subject lines

If recipients don't open your email, your campaign won't work. The subject line is crucial, as a poor subject line will be quickly deleted without the content being read. Great subject lines grab attention and make the recipient want to read more, but don't try to be too clever: the subject line should reflect the information offered in the email.

40. Use AI for inspiration

Artificial intelligence tools are beginning to have an impact on a wide range of marketing activities. We recommend making use of these tools to generate inspiration for your e-mail subject line and copy. However, don't rely on AI tools to write everything: today AI generates derivative text that can sound bland and boring. Also, if you're using AI to create images, be careful around issues of copyright.

41. Have clear CTAs

Having a clear call to action is crucial for any e-mail campaign. It's not just about putting a link in the text and a button to click: you need to make sure that the CTA communicates exactly why the recipient should click through, and what benefit they will get.

42. Don’t waffle in emails

Your audience is busy. Don't imagine that they have time to read long emails that give complex and detailed explanations of what you're offering. A great rule is to have only one message and one call to action per email. If you want your lead generation campaigns to work, less is more!

43. Use HTML and plain text

Don't use only one format for your emails. HTML Is great for including eye-catching images and laying out text in a logical and readable way. But HTML looks like an e-mail from the Marketing Department.

44. Remember the from address matters

Email recipients use the ”From” address as one of the factors to determine if they want to open and read an email, or just delete it. Research shows that having a From address from a real person is likely to increase open rates and engagement. Try to avoid generic email address like “Sales”, which might discourage recipients.

45. Know your DKIMs from your SPFs

Email systems use technology to validate that an email server is entitled to send messages on behalf of the domain in the From address. There are two main technologies: DKIM and SPF. If you don't set up your systems correctly, there is a much greater chance of your emails ending up in spam folders.

46. Use email templates and standard formats

There is no need to continually design custom layouts for every marketing email you send. Your recipients won't remember the layout of an email you sent them three months ago! Use standard templates and formats to speed the creation of your campaigns. It won't affect the performance, but it will allow you to run more campaigns and therefore generate better results.

47. Don’t always reinvent the wheel

You'll often want to send similar campaigns to different audiences, or achieve the same results as a campaign that you ran a couple of years ago. Don't be afraid to reuse or refresh existing content. If it worked well previously, it's likely to still be effective today.

48. Newsletters still work

Although it’s one of the oldest email marketing approaches, newsletters are still very effective. We often see campaigns falter because an organisation does not have sufficient resources to create compelling nurture sequences. Although it's always better to have a custom nurture process, if you have nothing else, adding your contacts to your e-mail newsletter (with permission if you have an opt-in policy) can be surprisingly effective.

49. Consistency wins

Although we have all seen the odd campaign that has been disproportionately effective, the reality is that there is rarely a campaign that works like magic. The organisations that have the best lead generation results are usually the ones who work consistently to create and deliver campaigns. Consistent output almost always outperforms an incredibly creative one-off campaign.

50. Multiple emails are better, but there is no magic number of emails

Like almost any aspect of marketing, repeating the message increases effectiveness and delivers better results. Most email lead generation campaigns will see better results with several emails rather than just one. However, there is no “right” answer to the ideal number of emails in a sequence for lead generation. The best number will depend on what you want to communicate, as well as the behaviour of your audience. Tracking campaign results against the number of emails is a great way to ensure you get a better understanding of what works for your audience.