How To Turn Customer Inboxes Into Cash

The Importance of Email Marketing for Lead Generation

You’ll often hear it quoted that email marketing brings back $36-$40 for every dollar spent on it. While this may be the industry average, it is certainly not the norm. 

Email marketing does bring enticing return on investment (ROI), but the caveat is “when done correctly.” There are plenty of companies using a barely-planned “spray-and-pray” strategy who end up not generating business from their email marketing efforts and hurting their domain ratings in the process. 

On the other side of the aisle, there are companies using email marketing to print money. Email marketing is a powerful tool in the right hands and a destructive force in the wrong ones.  

So let’s dig into how to do it right, shall we? We’re all after high-quality leads who want to buy what we’re selling. Email is one of the best tools for nurturing and engaging those people, especially if they’re not ready to buy as soon as they find us. 

Table of Contents

• The Importance of Email Marketing for Lead Generation

  • Why Lead Generation Needs Email Marketing

• Building a High-Quality Email List

  • Strategies for Growing Your Email List for Lead Generation

    • 1. Use Lead Magnets to Attract Subscribers

    • 2. Implement Sign-Up Forms on Your Website

    • 3. Leverage Social Media Channels

  • Ensuring Compliance With Email Marketing Regulations

  • Compliance With Key Regulations: CAN-SPAM, GDPR, and DMARC

    • DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance):

    • CAN-SPAM Act (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act):

    • GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation):

• Crafting Engaging Email Content for Lead Generation

  • Personalizing Emails To Capture Leads

  • Creating Valuable Content To Attract Leads

• Designing Effective Email Campaigns

  • Best Practices for Designing Lead-Generating Emails

• Leveraging Automation and Segmentation for Lead Generation

  • Setting Up Automated Email Sequences

• Measuring Success and Optimizing Campaigns

  • Key Metrics for Email Lead Generation

  • Using A/B Testing To Optimize Lead Generation

• Conclusion

Why Lead Generation Needs Email Marketing

Email marketing is an essential piece in the pipeline generation plan of any modern business. Email marketing offers you something that paid ads, paid searches, and social media do not: the ability to engage leads directly, at scale, for a low cost. It’s effective for three distinct reasons: 

• High Return on Investment (ROI) at Low Cost:  According to industry reports, for every $1 spent on email marketing, businesses can expect an average return of $36-$40 (if done right). The ability to target specific audiences with tailored content means that your marketing dollars don’t go to waste. That’s a far better return than any paid advertising channel on the market right now. 

• Direct Communication: Unlike social media or other advertising channels, email allows you to speak directly to your prospects with personalized communication. By consistently delivering valuable content that addresses their needs and pain points, you can keep your brand top-of-mind and nurture leads until they are finally ready to make a purchase decision.

  Though this is possible on social media, it’s far more difficult on people’s cluttered feeds. 

• The Ability to Nurture Leads Over Time: The real power of email marketing lies in its ability to guide leads through the sales funnel, from initial interest to final conversion. Through well-crafted email campaigns, you can provide targeted content that meets each lead exactly where they’re at in their buyer's journey.
  For example, you might send a new subscriber educational content that gives them a high-level overview of your product or service, while you might send a lead closer to making a decision a case study or product comparisons. 

  The best part? With the right sender, you can pre-write and automate this entire process! 

Building a High-Quality Email List

If I’m selling top-shelf golf clubs but keep sending out emails to the owners of mini-golf places, I’m probably not going to generate much business, am I? Yes, they’re similar to my ideal customer profile (ICP), but they’re the wrong clients for me and my products. 

When you’re growing an email list, quality matters a hundred times more than quantity. I’d much rather have a list of 1000 people who’re ready to buy exactly what I’m selling than a list of 10,000 people whoI have to educate about the benefits of my product before they even think about making a purchase.

Growing a high-quality email list is fundamental to turning those people into leads. The strategies below will increase the number of contacts in your list and ensure that the leads you collect are engaged and genuinely interested in your offerings.

Strategies for Growing Your Email List for Lead Generation

1. Use Lead Magnets to Attract Subscribers

A lead magnet is a valuable resource offered in exchange for a prospect’s contact information, typically their email address. To create an effective lead magnet, you just need to answer one simple question: What does my audience want? 

Typical lead magnets include quizzes, e-books, whitepapers, checklists, templates, or access to exclusive webinars. 

The key to a successful lead magnet is its relevance and value to your target audience. By addressing a specific pain point or need that your audience has, you can entice visitors to share their contact information, knowing they’ll receive something useful in return.

2. Implement Sign-Up Forms on Your Website

Placing sign-up forms strategically across your website is another essential tactic for growing your email list. These forms should be easy to find and simple to complete, requiring only basic information like a name and email address. 

Embed these forms on your highest-traffic pages, such as your homepage, blog posts, or at the end of articles. Consider using pop-up forms triggered by user behavior, like when a visitor is about to leave the site, after they’ve spent a certain amount of time on a page, or when they’ve scrolled past a certain point. 

Do not overdo this! Sign-up forms do work to convert site visitors, but they can interfere with your user experience if overdone. 

3. Leverage Social Media Channels

Social media can be a powerful tool for attracting new subscribers. 

Once you’ve created lead magnets, you can use your social media pages to share them and direct followers to your website’s sign-up forms. 

Paid ads that drive people to a free lead magnet is also a tried-and-true way to capture contact information. Running targeted ads on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn that offer a compelling reason to join your email list can also be highly effective. 

Additionally, consider using social media to host contests or giveaways, where participation requires entering an email address. Using this method can grow your list and engage your audience at the same time. 

Ensuring Compliance With Email Marketing Regulations

Email compliance isn't an annoying rule to try to get around. It's the law of the land for a reason (to protect consumers from fraud). 

When subscribers know that their personal information is handled carefully and transparently, they are more likely to engage with your content and stay loyal to your brand.

Ethical list building helps you stay within legal boundaries and fosters trust and long-term relationships with your audience. Being upfront about what subscribers are signing up for and how you'll use their information is critical. 

When you ask for someone's email address, clearly communicate what kind of content they can expect to receive, how often you'll be in touch, and whether their information will be shared with third parties. Including a brief explanation on your sign-up forms with a well-crafted privacy policy is one of the easiest ways to do this. 

A double opt-in process is one of the best practices for transparency with your audience. With a double opt-in, after a person submits their email address through a sign-up form, they will receive an email asking them to confirm their subscription. 

They are only added to your email list after they click the confirmation link. 

This extra step verifies that the subscriber truly wants to receive your emails, reducing the likelihood of spam complaints (which will hurt your domain authority) and ensuring higher engagement rates down the line.

Compliance With Key Regulations: CAN-SPAM, GDPR, and DMARC

If you plan to do large-scale email marketing, complying with email marketing laws and regulations is critical. Email marketing is a privilege, not a right. If you aren't following regulations, you might hurt your domain rating and risk being sued.

The good news is that there are some steps you can follow to make sure this doesn't happen.

Following Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) guidelines and staying compliant with the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will help you stay on the right side of the law!

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance)

DMARC is a protocol that helps protect your email domain from being used in phishing attacks, spoofing, and other fraudulent activities. It builds on existing email authentication techniques like SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail).

Compliance with DMARC involves:

1. Setting up SPF and DKIM: These email validation systems verify that incoming messages are from the domain they claim to be from. SPF checks if the email is coming from an IP address authorized to send on behalf of your domain, while DKIM adds a digital signature to emails. If you choose to use beehiiv as your email sender, we set up SPF and DKIM for all accounts.

2. Publishing a DMARC Record to Domain Name System (DNS): This record tells email servers what to do if an email fails SPF or DKIM checks (e.g., reject the email, quarantine it, or allow it to go through). It also provides a way to receive reports about who is sending emails on behalf of your domain.
   We've written a handy guide that walks you through exactly how to set up DMARC and DNS settings for all beehiiv accounts using a custom domain: How to set up DMARC authentication – beehiiv.

3. Regularly Monitoring and Updating: Monitor DMARC reports to identify and address potential issues and make sure that bad actors are not trying to exploit your email domain.

CAN-SPAM Act (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act):

The CAN-SPAM Act was signed into law in 2003 and sets the rules for commercial email in the United States. It gives recipients the right to ask you to stop emailing them (which you must say yes to and show them the door as quickly as possible) and outlines penalties for violations.

To comply with CAN-SPAM:

• Include a Clear Opt-Out Method: Every email you send must include an easy way for recipients to unsubscribe from future emails. This could be as simple as an "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of the email.

• Use Accurate Sender Information: The "From," "To," and "Reply-To" fields must accurately reflect the person or business sending the email. Misleading header information is prohibited.

• Avoid Deceptive Subject Lines: Your subject line must accurately represent the content of the email. Misleading subject lines are illegal (though widely used).

• Identify the Message as an Advertisement: If your email is promotional, you must disclose this unless the recipient has explicitly opted in to receiving emails from you. This is why opt-ins are critical.

• Include aPhysical Postal Address: Your emails must include your business's valid physical address. This could be your business's current street address, a post office box, or a private mailbox.

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation):

If your business operates in Europe or even just sends emails in Europe, you must comply with GDPR.

GDPR is a comprehensive data protection law that applies to any company processing the personal data of EU residents, regardless of where the company is located.

To stay compliant with GDPR, you must:

• Obtain Explicit Consent: Before adding someone to your email list, you must obtain their explicit consent. They must take a clear action (like checking a box or opting in) to agree to receive emails from you.

• Understand Data Access and Deletion Rights: Subscribers have the right to access the data you hold about them and request its deletion (the "right to be forgotten").

• Protect Your Data: Businesses must implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect personal data. This includes using secure systems to store email lists and ensuring data minimization (only collecting necessary information).

• Breach Notification: If a data breach occurs that risks the security of individuals' personal information, you must notify the authorities within 72 hours and inform anyone affected.

These regulations can sometimes feel overwhelming to follow. But long-term, they're a win-win for you and your customers.  

When subscribers know that their privacy is respected and that they are in control of their data, they are more likely to engage with your content. This will lead to higher open rates, better click-through rates, and more conversions.

Crafting Engaging Email Content for Lead Generation

Think about the last email that you actually clicked on. Why did it work? I'm willing to bet that it worked because it was relevant to you. In the modern world, some people even expect this and are frustrated when it doesn't happen.

According to Business Insider, 71% of people now expect personalized marketing, and 76% are frustrated when they don't receive it.

Personalization tools have come a long way since the days of "Hey, ." It's now possible to send out personalized emails that meet subscribers exactly where they are in their buying journey.

Personalizing Emails To Capture Leads

It's critical to send the right offer to the right group. If you're running a gym, your AARP-age members probably won't be interested in the tough mudder. But they might be interested in your water aerobics classes!

1. Segmenting Your Audience

Dividing your email list into smaller, more targeted groups based on specific criteria such as age, location, purchase history, or engagement level is the first step to turning them into interested leads.

2. Leveraging Behavioral Data

Track actions like email opens, click-throughs, website visits, and previous purchases. By analyzing this data, you can send highly targeted emails that align with each subscriber's interests and stage in the buyer's journey.

For instance, if a subscriber has recently browsed a particular category on your website but has yet to make a purchase, you can send them a follow-up email featuring the products they viewed and a special offer or discount.

If you're using beehiiv, you can access this data through 3D analytics.

3. Crafting Personalized Content

It's 2024. No one is impressed when they see their name in the subject line! Personalization is now about delivering tailored content and offers for each person.

Here are a few personalization ideas:

• Dynamic Content Blocks: Use dynamic content blocks within your emails to display different images, text, or offers based on the subscriber's segment.

• Customized Recommendations: E-commerce businesses can send personalized product recommendations based on a user's purchases or browsing history.

• Triggered Emails: Set up automated emails that are triggered based on specific actions like cart abandonment or downloading a lead magnet. 

Creating Valuable Content To Attract Leads

People engage with brands online because those brands have something they want. The purpose of a lead magnet is to give someone something they want in exchange for their contact information.  

Below are some examples of content that I've seen capture the attention of potential customers and have encouraged them to give their contact information to brands I've worked with:

• Industry Reports: These typically contain in-depth analysis, trends, statistics, and forecasts related to a specific industry. By offering a comprehensive report, you position your brand as a thought leader and resource for your audience's professional needs.

• eBooks: eBooks allow you to delve deeply into a topic that matters to your audience and give actionable advice, strategies, or knowledge they can apply directly to their work or personal life. eBooks are especially effective when they solve a niche, specific problem or provide a step-by-step guide on a complex topic.

• Webinars: Webinars offer an interactive way to engage directly with potential leads while sharing valuable knowledge. If you can get a high-profile person to speak at your webinar, your audience is much more likely to give you their contact in exchange for a free ticket.

• Exclusive Discounts and Offers: Offering exclusive discounts or special offers provides immediate value and creates a sense of urgency. Discounts can be presented as a limited-time offer, a reward for signing up to your email list, or a special promotion tied to an event or milestone.

Designing Effective Email Campaigns

The design of your emails should reflect your brand identity and be optimized to drive conversions. It's essential to be authentic above all else. No one wants to read another boring, cookie-cutter email.

Liquid Death, a company that's enjoyed triple-digit growth for the last three years, sends out absolutely unhinged emails, but people love them for it because they're not trying to be anyone else. They're just being themselves.

Here are some best practices to help you create lead-generating emails that resonate with your audience:

Best Practices for Designing Lead-Generating Emails

Use High-Quality Visuals

High-quality images, graphics, and illustrations can capture your audience's attention, convey your message, and reinforce your brand's identity. Here are some tips for using visuals in your emails:

• Relevant and On-Brand Imagery: Choose images that are high in resolution, relevant to your content, and consistent with your brand's visual style.

• Consistent Color Scheme: Use a color scheme that aligns with your brand's colors to create a cohesive look.

• Avoid Stock Photo Overload: While stock photos can be useful, relying too heavily on generic images can make your emails feel impersonal.

• Optimized for Speed: Ensure that your images are optimized for quick loading times without compromising quality.

Maintain a Clean and Organized Layout

Cluttered emails can overwhelm your recipients and cause them to lose interest quickly. Follow these tips to design a clear and effective email layout:

• Single-Column Layout: A single-column layout is typically the most user-friendly, especially for mobile devices.

• Hierarchy of Information: Structure your email content with a clear hierarchy, placing the most critical information at the top.

• White Space: Don't be afraid to use white space strategically. It helps prevent your email from looking overcrowded.

• Consistent Fonts and Sizes: Stick to a consistent set of fonts and sizes throughout your email. Avoid using many different fonts, which can make the email look chaotic.

Include Clear and Compelling Calls to Action (CTAs)

The call to action (CTA) is arguably the most critical element in your email, as it directs your readers on what to do next. A well-designed CTA can significantly increase your conversion rates. 

Here's how to create effective CTAs:

• Action-Oriented Language: Use clear, concise, and action-oriented language for your CTAs.

• Prominent Placement: Position your CTA buttons in prominent areas of your email that are easily visible. Ensure that the CTA stands out by using contrasting colors and larger font sizes.

• 1-2 CTAs: If your email covers different topics or offers, you can include multiple CTAs, but be careful. The more CTAs you add, the less action your readers will take. Keep it simple and concise. 

Leveraging Automation and Segmentation for Lead Generation

By setting up automated email sequences, businesses can send timely, relevant, and personalized content to their subscribers based on specific actions or behaviors. 

If you’re inexperienced in this area, there are quite a few organizations (Allied Revenue being a prime example) that can build large-scale email automations to engage leads at scale. 

Setting Up Automated Email Sequences

Most email senders will have an easy, step-by-step way to set up automated sequences. beehiiv makes it very straightforward. 

If you’re thinking of setting up an automated email sequence, here are a few great places to start: 

Welcome Emails

One of the most effective uses of email automation is the welcome email or email sequence. The moment a new subscriber joins your email list, an automated welcome email is triggered, allowing you to make an immediate and positive first impression.

Welcome emails typically have some of the highest open rates among all email types, making them an excellent opportunity to introduce your brand and set expectations for future communications.

A well-crafted welcome email might include:

• A warm greeting and introduction to your brand

• An overview of what they can expect from your emails

• A special offer or incentive

Drip Campaigns

Drip campaigns are a series of automated emails sent at predetermined intervals to nurture leads over time.

These emails are typically triggered by specific subscriber actions, like downloading a resource, signing up for a webinar, abandoning a shopping cart, or even not engaging for an extended period.

For example, a drip campaign for a software company might include:

• An educational email

• A product demonstration or case study

• A reminder email

Drip campaigns can be tailored to different segments of your audience, ensuring that each subscriber receives content highly relevant to their specific needs and interests.

Follow-Up Sequences

Automated follow-up sequences help maintain engagement after a subscriber takes a significant action.

A follow-up sequence might include:

• A thank-you email

• Additional content or recommendations

• A feedback request

Measuring Success and Optimizing Campaigns

To understand the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns and optimize them for better performance, it's essential to track and analyze your metrics. 

The metrics listed below provide insights into how well your emails are engaging your audience, driving action, and ultimately converting leads into customers. 

Key Metrics for Email Lead Generation

Open Rates

Open Rate is the percentage of recipients who open your email out of the total number of emails delivered. It's famously unreliable as a measure of engagement since some people open everything that comes in just to get to inbox zero.

High open rates suggest that your emails are compelling enough to catch the recipient's attention as they stare at the pile of nonsense in their crowded inbox. 

Low open rates may signal issues such as unengaging subject lines, poor timing, or lack of interest from your audience.

How To Improve Open Rates:

• Craft engaging and relevant subject lines.

• Personalize subject lines with the recipient's name or interests.

• Experiment with different send times and days of the week to find the optimal time for your audience.

• Ensure that your sender name is recognizable and trustworthy.

Click-Through Rates (CTR)

Click-Through Rate measures the percentage of recipients who clicked on one or more links in your email. 

A high CTR shows that your content is relevant and compelling enough to motivate recipients to take the next step.

How To Improve CTR:

• Ensure that your email content matches the subject line and provides clear value to the reader.

• Use clear and prominent CTAs that stand out and are easy to click.

• Segment your audience and tailor the content to different groups to increase relevance.

Conversion Rates

Conversion Rate is the percentage of recipients who complete a desired action after clicking on a link in your email. 

High conversion rates indicate that your emails are engaging and effective. Conversion rates are the gold standard and much more reliable than open rates or CTRs.

How To Improve Conversion Rates:

• Optimize your landing pages for conversions by ensuring that they are relevant, easy to navigate, and aligned with the email content.

• A/B test different elements of your emails, such as the CTA wording, design, and placement.

• Clearly communicate the benefits of taking the desired action.

• Reduce any friction in the conversion process by simplifying forms or providing multiple payment options.

Lead-to-Customer Conversion Rates

Lead-to-Customer Conversion Rate is the percentage of leads generated through your email campaigns that eventually become paying customers. 

A high lead-to-customer conversion rate indicates that your lead nurturing strategies are effectively moving prospects through the sales funnel.

How To Improve Lead-to-Customer Conversion Rates:

• Implement targeted lead nurturing campaigns that deliver relevant content based on where the lead is in the buyer's journey.

• Use marketing automation to send timely follow-ups and reminders to keep leads engaged.

• Collaborate closely with your sales team to ensure that leads are qualified and that the transition from marketing to sales is smooth (not easy to do).

• Continuously analyze and refine your lead generation and nurturing processes based on feedback and performance data.

Bounce Rates

Bounce Rate refers to the percentage of emails that could not be delivered to the recipient's inbox.

There are two types of bounces: soft bounces, which signal temporary issues like a full inbox, and hard bounces, which occur when the email address is invalid or doesn't exist.

A high bounce rate can negatively impact your sender reputation and long-term email deliverability.

How To Improve Bounce Rates:

• Regularly clean and update your email list to remove inactive or invalid email addresses.

• Use double opt-ins to ensure that subscribers are providing valid email addresses.

• Monitor your bounce rates and make sure that you’re following best DMARC practices.

• Send your emails from a subdomain to avoid putting your domain at risk

Unsubscribe Rates

The Unsubscribe Rate is the percentage of recipients who opt out of your email list after receiving an email. 

While some level of unsubscribes is normal, a high unsubscribe rate could indicate that your content is not meeting the expectations of your audience or that you are sending emails too frequently.

How To Improve Unsubscribe Rates:

• Ensure that your email content consistently delivers value and is aligned with what subscribers expected when they signed up.

• Segment your list to send more targeted emails relevant to each group.

• Consider offering an email preference center where subscribers can choose the type of content they want to receive or adjust the frequency of emails.

Using A/B Testing To Optimize Lead Generation

If you’re creating automated sequences, it’s important to continuously A/B test to make sure you’re being as effective as possible. 

When you set up an automated sequence, it’s common practice to have at least two different subject lines to test against each other to see which performs better. 

Always look for new ways to acquire customers and don’t break what’s working. If you adhere to those standards, you’ll always be ahead of the game. 

Conclusion

Don’t be intimidated by using email to find leads. If you’re just starting, it’s not going to be an immediate money-printer for your business, but it’s going to be worth it in the long run! 

Remember to continuously try new things, stay true to your brand’s voice and values, and don’t stop asking your customers and audience what they want.

If you’d like to try email marketing with a tool that makes all of the above a lot easier, consider starting a free trial of beehiiv! You can use the platform entirely for free until you hit 2500 subscribers.