I’ve put together a guide full of ways that you can nurture your subscribers using marketing automation software so that you can boost your revenue without having to pour even more resources into lead generation.
Let’s dive in.
1. Start with a welcome email
Creating an amazing welcome email can reel in your brand new leads as soon as they hit that subscribe button. Start building a rapport with your email subscribers immediately so they know what to expect from your brand.
Your welcome email is going to be the very first thing people see in their inbox as soon as they sign up for your email list or request more information, so you really want to wow them.
Use this moment to provide immense value to your subscriber. They’ve done your brand a huge favor by signing up, so it’s time to show your appreciation.
There are several ways to do this.
Tell them thank you
To put it simply, just tell them thank you! You can do this right in the subject line, with an email header graphic, or within your email copy. A basic gesture like this can go a long way with a new lead, and it doesn’t require much from you.
Let them know what to expect from your emails
Another great way to introduce new leads to your email list is by letting them know what kinds of email content they can expect to see from your brand in their inboxes.
Send out a discount code
Start offering value right off the bat (as well as a chance to immediately close the deal) by sending out a discount code for a certain percentage off their purchase or service.
Offer a free trial
Another great way to warm up new leads quickly is by offering a free trial, or even a personalized demo, of your product or service.
Giving your leads a chance to tour your software, services, products, etc., before making a commitment can make them feel really good about working with your brand.
Include a video
Make your emails more visually engaging. Add a link to a video that your recipients can click on and immediately start viewing. This could be from the CEO, a sales person, a brand video, or a demo of your SaaS product.
Lead them to more content
Include links to other informative content that you house on your website, like blog posts, support pages, ebooks, webinars, podcast episodes or any other type of content that puts your product, brand, or expertise in a positive light.
You can also lead them to an easy way to get more information like a chatbot by using a tool like Tidio or MobileMonkey.
You can easily set up your welcome email to send out to new subscribers as an automated email response, making your life so much simpler.
Now, each time a new lead pops into your pipeline, they’ll immediately get sent this welcome email packed full of value and instantly start to feel a connection with your brand.
2. Create a nurturing campaign with educational content
One great way to really make a big impact on your audience is to send them valuable, educational content completely for free, and you can do this with your regular email newsletter, or with an email nurturing campaign.
There are many ways to offer value through a nurturing campaign without overwhelming your lead’s inbox. Set each email to go out on a weekly basis so that your brand stays top of mind while informing your recipients a bit more about your industry.
You also don’t want to include too much copy within your emails or your audience might not read the whole thing. Instead, repurpose content by sharing or linking to blog content, podcasts, landing pages and more, providing a brief summary of what readers can expect and a call-to-action button leading them to learn more.
Another great way to provide value in your nurturing campaign emails is by incorporating interactive content like polls, infographics, videos, quizzes, and other engaging strategies.
Nutshell Campaigns plugs directly into your CRM data, so you can create highly targeted audience segments, track the impact of your emails in real-time, and manage all your communications out of a single tool. Get started for free!
Make your subscribers feel special by personalizing the emails you send out to your email list. Include the recipient’s first name in the subject line to grab their attention and make them feel special.
When creating your signup forms, always be sure to include a form field at least for a lead’s first name so that you can call your audience by name throughout your email marketing.
As I mentioned, you can then include their name within your emails. Personalize your email content by placing your lead’s first name directly within your email subject, in the email introduction, or scattered throughout your email content.
You can also use your CRM software data to ensure you’re sending hyper-targeted emails that really resonate with your audience and their specific behavior and engagement with your business in the past.
Here’s a great example of a personalized email that makes perfect sense for their brand.
4. Segment your list
Create list segmentations based on how often your recipients open and/or click on your emails. This can help you to further provide targeted content for your leads and bring them into the next stage of your customer journey or marketing funnel.
You just need to use your CRM to track customer behavior and automatically move your leads to different types of drip campaigns based on how they interact with your business.
You can also segment out your lists based on other factors, like which facet of your business leads are most interested in, the type of company your leads work with, their company spend, the size of business your leads own and more.
Segmenting your lists also allows you to personalize your email content like we talked about in the last point, creating a higher chance that they’ll end up working with you and improving business growth.
You want to speak to each one of your leads’ pain points, and the best way to do that is through market segmentation and hyper-targeted email content.
Once you’ve determined the best segments for your list, be sure to include qualifying fields in your forms so that your CRM can automatically place your leads into the appropriate segments. Then you can create specific drip campaigns for each segment with your automation software.
5. Send trigger-based emails
You can use CRM data and automated emails to also set trigger-based emails to send out based on your leads’ behavior.
For example, remind your leads to download the ebook or white paper they signed up to receive, or let them know when a service they’ve previously checked out the landing page for is offering a discount or free trial.
You can also send out reminder or follow-up emails if a lead hasn’t opened up the content you’ve been sending out to check in and see if they’re still with you.
Here’s a great example of an automated email sent out to a lead that signed up for a free trial, enticing them to take further action.
On the other end of the spectrum, you can also use trigger emails to reward customers who are regularly engaged with your content.
If someone often opens or clicks through your emails, send out an automated email giving them a discount and thanking them for being such an awesome subscriber.
Utilizing a strategy like this could really be the tipping point for a lead that is right on the edge of purchasing. Showing your audience that you pay attention and that you care is a great way to build brand loyalty and make a memorable impression.
— Chloe West is a digital marketer and freelance writer, focusing on topics surrounding social media, content, and digital marketing. She’s based in Charleston, SC, and when she’s not working you’ll find her at brunch or hanging out with her son. Connect with her on Twitter or LinkedIn.
