Pull Marketing Blog

How to Use E-mail Marketing for Lead Generation the PullnotPush Way

While some still feel that e-mail is old school web marketing, it still matters to any good pull marketing strategy. There are a lot of haters out there who think e-mail marketing is dead. Well, one of my favorite things to do is prove haters wrong - with evidence of course.

I've been working with a business in Waltham for the past few months on revamping the way they do their e-mail marketing. For years, they've been using e-mail primarily as a way to distribute their newsletters and promote upcoming events - pretty much par for the course on the way the vast majority of folks market via e-mail. They have a fairly decent sized contact list with mostly high click rates and low unsubscribe rates on all the messages they send. However, as nice as these stats sound they weren't translating to new leads or customers. 

In August, I worked in conjunction with their business development manager to generate leads for an upcoming conference. We collaborated to compose and distribute a simple HTML email with a single call to action to a landing page where recipients could sign up for a free promotional item that related to the event.

The result? Well, see for yourselves:

So how can you do this?

Build a Quality Contact List

Everything starts with building a contact list. There are several black hat (less than legitimate) ways people might try to do this. Buying lists of e-mail addresses isn't going to give you the best audience, nor are you putting yourself in a good position to be in compliance with the CAN-SPAM act.

The best way to build a contact list is by offering your website visitors quality content and capturing an e-mail address in exchange. The company I’ve been working with has been creating, distributing, and fostering a community around their content for 20 years. Keeping an up to date list of all your customers is quite easy to do if you have an e-commerce component to your site. If you’re a small physical shop without an online shopping cart element (let’s say a local bakery shop), you can offer discounts or coupons in exchange for an e-mail address.  

As always, it’s important to make sure that all your e-mails have an unsubscribe link available and that you spell out if you keep their e-mail private (don’t distribute it to others) on your forms. It’s not just best practice - but it prevents you from being a spammer in the eyes of CAN-SPAM.

Promote Free Content that Relates to Your Paid Products or Services

Everyone loves free stuff - everyone loves free stuff even more when they feel like they're getting something of value. Some businesses can be hesitant to distribute their hard work for free. Think of it as a chance for your prospects to get a taste of what you have to offer. The more quality content you put out related to your business, the more folks will get the impression that you're really trying to be a thought leader and will think of you first when it's time to buy.

KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid!)

A lot of times when I open an e-newsletter, certain promotional offers get hidden in a hodgepodge of other announcements. What can you do to make sure your offers are getting noticed? A simple, single e-mail blast that only promotes that offer. Let's face it - it can be tricky to keep anyone's attention in this day and age of mega computer multitasks. Heck, I have a window open for my e-mail, my Twitter, my Google Calendar, and half of Microsoft Office right now as I write this!  By keeping the messaging short, simple, and to the point you'll improve your chances of getting a coveted 15% or higher click rate.

Make Sure You Have a Measurable Conversion

Your e-mails should always have a link you can track hits on. If you're just broadcasting a message with every e-mail you send, you're not going to get the best ROI on your e-mail marketing efforts. Pulling people out of their inbox and back to you should be the ultimate goal of any e-mail you send in your campaigns.

What are some ways you've gotten the most out of E-mail Marketing? We'd love to hear about it in the comments!

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