Email marketing may seem a bit old fashioned, but it is far from being over. In fact, it is still one of the most effective marketing solutions, hence its popularity. It is not new, and it is not innovative, but it always leaves room for improvement.
With these thoughts in mind, here are five techniques to help you build a solid B2B leads database.
Keep it short, sweet, and colorful
No one wants to read a novel when they get an email. If they do open such an email, people read the subject line and perhaps the first few lines. If there are any headlines, they will check those out as well. But this is pretty much it…
To keep your emails short and sweet, they should not exceed 200 words. Keep them between 50 and 200 words. There is no room for fluff and filler words, no one has time for that. It’s also important to consider that when you are working with a B2B leads database, you will be sending emails to business owners and managers who are very busy. This is why keeping it short will get you better results.
As for colors, people like pictures. They want to see pictures of your projects. Running a gardening project for businesses? Before and after pictures combined in one picture will do. No matter what business or products you provide, a single image will do.
If you feel limited, simply mix more images into one.
Leave a way to find out more
Assuming a particular business wants to know more about your program, what is a manager supposed to do next? Exactly… Most people send their emails, without including a clear call to action at the end. They do not even include their website link at the end of their messages, which is a terrible mistake.
Add a few links to your signature. Again, keep it simple.
Besides, most emails are opened on mobile devices these days, so a link to a product page or some recent content will do.
Avoid no-reply emails
Sadly enough, many businesses send no-reply emails, including large corporations or companies with a global presence. If a customer has a question, what are they meant to do? Find your website, go there, find the contacts, complete a form or perhaps copy an email address and compose a new message.
Too much hassle, and too much time, no one is going to do that unless you are the only provider available.
Instead, make sure you can get replies. It is much more convenient to hit the reply button than go through all the above mentioned steps.
Some emails from large companies tell you that replies to this address are not monitored, which is a bad idea. Do not necessarily encourage users to reply, but make sure you do not include such words. It almost feels like telling your potential customers that you are not interested.
Make sure your emails look good on mobile devices
Test your emails and send them to yourself, then check your mailbox from different devices. You can also ask your friends. Ideally, you should go for different smartphones and search engines, only to ensure pretty much everyone can see your emails correctly.
If people have to scroll left and right to read a line or images are too large to be displayed on the screen, they will be confused and give up. Even if they are interested, the lack of technical experience may cause them to miss important details.
Find the best time to send emails
Different industries have different perfect times for emails. Since you are interested in getting B2B leads, chances are you will deal with businesses running during day hours.
While not always a general rule, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are usually the best days for email marketing. As for the perfect time, do it about 9 AM or 10 AM.
Bottom line, email marketing can obviously be more varied than it seems, and there is plenty of room for customization to ensure your B2B leads experience consistent growth. It takes time to build a solid B2B leads database, indeed, but it is totally worth it.
