As a primary method of contacting prospects, email is one of the most popular marketing channels. However, lead generation emails can be a delicate matter. What should you write, what shouldn’t you write, how should you follow it up afterwards…it’s a minefield! Lead generation emails should be carefully crafted, keeping the prospect in mind at all times. The goal is to write engaging content that shows understanding of your prospects’ pain points, and positions you as an industry thought leader.

With this in mind, here are 5 tips for writing the best lead generation emails.

1. Know your audience

Make use of buyer persona research to really get to know your target audience. Think about not only their pain points and challenges, but how they talk and the language they use. This knowledge will naturally shape the style of your own writing. If you keep your tone genuine and understanding, you’ll start to build trust.

2. Focus on the subject line

33% of email recipients open email based on subject line alone – Adestra

Subject lines are serious business. If the subject line doesn’t immediately engage, the email will never get opened and the body copy is irrelevant. The best ones are short, personalised and targeted, and incentivise readers to open the email.

3. Make it personal

Personalised emails improve clickthrough rates by 14% and conversion rates by 10% – Aberdeen

Tailor the email to each individual and discuss the issues that specifically affect them. Today’s technology makes personalisation more achievable; use variable fields to include the recipient’s first name, company name, location, job function and so on, and continue to use these throughout (sparingly!). Ensure the ‘From’ address is that of an individual, not the brand, and finish the email with your own name.

4. Keep it straightforward and to the point

Emails should be no more than 300 words, and ideally 250 or less – Funnel Envy

Leads and prospects receive huge amounts of email every day. Keep your content short and focused on the prospect and their pain points. Address their issues in the first few sentences, so they’re immediately engaged and more inclined to continue reading. By showing the prospect you have a good understanding of their pain points and what motivates them, you’re in a better position to offer advice and solutions that could help them.

5. Spend time crafting your CTA

To move leads further into the sales funnel, your actions need to guide them. Make sure the CTA is prominent on the page and give your prospect a step to take next i.e. calling your direct number within the next week in order to set up a short meeting. It’s a good idea to manage their expectations by reiterating what they can expect to receive in return for this contact, and also the next steps you’ll be taking.

Conclusion

Even the most thoughtful B2B lead generation email campaigns will be unsuccessful if the audience isn’t understood and the tone of voice is wrong. When sending emails, a combination of constant testing/amending and following industry best practice will generate the best results. For more information on effective lead generation techniques, download our free ebook ‘B2B Lead Generation: A Planning Manual’.