Regardless of the social media outlets you employ, email is still an integral part of any prospecting strategy. And before you say that email marketing is dead — we’ve heard it before, and it’s simply not true. We’re certainly not telling you to ditch social media by any means. Their tools can be incredibly beneficial to your lead generation and inbound marketing. But when it comes to that initial outreach to find the right decision-makers at companies that have never heard of you before — and get the most opportunities to introduce yourself — nothing works quite as well.
They’re easier to personalize
Most prospecting emails are short and sweet for a reason. You explain who you are, what you’re hoping to talk about, and ask if the recipient is the right person to speak with — or if they could refer you. These emails don’t require fancy images, surveys, promotions, or other gimmicks to try and get people to immediately buy (unless you’ve got a product that practically sells itself). Generally speaking, you’ll want your requests to drive conversation by addressing a pain point or service that your leads probably need help solving.
If these don’t grab their initial interest, try sending periodic emails that are more education-based. This content should dig a little deeper into subject matter that influences your leads’ market, demonstrates your authority in it, and pushes leads to your website to learn more. Just make sure that regardless of where on your website they end up, you include some form of a call to action so that they understand the next steps to take if they want to stay engaged.
Pro tip: Those calls to action don’t even have to be about a sales discussion. They could be offers to download your latest ebook, sign up for a newsletter, or receive special promotions.
They’re more accessible
Say what you will about the prevalence of social media, but not everyone uses it — or, at least, not everyone uses the same platform. Plenty of folks have given up on Facebook or LinkedIn because they either don’t have a need for them, or they aren’t checking them during normal business hours. But you know what they are checking? Their email inbox, constantly. Even in the bathroom.
This accessibility is great because it affords you more opportunities to be seen. But you also need to make sure that you aren’t inadvertently shooting your emails in their digital feet by making some common mistakes, such as:
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- Not abiding by CAN-SPAM law, which risks your domain getting blacklisted.
- Using language that gets your emails caught in spam filters.
- Not verifying the accuracy of your lead lists, which can damage your sender reputation, and get you suspended from certain automation platforms.
- Writing without keeping your audience in mind, and giving them another generic marketing email.
Tag team them with LinkedIn
Remember what we said about not everyone using the same social platforms? Well, there’s one exception you might try as a follow-up to your initial email prospecting. As a professional network that’s meant to help others share business knowledge and tips, network, and recruit, LinkedIn is easily the best site to verify whether the leads you’re pursuing are really the best people to have conversations with. If you see that they’re engaging with your emails by opening them, clicking on links, and visiting your website, you can then follow-up with a LinkedIn request to show those leads that you are who your emails claim you are. This isn’t a substitute for emailing; simply a means for identifying yourself as someone who has done their homework and sees realistic potential for new business with those companies.
Even if these leads agree to connect but don’t actively pursue new business now, they’ll be able to follow your company on their feed, adding an extra layer of exposure to your brand, and making your future follow-up work that much easier.
Need help developing your prospecting email? We should talk! Prospecto can find and verify email addresses for leads at the companies you want to target, develop a database of active contacts, and automate your outreach. Click the link below to schedule some time for a free lead nurturing discussion.
