How to Write Lead Nurturing Emails to Convert + Connect

It takes approximately eight touchpoints before someone decides to buy something from a business, as shown by several studies. No matter how cool your designs are and how much soul-searching your copy entices, you still need to be consistent with your communications. And you need to show up, day in, day out, for the people in your audience.

If you want to make the most significant impact, you want to have as much control as possible over how these encounters happen. This is exactly where lead nurturing comes into play. It allows you to guide your potential customers through their journey and build a relationship with them.

How can you do this? Keep reading this comprehensive guide on lead nurturing emails to find out.

Understanding Lead Nurturing

Lead nurturing is the process of building relationships with potential customers throughout every stage of the customer journey. What many people don't understand is that lead nurturing involves sending relevant, targeted, and valuable content, tailored to potential customers based on their interests, needs, and behavior.

The goal of lead nurturing is to build trust and establish your brand as an authority in your industry. By providing value to potential customers through educational, relevant content and addressing their concerns, you are showing them that you understand their needs and can provide a solution for them.

The effectiveness of lead nurturing emails

Lead nurturing emails are pivotal in nurturing potential customers and guiding them down the sales funnel. They provide a direct channel to engage with leads where you can offer valuable content, address concerns, and showcase the benefits of your product or service. Effective email nurturing helps companies create personalized and ongoing dialogue, ultimately leading to increased conversions.

Statistically, lead nurture emails get 4-10 more responses than regular email blasts, and it makes sense. It is estimated that as much as 63% of all the people who ask questions about your business won't buy anything from you for at least three months. In this context, lead nurture emails help you stay top-of-mind, sway decisions in your favor, and build a relationship that leads can trust.

What is an email nurture campaign?

A lead nurturing sequence is a series of emails potential customers or prospects receive once they subscribe to a company's email list. The main goal of a lead nurturing email sequence is to keep reminding prospects who've shown interest in what you have to offer but weren't quite ready to buy from you just yet.

Lead nurturing emails follow the customer's journey and address specific pain points, gradually providing the necessary information to encourage a purchasing decision. Automating this process allows businesses to streamline their communication and ensure no potential lead slips through the cracks.

Benefits of lead nurturing emails

Roughly 66% of all marketers use lead nurturing automation to engage potential customers for (many!) good reasons. Here are some key benefits of implementing lead nurturing emails in your marketing strategy:

Staying top of mind

In a crowded market, maintaining visibility is crucial. Lead nurturing emails keep your brand in the forefront of a lead's mind by providing regular, relevant, and personalized email content. This consistent presence significantly increases the chances of them choosing your product or service.

Building healthy relationships

Lead nurturing emails establish a foundation of trust and credibility. By consistently delivering valuable and personalized content, you demonstrate your commitment to meeting the lead's needs, fostering a positive perception of your brand.

Staying cost-effective

Email marketing, including lead nurturing emails, is a cost-effective strategy, often delivering an excellent return on investment. With automation email tools, you can reach a large audience with minimal manual effort, making it a highly efficient approach. Also, because email marketing is not dependent on algorithms, businesses have more control over their messaging and the ability to reach leads directly – with no extra costs to worry about.

Shortening sales cycles

Well-structured lead nurturing emails help accelerate the buying process by providing relevant information and addressing potential concerns. Your sales team and your marketing team can utilize these pieces of content with potential buyers to address any concerns. This accelerates the decision-making timeline, resulting in a shorter sales cycle and quicker conversions.

Nurturing leads & improving conversion rates

Through strategic lead nurturing emails, you can guide leads through the sales funnel and offer the right information at the right time. Doing so increases the probability of converting them into paying customers.

Top 10 lead nurturing email best practices

There's no set recipe for writing and delivering lead nurture emails that connect and convert your audience. However, the following best practices will significantly increase your odds of success:

Set a clear goal

Clearly define the purpose of each email in your nurturing sequence. Whether it's to educate, engage, or convert, having a well-defined goal ensures that the content and messaging align with your intended outcomes.

Think of it this way: if you wanted to be more athletic, you would set some sort of goal for yourself, right? Like running a marathon in six months or lifting your weight in a bench press.

Your lead nurturing emails need that same level of clarity. The moment you know why you're sending them, the better you can determine how many emails you need to send, how they need to sound, and what they should include.

Make sure your content is valuable

The content of your lead nurturing emails should address your target audience's specific pain points and interests. Providing valuable, informative, and educational content positions your brand as a valuable resource.

Remember: your goal is to be helpful, not salesy. Offer tips, tricks, and insights that your leads can use regardless of whether they buy from you.

Focus on one topic per email

Each email should have a singular focus to avoid overwhelming the recipient. Whether you're introducing a new product or offering tips related to your industry, keep it focused to improve clarity and engagement.

For instance, if you're sending out an email about the benefits of your product, don't also include a section on upcoming events or company news. Also, try to explain one benefit or set of benefits per email, as opposed to cramming them all into one email. This can be distracting and dilute your message.

Keep it short and sweet

Concise and to-the-point emails are more likely read and absorbed by busy individuals. Make sure your content is succinct, easily scannable, and quickly conveys the intended message.

Research shows that shorter emails perform better, so your email body shouldn't be longer than 125 words. It might not always be possible to say everything you need to say in less than 125 words but try to keep your emails as brief and relevant as possible.

Connect each email to the next

Create a narrative that unfolds across the email sequence. Each email should logically progress from the previous one, ensuring the recipient's seamless and engaging experience.

Think of it as a story where your business is your ideal customer's trusty sidekick: guiding and supporting them through their journey, providing them with the necessary tools to succeed.

Segment your email list

Segmentation allows you to tailor your content to specific audience groups based on demographics, behaviors, or preferences. This personalization significantly increases engagement and the relevance of your emails.

Studies show email list segmentation increases open rates by 39%, improves email deliverability by 24%, and boosts sales leads by 24% as well. There is effort involved in segmenting your email list, but the payoff is definitely worth it.

Personalize whenever possible

Email personalization is key in effective lead nurturing emails. Use the recipient's name, reference their previous interactions or preferences, and tailor your content to their specific needs and interests.

This personal touch makes leads feel valued and understood, increasing the chances of conversion.

Use lead nurturing email templates

Utilize pre-designed email templates to maintain brand consistency and save time in the email creation process. You can tailor these templates to suit your specific email marketing campaign and branding while ensuring a professional and visually appealing design.

Maintain brand consistency

Consistent branding across all emails, including visuals, messaging, and tone, reinforces your brand identity and helps establish trust and familiarity with your audience. Consistency also makes your emails easily identifiable and more likely to be opened.

Test and analyze

Don't be afraid to experiment with different email subject lines, content lengths, visuals, and calls to action. Analyze the results to see what's working best for your audience and adjust accordingly.

Testing allows you to optimize your lead nurturing emails for maximum engagement and conversion rates. Track metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions to measure success. Remember that lead nurturing is an ongoing process that requires constant testing and refining to be effective. Take the time to analyze your results and make necessary adjustments for continued success.

Automate lead nurturing campaigns

Leverage email marketing tools to streamline and optimize your lead nurturing campaigns. Marketing automation ensures timely delivery, personalized follow-ups, and a well-orchestrated nurturing sequence. Plus, it eliminates human error and frees you and your team up for more strategic tasks, rather than manually sending emails.

Address a pain point

Every email should identify and address a particular pain point or challenge your target audience is likely facing. Providing relevant solutions or guidance adds significant value and enhances engagement.

Include social proof

Research shows 93% of consumers read online reviews before deciding to buy, so make sure to include customer testimonials or case studies in your lead nurturing emails. This social proof serves as a powerful influence in the decision-making process and can help establish trust and credibility with your leads.

Share know-how

Offer valuable insights, tips, or industry knowledge in your emails. Sharing expertise positions your brand as an authority in your domain and keeps your leads engaged and informed. This is especially important in building trust with your audience and establishing a relationship that goes beyond just selling products or services.

Include a clear CTA

Every email should have a clear and compelling call-to-action (CTA) that guides the recipient on what to do next. Whether it's to download an e-book, request a demo, or make a purchase, a well-designed CTA can significantly influence conversions.

Make sure you have an unsubscribe button

Adhere to email marketing regulations and ethical practices by including a visible and easy-to-use unsubscribe option in all your emails. Respecting your email subscribers' preferences is essential for maintaining a good sender reputation.

Create and send follow-up emails too

After the initial interaction, follow up with additional emails that provide continued value, address inquiries, or present special offers. Follow-up email flows sustain engagement and nurture the lead further down the sales funnel.

Test emails before sending

Prior to sending your emails to your entire list, conduct tests to ensure proper formatting, functionality, and appearance across different devices and email clients. Testing helps avoid common email errors and enhances the overall user experience.

Track key email metrics

Regularly monitor key metrics like open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and unsubscribe rates. Analyzing these metrics provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of your lead nurturing emails, allowing you to make data-driven improvements.

Include video

Integrate videos into your emails to create dynamic and engaging content. Videos are an excellent medium for conveying complex messages, showcasing products, and humanizing your brand. Plus, people like videos (a lot!).

Take the lead to nurture customers & achieve sustainable growth

Imagine you live on the second floor. There are roughly 8 stepping stairs leading to your room. You can take one step at a time, or maybe you can jump two at a time, but you can't get to your apartment in one move. And once you get in front of your door, you also need a key to unlock it and step inside.

That's pretty much how things work in marketing. You need to go through multiple steps (touch points) before you get to a door (conversion) and open it so you can be safer inside (retention and loyalty).

Most businesses focus on the first floor, which is their customer acquisition strategy. However, with lead nurturing, your focus is on long-term relationship building with prospects and existing customers.

In a world where attention is scarce, advertising abounds, and customers have more alternatives than ever before, proper lead nurturing emails are a must. They allow you to get ahead of your competition and differentiate yourself by creating a unique customer experience.

Need help to make sure your lead nurture email campaigns are on point from every perspective?

Hire an email marketing consultant vetted by Mayple. Get in touch today and we'll match you with the best expert for your use case and industry!