Nature vs. Nurture. You’ve heard that term, right? It’s about whether our human behavior is inherited, or learned. While it may seem like a stretch to apply that to your email nurturing strategy or digital marketing strategy, there may be more of a connection that you initially thought.
Consider “nature” as the sources of leads. Did they come from an opt-in, a review, an ad, or a Google search? Of course, some leads are more successful than others, like a phone call versus a sign-up from your website. The conversion rate after a phone call with a lead is “30 to 50 percent, while web leads convert at 2 percent.”
When it comes to “nurture” in digital marketing strategy, think of this as how you follow up. How do you keep the conversation going with your audience? And that’s what this post is all about: nurturing your leads through email.
Email Nurturing Strategy Keeps the Audience in Mind
Here’s another “versus” for you: educate vs. sell. You are a business and your ultimate goal is, of course, to sell a service or product. There’s nothing wrong with that. But perhaps our conversation here is less of a “versus” and more of what your intentions are with email.
Most people don’t like in-your-face sales. They don’t like pushy. They want to feel like you care about what they need and want. So, if you make your email intentions about giving your audience something of value, they’re much more likely to take a second look.
This takes some marketing tenacity because you really want to get to know your audience in order to provide content that relates to them. Some CRM tools can be super helpful here, along with segmented email lists. Then you can tailor different email campaigns to suit a specific audience.
Short and Sweet
It can be very tempting to want to explain everything in an email. But here’s the reality: on average, readers spend about 11 seconds reading an email. If you’re lucky. If you send a long page of text, there’s a small chance they’ll make it to the bottom for your all-important call-to-action (CTA).
So, it’s time to get crafty—get your creative juices flowing and come up with some killer subject lines and headlines that really target your intended audience and bring the intrigue. Something that alludes to the content of your email, without giving away the whole thing.
Once you get into the email, keep paragraphs short, but direct. Each paragraph needs a specific purpose so it doesn’t seem long-winded. Give them something valuable to read (perhaps about a service you offer that could really help them), tell them an interesting fact, and then invite them to read more with a nice, actionable CTA.
What’s an Email Nurture Series?
Think of an email nurture series as a way to introduce your business, just over the course of numerous emails. Each series has a purpose.
For example, you may have an email series that is triggered when someone signs up for your newsletter, or by someone who just made a purchase (this is the “nature” part of your strategy). Then, over the course of a few days, or even a few weeks, they’ll continue to receive valuable information about your business, cultivating a relationship, not just a sale (this is the “nurture” part).
When it comes to your email nurturing strategy, this is definitely a place to start focusing your energy. Newsletters are great, but they don’t always address the immediate needs of people who are fresh off of signing up for something. These people are excited. You want to catch them in the midst of their excitement!
As you’re pondering all this email strategy, and perhaps wondering if it’s worth it, then let us assure you: YES! It’s worth it! The number below says it all: $44 in ROI for every dollar spent on email marketing. Higher than any other form of marketing. So, what are you waiting for?!
If creating an email nurturing strategy doesn’t feel natural, then let Wayward Kind help. Our expert strategists can craft emails to make your audience feel valued AND you to feel confident about your email campaigns. Contact us today to get started!
