For many, email marketing isn't just a ridiculous marketing strategy, it is the best bet to accelerate the growth of any business, and its ROI takes the top tier among others, such that every $1 invested generates an average return of $40. Just staggering! 

And over 48% of marketers consider email marketing the biggest source of lead generation, and 59% of respondents say it influences their purchase decisions. No wonder there's been a growing popularity for email marketing among digital marketing agencies and entrepreneurs.  

Its credibility to generate quality leads through cost-effective campaigns is unparalleled, making it the go-to option for any business looking to improve sales and ultimately drive maximum revenue. 

Let's look at some great insights that can generate quality leads and drive more agency revenue through email marketing.  

Best email marketing software 

As a digital marketer, you may find yourself stuck in the dilemma of choosing the ideal marketing software for your business. While service providers often recommend ActiveCampaign due to its robust feature set, it becomes costly as your email list expands. 

Although its features are not to be undermined, if you're considering something more budget-friendly, there is a list of alternatives to ActiveCampaign you can choose from. Not only are they cost-efficient, but you may also find some jaw-dropping features that may be the best marketing solution for your business. 

To give you a head start, ensure you factor in these four items when choosing an email marketing tool for your business.

• Functionality or feature set

• Pricing 

• Integration with other systems 

• Intuitiveness or User-friendly Interface

A sneak peek into email leads 

Email leads are the first point of contact with your potential paying customers. It refers to the people who share their details with you, most notably their email address, in exchange for a particular service. 

Other details may include their names, phone number, or any additional contact information you collect in an opt-in form. Once these leads are within your reach, you keep a tab on them with email marketing to build a loyal community of customers. 

Tips for generating leads and driving revenue through email marketing 

1. Know your target audience

Let's get actionable. Every business must have a target market, and only after identifying that target should you consider generating leads. 

Randomizing your clientele can harm your brand's reputation and leave you marketing your services to people who don't need them. 

To get a grip on your target audience and enhance your marketing strategy, you must start by trying to understand their perspective. Instead of using the outdated client avatar model (age, income, location, hobbies), I recommend diving deeper by exploring the emotions, motivations, goals, and pain points of your target market, allowing you to understand better and connect with them on a more personal level, along with effective direct mail tips.

By exploring their needs, preferences, and behaviors, you can tailor your marketing strategies and messaging to resonate more effectively with your potential customers.

• What is their biggest pain point around the service you offer?

• What frustrates them about their current options, and how does your service help them avoid that frustration?

• What are their problems begging for a solution that your service wants to address?

Once you've figured them out, you can focus on your email marketing strategy. 

2. Throw in something catchy 

Now that you have empathized with your audience and understand what revolves around their thoughts, grab their attention with a lead magnet. An effective lead magnet will solve one problem and offer them a glimpse into how your solutions may also help them with other challenges. 

For instance, you can host a podcast or webinar and tailor it to their pain points. A webinar allows them to benefit from live video sessions, receive answers to their questions, and engage in interactive discussions or Q&A segments.

Better still, having in-demand video content after live events can generate leads for months and even years. The most important thing is that your offer must speak directly to their needs or pain points, or else your opt-in forms will prove ineffective every time. 

3. Avoid lengthy and boring emails  

Now that your prospects are beginning to express an interest in hearing from you, don't bore them with overly long emails. As annoying as that can be, the true intent of your emails may get lost between the lines, and the reader may have difficulty deciphering what you actually want them to know. So, 

• Focus on what will interest your readers and take advantage of hyperlinks that refer your audience to your website or other social media handles. 

• Introduce bold and italic elements on certain keywords of your emails to grab your audience's attention and encourage them to want to learn more.

• Make good use of the magical influence of whitespace; it enhances readability.

• Not all font styles are suitable for emails, so choose clear fonts and pay attention to font sizes. 

Remember, it only takes your audience a quick click to unsubscribe, so embrace a brief and concise format if you want to leave them wanting more at the sight of your emails in their inbox.

4. Introduce compelling calls to action

CTAs are a good way to drive your customers' attention to a particular point or aspect of your emails. 

When customers read emails, they might miss action-oriented steps if they're focused on other content. To boost click-through rates, include clear and enticing call-to-action buttons.

A good CTA should showcase an element of urgency, excitement, and enigma. They should keep the reader curious and spur them into action. Below are some noteworthy points that can further help you craft better CTA buttons; 

• Use short and actionable words; when coming up with CTAs, keep them concise within two to three words or at most five. Think of enthralling words like "Save Your Spot," "Learn More," Buy Now," and so on. 

• Introduce FOLO (Fear Of Losing Out); this strikes a sense of urgency in your customer without being sleazy or misleading. Words like "Claim This Offer," "Four Spots Left," "50% off today only," and many more often work - if they are true. 

Using the right CTAs can nudge your customers to buy if the time is right, which means more conversions and extra cash in your pocket.

5. Use storytelling and visuals

Nothing grabs the attention of a reader more than stories and visuals. 

Storytelling drives your emails' true intent into your customers' minds. It transforms a boring, factual email like "we have a course for sale" into something much more connective like "here's what happened when a brand-new business owner invested in learning design with us." 

While text-based emails tend to perform better overall (compared to emails loaded with images), it's great to include an image or two to provide additional context or credibility when necessary. Your photos should help you tell the story and not be added purely for decorative reasons. 

When you use storytelling and visuals effectively, you'll gain the trust of your email readers and have a better chance of boosting your conversion rate and generating more revenue for your business. 

6. Use social media channels

As a digital marketer, your email marketing is just one piece of your overall marketing plan. Social media, while sometimes frustrating, is a piece as well. Your social media content can play a vital role in generating quality leads and optimizing your marketing campaigns.

Since email marketing tends to reach a much greater percentage of your audience versus social media, it can be a big time saver to reuse your social media content inside your emails from time to time. Tell your audience what they're missing by not following your feeds, and give them some of the most popular and engaging content you've posted lately. 

And remember to use your social media channels to drive your email list growth, too! Let your followers know when you'll send out the next email, and encourage them to subscribe before they miss it. 

Final Thoughts

On a final note, don't be so consumed with making a profit that you lose sight of customer well-being and satisfaction. If you're just starting out with email marketing and it's been a while since your list last heard from you, start slow. Remind them why they signed up to hear from you and avoid going for the hard sell in the first few emails. 

If you have been consistent with email marketing – excellent! Keep your emails balanced between education, information, and selling, and encourage engagement from the reader in each email. Give them a reason to reply, to ask a question, or to let you know how they've implemented something you taught them. 

Remember that email should ideally be a two-sided conversation! 

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