In an earlier post, we discussed the importance of nurturing leads who come to your website. The goal is to continue the conversation with them as they go through the sales process and help convert them into a customer.

One of the simplest ways to nurture leads is through email. We recommend all businesses use some sort of lead nurturing software to automate the process.

That's all well in good, but many people asked, "What about the emails themselves? What should they say?"

Good questions. Here are some lead nurturing best practices to keep in mind. 

1. Segment, segment, segment. Not every lead is the same. Therefore, not every lead should receive the same email. You'll want to segment your database based on criteria you set. For example, let's say you own a vet clinic. One simple way to segement your leads database is by animal type: so cat people might receive one set of lead nuturing emails, dog people another, and those with both yet another.

2. The content should serve a purpose. We discussed effective email marketing strategies here, and these definitely apply to lead nurturing. Every email you send should serve a purpose. What do you want the recipient to do? Respond, download, buy, request, forward, what? Once you understand the goal of your email, it makes creating the content much easier.

3, The text should be simple, direct, and short. No one likes lengthy emails, and even less so on mobile devices, which is how more and more people are accessing emails today. Keep your email focused to one core message and maybe (maybe!) a secondary message, and only if it makes sense for your audience.

4. Test the way the emails look across devices. Pay attention to smartphones! You'll want to use a responsive email template (meaning it will automatically adjust to the device's screen size), and you'll want to see how the email renders on phones. Readability is key. That three-sentence paragraph that looks fine on your desktop might look like a lengthy block of text on a phone. Adjust accordingly.

5. Spend extra time on subject lines. The subject line is the person's first impression of your email. It's often the deciding factor in whether the person opens or deletes the email. Don't underestimate the one-word subject line, the playful subject line, and the surprising subject line. The best strategy is to do an A/B test of subject lines on a smaller list segment. The one that performs best becomes the "control" moving forward as people enter the lead nurturing workflow.

6. Review lead nurturing analytics and adjust your emails accordingly. You shouldn't just "set and forget." Yes, lead nurturing software automates the process, but it shouldn't replace the human touch completely. Review the analytics on a regular basis. Work towards improving the emails that aren't performing well.

Need help with your lead nurturing strategy? Learn more about our marketing services and what Proforma Durkee can do for you.