Turning an Email Marketing Lead into a Customer

We all know there is a big difference between finding an email marketing lead and converting that lead into a paying customer and client. Being great at finding leads is, well, great. But being great at taking your existing leads and developing them into customers is the far more important skill. After all, it’s not the size of your list that matters, it’s the quality.

A list with nothing but unconverted prospects doesn’t do much good. If you wait too long to turn them into customers, you may miss your opportunity and the lead can be gone for good.

Here’s how you can turn an email marketing lead into a customer.

First of you course you have to find the lead and get him or her onto your list. The most effective way to do this is with an autoresponder signup featured prominently on your website. Offer visitors to your site a solid reason for joining – 20% off your next purchase, weekly tips, etc. – and you’ll quickly begin building the list up.

Next you want to confirm their interest and immediately begin working on them. You can do this by sending out a confirmation email after they signup. One approach is to send just a confirmation of the signup while another is the double opt-in, which requires a person to click on a link in the email to make the signup official. You may lose a few people in the pipeline here, but the final result is a much higher quality list.

Send out your first newsletter or other message quickly. If you get a new person on your list, and they don’t hear from you quickly they are going to either a) forget about you or b) stop caring about what you have to say. Strike while the iron is hot. If somebody signs up for your list that means they are showing an interest. Open up the continued line of communication with them as soon as possible.

You must have effective calls to action into order to convert an email marketing lead into a customer or client. You can provide your list a great overview of a new product, but if you don’t include a link to make a purchase, how is someone supposed to take action? If you don’t encourage swift action by offering a limited time price, discount or promotion, why should anyone feel compelled to do anything right now?

Whatever you want your list to do, opt for a call to action that follows the three Cs: clear, concise and compelling.

There are always going to be people who don’t respond to your messages right away. The key here is to keep chipping away at them. Stay at the forefront of their mind by sending them frequent messages providing useful and informative content. Continue offering discounts, promotions and deals. Finally, try using different approaches and designs and see what gets the best response so you can adjust your tactics accordingly.

It’s one thing to find a lead; it’s an entirely different thing to harvest that lead, turning it into a profitable customer. Follow this plan of action and even the most stubborn email marketing lead will eventually take the action that you’re seeking.

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