They say the money is in the list. And it is. Having an active email list gives you a reliable source of revenue you can tap into regularly. But that means you need to be consistently attracting new email leads. Once you have them, you can nurture them, convert them into customers, motivate repeat purchases, ask for reviews, and do all the other marketing activities email makes possible with existing customers.
So how do you get more email leads?
What is an email lead?
An email lead refers to anyone who has subscribed to your email list but hasn’t yet made a purchase. This is distinct from paying customers who have provided their email address and subscribed (given permission) to receive email marketing from your company.
Email leads are on your email subscriber list and have also given permission to receive marketing from you, but haven’t yet made a purchase.
Why are email leads crucial for marketing and sales?
Email marketing remains one of the most profitable forms of marketing from an ROI perspective. That’s because it’s a direct line of communication to people who have asked you to send marketing to them.
And, it’s relatively low-cost compared to almost every other marketing channel.
When people click and make purchases in response to emails they’ve received, a larger portion of that revenue is profit.
Email is also the easiest way to stay in touch with customers and prospects. You don’t have to hope they see your display ad, or are watching TV when your ad shows up, or happen to see your social media post while they’re busy scrolling by. Emails go straight to them.
For all these reasons, email also offers a great way to nurture and follow up with leads and customers. You can send a series of emails for one campaign. You can send thank you emails, follow-up emails, survey emails, review request emails, abandoned cart emails, welcome emails, and automated emails of many sorts.
No other marketing channel allows for so much direct communication at so little cost — and with trackable data.
17 ways to enhance your email lead generation
With such a valuable marketing channel, here’s a checklist you can use to level up your email lead generation.
1. Understand your audience at a deep level
Lead generation begins with knowing what your target audience wants. The idea is to offer them something that will make them say “Yes!” when asked to join your email list. They join because they want the thing you’re offering.
As long as the thing you’re offering appeals to your target audience, a portion of them will respond to this offer and fill out your opt-in form.
2. Create a sense of urgency or scarcity
With lead generation, this could mean a deadline for when a particularly appealing offer gets taken away. Maybe you just wrote a book related to your industry, and are giving away the first 100 copies to whoever joins your list. Maybe you’re giving away extra large discounts for people who join your list in the next ten days.
Deadlines and scarcity like that work well to grow your list fast, in surges.
But you can also use urgency that doesn’t require constantly coming up with new offers. How might this look? Urgency can also result when people feel left out. For example:
“Join the community and see the juicy secrets we share every week in our newsletter!”
That is the language of urgency, but it’s not tied to a deadline or a finite amount of something.
3. Make your lead magnet irresistible
The above example also serves to demonstrate the idea of an irresistible lead magnet. The more the lead magnet aligns with things your audience cares about, the more irresistible it will be.
This is why the tried and true methods like free guides, eBooks, white papers, and special reports still work wonders. As long as the content in those digital marketing documents relates to topics, desires, and needs your audience shares, they will want it badly enough to join your email list if that’s what it takes to get it.
But the more perks you can throw in, the harder it will be for people to resist joining. You can also offer a combination. For example, a business could give a free report, a 20% off coupon for first‑time buyers, and access to a private Facebook page for everyone who joins their email list.
4. Build a form that minimizes friction
Attracting and converting email leads requires more than just a great offer. It also requires an opt‑in form that works. The less cumbersome your forms, the more people will do the work required to get through them. This means, among other things:
- Keep your number of form fields to a minimum
- Use clearly‑labeled fields
- Consider multistep forms if you need to collect more information
- Minimize clutter
- Don’t bury your forms on your website in places that are easy to overlook
5. Avoid CAPTCHA at all costs
Another common source of friction arises from a very common but extremely annoying feature of many website opt-in forms. Many website owners have been duped into thinking they need to use a CAPTCHA in order to prevent spammers and bots from clogging up their inboxes by filling out their forms over and over.
Are bots and spammers a problem? Yes, very much so.
But CAPTCHA is about the worst way to solve that problem. Why? Because website users hate them. Picture this:
You have a great lead magnet. Your form is easy to use. Your offer has connected with a new lead. And they’ve gone through the work to fill out the form. And now, right before they can click the button to complete it… they have to count the motorcycles in a bunch of blurry pictures.
Sounds like fun? It’s not. These little puzzles do nothing but annoy people. More importantly, they also reduce your conversion rate. People give up and abandon forms if they get tired of dealing with CAPTCHA puzzles.
A far superior and seamless solution is to use Akismet. Akismet has prevented hundreds of billions of spambots from filling out opt-in forms and other types of online forms. In the near future, we’ll surpass one trillion.
Akismet uses AI data and other software tools to identify and block spammers from filling out your forms, but the human users of your website are not impacted by it at all. They don’t even know it’s busy protecting your site in the background. They just fill out the form, unimpeded, and go on with their day.
And you get another new email lead.
6. Build credibility with social proof
Right below the CTA button, it’s a smart idea to insert a short testimonial lauding the benefits of subscribing to your emails or being a customer. You can even use a screenshot from a third-party review site to bolster the credibility.
7. Give a clear preview of the next steps
A short piece of text somewhere in the form can tell new leads what will happen after they click the button. This takes away another mild objection that keeps some people from following through with their desires to obtain the benefits of being on your email list. Examples of this sort of text might read this way:
- Once you join, your coupon will be there in seconds
- Join today and gain access to the private group
- After you sign up, the report will be waiting in your inbox
You can insert this sentence right above or below the CTA button, or at the very bottom of the form. And it doesn’t need to be a large font. But this sort of language will reassure some leads by clarifying exactly what happens next.
8. Offer a one‑time discount for new leads
You saw an example of this earlier. While you don’t want to be discounting all the time, offering a discount to new leads is a terrific strategy for turning a lead into a customer. The sooner you can convince them to buy, the sooner they will start developing a sense of belonging and loyalty. It’s that first purchase that always takes the most commitment. Once done, you can more quickly motivate a second purchase.
So a one‑time discount to new customers is a great marketing strategy for converting new leads into customers. That discount could come in several forms:
- A percent off or dollars off discount
- Buy one, get one free
- A free gift
- A free gift with purchase
- Discounted setup fees
- Get the first month free
9. Host a live event that requires an email to register
For some businesses, it might not be a product that attracts new email leads. Sometimes, a webinar, live online conference, or other event will be more enticing. They want to hear from an expert, a celebrity, a special guest, or the founder of the company talk about a particular topic that matters to them.
If all they have to do to see the presentation is provide their email address, that’s a small price to pay, and your target audience will happily do so.
10. Design a dedicated lead generation landing page
For almost all these examples, you’ll do better with a dedicated landing page in addition to a typical opt-in form. Forms can be placed in your website’s footer, sidebar, homepage, and within your content.
But you should also have a separate webpage that goes into more detail about the benefits of joining your email list. Whatever incentive you’re offering in exchange for joining, this page gives you room to expand on the benefits and advantages it offers.
A page like this also gives you something to link to if you’re trying to generate leads from other sites like social media pages. You might run an ad or create a post featuring your lead magnet, but it’s far more effective to link that ad to a special landing page than just your homepage.
This will focus the attention of potential leads and keep them thinking only about the benefits of joining your list, and reducing distractions from the other content on your other pages.
You can link to this landing page from all sorts of places, including:
- Social media pages and ads
- PPC ads
- Display ads
- Partner websites
- Print marketing
- Marketing collateral at live events and booths
- Other pages and posts on your website
For the print marketing and live event situations, this is why you want to keep the URL for this landing page very simple. You want it to be easy to read, not too many characters, and easy to remember. For example, suppose you’re presenting to a live audience and your landing page URL is on one of your slides. The shorter it is, the easier it will be for people to respond.
11. Implement prominent and persuasive CTAs
Both the main headline of your opt-in form and the text on your CTA button need to be persuasive and actionable. Don’t use generic language like “Join our list!,” “Sign up,” or the worst one of all — “Submit!”
Instead, customize the CTA language to fit what you’re offering. Examples for good button CTA language include:
- Grab your report today
- Claim your free coupon
- Reserve your spot
- Yes! Sign me up!
You should also use actionable language in your headlines — both for the form and the dedicated landing page.
12. Use an interactive quiz to capture emails
Sometimes, just having opt-in forms isn’t enough. And, how do you collect information about each lead that will help you follow up more effectively?
With regular forms, you have to either lengthen the form, which can depress response rates, or you have to try to segment your list afterward with follow-up marketing and data collection.
But online quizzes offer another great approach. With these, you can collect information and segment your leads from the start, and in a way they will enjoy. A good online quiz is fun to fill out, and there are some great quiz companies out there that make this easy.
The best thing is, when they’ve finished filling out their quiz, they provide their email address at the end to see the results. And some quiz platforms will even personalize their results and give them an assessment of some sort. There’s a lot you can do with these. But they are a great way to attract email leads and grow your list.
13. Create a talking head video to pitch your offer
Another advantage of having a landing page is that you can include a video. The owner of the company or some other key figure can make a quick 1-2 minute video promoting the benefits of subscribing to your email list. For people who respond to video, this is a great way to capture their attention and make sure they know all the reasons to join.
14. Use timed popups to strategically nudge users
Popups got a bad name when they first came out because they were intrusive, annoying, and sometimes kept coming up even after the user closed them.
But when used well, popups can be very effective. It’s not uncommon for websites to collect the majority of their email leads using popups forms. A good strategy is, instead of having it popup right when the visitor reaches your site, add a time delay so it pops up after about a minute.
This way, it’s only being seen by people who have already engaged with your content to some degree. For those people, by the time they see the popup, they might have seen enough to respond to the lead generation offer more favorably.
For example, offering a 20%-off discount to a new visitor the second they arrive might just annoy them. They’re not even sure they want to buy anything yet. But after a few minutes on your site, they might have found what they’re looking for, and that coupon will give them yet another reason to make the purchase and join your email list at the same time.
15. Test exit popups and overlays
Another type of popup is the exit popup. Here, when a visitor moves to close your page or leave the site, the exit pop appears and makes an offer. It’s a last ditch attempt to let them consider one more time if they want to engage with your business.
These work well because, even if the person didn’t feel ready to take any actions today, they might have a favorable impression of your company. The exit pop lets them join your email list and gives them an easy way to remain in your circle.
16. Optimize your thank‑you page
The last part of lead generation happens after a person has completed your opt-in form. What then? If you have promised them some type of lead magnet, be sure to deliver it as fast as possible. But there’s more you can do with this moment.
When a person joins a new email list, they are feeling good, perhaps a little excited, and also a little unsure if this was a good decision. Do they want this company in their life?
You want to capitalize on this moment by confirming they have made a great decision, and solidifying their positive feelings about what happens next.
Creating a great thank-you page is the first thing to do.
A good thank‑you page does several things:
- Communicates excitement about what they just did
- Reinforces the decision by restating key benefits they’ll soon realize
- Reminds them what happens next and what’s coming their way
- Gives them something to do right now
What should they do?
It might be a blog post or other page of your site to visit. It could be a link to follow your social media page. It could be to watch a video.
Or you could simply link to your online store, especially if you’re using a first-time coupon discount as your lead magnet.
Find something for them to do, so they can stay engaged with your site a little longer.
17. Build an email series to nurture new leads
After the thank‑you page, your other primary follow‑up task for new leads is to create an email welcome series. Your new leads know you will email them. But they have no idea what you will say, or if they’ll regret joining your list.
Create an email series to have the same effect as the thank-you page, but spread out over several days. With how busy and distracted everyone is, breaking into someone’s life in a positive way takes time and effort. A welcome series enables you to show up in their life several times, and will increase the chances they’ll remember you.
A good series should be at least three emails, but you can also use five, seven, or even more.
In your series, you can accomplish a number of things, including:
- Reinforcing their decision to join (again)
- Delivering the content they asked for, if any
- Telling the story of your company
- Introducing the founder, owner, or other key personnel
- Telling them what they can look forward to and how exciting it is
- Sharing reviews and testimonials
- Introducing them to your community if you have one
- Making an offer to convert them into a paying customer
You don’t have to do all of that, but it certainly won’t hurt anything if you do. A good pace is to separate each of these emails by a day or two. And you can tell them up front how many emails they’ll be getting over the next few days so they won’t feel overwhelmed.
Reminder: Eliminating friction is key to getting the most from your hard work. Use Akismet to reduce spam without annoying users. It’s a proven way to improve conversion rates.
The lifecycle of an email lead
To make sure you’re clear about all of this, let’s walk through the basic steps of lead generation and show you how each of the tactics we already discussed fits into the overall process.
Acquisition
Acquisition happens when someone sees your offer to join your list, and then responds favorably. This could mean they saw an online ad or social media post. It could mean they visited your website and saw your opt‑in form. They may have found your dedicated landing page.
During this stage, the potential lead may know little to nothing about your company. You have to introduce yourself and give them enough value to make them want to stay engaged, and your email list offers the path for doing so.
Nurturing
Once they’ve joined your email list, the next job is to nurture and deepen their relationship with your company. As you saw, this begins with the thank‑you page and the email welcome series. Beyond that, you can continue sending emails and other marketing content.
This could include social media, SMS, print marketing, and other channels.
Nurturing means making the lead feel valued, helped, supported, or encouraged by the content you’re sending to them. The feelings you’re trying to produce depend on your industry and what your target audience wants.
Conversion
Conversion happens when they make their first purchase. Again, this is the reason to offer the first-time discount. For some leads, they will convert right away when they use this coupon. The job of the welcome series is to encourage them to use it soon.
But even if you don’t have a first-time discount, somewhere in the welcome series, it’s a good idea to make an offer and give them a chance to buy. Once the welcome series concludes, they’ll be receiving whatever marketing you’re sending other people in their segment, so it will be a little less personalized, most likely.
If you can get that first purchase before the welcome series concludes, that’s the best possible outcome.
And by the way, we didn’t mention this before, but you can also go for a conversion right on the thank‑you page. They just joined your email list. They’re feeling good. With the right offer, you can convert some of them right from that page. Give it a try!
Retention
After conversion, your goal is to motivate repeat purchases. Retention looks similar to nurturing, except now you can offer additional products, new deals and specials, and other ways to buy from your website.
After a customer makes a second purchase, they will now see your business as part of their lives, rather than a one-time thing. A second purchase greatly increases the potential for an ongoing relationship.
Common challenges in email lead generation
Is it easy to attract email leads? The honest response from anyone not trying to sell you something is, nothing in marketing is “easy.” You will have to work at this. Getting attention is hard and takes ongoing effort. Connecting with your target audience takes time and effort, too.
Here are a few other common email lead generation challenges:
Low conversion rates
The more steps in the chain, the harder it is to convert new leads. Imagine this funnel: You have a Facebook post, which links to your opt-in landing page. On that page is the opt-in form, which is followed by a thank you page and an email welcome series.
If you’re measuring conversions as purchases, that’s at least five steps people have to walk through before buying anything.
So, if 5% of people who see your Facebook post click on it, you’ve already lost 95% of potential leads, and they haven’t even read your landing page yet. Then, they have to follow through and fill out the form. From there, if you make a sales offer on the thank-you page, you might win your first conversion. Otherwise, it’s after your welcome series begins arriving.
But the good news is, once you have these sorts of funnels up, they can just keep running. You can keep promoting that social media post over and over, and it may see a mostly new audience each time. With boosted posts and paid ads, you’ll spend a bit more, but you’ll also get more visibility. And if the content and message connects with enough people in your target audience, you can gain a lot of new email leads at a consistent pace.
Work on improving each component of each page to improve conversions. That includes the offer, the copy, the CTA button, the imagery, the landing page headline, the form text, and all the other elements.
High bounce rates
A bounce happens when someone reaches your website and then leaves without doing anything. A high bounce rate means your landing page isn’t connecting with your potential leads. So if that’s your situation, now you know what to work on.
Focus on the headline, the copy, the imagery, and the opt-in form.
Dealing with spam
Opt‑in form spam is very annoying here because you keep thinking you’ve got a new lead, but really it’s just a bot or a scammer. It can demotivate a business owner from continuing to pursue leads.
This is why Akismet is so valuable. You’ll eliminate the psychological burden of dealing with all the spammers filling out your forms. And, your conversion rates will increase because your users won’t have a CAPTCHA or similar impediment making it harder to complete your form and join your email list.
Frequently asked questions
Why are email leads important for my business?
Without new input, output will decline. Businesses need a steady flow of new leads who will then convert into new customers because their existing customers will eventually go elsewhere. Businesses survive, grow, and thrive by consistently attracting new leads. It’s their lifeblood.
What is the difference between cold, warm, and hot leads?
Cold leads refer to leads who have become unresponsive. They’re still in your database and on your email list, but they don’t engage. Warm leads engage and respond to some degree, but haven’t followed through or responded to any of your offers. Hot leads are ones who have explicitly told you, either by word or action, that they are ready and interested in buying.
Can I buy email leads and are they effective?
Buying email leads has become increasingly less wise, and it is not recommended at all with current email technology and anti-spam laws. Sending marketing emails to people who have not opted in to your email list can get you in trouble if they complain to the authorities.
Plus, since they didn’t opt in, if they mark you as spam it will hurt your sender reputation. That means your emails even to your happy subscribers may not get delivered to the inbox, but to the spam folder.
How do I measure the success of my email lead generation efforts?
You can measure each step of the process that features a call to action. How many people see your marketing promoting your lead magnet offer or email list subscription, and how many of those click on it? How many see your email opt-in form and how many click on it? How many view your thank-you page and how many of those respond to whatever it offers? How many receive your email welcome series, and how many convert based on what they receive?
Each step can have its own conversion rate, which you can use to improve and optimize the whole process.
How can I re‑engage inactive email leads?
The first thing to do is send them a reactivation email campaign. This tells the recipients that they haven’t responded to any emails for a while, and if they want to remain on your list, they need to respond to this one. Reactivation emails often include a special offer to motivate your inactive leads to re-engage. It can be a single email or a short campaign.
You can also try to engage with them on other marketing channels, as they may simply be more active on those as opposed to email.
Should I use CAPTCHA to protect my forms from spam?
No. CAPTCHA has been shown, in numerous studies, to depress conversion rates for opt‑in forms. It is a needless barrier that makes it harder to complete the form. There are better ways to prevent opt‑in form spam, with Akismet being the most effective and seamless because website visitors don’t even know it’s there.
What is Akismet, and how can it improve my lead generation strategy?
Akismet is an anti-spam software service that prevents bots and spammers from filling out and submitting online forms. Akismet uses AI technology that analyzes behavior of the user, and detects when a bot or spammer is trying to engage with your form. It improves lead generation by removing one of the obstacles to completing and submitting an opt-in form.
What types of companies generally use Akismet?
Over 100 million websites are currently using Akismet to prevent opt‑in spam. That’s a lot — and it says something about how effective and widespread this solution is. Akismet also has an enterprise‑level service used by some of the biggest brands in the world, including Microsoft, Bluehost, and ConvertKit.
Where can I learn more about Akismet?
You can learn about Akismet and its primary features on our website.
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