Email is a powerful marketing tool, and it is not dead, not by a long shot. Even with the introduction of new marketing tools, that make the email seem less trendy, it still remains very powerful. Note that a significant percentage of online activities require an email to be carried out.

Millions of emails are sent out daily by online marketers, and a good number of them remain unread. People open an email message mainly if it captures their interest. Some digital marketers have got it right while others don't even get their emails read at all.

So how do you write high-converting nurturing emails? Here are some useful pointers to guide you in the right direction.

1. Keep Them Short and Sweet 

There is no need for a long email when you write nurturing emails. Remember, this is not a book excerpt, but an email meant to spur the reader into action and further build a relationship. Remember that your reader is busy, and if your email is too long, they will not read to the end. They will then miss the call-to-action. Keep your nurturing emails short, sweet and straight to the point. Your reader should see the content you have written along with the call-to-action and the clickable link with one look without scrolling endlessly.

2. An Impressive Subject Line 

Your email subject line allows you to present your first impression. That subject line will determine if your reader will scroll down or stop and click to read. Use words that ignite curiosity in the reader and spur them into action. Let it be brief, and don't put too much information there. Let your subject line feature promise and beckon the reader to open the email and read to the end. 

Some good examples are, "Get To Know Cool Summer Fashion Offers And Rock This Summer" (This is a friendly message minus the hard sell, which is a practical step).

"Save 30% On Your Summer Shopping. This Month Only" (offers like this always work, take advantage of them).

"4 reasons our customers love us" (This subject line allows you to tell your story and share your promise. The best thing is that you are telling your story through the words of happy clients).

3. Use Effective Calls-To-Action (CTAs)

It is always essential to provide direction about what you want your customer to do after reading your email. Once you establish the purpose of sending the email and what you want it to achieve, go ahead and let your customer know what you want them to do. After capturing their attention, speaking in your voice, and giving them valuable content that has them reading to the end, make sure you direct them well. Use your distinct brand voice when telling them what to do next lest all your efforts become in vain. 

4. Word Your Emails Differently

Your emails, like the social media and website platforms, should not only contain self-promotional content. No one wants to continuously receive emails from you, always highlighting how amazing your brand is and the fantastic products on sale. Take a different approach that adds value to your email list. You can do this by creating different categories of content. 

Some emails could be thank you messages for actions that your contacts have taken; others could be free content that will add value to their lives. A review of a product they have shown interest in could also work. Make sure you include a call-to-action with each email. Remember you are doing this to ensure that your lead nurturing emails stand out by offering education, invitation, amazing free things, discounts, calls-to-action, and more to your target audience.

5. Personalize your Emails 

Copy-pasted messages can feel exactly like that when read because they lack that personal touch. Do not make the mistake of writing bland copy-pasted emails to your contacts because they will react in the same way you would do to such a message; barely look at it and either mark it as spam or send it to the trash folder. Some marketers even forget to fill in the personal details of the email, and the message ends up reaching the recipients with the "Dear First Name" or "Dear contact name" still in place. This is very wrong and a killer of your email nurturing process. There are tools out there that would help you personalize your emails by importing the relevant information.

An example of a personalized email is as follows

"Dear Nancy, 

Thank you for signing up with our eBooks platform.

We are doing everything to ensure that you enjoy your online eBook experience with us. We would love your help to make your experience with us better. 

Would you please complete the signup process so we can keep you updated on the latest eBooks available according to the genre you prefer?"

When a potential customer receives such a personalized email thanking them and referring them by their name, they will undoubtedly heed the call to action, and in this case, it's completing the signup process. 

6. Develop Your Own Voice 

Your emails have to have a voice that matches your branding. Develop this unique voice and consistently use it. Make it part of you, and soon your customers will associate this voice with your brand. Try not to copy another brand's voice lest the customers notice it. Just keep develop your own unique voice and speak in the right manner to your audience. 

7. Incorporate Images in Your Emails

An image is a powerful communicator, and incorporating one or two in your lead nurturing emails is essential. Have the appropriate visuals in your emails but strike a balance in their usage. Too many visuals might also make your email look cluttered and do anything but achieve the true purpose. You can use product images, brand logos, or some impressive moving visuals when necessary.

8. Group Your Audiences 

Segmenting your audiences is very important. It doesn't work right when you send the same email to all the people on your contact list. Categorize them and separate the leads and the current customers. You can segment these prospects based on their behavior. For example, if they are leads, that means they signed up for something when they visited your page. They might have signed to stay updated and receive notifications on any new information, or others could have downloaded a free trial of something you are offering. Categorize them according to their actions. 

When segmenting, don't forget your current customers. Keep them in mind, especially if you have a product that requires buying again. Could you have customers who have bought once and aren't making repeat purchases? You might also have these customers who have made repeat purchases but have not bought a product in a long time. Group these customers in different categories. 

If your customers only buy once, don't ignore them, keep in touch with them and let them know you still exist. These customers can recommend you to other people. You could also introduce a new product that could capture their interest. 

Segment all these groups of customers and prospects. After that, develop an effective lead nurturing email campaign. You can't write a single email for these diversified groups of prospects. All your email messages should be tailored to the different audiences you have for effectiveness.

Lead Nurturing Email Examples

Here are some lead nurturing email examples to take note of. They represent different scenarios for different companies and how they used their nurturing emails and the positive results they experienced. 

1. Abandon cart email for the family fun center

Get Air trampoline parks aimed at improving party sales. After they updated the booking interface, they realized several users would abandon their journey without booking. To regain the lost sales, they generated an abandoned cart email. The abandoned email was automated and would get sent to a prospect who gets to the final step of the purchase journey and doesn't make a booking. They incorporate this email with a discount offer, and they were able to recapture $5 per buyer.

2. A re-engagement lead nurturing email

Campaign Creator, a B2B marketing agency firm, suffered a long sales cycle. They had a well-placed lead nurturing campaign funnel. However, some leads failed to reach the final stage of the purchase journey, and they didn't have a clear plan for re-engagement. Several of the leads were inactive for a long time, and it seemed unbefitting to give an offer to these leads. To rekindle the lost relationship, they sent educational content to these leads. The B2B firm aimed to introduce the leads to information regarding the services they provide. The re-engagement was a success as they were able to recapture 35% of the leads. 

3. E-commerce replenishment email

Vitacup is an e-commerce enterprise that sells vitamins. They had a fairly large email database, thanks to their media channels. However, only a small portion of these subscribers actually made a purchase, and only a few of these buyers made another purchase. 

To correct this, they created a replenishment email that re-engaged previous buyers before running out of the Vitacup products they had bought. The email was automated and would get sent three months after the customer had made their purchase. Replenishment emails combined with abandoned cart emails generated an increase of 300% in email revenue.

4. An order confirmation lead nurturing email

Other than providing marketing services, Campaign Creators is also in the business of selling website page templates. The campaign opted to use the purchase of a template as a lead generator instead of charging a high cost for the templates. When a customer would buy the free templates, Campaign Creator would offer customization of the template at a cost. This company hoped customers would regard them as a trusted option for website designs. When a customer downloaded the free template, they would receive a confirmation email that would thank them for downloading the template and presenting them with a customization package. 

5. A Promotional Nurturing Email

We Olive is a food retailer that had quite an extensive list of subscribers. A number of these subscribers were visitors from other towns meaning they found in-store offers or events irrelevant. There was a need to turn this extensive list of contacts into profits, and this could only get achieved by encouraging the contacts to purchase from the e-commerce site. The food retailer started sending promotional emails to these subscribers, offering them discounts. They also introduced products that could only be bought online. Promotional emails sent during Black Friday resulted in a revenue increase of 30% compared to the previous year.

Conclusion  

It is important to remember that your contacts are busy people, and they probably receive emails from the other brands who are your competitors. When somebody has thousands of unopened emails, it is not because they are poor email users; it is often about the kind of emails they receive. It is up to you to ensure that the emails you send get read and the readers take the necessary actions.