As a startup, you’re the new backbone of our economy. But how can you stand out in the crowd when everyone else is trying to do the same? Incorporating effective email marketing for B2B startups is crucial for your marketing success.
If you’re already sending emails but have no clear direction or if you’re not doing it at all, the following is an overview of why, what, and how.
Why Email Marketing for B2B Startups is Key
Through all the new and exciting marketing avenues 2021 brought us, and that 2022 no doubt has in store, email has remained a constant. It’s where you know for certain your ideal customer will be. Your B2B client’s inbox is their home turf and you’ve made it on the inside!
Other platforms for marketing efforts consist of shouting to the many, hoping a few will hear. Email marketing is the equivalent of being invited to speak at a conference where the client is the one and only attendee. You can have direct access to the decision-makers at the business you’re trying to reach.
Consistently engaging with your ideal customer via email will provide better brand recognition and build your online credibility. Regular content and story-driven email communications prove you have something to say and elevate your messaging, positioning you and your business as the source.
A well-executed B2B email marketing campaign will also provide an opportunity to drive more traffic to your website and increase the likelihood of conversions. Offering your contacts email-exclusive opportunities to save will boost sales and promote overall business growth.
As a startup, you may not be able to pay to play on all the many platforms available. Leveraging your email list is the most cost-effective way to market to your audience. You already have the contacts or are growing a list, and it doesn’t cost you anything to send an email.
Email Marketing: What Does It Look Like?
Marketing to your email list is like fishing in a barrel. You’ve already collected the audience, now you must engage them, build trust, and ask for the bite.
Software
There are so many tools available to help you automate your email campaign efforts.
- Active Campaign
- MailChimp
- Mailerlite
- ConvertKit
- GoHighLevel
Most of the options will not only help you create, optimize, and send emails, but most can also help you organize and segment your contacts. This allows you to send emails related to a specific topic only to those who need it.
If you’re targeting recipients to recruit them to attend a business conference, you do not also want to send emails about practicing for their driver’s permit test. With audience segmentation, you can filter out who should get what content.
Email Marketing For B2B Startups: Best Practices
It can be overwhelming for a startup to add “send a whole bunch of emails” to their already full plate. Yes, planning your strategy and setting up all the touchpoints can be a tall order. But you only have to do this once and it’s simple to make tweaks along the way as you optimize or redirect your strategy.
The emails themselves don’t have to be great works of literature! In fact, most readers don’t stick around for long, complex emails. And if they think you’re just selling something, it may not even get opened. For best results, keep emails short and engaging.
Avoid the spam and trash folders by following these email marketing best practices.
Be Intentional
Strategize in advance the purpose of your email campaign. Don’t send emails just to hear yourself speak. This will cause your audience to tire of you and your message to fall on deaf ears.
Prepare what the goal of your campaign is and model your content to match. Suggested campaign goals to start with:
- Increase Engagement
- Build Credibility
- Make More Sales
- Boost Web Traffic
- Stay Personable And Relatable
Obviously, some industries have more flexibility than others. If your B2B target customer is an attorney’s office, you’ll probably avoid the use of gifs or emojis but may include a well-designed infographic. You could take a more playful approach if you’re looking to recruit students to your permit practice test app and include safety information and passing tips in a relatable way.
Avoid industry jargon and keep communications conversational. Your reader doesn’t want to be bored by your encyclopedic knowledge.
Formatting And Content Variety
If all of your emails look like a massive block of text, they’re not likely to be read all the way through and you may even see some “unsubscribes.”
Break up the formatting of your email and keep paragraphs short, two to three sentences each at a maximum. Not only is this easier to read, but it also makes your content more mobile-friendly. Use bullet points, strategic bold emphasis, the occasional gif, and emojis, depending on your audience.
Including images, infographics, and videos all increase the engagement level of your audience. These are especially recommended if the goal of your email campaign is to increase traffic to your website.
B2B Email Marketing Campaigns: What Should You Say?
There are a number of different campaign types to familiarize yourself with and they all serve a different purpose. When you know what the goal of your campaign is, you now need to plan what you’re going to send out.
A welcome sequence would be for someone new to your email list, someone who has just become aware of your brand. Talk about who you are, what you do, and why they should care.
A nurture sequence is where you want to nurture the reader’s awareness into interest and engagement in your brand. Offer free and valuable insights into their industry and prove your solution is legitimate.
A sales sequence is where the gloves come off and you introduce your offer. Incorporate storytelling and meet the reader where they are.
In all your marketing communications, focus on the benefits of your solution, not the features. People buy outcomes, not products or services. Sell them their finish-line experience.
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