Email newsletters have long been a great way to communicate with clients and prospects on a consistent basis.  While the main purpose has been spreading information and keeping your company in front of your target audience, they are being uses more and more as a lead generation tool.  With a diverse selection of content they can reach a wide range of decision makers as well as prospects at different stages of the sales funnel.  Here we’ve outlined some essential elements to include in your newsletter to optimize them for lead generation.

Blog Recap

Providing links to your most recent blog posts allows readers to choose from a variety of subject matter and pick what suits their interest.  As long as your blogs are equipped with calls to action that link to premium content gated by a form you will have multiple opportunities to convert your prospects into leads.  This also helps you gain insight into where they are in the sales cycle and what solutions they may be interested in.

Premium Downloads

Anytime you publish a new piece of premium content you should include a link to its landing page within your newsletter.  Along with links to new pieces of content you should include a link to your resource page so people can further explore what you have to offer. 

Press Releases

Press release come in many forms and you should look to publish at least one per month.  These can include showcasing community involvement, employee highlights, new products, and new clients.  This will help to improve or maintain your company’s reputation and add credibility to your products and services. 

Current Event Links

These provide entertainment to your recipients and will encourage them to open your newsletter each month.  You can include links to major sporting events, industry conferences and general world news.  Doing so will encourage your readers and the company’s that host those events to share your newsletter, thus increasing the reach of your content.

Videos

Video has become extremely popular and is more likely to be shared through social channels than traditional content.  Ideas for creating videos include interviews with managers or clients, humorous industry takes as well as recorded webinars or podcasts. Since many email servers reject messages that contain video it is best to include an image with a play button linked to the video.

Email has always been a widely used marketing tool and smart marketers are utilizing it in a variety of ways.  Newsletters provide an opportunity to appeal to a wide audience and are great for blasts that go out to a diverse database of contacts.  They help to bring in new leads, identify those ready to make a purchase and keep your company name in front of your target audience.