In the world of B2B and B2C email marketing, the majority of focus is put upon the initial copy, format, layout and design of emails. The logistics of our lead generation campaigns mean that once a subscriber requests a guide, whitepaper, trial or offer from one of our bulletins, we need to confirm that we’ve received their request by auto-responding an email to their inboxes instantly.
This follow up message is often neglected, or even forgotten. But, we feel it can play an extremely valuable role in any campaign – the follow up message is a great method of a) successfully fulfilling a subscriber’s request, b) engaging subscribers and nurturing leads, c) promoting other products, offers and services and d) simply saying a quick ‘hello!’ and introducing yourselves.
Here’s some advice on how to deliver a successful follow up email:
Introduce Yourselves
The person receiving an auto-responded email has interacted with your brand or company in some way – they’re interested in your company’s messaging, so take this opportunity to say ‘hello!’. Introduce your company, what you do, who you target and what services you could provide them.
Contact Details
Be available. Provide a telephone number or email address so a subscriber can easily get in contact with your company to:
- Access immediate information about your products/services.
- Speak to an expert regarding specialist or niche subjects.
- Troubleshoot any problems they’re having accessing the material they’ve requested.
Call to Actions (CTAs)
Of course, if a subscriber has requested a free guide or whitepaper, they will need to access it. We always include ‘Click here to…’ call to actions in our auto-responded emails, with download links. Attachments can work equally as well, but you may encounter problems with spam filters, depending on the file size and type. Think about how to deliver the request successfully.
Links
Arguably the most important feature of follow up emails is the ability to include additional links and promotions. This is great from a marketer’s point of view and can add value for a subscriber looking to find more information about you as a company. Here are some suggestions:
- Links to the website, specific pages, or your ‘Contact Us’
- Free software trials or product demonstrations
- Alternative marketing assets – ‘you may also be interested in our…’
- Previous or upcoming webinars/seminars/events
- Social media – Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, newsletters, blogs etc.
- Videos or other free downloads
Subject Line
Every follow up/auto-responded email needs a subject line. First and foremost, test it. Make sure it doesn’t get delivered into a junk folder and is easy to locate by including keywords. If someone has requested a piece of information, it should be easily accessible either straight away, or a week/month down the line.
Interaction
This is the first time your company will technically ‘talk’ to the lead and can start the lead nurturing process off straight away. After thanking them for their request, set their expectations for any sales follow-up or future contact you anticipate to have with the lead:
- Free trials or product demonstrations – explain that a company representative will be in touch shortly to make arrangements for these.
- Whitepapers or guides – explain that you may be in touch to discuss the marketing collateral they’ve downloaded and any future requirements you may have, regarding its content.
- Be social – promote other channels for them to access information from in the future (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, newsletters, blogs etc).
