Agencies are constantly searching for new lead generation strategies and tactics.

Because every campaign eventually sees diminishing returns. And when the inevitable happens, you definitely want to have some replacements lined up and ready to go.

But coming up with a constant stream of new ideas is tough. To make your life easier, we’ve rounded up 11 of our favorite tried-and-tested email marketing lead generation tactics, inspired by real campaigns run through QuickMail (including some of our own outreach campaigns – that’s right, we practice what we preach).

Let’s get into it…

Tactic #1: Hit Prospects Via Multiple Channels

Okay, so this article is about using cold email marketing for lead generation.

But you can still use other comms channels to level up the performance of your email outreach.

For instance, in one of our recent campaigns for QuickMail, we achieved a reply rate of 30%, of which two-thirds were positive. We even received some compliments from cold email experts – nice!

email marketing reply rate

While all of these replies came via email, the first two steps happened on LinkedIn:

  • Step #1: A LinkedIn profile view

  • Step #2: A LinkedIn connection request

The connection request message was super simple: “Heard I should talk to you about [X], wanted to connect :)”

However, the fact that we reached out on LinkedIn first meant our prospects were already somewhat aware of us when we followed up via email. And the more places they see your name, the better.

Tactic #2: Humanize Your Outreach Automation

Picking up where we left off, we’ve warmed up our prospects by viewing their LinkedIn profile and sending a connection request. Now it’s time to take the next step and send our first cold email.

But we didn’t stop at just one email.

After the first email in our outreach sequence, we added a 15-minute wait step, followed by a second email (pro tip: QuickMail makes it easy to add custom wait steps to your campaigns).

customizable wait step in quickmail

The second email basically says: “Oops, I hit ‘send’ too quick, I meant to tell you [X].”

There are two big benefits to this tactic:

  • It makes your outreach feel less automated and more human (everyone makes mistakes, right?).

  • If your prospect doesn’t have threading enabled, it means you take up two spaces in their email client, right next to each other.

As you can see, there’s nothing especially complicated here. It’s about using simple tactics to give yourself the best chance of being noticed, while ensuring that your prospects feel like they’re dealing with a real person, not an automated campaign.

Tactic #3: CC a Colleague Mid-Sequence

On the topic of humanizing your cold email marketing campaigns, another favorite tactic of ours is to CC a colleague midway through an email sequence.

For instance, you could send an initial email (or two), then send a third email saying something like: “By the way, I’m adding our founder Jeremy to the conversation.”

Again, it’s super easy to do this with QuickMail.

quickmail-cc

Fact is, most cold email marketing software can’t do this, so it makes your campaign look more natural.

And potential customers are far more likely to reply if they think they’re speaking to a human.

Tactic #4: Offer a "Bribe"

In an ideal world, your offer and product would be so incredible that every prospect you contacted would be desperate to reply.

But, let’s be honest, this isn’t an ideal world. Your potential leads are busier than ever, and they’re also more savvy about cold outreach. All of which makes it hard to boost your conversion rate.

Hard, but not impossible. Plenty of our customers are still seeing reply rates of 20%+ while running campaigns on autopilot.

20 -reply-rate

Often, these are the folks who are most prepared to take a punt on a new out-of-the-box lead gen tactic.

One tactic that we’re noticing more and more effectively involves bribing prospects to respond.

For instance, one campaign with a 27% reply rate offered recipients a $20 Amazon gift card. You know what they say: everyone has a price.

The more you think about it, the more this approach makes sense. Assuming only the people who replied actually claimed their gift card, this campaign cost $540 per 100 leads contacted (plus the cost of a QuickMail license).

So if a client pays you $3k a month to share one lead every business day, you could essentially generate a full month’s worth of leads for just $540 – and you’d still have seven leads to spare for the following month.

Which makes that $20 gift card seem like a small price to pay.

Tactic #5: Make Prospects Feel Special

Whether or not we admit it, we all have an ego.

That’s good news for lead gen agencies, because you can use a little well-directed flattery to capture more replies and leads.

To be clear, we’re not talking about the sort of meaningless, spammy ego-stroking that’s all too common in the world of cold email (like saying you’re a “huge fan” of someone’s podcast, despite never having listened to it).

Instead, it’s about making a prospect feel special.

One tactic is to tell them that you’d love to feature them and their company in your next blog post/newsletter/podcast (delete as appropriate). If you’ve got a following that’s large – and relevant – enough to make your offer seem attractive, it can be a super effective way to get the conversation started.

6 Bite-Sized Email Lead Gen Tactics (Backed By Data)

Looking for even more tactics to try in your next campaign? No problem.

From analyzing recent high-performing B2B email campaigns sent through our cold outreach platform, we’ve identified a bunch of shared traits in successful emails. 

Use the following for inspiration, or just as a heads-up:

Feel Free to Use Bullet Points

Generally speaking, when it comes to formatting cold emails, the simplest approach is always best. To that end, there’s plenty of advice online arguing that bullet points don’t belong in your cold email marketing efforts:

bullets points in cold emails

Relax – we’re here to tell you that’s totally wrong. Our data shows it’s fine to use bullet points; just don’t get carried away with listing endless features and benefits.

Focusing on a single “hook” or action is the most effective way to get more email replies.

Add an Emoji (Where Relevant)

Likewise, there are some so-called sales experts who insist emojis have no place in a cold email.

Our data shows there’s nothing wrong with adding one emoji to your email copy. But don’t overdo it, and make sure it actually relates to the valuable content in your email.

Explain Why You’re Reaching Out Now

Sure, we know you’re reaching out because you have targets to hit.

But you need to give prospects a more engaging reason why “now” is the right time for this conversation.

Maybe it’s because a mutual connection just mentioned their name to you. Maybe they’d be a fantastic guest for your client’s upcoming podcast (remember, flattery will get you everywhere). Or something else entirely.

Whatever the case, just make sure it’s timely.

Pinpoint an Acute Problem

The better you know your client’s ideal customer base, the easier it becomes to understand the business challenges they face.

Which allows you to pinpoint a key problem and present a solution.

For instance, say they’re using a particular software tool. You know it’s expensive or generally bad. So you reach out with a message like: "Can I show you a better alternative to [X]?"

Localize Your Emails

Localization makes cold emailing feel more personal. For instance, if the prospect is in a non-English-speaking country, make the effort to write in their language – you can always use Google Translate – then pivot with a follow-up email saying: "I'm jumping in, Jane isn’t here this week, sorry I only know English…"

Run Two-Part Campaigns

Potential buyers are more likely to reply if they've seen you before.

That’s why it pays to run two-part campaigns. Try reaching out with a “regular” initial email, then follow up later with a special offer – like a free gift or a compelling lead magnet.

Generate More Email Marketing Leads With QuickMail

Sadly, there’s no such thing as a cold email template or campaign that’s guaranteed to get replies for any company or audience.

That’s because the best outreach emails feel human – and it’s hard to seem like a real person when you’re copy-pasting someone else’s campaign steps.

QuickMail can help. We offer powerful tools to help you build more natural-sounding outreach sequences, such as enabling you to…

  • Reach out to prospects via multiple channels

  • Add custom wait steps throughout your sequence

  • CC a colleague midway through a series of emails

…and much more besides.

Find out what we can do for your lead gen agency by booking your QuickMail demo call.

FAQs

What is email marketing lead generation?

Email marketing lead generation is a method of generating leads through email marketing by sending high-quality content to your target audience. It comes in two varieties:

  • Inbound email marketing, where prospects share their email address with a brand via an email opt-in form

  • Outbound email marketing, where a brand or agency reaches out to prospects on a cold email list

What are cold email leads?

Cold email leads are potential customers who receive one or more cold emails from a business they don’t know. These emails are designed to attract the recipient’s interest, strike up a conversation, and encourage sales leads to learn more about the brand’s product or service.

Is email lead generation effective?

Yes, email lead generation is one of the most effective outreach tactics, enabling sales and marketing teams to reach relevant prospects at scale, with lower costs and a higher average return on investment than other lead generation channels. The ability to write personalized email content can make the channel event more effective, leading to higher reply rates and more leads.