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You may be thinking that email marketing is the talk of the past. Right? But the metrics don’t say so.
Email marketing is still one of the best marketing strategies to grow your business. It is graded as the most productive marketing channel, ahead of SEO, social media, and affiliate marketing. Do you know why email marketing has been one of the most effective marketing channels for decades? It is because people still use emails as a common mode to communicate despite the advancement of social media. Moreover, the number of email users rises every year.
Key Takeaways:
- B2B VARs who build opt in lists from quality sources like web forms and gated content create warmer pipelines than those relying on bought databases.
- Segmenting subscribers by industry, size, and buying stage allows VARs to send targeted offers that feel relevant instead of spammy.
- Mobile friendly email templates with clear hierarchy and single primary calls to action improve click through rates for busy decision makers.
- Consistently tracking opens, clicks, and conversions helps VARs refine subject lines, send times, and content themes based on evidence rather than guesswork.
- Integrating email campaigns with CRM and sales workflows lets teams follow up quickly on engaged contacts and attribute revenue to specific emails.
Therefore, it is highly essential to build a successful email marketing strategy for the growth and development of the VAR business.
What Is B2B Email Marketing
B2B Email Marketing is a particular kind of email marketing strategy that targets email campaigns to businesses rather than independent consumers. In other words, it is an act of sending promotional messages to other businesses. It is one of the most effective tools in any B2B marketing toolbox that assists in generating leads or sales through advertisement.
Getting into someone’s inbox is similar to being invited to their home for dinner. Hence, you should not forget where you are. It is advisable to do everything respectfully and show some manners.
So, let’s explore five email marketing tips for B2B VARs to ensure that you make the most out of your email campaigns.
5 Email Marketing Tips For B2B VARs
Here are the top five email marketing best practices which when implemented, will allow you to generate more sales.
Tip 1: Generate Leads For Your B2B Business
You need people to send emails to before sending out emails. Right? So, the first thing that any VAR business should do is start generating leads for their business. You can simply add a banner or form to your ecommerce website and ask the people to subscribe.
Offering an incentive is a great way to generate leads for your business. Moreover, you can provide an ebook, white paper, checklist, and other downloadable assets. Contests and giveaways are also the best way to increase your email list. Some of the additional ways to attract more subscribers are free downloads, an updated list (which includes product updates and new releases), email series, and free ebooks and white papers.
Ensure that your emails follow certain laws and regulations like CAN-SPAM and GDPR.
Furthermore, any B2B business needs to differentiate between the customers shopping for their interest or business requirements. A failure in the distinction may put all the leads into the same sales cycle. Therefore, it is recommended to opt for the best email service provider that helps filter the leads coming for business purposes.
Tip 2: Select The Best Email Service Provider
Selecting the best email service provider is highly essential to cater to all your B2B needs. Different service providers provide similar functions, but all of them may not be suitable for your VAR business. You should conduct some research before opting for the right email service provider for your business.
Some of the best B2B email marketing providers are Constant Contact, Drip, and Sendinblue. They offer fair pricing with the ability to rise with you and your business.
On the other hand, some small businesses use WordPress email delivery. You can install the WP Mail SMTP plugin to get the best for your business. Several Google and Yahoo email platforms mislabel some emails as spam so it does not reach your reader’s inbox. But, WP Mail STMP ensures that your emails are authenticated and redirected from the trusted third parties.
Tip 3: Create The Ultimate Subject Line
The subject line is another significant aspect of your email marketing. It either makes the deal or breaks it. The perfect subject line increases the open rate chances and prevents the emails from going straight into the trash can. So what is the prerequisite of a great subject line for B2B businesses?
Well. It is similar to the emails that one craft for individual customers. You can do it by making the language of your writing adaptable to the reader. It will evoke curiosity in their hearts, and they would want to read more and more.
The two most crucial constituents of a captivating subject line are: evokes curiosity and provokes the buyer intent of your readers. To include either of those, you need to create a buyer persona.
For instance, 73 percent of US millennials are engaged in B2B decision making.
Thus, it may assist you in keeping the demographics in mind before drafting an email copy for your business.
You can create the best subject line if you have understood who your audience is and what their needs are.
Tip 4: Provide Great Content
Email marketing helps to set the buyer’s expectations. You can count the email campaign as successful only if you have a sturdy call to action and consistent follow-up. For instance, if your business strategy suggests sending one email per week, but you send it daily, your reader may get tired of it, and your email campaign may fail. On the other hand, if your reader wants daily updates of new products, failing to do so will also result in an unsuccessful email campaign.
Pro Tip:
VARs should treat email journeys like mini sales playbooks by designing sequences that educate, de risk, and then present tailored offers over
timeThe VAR business can send an introduction email that explains the fundamentals of the process and what the subscribers may intend to receive from them. You can take the example of Airbnb and Spotify. Both of them send an introduction email to their subscribers, stating what they get after signing up.
After sending an introduction email, don’t rush to pitch them. You don’t want to surprise your readers with your sales pitch. Right? Instead, try to engage with them and then make sales.
The best approach is to think of pitching well in advance. It is advised to create an email copy by stepping into your buyer’s shoes. You must remember that email subscribers are an asset to your VAR business. So, play with caution rather than being reckless.
Moreover, the content you provide in the newsletter should be a good mix of updates and messages. Use your newsletter to further enhance the relationship between you and your subscriber. Last but not the least, email automation should be used carefully if you get a bundle of subscribers. Plan your content well in advance so that you don’t end up going dark for any length of time.
Tip 5: Include One Call To Action (CTA)
The last email marketing tip for B2B VARs is to include at least one call to action in their messaging. However, the number of calls to action ranges from business to business. For instance, if you are drafting a weekly newsletter email, you may include a call to action that leads to the purchase of the recommended products or services.
The fundamental goal of any B2B marketing strategy is to urge the readers to take action. Therefore, for your B2B VAR business, you should lead your reader to take a single yet powerful call to action.
Pro Tip:
Build content libraries around common objections and use cases so your email automation can send the right proof at the exact moment a lead shows intent.
Design your CTA buttons in such a way that it looks eye-catching and clean to the readers. It increases the chances of getting more conversions. Some of the tips that VAR business should include in their call to action marketing strategy are:
- Ensure that the text is action-oriented. You can include compelling words like “get,” “try,” and “read,” followed by the specific offer.
- Try it for free.
- Get the discount.
- Reserve your spot.
- Make your call to action (CTA) button is large enough to read (but not that large, which will make it look obnoxious), and don’t go overboard.
- Keep it short and effortless. The minimum word may range from two to three, but it is advisable not to use more than five or six.
- Use the first person in your CTA as it will boost the conversion rate up to 90 percent, as tested by Unbounce.
- Lastly, create a sense of urgency in the minds of your potential buyers.
In The End
Crafting creative and effective email marketing campaigns should not be a work that you fear. Implying the above-mentioned email marketing tips will make you stand ahead of your competitors, get delivered, and be acted upon. If you have been ignoring the significant aspects of email marketing for your B2B business, it is time for you to rethink. Email marketing delivers vast results, provided you learn how to make it right. You must always remember that you are a guest in your subscriber’s inbox. You may end up losing the leads forever if they lose interest in your business. So, you should be polite and respectful and try to add more value to their lives. Well. That’s what VARs are supposed to do. Businesses that offer a perfect blend of tips, news, advice, and guidance with logical nudges to convert leads into sales will add great benefit both to the customers and their companies. Therefore, email marketing remains an effective marketing strategy for any B2B business.
