As you build a B2B email list, you’re confronted with plenty of temptation to do the wrong thing.
Should you buy that email list?
Should you fill your landing pages with lead magnet forms to grab as many email addresses as possible?
You’ll come across plenty of bad advice out there.
With email lists, it’s best to take things slow. A couple of dozen dedicated, engaged, and interested subscribers are much more valuable than hundreds of subscribers who never open your emails or don’t want to hear from you.
Here’s how to build a solid business list from the ground up.
Why Your Lead Magnet Forms Create a Problem for Your B2B Email List
B2B veterans may find this hard to believe, but your buyers are millennials and even generation Z.
They’ve come to expect consumer-centric experiences everywhere they go. You may not think that personalized and interactive features aren’t important for buyers, but they are.
65% of businesses say they will seek out a new vendor if a company doesn’t bother personalizing their experience. Meanwhile, research from Think with Google says that B2B buyers spend two to three hours each day conducting research from their smartphone.
Furthermore, by 2020, 70% of all B2B Google searches will happen on mobile devices – up 20% from 2019!
Now, it’s time to talk about that lead magnet form.
It’s holding back your B2B email list. Genuine leads who may want to stay in touch with you see that form while they’re trying to read your blog on their phone and run for the hills.
A solid email list filled with engaged subscribers starts with people who genuinely want to hear from you. To do that, you need to remove forms from your website vocabulary and develop other ways to collect email addresses.
Source: Think with Google
6 Tips for Creating a High-Quality B2B Email List
Now that we’ve explained how forms are holding you back, it’s time to go over a few ways to build a solid B2B email list.
Remember to put yourself in the shoes of your audience – or each audience if you’re using ABM strategies.
- What would prompt them to want to supply an email address?
- Why would they want to hear from you?
- What type of content would they enjoy and in what format?
Once you put yourself in the mindset of your leads, it gets easier to create an experience they want and your leads will skyrocket.
1. Don’t Purchase Email Lists
It’s just a bad, bad, bad idea.
From a marketing standpoint, these people don’t want to hear from you – no matter how qualified the seller claims they are. If they don’t remember giving you their email address, they’re going to get angry.
From a legal standpoint, it’s a gray area at best and illegal at worst.
Sending emails to purchased lists puts you at risk for getting flagged as spam. When that happens, it damages the reputation of your sending IP address which means that emails you send in the future are more likely to end up in the spam folder.
You’re much better off starting out small and only following up with subscribers who have voluntarily opted-in to your B2B email list.
2. Start with a Mobile-Friendly Website
Over 70% of subscribers will delete your email in under three seconds if it’s not formatted properly for mobile.
If your landing pages aren’t mobile responsive, why would they expect anything different from your email list?
Start the relationship on a high note by making sure that every landing page, every blog, and every piece of content is 100% mobile responsive. You never know which piece of content is going to spark a person’s interest enough to hand over their email address so always be prepared.
3. Focus on Providing High-Quality Content
What type of content do B2Bs prefer to consume?
If you’re thinking whitepapers and case studies but scoffing at podcasts and videos, it’s time to re-evaluate your content marketing.
49% of B2Bs consume video during the buying process while 65% say podcasts are valuable pieces of content for learning about a company.
Figure out what types of content your target audience prefers and create content for them.
4. Use Human Verification Methods
There’s one big problem with collecting as many emails as possible: you’re stuck with crappy or even irrelevant leads.
Not only is this a waste of time for your sales and marketing departments, but it also ruins your data. According to research, over 62% of businesses say their data isn’t accurate.
Is it any surprise that most businesses also say they’re having trouble scaling and implementing an effective personalization strategy?
Personalization tactics require current and correct data. At Hushly, we use a human verification system to cross-reference email addresses and make sure that our clients are only accepting high-quality leads from real people.
5. Get Rid of Gated Content and Forms
The only way to create a user-friendly experience for your visitors is to get rid of forms. No one likes them and no one will miss them.
Instead of putting your best content behind a gate and form, give your visitors a sample and continue providing them with what they came to your site for—great content.
They’ll give you their email address to download the full versions of things when they’re ready.
6. Use Self-Nurturing Landing Pages
Leads like to educate themselves at their own pace.
They don’t want to read one blog post, give you their email address, and then wait for a phone call. They want to binge all your content in one afternoon after coming back from lunch.
At Hushly, we recommend adapting Netflix style algorithms to offer personalized content with features like adaptive content hubs. When a visitor sees the value that your company can provide, they’re more likely to give you their email address.
Ditch Forms and Skyrocket Leads Today
With Hushly, we guarantee to increase your lead conversion rate by 51%. By removing forms and employing tactics like self-nurturing landing pages, content bingeing, and adaptive content hubs, you can create an environment that puts your visitors above anything else.
Create a visitor-centric experience and watch your B2B email list grow! Check out how Hushly works now!
