Email marketing is one of the most cost-effective marketing tools, yielding a return on investment of 42:1. Statistics show that most small businesses and B2B companies realize this, as 81% of B2B companies use email marketing.
However, in 2022, an estimated 333.2 billion emails will be sent and received every day. This makes it harder than ever for email campaigns to impact their target audience positively.
That’s why we’ve collected samples from five of our favorite high-converting email marketing business-to-business campaigns.
Email marketing’s key goal: Conversion
In all aspects of digital marketing, including email marketing for B2B, conversion rate is key. Whether you’re sending an email about a new product, a sale or promotion, an event etc., driving conversions is the ultimate goal.
Increasing conversions is a matter of making enhancements at each stage of an email marketing strategy, including:
Growing your email list and attracting new customers and email subscribers
Testing your email subject lines to increase open rates
Optimizing your email design and content to increase click-through rates
Using segmentation and testing email frequency to manage unsubscribe rates
Here are some simple email campaign ideas you can try out to optimize your B2B email marketing best practices and conversion rates:
Send curated content with automated email to notify subscribers about special offers
Offer a strong call to action in your welcome email to activate new subscribers
Develop and share exclusive content, such as webinars, with your subscribers
Include customer testimonials in your emails as social proof
You’ll need to conduct rigorous A/B testing to identify the most effective variation and combination of email elements and use a diverse range of email types to achieve different goals.
Start planning your email marketing campaign now
Different types of email
While the ultimate goal of all email campaign ideas is to increase conversions, digital marketers must use various strategies to get the customer to take that final desired action.
That’s why an email campaign has different types of email, to get the audience to think, feel, or do various things.
Welcome email
A welcome email is the first email a new subscriber receives in their inbox. Its goal is to notify the subscriber that they have successfully signed up and inform them of what they can expect from your emails.
The email content of a welcome email should be warm, nurturing and friendly, giving the reader a sense of excitement and hope at the prospect of receiving your future emails.
Email newsletter
Email newsletters update subscribers on key events and information they might find interesting. You can use email newsletters to:
Notify your audience of limited-time special offers
Inform them of giveaway offers
Share a roundup of industry-leading opinions to help establish thought leadership
Promotional emails
Promotional emails are very similar to newsletter emails. They’re typically used by eCommerce businesses and online stores for transactional purposes.
Promotional emails are often shorter than other types of email with less email copy. They create a sense of urgency and include an eye-catching CTA button.
Infographic email
Infographic emails are a great alternative to text-heavy emails. Their visual nature and graphic design mean they are more easily digested than text and can convey complex ideas in a shorter amount of time.
Business email
A business email is a more individual type of email (i.e. it’s sent to a small rather than large group of people), typically with the motive of planning or scheduling rather than sales. Business emails often require several rounds of back and forth in order to get a response or complete a task, like setting a meeting or sending a contract.
Sales email
A sales email is what comes to mind when most people think of an email marketing campaign. A sales email leads towards a clear CTA. For example, it might give the reader a coupon to get a discount on a new product.
Follow-up email
Follow-up emails are one of the most overlooked yet most effective types of emails. Often, readers will open an engaging email but then get distracted. A simple follow-up email acts as a gentle reminder and can drastically increase conversion rates.
The best email campaigns use automation to send these different types of emails in a step-by-step, predetermined sequence, designed for optimal impact and profitability.
Email templates and ideas for 2022
Now we’ve discussed the different types of emails, let’s take a look at other email ideas you can use in your future email marketing campaigns.
Below, we’ve chosen five high-converting email marketing campaign examples and explained what makes them work.
1. Welcome email
Created by Buffer
When someone subscribes to a series of emails, it is appropriate to thank and welcome them.
For example, when you download Buffer, an app for reposting in social media accounts, you receive a welcome note with links to the email of the Technical Support Service and Buffer Twitter account. It’s simple and effective.
How to use: To start building trust with your new subscribers, greet them as soon as they appear in your database with automatic welcome messaging.
In your mailing templates, don’t forget to introduce yourself and your company. You can also add links to helpful content: popular blog posts, directories and social media.
When to send: Every time you get a new subscriber.
2. Useful links
Created by Hiten Shah
Every week Hiten Shah, the founder of CrazyEgg and Kissmetrics, sends a selection of exciting posts about SaaS (software as a service), marketing, development and sales. By relieving his subscribers of the need to look for this content online, he increases his list’s subscription value.
How to use: Whether your business is in customer support, social media, banking services or the automotive industry, create lists of the best articles within that sector to share with your subscribers. You will increase the value of a subscription without sending more (potentially annoying) self-promotion.
When to send: Once a week or month, or however often you can create it.
3. Notification
Created by SumAll.
Breaking news is always important to readers.
When SumAll bought Flutter (a tool that helps companies increase the number of their subscribers in Twitter), a notification to subscribers was the first thing they sent. This email shows how they have added value to their product. For potential customers who have not yet decided if they need SumAll for their business, this piece of news will serve as an additional argument to choose the product.
How to use: If you have news that you are ready to share – like an award, product update or pricing change – tell your email subscribers. Provide the key information in the respective email and offer a link to a website or landing page to find out more.
When to send: Every time you have news to share.
4. Article
Created by Gerry McGovern.
Gerry McGovern has been distributing his new articles in a series of effective emails called “New Thinking” for a while. Note that, in this case, subscribers can read the entire article in the email, with no need to click through.
How to use: You can send your subscribers new articles from your site or blog. You can either copy-paste the entire text into the email, as the author has chosen to do in this case, or provide a link to the respective site.
When to send: Every time you publish a new post on your blog or an article on your site.
5. Video content
Created by Backlinko.
Brian Dean, the founder of Backlinko, packs valuable content in video clips so that his subscribers see and hear from him regularly. This helps create a stronger connection with his audience.
How to use: Take a piece of written content that was popular on your site and make a video version of it. You do not have to hire a professional recording team or use special effects, you can simply appear on screen.
When to send: Around once per month. This is an excellent opportunity to take your interaction with subscribers to the next level.
Final thoughts
Use these email marketing tips to diversify the types of emails you use in your campaigns and try new B2B email marketing best practices. That said, remember that you don’t need to reinvent the wheel.
Great email campaigns are the result of constant testing, re-testing, re-designing and tweaking individual elements of different types of emails until you find what works for your business.
