Utilizing Email Marketing for Sales

Email still delivers strong ROI. What’s changed is how leading teams are using it. Here are 7 modern and practical email strategies you can use now and into 2026. 📩 1. AI-Driven Decisioning An example is “next best offer.” Use real-time, historical, and behavioral data to determine the most relevant content, offer, or CTA. Instead of sending the same message to everyone, tools like Movable Ink personalize content based on what users have or haven’t done. 📈 2. Product-Led Lifecycle Messaging Trigger emails based on what users do inside your product. If someone signs up but doesn’t activate, send a reminder. If they complete onboarding but skip a key feature, follow up. Email becomes part of the product experience. 🧱 3. Modular Templates + Guard Rails Stop building emails from scratch. Modular templates let teams assemble emails using approved, no-code blocks. Platforms like Knak help you move faster while staying on brand and rendering correctly across devices. 👁️🗨️ 4. Inbox Retargeting & Re-engagement If someone opens and scrolls but doesn’t click, you can adjust the next email. These behavioral signals help guide follow-ups. A scrolled-but-no-click email may call for a stronger CTA or tighter copy. 🧪 5. Automated Experimentation Go beyond A/B tests. Today’s tools can test dozens or even hundreds of variations at once, subject lines, images, layouts, and more. Platforms like OfferFit by Braze optimize automatically to drive better performance. ⏱ 6. Real-Time Triggers Send the right message the moment someone takes action, like signing up or abandoning a cart. It only works if your data flows smoothly and your systems are well-integrated, but the results are worth the effort. 💰 7. Revenue-Based Measurement Connect email to pipeline and revenue. If your data and attribution are in place, you can measure how nurture programs or product launches actually impact the business. Which do you think is most effective? What would you add? PS: Be sure to check out Knak to scale your email efforts, link in the comments. via Nick Donaldson #marketing #martech #marketingoperations #email

Sure, cold email is hard right now. But dude, we gotta stop playing the blame game. It's not because of poor deliverability rates. It's not because of spam filters. And it's not because people don't use email anymore. It's because your email probably sucks. You use copy/paste templates. Sending the same emails to multiple people with different jobs. And not personalizing. What do you expect to happen? Alright, rant over. Let's talk about what to do about it. Lesson today: Make sure your emails are "mobile ready." Lavender 💜 has some great data on cold emails: - Prospects are 8x more likely to open emails on their phone - Short and mobile-optimized emails see 83% more replies - Emails under 50 words get 60% more replies than emails with 150+ words If your emails aren’t short and mobile-optimized, you will not likely get a response. - Word count: Keep emails under 75 words - Mobile ready: Use short, 1-2 sentence paragraphs The basic formula looks like this: ✅ Reason: Why you’re reaching out to the prospect ✅ Problem: Speaks to the prospect’s potential problem(s) ✅ Social proof: References relevant work with similar companies ✅ Call-To-Action (CTA): Speaks to prospect’s priorities and problems === Example #1: A company that sells electronic document capture software to clinical operations leaders Subject line variations:  - FAPI - Startup timelines - FDA approval Hi Frank, Reason 👉 Saw that you just got FDA approval to proceed with the Fibroblast Activation Protein Inhibitor (FAPI) clinical trial. Problem 👉 As you launch this trial, we usually hear that manual paper systems and Excel databases create extra work that could delay startup dates. Social Proof 👉 We’re helping operations leaders capture trial data more easily to shorten startup timelines to under 4 weeks. CTA 👉 Worth a quick chat? Jason === Example #2: A company that sells software to help contact centers reduce incoming calls Subject: Interconnection cost reduction Reason 👉 Saw the announcement of the interconnection cost reduction initiative, Anne. Problem 👉 Usually, that means there’s a focus on reducing incoming support calls and pushing customers to self-serve. Support leaders oftentimes run into challenges knowing which digital investments are actually deflecting calls. Social Proof 👉 We helped Constellation dramatically reduce cost to serve by finding the sources of increased call volumes. CTA 👉 Can I share those insights with you? === You can't get away with mediocre cold emails anymore. Tighten up your message. Optimize for mobile. And invest more time to improve your copywriting skills. Tomorrow, I'm partnering up with ZoomInfo to teach the Cold Email playbook we've taught to AE/SDR teams at Shopify, Gong, Rippling, Zoom, and many more. Register here to join us: https://hubs.ly/Q02_Y0fW0

After sending over a billion emails for 600+ brands… here are my 7 top tips for selecting the right audience. You can have the best email creative in the world — but if it lands in the wrong inbox, it won’t convert. Audience is everything. Here’s what we’ve learned at esbconnect after years of powering customer acquisition for brands like Tails.com | B Corp , AA Insurance and ASOS.com : 1. Target by behaviour, not just demographics Look for people who open, click, and act. Intent beats age and gender every time. 2. But… don’t always go for the obvious behaviour When Tails.com wanted to reach new pet owners, you'd assume targeting people engaging with pet brands would outperform, right? Wrong. They were being over-targeted. Instead, we found higher conversion by targeting segments engaging with health, home and subscription offers — less crowded and more curious. 3. Test broad, then narrow Start wide to understand what actually performs — then double down. Too niche too soon and you lose scale and surprise wins. 4. Layer in recency Someone who interacted with an email yesterday is more likely to convert than someone who did 3 weeks ago. Recency = relevance. 5. Don’t ignore ‘non-buyers’ Sometimes your best audience is one that’s never bought from the category — yet. Think curious, not converted. 6. Think beyond income — target by contextual wealth We’ve seen clients waste budget by targeting £100k+ earners assuming they’re affluent. But some of the wealthiest people are those on modest incomes with low outgoings — think high equity, long-term property owners with few financial ties. 7. Make it locally relevant A £1m house in London doesn’t signal the same wealth as it does in Scotland or Wales. Tailor your audience selection to geography and cost of living — precision wins. Audience strategy isn’t guesswork. It’s data, nuance, and constant testing. Want help finding your best segments? We’ve got 17 million opted-in UK profiles and years of experience to test with.

There is an art to grabbing an investor’s attention. My emails and DMs are inundated with approaches about investments. I open all of them, and I try to answer as many as possible, but I never have the time to get through them all. And I’m not alone. Every investor I speak to says the same: they get thousands of requests every month, they read many hundreds of pitches every year, and they actually invest in a very small fraction - probably less than one in 1,000. So with such long odds and so much competition, how can you stand out when it comes to writing that first message to ask an investor for their time to pitch a new business? 1. Think about the length of your message. Keep it short, succinct and make your sentences super crisp. Word count matters! Most recipients will scan the length of a note before they start at the top. Too long and they’ll close it to “read later” (or not at all). 2. Cut the waffle and get to the point in the first few sentences. Tell me exactly what your business does, how it makes profit and how it outperforms its competitors. Use simple language. If an investor senses any ambiguity or uncertainty they’ll start to edge away. 3. Polish up your campaign medals. If you have a proven track record in the sector an investor will likely lean forward. If not you need to work hard to show you have operational credibility. 4. Highlight the unique opportunity. Be clear about your USP. What makes your proposition stand out? Why is it a/ different and b/ better than your rivals? 5. Ask for an investor’s time not money (at this stage). Your first message to an investor should be designed to win 15 or 20 minutes in front of them. Does that sound too short to you? If it does then your pitch is probably too long. Plan for a scenario where you get there and only have five minutes to pitch your concept. What are your top tips for winning the time and attention of busy professionals?

Want your words to actually sell? Here’s a simple roadmap I've found incredibly helpful: Think of crafting your message like taking someone on a mini-journey: 1. Hook them with curiosity: Your headline is the first "hello."  Make it intriguing enough to stop the scroll.  Instead of just saying "Email Marketing Tips," try something like "Want a 20% revenue jump in the next 60 days? (Here's the email secret)."  See the difference? Promise + Specificity = Attention. 2. Tell a story with a villain: This might sound dramatic, but hear me out.  What's the problem your audience is facing?  What's the frustration, the obstacle, the "enemy" they're battling?  For the email example, maybe it's "wasting hours on emails that no one opens."  Giving that problem a name creates an instant connection and a sense of purpose for your solution. 3. Handle the "yeah, but..." in their head: We all have those internal objections.  "I don't have time," "It costs too much," "Will it even work for me?"  Great copy anticipates these doubts and addresses them head-on within the message. 4. Show, don't just tell (Proof!): People are naturally skeptical.  Instead of just saying "it works," show them.  Even a simple "Join thousands of others who've seen real results" adds weight. Testimonials, even short ones, are gold. 5. Make it crystal clear what you want them to do (CTA):   Don't leave them guessing!  "Learn the exact steps in my latest guide" or "Grab your free checklist now" are direct and tell them exactly what to do and what they'll get.  Notice the benefit in the CTA example: "Get sculpted abs in just 4 weeks without dieting." And when you're thinking about where you're sharing this (LinkedIn post, email, etc.), there are different ways to structure your message. The P-A-S (Problem-Agitate-Solution) or A-I-D-A (Attention-Interest-Desire-Action) frameworks are classics for a reason. The core difference I've learned? Good copywriting isn't about shouting about your amazing product. It's about understanding them – their challenges, their desires – and positioning your solution as the answer in a way that feels like a conversation, not a sales pitch.

Some say email tree, but I prefer customer experience blueprints. 😊 No matter what you call them, data-driven email nurturing workflows that are based on lifecycle stage, buyer intent signals, and content engagement are a sales enablement engine—and more so, they act as a strategic lever for aligning marketing and sales to accelerate revenue outcomes. So why don't more teams prioritize them? While workflows are less visible and not as flashy, viewing workflows as living GTM assets offers a framework for operationalizing personalization at scale—something most marketers want but few actually execute well. Here are some hard truths about nurture workflows: - Most marketers know they should personalize—but execution is the tricky part. Start by auditing your user journey and mapping your segmentations, trigger logic, and dynamic content. I like the whiteboard feature in Canva or a tool like Miro for this.  - Integration is everything. Marketing can build the journey, but Sales still drives the close. Full CRM sync powers pipeline velocity, accountability, and better conversion. Sales can’t act on signals they can’t see. - Quarterly performance reviews and workflow audits are non-negotiable. Treat nurture like any other campaign: optimize regularly based on buyer behavior shifts, sales feedback, and funnel performance. What worked last quarter won’t always work next. - And let's face it, personalization at scale is HARD to do. Even the best intentions won't go far without clean data, sharp segmentation, integrated systems, and—the most overlooked—time. Are you feeling guilty because you haven't optimized your workflows yet in 2025? At least you have them. Over 65% of B2B marketers don't even have established lead-nurturing programs, which supports why 80% of marketing leads don't actually convert to sales. (gulp) But fret not, B2B marketers that implement marketing automation have reported increased sales pipelines by as much as 10%! (phew) Whether you're just getting started or ready to review, use this as your call to action to optimize opportunities you may be overlooking. Even the best-run teams can benefit from quarterly workflow audits, behavioral trigger improvements, or segmentation refreshes. If you want more, these topics were featured in Brianna Miller's article for MarTech, "How data-driven email nurturing transforms the B2B sales funnel". I really like this article because it bridges theory to execution and reminds us that nurturing your customers isn't a one-and-done, it's a mindset. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gGqn2j8v #B2BMarketing #LIPostingDayApril #EmailMarketing

Here's an exercise every seller should try *at least* once. It's all about crafting bite-sized soundbites for your champions to sell with. And it comes from Michelangelo's idea that: “When I make a sculpture, I just chisel away everything that isn’t the man or the woman, and then that’s what’s left.” The same idea applies to your writing: With all the account research and notes and decks and demo clips and case studies and email threads and yada yada... ...how do you turn all that noise into a couple tasty bulletpoints? (Because I guarantee you no executive's looking at anything more.) → You carve out words so all that’s left is the *most important* concepts, communicated in the simplest, most direct way. Take a highlighter to whatever document you've got, and: 1/ Highlight 🔴 everything that’s: - Vague or "persona" based. - Too long & rambly for a short tweet. - Common knowledge vs. uncommon insight. 2/ Highlight Green 🟢 everything that’s: - Data directly from the buying team. - Internal language specific to only that account. - Directly edited or added in by your champions. 3/ Highlight what’s left in Yellow 🟡: - Stuff you’re not sure fits into either bucket. - Show it to your champion, and turn it Red vs. Green. (For my colorblind friends: use strikethrough, bold, italics.) After this: - Copy everything that’s Green into another document. - Then, organize them into a few short bullet points. THAT is your deal right there. And if your bullet points don't seem very snackable, it's likely because shallow discovery left you with too much red to start with. → Good discovery = good writing = the message for champions to sell. And if you had fun with this, go deeper on writing in sales here: https://lnkd.in/grcJkENQ

I analyzed 1,000+ cold emails. Here's what actually works: Forget gurus and "secret formulas." The best cold email messaging comes from understanding your buyers and practicing relentlessly. 5 key elements of high-performing cold emails: 1. Personalization that shows you've done your homework • Reference a recent company announcement or LinkedIn post • Mention a specific challenge in their industry 2. Clear value proposition in the first 2 sentences • What specific problem can you solve? • Quantify the potential impact (e.g., "10% revenue boost in 30 days") 3. Social proof tailored to their situation • Name-drop similar companies you've helped • Share a relevant case study snippet 4. Clear, low-friction call-to-action • Avoid asking for call or demo in the first email • Offer a valuable resource (no strings attached) 5. Brevity and scannable format • 3-5 short paragraphs max • Use bullet points for easy reading The real "secret"? Continuous testing and improvement. No AI or guru can replace hands-on experience with your specific audience. #ColdEmailing #InsideSales #B2BSales #SaaSales

Most cold emails don’t fail because of bad writing. They fail because they talk too much about the product… …and not enough about the problem. Here’s the cold email formula I’ve used in over 100,000 sends - including while helping scale Gong from $200K to $200M in ARR. It’s simple. It works. And it doesn’t require a single bullet point about features. The 4-part cold email formula: 1. Relevant intro Personalized and specific - not robotic. “Looks like you're hiring across your revenue org — congrats.” 2. Agitate the pain Make your prospect feel like you’ve read their internal Slack threads. “You either hit your headcount targets and sacrifice quality… Or you hire strong reps but miss your number.” 3. Paint the future state Share what you help others accomplish - not how your product works. “We’ve helped 100+ VPs reduce their miss-hire rate to single digits.” 4. The ‘Solve’ CTA End with a yes/no question - not a time request. “Is reducing sales mis-hires this quarter worth a quick chat?” You don’t need long emails. You need relevance, resonance, and a reason to reply. That’s how you build pipeline. P.S. Want to have actionable techniques, strategies, cheat sheets, & case studies to help you master your SaaS sales skills? Join 100,000+ other sellers who receive our newsletter every Tuesday: https://lnkd.in/egVNiFce

Teams who take a “boil the ocean” approach to outbound will fail. Here’s how to fix it and build sequences that actually drive results: Step 1: Focus your team on accounts most likely to buy now, invest at a premium, and become long-term customers or referral sources. This means moving beyond “anyone who fits the ICP” and zeroing in on high-priority targets. Step 2: Create deeper, more meaningful segments from that refined group. Traditional segments are great for organizing territories but fall short for crafting sequences that resonate. Instead, you need segmentation that helps your team speak the language of specific sub-groups. Use multiple layers of data—firmographics, intent signals, and contact-level insights—to break your TAM into smaller, actionable groups. Step 3: Launch micro-campaigns that target those precise segments with messaging designed to feel tailor-made. When you take this approach, personalization becomes scalable because it’s rooted in segmentation. Your reps don’t waste time on one-off customization, and your messaging feels 99% relevant to the prospect. I've been teaching this process as #ValueBasedSegmentation for the better part of a decade. It’s the key to building sequences that drive higher CTRs, replies, and engagement without tedious manual effort. ➡️ With this approach, you’ll: - Improve email performance - Write copy that prospects actually care about - Give your team a clear roadmap for focused outbound 📌 How are you helping your team build relevance into their outbound sequences?