If you’re considering advertising in a newsletter, you’re already a savvy marketer.
But even the smartest ad-buying, demand-generating, growth-focused professionals could use some tips to optimize their newsletter ad spend.
That’s why The Peak ad ops team analyzed hundreds of ads in our newsletter to make our recommendations for the top four strategies to convert readers into leads.
Lead with Content
Newsletter readers are in learning mode, not shopping mode. They read newsletters regularly to get smarter about their world, personal lives and careers.
Offering the reader content that fulfils one or all of the above criteria will result in higher conversions.
Example: Gong is a premium-priced sales enablement SaaS solution. But, they don’t speak directly about the product in their advertisements. Instead, they cast a wide net, touching on topics that are broadly relevant to their customers, including:
- Words that close deals
- Slides that undermine sales effectiveness and slides that are effective
- High-performing email templates and explanations
Take Away: When you give your audience a must-read piece of content that improves their lives or helps them get better at their jobs, you’ll see higher conversions and build stronger relationships.
Virtual Event Registrations
To get a prospect's email, you better offer something valuable to earn that inbox space. Gated content has its limits, and virtual events provide a meaningful alternative.
Why? People are conditioned to provide their email to access an event. On the other hand, the bar for giving up an email address to simply read something on the internet is higher, given that written content is generally free online.
- Yes, we know you gave up your email to read this post. Worth it, right?
Example: The Peak produced a virtual event for the SaaS company Loopio. Using their proprietary data, Loopio was able to share the top strategies to win more RFP bids. This approach allowed them to establish credibility and provide value to their target buyers. Promising to share these insights at a virtual event allowed them to collect leads’ email addresses seamlessly.
Take Away: Virtual event email capture is similar to gated content in that you have to offer the reader something of value, but there is less drop-off when prompted to enter an email address for registration.
Incentivize Target Buyers
Sometimes you want to get to the point, capture your target buyers’ attention, enticing them to book a meeting. In these instances, incentives can go a long way to getting immediate results.
Here’s how to do it:
- Start by calling out your target buyer, and specify what qualifies them (i.e. company size, budget etc.).
- Then, offer them a reward in the $150 range for taking a meeting with your sales team.
- Don’t forget to include the key messages about your product benefit in the advertisement, but keep it brief.
Example: Vitally, a provider of a customer success SaaS solution, used their placements in the Peak to zero in and incentivize their exact target buyer to book a demo. In their advertisement, they laid out what qualifies a buyer and offered a free Sonos speaker to those who qualified and took the meeting.
Take Away: Offering an incentive adds cost to your campaign but can make it more efficient if you’re confident you’ll reach your product's qualified buyers.
Newsletter Sign-Ups
Advertising your organization’s newsletter in another newsletter is one of the lowest friction email capture strategies.
Why? A person who reads newsletters is the most likely contender to start reading another. They’re familiar with and appreciate the format. In fact, this had been one of the key growth drivers for The Peak’s newsletters.
Example: Chili Piper, an inbound lead conversion tool for sales teams, advertised their newsletter, The Sauce, in the Peak.
Takeaway: An investment in creating your organization’s newsletter allows you to capture an email with minimal friction and is an opportunity to build an ongoing relationship with your leads and customers.
What's Next?
Learn more about advertising The Peak, book a call with our sales team here.