List building is arguably the most critical part of the process.
You can have the best offer, the most compelling copy, and perfect deliverability, but if you’re not targeting the right prospects, you won’t achieve meaningful results. Here’s how to ensure you’re contacting the right people.
The list-building process will be divided into 5 parts:
- Identify your target audience
- Segment your leads
- Source your leads
- Verify your emails
- Waterfall enrichment
Identify your target audience
Begin by defining who you want to contact. Create a detailed profile of your ideal prospects using the following criteria:
- Industry: Which sectors are you targeting?
- Keywords: What terms best describe their business?
- Company Size: What is the size of the companies you are targeting?
- Location: Where are these companies located?
- Job Title: Which roles within these companies are you aiming to reach?
- Technology: Are there specific technologies they use that would qualify them as leads
Segment your leads
Different segments of your audience have different needs and pain points. By segmenting your leads, you can address these specific needs more accurately. Segmenting your leads involves categorizing your leads based on specific criteria to tailor your outreach efforts more effectively. This allows you to create more personalized and relevant messages for each segment, increasing the likelihood of engagement.
Segmentation Criteria:
Industry: Different industries face unique challenges and have specific needs. Create tailored messages that address the particular pain points and benefits relevant to each industry using the same product or service.
Example Message:
For Healthcare: “Hi {{first_name}}, our data analytics software helps healthcare providers improve patient outcomes by offering real-time insights and predictive analytics.”
For Finance: “Hi {{first_name}}, our data analytics software helps financial institutions enhance risk management and optimize investment strategies with advanced data insights.”
Company Size: The size of a company often dictates its resources, decision-making processes, and pain points. Tailor your messaging to reflect the scale of your solution, whether it’s for SMBs or large enterprises.
Example Message:
For Small Businesses: “Hi {{first_name}}, our tool is perfect for small businesses looking to streamline their operations and reduce costs.”
For Large Enterprises: “Hi {{first_name}}, our enterprise solution is designed to handle the complex needs of large organizations, ensuring scalability and efficiency.”
Location: Geographic location affects language preferences, cultural nuances, and time zones. Adjust your campaigns to match the language and optimal sending times for different regions. For example, you might need separate campaigns for the UK and the USA to ensure emails are sent at appropriate times for each timezone.
Job Title: Different roles within a company have varying responsibilities and concerns. Customize your messaging to address the specific priorities and pain points of different job titles.
Example Message:
For CEOs: “Hi {{first_name}}, our software provides comprehensive analytics that can drive strategic decisions and enhance overall business performance.”
For Sales Heads: “Hi {{first_name}}, our software improves sales team productivity by automating lead management and providing real-time performance insights.”
Source your leads
Once you have a clear profile, the next step is to identify the right tools to source these leads. We’ve compiled a document with over 50 tools that can assist in this process. There are 50+ tools depending on what you’re looking for.
Some tools have a good database specifically for e-commerce stores, others for SaaS companies, local businesses, agencies, leads that are on Instagram or Twitter, companies that are raising funds, or those using certain types of technologies, etc. But in 90% of cases, Apollo is the best option for sourcing leads.
Although the specific steps to source leads are straightforward and can be found in numerous YouTube tutorials, here’s a brief overview of the key information you need to export:
- First Name
- Last Name
- Company Name
- Website
- LinkedIn Profile
- Company Size
- Industry
Verify your emails
Most leads you export will have their email status marked as either verified or unavailable. Here’s how to handle each scenario:
- Verified Emails: Even if an email is marked as verified, we recommend an additional layer of verification using tools like Debounce. You can also use any other tool under the category CLEAN LEADS in the document presented earlier. This extra step ensures higher accuracy.
- You’ll get three types of results:
– Verified (Safe to Send)
– Invalid
– Catch-All - Contact leads with Verified emails directly.
- Remove Invalid emails as they will bounce and harm your deliverability.
- For Catch-All emails, use another verification tool like Verify Magically or Scrubby
- Unavailable Emails:
- If Apollo doesn’t find an email, it doesn’t mean it’s non-existent. Use other tools to check these contacts.
- In this case, we can use Waterfall Enrichment. This involves using multiple vendors to maximize lead enrichment.
- This step is optional and mostly needed if your Total Addressable Market (TAM) is small.
- For larger TAMs, it might not be necessary, as leads are plentiful
Waterfall enrichment
Waterfall enrichment involves using multiple vendors to maximize lead enrichment. This can be time-consuming if done manually, so we recommend tools like BetterContact or Clay that automate this process.
- BetterContact: Easier to use for those new to waterfall enrichment.
- Clay: More advanced
Building a high-quality email list is a crucial step for education businesses to effectively reach their target audience and achieve meaningful results. By identifying your target audience, segmenting your leads, sourcing reliable leads, verifying emails, and utilizing waterfall enrichment, you can ensure that your outreach efforts are precise and impactful.
Each step of this process enhances the quality of your list, allowing for more personalized and relevant communication that drives engagement and conversion. Implementing these strategies will position your education business for success, fostering stronger connections with the right prospects and ultimately achieving your marketing goals.
Happy emailing!😊
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If you have any questions or need further assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out. We are here to help you achieve your goals and transform your outreach efforts. You can book a call using this link – Book a Call