How do you make a series of messages sound like you didn’t write them in advance when people also probably know you didn’t just write them? And how do you make sure people realize it’s a real person on the other side of the conversation and not just a bot you set up?
Lead nurturing is this weird balancing act of predicting what you need to say to make someone realize they need your business’s help to solve their problem while not immediately directing the conversation where you want it to go. And you certainly don’t want it to seem like you only have certain programmed responses.
Here’s a few simple tips for how to write lead nurturing messages that sound natural instead of like a robot. Because when you master this aspect of business texting, you open yourself to even more opportunities to build relationships and close deals.
Carefully Plan Automated Messages
This planning includes the content of the messages as well as the timing.
Say you set things up so a message immediately sends after a lead fills out a form and the lead then gets added to a lead nurturing campaign. What’s going to happen if it’s 11:30 PM and the lead then responds to your first message?
You definitely don’t want your next automated message to go out until you’ve actually read their response. Otherwise you look completely out of the loop. Make sure you have a way to stop automated messages if someone has responded to a previous message.
You also want the content of that initial automated message to remain aligned with whatever the call to action on the form was. If someone provided their information so they could be contacted about a specific service, don’t start talking about other services. If someone is trying to schedule an appointment to talk, your first message should start that conversation.
Use Your Selling Voice When It’s Time to Sell, Not When It’s Time to Educate
Carefully understand the purpose of each message you hope to send during each stage of the lead nurturing process. To actually nurture a lead and turn them into a customer, you’ll need to do a little teaching. How much will depend on how qualified a lead is when they get around to talking to you and how good of a fit they actually are for your products or services.
If a lead is looking for specific answers to questions, don’t ignore those questions in favor of giving them the pitch you want to give. Give them all the information they need to make an informed decision because even if you do happen to convert them, they’ll stick around longer if they’re actually the right fit. That increased customer lifetime value can add up to a lot.
Plus, if it only sounds like you’re trying to sell to people, leads will start thinking your messages are automated even when they’re not because you’ll be ignoring their actual questions and needs.
To truly optimize your lead nurturing, you have to do just that: nurture.
Collaborate While Writing and Revising
Get feedback from other people in sales and marketing when creating lead nurturing messaging campaigns. Work together to write the best messages possible and use everyone’s expertise. Working with others will help ensure your messages stay on brand and reflect the people you’re trying to reach.
Others will also be able to point out when language sounds stilted or forced. And if the people checking your messages know you well, they’ll be able to tell you if the words sound like you or if you’re trying a little too hard to make a sale.
When messages sound like you, they sound personal. Personal-sounding messages make people feel like they actually matter and aren’t just a number in your system.
At Skipio, we’ve even found that it helps to send your messages to each other. Something about seeing the message on an actual phone can help you pick out portions to add, remove, or change. This collaboration has been a really big part of knowing how to write lead nurturing messages that actually drive conversion.
Try Not to Over-Think
Your lead nurturing messages shouldn’t sound different than any other messages you send. And why would they? You’re still you. Just because you’re teaching someone about your business or giving them a call to action shouldn’t mean you sound totally different.
You aren’t suddenly a different person when you decide to schedule or automate lead nurturing either. Make those messages sound like they would if you were writing and sending them immediately.
Basically, don’t think too hard! You’re probably over-complicating things if you continually feel like you’re second guessing your messages.
Hopefully you feel like you know a little better how to write lead nurturing messages, even when you plan to automate some of the lead nurturing process. Writing lead nurturing messages that sound natural will always take effort, but it’s always worth it.
Fortunately, for expert lead nurturing, Skipio is here.