1. Stop Playing It Safe

B2B emails suffer from a stiff and elderly tone – like if old man Yoda was talking to you, but worse. And it’s because these emails are playing it safe.

They want to sound like a robot instead of a human. B2B emails also have to go through levels of acceptance from team leaders.

Of the hundreds of B2B emails I’ve researched, there’s a thread of problems from each of them:

• Lack of storytelling
• Lack of emotion
• Lack of personalization

Here’s an example of a B2B that captures the attention of the reader. Don’t overexplain to the reader.

Make it short and punch. Make it appeal emotionally.

2. Your Emails Should Hit the Stages of Awareness

Your emails are direct response gold mines. You have a chance to send messages to folks who are unaware or the most aware.

Here’s an example of a nurture sequence I send for a B2B healthcare or SaaS brand:

Email 1: Unaware audience

Email 2: Problem-aware audience

Email 3: Problem-aware audience

Email 4: Solution-aware audience

Email 5: Solution-aware audience

Email 4: Product-aware audience

Email 5: Most aware

When you cater your emails to this cadence, you build trust in your emails. You’re not trying to sell to your audience all the time.

You’re educating, information, and showing the value of your product.

3. Pull From Loads of Customer Data

Whenever I write B2B emails, I pull from sales calls, review mining, Reddit, and competitor sites, and interview founders and sales teams.

I look at loads of customer data and use AI to help me make sense of all the pages of transcripts. I’m using AI to help me find common phrases, keywords, and things that can help me write better emails.

I’m looking for signals around behavior:

• Email open rates by segmentation
• Click-through patterns
• Content downloads
• Webinar attendance
• Demo requests
• Trial signups
• Page visits (especially pricing/features)

I’m also looking at this data:

• Best-performing subject lines
• Optimal send times
• Email content preferences
• Response rates by campaign type
• Multi-touch attribution
• Unsubscribe reasons
• Forward rates

4. Lean Into Your Frameworks

Frameworks are guideposts. They are designed to help you write a strategic message, knowing where to put the markers.

No guesswork. The AIDA framework is a classic and proven framework to guide your copywriting message.

5. Avoid Fake Outcomes and Objections

While B2B healthcare or tech can be seen as complicated and jargony, you should also avoid trying to be too simple.

Imagine a software company that helped hearing clinics upgrade their software efficiency.

• Save time with our software
• Save money with our software

Instead of oversimplifying the message, think of what it means for your audience to save time and money:

• With our software, you can avoid spending an extra hour at the office every night
• With our software, you don’t have to hire an extra employee.

Think about your audience, the personas, and what they are experiencing every single day.

6. Segment Your Audience

Segmenting your audience is a must for every B2B company that is actually capturing leads.

• Segment your audience based on where they came from (white paper vs. lead magnet)
• Segment based on clicks vs. not clicking
• Segment based on the emails they opened
• Segment based on seasonality

7. Tease the Transformation

Your emails are a chance to tease a transformation. When you show the features of your product, you’re showing a different future.

You’re making the customer the hero. You’re showing why your product can be the difference when you write emails.

• Use “You” words
• Tell stories that capture the customer as the hero
• Use FOMO to show what happens if the product doesn’t exist

Email Marketing Has the Best ROI

Your emails are a chance to engage with your audience, nurture them, and actually tell really good stories.

When you do this with customer data and proven copywriting techniques, your emails don’t just stand out. They shorten sales cycles.

And they make your customers and prospects fall in love with your brand.