Lead generation: the fine line between outreach and nagging

Simon Edward • 10 March 2025

Worried that your outbound emails are coming across as nags? Find out how to avoid this in our guide.

For any business to grow, leads have to be generated. And for any lead to be generated, potential customers have to be contacted.

It's an undeniably essential part of any business's growth plan. But all too often, businesses fall into the same old trap. They think they're reaching out. But the people they're reaching out to feel like they're being nagged.

And when you think about it, it makes total sense. Most of us spend our lives juggling the items on an ever-changing to-do list. Yes, we want to hear about goods and services that can benefit us. But do we want to be nagged? Um, no thanks!

The trouble is that the same methods used for successful outreach are those used by professional marketing nags. An automated email marketing strategy can generate leads or drive them away. It can drip-feed valuable content or send recipients reaching for the "unsubscribe" button.

It's a fine line – but it's one that businesses can walk if they put their minds to it. It's all about putting yourself in a potential customer's shoes and figuring out what they want to see.

What makes a good marketing email?

In the world of menswear, smart dressers like to talk about their "grails". These are items of clothing that are desirable but hard to find.

In the world of digital marketing, good marketing emails are a grail in themselves. It's amazing how many bad marketing emails we receive every day. And it's not for want of trying. Many businesses put plenty of effort into their emails. So, what's going wrong? Why do so many of them end up being marked as spam?

Here's why: those emails read like spam. They don't engage the reader. They don't give you a reason to care. They're not personalised. Often, they're not even pleasant to read on a mobile.

There's no 10-point checklist you can tick off to ensure a high-quality marketing email. Instead, it's a case of asking yourself questions as you compose your marketing emails – less of a checklist and more of a springboard.

Critical questions could include:

What is the email for? Does it build towards a clear call to action?
What value does the recipient gain from reading the email? Is it cultivating your relationship with the lead?
Would you want to receive this email?
Is the email easy to read? Is it mobile-friendly? Do the layout and format match your branding?
Does the copy reflect your brand's personality?

Going through this list, you may find you answer one question positively and another negatively. This should prompt you to rethink your lead generation strategy.

If, for instance, the email doesn't offer value or is something you yourself wouldn't want to receive, you've probably gone from outreach to nagging – and those leads are likely to disappear.

It's a lot to think about – especially if you're a young business with a to-do list the length of War and Peace.

This is one reason why many businesses outsource lead generation to a digital marketing firm like ours. It means they get to leverage external skills and expertise, avoid burnout and focus on, well, everything else that needs doing.

How quickly should you follow up?

Successful lead generation is partly a case of creating marketing emails that potential customers want to read. But it's also about the fine art of the follow-up. The basic question is simple: how soon is too soon and how late is too late?

The simple answer is: well, it depends. This might sound like a cop-out – but we assure you it isn't. For many businesses, the problem is precisely that they're inflexible about their follow-ups. They bind themselves to a strict schedule which assumes that all leads should be treated the same.

In fact, leads can be divided into segments. If someone has contacted you, for instance, they deserve a quick follow-up. But if they signed up for your newsletter, a speedy follow-up will probably come across as nagging, even if they like what they see.

Picture of someone looking frustrated and annoyed at a computer.

Segmentation, then, is key. Your leads should be grouped according to the products or services they showed interest in, their demographics, how they found you and other key pieces of consumer data.

This segmented database can then be used to make your marketing emails more personalised, more specific and more relevant.

It's all about finding the sweet spot. This is a skill that comes with experience. Luckily, you don't need to acquire that experience yourself. Working with a digital marketing agency like ours means you get all the expertise you need on tap.

How we can help

At My Digital Hero, your ambition is our priority. We know how difficult it can be to generate leads when juggling a dozen other balls. Too often, you end up driving away potential customers with emails that come across as nags.

You can count on us to do things differently. Our marketing strategies are driven by segmented data sets and put relationship building front and centre.

Each of our emails is purpose-built to reflect your branding and lead recipients to click on that all-important call to action. They're beautiful, easy to read and always mobile-friendly.

And because we're a small, plucky team of digital superheroes, we give you the attention you deserve. You're not just a number to us – you're a valued partner. This means we work closely with you to achieve your business goals and we never hide behind a script.

Oh, and we never use AI for written content. Customers are smarter than many businesses think and can sniff an AI-generated email a mile off. We write unique copy to match your unique vision.

So, if you're holding out for a hero to turn those leads into loyal customers, get in touch with My Digital Hero today – or find out more about our growth-hacking lead generation service.

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