Is your current prospect list bringing the same results it did two years ago? Even 6 months ago? Chances are the same tactics you have been using are not returning you the same results.

If you’re currently struggling to engage more leads with email and/or “beating the dead horse” that is your mailing list, it’s time to learn how to build a better list. To get started on turning your list of old leads into fresh business then learn how to find new leads, here are some tips on how you can update your communications formula to be more engaging.

Make Your Email List Feel More Exclusive

Though it may be free to sign up to your mailing list, make the prospect feel that they are privey to very important information. So, instead of making your biweekly or monthly newsletter a summary of what’s already known or has been shared by your business, provide your list with something special that they can’t hear about anywhere else. Things like invites to a 1-time webinar, entry into a special contest, or an early download of something that won’t be publicly available for another week can really help to make your prospects feel like they are members of an exclusive club.

Give Something Valuable Away for Free

One of the best ways to revive a stale, unengaged email list is to create valuable content that solves a pain point that regularly troubles your leads, and then give that special content away – for free. What you should be giving away is a piece of value-added content (such as a helpful video, e-book, or free trial access to a paid tool) that will inspire your prospect to open your email, travel to your website and reengage with your brand. If you or someone in your organization balks at the idea of giving away content for free, consider the cost of what it could take to find and nurture a new prospect who is not yet on your email list. The people on your existing list are already engaged with your company in some way, now you just need to warm the lead up so they’re more likely to do business with you. While it may seem counter-intuitive to some, giving away free content is a fantastic, low cost way to connect with your leads and help them understand your value proposition.

Stop Bragging

If you only talk to your email list when there’s been a product update or a new press release, you’re really just using your company email list to inundate listeners with bragging rights instead of engaging them with truly meaningful content.

Talking incessantly about your company’s accomplishments and awards is not engaging to your leads. The true test of any great email is that it needs to pass the “what’s in it for me” test. You need to read your drafted emails the way a prospect would read it; ask yourself how you can engage prospects who are struggling with the value proposition of your business. What piece of content can you create that will answer a difficult question they have while reasserting the value your product or service. Remember, it’s more compelling to your prospects when you share how to solve their pain points, not your company’s!

Shorten the Time Window

If you see that your leads are engaging by opening your emails but they’re not traveling to your website and converting quickly enough, then your company may benefit from experimenting with an expiration date on your offers.

By shortening the time window that your prospect has to engage, you’ll light a fire under your prospect to convert more quickly, lest they miss out on the limited time opportunity. Consider adding a special countdown app for when the offer will expire on the offer’s landing page. Also, be sure to really push the time limit in the title and body of your emails. After all, doesn’t “6 hours left to sign up for our 10 person webinar” sound more compelling than “New Webinar Next Wednesday”?

Tell the Same Story in a New Way

If you’re telling the same kind of story again and again with little-to-no reaction from your email list, take a step back and ask if the story would be more compelling in another format (such as an ebook, video, pod cast, or interview with an industry expert).

You can also bring in new leads to an old piece of content by repackaging it in a new way. Ask: would this video be better if we created an infographic to help explain it? Should we take this awesome ebook and couple it with a video and presentation slides and call it a kit?

Another problem that many businesses face is that their email list hasn’t been properly trimmed down and managed. If you’re currently working off of one email master list that you’re seeing very few conversions from, use the tips we shared in 6 Major End to End Marketing Mistakes and How to Solve Them in addition to this blog post to help filter out the lead gems that still remain in your list from those that will probably never convert.