Email sequence for converting leads from a challenge 

So, you’ve got your lead generation challenge all set up and ready to launch. Great! 

But before you hit the ‘go live’ button’, it’s important to have a solid follow-up email sequence in place: one that both nurtures and converts your participants once they’ve completed the challenge.

While we know this might seem like even more work to add to your load, put yourself in your participants’ place for a second…

You’ve enjoyed getting to know a brand – and taking part in the challenge has allowed you to learn some handy skills you can’t wait to put into practice.

You can either continue investing in the brand, or you can move on with your newfound knowledge – without them supporting you.

The former is because they’ve kept the communication going post challenge. They’ve stayed in the forefront of your mind, and you value the personalised content they’re sending you.

The latter, however? There’s been zilch follow-up … and you’re already beginning to forget about them.

So, how can we make sure your participants stick with you for the long run? Simple: a cut-through follow-up email sequence.

Read ahead for our tips for creating the perfect email sequence for converting leads after a challenge, plus some examples of what they might look like.

Is your lead generation challenge ready to go? 

Just before we continue, let’s recap what you need to consider before launching your lead magnet challenge:

1. What’s your objective? Whether you want to build an email list, nurture leads, or establish authority, the first step is to define what you want to achieve from the challenge.
2. Who is your target audience? Tapping into your audience’s biggest pain points will help inform how you can overcome them with your challenge. 
3. Is your content compelling and actionable? Your content needs to provide clear steps to solving a specific problem, as well as being interesting for the participants to engage with. 
4. What’s the optimum duration and structure? Factor in how many days the challenge should run to keep engagement high. (This will also depend on the best way to structure the content.) 
5. How will you draw people in? Landing pages and quizzes are an ideal way to keep people engaged from the very start. You can do both of these with ScoreApp!
6. How can you add even more value? Along with your expertise, you can offer your participants personal assessments or scorecards to provide that extra level of support.
7. What is your follow-up strategy? This is the part that will help convert your warm leads into smoking-hot sales. Don’t skimp on the email sequences!
8. How will you measure success? Figure out what metrics you want to use to track how effective the challenge is and gather feedback. This could look like insights or client surveys.
9. What’s the call to action? Finally, make sure you include a clear call to action that aligns with your objective to prompt your participants to take the next step. 

Importance of emails to nurture and convert your challenge participants 

Following up with your participants after they have finished the challenge is a vital step in driving conversions. That’s because they nurture and build excitement, answer objections, and guide people towards your offer. 

It also helps keep the relationship going between you and your audience – the more you check in with them (and offer helpful advice), the more they’ll associate your brand as the solution to their problems.

Email 1: Well done for completing the challenge 

This is the first email your participants will receive post-challenge, so what better way to mark the end than with a celebration email? This will give them a sense of reward for their efforts and keep the momentum high. 

• Timing: Day 1 (immediately after the challenge ends)
• Purpose: Celebrate them completing, build rapport, and direct them to the next steps. This could be to book a discovery call, join your online community, or to purchase one of your packages.
• Content:
  • Start by congratulating them on completing the challenge and highlight the great progress they have made in a small amount of time.
  • Summarise key insights or results they achieved during the challenge for a more personalised touch.
  • Give them a ‘teaser’ of your main offering (e.g. working with you, joining a programme) by talking through the benefits they can expect from taking the next steps with you.

Email 2: Next steps and personal feedback

Next, you can give them some feedback on their participation – and where they can improve (with the help of you and your offerings). You can use the ScoreApp results page feature for this. 

• Timing: Day 2
• Purpose: Strengthen engagement with personalised feedback, or offer a recap of their challenge performance to show where they succeeded/could improve.
• Content:
  • Provide a brief overview of their personalised results. If available, go ahead and include any scorecard or quiz results to display the information in a more simplified and engaging way. 
  • Offer them more value by giving feedback on how their current position could improve further with your product or service. (Remember to be constructive and positive instead of critical here!)
  • Finish up the email with a clear call to action, like booking a free 30-minute session or exploring your premium offering in more depth.

Email 3: Success stories and social proof

People love to hear real proof of how someone’s services have benefitted real people, just like them. This is your perfect chance to drop in with success stories and testimonials from previous clients to boost your authority – and, ultimately, gain your audience’s trust.

• Timing: Day 3
• Purpose: Build trust and overcome doubts by sharing real results.
• Content:
  • Show your audience the positive impact you’re already having by sharing client success stories or testimonials related to your offer. Be selective: one or two is enough to get the message across. 
  • Highlight how past clients were in a similar position to your lead and achieved transformation with your help.
  • Make the most of your opportunity to leave them with a strong CTA, such as “See how others are succeeding – book a call today!’’

Email 4: Educational content addressing pain points

By this stage, your audience may still be holding back from purchasing your services or product. This is the time to reassure them with your expertise in the area, demonstrating how you can solve their problem. Keep the copy professional but personable to reinforce the ‘human’ aspect. 

• Timing: Day 4
• Purpose: Address any pain points or questions that might prevent them from moving forward.
• Content:
  • Start by providing actionable insights or tips related to their specific needs. Checklists, videos, or even FAQs are just a few engaging ways to go about this. 
  • Make it clear that you know their struggle – and have the skills to help them overcome it. Do this by addressing common concerns or objections they may have to put their mind at ease.
  • Emphasise the unique value of your offering, positioning it as a clear solution to their challenges. Real-life success stories and testimonials would work well here as a less salesy, more hard-facts proof of how your services have benefitted other people in their position. 

Email 5: Invitation to extra resources or a Q&A

Providing even more value to your audience is a sure-fire way to increase engagement once the challenge is over. Whether it’s a live webinar or exclusive demo, focus this email on giving participants the opportunity to level up their skills and learn more about your business.

• Timing: Day 5
• Purpose: Offer a live interaction for personal connection and real-time answers.
• Content:
  • Invite them along to a live Q&A, demo, or webinar so they can get to know more about you and see your offering in action.
  • Be sure to position this as a valuable opportunity for them to ask any burning questions they have and understand firsthand how you can help address their challenges. 
  • Include a clear CTA to register for the event, or, if they’re all ready to go, to book a call or start a free trial.

Email 6: Last call with exclusive offer

It’s hard to say no to a good offer – especially if it’s of limited time, or exclusive just to you. As you near the end of your sequence, this is the perfect chance to offer an unmissable bonus to your audience. 

• Timing: Day 6 or 7
• Purpose: Create urgency to encourage them to take action.
• Content:
  • Drop a reminder of the benefits of working with you or using your product/service. You can do this through testimonials, bullet points, or even a short video. 
  • Prompt your audience to take you up on an exclusive offer, like a bonus, discount, or incentive for a limited time. Who doesn’t love a deal? 
  • Time is of the essence, so be sure to create a sense of urgency by including a final CTA that encourages them to act ‘now’.

Email 7: Final reminder and open loop

It’s important to maintain a relationship with your participants, and showing you have their best interests at heart is key for building trust. Even if they don’t invest in your services now, they may want to in the future. Round out the sequence with a friendly note to say you’re always here to help, whenever they’re ready to go. 

• Timing: Day 7 or 8
• Purpose: Give a final nudge, leaving the door open for future engagement.
• Content:
  • Your challenge was just the beginning, and your solution will help them go further. Reinforce this message through enticing copy that illustrates the benefits your audiences could reap by working with you/buying your services.
  • Highlight the key benefits of your offering one final time and include a ‘last chance’ CTA. Again, this will create the limited timeframe to work together, prompting audiences to hit the button. 
  • Wrap the email sequence up with an open invitation, saying they can reach out anytime for questions or if they need help deciding. Those personal touches go a long way!

Nurture your leads more effectively with ScoreApp

With ScoreApp, you can create too-good-to-miss challenges for your target audience, converting warm leads into long-term, high-quality sales.

Here are just a few benefits of building your challenge using ScoreApp:

• Build cut-through landing pages to engage your audience from the get-go.
• Ask a series of pre-qualifying questions to determine whether they’re the right fit for your brand.
• Create an insightful results page that offers real value to your audience.
• Seamlessly integrate with your existing CRM platform so you can enjoy stress-free automated emails.
• Feel empowered to create a follow-up sequence to drive conversions.
• Download professional templates ready for you to make your own.

Did we mention that you can unlock all this completely free of charge? Sign up today to get started!