Building a High-Quality Email Distribution List for Your Financial Planning Practice

Acquiring email leads as a financial advisor isn’t a quick, easy process. It takes patience, hard work, and the right strategy. There are many different ways to increase lead generation for your financial planning practice, such as email marketing, gated content, in-person networking, newsletters, inbound marketing, referrals, social media, and more.

A quality email marketing list can make or break your financial planning practice, but it’s not all about the numbers — think quality over quantity. Getting your information in front of the right people is vital. Sending unwanted emails to the wrong people wastes valuable time and resources, and it won’t help grow your practice.

Not sure how to get started? Here are some helpful ways to create and grow an email distribution list for your financial advising practice.

1. Use current client email addresses to grow your customer base.

One of the easiest ways to grow your practice is to create engaging, easy-to-read content that’s shareable. Offering free tips or valuable advice that benefits your readers compels them to share your content with friends and family members, who will often sign up to receive your content.

Make sure that each email you send is visually appealing, consistent with your brand, and clickable. The average adult has an attention span of just eight seconds, so keep that in mind when creating content. Remember to include a link to opt-in for emails inside every digital newsletter for readers who may have your emails forwarded from friends or acquaintances.

2. Create an inbound marketing campaign that leads clients to your site.

Inbound marketing helps customers find your financial planning practice using keyword-relevant and informative content such as blog posts, white papers, case studies, and an SEO-friendly website.

This type of marketing attracts the right consumers using valuable content that establishes your financial planning practice as a trusted source of information. Once these visitors land on your website, encourage them to sign up for emails using simple calls to action (CTAs).

Other inbound strategies include the following:

• Place numerous opt-in forms on your website in various locations.
• Publish new, informative, and relevant content regularly.
• Offer downloadable financial guides, free tips, and gated premium content that provides helpful information. Include a form submission that users must fill out to access these premium offers.
• Use newsletter sign-ups to collect the email addresses of potential clients.

3. Publish on-brand, visually appealing content on your social media accounts.

Social media can be an extremely useful tool when it comes to building a high-quality email distribution list. Along with publishing posts and videos regularly, joining or creating relevant groups and pages on social networks like Facebook or LinkedIn can help you reach people who may be seeking financial advisors. Remember to include a link to sign up for your email newsletter on each social media account.

4. Don’t spam.

Although some financial advisors purchase previously established lists of email addresses, this practice — also known as spamming — is generally considered unethical. Spamming can also lead to canceled subscriptions and high bounce rates. Financial advisors are encouraged to grow their client lists using organic methods that won’t violate the trust and privacy of current and prospective clients.

Not sure if you’re spamming? Here’s how to avoid it:

• Make sure you’ve received permission to contact every person on your email list. It’s also helpful to include an “unsubscribe” option in an easy-to-spot location somewhere in each email.
• Be honest. Don’t make promises you can’t keep, and be straightforward about how your financial services can enrich your clients’ lives.
• Update your list regularly. Make sure to clean your email list frequently by deleting any addresses that no longer exist and removing recipients who may no longer be interested in your content.

Building a high-quality email distribution list for your financial planning practice takes time and effort. It’s critical to remain patient, examine which methods work, and learn through trial and error.

Being a financial advisor is hard. Covisum’s marketing resources help you attract new clients. Our software helps you optimize your clients’ retirement strategies and communicate the value of your advice. And our expert customer experience team supports you along the way, helping you continuously show your value to clients and grow.