We are all inundated with email. I personally get hundreds a day— maybe more. And I often delete many of the emails I receive without reading them (not the ones from you!). Getting face time with your prospects and clients through email can be difficult, but there are some things you can do to improve your email game. Here are seven tips to help you make your emails more effective in your financial practice.
1. Personalize Your Emails
Start by simply addressing your contacts by name. If you really want to improve your emails, find a way to include something even more personal in the body of the email. You could recap a conversation you had about retirement strategies or reference a mutual interest. If your list is too large to customize each email, segment your lists as much as possible, such as by geography or personas. Your services and advice might differ a bit for each segment, so customize your emails to reflect those distinctions and send a different version to each segment.
2. Pretend You Are Writing to Your Favorite Client
Spend some time thinking about your favorite client. Who are you picturing? What do you know about them? What are their financial planning goals? Crafting the right tone for your email is important. You don’t want to appear cold or overly rigid. A good rule is to pretend you’re speaking to your favorite client. You should use the same conversational tone in your emails that you would use if you were speaking to that client in person.
3. Be Brief
We’ve all seen emails that are way too long. It goes without saying that if your correspondence is too lengthy, many people won’t take the extra time read the whole email. You don’t have to outline every detail. Hit the high notes and link to more information on your website.
4. Give More Than You Ask For
A good rule is to provide more than you request. For instance, if you are requesting an email address, provide a free retirement check-up download or a quick retirement readiness calculator. Prospects are more likely to engage if you offer them something helpful and valuable.
5. Include a Call to Action
You can’t measure true engagement by open rates. Open rates don’t pay the bills. Open rates don’t set up one-on-one appointments. A call to action is really the only way to know if your email was successful. The more your prospects engage and the more value they find in your content – the more likely they will be receptive to coming in for a consultation. Additionally, once they’ve engaged, you can continue to follow up with helpful and relevant content until it’s acceptable to ask for a meeting.
6. Craft Messaging That Resonates
A well-crafted message will highlight your unique benefits, target your specific audience, support your goal and often include a call to action, such as a consultation for retirement planning or risk management. With repeated use, key messages serve as the foundation of your branding and marketing efforts. They should be reflected in all written and spoken communications, including email.
7. Polish Your Subject Lines
In general, your subject line should not exceed 50 characters. If a subject line is longer than 50 characters, it may be cut-off. Also, avoid words like “free” or multiple exclamation points if you want to get past spam filters. Your subject lines should include clear and actionable language that aligns with the body copy.
Email marketing just one important element of an overall financial advisor marketing strategy. Creating a marketing strategy that resonates to your clients' needs is a key component for the success of your business. In this era of constant communication and instant notification, marketing is even more important than it’s ever been before.
If you have goals to grow your financial planning practice, check out this free Marketing Your Retirement Income Practice webinar I recorded.