We’re sure you’ve already heard how email marketing can benefit your firm in more ways than one. We’ve probably spoken about it countless times. That’s because email marketing still is one of the most effective channels in the marketing toolkit.
Email newsletters for accountants are a great way to add value to your audience and market to your current and future clients. But, just like any other marketing tool, your emails should be strategically planned out to get the right results.
But what should you include in your newsletter? Here are some tips on how to build an email newsletter that your audience will actually enjoy reading.
Relevance is key.
One of the biggest rules in marketing is to ensure all your messages are relevant to your audience. The same is true for your email newsletter. Only include content that is valuable, relevant, and helpful for your ideal audience.
If you want your audience to actually read your newsletters, you need to offer them content that they find worthy of their time.
Think about what topics will pique their interest. Listen to what the buzz is all about as of late. Perhaps there is a new announcement from the ATO that requires a quick update to your email audience? Or maybe some new legislation that concerns them? Write about them and add them to your newsletter. Talk about what it means for your clients and what they should do about it.
Answer their questions.
Your clients are asking you questions all the time. And oftentimes, they are all asking the same or very similar questions. Turn these questions into helpful articles that you can publish to your blog and distribute through your email newsletter.
Accountants often ask us how we make sure their newsletters are performing well. The answer is pretty simple. If your newsletter content is relevant and answers some of your clients’ burning questions, it will perform well. Make it a habit to listen and take note of what your clients are asking, you will surely find a treasure trove of content ideas from that.
Direct them to your website.
When building content for your newsletter, only include short snippets of 3-5 articles that link to the full articles on your website. You want as much traffic as possible leading back to your website. So avoid dumping all the text from an article in your newsletter.
Your website is the platform you have full control over. It’s a platform you own. This gives you more opportunities to convince your audience when they explore your website pages. But you need to get them on your site first.
Share some company news.
What’s been happening behind the scenes in your firm? Did you have a recent big win you want to celebrate with your audience? Perhaps a new addition to your team? Or a company event, strategy retreat, or celebration?
These stories are also nice to include in your newsletter. This gives your audience a chance to get to know you better and celebrate the wins with you.
Introduce your services (both old and new).
Your email newsletter is a great avenue to introduce your services to your current and future clients. Utilise your newsletter to talk about your services and how they can benefit your clients. And don’t forget to include a clear call to action that directs them to contact you to learn more.
Add in important reminders.
Remind your clients of important accounting and tax dates. If you’re sending out newsletters on a monthly basis, include important dates for the upcoming month in your email content. This is surely helpful for your clients, especially if they don’t always set their own reminders for these dates.
Use a strong subject line.
Your subject line is a critical part of your newsletter. It is the first thing your readers will see and it will be a deciding factor on whether they will open your email or put it straight into the bin. So, remember to always use a strong subject line.
Your subject line should perfectly capture what your audience can get from reading your email. Keep it short but clear and interesting. It could be around 50 characters or less. You can also add emojis to make it more fun. Most importantly, don’t make it look spammy. Avoid adding too many exclamation points or typing in all caps.
Personalise it.
To better catch your audience’s attention, you may personalise your email where possible. You can do this by adding their names to your subject line, or even to the actual content of your email newsletter. This way, your reader will feel that you are actually talking to them.
Make it beefy and interesting.
Include a short introduction summarising the content of the newsletter to engage the audience right away. Make sure your introduction is clear but also interesting. Add in images that are relevant to the content of your newsletter. Avoid using just any plain old stock image that doesn’t even fit the context of your content. The images you use should complement the text in your newsletter.
Use original content where you can, that is, content you have written yourself.
However, you can also use curated content from third parties to add more substance.
Curated content is content from outside sources that you think your audience will find valuable. You may get pieces of content from online media sources or even government websites to discuss recent news or updates and add these in with your own thoughts.
Check out this article on “How to Craft Successful Accounting Blogs”.
Ensure your data is healthy.
Email marketing doesn’t end in pressing the send button.
After sending out your newsletter, spend some time analysing the performance. How many unsubscribed? How many opened compared to how many clicked on a link? Ensure to check these things for when you send out your next newsletter.
This will give you an idea of which content is most relevant and valuable for them. This can help you think of other content ideas they might like in the future.
Building an email newsletter can be tricky, especially because there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to this. Sure there are some guidelines on best practices, but the right content to include in your newsletter will greatly depend on your audience. So, when thinking about what to include in your newsletter, start with the biggest questions your audience has.
Need a hand? Get in touch with us at Practice + Pixels. Send us a message or give us a call so we can discuss how we can help.
