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Your list of email subscribers is a valuable pool of existing clients, prospects, and centers of influence. Those individuals have demonstrated an interest in your business and services by allowing you to have a direct line of communication with them.
Growing your email subscriber list should be a high priority. Not only can it maintain strong relationships with your existing clients, but you can nurture new leads and promote your services through your list. And email marketing has the highest ROI of any other marketing channel: a whopping $36 for every dollar spent.
I’ll share strategies you can use to grow your list, manage it, and connect with subscribers effectively – broken down into four steps you can easily accomplish over a month.
Week 1 – Add your contacts to your email list
To execute a proper email marketing strategy, start with a well-managed and up-to-date email subscriber list. Here are a few tips to help you ensure that you are adding all your contacts to your email subscriber list:
Add your clients, prospects, and leads
If your email software allows it, group each type of subscriber into its own segment or with its own tag so that later you can email each type of subscriber individually.
Don’t forget to Include COIs.
Include COIs in your emails as they are the most effective source for referrals. Including them in your email allows you to remind them of your areas of expertise, gives them the opportunity to forward your email to their contacts if they choose, and keeps you top of mind when their clients have a need you can solve.
Keep your email list up to date.
If you’ve already done the above – great! You should regularly review and update your email list to remove inactive or invalid email addresses. This will ensure that your emails are delivered to the right people and improve the effectiveness of your email marketing efforts.
You are legally required to obtain implied or expressed permission before adding someone to your mailing list. This can be done through a sign-up form on your website or by asking for verbal or written confirmation from the recipient.
Week 2 – Make it easy for people to sign up
Making it easy for people to sign up for your email newsletter is an important part of building and growing your email subscriber list. One way to do this is by using an email subscription form on your website.
An email subscription form is an online form that allows people to enter their email address and sign up to receive your email newsletter or other emails from you. All the major email marketing platforms, like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and AWeber, make it a simple process, generating the form’s source code for you that you then copy and paste into your website’s backend.
At a minimum, this form should appear on your website’s homepage. However, I recommend adding it to the footer of your website so that it shows up on every page.
Share a link to the form on social media or include a sign-up call-to-action in your email signature or other online communications.
And as always, don’t forget to test it!
Week 3 – New subscriber? Personally reach out
Sending a personal video message to new email subscribers is a great way to build a relationship with them and make them feel valued. It will help filter out spam, and make real subscribers feel welcome and start warming up to you.
Here are a few tips:
Keep your video short and to the point. Be brief and focused, with a clear purpose and message. Aim for 20-30 second videos, and focus on introducing yourself and explaining why you are excited to have them as subscribers.
Personalize your message by using the subscriber's name and referencing any specific interests or needs they may have. This will make them feel like you are speaking directly to them and not sending a generic message.
Before you start recording, practice what you will say and how you will say it. This will help you feel more confident and at ease while on camera.
Make sure you use a good microphone to ensure that your audio is clear and easy to understand.
Automated emails are great too, but don’t let the opportunity for a personal touch slip away. Let them know you saw their request come through and are happy to help in any way.
Week 4 – Evaluate your unsubscribes
Just like you tell your clients not to be distracted by the noise of unruly markets, don’t be bothered every time someone unsubscribes from your list. While it may be disappointing to see that an individual no longer wants to receive your mailings, unsubscribes can be good for your email list. Here are a few reasons why:
Unsubscribes help you maintain an engaged email list
By removing inactive or unengaged subscribers from your list, you can focus on reaching and communicating with those most interested in your content and likely to take action. This improves the overall effectiveness of your email marketing efforts.
Unsubscribes help you identify and fix issues
If you notice a sudden increase in unsubscribes, it may indicate a problem with your emails or your email marketing strategy. By analyzing the data and feedback from unsubscribed subscribers, you can identify and fix any issues causing people to leave your list.
Unsubscribes allow people to self-select out
By providing an easy way for people to unsubscribe from your emails, you are allowing them to self-select out of receiving emails from you. These unsubscribes may be from prospects who are not a good fit for your firm or aren’t ready. This ensures that you are only reaching people who are genuinely interested in your content and are willing to engage with you.
Unsubscribes are a normal part of the email marketing process and are not necessarily a reflection of the quality of your content or your overall marketing efforts. By analyzing and learning from your unsubscribe data, you can continually improve and refine your email marketing strategy to better meet the needs and interests of your subscribers.
Maintaining and connecting with your email subscribers is crucial for the success of your business. By regularly sending them relevant and valuable content, you can build trust and credibility with your audience, including potential leads and clients willing to refer. Don't underestimate the power of your email subscribers – they are a key component of your online presence and should be treated as a valuable asset.
How does your current marketing measure up? Take my quiz to determine whether you are taking the right actions in marketing your firm and, if not, what steps you can take to improve your outcomes: Financial Advisor Marketing Quiz.
Crystal Lee Butler, MBA is the owner of Crystal Marketing Solutions, a full-service marketing agency dedicated to working specifically with independent financial advisors. Since 2011, she’s helped financial advisors cut through the noise to attract ideal clients and grow their businesses using proven strategies that we use with our clients every day. As your “Chief Marketing Officer,” our goal is to help you grow your business and put time back on your calendar so that you can focus on what you do best: serving your clients.
This material was prepared by Crystal Marketing Solutions, LLC, and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. This information has been derived from sources believed to be accurate and is intended merely for educational purposes, not as advice.
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
