Email newsletters have been around ever since email was first introduced in the 1970s, and some marketers argue that in today’s world of apps and social media, their days are limited. With email still the preferred communication method for most businesses, we believe newsletters are a tried and tested marketing tool that’s worth including in your communications strategy.
This is especially true for accountancy firms who operate in an industry that relies on giving expert advice and educating their clients on their accounting and tax affairs. After all, people tend to use an accountant’s services because they trust them to provide useful, reliable advice that is in their best interest.
Why you should send a newsletter to your contacts
Nurturing
Sending regular newsletters is a great way to keep in touch with your prospects and clients. Rather than seeing it as a lead generation tool (which it isn’t), see it as an opportunity to nurture your contacts and remind them that you’re still here. It can also help inform your contacts about what you as a firm do, who you work with, and who the people at the other end of the phone or email are.
Educating
As accountants you need to stay up to date with any changes in legislation and find out about schemes and initiatives that will benefit your clients. Newsletters can be an effective and quick way of informing and educating your contacts about those areas that affect them. MTD is a perfect example.
Effort
Newsletters are a great way of communicating with a large number of people for relatively little effort. Whilst our advice would be to create fresh and unique content, it doesn’t have to be original (although it helps!) and there are a wide range of third-party sites available that curate content relevant to accountants.
Monitoring
Compared to other forms of communications, email marketing software lets you monitor open and click rates. Monitoring and interpreting this information will help firms refine content, drive traffic to websites or social media channels and evaluate the overall effectiveness of a campaign.
What makes a great newsletter
Regularity
Pick a timeframe that is realistic for you to stick to and be clear in what you’re going to deliver when signing people up – be that weekly, monthly, quarterly or even annually. Its better to do it well than often!
Content that adds value
Content should support your overall value proposition and be complementary to your services
Consistent tone of voice
Keep your brand and tone of voice consistent across all marketing channels. The writing style should be educational and friendly, not spammy or salesy.
Professional email marketing software
There are plenty of free email marketing tools available that let you send professional looking emails to your subscribers. Most are user-friendly, easy to navigate and provide helpful resources with best practice tips.
Short and snappy
Generally speaking, less is more and with ever declining attention spans keeping content to a minimum is key. If there’s a more in-depth or technical article you feel would be of benefit to your readers, why not link to it?
Logical structure
Have a think about how you structure your newsletter. Start with an intro, followed by the most important components and save the lighter reading for the bottom. Make it visually appealing with a varied layout, pictures, infographics or videos.
Include strong calls to action and links to website
Consider what the action is you’d like people to take after reading your newsletter. Is there a post for further reading, do you want them to call your office, set up a consultation, or sign up to download a guide?