Why is an email newsletter important when communicating with your clients?

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You need an email newsletter that you send to your clients. In this blog, I'll tell you why and how to get started!

You know how important building and maintaining client relationships is to the success of your accounting firm. And one of the best ways to stay in touch with your clients is by utilizing email newsletters! In this post, we'll discuss why email newsletters are so important for accounting firms and how to get started with your newsletter campaign.

Email newsletters give accounting firms a regular, consistent way to keep in touch with their clients. They can provide timely updates on accounting news, tax regulations, and the latest changes in accounting technology. Plus they can be personalized to focus on areas of accounting that are relevant to each client's interests.

You might be thinking to yourself, aren't email newsletters so outdated and a waste of time?

Nope!

Why Email Newsletters are Effective

Email newsletters are still incredibly effective for accounting firms. In fact, email marketing out performs many other digital marketing tactics in terms of ROI and customer engagement.

Why?

Well, email is still the primary medium of professional communication. The average business owner or working professional is opening their email several times a day!

We often think of email marketing as stale, outdated, and ineffective because it has been around for a while. The truth is, it's still arguably the most effective way to market.

Think about it, nearly every business or brand is trying to get access to your email. Why? Because it's the most personal way to connect with you, rather than on a TV, social media, or billboard ad, big brands from McDonald's, Nike, LuLuLemon, and beyond are all looking to communicate with you directly as often as possible.

The same should go for you and your accounting firm.

Clients who receive regular emails from their accountants that add value and are informative tend to be more loyal and are more likely to refer new clients.

So how do you get started with your own accounting firm?

Create a Plan

Brainstorm the topics that you'd like to cover in your accounting email newsletters and decide how often you will be sending them out.

A great place to start is to send one email to your client base each month. Highlight a few topics, articles, or concepts that you'd like to share with your clients and keep it simple. Remember, you want to ensure that you're adding value to your clients.

I get pushback from my accounting clients often that worry that if they send an email newsletter they're going to be "spammy", or no one is going to read the email.

Trust me, if you send one email a month, and you include valuable information that is going to help them better their business, prepare for tax season, or save them money, they're going to be more engaged and loyal to you and your firm.

Keep in mind that not everyone is going to open your emails, and some people may unsubscribe. That's okay and completely normal. Don't let this deter you! A clean list is a good thing. Meaning if a few of your clients decide that they don't want your newsletter and unsubscribe, that's just fine!

Gather Email Addresses

Ensure that you are asking all of your clients for their email addresses. You likely already have them, but get them into a spreadsheet so that you can upload them to your email marketing software, such as mailchimp, which is a simple, free, and great option to get started.

Write and Design your Template

Invest a little time into creating a beautiful and easy-to-read newsletter template that stands out from the crowd. Mailchimp will have templates that you can use, but keep it simple, and have a clear call to action.

Here is a simple template that I would use for an accounting firm.

If you don't create original content yet, that shouldn't stop you either! You can curate content that might be valuable to your clients. This could include links to tax updates on the federal government's website that gives more indepth information on tax code changes. CPA associations are often sharing information as well, you can share their articles as well.

Finding content and sharing other sources of information can be just as effective!

Collect Performance Data and Make Adjustments

Monitor the performance of your newsletter to see what works and where you can improve.

Again don't get hung up on open rates and unsubscribes at the beginning. Gone are the days of 80% open rates. If you get 50% of your list on average opening your newsletter each month, that's great!

Wrap Up

Email newsletters are a great way for accounting firms to keep in touch with their clients, increase engagement, and even gain more referrals. With the right tools, plan, and content, you can easily and quickly get started with email newsletters today!

If you're looking for a guide to elevate your firm's marketing, be sure to head over to marketmycpafirm.com and download the FREE Ultimate Accounting Firm Marketing Playbook! It's packed full of tools, resources, and exercises to help you build your firm's marketing!

Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time!

Need some additional help? Book a FREE Discovery Meeting today, here, to chat about how I can help!

I'll see you next time.

About the Author

Bryton Udy is the Founder and CMO of atHeart Creative, and host of the Accountant Marketing Mentor YouTube Channel. Dedicated to helping accountants simplify their marketing and communications so they can grow their accounting, bookkeeping, and financial planning businesses, he is passionate about harnessing creative marketing to support the independent accountant.