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So, you've decided to start your own accounting firm.

Congratulations!

Marketing is one of the most important aspects of running any business, and it's especially critical when you're first starting out.

In this Heart-icle, I'm going to share 5 tips that will help you launch your new accounting practice and get more clients!

Let’s dive in!

Develop a Strong Brand

Creating a strong brand for your accounting firm is an essential first step in your marketing plan.

A good branding campaign will give prospective customers a glimpse into who you are, what your practice is about, what makes it different, what kind of services you provide, and ultimately, why they should choose you as their accountant.

From choosing the right name and logo to embarking on implementing a marketing strategy - branding can help promote visibility and increase awareness for your accounting firm.

Not only that, but it can also help you stand out from competition, as well as demonstrate professionalism and trustworthiness to potential customers.

With great branding, you'll be able to attract more business and have greater success in today's competitive market.

Here is a quick branding checklist for getting started!

This one is pretty obvious, but a name for your firm.

Many firms are named after their partnership group, so naming your firm after yourself may sound like a good idea, but I personally would recommend against it.

Naming your firm after yourself puts your firm in a bit of a box and doesn't lend itself to creating a story for your brand that is inviting, intriguing, or is something that you future partners or employees down the road can buy into and feel like they have a part in.

Naming your firm after something meaningful may seem tough, but it doesn't have to be!

Think of a name that means something to you, your family, or your community. Then do a quick domain search by heading to Google Domains and seeing if the domain name is available for your website!

Second on the checklist is a logo

There are three types of logos that you'll need.

First is what we call a wordmark, which is your firm's name as a logo
Second is a icon, or a symbol. This is typically a design or image representation of your brand. We like to make sure that it fits into a square ratio as you are going to need to use a square ratio in many instances for your brand, whether that be a profile picture on LinkedIn, a favicon in a browser window, which is the little image that appears in your browser tab, and so on!
The last logo that you'll need is a combination of the two which we call a Lockup. This typically has the icon on the left to anchor the wordmark.

Next item you'll need for your brand is your colours and typography

These two branding elements are often overlooked, but are incredibly important when it comes to brand recognition and awareness.

Using the exact same colour codes (from RGB, HEX, and Pantones), and typography can really improve your accounting firm's brand and overall aesthetic.

Next your brand story and messaging

This is the part of your brand that nobody can see, but they can feel and hear.

We all resonate with stories, it's how we shape our meaning of the world around us, and your brand should have a clear story for your client's to be invited into.

Contrary to what you might be thinking, the story of your brand is not actually about your brand. It's about your client and the story that they are living.

Your accounting firm's part in the story is as the guide to help your client live the life they dream of and help them overcome their problems, and struggles.

Donald Miller speaks about this concept in length in his book, so feel free to checkout the link to that book here for Canada, and here for the US.

I know it's a lot to get started, but there is a lot that goes into creating an engaging and meaningful brand for your firm.

Create an Impactful Website for your Accounting Firm

Having a website for your accounting firm can do wonders to attract more business and make an impact.

With a website, you’ll be able to showcase your services, provide a homepage that looks good and is easy to navigate, and give potential clients the ability to get in touch with you quickly.

By regularly posting content related to the accounting field, such as blog posts or articles, you can keep potential clients informed about the topics which are important for them.

A website for your accounting firm also allows you to market yourself on social media outlets like Facebook or Twitter, making sure that all of your clients always know what’s going on and are directed to one central location for all of the most relevant and up to date information about your new accounting firm. Best of all, having an attractive website is sure to give your firm an edge over competitors who don't have one.

If you are looking for a place to build your new website for your accounting firm, look no further than SquareSpace! With SquareSpace, you can create a beautiful website for your accounting business that will stand out from the competition with beautiful templates, an easy to update content management system, and much more!

Our atHeart Creative website is built on SquareSpace and many of our clients use SquareSpace as well! If you're just getting started, it is by far my number one recommendation for those getting started with building a website!

SquareSpace makes it easy to customize the look of your website. With a wide range of templates, you will be able to find the perfect look for your website.

You can also customize fonts, colors and images to create a unique design that reflects your brand. The drag-and-drop editor makes it easy to add content like text, images, videos and more. Plus there are many features available such as eCommerce integration with PayPal, SEO tools and more.

To get started building your website for your accounting firm with SquareSpace all you need to do is sign up, pick a template and start customizing it! With the free trial, you can test out their features before committing to any plan and start creating an amazing website for your accounting business today!

Click here to begin building your new website with SquareSpace, for your accounting firm, today!

Clarify your Offering and Target Client

When it comes to accounting firm marketing, one of the key points is to understand and target your ideal clients. This involves research and tailoring services specifically to their needs.

Once you have identified who they are, you should also be sure to explain clearly what your business has to offer them. Doing this involves creating an engaging narrative and having a clear, concise explanation of how you can provide value for your target clientele. By knowing exactly who you want to target and why, you will be able to get more meaningful results from your marketing efforts and be more confident in your marketing messages, instead of trying to appeal to everyone!

Start by thinking about the industry your perfect client works in. What type of business do they have, or what kind of work do they do? Where do they live? How much do they make? What do they do for fun?

All of these questions can help you narrow and define who your target client is!

Also consider packaged pricing! It's a direction that many accounting firms are heading into.

Packaging the services that you offer into a monthly subscription for a specific target client, can be a great way to set your new firm apart from the competition, while also making it more clear for your prospective client's how much they will be paying, and for what services.

Invest in Search Engine Advertising

Search engine advertising is an incredibly powerful tool to help you grow your business.

When one of your target clients is searching for a solution like "accounting firms in your city", then a list of accounting firms are going to come up. All of the organic results are going to be websites that have been around for a while, have plenty of content on them, and have consistent web traffic.

As a new firm, you're going to be fighting for a spot on page one of Google and for your share of these search results. Unless, you invest in Google Ads.

Not only does Google Ads give you the opportunity to significantly boost visibility for your website and product/services, it also offers numerous targeting options for more precise ad placement and allows data analysis of website traffic for more informed decisions regarding campaign performance.

Google Ads is a "Pay-per-click" structure, meaning you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. Pay-per-click campaigns are also popular thanks to the ability to set a budget and limit spending.

Investing in search engine advertising is a smart choice that can pay huge dividends in the future, especially when you are fighting for attention from those in your area looking for your services.

Use Social Media to Build Thought Leadership with Clients

Leveraging social media isn't just for businesses trying to reach the younger generation.

An accounting firm can use social media like LinkedIn to expand their client base and reach out to new prospects in a value-adding way. It's a great way to build thought leadership and demonstrate your expertise, as well as keep existing clients informed about recent developments and events within your firm.

With so many accountants already on social networks, it's important to differentiate yourself from the crowd - post regular updates that are unique to your new company's insights and activities, share quality content from other sources relevant to your field, and interact with potential customers online by responding quickly to messages or direct questions they may have.

All this effort will help you establish credibility with your target audience and ensure you stay top of mind when they're ready to hire an accountant.

Wrap Up

These are just a few of the many steps you need to take in order to set your accounting firm up for marketing success. but I hope that this post helps!

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, that’s totally normal!

Luckily, if you're interested, our team is here to help!

We specialize in branding and marketing for accounting firms just like yours. In fact, we’ve helped many accounting firms build strong brands and generate leads through effective digital marketing campaigns using the tips that I shared in this blog.

So if you’re ready to get started, book your FREE discovery meeting with us today, here, We can’t wait to chat with you about your new business venture!

Thanks for reading, I hope you found this blog helpful!

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.

5️⃣ Things you NEED when Starting your Own Accounting Firm!