Keeping Your Newsletters out of the Trash

Source: AICPA CPA Insider

The following includes excerpts, reproduced with permission, from an article by Vikram Rajan.

You get dozens of e-newsletters in your inbox every week. Your clients probably receive just as many, if not more. How quickly do you delete all those newsletters? Ever wonder how quickly your clients delete yours? Here's how to draw your client's attention:

• Don't use a template. This does little to distinguish your practice, highlight your niche or specialty, or brand your expertise.
• Do keep a tab of FAQs. Track all the “Frequently Asked Questions” from your clients, prospects, and even junior staff. Email your database the first two sentences of the Q&A. Add a “click here to read our full answer” link to the full paragraph on your website.
• Do repeat on a regular basis. If possible, repeat this once a week or twice a month. You will end up with two or three new paragraphs on your website every month (which does wonders for your Google search results – but that's a topic for another column).
• Do update clients on events. What's happening next week or later in the month? Your clients will appreciate timely and relevant news: deadlines, events, new legislation, etc.
• Don't e-blast weekly unless imminently important. Not only is this annoying, it ends up with diminishing returns (“boy who cried wolf” phenomenon). A monthly newsletter is optimal, making it biweekly during urgent times.
• Do use social media. LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook groups are quick ways to keep in constant communication, en masse, with your clients, without flooding their inboxes.
• Do connect through non-accounting events. Your newsletter need not be only about taxes, accounting, or financials. Grow your client relationships through your hobbies.

For the complete article, read “Are Your Newsletters Reaching Your Clients?”

From AICPA CPA Insider, April 18, 2011, http://www.CPA2biz.com.