An Introduction to Email Marketing

May 19, 2020

by Crystal Lee Butler
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily
represent those of Advisor Perspectives.

To get the most out of your marketing efforts, email delivers the results you want. I have created
a series to serve as a one-stop guide to email marketing for financial advisors, The Financial
Advisor’s Guide to Email Marketing.

In this series, I will answer questions such as:

What is email marketing and why use it?

How do I build an email list?
What is an email service provider (ESP) and why should I use one?
What is the basic framework of an effective marketing email?
Why should I send out an email newsletter?
What email etiquette tips and best practices should I follow?
What is email marketing automation and how should I use it?
Over the next several weeks, you will find the answers to those questions and more, to ensure you use email marketing
effectively to connect with prospects, gain more clients and grow your business.

Now, let’s begin by diving into what The Financial Advisor’s Guide to Email Marketing is all about.

What is email marketing?

Email marketing is a way of promoting your business and services using email. Email is a primary channel of marketing
communication and email marketing is a direct marketing method used to cultivate connections with prospects with the
goal of converting them to clients and strengthen relationships with existing clients.

Every email you send to a potential or current client can be considered email marketing, but the term typically refers to
using an ESP to send bulk emails to a list of subscribers. More specifically, email marketing refers to email broadcasts,
campaigns, and sequences sent as part of an overall marketing strategy with specific goals and objectives.

Why is email marketing helpful?

Although email has been around for decades, it is still going strong. People read their emails. Emailsreach 85% of the
people they are sent to, 58% of people check their email before checking social media, and people are most likely in their
email inbox to take care of business and focus on the things that are important in their daily lives.

Studies have shown that email continues to have a higher rate of return than other forms of digital marketing, with an
average ROI of $38 dollars for every $1 spent. Of course that number varies, but when you take into account how
personalized you can make your email marketing and the intimate nature of the inbox, you can see why email marketing is
a strong fit for a business as personal as financial advisory services.

What’s involved in email marketing?

A lot goes into successful email marketing, and although there is a learning curve, you can start with sending a basic
newsletter and expand into more personalized and automated strategies.

To begin, you need a plan to communicate effectively with your ideal clients. Ask yourself what content would be helpful for
them and how sharing that content with them through email will move them closer to wanting to work with you.

Next, select an ESP that will enable you to build and manage your email list and send marketing emails while staying in

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compliance with email marketing regulations.

Then, start building your email list so you have an audience of subscribers ready and eager to receive what you send them.
Eventually, segment your list and create targeted personalized messages, but for your email marketing to be effective,
you’ll need to prioritize list building.

Conclusion

Email marketing is an essential tool for any financial advisor to grow a successful practice. No other digital marketing
method is as good at reaching your prospects where they are and nothing is as effective at building personal connections
with prospects and clients. For your financial advisor business to succeed, implement an email marketing strategy as soon
as you can.

Developing email marketing campaigns that achieve audience engagement is no easy task. Getting someone to share their
email address and consent to allow you into their inbox is tough enough. Getting them to open an email from a business,
read through it, and take action is even more challenging. But the better you know your ideal clients’ needs, the better you
can engage them, and the effort you put into email marketing will prove worth it.

In the next article of this series, I will tackle the first priority – email list building.

Download a free copy of the Email Marketing Checklist & Template here.

Sometimes email marketing can seem like an overwhelming task to undertake on your own. This is exactly what we do for
our clients! We help craft opt-ins to build their email lists and create captivating email marketing campaigns to engage with
their audience in the most effective way possible. Let us help you get a handle on the whole process by scheduling an
introductory meeting today.

Crystal Lee Butler, MBA is a creative marketer and results-oriented business consultant with over a decade of experience
collaborating with independent advisers. At Crystal Marketing Solutions, she delivers exceptional insights for financial
professionals enabling them to create a consistent marketing presence so they can focus on the things that matter most to
them.

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