Newsletter Best Practices for Financial Advisors

This article originally appeared on Advisorpedia on January 3rd, 2022, and can be found here.

We receive emails every day, and many of us have backed-up inboxes. The result? We only open emails of high value. In order to get your newsletter opened in 2022, you will want to emphasize this value, and further update your newsletter to showcase it.

In this blog post, we’ll run through a few ways to do just that. Read on to discover newsletter best practices for 2022.

1. Set a Goal and Schedule

Before you begin gathering content, you’ll want to determine the intent behind your newsletter. Are you looking to convert more leads? Nurture current prospects? Or support your current clients? The material you provide within your newsletter will adjust depending on these factors.

You will also want to determine a newsletter schedule. How often you send your newsletter will depend on its original goal. Though, most newsletters will be monthly or bi-weekly to avoid spam.

As for when to send your newsletter, Wordstream recommends a send time during the middle of the week, from 9 to 11 am, or from 1 to 3 pm:

Of course, like best practices, this range is a starting point. As you send your newsletter, you’ll want to test what works to find a send time that’s best for your business, leading to our next point.

2. Always Test

Whether you’re testing a new send time, subject line, or content type, be sure to try different approaches before settling on a standard procedure. This way you can discover what works for your specific audience.

One important factor to consider for each and every email, not just newsletters, is mobile optimization. According to Dlvrit, 64% of decision-makers read emails on mobile:

This makes testing your newsletters on your mobile device incredibly important. So, before you hit send, be sure to check your emails on your phone to ensure it looks the same as desktop.

3. Personalize Design and Message

From subject line to content, personalization is key to the success of any email messaging, including newsletters. The biggest difference with a newsletter though is often the content contained within.

Using your CRM or other data, you’ll want to start by segmenting your lists to create different groups. Each group may call for a different approach within your newsletter. For example, prospects should receive different messaging compared to clients.

Here are a few things to consider to personalize your newsletter:

1. Subject line: Writing an effective subject line is key to creating a successful email. After all, it’s what will get your email opened in the first place. Be sure to optimize your subject line to make sure the recipient would find it interesting.
2. Content: The content you select should coincide with the recipient – a lead or prospect is not going to be interested in the same content as a client. Of course, content variety may be needed with different types of newsletters. If this is the case, consider using a content tool from FMG or Twenty Over Ten to help fill in the gaps.
3. Formatting: Even if you use the same content in two different newsletters, be sure to consider its positioning. One way to decide the order is to examine calls-to-action, if the page you’re linking out to is more relevant to the recipient than others, consider including this content higher up in your newsletter.
4. Sender: Does your firm communicate as a business, or do you have a team member to act as the “face” of your brand? Consider these factors before sending your newsletter. If your audience is more familiar with a member of your team, your newsletter could be more powerful coming from their email.
5. CTAs: Your calls-to-action do not just need to lead readers to your content. Consider other ways of implementing CTAs in your newsletter. A good place to start is to reference your original goal, then craft a call to action to support it. For example, maybe your goal is to convert more leads? If this is the case, consider including a quick message and CTA to contact your firm.

4. Keep it Short

When crafting your newsletter, a less is more approach is often best. This will allow you to keep in line with your original goal. So, consider including 4-6 pieces of content. You could include even less if you like, depending on the intent behind your newsletter and the content you provide.

For example, in this Evergreen Wealth Management newsletter, a case study is highlighted, along with a background on the advisor providing the information. Together these two elements increase the credibility of the newsletters message:

5. Provide Clear and Immediate Value

Many of us skim emails when we open them, picking out what we feel is the most valuable before clicking to engage. For this reason, your newsletter should provide imagery and copy that quickly demonstrates the value of your content.

For example, if your newsletter includes a video, you could use Canva to add a play button to your image. And, the title text of your video could start with “[Video]” to emphasize its format.

Small changes like this can make your newsletter more skimmable, and increase the chance of clicks.