One of the most powerful ways for an IFA to communicate with current clients (and reach prospective ones) is via a newsletter. Yet how do you ensure that yours works as effectively as it could, and does not end up hurting your brand or marketing efforts?
A successful IFA newsletter involves optimising and managing a range of moving parts so that they work cohesively towards your marketing goals. Below, our team shares 8 tips to help you improve your IFA newsletter and generate more traction from it.
We hope you find this content helpful and invite you to book a free consultation if you would like to discuss your own IFA newsletter.
#1 Check your medium works
Many IFAs assume that their audience expects a printed newsletter, and so automatically dismiss the idea of a digitally-based medium. Assumptions like these can result in costly mistakes.
Some audiences do, indeed, prefer a physical publication in their hands – to read with a cake and coffee in their home. Yet audiences increasingly expect to be able to access content easily online, via a tablet or mobile device. This is the case for many older audiences too – not just younger ones.
If you can make the switch to a digital newsletter, consider doing so. It is much friendlier to the environment, cheaper to distribute and far easier to measure the results of each campaign.
#2 Maintain a schedule
If your audience knows when to expect your newsletter, they can start to look forward to it more easily.
Having a precise day of the week – and time of day – also helps improve your engagement rates, since people are more likely to read a newsletter which they know when to look out for.
#3 Stay on brand
Does every client newsletter you send out to your list “sound like you?” Does the language in the introduction and articles reflect your tone of voice, style and values? Keeping a consistent brand is key to a successful newsletter. People will quickly notice if your newsletter starts to read differently, and they will suspect that you are no longer taking the time to at least check it yourself (even if they may not expect you to write all of the content).
#4 Invest amazing subject lines
What do people see in their list of emails when your IFA newsletter arrives in their inboxes? If you are simply calling it “Summer Newsletter”, then you are not only missing a trick but also potentially endangering your engagement rates. You do not need to be incredibly witty or funny with each subject line that you write. However, it should at least create a bit of intrigue in the recipient so that they want to bother to open the message. A simple place to start is to use your subject line to ask a question such as: “Pensions: have you check this lately?”
#5 Offer great content
What is the quality of the articles and guides that you offer your audience? Would you want to take the time to read any of it for yourself, if you are being truly honest? There is little point sending a substandard IFA newsletter. People will soon view it as clutter in their inbox, ready to be cleared out. In fact, if enough people mark your newsletter as spam, your email service provider may blacklist you and stop you sending out any further messages at all. Take a careful look at your content and check that you are addressing the pain points your readers are facing. Be sure that you are addressing the questions they are having right now about their financial plan.
#6 Create a beautiful layout
Is your IFA newsletter pleasing to the eye, and enjoyable to look over at first glance? Many IFA newsletters are very poorly designed and, bluntly, this leads people to avoid reading them. Humans are naturally drawn to what they find attractive, and so the design of your newsletter plays a key part in its success as a communication tool. If you lack design skills, then consider approaching a financial marketing agency to help you craft something which looks compelling and professional.
#7 Keep sales to a minimum
Lead your IFA newsletter with value. Place the emphasis on what you can give your clients – rather than what you can take from them. Again, this comes back to offering regular content which people want to read because they find it timely, relevant and useful. If your newsletter typically leads with a new promotion or exhortation to do something, then you will likely see readership start to tail off.
#8 Include user-generated content
People love to hear stories – especially if the stories are about people who are “like them”. Here, IFAs often miss a trick with their newsletters by not including testimonials, stories or content from existing clients. Here, of course, you need to seek permission and be mindful of each clients’ needs and feelings before you can be safely sure of pushing the “send” button on your campaign. However, the results can be well worth the effort. As much as people may love to hear from their adviser, they are typically especially intrigued by others’ experiences and whether they can relate to them. These types of pieces are also, often, very sharable – increasing your chances of a client forwarding your email on to a friend, coworker or family member who is not yet a client.
