Do your friends and family members ever ask for favors? You probably indulge their requests, because you have a relationship established on trust and mutual liking of one another.
But what about strangers? If a stranger asks to borrow your car, are you going to let him? If he needs you to take care of his pet for a weekend, are you willing to help?
Most people feel uncomfortable and say no to strangers who approach them this way. Yes, when the question is asked by someone you know, the answer is often yes.
This is the principle behind email marketing for financial advisors. Building a personal relationship over time leads to more referrals, client loyalty, and repeat business.
But why use email?
Thanks to the rapid advancement of the internet, we’re more connected than ever. We can all join multiple social media platforms, make connections, and build a relationship with just about anyone in the world. It’s like a large networking event, but all online! Social media marketing should indeed have a place in your overall online marketing campaign, but you shouldn’t rely on it completely to manage your personal interactions online.
Why? Because email gives you much greater control over who sees your messages, and when they are delivered. You choose the content you want to send, personalize the message, deliver it straight to your recipient’s inbox. You target is much more likely to see your message, and they’ll feel more special when you email them directly. Email puts you in control of your interactions.
Five steps to staying in touch with your clients/prospects…
There are various ways in which you can build an email database. You may meet your contacts at networking events, “friend” them on social media, or entice them to fill out the contact form on your website. Regardless of how you get their contact information, remember to treat it with care. This person has opened the door to let you into their life; treat the relationship with trust and respect, and you will gain their long-term loyalty.
Follow these five steps to establish your email marketing campaign.
- Put together blog posts full of useful and compelling information for your target audience and email them out to your list.
- Remember to use content that your audience would normally seek to read, regardless of any promotions or other reason you might have for sending it to them.
- On that note, DON’T promote yourself. Your content should be useful and information, not a sales pitch.
- Consider making the emails personal. Addressing each contact by name increases email open rates.
- Set a regular schedule for contacting your audience. Four emails per month will help you nourish your relationships without overwhelming the recipients.
That’s really all there is to it! For more information on starting an email marketing campaign, give us a call and we’ll be happy to help.