Financial Advisors have newsletters, blogs, white papers, and other important content they want to share with their network. But how often should you be emailing them? There is no golden rule, but below are some things to consider before hitting “send.”
Some Statistics
Below are some interesting email marketing statistics for the financial services industry from Campaign Monitor:
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- The open rate (percentage of the total number of subscribers who opened an email) for emails is 24.80%. That means if you send an email to 1,000 people, only 248 people are opening it.
- The click-through rate (the number of subscribers who click on a link or image in your email out of all the total emails you’ve sent, regardless of whether the subscriber opened the campaign) for emails is 2.70%. The click-through rate provides insight into how many of your total subscribers are visiting your website and ultimately converting from email.
- The click-to-open rate (the percentage of email viewers who click on a link or image within an email) for emails is 10.60%. The email click-to-open rate may be considered a measure of the immediate response rate of an email.
- The unsubscribe rate (the action a user takes to opt out of getting any more emails) for emails is 0.20%. This rate is indicative of a disinterested audience.
Comparing the above rates can help provide insights into which email campaigns are doing well and which are not. If you’re finding the above rates below the industry average, consider these two tips to significantly improve your email marketing campaigns.
Segmentation
The financial services industry is all about building relationships. You build relationships with not only clients but also other professionals you collaborate with. Both types of contacts may be in your email lists, but you probably don’t want to send them the same content. That’s why segmenting your email lists is essential. For example, you want to make sure you’re not sending a colleague an email about why it is important to hire a financial advisor. Likewise, you most likely do not want to email a client about a new regulation’s technical ins and outs.
You may also need to drill down your lists, further separating prospects from current clients and even separating by life cycle. Existing clients don’t need to know how great it is working with you, but prospects do. And those just starting out planning for retirement have different needs than those just about to retire or who are retired.
When creating email campaigns, make sure they are going out to the correct recipients. Also, consider how often you should email each list based on a review of your email campaign statistics. For example, if you see a drop in your open and click-through rates, you are probably emailing too much, or your content is not relevant.
Write Good Content
Using a content marketing firm that uses the same content for numerous advisors is one of the worst things financial advisors can do when it comes to email marketing. Prospects and clients can see right through it. Consider writing your own unique content.
Ideally, you should produce one high-quality piece of content for each list you have. You don’t want to overwhelm your audience with complex newsletters or overly long targeted campaigns. With one quality topic per email, you will capture the reader’s attention, and they are more likely to read through the entire email and click on the links. As a result, you inspire your readers to open more of your emails.
Irrelevant content and too many emails are the two main reasons people unsubscribe to email lists.
Determining how frequently to email your contact lists is a difficult task. But with trial and error and implementing the tips above, you can generally arrive at a rhythm that works well and will get you on your way to an email schedule that creates conversions.
If you’d like help with your email marketing, schedule a call or contact us today. Our clients have seen an increase in their conversions implementing our strategies.
