Given the sheer number of emails, people receive every day – 121 emails on average – it's becoming increasingly more difficult to have your content read. In fact, business and finance email marketing open rates is a shocking 20.47% which has decreased since previous years. People are becoming desensitized to our messaging – making it progressively more challenging to reach clients and prospects.

At the same time, email plays an important role in communicating frequently with clients and prospects and creating necessary touch points to convert, retain and grow your business. Email is proven to have a 40:1 return on investment compared to social media and clients report receiving 26 touch points a year, yet all age groups want more contact. This tells us that email not only has significant ROI but is also a necessary client retention tool. A study conduct by LinkedIn, recently found that the second reason a client leaves their advisor is lack of communication, ranking higher than bad advice. And email newsletters play a key role in helping ensure advisors communicate often with clients. 

Additionally, email allows advisors to convey and share your brand and value-add with your clients and prospects. Every single email that you send should convey the right brand message.

Here are a few tips that you can use to make sure that your emails tell the right story.

1. Don’t make your emails too long.

One of the easiest ways to lose recipients attention span is with length emails. Keep it short, simple, and to the point. Avoid the temptation of adding too much context and a backstory. After you’ve completed writing the body message ask yourself this question, will is this information be 1) interesting to my clients in 2) relevant 3) is this information they need to know. 

By creating a short email, you’re respecting your clients/prospect’s time and increasing the chances of having your content read. To do this appropriately you should make use of all words, sentences, and images in your newsletter/email. You should be able to get your message across quickly and concisely.

2) Your subscribers aren’t just numbers, treat them like people

As we press “Send” to hundreds or thousands of people in our email lists, our goal is to catch their attention, increase opens, views, and engagement rates. We often forget that it’s real people sitting behind real screens – reading our emails. Despite the digital world we live in, we crave human interaction. Avoid the tendency to talk AT people – to throw information at them – hoping something will stick. Your emails should always help ease your client's pain points and answer questions or educate them on subject matters. focus on building a relationship – show you care about them, their time and their inbox. Keep your subscribers opening your emails by making sure you provide engaging, relevant and concise information. 

3) Consistency in branding is key.

Consistency is key in your email marketing strategy, however often it is overlooked.  Remember, your clients and prospects go through numerous emails every day. They frequently even forget what email they read and who sent it to them. The email template, layout, colors, images, and the content has to align together to create an impact and be recognizable. When accomplished consistently, the impact can have a compounding effect on your brand.