Even with all of the new online channels and strategies that emerged in the past few years, email marketing for financial advisors still remains a critical function. It’s a vital element of a digital marketing strategy for financial advisors who want to use the Internet to produce new clients for their firms.
Because of its high ROI and relative ease of use, many financial advisors are comfortable running their own email campaigns. The key questions are: how effective are those campaigns and can the results they produce be improved upon?
One of the most important elements of any email marketing strategy for financial advisors is the subject line. Yes, content and clicks are important parts of digital marketing for financial advisors, too. However, no one will be reading your message or clicking any links if they’re not compelled to open the email in the first place.
The subject lines, like newspaper headlines a decade or two ago, are likely what makes someone decide if they’re going to open emails or hit delete and move on. Read on to learn more about the importance of subject lines and develop strategies for getting your firm’s emails opened more frequently.
Why Do Subject Lines Matter?
We’ve already established that subject lines are the first thing investors on your drip list see in their inboxes. If the subject lines don’t appeal to them, they won’t read them. It’s that simple.
Most people’s inboxes are flooded with everything from junk mail and retailers to important documents and financial statements. With so much to sort through, it’s easy to become a casualty of someone’s overcrowded inbox.
This is why it’s so important for financial advisor marketing emails to stand out. You have to compel prospects to open your emails. Once they read them, they should click a link for more information (or schedule an interview by visiting financial advisor websites).
It’s no secret that having great content will help financial advisor emails perform better once it’s opened. Yet, many emails are conceptualized from the inside out, often putting the subject line as an afterthought.
Instead, write the subject line as part of your financial advisor content. Sometimes it’s helpful to start with a solid topic and write content for that idea.
Here are some additional tips for writing great financial advisor email subject lines.
Should I start by asking a question?
People are naturally curious. When your subject line asks a question, it can prompt recipients to want to know the answer and, hence, open that email.
A critical part of this strategy is also making sure you actually answer the question posed in the subject line. Or, at least offer a way for the reader to get the answer. This can be by accessing a whitepaper, registering for a webinar, or reading a blog post on your financial advisor website.
If you simply ask an intriguing question to get the email opened but fail to provide an answer, that’s a surefire way to upset your audience. It also triggers unsubscribes (a no-no in digital marketing for financial advisors).
Should I include numbers in the subject line?
As an advisor, you’re no stranger to numbers. There is something appealing about seeing digits in a subject line, which is why those emails tend to have higher open rates.
Examples of financial advisor emails with number-based subject lines could include “5 things you need to know about estate planning” or “Top 10 ways to get the most from your 401(k).”
Should you segment your audience into categories?
Your existing email marketing client base likely includes people in various financial positions and stages of their careers and life. You don’t take a one-size-fits-all approach to offer them financial advice and services.
So, the same goes for your financial advisor email marketing strategy. Digital marketing for financial advisors doesn’t have to be hard, but you have to pay attention.
Most email platforms offer the ability to segment your audience into groups that share common characteristics. When crafting emails and subject lines, you can choose to send specific ones that apply to each audience.
This is based on what will resonate the most with each one. Even if your content is the same, crafting the subject line to appeal to specific leads can make a big difference in overall open rates.
To Emoji or Not to Emoji?
Emojis are becoming more prevalent in email subject lines. For the right audience, they can be effective.
Younger audiences—such as Millennials—who have grown up with smartphones and texting are more receptive to this. They have been using emojis to communicate for most of their lives.
At the same time, older investors may not be as inclined to open an email with a smiley face or laughing-and-crying emoji. So, tailoring your subject lines for each audience is going to improve open rates.
This also shows your leads that you know and understand them. At the same time, here’s a word of caution on emojis: Less is more in this case.
Too many of them can clutter your financial advisor message. That can possibly set off spam filters for many email service providers (such as Gmail and Yahoo).
Long-term damage to your email sending reputation can result. If you’re not careful, you can burn bridges with those Internet companies, affecting the deliverability of future emails.
Should your email be clever, but not deceiving?
Having a witty subject line can be a great way to get a financial advisor email opened, assuming it’s tasteful and fits with the message of the email. Just be sure it’s relevant to the content and doesn’t offer a deceiving message with no follow-through in the email itself.
Should your emails be short and to the point?
Email subject lines are a place where you need to say a lot with very few words.
Your investor audience is likely to be inundated with emails on a daily basis. They’re also likely to be checking their inbox on a mobile device.
A smaller screen means that a long subject line can be overwhelming. This makes it more likely that if they see all the words, will they get overwhelmed, and send your email to the trash.
Anticipating mobile users’ needs may not make sense for everyone, but it’s a must-do today for most financial advisors who are email marketers. 62% of searches are launched from mobile devices. Like SEO for financial advisors with a website, it goes with the territory.
A good way to be more succinct is to write out the subject line beforehand. Edit it down as much as possible while still keeping the message crystal clear.
Should I personalize my marketing emails?
It’s more important than ever for your audience to feel as though you know them and their needs. One simple way to do this is to include personalization in your subject lines.
By seeing their own name in a subject line, leads will be drawn to that email and feel more compelled to open it. This capability is available with many email marketing platforms.
Tip: Before personalizing subject lines, do a check of your email database to make sure you have names for those in your email database.
Next, verify that they are in the correct field for your email platform to pull from. This can prevent embarrassing errors down the road.
