Building relationships is the key to growing your accounting firm as a certified public accountant (CPA). However, scaling these marketing efforts can be difficult when your firm is strapped for time.

If you need a more efficient way to generate leads and nurture your customers, CPA email marketing is your solution. It gives you an advantage over other accounting firms, allowing you to share helpful financial information, recommend services and, ultimately, sign new clients.

To ensure you’re getting the most out of your email marketing, let’s talk about how you can set yourself apart from other accountants by getting started with email marketing.

Why email marketing is important for CPAs and accounting firms

Accountants are often in search of digital marketing solutions that can add a personal touch to their business in a competitive marketplace. By creating automated email campaigns and sending consistent email newsletters, you have a unique opportunity to communicate with current and potential clients.

Email marketing is an effective communication tool for financial professionals to connect with new clients, re-engage current clients and share news or other relevant events.

Let’s uncover the main benefits of CPA email marketing before you implement the following best practices.

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We’ll never increase pricing because your email list is growing

Build brand awareness

To stay top-of-mind, you’ll want to regularly send emails that will attract, nurture and prime your new contacts. The more often your company name appears in their inbox, the more likely they will remember your brand.

It’s been said that customers need to hear a message at least seven times before they make a purchase from you. When this principle is applied to your email marketing strategy, it will help you determine how often to send emails to your subscribers.

Build trust with prospective clients

We have all heard of the “know, like and trust” factor in the sales process. Building brand awareness helps with introducing your brand, so the first step of knowing who you are is complete. 

Next, you’ll need to write highly valuable email content your subscribers will love, which will help you build trust. Be sure to share your unique insights so your content stands out among other competitors.

Generate new leads on autopilot 

By strategically using email marketing to generate leads, you can weed out anyone who may not be a good fit for your financial services while attracting those who are. Your email campaigns can be automated, meaning you can schedule a CPA email once and know it will be delivered right on time.

It’s best to regularly monitor your analytics to ensure each CPA email is performing well. If you see opportunities for improvement, simply edit the email message in your Workflow and re-publish your email campaign.

Nurture new customers 

When a lead becomes a paying customer, you may want to enroll them in another personalized email marketing campaign. These email messages can welcome your new client, review your client process or share a relevant article. 

Too many accounting firms miss an opportunity to nurture their clients through CPA email marketing when they fail to prioritize the full customer lifecycle. You can differentiate your firm from other accountants by continuing to send helpful emails.

Fundamentals of a CPA email

As you begin to create your CPA email marketing strategy, it’s important to know exactly what goes into a great CPA email. Since the average open rate for CPA emails is around 16%, you’ll need to include these essential elements to improve your email marketing performance.

Quality content

This may seem like it would go without saying, but you’ll need well-written, high-quality content to keep prospects on your email list.

To build a better relationship with your audience, you can…

  • Address common accounting problems
  • Review important financial information
  • Share tax saving tips
  • Invite them to relevant events
  • Summarize accounting industry news
  • Share an article link or list of tools

Whenever possible, think about how you might add value to your audience’s lives and use this inspiration to write your CPA email.

Memorable visual branding

Your firm will often be recognized by its visual branding. This may include your logo, along with a selection of colors and fonts. We recommend creating email templates you can reuse, saving you time and money when marketing your services. 

With an email marketing tool like Flodesk, you can choose from professionally designed email templates that make your brand stand out or start from scratch.

A strong call-to-action

As subscribers read through your CPA email, they may want to schedule a consultation call or learn more about a service they’re interested in. It’s good to include a call-to-action that inspires your audience to take action.

You may also want to include your email address or phone number along with easily-accessible links to your website and social media.

Tips when creating your CPA email marketing campaigns

As you prepare to create a CPA email for your accounting firm, you’ll benefit from following these email marketing best practices. By strategically creating your email marketing campaign from day one, you’ll put the focus where it belongs: on your client.

1. Choose the right email service provider 

The key to smart email marketing is choosing the right email platform. At Flodesk, we help creatives design emails people love to get. With a drag-and-drop builder, you can customize your CPA email content so it reflects your branding and mission.

You can sign up for a 30-day free trial of Flodesk or compare email service providers to see which platform is right fit for your accounting firm. 

Get unlimited email sends & subscribers with Flodesk

We’ll never increase pricing because your email list is growing

2. Send consistent emails

While we recommend sending weekly email newsletters when possible, it matters more that you send them consistently. If you only have the capacity to send biweekly or monthly emails, then put your efforts into creating high-quality emails that can be sent regularly with this schedule in mind.

3. Set expectations

When someone joins your email list, you’ll want to set expectations early. This includes when they’ll hear from your accounting firm, what topics you frequently cover and how they can get in touch with you. A consistent email marketing strategy will help with this step. 

4. Reward client loyalty 

As a financial professional, it’s important to prioritize your current clients and build trust with them over time. It might make sense to offer long-standing clients an opportunity to sign up for referral programs if they’re helping you with word-of-mouth marketing. You can also give them special discounts for being a loyal client.

5. Use email marketing strategies 

Why reinvent the wheel when you can use proven strategies? If you are new to CPA email marketing or need a refresher, your accounting firm can take advantage of these high-performing email marketing strategies.

In addition, you may want to create marketing funnels and automate your emails so you can get back to personally working with your clients. Make sure you start with a strategy so your CPA email marketing is as effective as possible.

6. Send on-brand emails 

With CPA email marketing, your emails need to look on-brand. This will help you manage your brand reputation and ensure your accounting firm is easily recognizable in the industry.

Flodesk’s intuitive email builder gives you limitless opportunities to write and design on-brand emails. You can customize our email templates or create your own CPA email from scratch. Make sure you select your brand colors, upload your logo and choose your signature font before you begin to design!

Boost your CPA email marketing

Stand out from other accounting firms when you design emails with Flodesk.