According to the YCharts Client Communication Survey, email is the preferred communication channel for most clients, and frequency and style of communication are essential to client retention.

How Often Should Financial Advisors Email Their Clients?

First, it’s important to take note that there are over 4 billion daily email users. Many businesses, especially financial advisories, use email as a major form of marketing because it allows them to easily reach their audience and send out automated personalized content. According to HubSpot, 33% of marketers send emails weekly, while 26% of them send them multiple times a month. We recommend adjusting your frequency to your client base. Almost 50% of clients say they “wish” advisors contact them more. A good starting point is always a minimum of once a month up to a maximum of once a week. It’s crucial to make sure you’re not spamming your clients with constant emails but also that you’re not dripping feeding them so much that they forget they even get emails from you.

The Importance of Sending Frequent Emails

There’s no doubt that email plays an important role in a financial advisor’s marketing strategy. Multiple studies show that email marketing results in a significantly better ROI on average. Research shows that 9 out of 10 clients say the frequency of advisor communication tends to have a big impact on loyalty and referrals. By sending your contacts messages regularly, you stay top of mind, establish trust and credibility, show that you’re a leader in your industry, and encourage more referrals and connections.

Keeping your audience engaged is key if you want them to start and continue working with you. After all, no one fires their advisor for communicating too much, but they might if they communicate too little.

Determining Your Ideal Email Marketing Frequency

There are a few simple steps you can take right now to decide how many emails you should send each month. Start by asking yourself these questions:

1. What are my goals?

Why are you sending email campaigns? Is it to build loyalty and establish your branding? Or do you want to increase subscribers and convert more leads? If your main goal is to stay in communication with your audience, you will likely send different content than if you’re trying to gain new business. This is expected but a good thing to note as you consider the objective of your communications.

2. What type of content am I sending?

The type of content you send has a major effect on your audience’s response and how often they expect to see emails from you. As an advisor, you can get away with sending frequent emails if you provide educational information, such as financial tips, market commentaries, event invites, or links to your latest blog post or timely content. Depending on your subscribers, you may send this type of content once per week.

3. Who are my subscribers?

Take a look at your email lists. Did they sign up for your emails? Or did you add them manually? Are they current clients or prospects? You may consider segmenting your lists to separate your newsletter subscribers from your general contacts or cold leads. If someone signed up for your emails, they likely expect frequent contact from you.

4. What are my average open, click-through, and unsubscribe rates?

Worried your subscribers are experiencing email fatigue? This is when it’s good to turn to your analytics. When you send frequent emails, do you see an uptick in unsubscribes or a decrease in open rates? What kind of email content encourages higher open and click-through rates? Use this data to guide your email scheduling and content. Ideally, you want to aim for a 20% open rate, a 5% click-through rate, and less than a 3% unsubscribe rate.

Evaluate, Test, and Reevaluate

Use these questions to guide your email marketing decisions. For many advisors, one or two emails per month will suffice. But depending on your market and goals, you may choose to email more or less frequently. Remember, these steps serve as guidelines. You can always adjust your schedule and change your email habits based on the results you see. It’s also important to understand that this blog is based on averages, so not everything will always match up. Get in the habit of reviewing your email analytics once per month to see how people are responding. And don’t be afraid to reach out to your top clients or closest colleagues to take their temperature and ask for feedback.

Want Authentic and Timely Communication Made Easy?

Poor communication is the number one reason clients leave their financial advisors. We offer tools, templates, and content to make connecting with prospective clients and nurturing existing ones easier than ever.

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