What did the good little CPA Firm do? It began telling stories, sharing educational and informative content in an engaging and interesting way. It began to highlight its services, benefits and people through storytelling. It began marketing by identifying with its target market, its prospects, its clients and its referral sources through relevant prose and attractive visuals. The CPA Firm began to demonstrate its greatness through storytelling, and, little by little, began to grow. Soon, it was opening new offices, attracting better clients, expanding its service offerings and bringing in more qualified leads. The little CPA Firm was very happy.

What is the moral of this brief story?

A good story can help you sell, whether your product is a gadget, an idea or a professional service. Why? As human beings, our brains process information better when it comes in the form of a story, whether auditory or visual. We are literally hard wired to react to stories more than any other form of information gathering. Cognitive and behavioral neuroscience research indicates that our brains respond to certain triggers either favorably or unfavorably. Occasionally, there is a minimal response either way, which indicates a complete lack of interest or engagement in the trigger. (If your marketing is eliciting zero response, keep reading!)

What does this have to do with marketing or selling?

Harvard University began studying the impact marketing strategies have on our brains (and therefore our reactions) back in 1990. While the term “neuromarketing” wasn’t actually coined until 2002 (by Ale Smidts), Harvard psychologists began experimenting to determine if they could effectively manipulate information to generate a specific reaction. The meme, originally coined by Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene, was the foundation for neuromarketing research. A meme replicates information and influences a decision maker within 2.6 seconds.

Dah Dah Dah DUM

Do you recognize that tune? The first four notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony are collectively a cultural meme, just as advertising slogans such as “Where’s The Beef?” and “Just Do It” are marketing memes. Memes are used (and recycled) in marketing all the time. When Puss in Boots was launching in theaters, DreamWorks ran an ad featuring Puss that was based on the Old Spice commercial series “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like”. Classic meme (watch the Puss in Boots commercial).

Since the dawn of neuromarketing, companies such as Google, CBS and Frito-Lay have used neuromarketing research to measure consumer response to products and promotions. Apparently, we cannot make a decision solely based on facts and logic. For professional service providers, this may come as a shock. It goes against the paradigm we have held dear for years. Facts, figures, statistics and logic: those are the keys to persuasion, right? Not really.

Use stories to entertain, inform and persuade

According to neuroscientists, most of our cognitive activity (i.e., what we think) occurs on a sub-conscious level, well beyond the reach of our active awareness. Highly emotional content tends to have the most positive reaction, activating oxytocin, producing feelings of empathy and helping us bond with one another. Oxytocin ensures that we bond, rather than merely eliciting pleasure for the sake of it. Bonding has been imperative to our survival as a species and is certainly critical to marketing and selling.

“Buy this product and it will do this” and “hire us because we’re the best” won’t sufficiently engage your prospects or create that essential bond. Facts are boring. They generate zero response on a biological level. You need to use stories to draw prospects in, titillate them, educate them, inform them and persuade them.

A story can potentially carry the entire sale for you, provided it has these six characteristics of highly persuasive stories (courtesy of the Neuromarketing blog for marketing and sales):

1) Impactful delivery

2) Vivid imagery

3) Realism and understandability

4) Structure

5) Context and surroundings

6) The proper audience

What story do you have to tell that will help you increase prospect engagement and boost sales? In my next post, I’ll review five types of stories that will help you sell more services. Come back soon.

1) Answer a question

Keep a list of questions that people tend to ask you all the time and tackle one question at a time, with your each of your answers reincarnating as its own blog post that are likely to have mass appeal.

2) Start a series

You may know a lot about a particular subject, and it can be difficult to keep your posts short when your knowledge keeps flowing out through your fingertips as you type. Break up lengthy topics into several posts in a series and cover one aspect of the subject at a time.

3) Ask your clients or customers

Ask your clients or customers what keeps them up at night or what they wish would be easier/cheaper/more efficient/more successful in terms of marketing and business development, or solicit your newsletter or blog readers to submit comments with suggestions for future posts, take a poll or send out a survey. Let your readers TELL you what they want to read about and then write about it.

4) Tweak and recycle old posts

You’ve worked hard on blog posts and articles in the past that were well-received. All of that effort is not lost just because the piece has already been published. Take it off the shelf, revisit it, and give it a new verbal coat of paint by reorganizing it, putting a new spin on it, writing it from a different perspective, or completely redesigning it. This works extremely well when time is a factor.

5) Talk about what you know

Everyone has difficulty writing about topics they are less familiar with, so start with what you know best. What is your area of expertise? Whether it is marketing, information technology, accounting, payroll, bookkeeping or estate planning, share your knowledge by choosing a particular topic within your personal wheelhouse and let it roll.

6) Write from an unexpected point of view

Some of the most popular and enticing articles and blog posts are written from a unique perspective. Take this post on social media, written from a dog’s point of view. It was one of the most popular posts on our blog in January!

7) Draft post ideas ahead of time

Whenever you have some creative energy and an hour to spare, jot down a few ideas or write out the introductions (or summaries) for a couple of blog post ideas. You might be surprised at how the first 100 words will come in handy the next time you have a deadline, especially if your thesis is fairly clear and thought out in advance.

8) Keep an idea journal or list

This is similar to the previous point but just involves keeping a list of possible post ideas you could write about at a later date. It might just include titles or topics or you might want to include a few bullet points that you simply don’t want to forget.  Take your journal (or tablet or whatever you use to document your blog ideas) with you everywhere you go so you can capture your inspiration whenever it strikes you.

9) Use the holidays or seasons as inspiration

From April Fool’s Day to Independence Day to Halloween to Christmas (or Chanukah), the holidays can inspire some of the best blog posts. Reflect on what the holiday’s theme is (foolishness or pranks, independence or struggle, fright or trick-or-treating, etc) and draft up your post with that theme in mind. Here’s a post about helping your email marketing garden grow that was written with Spring in mind.

10) Be inspired by news and current events

Tap into what’s going on in your local area, in the country or worldwide to inspire blog topics on a point of interest from the media. Time Magazine published a piece on “The Wimpy Recovery: How will the sluggish economic revival impact marketing decisions for professional service providers?” You could provide your take on that situation in your next post. If you find a particular article or newsworthy topic interesting, chances are that your readers will find your commentary on that topic interesting as well.

11) Learn from your networking efforts

If you attend any trade shows, expos, conferences or other events, you can use the theme or highlights from that event to provide you with an inspired post. This approach helps announce your participation at the conference and also gives a sneak preview of what attendees can expect to hear from you during the event. You can also highlight post-conference take-aways, including what the keynote speaker said, what you learned from other attendees, or what’s happening in your industry that was discussed at the event. Tradeshows and conferences can be quite a large blog fodder source, in addition to offering lead generation opportunities.

12) Tell a story

Client success stories, interviews, case studies and testimonials are always great fodder for blog posts and articles. Readers like stories. Have any rave reviews? Turn them into blog posts. Just make sure you get permission from your clients first, or use a pseudonym to protect their privacy. Alternatively, tell a story about something that happened to you that you relate back to your core area of expertise, or service that you provide, or product that you sell. What does a dentist have in common with an accounting firm? Read the story here.

What else can you write about?

Obviously, this is not an all-inclusive list of blog tips. There are so many more ideas and suggestions that you may use to inspire your next blog post or newsletter article. Over the coming weeks, you will likely see more recommendations here. Subscribe to our blog for more ideas, or bookmark us and check back again soon.

Do you have more tips or techniques to inspire a blog post or article? Share your thoughts here. Maybe you will inspire my next post.

This approach helps drive email newsletter traffic to your online resources. Many online guides are regularly updated with current information. Your readers are likely interested in hearing more about budding news and important changes. Your online guide is the perfect reserve of timely updates for your email newsletter subscribers. Newsletter articles can link your readers directly to your online guide, giving them a clear opportunity to locate important information. These links can also serve double-duty, as you can track click through rates and use those metrics to identify potential leads for new or additional business.

Links to your timely online resources and updates can be featured in any of the following forms:

• Linked text
  Each of your email newsletter articles could include a link to “learn more at our online guide” as part of each article closing or footer. You could also utilize article closing space to feature your firm’s contact information and/or mini-biographies of your key team members.
• Banner ads and calls to action
  Include a banner ad or other graphic that calls your readers to action and promotes your online guide in your newsletters and email messages.
• Article features
  Write a brief article introduction for your email newsletter and provide your readers with a link to the complete article in your online guide.
• Unique content highlights
  Feature a unique item from your online guide that cannot be found elsewhere as an announcement or call to action in your e-newsletter content, and provide a link to that specific online content. Consider linking to a video or timely tax opportunity, routing to a poll or survey, or directing readers to a unique landing page within your online guide.
• “Hot tips” or Q&A spotlights
  Each newsletter launch, use your online guide articles as engaging Q&A topics, hot tips or breaking news. Post the question or teaser paragraph in your newsletter, and let your readers find the whole story by following a link to the relevant page of your online guide.

Consider one single article housed within an online guide. This piece of content can be accessed and flowed through your various communication channels in many different forms. If multiple opportunities exist for enhanced exposure of one single piece of content, consider how much more exposure you could generate from all of the various resources available in your online guide. The chances for increasing the reach of your content could increase exponentially.

Take some time to fully explore all the content available in your online resources. After incorporating these suggestions in your email newsletter communications, you may find many more content treasures hidden within your online guide. Use these strategies to spark your imagination and think of inventive ways you can integrate your online nuggets of information into your email communications and turn them into newsletter gold.

Here’s a brief overview of some things to do in your email campaigns, and some things to avoid. While these suggestions may seem obvious, you would be surprised how often they are not followed.

7 Tips for Email Marketing Success

1. Have a purpose for your communications and online marketing strategies.

It is imperative to grasp the goals of your marketing efforts and lay out a strategy to accomplish these goals. As Tom Peters says, “Begin with the end in mind.” Are you sending out e-newsletters in order to drive new business to your firm? Then be sure to include articles or images that tie in to the services you are promoting. Have appropriate calls to action that your readers can respond to. For example, your clients in the medical industry might be interested to know that they can “contact our expert in healthcare practice accounting today.” Include this type of call to action either as a clickable graphic that readers can respond to or as a closing or footer to a related article.

2. Newsletter content should be targeted to your readers’ interests.

According to a survey conducted by HubSpot, “one of the most common responses indicated that when people decide to subscribe to emails from companies, they expect the emails to be relevant to their interests. In fact, 38% of respondents specifically referenced the word ‘relevance’.”

Business people will be interested in business strategies, news and information related to their industry. Individuals may not care about those topics, but they may be interested in estate planning, retirement planning or saving for college. Many CPA firms regularly send out one ‘generic’ newsletter to all of their readers, regardless of their interests. Don’t make this mistake.

3. Welcome new subscribers and make your unsubscribe process simple.

A solid welcome message can help keep your unsubscribe rates low. If you haven’t already included a welcome as part of your email marketing best practices, consider doing so now. Your welcome message should (at least) include the following information:

• Your firm’s contact information and links to your website;
• The frequency that readers can expect to receive your communications (weekly, monthly, etc.);
• What type of information they can expect to receive from your firm; and
• A reminder that subscribers can unsubscribe from your communications at any time.
• The CAN-SPAM Act requires that you provide a link for subscribers to opt-out of, or unsubscribe from, your email communications. Don’t frustrate readers that may want to unsubscribe by making this process difficult. Your unsubscribe or opt-out link should be easy to find, should not involve a three step process, and should be honored as soon after the request is made as possible (preferably immediately).

4. Let readers know who your messages are coming from.

Keep your brand intact, even if you are distributing multiple email newsletters. If you send several niche email newsletters, the design should be similar enough for each that your readers will recognize the consistent branding. You should also provide links to your firm’s website or microsites to make it easy for prospects to find you.

5. Embrace brevity but don’t skimp on impact.

Let’s face it… we live in a time-crunched world. Keep your email newsletter articles as short as possible to communicate your message and still provide real value to your readers. Email newsletters are not the place for lengthy dissertations. If you cannot avoid a long article, consider splitting it up into several parts, posting it on your website, or summarizing the article and then offering your readers a link to the full whitepaper.

6. Personalize your emails with dynamic fields and human interest content.

What is a dynamic field, you ask? It’s just a fancy way to describe fields like [firstname] or [date] in your marketing messages. Try to send email communications to your individual subscribers – personalizing each message with their first name. Personalization can help your readers be more receptive to your messaging. However, take care to make sure that your database includes the name that your subscriber commonly uses in their daily interactions as their first name. For example, if your first name is Chris, but you ask people to call you by your middle name in your daily life, then you will see “Dear Chris” as a dead giveaway that the sender does not truly know who you are. This would be a rather impersonal greeting.

Somewhat personal articles about your firm and the people who make your firm great are also important to include in your online marketing efforts. Professional service providers want to convey a sense of trust and credibility to their contacts but should also remain human and accessible in their communications. Consider including congratulatory pieces when members of your staff celebrate life’s milestones. Many of our clients have been able to spark interactions with their contacts based on the very human information provided in the firm’s email newsletter campaigns like graduation, wedding and birth announcements; career milestone and retirement announcements; staff involvement in charities, chamber of commerce events, or other philanthropic endeavors.

7. Be sure to encourage feedback from your readers.

Email marketing makes it easier for your readers to provide more feedback. Your B2B email campaigns should provoke readers to ask questions, inquire about services, or simply comment about the articles they’ve read. You can also use business customer surveys and distribute them through your email marketing platform. An open dialogue, more feedback and timely replies from your firm will result in more business opportunities.

Whether you create your own e-newsletter or use a service, be sure to implement these best practices, avoid these mistakes, and enjoy the benefits provided by today’s advancements in marketing and communications.

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Written by David Ross

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How many of you feel guilty when you use an adjective? Most of us were taught in school that these were the second-class citizens of the language, and should be avoided.

Scorned by modern literary critics, disdained by many marketers as distracting fluff… is there anything good to be said about these scourges of speech?

Why yes, there is. For one thing, at least they’re not adverbs, which have offended the sensibilities of language curmudgeons for centuries. But more to the point, well-selected adjectives can enhance your content and drive sales. It seems that the reading public isn’t nearly as disciplined in its demands for action-oriented prose as the literati would have us believe.

Recent studies described in an article published on Neuromarketing.com show that plentiful adjectives increase the likelihood of your book being a best-seller. That’s hardly a surprise. Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Emily Bronte – besides their enduring popularity, they share in common an adjective-rich writing style that’s not entirely based on the payment-by-the-word standards of certain periods. Modern writers from Malcolm Gladwell to Tom Robbins to Christopher Moore have garnered legions of fervent fans with their clever use of adjectives and other descriptive devices.

The popular literature that sells gazillions of copies every day is rife with these undervalued parts of speech. While Hemingway may be a ‘real’ writer, far more people actually enjoy the books written by less-lauded authors who added the colorful details audiences want to see. It makes perfect sense that this principle extends not only to modern books but to blog posts, professional articles and even advertising copy.

Why is this? The answer lies within – within our brains, that is. Our brains are primed by millennia of evolutionary wisdom to be highly attuned to the circumstances surrounding what we observe around us as ‘noun’ events (e.g. river, food, enemies) and ‘verb’ events (e.g. chase, ripen, smile). And let’s remember that before the advent of electronic media and easy access to hard copy, adjectives and adverbs served as the tools that illustrated the stories of our grandparents or favorite authors, adding the details that made them memorable.

“The dog bit Elvis” may be a complete sentence, but there are a lot of stories here. Was it an ugly, scary, vicious dog that had been a menace since birth or a beloved and loyal pet dog that, sadly, became traumatized enough to bite poor Elvis only under extreme circumstances? Even today, finding a rich, almost sensory experience in the written word is dependent upon the adjectives and adverbs that bring color to the more utilitarian parts of speech.

Adjectives, like their dastardly cousins the adverbs, exist purely for descriptive purposes. Adjectives don’t DO anything. That task is reserved for the much-admired verbs. Nor ARE they anything, as nouns so demonstrably can claim. Yet adjectives and adverbs do much to shape the reader’s experience and are desperately needed to create context for the mental picture formed by the verbs and nouns. Did the main character eat Grandma reluctantly or did he feel gleeful about the meal? Will your autobiography portray that awkward incident with the fruitcake as a thing that happened accidentally or will you admit was premeditated? Surely these differences are worth pointing out, even if doing so requires the use of adjectives or adverbs.

So go ahead and add some adjectives to your content and marketing messages. They may be sneered at in the hallowed halls of academia, but you’re trying to reach a broader audience. The descriptive words you use can help you make a powerful connection that lingers in the minds of your readers, and that’s worth a little mocking from the ivory tower crew.

Many print and email newsletter platforms allow you to tailor your communications to reach any subset. Why not take full advantage of your newsletter by creating a publication customized to reach your referral source network and address their specific needs?

Newsletters help build top of mind awareness by delivering useful, timely information – to any niche market or subset. Your referral sources usually seek out the same kind of advice and information that your clients enjoy receiving. You are probably already disseminating thought leadership pieces related to reducing tax liability, increasing cash flow and general best practices for successful business operations. If your referral sources are gleaning valuable information from your newsletter resources to help them with their day-to-day tax and business issues, it is only natural to assume that your firm would then be on a short list of reputable resources to connect with their own clients.

Most corporate newsletter communications can easily be tweaked to communicate to a specific subset or niche with just a few adjustments. Perhaps the title and heading of the newsletter, color scheme and content selections could be modified. The key is to address the specific interests of your referral network while simultaneously providing connections back to your firm. Provide links to your firm’s blog, social networks or other online resources and give readers access to call or email your firm with inquiries.

The philosophy is simple. Most people don’t change their CPA firm every day, but when they do, they usually ask the advice of another trusted advisor to point them in the right direction. Consider the typical reasons that send most businesses or individuals in search of a new accountant:

1. The prospect’s main contact or strongest relationship at the firm has left, and the prospect does not feel comfortable dealing with anyone else at the firm;
2. The prospect feels that their former accounting firm has erred in some way; or
3. The prospect has a need for services that their original firm cannot provide.

It is impossible to know when one of these events is going to occur, but you can bet that your referral sources will be on the front lines when prospects are in transition. CPA firms interested in getting referrals for new business should seek to maintain relationships and touch points with banks, attorneys, financial advisers and other important referral contacts. This is where newsletters can be a valuable and important part of the business development process.

When you take time to look at your marketing, communication and business development needs for the coming year, don’t forget to consider how your referral source network impacts the success of your business. Sending targeted newsletters with strong business and financial content is an efficient way to keep your referral sources engaged with the capabilities of your firm.

In this new media marketing era, successful content marketing begins with a well-planned and strategically executed content strategy. Align your content strategy with the buying lifecycle in order to provide key decision-making tools for your prospects along the way. Leverage social media channels to drive more connections, achieve enhanced exposure and improve company popularity. Utilize all of the possible outlets at your disposal – email newsletters, social media, blogs, email blasts, press releases, websites and print – to maximize your exposure. In addition to quality content, presence and reach are also key elements for success.

What should you include in your email newsletter, blog posts, and other e-marketing content?

Demonstrate thought leadership, value, credibility, a sense of humor and personality in order to stand out among your competition and position your firm as a valuable resource. Remain human and accessible in order to grow new relationships, enhance existing relationships and retain clients for the long-haul.

Consistently provide calls to action with every piece of content you publish. The best calls to action are:

• Proportional to other visual elements
• Larger than less critical CTAs
• Prominent and easily found
• Above the fold – at or near the top of a webpage, email or e-newsletter
• Customized to fit the type of CTA or communication method
• Separated from other elements with whitespace
• In a contrasting color to make them stand out
• Dual-purpose, offering secondary actions in addition to the primary action
• Successful in conveying a sense of urgency

Develop a reserve of content in addition to your editorial calendar so you never run out of ideas or content. Recycle great content… repurpose and reincarnate content through social media, blog posts, articles, whitepapers, videos, etc.

Monitor activity: use your e-newsletter and social media metrics to track subscriber behavior to follow up on leads and cultivate relationships. Send follow-up emails on topics of interest to those who have shown a dedicated interest by reading or responding to specific posts or articles. Pick up the phone to touch base with those who might be on the brink of making a decision. Remember that merely sending an email, even if it is customized and personalized, does not nurture a long-term relationship.

Maintain a schedule of communication that your audience can rely upon. We recommend every two weeks for email newsletters, weekly blog posts and daily social media posts.

Once you understand the thought process of the modern consumer and align your content strategies with the buying lifecycle as outlined in this series of blog posts, you will inherently forge relationships, position yourself as a valued resource, and generate new and ongoing business opportunities.

Here are some tangible examples of great content you should consider when drafting your editorial calendar as part of your overall content strategy.

Numbered Lists. Develop a series of informative, interesting, relevant and entertaining facts (“10 Things You Need to Know…”) Prospects are often drawn in by the easily-perused format that a numbered list offers. Offer a witty slant on the series by highlighting a partner or executive (“10 Things You Don’t Know About John Doe, CPA”) or send prospects a quick “10 Things Our Receptionist Forgot To Tell You”.

Video Clips. Video is the most consumed form of media on the planet today. Thirty hours of video are uploaded to the internet every minute; it is engaging and allows for the expression of nonverbal cues that the written word simply cannot convey. Utilize video as a means of offering valuable insight, helping your viewers to get to know you and your business better, and also to provide substance. Link to videos that are housed on your website or social media sites. Don’t embed videos in your email messages, and keep videos to two minutes or less in duration.

Surveys. Hold client surveys annually and publish the results online and in your messaging. Transparency in today’s cloak and dagger political environment is especially appealing to consumers and heightens your credibility. Also conduct prospect surveys to get to know them better. Establish trust by showcasing your understanding of their situation through informed and thought-provoking questions.

Success Stories. Everyone loves a good success story and case study – the more specific and relevant, the better; compile various success stories and case studies for each of your industry or practice area targets and include photos… or, create “awards” or “certificates” and film the presentation ceremony to add a little personality to the stories.

Niches. Prospects for your niche practice areas, or areas of specialization, are often as elusive as Harry Potter’s snitch in a game of quidditch and also as valuable – highlight your niches by providing illustrative examples of how you have helped others with estate planning, or business valuation, or forensic accounting, or point of sale systems. Send out brief, educational articles on a niche topic. Set up niche newsletters and make sure that your list is segmented properly so you effectively target your members with your niche stories.

Testimonials. Clients testimonials are possibly the most effective and persuasive type of content. They lend immediate credibility, especially when the testimonial comes from a reputable or well-known source, OR from an organization that is very similar to your prospect’s company.

Drip Emails. Drip emails, particularly on a specialized topic that you know your prospect is interested in, can be very effective. Complicated topics often require more explanation than simple ones – break them up into a series of drip emails (and/or blog posts, newsletter articles, press releases, etc) to get more bang for your buck – you’ll be providing value and establishing credibility in one fell swoop.

Q&As. Q&As and FAQs make great content, too. Use your blog or e-newsletter to answer technical questions you are frequently asked, to review topics that are often misunderstood, or to share responses to polls that you send out. Incorporate questions and answers into your e-newsletters, blog AND social media outlets for maximum reach and visibility. If you set up polls and/or interactive Q&As, you can use that as fodder for your one-on-one messaging, too.

Whitepapers. Some marketers believe that in today’s social age has put whitepapers out to pasture. However, whitepapers that focus on value propositions remain an invaluable component of any content strategy. Whitepapers have evolved from the tedious term paper of 10 years ago to concise, value-added nuggets of gold that entice and trigger readership today. Keep whitepapers organized into easily digested sections and offer them as free enhancements when building your relationships.

Biographies and Stories. Team member biographies, activities and announcements are crowd pleasers; Personal news and achievements about you and your staff, including birth announcements, weddings, promotions, awards, trips and so on, are ENGAGING and interesting. Add that human touch for enhanced relatability and relationship bonding. When your prospects are in the evaluation phase of the buying cycle, you will have a clear advantage if you have bonded with them on a human level (even if you’ve never spoken to them face-to-face).

Events. Events nearly always elicit a response, whether via reply to an invitation to attend, or via an emotional response to the event itself. Promote and share educational webinars, seminars and round table meetings; Include events that your firm is hosting or merely attending, including charitable and community activities.

Deadline Reminders. In the accounting industry, deadlines pop up all the time. Use the deadlines as a mechanism for your prospecting messages, not just for client communications. You’ll provide value with no obligation, stay top of mind, showcase expertise, create a sense of urgency and take one step further to growing the relationship. Who knows? One of the deadlines might be the trigger for someone in the evaluation phase of the buying lifecycle, and your reminder was just the kick they needed to make a decision.

Authoritative Sources. Independent reviews, audits or feedback from recognizable authorities are some additional content types that help enhance your credibility and provide value. Don’t be afraid to share resources and content just because you didn’t write it. Ensure that the content you share is legitimate, relevant and helpful in establishing your role as a trusted source, and go ahead and schedule it into your content strategy.

How-to Tips. Publish “how to” tips and strategies that will help business owners manage and grow their businesses. General financial tips for individuals or families are always popular. Tips for planning for the future (retirement, college, children, marriage) makes excellent fodder as well.

Great content helps you navigate through the buyer’s cycle, establish a cohesive relationship and elicit a response when the time is right. Each of the content examples above are compelling, proven and, when utilized with the 12 elements of successful messaging, will help you maximize business opportunities.

Email newsletters give you the opportunity to share multiple announcements with your target markets on a branded, consistent basis. They give you more options for employing multiple “elements” as previously discussed and gives the opportunity to utilize several pieces of great content (as described above) in one communication. Note that you will maximize the response if your database is segmented and your newsletters are tailored to each recipient’s specific needs (whether by industry, geographic location, age, income, identified interests or some other demographic). Some content may overlap between industry channels – especially if you incorporate “personal” news about your firm and your key team members.

In our next post, we will review why and how content is the heart of your marketing strategy.

They want to work with people who give them “something extra” — items of value that help them now and in the future. They seek advisors who are willing to go the extra mile, providing support and resources without additional charge. In today’s competitive marketplace, you have the ability to set yourself apart by giving them what they want and need while establishing a long-term relationship for years to come.

How would your clients respond to great advice that helps them protect their futures? Consider their responses to the following article:

Picking an Executor: Four Questions to Ask

When considering who should serve as the executor of your estate, you may automatically think of a certain relative or close friend. But think carefully. Make sure that you pick the most competent person possible. Being an executor can be a tough, time consuming job. Here are four questions to ask about potential executors to help you make the right choice. Read the Full Article.

You have the opportunity to present added value to your client and prospect base by sharing informative, educational and helpful content that clients will appreciate and value, while simultaneously generating top-of-mind awareness, building relationships and identifying leads for future business.

An Estate Planning print or email newsletter will help you nurture your clients and prospects. They will thank you for the valuable articles you provide them, and better yet, they will think of you when a need for estate planning or other legal counsel arises.

To learn more about how we can help you keep your clients informed about the latest news and legislation on estate tax laws, as well as a myriad of other personal and business issues, without losing any of your valuable time, please contact us.

First things first. Businesses need to understand how our prospects think. To help wrap our heads around the perspective, we only need to consider what we do, see and interact with on a daily basis. The average business person receives 75 to 300 emails per day. Recent statistics show that we decide whether or not to delete an email in 2.7 seconds. The hard truth is that we only care about what matters to us. We are not interested in messages about products and services. No one is crossing their fingers hoping to receive a sales message or an invitation to meet.

Seth Godin hit the nail on the head when he said that consumers (including me and you) are in “ignore” mode. We ignore so much of what is going on around us because there is just too much to take in. Each of us is doing more. Each of us is multi-tasking. We are all time poor. We are only concerned with the business at hand and what affects our daily lives. Everything else feels like an annoyance or a distraction.

So how do you lift the blindfold to earn your prospects’ business?

There are multiple steps to breaking through to a new target market. Before you begin any marketing campaign, you must have a strategy; content is at the center of that strategy. Content affects every facet of marketing from branding to lead generation to new client support to customer relations. It’s a truly integral component of any marketing strategy and should dovetail into all communications.

Content is a key reason prospects invest their time to review your website, read your newsletters, watch your videos, and respond to your emails. It keeps you top of mind. It gives you an opportunity to interact with your clients and prospects. It shows that you care and are willing to invest in what matters to your recipients. It demonstrates your expertise as well as your understanding of your prospects’ pain. It helps you form relationships for new and ongoing business opportunities.

The most successful efforts align content initiatives with the buying lifecycle, providing key decision-making tools at each stage. Keep the various stages of the buying cycle in mind:

• The initial dawning that a problem needs to be resolved
• Researching possible solutions
• Evaluation of each solution discovered
• Risk assessment
• Decision to proceed

Remember that your contacts could be at any stage at any time and that it will take time to develop the relationship that will help you become the choice when the time is right. You will need to address the pain point or problem throughout your messaging in order to remain a contender.

What are the five content strategies that drive engagement through the buying lifecycle? Check them out here.