Why Email Beats Social Media: The Game-Changer for Financial Advisors and Planners

Hello there, finance masters! In the world where every playbook on marketing seems thicker than "War and Peace," there's one quiet warrior that's been winning battles right, left, and center: email marketing.

You are probably thinking right now, "Email? Seriously? We are in an age of TikTok dances and going viral on Twitter." Well, hear me out that as much as it might sound like a cliche déjà vu, but it’s just like that friend who always shows up when it comes to converting prospects to effectively engaging clients.

For all businesses, orienting towards meaningful interaction with their audience, Email is the North Star.

The potential reach via Email with over 4 billion daily users is nothing short of astronomical. And as a Financial Advisor or Financial Planner, this is the most unprecedented opportunity to have eyes on a client that far outlasts the scrolling over several screens of social media.

Let's put the numbers to real use, as they are the weapons in our world. It's not shooting out random newsletters that land in digital vastness.

It's those elusive connections, after all, that change the game.

It's those elusive connections, after all, that change the game. Well, research does show that email marketing boasts an ROI of 4,200%. Yes, read that again: 4,200%. Ain't that just the kind of number you want to hear?

This channel isn't just effective; it's efficient at turning a past, current or new list of prospects into clients.

Because in the universe of emails, "Dear [First Name]" is just the beginning. Where the real mojo lies is in segmentation and personalization, allowing you to fine-tune your messages toward a level of precision so high that your clients may well think you have some serious Sons of the Harpy action going on.

That, folks, is what direct or close-to-direct relevance does: it ratchets up your open rates, peaks engagement. Personalization is the buzzword if you want to get noticed in a choked inbox.

When people in email marketing say personalization it usually means something as simple as adding the prospects first name or job title.

After sending over 100K emails in the past 6 months, the best results are not from doing the bare minimum of personalization, but instead its personalizing the whole email. Let me know which cold email below would better get your attention than the other.

These are examples we sent over a year ago to a list of about 10K management consultants:

Essentially, social media is an algorithm-driven network, and organic reach bears the brunt of their wrath.

Where a post on Instagram, planned most thoughtfully, could be missed by most of your following, the same post reaches directly to the inbox of a client when sent through email.

My team once spent over a week planning out a social media campaign. It involved engaging content and free resources people could download. Guess what happened? It got 0 results.

However when you use email marketing, it is as though you have been invited into their digital sitting room for a chit chat.

Absolutely no algorithms, no filters at all, just you in your rawness, and your message being enjoyed in its fill of undivided attention.

At the speed of modern social media, the content barely lasts longer than a goldfish if it cannot be forced to attention. Emails? They never go completely away.

They rest in inboxes, forever "on" all the time, waiting to be read and reread, waiting to be commented or rerun. In fact, such a long-lasting presence is what makes your message work for you around the clock long after you hit "send." This is the marketing gift that never ends.

With social media ads you have 5-10 seconds to grab their attention. That's it. You also don't have a way to see whether or not your reaching out to the right audience. Last but not least if your not spending north of $5,000/month for at least 3 months on a social media platform you will not get the results you want.

Don't guess, measure. There is simply no space in the world of email marketing for guessing at all.

Advanced tracking and analytics provide the ability to know exactly who's been opening, reading, and clicking through your emails. And, well, if 80% of the people are capable of doing just that, there is almost non-stop optimization of your campaigns.

Can your social media insights do that? Of course not.

Budgets are always top of mind for financial advisors and planners, especially smaller ones or just going into business for themselves.

That's where email marketing really shines.

No other marketing channel compares to the unmatched cost-effectiveness that email offers. Sometimes, choice means cutting through the noise.

Email enhances your budget, leaving room for ploughing money back into your base and targeting your resources exactly where it counts.

And then, there's what your customers actually like. Time and time again, research has shown that customers enjoy discount offers and information being communicated to them over email.

Email marketing is not another thing to add to the to-do list. Instead it offers personal, direct, longevity, measurable success, cost-efficiency, and is aligned with client preference.

Throughout the landscape of financial advising and planning, what it offers and changes is nessecary to winning when communicating with prospects and customers.

Getting started with email marketing does not have to be intimidating at all.

The first step is to get your audience organized by placing them into clean lists, segment them, and thereafter craft relevant messages. Consistency, when mixed with a little creativity and personality must be used to have effective emails.

Finally, let those emails show off your smarts and personality and give them a space to shine. Email marketing is one of these automated strategies that can act as a lighthouse guiding your business towards more sales and an increased clientele.

Is email ready for the attention it deserves?

Your clients and your bottom line will say thank you.