Boost readership of your e-newsletter with powerful subject lines

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More people will open your email newsletters if your subject line shows value in the first two words. That’s according to “4 Takeaways from MarketingSherpa’s Newsletter Subject-Line Analysis” (accessible only to MarketingSherpa members).

How do you show value? Start your e-newsletter subject lines with phrases such as:

  • Top Five
  • How to
  • Best Time

Your subject line should focus on the benefit that your content provides to readers. It’s especially powerful to indicate that you’re giving readers information they can act on.


Good wording: "Has the Market Wreaked Havoc on Your 401(k)?"

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Morningstar has a knack for good email subject lines. Like “Has the Market Wreaked Havoc on Your 401(k)?” That’s a line that many people can relate to.

Morningstar also achieves a nice conversational tone in its email, which starts out:

Yes, it feels awful right now. And it’s possible things could get worse before they get any better. But as unnerving as recent events have been, history has shown us that the economy will come back–and that means the market will, too.

This email was an advertisement for Morningstar Fund Family Reports. I’ll bet some folks signed up for trial subscriptions in response.

Compliance makes social networking tougher for registered reps than RIAs

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Here’s a guest post by Bill Winterberg, CFP®, an operations and efficiency guru to independent financial advisers, who blogs at FP Pad. He made me realize that RIAs have more leeway than registered reps when it comes to social networking.
Websites like Twitter, LinkedIn, and blogs present compliance issues for registered representatives subject to FINRA regulations. All reps must obtain approval from the broker/dealer compliance department before posting anything on the Internet, as postings a considered advertisements.

FINRA has published guidelines for use of the Internet by registered representatives of broker/dealers. It’s worth reading if you are affiliated with a broker/dealer.

The SEC has similar guidelines that govern advertisements, including postings to public Internet forums. However, investment advisers are generally responsible for self-supervision by Chief Compliance Officers. In my opinion, investment advisers not subject to FINRA regulations have quite a bit more flexibility when using Internet and social networking websites. See http://www.sec.gov/divisions/investment/advoverview.htm and http://www.sec.gov/info/iaicccoutreach.htm.

RIAs definitely have more flexibility over registered reps when it comes to the use of the Internet. However, common sense must always prevail when using the Internet to avoid publishing security recommendations or any testimonial, which are explicitly prohibited by the SEC and state regulatory authorities.


"Convert Website Visitors into Leads"

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You should use a strong call to action to convert website visitors into leads for your business, according to “Strong Call to Action – Convert Website Visitors into Leads” on the Hubspot website. If visitors give you their contact information, they’re one step closer to becoming clients.

Hubspot advises you to:

  1. Keep it Simple.
  2. Make it Obvious.
  3. Most Important: Make it Valuable.

For example, I observe these rules on my InvestmentWriting.com website by:

  1. Saying simply “Receive My E-newsletter!” on my sign-up box 
  2. Placing the sign-up box in the upper right-hand corner of every page of my website
  3. Offering value by providing a monthly e-newsletter

How could you apply these tips to your website? If you’re an investment manager, consider offering an email subscription to your investment commentary.


"3 Reasons Why Your White Papers Might Fail to Bring in New Business "

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Winton Churchill offered three “Reasons Why Your White Papers Might Fail to Bring in New Business” in a White Paper Source post that’s no longer online. But his reasons are still relevant.

I list his reasons below and give my take on how they apply to the investment business. 

  •  “#1. Preaching to the choir“: For example, if your white paper pitches municipal bonds to high-net-worth investors who’ve been getting professional advice, they probably already have munis in their portfolios. Maybe it’s time to seek out the newly wealthy or do-it-yourself investors.
  • “#2: Cradle to grave“: Don’t try to cover your topic from A to Z because you’ll lose your reader in a morass of details.  With munis, that might mean focusing on the potential tax benefit and relegating your caveats about AMT paper to a sidebar.
  • “#3: Company-focused instead of issue-focused“: As the author says, “Too many white papers boast.” Ironically, that’s a quick way to lose credibility. It’s far better to offer valuable information, then end with an enticement for your prospects to contact you.

Do white papers that make these three mistakes turn you off?


April 23, 2018: This post was updated because Churchill’s article is no longer available online.

Lesson from a headline, "A 30-Year Treasury Bond: Probably One of the Most Dangerous Investments You Could Make"

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“A 30-Year Treasury Bond:  Probably One of the Most Dangerous Investments You Could Make” is a great headline. It’s also a great topic.

Why? Because it challenges the average person’s idea of what’s a safe investment. Turning a common idea on its head will attract readers. In this case, it will also do them a service by explaining the downside of investing in 30-year Treasuries.

Kudos to RegentAtlantic Capital for an excellent headline and story idea for their recent press release.

"Narrow slice" article topics are better

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An article that covers a topic exhaustively can exhaust the reader. Writing about a narrow slice of that topic can be much more engaging.

This quote by New York Times health columnist Tara Parker-Pope, in Maura Casey’s “Tips, Tricks & Rewards of Writing Short,” makes a similar point:

“Kitchen sink stories do too much…. If you take on a big, unwieldy topic, you can wind up with a big, unwieldy story. Our writing improves when we try to do a little less, but do it better.” 

So, the next time you write about, for example, the bond market, don’t try to cover everything. Pick one slice that reflects an important development in that asset class.

When it’s okay to break the rules

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You can break the rules of grammar and punctuation that you learned as a kid.

I know this intuitively. But I’ve had a hard time coming up with guidelines for when to break the rules. Until now.

I like what Susan Gunelius said in her Entrepreneur.com article, “Copywriting Grammar Ain’t Perfect.”

In simplest terms, you can break any grammar rule in copywriting as long as doing so makes your copy sound conversational and more appealing to your target audience without negatively affecting your business’s professional image.

So, you need to know your audience before you break rules. But that’s another essential element of good communication.

I learned about Gunelius’ article on Kristen King’s InkThinker blog for freelance writers. Thanks, Kristen!

Related post: “It’s okay to end a sentence with a preposition“

"Pack a house with nervous clients?"

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You can help your clients–and yourself–by addressing their financial fears.

In “Pack a house with nervous clients?”, Matthew Homann of the [non]billable hour blog suggests that you offer clients a free financial seminar to which they can invite a friend. Don’t sell at your seminar, but distribute a helpful handout and encourage them to pass it along.

This sounds like a win-win situation for you and your clients. As Homann says, “Your clients (and their hand-picked referrals) will appreciate the information, and look to you as their advisor in times of need.”

Thank you, legal writer June Bell, for pointing me to this website!

 

Will a coupon spur investment management referrals?

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An investment manager recently sent me an email newsletter with a 25% off coupon.

Here’s what the coupon said:

SAVE 25%                                                                     A reminder that as a thank you to our valued clients, those who refer a new managed account relationship to COMPANY NAME will qualify for a credit of one quarter’s management fee.  Please call us for further details about this program.

If you were a client, would this motivate you to make a referral?