If you want a direct line to clients and prospects who have already shown an interest in your financial firm, email marketing is a solid choice. It’s great for sharing insights, building trust and staying top-of-mind.
The challenge? Financial services firms operate in highly regulated territory, so enticing subject lines and compelling calls to action still need to comply with the rules governing how your firm markets its services.
Before you hit “send,” take a gander at these email marketing dos and don’ts.
Do: Focus on Education and Value
Nobody needs another email that exists simply to say, “Hey, remember us?”
Give subscribers a reason to open your email. Share insights about market developments. Answer common client questions. Explain financial concepts in plain language. Strengthen your thought leadership game.
Educational content allows your firm to demonstrate expertise without turning every email into a direct sales pitch. It also helps establish the kind of consistent, useful communication that keeps your firm familiar when a reader eventually needs professional guidance.
Don’t: Make Claims You Can’t Support
Clever marketing language can quickly breed compliance conundrums.
The SEC Marketing Rule prohibits advertisements from including materially misleading statements or claims that an adviser does not have a reasonable basis to substantiate. It also requires fair and balanced treatment when discussing potential benefits and material risks.
That means phrases like “proven strategy,” “superior returns” or “we’ll protect your retirement” deserve careful scrutiny. Before making a claim, ask two simple questions:
- Can we prove this?
- Does the overall message give readers an accurate impression?
If the answer to either question is “no,” rewrite.
Do: Segment Your Audience
A commonly held misconception is that your emails must go out to your entire email list. They don’t.
Segmenting subscribers by factors such as client status, interests or services they’ve expressed interest in can make emails considerably more relevant. A business owner might benefit from different content than someone approaching retirement, while an existing client might respond to call to action that a prospect might ignore.
Just be thoughtful about how granular you get. Personalization should make an email more useful, not make readers wonder how much you know about their financial lives.
Don’t: Cherry-Pick Performance
Under the SEC Marketing Rule, advertisements containing performance information are subject to specific requirements. Among them, advisers generally cannot present gross performance without net performance. Nor can they selectively present results or time periods in ways that create a misleading impression.
The overarching message for email marketers: Performance isn’t just another piece of promotional copy. If you plan to include it, involve your compliance team early and ensure the numbers, context and required disclosures work together.
Do: Make Compliance Part of the Workflow
Compliance review shouldn’t be the final hurdle between your marketing team and the “send” button. Build it into the process from the beginning.
Establish guidelines for commonly used language, determine which types of emails require additional review and create approved approaches for disclosures, performance discussions and other higher-risk content.
And don’t forget about recordkeeping. SEC rules require investment advisers to retain copies of advertisements they disseminate, making good documentation an important part of the marketing process.
Don’t: Assume Testimonials Are Off-Limits (or Automatically Safe)
The SEC Marketing Rule permits testimonials and endorsements … but that permission comes with conditions.
Depending on the circumstances, firms might need disclosures regarding whether the person is a client, whether compensation was provided and/or whether conflicts of interest exist. Advisers also have oversight responsibilities, and certain compensated arrangements require written agreements.
Yes, that glowing client quote might be usable. Just don’t drop it into next month’s newsletter without running it through the appropriate compliance process first.
What’s Your Email Marketing Message?
Effective financial services email marketing doesn’t require choosing between engaging content and compliant content. The best campaigns account for both from the start.
Need help finding that balance? Let Mischa Communications show you how to develop email campaigns that engage your audience while keeping compliance considerations built into the process. Get started now!
