Online Newsletters for Accountants: A Complimentary How-To

Sandi Smith Leyva, CPA, CITP, CGMA, Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, Xero Certified Advisor

Where to Get This PowerPoint

• http://AcceleratorNewsletters.com/thank-you/

About You

• Accounting Professional – Looking for client retention and

marketing options

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About You

• Services – Software consulting, setup, conversion, training,

troubleshooting, reseller – Controller, CFO, bookkeeping, accounting, payroll – Tax, write-up

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About Me

• CPA • Started writing in 1990 • Wrote books for the AICPA in the late 1990s • Started writing articles for Intuit in 2001 • Still writing….

About Me

• What I Write: – Website/Blog content – Bios – Case Studies – Marketing materials – BizBoost News client newsletter for

accountants

Agenda

• The one secret you must know about accounting newsletters before you invest in one.

• The benefits you should expect to get from investing in an online newsletter.

• When you should start a newsletter (some of you start too early!).

Agenda

• Several places to find pre-written accounting newsletters (including our competitors!).

• How to spend less than ½ hour per month on your newsletters.

• How to build your list and/or see if anyone is reading it.

1 Secret About Accounting Newsletters

• Shhhh: Hardly anyone reads them – Open rate is about 15%

• Average open rate is 20% • Look for the highest open rate you can

– Don’t cover material you would charge for • The business owner doesn’t care; that’s why they are hiring

you • Instead keep it strategic general business or strategic

educational

Benefits

• Stay in Touch with Clients – low-cost • Client Retention

– Solves the Biggest Complaint – Lack of communication

• Upsell Opportunities – I bet all of your clients do not know everything you

offer

Benefits

• Permission to Pitch Periodically • Warm Up Leads

– Only 3% of people buy on first contact with you • Re-Use Newsletter Content for Blog and Get

SEO Benefits • Get Content from Articles for Social Media

Tweets and Posts

When Should You Start

• After you have a great website OR • After you have 5-20 clients at least

– You do not need a website to send a newsletter

Places to Find Newsletters

• BizBoost News – http://acceleratornewsletters.com/client-

newsletter/bizboost-news/ • Cloud Accounting News – only for Xero

consultants – http://acceleratornewsletters.com/client-

newsletter/cloud-accounting-news/

Places to Find Newsletters

• Our Competitors: – Mostad

• http://www.mostad.com/cpanewsletters/clientnewsletterpdf.php

– BizActions – Thompson Reuters • http://www.bizactions.com/solutions/newsletters/

– PDI Global – Thompson Reuters • http://www.pdiglobal.com/content-publications/online-email-

newsletters

Places to Find Newsletters

• Our Competitors (not sure if they have stand-alone newsletters): – CPA Site Solutions has a newsletter with their

websites – ClientWhys – BuildYourFirm – TaxProMarketer (Build A Herd)

Places to Find Newsletters

• Our Affiliate (I do receive a commission) – Ed Lyon Wire Service – 26% open rate – http://bit.ly/taxwire

• Our Former Partner: – GhostPartner, Inc. - The QBC, Tax, Xtra (NAN)

Spend ½ Hour Per Month

• Handle 1-2 months’ worth in one sitting – Delivered to Constant Contact

• Schedule the date, select your list

– Paste to your WordPress blog

Constant Contact Demo

• Contact List – Adding Clients

• Email – Scheduling Draft

Build Your List

• Routine for adding new clients • Opt-in on website for leads

– Offer free report

Build Your List

• Invite your other channels – social media, LinkedIn connections and groups

• Collect business cards and request permission at local networking meetings

• Signature line • Business card

Your Questions

Measuring Effectiveness

• Open Rate • # Unsubscribes • Response /Inquiries • Sales or Responses after sending out a

newsletter • ROI per channel: Revenue/Costs

Your Plan

• How much revenue would you expect to generate from a newsletter? – Recovering lost clients – Upsells – Warming up leads – New sales – 97% who are not ready to buy the first

time

Your Plan

• You’ll need: – List management like Constant Contact – Newsletter like BizBoost News – Do it yourself or done-for-you

Our Offer

• BizBoost News – $199/year through March 31, 2013 – Then $249/year

• Constant Contact account – 30% off through March 31, 2013

• new accounts and current trials only