When you have a website with CPA Site Solutions you automatically have a newsletter with new content each month generated for you. What can sometimes be overlooked is the ability to use the Email Marketing System that sends the newsletter to generate messages to your subscribers. Here are some highlights to this included feature and how it can work to your CPA firm’s benefit.

Email Marketing System

Custom messages. The key behind the Email Marketing System is in using the ability to send out custom messages. There is a complete help section on how to start creating and sending these messages out.

Custom Campaigns. Any custom message has to be linked to a custom campaign to work. Campaigns are a great way to stay organized with your messages. You can change the campaigns according to theme or time of year. For example you can have one campaign for Businesses and another campaign for Individual Tax Returns, and then create custom messages with valuable information dedicated to the contacts in each of those campaigns.

Content. As a CPA you may wonder how to create content for a message, after all you are a CPA not a writer. The key to the messages is the content, not how long it is, or if it could be published in a book.

Most people who subscribe to your website newsletter want to hear from you. Like you they want to get information but don’t have a lot of time to read through. Use this to your advantage and provide key information, short and to the point.

Why take the time. Taking the time to give free information via custom messages keeps your firm and CPA website in front of your clients and potential clients. If you have good information that people want to share then your CPA firm is the topic of conversation.

Being thought and talked about keeps you at the forefront when a decision is made on who potential clients want to give their business to. There is also the point made in previous posts about how fresh content improves SEO and how sharing can help establish your CPA firm.

Seminars. You can also use custom campaigns to help drum up attendance to your next CPA Seminar. You can help get the message out and help remind attendees about the logistics of the seminar such as date, time, and place.

The Email Marketing System is a powerful way to help your firm move forward. This tool is freely available to any CPA with a website hosted by CPA Site Solutions so why not use it?

Any accounting website hosted by CPA Site Solutions includes an Email Marketing System. You can add contacts to this system by adding them individually or you can send CPA Site Solutions your list to be added automatically for you. Here is a breakdown of how that works and what you should know about when requesting a bulk upload.

Save time. You can save a lot of time by emailing support@cpasitesolutions.com with an attachment of the email addresses you want to add as contacts. It can be time consuming to add them one by one, you just want to make sure that the email addresses are listed individually.

More than 50 contacts. If you have more than 50 email contacts to add then email support@cpasitesolutions.com for an authorization form. Once you get that form, send it back along with your contacts to be added.

Email Marketing System Contacts

Spam. If you don’t have permission to send the contacts an email or they are not your clients and they get your email it can be considered spam. There are strict laws around spam with some pretty heavy fines.

Blacklisted. Although there are laws in place for spam there are separate considerations for each email host such as Yahoo, AOL, Google and others. Each of those companies can block you from sending their users email if they find you guilty of spam. Being guilty can be anything from the sheer volume of emails sent over a period of time to complaints from their users.

Purchased lists. Spam laws and their enforcement through individual companies are very strict. Given this if you have a purchased list of emails these cannot be imported into your contacts list.

You can save time through using the bulk upload feature. Just be aware of spam laws and what that means for contacts you want to import into your Email Marketing System.

One of the best times to get client feedback is right after doing work for them. What you have done and the process you took to get there are all fresh in both you and your clients mind.

Of course having the energy to get the feedback can be tough after working non-stop to stay ahead of deadlines. Here is a quick breakdown on some easy ways to consider getting feedback that can be incorporated and used on a regular basis.

Do a contest. Having a drawing from the names of those that respond is a fun way to gather feedback. Although there is a risk of getting a few responses without much in the way of content, it is generally seen as worth it for the few that take the time to write a quality response.

Do an email to all your clients. This is an obvious solution because it is generally fast, efficient, and easy for both your clients and your firm. You send the message and the client just hits reply, types a few words and sends it back.

You can use the email marketing system that comes with any accounting website hosted by CPA Site Solutions. You can create a campaign and attach a request for a feedback message to it. You can then organize by attaching future requests for feedback under that same campaign.

Submit a Review Button

Create a form. Create a custom form on your website that requests feedback. If you keep this up throughout the year it can be more accessible to your clients. Create a specific email address (feedback@yourdomain.com) just for this form as a way to keep track of the responses as separate from the usual contact form.

Change a page on your website. You can change the home or any other page on your accounting firm’s website to request feedback. On it you can have a custom form, a link to email, or a creative image that draws them in with a smile. Once you are done with getting feedback you can then take it down or just leave it up, changing it periodically depending upon the time of year.

Whatever method you use to get feedback from your clients it is essential in keeping your business sharp. Once you incorporate it into your firm’s accounting web site or as a regular campaign within your email marketing system then the feedback system runs by itself.

Have your own story about how you get feedback from your clients? Send a comment and share with other readers.

You’ve probably heard by now about the updated regulations to Internal Revenue Code Section 7216 that went into effect on January 1st, 2009. This updated regulation requires even tighter restrictions on what you can do with the data you collect when preparing a client’s tax return.

What does this mean for your website?

Because these regulations change how you can use your client’s contact information, you may need to adjust how you use your Email Marketing System and Monthly Newsletter.  If you collect email addresses along with your clients’ tax information- on a tax questionnaire, for example- then you must obtain the signed consent of your client to use that information in any other way.

Fortunately, if your clients subscribe to your newsletter using the form on your website, then there’s no need for you to acquire a consent form. Additionally, this applies to your tax clients, so clients you provide other services to may not fall under the 7216 regulations.

Violations can result in imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of not more than $1,000, or both, for each violation, so it’s a good idea to review how you’re using your client information on your site and everywhere else.

To review and manage clients and email addresses subscribed to your monthly newsletter, simply log into your Firm Portal and select “Email Marketing System.”  Once you’re logged in, select the contacts list on the horizontal menu.  From there, you’ll be able to view your recipients, manage subscriptions and add or delete addresses.

For more information on managing your Email Marketing System, visit our EMS Help page or view our Email Marketing System video walkthrough.

For more information on Internal Revenue Code Section 7216 visit the IRS website.  The IRS has also provided a guide for generating and managing your client consent forms.

I don’t know if you’ve ever taken the time to check out the client newsletters other CPA firms provide to their clients. I have, and I can tell you that yours is best I’ve seen.

Your monthly client newsletter has something of interest for a wide range of clients. The 3 Featured Articles help your business and individual clients successfully navigate their financial future.

The 3 Tax Tips are all approved by the IRS and gives your clients food-for-thought and insightful tax saving strategies.

The new (optional) QuickBooks Tips offer your clients great ideas on how they can become even more productive and glean insights to their financial situation. These tips position you as a true QuickBooks expert.

The 3 Financial Planning Tips are great reminders to help everyone take better care of their finances so they reach their financial goals.

Your clients also get a reminder of each of the tax filing deadlines for the month, so they don’t miss them.

Add that all up and you can see why your firm’s client newsletter is arguably the best one out there.

In the past we only included summaries of the 3 Featured Articles in the emailed version of your client newsletter. This month we’ve expanded the emailed version of your newsletter to include the titles and links to all the featured articles, tax tips, QuickBooks tips, financial planning tips and tax due dates. That way there is a greater chance that your clients find an article that catches their interest.

Your clients know that you are looking out for their best interest when you regularly provide them with helpful financial tips. And best of all it enables your firm to retain your clients even longer.

Your monthly emailed newsletter also generates new engagements by gently reminds your clients that they can turn to you for other financial services besides tax preparation.

So add your clients to your emailed newsletter. You can add them one at a time from the form on your newsletter page. Or you can email us a list of your clients’ email addresses and we’ll import them into your subscription list for you.

As part of our continuous quest to improve our services, tools and content, we’ve turned our attention to the monthly newsletter and Email Marketing System. We’ve just expanded the newsletter to include an optional new QuickBooks Tips section.

The new QuickBooks Tips section includes a number of tips and instructions to help your clients get the most out of QuickBooks and your QuickBooks services. This new section positions your firm as QuickBooks experts. So when a client or prospective client needs QuickBooks help they’ll turn to you.

Just like the monthly Featured Articles, Tax Tips, and Financial Planning Tips, this QuickBooks tips section is written by our award winning team of CPAs and MBAs to provide your clients with just enough information to pique their curiosity and entice them to come to you for the details.

As with many of our improvements, this one is completely optional and easy to integrate into your site. In fact, if you’re using our QuickBooks services section, then the additional QuickBooks Tips section is already added to your Newsletter and Email Marketing System.

Don’t Want QuickBooks Tips in Your Newsletter?

No problem. Our Email Marketing System and automated monthly newsletter update tool examines your site’s Navigation Bar before adding the QuickBooks Tips. If the QuickBooks services pages don’t appear on your site, then the QuickBooks Tips won’t be added to your newsletter.

So if you don’t want the QuickBooks Tips, please make sure your don’t have the QuickBooks Services pages on your site.

Please visit our sample newsletter to see how this new content is integrated into your site’s Newsletter page. You can find out more about our Email Marketing System and Monthly Newsletter by visiting the ‘What You Get’ tab at CPASiteSolutions.com.