CPA Websites Marketing Tips

When folks look for accountants, they want to see accounting websites with top-notch content – so they can read about what that firm offers.

But text alone isn’t always enough. Prospective clients need a reason to trust you – an emotional connection – before they make that first call.

That’s where your picture comes in.

A picture of your smiling face puts prospective clients at ease.

A Picture Plus a Thousand Words

Including your picture with thousands of pages of content gives prospective clients every reason to trust you.

People are naturally drawn to images of the human face. And when they’re searching for a professional to guide them in financial matters – always a sensitive issue – they need to know you’re someone they can trust. A picture of you – and your staff! – is an important part of the process.

It costs a little, but it’s worth having head shots professionally taken. A photographer uses optimal lighting to accentuate your best features.

The Real You

Don’t be afraid to throw in some personality, too.

Are you a dog lover? Use a picture of you and your canine friend. Do you love the outdoors? Take advantage of the late afternoon sunlight to get a natural shot outside. Or if you’re more comfortable behind your desk, include a coffee cup in the shot, and maybe a vase of flowers.

These little touches make a big difference.

76% of business owners recently indicated that they wanted to have a sense of an accountant’s personality before contacting them for the first time.

In a crowded online environment, reach out to your visitors and give them a reason to choose you with some winning photos.

It’s Easy to Do

A number of the pages on our accounting websites make perfect places to add your smiling face:

If you’re a Gold level client, just send some shots to support@cpasitesolutions.com and let us know where you’d like us to add them.

Silver-level clients: watch this video explaining how to add pictures to page headers – or read this Help file. (To have a Dedicated Webmaster make the changes for you, upgrade to Gold for just $20 extra per month.)

Make the Most of Your Website

Just because your website is professional doesn’t mean it has to be sterile.

Warm up your site with pictures and let your personality shine through. It’s a great way to show interested visitors that you’re the right choice for them.

Not a CPA Site Solutions client? When you sign up for one of our reasonably priced Complete Web Suites, we help you make the most of your site with pictures, outstanding content, marketing expertise, and much more. Try us out for free for 60 days with absolutely no obligation.

Do you like the idea of adding your picture to your site? Or does it make you cringe because you’re not fond of how the camera looks at you? Let us know your experiences – leave a comment!

Using Outlook for your email is like using carrier pigeons instead of a cell phone.

It’s 4:30 – and you want your husband to buy some wine for dinner. You write “Pick up wine” on a piece of paper, roll it up, attach it to one of your pigeons, and send him flying out the window toward home. There.

It sounds ridiculous – but if you use Microsoft Outlook to check your email, you might as well communicate with your spouse through carrier pigeon.

Yes – it’s that out of date.

Let me show you how to easily save 10 hours of productivity per month by simply switching from Outlook to the email that comes free with our CPA websites.

Problems with Outlook

In the computer timeline, Outlook is very old. The technology is outdated; the program simply wasn’t built to accommodate a high volume of messages and the size of today’s email attachments.

Here are some problems you might have with Outlook that drain your productivity:

• Your messages pile up - you try to spend time organizing them into folders but you’re always behind. (est. time lost – 1 hr/wk)

•  The search function is slow and cumbersome – and the results are often so bloated that you still waste time sifting through messages. (est. time lost – .5 hr/wk)

• Your Outlook calendar doesn’t sync with the calendar in our Workteam Collaboration Suite – leading to missed meetings and time-consuming meeting check-ins. (est. time lost – .5 hr/wk)

• You can’t view appointments on your calendar with your iPhone or other mobile device. (est. time lost – .5 hr/wk)

• You get “Cannot Connect to Server” and other error messages. These come from problems configuring Outlook and they hinder sending and receiving emails. (est. time lost – .5 hr/mo)

• You struggle with initial setup and reconfiguration challenges. If you’re not a techie, making sure your settings are correct and updated is frustrating and time-consuming. (est. time lost – 1 hr/mo)

Our Solution

CPA websites with CPA Site Solutions include – at no extra cost – a much more robust email service with our Workteam Collaboration Suite.

Here’s how our email solution saves you time, money, and frustration:

Less Expensive. If you use Outlook, you’re most likely paying for IT support, Exchange hosting, or email accounts through GoDaddy or another domain registrar.

In contrast, our email is absolutely free. It also comes with 50 email addresses, so everyone in your firm gets their own address. We support your email so you say good-bye to your IT guy (at least for email).

Easier. Your inbox looks the same no matter where you access it – and you can do so from any computer or mobile device with an Internet connection. Plus, the outstanding search feature allows you to quickly find any email in seconds. Much better than sorting in Outlook.

And because the software is all online – “in the cloud” – you don’t wrestle with installing software or keeping track of updates.

Saves Time. Our email solution saves time, too, with keyboard shortcuts. These allow you to compose, answer, and organize your email without ever having to take your hands off the keyboard.

Furthermore, our email groups emails into conversations. Instead of getting a new email each time someone replies to a message, all replies are displayed with the original thread. This cuts way down on the number of messages to wade through in your inbox.

Safer. Our email is backed up on fully redundant servers. If a virus infects your computer – if a hurricane strikes your office – if any disaster compromises your computer – your email remains perfectly secure.

More Efficient. Our email service is fully integrated with our Workteam Collaboration Suite – giving you the full functionality of these cutting-edge tools:

• shared calendars

• team wiki

• task manager

• shared documents

• shared spreadsheets

• instant messaging (IM)

Check out our videos on the benefits of our email and shared calendars and IM and shared documents.

If you haven’t yet taken advantage of all the features of our Workteam Collaboration Suite, I urge you to give them a try.

You have nothing to lose but wasted time!

Try a Better Way Today

Are you a CPA or accountant who needs a website? Sign up for a Complete Web Suite and get a free 60 days.

If you’re a CPA Site Solutions client who uses Outlook, consider switching over to our easier, faster, and safer email service. Give us a call at 1-800-896-4500 or email us at support@cpasitesolutions.com.

What do you think about Outlook? Does it frustrate you, or does it work for your firm? Share your experiences below.

Your clients have questions. Show them you have answers.

You might not expect to find value in a series of questions.

But listing Frequently Asked Questions on accounting websites leads to higher productivity, more satisfied clients, and expert rates.

Here’s how…

1. FAQs Make Happier Clients

When clients and prospects visit your website, they don’t always know what questions to ask. They just know they need help.

A set of FAQs not only conveys information – it also helps clients organize their thoughts. They feel more in control after reviewing the questions.

In addition, FAQs divide information up into small chunks – which is how people are used to digesting information online.

Finally, a lot of folks expect to find FAQs. It’s the first place they go – and if there are no FAQs, they’re frustrated.

When you satisfy your current clients, you strengthen the client bond. A stronger bond means you retain clients effortlessly, and keep the income flowing.

2. FAQs Mean Increased Productivity

Picture this: it’s tax season. Clients are calling daily, eager for financial advice. Because your website has very little information, it’s up to you and your staff to answer each and every call. This time of year, that’s a tall order.

Now let’s say you have one of our accounting websites. Instead of calling you for help, clients visit your FAQ section. You’re free to focus on your billable work, while clients get the assistance they need.

And more billable work means – you guessed it – more revenue for your firm.

Here are some examples of great questions to list on your website:

• When should I refinance my home?

• How much should I expect to pay in closing costs?

• Is interest on educational loans tax deductible?

• What kind of records do I need to keep in my business?

3. FAQs Allow Higher Rates

When you visit your doctor, you expect her to know about every medical condition you mention.

Pain in your joints? She should know what that could mean. Trouble sleeping? She ought to be able to help you. That mole on your shoulder that looks a little funky? You want to know whether you should worry.

Now what if she kept telling you, “Sorry, I’m not familiar with that.” Would you consider her an expert? Would you feel good about paying her a premium rate?

The same holds true for accountants. If you show your clients that you know a wide variety of information about financial matters, your clients trust your expertise.

And just try setting higher rates without that trust.

Save Time – Use Our FAQs

There’s no need to spend countless hours gathering questions and crafting answers. When you have a website with CPA Site Solutions, you get over 1,000 FAQs included at no extra cost.

The FAQs on our sites - helpfully categorized into several sections – answer your clients’ questions succinctly. They also point out why it’s necessary to contact you for further information, so they help drive business back to your firm.

If you already have a website with us, and you’re interested in adding to the FAQs with some customized questions, give us a call at 1-800-896-4500 or email us at support@cpasitesolutions.com.

Not a CPA Site Solutions client? Sign up today for our free 60-day trial – and start to swell your bottom line with FAQs.

Brian O'Connell, President

Who likes turning away easy business? Anyone?

I didn’t think so. I don’t either! Yet when clients need help incorporating their sole proprietorships, accountants often send them to an attorney.

With CPA websites from us, you get to keep that business, perform it easily, make a nice profit, and save your clients money.

That sounds pretty efficient to me.

The Easy Way to Incorporate a Business

Our Online Incorporation Solution automates the whole process of forming a corporation.

It orders your corporate supplies and even tracks the progress of your order.

There are so many details you no longer need to take care of. Check them out:

How Much Profit Would You Like?

You make a nice profit incorporating your clients' businesses.

When you register with our partner – a leading national incorporation service – you enter the amount of profit you’d like to make.

That’s right – you set the price. Choose $200, $350, $400… It’s up to you.

The online system calculates all the fees, adding in the profit you chose, and comes up with a package price for your client.

Clients Win, Too

Using our partner for incorporation services saves your clients money in two ways.

First, incorporating is an excellent tax-saving strategy. If you offer this to your clients, they appreciate the long-term advantages of this effort.

Second, even with you making a $400 profit, the total cost of incorporating is still hundreds less when your clients use you instead of an attorney. Attorneys charge $1,000-$2,000 and up for the service. That’s far more than what you charge.

Fully Integrated with Our Sites

Online incorporation is fully integrated with CPA websites from CPA Site Solutions. It takes your clients just five minutes when they visit this page on your site.

Interested in getting a Complete Web Suite with CPA Site Solutions? Try us out for 60 days free. There’s no obligation whatsoever.

Do you find yourself sending your clients on to attorneys when they want to incorporate? Are you intimidated by the incorporation process? Let us know in the space below!

Brian O'Connell, President

We all agree: you’ve got to get paid for your work. You can’t allow clients to skip out on their bills.

Luckily, our CPA websites have an Online Credit Card option, which means your clients pay their bills right on your site.

You save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars when you take advantage of online credit card processing.

But which credit card processor?  The right choice makes a difference in how much you save.

Which credit card processor you need depends on your monthly usage.

PayPal or Capital Payments?

Our CPA websites offer you a choice of two credit card processors: PayPal or Capital Payments.

Here’s a quick look at the plans:

PayPal =  1 or 2 transactions/month

Capital Payments = 3 or more transactions/month

How to Get the Lowest Fees

To get the lowest credit card fees, follow these steps:

1. Evaluate your needs. Do you have a busy firm with a high percentage of Web-savvy clients – or a smaller firm with a more traditional clientele?

2. If your clients will pay by credit card only once or twice a month, choose PayPal.

3. If you think you’ll process 3 or more credit card payments per month, you want Capital Payments.

Getting Paid On Time, Every Time

Whichever company is right for you, accepting credit card payments online means you get paid on time, every time.

In fact, between paying low processing fees, avoiding bad debt, and saving on collection costs – you save at least $1,000/year.

Both PayPal and Capital Payments accept Visa, MasterCard, and American Express – so your clients enjoy the convenience as well.

We’re Happy to Help

If you would like clients to pay you online by credit card, sign up for one of our websites. You get a free 60-day trial and have absolutely no obligation for two months.

If you already have one of our Complete Web Suites and would like to take advantage of online credit card processing, call 1-800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com. We’re happy to help you get set up with the right processor.

Do you ever feel burned by clients who fail to pay? What ways do you deal with this? Post your thoughts in our Reply section.

An RSS feed keeps a stronger bond with clients.

The wide variety of content on our accounting websites is a key reason our accountants have a year-round connection to their clients.

But we want your clients to get the full benefit of these articles and posts.

Now, with our new service improvement, they do. Clients receive updates of newsletter articles and blog posts – which means you have an even stronger bond.

RSS Feed with Newsletter and Blog

Your Client Newsletter and Blog now include an RSS feed.

RSS, which stands for Really Simple Syndication (sometimes given as Rich Site Summary), is an automated way to deliver updated web content.

More and more people get their news and updates through RSS these days. It’s convenient – you read all the latest headlines from your favorite blogs and websites in one place.

How Does RSS Work?

Clients subscribe to an RSS feed by clicking on the RSS icon, which takes them through the steps of subscribing.

When clients visit your newsletter and blog pages, they see these icons:

RSS Feed Icon on Newsletter Page

RSS Feed Icon on Blog Page

When they do, this page pops up, asking them how they want to receive the feed:

Once clients click on the icon, this box comes up. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

When they fire up their reader to get that day’s news, they see the latest headlines and teaser text from your newsletter and blog.

A feed of CPA Site Solutions's blog in Google Reader. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

They read your updated content along with the other online publications they subscribe to – the New York Times, CNN.com, and so forth.

Let Your Clients Know

Let your web-savvy clients know they now have the option to subscribe to your newsletter and blog with RSS.

They enjoy all the latest firm news, useful tips, and financial articles…

…and because RSS automatically delivers updates to your clients, you make the most of your high-quality content – and enjoy a stronger bond with clients.

If you have any questions about how your clients use the RSS, give us a call at 1-800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com.

Do you subscribe to any websites with RSS?  Do you find it a useful way to get the latest news? Share your thoughts in the space below.

A new Security Measures page helps clients understand the Web is not the Wild West anymore.

Are your clients afraid of the Internet? Do they mistrust the security of cyberspace? And does this prevent them from taking advantage of all CPA websites have to offer?

The Internet is not the Wild West anymore. Safety measures are now in place – firewalls, encryption, and anti-virus software – that make it a much more trustworthy environment.

It might be time to give your clients a little push – to show them how secure the Internet is these days. With a bit of encouragement, clients start to feel comfortable using the Web for more than just contact information.

A great place to start is your secure Client Portal. Once clients see how it improves their financial lives, they’re hooked. They’re more satisfied with your services…

And you reap the reward in higher retention.

Our New Security Page

You have an easier time convincing your skittish clients to use the Client Portal with the new Security Measures page.

Clients get to the new page with a link on the updated Client Portal page.

When clients go to the updated page on your site, they see this:

Your updated Client Portal page includes a link to information on Security Measures. Click on the image to enlarge.

When they click on that last link, they’re sent to a Security Measures page detailing the Portal’s impressive 14 layers of security.

Benefits of the Client Portal

Although they might need some encouragement to try it out, once your clients do take your Client Portal for a spin, they love the benefits.

The Client Portal provides…

• a secure, convenient, and easy way for you and your clients to exchange and share files;

• 24/7/365 access for clients to their tax returns, financial statements, scanned documents like W-2’s, employee data, corporation papers, and legal documents;

• secure access to their tax information – with your Online Tax Organizer – anytime from anywhere, so they no longer need to complete and mail paper organizers;

• a way for them to make entries, print reports, and have full access to QuickBooks, Sage Peachtree, or any accounting software from home, office, or any location in the world (when you add the Online Accounting module); and

• a secure environment to enter their hours and earnings, print detailed reports, print checks, make direct deposits, and file all federal and state payroll taxes (when you add the Online Payroll option).

There’s no question that the Client Portal improves your clients’ financial lives.

And in a way, when you push them to try the Portal, you’re doing your job at a high level – offering information, technology, and support to help your clients stay organized and in control of their finances.

How to Get the New Pages

Let us know if you want the new Security Measures page on your site. It means adding two pages – the updated Client Portal page as well as the Security Measures page.

If you’re at the Silver service level, visit our Help file called “Adding the Updated Client Portal and Security Measures Pages” to learn the steps involved in publishing them.

If you’re a Gold or Platinum client, give us a call at 1-800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com to request these pages. We’re happy to add them.

When consumers go online to look for products and services, they bring their magnifying glass. Like any other service, accounting websites must stand up to the scrutiny.

But how do people evaluate accounting websites? What helps a site stand apart from its competition?

Quality content. Load your site with great content and you make the grade.

New visitors read your articles, profile pages, and other information and become comfortable enough to take the plunge and hire you.

The 10-Second Test

Did you know that 95% of all buying decisions are now made online? Folks are searching for websites to help make decisions about what to buy. This goes for professional services as well as consumer products.

Once they land on a site, they take 10 seconds to decide whether to click away or read on.

If your design is professional, they feel comfortable enough to stay past those 10 seconds – and do a closer read. That’s where content comes in.

Quality Content Makes the Difference

But what content, exactly?

Here’s a list of the pages you need to convey who you are:

• Descriptions of your services

• About Us pages

• Articles

• FAQs

• Newsletters

• Blog posts

• Contact Us pages

If your site is filled with these pages, and they’re well written and knowledgeable, you put your best foot forward. You allow prospects to research your firm in the way they want to – online, in private, without needing to pick up the phone.

And, as a bonus, loads of high-quality content position you as an expert. This means you not only get the client, but you also get to charge the expert rates.

Get That Content Here

When you have a Complete Web Suite with us, you get page after page of outstanding content.

• 35 pages describing your Services - Tax services, business services, QuickBooks services, and services for individuals (you add and delete pages to fit your firm’s focus)

• About Us pages that are fully customizable and feature pictures and bios of you and your staff

• 3,000 pages of Financial Guides covering life events and business, tax, and investment strategies

• 1,000 Frequently Asked Questions about financial planning, insurance, taxes, and numerous other subjects

• Client Newsletter uploaded to your site monthly, with links to previous issues, covering taxes, investments, financial planning, and many other topics relevant to individuals and small businesses

• Fully Integrated Blog that’s easy to update with helpful accounting-related articles as well as more lighthearted pieces on your hobbies and personal interests

• Contact Us page with all your contact information, an email contact form, a map and driving directions (which can be omitted if you run a home office), and a staff directory

Someone looking for an accountant wants to research a variety of firms to find the right fit. Providing them page after page of text allows them to become familiar with your staff as professionals and more personally. This kind of information is what tips the scales in your favor and gets you the sign-up.

Free 60-Day Trial

If you want a website with loads of content that helps you acquire new clients, sign up with us today. You get a free 60-day trial, as well as all the tools and content of our Complete Web Suites.

Have new clients given you feedback on your site’s content? What other features do you think clients rely on when choosing a CPA? Share your ideas in the space below.

When it comes down to it, is there anything more important than client relationships? Without happy clients, you soon have no clients – and no revenue.

CPA newsletters allow you to upgrade your once-a-year relationships with tax clients to monthly relationships. Clients feel protected year-round, which strengthens that all-important relationship.

We made some changes to the newsletter design that further enhance your bond with clients.

The previous design. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

The new design. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

The new design offers several benefits:

1. Your clients now have the option of signing up for your newsletter right on the newsletter page.

2. The “Print This Page” icon makes it easy to print out the newsletter. It also pulls in your footer.

3. It’s more fully integrated with your website design. It uses the same primary colors as your overall website, and it also matches the width of your site.

4. The newsletter now displays the QuickBooks tips only if you have the QuickBooks service pages on your site.

Put Our Newsletter to Work

Think of the newsletter as an on-staff PR and outreach professional. It takes your firm from once-a-year tax work to year-round financial advisor.

You get our CPA newsletter free with our Complete Web Suite.

Don’t have a website with us yet? Sign up and get your first 60 days absolutely free.

What do you think of our newsletter updates? What other changes would you like to see? Post your suggestions below.