How to Grow Your Email List as a Financial Advisor

As a financial advisor, finding new clients can be time-consuming and exhausting. Whether you offer financial planning, investment advice, or retirement services, a solid email list is your greatest asset. An email list is an asset that allows you to connect with potential clients without constantly seeking new leads. The more you grow this asset, the more it works for you!

Here's how growing your email list creates a pipeline of interested individuals ready to engage with your services.

Build Trust Through Familiarity

You offer top-notch financial advice and services for your clients. Great work! ?? You promote your services on social media and receive likes from friends and family, but where are the potential clients? Most likely, they aren’t signing up because they don’t know you yet. They may not yet feel comfortable investing their time and hard-earned money in someone they’ve only heard from a few times.

Now, imagine having an email list of 1,000 people genuinely interested in your financial planning services. They trust you because you've been consistently providing valuable content in their inbox.?

Who do you think is more likely to sign up for your services - the people who see your social posts once in a blue moon or those on your email list?

Of course, it’s the individuals who feel they know you and your expertise. This is the power of an email list. It allows you to cultivate relationships with people who might have otherwise remained strangers.

If you’re still unsure about the effectiveness of email marketing, here are five more data-backed reasons to embrace it to grow your impact.

1) Provide a Value-Packed Incentive

Do you want to subscribe to another newsletter? ?? Unless it’s from someone you already follow and trust, your answer is likely to be “No thanks, my inbox is already too full.” This is where the power of using incentives known as "opt-ins" and lead magnets comes in.?

Consider offering eBooks, free guides, financial planning templates, or training videos that provide immediate value. These marketing assets earn you ongoing returns as they help grow your email list. People are much more likely to share their email addresses in exchange for something that can educate them or solve a problem they’re facing.

Think of these incentives as an opportunity to provide value to potential clients even before they engage with your services.

2) Share Your Freebie Across Different Platforms

Once you’ve created your value-packed incentive, focus on driving traffic to it through multiple channels. Figure out where your target audience spends their time online. What challenges are they facing that your services can help with? Where can you connect with them to address these challenges effectively?

What podcasts do they listen to? What financial magazines or websites do they read? What types of financial authors do they follow? What webinars or online conferences do they attend? Use this knowledge to create a plan that makes your freebie visible to those who would benefit from it.

If you use social media, consider making the freebie your primary call to action. Instead of asking people to sign up for your core offers immediately, invite them to access your value-packed incentive. This approach encourages them to get to know your expertise better before committing to a more significant investment.

3) Guest Post in a Financial Magazine or on Another Website

Contributing as a guest to someone else’s platform showcases your expertise and builds credibility. If someone trusts you enough to allow you to publish on their site, it shows potential clients that you know what you’re talking about.?

To get started with guest posting, brainstorm where you’d like to publish your content. Always keep your target audience in mind! Are they likely to read the platforms or magazines you want to write for? Do these outlets cater to individuals who would be interested in your services?

Give yourself time to compile a list of platforms you’d like to approach for guest posts. Then reach out to these platforms and inquire about writing opportunities. Make sure you can include a bio with a link to your value-packed incentive for readers to download in exchange for their email.

4) Be a Guest on a Podcast Your Audience Listens To

If you appear on a podcast that already has a sizable following, and a portion of those listeners sign up for your email list, that’s an easy way to gain new subscribers! Start searching for podcasts relevant to your target audience. If you're unsure who your target audience is, take time to identify your niche within the financial industry.

Once you find a suitable podcast, email the host.?

Offer them a list of at least 5 financial topics you could speak about that their audience would find beneficial. Outline your key speaking points in a way that connects to your freebie or ebook If your niche is retirement planning and your audience likely struggles with saving effectively, discuss some tips on building a retirement fund. Then, create an incentive (free guide, eBook, or financial planning worksheet) focused on this topic. At the end of your segment, encourage listeners to download your freebie for more information.

5) Host a Webinar or Online Conference

Another effective way to build your brand and grow your email list is by hosting webinars or online conferences. Provide insights related to financial planning, investment strategies, or retirement savings. Consider collaborating with other financial experts for a larger event.

Once you have a relevant topic, send invites to people who would benefit from your expertise. You can promote this through social media or by sending emails to your network, encouraging them to share the event with their connections. As with the previous strategies, the key to growing your email list is to have something valuable to give away at the end of your webinar. Get attendees excited about accessing this webinar recording and watch your email list grow.

Quality Counts

One final note regarding email marketing: quality matters. While it may be tempting to buy a list of thousands of “free” subscribers, this approach is neither ethical nor sustainable in the long run. The quality of your list directly impacts how likely subscribers are to engage with your content. It’s worth taking the time to build an email list filled with individuals genuinely interested in hearing from you. If the people on your list are there because they want to hear from you, they’re much more likely to engage with your offers.

When it comes to unsubscribers, practice letting go. Those individuals were unlikely to become clients, so release them with ease. Instead, focus on the amazing people who are excited to hear from you. Trust me, there are plenty of individuals eager for your insights!

Want the perfect email opt-in/lead magnet and subscriber welcome emails done for you in just two weeks? Schedule a call with our financial advisor marketing expert to secure your spot on my calendar, and let’s work together to expand your reach!