CPA_Practice_Advisor_July_2020 - 18

MARKETING YOUR FIRM

An Email Automation Process
That Works Like A Charm

By Becky Livingston

SCAN. DELETE. SCAN. Not Now. Scan...Click! Unlike mass
emails you might send, such as a newsletter, automated email
sequences occur when a trigger is met.
For example, someone downloads
a piece of content from your website by
submitting a form. The form submission
is a trigger that causes the email automation to start. When the sequence begins,
it reminds the recipient why they've
received the email and offers additional
content for a topic in which they've
already shown an interest.

EMAIL EXAMPLE
We see that you've downloaded our PPP Loan
Forgiveness Application checklist. You might
also find this information valuable:
■■ What is an EIDL and how might I use it in
conjunction with the PPP Loan?
■■ How does Safe Harbor work for small business
owners?
■■ Don't miss these tax breaks for business
owners in [State abbreviation].
Give us a call if you have any questions
about this content, or if you'd like help with the
PPP Loan Forgiveness Application.
Becky Livingston is the President
and CEO of Penheel Marketing,
a NJ-based firm specializing in
social media and digital marketing for CPAs. With over 25 years
of marketing and tech experience,
she is the author of
"SEO for CPAs - The
Accountant's SEO
Handbook" and the
"The Accountant's
Social Media Handbook." In addition to
being a practitioner,
she is a dog lover,
an active on the Association for
Accounting Marketing (AAM) social media committee, an adjunct
professor, and a speaker/trainer.
Learn more about Becky and her
firm at https://Penheel.com.

18

JULY 2020 ■

have limited automation options and
customer support.
Mid-tier accounts are paid and can
scale as you grow. Small- to mediumsized firms looking to actively grow their
email list should look at this cost-effective
option. One key feature about these plans
is they offer advanced key performance
indicators (KPIs) to help you determine
campaign success.
Enterprise platforms are for highvolume senders with thousands of
segments and cross-channel workflows.
These platforms also allow for a highdegree of customization.

STEP 3 - THE WORKFLOW
What does the process look like when a
trigger is activated? Map that out by either
drawing it on paper, using a flowchart
tool, or sticking notes on a whiteboard.
Whatever method you use, it must be
captured somehow for future use.

THE PROCESS

WORKFLOW EXAMPLE

STEP 1 - CREATE A PLAN

You're hosting a webinar in six weeks.
You'll want to:
■■ Determine how many emails you want to
send, to whom, and how often.
■■ Write email content and what happens
when an action is completed (if any).
■■ Identify a "non-response" and/or "cart
abandonment" follow-up path. Each
would become another workflow with
a trigger to get them back into the main
workflow.
■■ Once registered, provide a link to your
gated content (not on your website's
navigation) using a personalized field,
such as first-name, e.g., "Pat, get ready for
your upcoming webinar by reading this
important information [link]."
■■ Wait a few days.

Begin by defining the trigger data
that is going to start a campaign,
for example, newsletter registration,
document download, event registration, request a quote, etc.
Then determine what the person
will get, via email, when the task is
completed.

STEP 2 - DETERMINE THE EMAIL
SERVICE PROVIDER
There are three major types of email services: freemium, mid-tier, and enterprise.
Freemium accounts are free to
use, good for small businesses, and for
those who plan to grow their email list
slowly. Keep in mind, these plans may

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■■ Send another email with a piece of
juicy information, such as a statistic
or interesting fact, new speaker, or the
dreaded, "Time is limited!" or "Only a
few spaces left." message.
■■ Wait a few days.
■■ Send another email with supporting
topical content or link to a co-presenters
give-away.
■■ Wait a few days.
■■ Distribute the final email on the day of
the event with the login information.
■■ 1 day after event, distribute the playback
link.
While this is happening, registration
promotional efforts will continue.

STEP 4 - MEASURE
Many email providers have built-in measurement metrics to help you determine
campaign success. Keep in mind what
your goal is to help you identify the
appropriate measurement metrics. For
example, if it's a webinar registration
you might gauge the number of people
attending who were not already on your
email list (i.e., new leads). Those people
would then get additional information
existing email list members would not.

THE HARD PART
Once you've identified the who, what,
when, and where, you have to learn the
how. Major email service providers, like
MailChimp, Constant Contact, Salesforce,
HubSpot, and more have built-in email
automation options.
It takes time to complete the process,
so it's important to have the leg work
(steps 1-3 above) done beforehand. To
speed up the process, consider contacting
an email specialist who creates automated
campaigns regularly.
Now that you know what it takes,
what can you automate to generate leads,
to increase your email list, or to engage
your audience? ■
https://www.Penheel.com http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
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