Sometimes, news is just done right.

On Michael Kitces’s Nerd’s Eye View, a blog that offers insights and takes on current events within the financial services industry, financial advisors can find a resource with expertise in areas they care about, with a perspective that’s more interesting than other industry news sites.

I look forward to new content from sites like Michael’s. The content is great, the delivery is human, and the voice is engaging.

Often, the most tried-and-true method advisors use to communicate their insight and research to clients is through a regular newsletter. When it comes to the content you provide for clients, you want to do it right.

So what’s the secret?

Don’t Forget This One Element in Your Newsletter

Quarterly newsletters are an oversaturated market. Almost every advisor updates clients with a quarterly newsletter. And the variety of formats is endless. Some are short, some not so short. Some are delivered on paper, some electronically.

But the message is usually static. It only communicates the advisor’s thoughts.

While information is important, you have to do more to connect personally to your individual clients. Just read the first paragraph of one of Michael Kitces’ recent Nerd’s Eye View weekend roundups. It’s clear he eats, drinks and breathes financial planning.

Kitces’s posts have a discernible voice. You feel like you’re getting to know him as you absorb the content.

Your newsletter should feel the same way. Your clients should feel like they’re getting to know you as they read.

Luckily, technology makes this process easier.

Three Ways Technology Helps You Communicate with Your Clients

1) Email automation makes it easier than ever to send newsletters with sleek designs. If you’re blind-carbon-copying a PDF to your clients, you’re doing it wrong. Email services like MailChimp, Campaign Monitor and Emma are affordable ways to personalize your monthly newsletters. Beyond email services like these, a portfolio accounting solution may offer a similar tool customized to an advisor’s clients, like Orion Deliver does.

2) You can send automated portfolio updates by text. If you use the right client portal, like Orion Connect, your clients can request these items to come in the form of a text:

• Balance information
• Performance
• Required minimum distributions
• Meeting reminders

3) Video is a game-changer. Don’t believe me? Here are three stats from Hubspot:

• 51.9% of marketing professionals worldwide name video as the type of content with the best Return On Investment (ROI).
• Shoppers who view video are 1.81 times more likely to purchase than non-viewers.
• Using the word “video” in an email subject line boosts open rates by 19%, click-through rates by 65% and reduces unsubscribes by 26%.

Now, consider this stat, which comes from the same article:

• Syndacast predicts 74% of all internet traffic in 2017 will be video.

Not only does video improve engagement, it’s becoming a prerequisite for content as a whole.

Luckily, it’s easier than ever to shoot a video and deliver it to clients. At Orion, we’ve also developed new solutions, like Orion Engage, that allow advisors to overlay personal client data on top of their videos to bring an entirely new element to the experience.

Don’t Make the Mistake of Going Static

Maybe you’ve been doing things the same way for a long time, and it works OK. That doesn’t mean you should keep doing it. Your clients are being introduced to new ways to consume information. You need to keep up with them.

One of the ways you can do this is by incorporating email automation, text updates, and video into your newsletters. Doing so can make your communication more engaging, personal, and effective. Instead of a static, one-size-fits-all update, your clients can receive updates they look forward to experiencing.

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