Email isn’t just a great way to keep in touch with your family and friends—it’s also a powerful tool for retaining customers and earning repeat business.

As with any other follow-up strategy, the key to using email as a retention tool is to focus on strengthening relationships. That means forgoing product pitches in favor of adding value to the lives of your recipients.

In this blog, we’ll cover five different ways you can use email to build relationships and retain more customers.

Send a market analysis.

One of the best ways to stay in the good graces of your clients is by providing material that’s relevant to what you sell but that isn’t focused directly on your products or services.

For real estate agents, this is usually a market report. Buyers and sellers appreciate analysis of the local real estate market because this has many implications for their investment—from how much it will cost to buy to how the value of their home will increase over time.

For financial advisors, a market analysis can help reassure investors about their long-term financial wellbeing. It’s also a way to keep the lines of communications open, which could potentially lead to more AUM (assets under management) for advisors.

One potential downside to market reports is that they tend to be a bit dry. Consider sprucing them up with charts and graphs—or even some colorful stock photos.

Share hobby-related content.

One mistake that salespeople tend to make when keeping in touch with clients is only focusing on what they sell.

While real estate agents spend a lot of time thinking about local listings, their past clients have other things on their mind. By focusing too much on real estate, agents risk alienating their clients. When that happens, clients will tune them out, or even ask to be removed from their email lists.

If you’re really committed to creating long-term relationships with your clients, you need to engage with them around the things they really care about. If you know your client likes a particular sports team or musical artist, share news articles about those things with them. Ask them for their thoughts.

The idea is to start conversations that will show your commitment to your clients beyond the transaction. That way, you’ll create good feelings around you and your business—decreasing the odds your clients will go to someone else the next time they have a need for your services.

Connect around life milestones.

While you’re recording your clients’ hobbies in your CRM, be sure to also keep track of important dates like birthdays, anniversaries, and other milestones. When you have this information available, you can use those occasions as an excuse to reach out.

Send your client an email with a personalized message. Let them know you’re thinking of them, and remind them you’re available should they need help with anything.

Another thing you can do is email your clients on dates that are relevant to your experiences together. For real estate agents, this means a congratulatory email—or even an e-card—to a client on the anniversary of their closing date. They’ll be touched that you remembered, while continuing to associate you with that unforgettable day in their lives.

Send the American Lifestyle digital edition.

The thing about emailing your clients regularly is that it can take up a lot of time. This is especially true if you have a lot of past clients to keep in touch with.

If you’re a ReminderMedia customer, you’re probably already sending a copy of your branded print magazine to your past clients. But it’s also a good idea to stay in touch between mailings of your magazine. That’s where the American Lifestyle digital edition comes in handy.

The American Lifestyle digital edition is a monthly digital publication featuring articles about the home, interior design, and food, along with delicious, seasonal recipes. It also contains the branding of the sender on every page, which means your recipients will remember your business as they enjoy the amazing content in each issue.

By sending the digital edition every month, you’re staying in front of all your clients without having to worry about alienating them with salesy content. Click here to learn more.

Keep clients in the loop with Local Content.

Another way to stay top of mind with clients is by sending them content that’s relevant to the area you serve. The best way to do this is by curating a calendar of community events.

When you send your clients a list of local events, you’re providing them with relevant, timely content. That means they’re more likely to not just open and read your emails, but they will actually anticipate them. Your clients will see you as an invaluable resource. And, since they appreciate the value you add to their lives, they’ll be more likely to continue to work with you.

Of course, curating a list of local events can be a challenge. It takes time that you might not have. That’s why ReminderMedia now offers Local Content to our customers.

Local Content is a biweekly automated email full of handpicked local events that are relevant to the community you serve.

These emails will brand you as the local expert, which will leave you top of mind for repeat transactions and referrals. Even better: when you send both Local Content and the American Lifestyle digital edition, you save money.

Click here learn more and sign up for Local Content.

Whichever tools and approaches you choose when following up with your clients by email, remember to focus on adding value.

When you send useful or interesting content on a regular basis, you’ll turn your past clients into loyal customers—the kind who can’t wait to tell their friends and family all about your business.