Think about it from your clients' perspective: their accountant files their return in April, they pay the bill, and then they don't hear anything until November when everyone suddenly remembers tax season is coming. That's not a relationship, that's a transaction.
The practices that build loyal client bases and generate consistent referrals stay in touch year-round. Not aggressively. Not constantly. Just a useful email once a month that says "we're thinking about you, here's something valuable."
Email marketing makes this effortless. You set up the sequences once, welcome emails, monthly newsletters, tax deadline reminders, post-season referral asks, and they run automatically. Mailchimp (which is free for up to 500 contacts) handles the sending, the scheduling, and the tracking. You just write the content once.
What You'll Build in This Tutorial
- A Mailchimp account set up with your branding and client list
- A 3-email welcome sequence for new clients and subscribers
- A monthly tax tip newsletter template you can send year-round
- Automated tax deadline reminder emails for key dates
- A post-tax-season referral request campaign
- Clients only hear from you at tax season
- Referrals are random and unpredictable
- Manually emailing each client individually
- Clients forget you exist between filings
- No way to announce new services or price changes
- Monthly touchpoints keep you top-of-mind all year
- Systematic referral asks generate predictable new business
- One setup sends to your entire list automatically
- Clients think of you when their friend needs an accountant
- Announcements reach every client instantly
Tools You'll Need
We're using Mailchimp for this tutorial because its free plan covers most small accounting practices (up to 500 contacts, 1,000 emails/month). If you have a larger list or want more sophisticated automation, ActiveCampaign is worth the upgrade.
Step 1: Set Up Your Mailchimp Account
Go to mailchimp.com and sign up for free. Use your business email, this is what recipients will see in the "From" field.
Once you're in, click Audience → Manage Audience → Import Contacts. You can paste a CSV of your existing client emails or type them in manually. Mailchimp will ask for permission confirmation, you can confirm that these are existing clients who have consented to receive communications from you.
Next, click Account → Profile to add your practice name, logo, and address. Mailchimp requires a physical address on every email, this is a legal requirement under the CAN-SPAM Act.
Screenshot: Mailchimp Audience dashboard showing imported contacts list
Step 2: Build Your 3-Email Welcome Sequence
A welcome sequence is a series of automated emails that go out when someone new joins your list, either a new client you add, or someone who signs up via your website. This is your practice's first impression.
Body: Warm welcome, brief intro to your practice, what kinds of emails they'll receive from you (monthly tax tips, important deadlines, occasional practice news), and a note that they can always reply directly to reach you. Close with your booking link for current clients. Under 200 words.
Body: A high-value tip about the most common tax mistake you see (e.g., not tracking mileage, missing home office deduction, mixing personal and business expenses). Show your expertise immediately. End with: "Have questions about your situation? Reply to this email, I read every one." This positions you as accessible and knowledgeable.
Body: Set expectations, how to upload documents, how to book appointments, your response time policy, what to do if they have a tax notice. Include your client portal link if applicable. End with a CTA to schedule a meeting if they haven't yet. This email alone reduces "how do I reach you?" questions significantly.
How to set it up in Mailchimp: Go to Automations → Classic Automations → Welcome New Subscribers. Add 3 emails with the timing above. Write each email using the outlines provided, feel free to use ChatGPT to draft them faster.
Screenshot: Mailchimp automation flow showing 3email welcome sequence with timing
Step 3: Set Up Your Monthly Tax Tip Newsletter
In Mailchimp, go to Email → Templates → Create Template. Choose a simple layout, one column works best for professional content.
Structure your monthly newsletter like this:
Save this as your template. Every month, you just update the tip and dates. Total time per month: about 20 minutes. Use the ChatGPT prompts in our other guide to draft the tax tip content in minutes.
Step 4: Automate Tax Deadline Reminders
The most valuable emails you'll ever send are the ones clients don't even know they need. Sending a reminder 2 weeks before each estimated tax payment deadline has prevented countless penalties, and clients remember who saved them.
In Mailchimp, go to Email → Campaigns → Create Campaign → Schedule. Create one campaign for each major deadline, scheduled to send 2 weeks prior:
Each reminder email is short, under 150 words. State the deadline, who it affects, what they should do, and your booking link. Set these up once and they send every year on schedule.
Step 5: Build Your Post-Season Referral Campaign
65% of new accounting clients come from referrals, yet most accountants never formally ask. The best time to ask is May or June, when your value is still fresh in clients' minds after filing season, and before they move on to summer mode.
What Email Marketing Delivers for Accountants
Frequently Asked Questions
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