Why the Best Form of Digital Marketing for Advisors Is Not Social Media

After a decade as a pediatric nurse, Kaytee Fisher was inspired to become a travel advisor after she and her husband worked with one for a vacation to French Polynesia in 2016. 

Following that trip, her travel agent became a mentor to her, and Fisher launched her own agency in 2018.

“But five years in, I realized I enjoyed the inner workings of a travel business more than client servicing, which led me to my role at Tique,” she said. 

At Tique, a client and branding design studio for travel advisors, Fisher used her “knack for writing persuasive copy and her eye for creating on-brand content” to manage internal marketing for the team and provide advisors with email and social media marketing services. 

“Social media didn’t really light me up, but the personalization and storytelling capabilities of email marketing did,” Fisher said.

Then, when the founders of Tique decided to remove email marketing services from the company’s offerings, Fisher knew she had landed on her next business idea. 

In December 2023, she launched Moxie & Fourth, which specializes in email marketing solutions for travel advisors. She just launched her new website, and her new offerings will be open for enrollment on Jan. 1. 

Here, she tells us more about why she is passionate about email marketing — and why she thinks all travel advisors should be, too. 

Why did you think email marketing was worth creating an entire business for? 

During my time at Tique, and as a travel advisor, I saw how much time and effort advisors poured into social media — platforms they didn’t “own” and whose algorithms change daily. I wanted to create a niche business model that helped advisors focus on a more personalized and intimate form of marketing via email. My own email marketing as an advisor helped increase referrals and repeat bookings by keeping me top of mind, especially since my demographic wasn’t necessarily on social media. 

I felt that email marketing in the travel industry wasn’t being addressed in an empowering, holistic or personality-infused way, and I wanted to change that.

I felt that email marketing in the travel industry wasn’t being addressed in an empowering, holistic or personality-infused way, and I wanted to change that. Just like I niched down in my travel business, I wanted to become a master of one thing with Moxie & Fourth, which is why I only offer email marketing solutions.

How do you think email marketing can make or break an advisor’s business? Or is it more of a nice-to-have?

I firmly believe that email marketing is a must-have, though many advisors still think of it as a nice-to-have. I clearly remember the day I was set to announce my travel business rebrand, complete with a new website, and all of Instagram and Facebook went down due to a huge outage. That was when I realized I needed to really lean into my email marketing, since it was an audience and platform I controlled. 

Advisors who build their audience solely on social media are doing so on “rented land,” as I like to say, leaving their marketing up to the whims of algorithms, hacked accounts and changing trends.

Advisors who build their audience solely on social media are doing so on “rented land,” as I like to say, leaving their marketing up to the whims of algorithms, hacked accounts and changing trends. With an engaged email list, advisors can meet their audience in the controlled, intimate space of the inbox, which is a sound long-term strategy for maintaining relationships. Without a solid email strategy, advisors miss out on repeat business, referrals, and consistent engagement with their audience.

What exactly do you offer? What is the most popular offering or best place to start?

Currently, I’m working on a one-year anniversary pivot. I learned a lot about what was needed and where my “zone of genius” lies, and in the coming weeks, I’ll be debuting four options for advisors to choose from or mix and match.

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My membership, The DIY, is a monthly subscription-based resource hub for advisors where I provide done-for-you newsletters each week, along with mini-trainings on email marketing, Flodesk and more. I launched this in June, and it has been my most popular and cost-effective offer. 

For 1:1 services, my signature offering is List Launch Essentials, where I work closely with advisors over three to four weeks to build out an email marketing strategy inside of Flodesk.

For advisors not ready to invest in my signature service, I’ll soon be launching Six Weeks to Send, a guided six-week program that provides all the materials and templates needed to build a lead magnet, nurture sequence and more, but at a more approachable price point than my custom service. 

Lastly, I’ll be relaunching the Moxie Shop, a one-stop shop for creatively curated templates and resources for advisors to purchase and implement on their own.

Who is your ideal client?  

My ideal client ranges from brand-new advisors to tenured professionals, and my service suite is designed with each phase of business and investment level in mind.

You can always improve over time, but starting now and getting in front of people is the only way to raise awareness of your brand, offers, value and expertise as a travel advisor.

If you’re just getting started on a budget, the Six Weeks to Send program, combined with The DIY membership, is a great low-cost solution for developing your email marketing strategy and staying consistent with newsletters. 

For advisors looking to overhaul or improve their strategy, the List Launch Essentials service is tailored to those individualized, high-level needs that come with an established brand. Regardless of industry experience, I’ve found that I tend to attract advisors seeking creative and engaging email marketing solutions, as I focus on connecting with people rather than the more product- or supplier-focused campaigns prevalent in the industry.

Do you help advisors segment their client lists, or are your services specifically limited to crafting copy?

I assist with all of it. While I don’t market my services as strictly copywriting focused, I take each client’s brand voice and create copy for their projects. Along with that, I believe branding aesthetics matter, so my custom service, List Launch Essentials, requires applicants to have a brand kit and website. 

When I finish a project, clients have a ready-to-go email marketing strategy in Flodesk that seamlessly matches the tone and visuals of their website and overall brand, along with the resources and templates to remain consistent with their marketing. 

In creating Moxie & Fourth and talking to advisors, I found that many email marketing resources only fulfilled part of what was needed for a full strategy. I aim to offer solutions that check every box for a robust email marketing strategy for advisors at any level.

What pro tips do you have for advisors looking to enhance their marketing?

My two best tips are to be yourself and show up consistently, even if it’s imperfect. Many advisors struggle with perfectionism, but I’m a big believer that “done is better than perfect,” especially when it comes to marketing. 

You can always improve over time, but starting now and getting in front of people is the only way to raise awareness of your brand, offers, value and expertise as a travel advisor. 

Regarding consistency, I remind advisors that marketing your services is not a bother to others. The digital world is noisy, and to cut through that noise, you need to show up regularly and authentically to stand out from the crowd.