Will review reminders for solicitors: emails with Brevo

Wills go out of date after marriages, divorces, births, deaths and house moves, and many firms never remind past clients. If a firm has 1,200 past will clients and a reminder would bring in 3 will reviews a month at $399£300€357A$576C$564 each, that's $1,197£900€1,071A$1,728C$1,692 of work a month not happening.

Brevo is an email marketing service. You import past will clients who can be emailed, with the year their will was signed, and build a segment of those whose wills are five or more years old. Each month you send a short, plain reminder to the next group: the life changes that can affect a will, your review fee and how to book. The email gives general information only; advice happens in the review meeting. Brevo's Starter plan includes segmentation and an AI tool for drafting subject lines and copy, which a solicitor checks before anything is sent.

A three-solicitor firm in Lincoln has about 1,200 past will clients who can be emailed. It sends a monthly review reminder to about 100 of them, starting with the oldest wills, and books reviews by phone.

About $479£360€428A$691C$677 a month in profit, at an assumed 40% margin on $1,197£900€1,071A$1,728C$1,692 of extra work (3 will reviews a month at $399£300€357A$576C$564). 1,200 contacts need Brevo's 10,000-email tier, which allows 1,500 contacts: $16£12€14A$23C$23 a month on Starter, or $33£25€30A$48C$47 on Standard, which removes Brevo's logo from emails. The 3 reviews a month is an assumption; track bookings against each send.

1. 1Check each past client's consent or soft opt-in for marketing emails, and import only those contacts with the year their will was signed.
2. 2Build a segment of wills signed five or more years ago and plan to email about 100 a month, oldest first.
3. 3Write a short reminder covering the life events that can affect a will, your review fee and how to book. Have a solicitor approve it.
4. 4Send from your firm's own domain, with an unsubscribe link and your SRA details in the footer.
5. 5Log every booking that comes from the email, and remove anyone who has died or asked not to be contacted.

• Marketing emails need consent or the soft opt-in under PECR, and the soft opt-in only works if clients were offered a chance to opt out when you collected their details.
• A reminder sent to someone who has died is upsetting for the family. Update the list from your probate files before each send.
• Keep the email general. Telling a named person their will is out of date is advice, and that belongs in the review.
• Brevo's contact limit is tied to the email tier: the base 5,000-email tier allows only 500 contacts, so check the tier before importing.