MTD client comms: 8 ways to boost engagement

You’ve been working hard to get your client communications out about MTD for Income Tax. You’ve explained what’s changing, shared deadlines and asked clients to take action, all on top of a busy client workload.

If the response so far has felt underwhelming, help is at hand. Here are eight practical tips from FreeAgent’s award-winning marketing team to help you improve engagement and encourage more clients to act on your MTD communications.*

1. Keep each message short, clear and focused

Your clients are busy and are likely to skim-read their emails between other tasks, so it’s important to keep your messages clear and concise.

For MTD emails, focus on what the client needs to know or do, and why. For emails that require clients to take an action, focus on communicating:

• what the client needs to do
• why they need to do it
• how they can do it
• when they need to do it by

Here’s an effective approach to asking non-compliant clients to complete the required next steps:

2. Focus on one clear message per email

When it comes to MTD, there’s simply too much for clients to understand and act on in a single email. Trying to cover everything at once can make the message harder to absorb and the next step easier to miss.

As a rule of thumb, each email should have one clear purpose. That might be explaining an important update, asking clients to book a call, requesting information or inviting them to a webinar.

This may mean sending multiple emails as part of the same wider campaign. However, a series of focused messages gives clients a better chance of absorbing the right information and taking the right action at the right time.

For example, instead of sending one long email that asks clients to read an update, check their status, book a call and send documents, you could break the sequence down like this:

• Email one: update clients on their approaching MTD start date
• Email two: ask clients to book a short call to discuss their next steps
• Email three: request for clients to share required info
• Email four: invite clients to join a webinar for a simple walkthrough of FreeAgent

3. Don’t be afraid of repeating yourself

Focusing each email on one clear message can make your comms easier to understand. But there’s a catch: human brains are wired to forget. The ‘forgetting curve’ discovered by psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus shows us that people rapidly lose new information if it’s not reinforced. Because of this, clients may still need to see your message more than once before they remember it or take action.

A busy sole trader client might miss the first email, skim the second and only take action when they receive a third message that feels timely and relevant.

If there’s a key action you need clients to take, don’t be afraid to reinforce the same message across multiple emails or follow-ups. However, this shouldn’t mean copying and pasting the same wording. Clients may start to ignore your communications if they see the same subject line pop up in their inboxes each week.

Instead, try switching up the format, angle or positioning while keeping the core message consistent. For example, if the core message is “MTD is coming”, an effective sequence of subject lines might be:

• Email one: MTD is coming: here’s what you need to know
• Email two: what MTD could mean for your business
• Email three: your MTD timeline: important dates and next steps
• Email four: still unsure about MTD? Book a short call with us

When a client completes the required action, you can remove them from follow-up lists, so they don’t receive subsequent versions of the same message.

Your email management software or customer relationship management (CRM) system may let you set this up automatically, so clients who have already responded don’t keep receiving reminder messages.

4. Experiment with the timing of your MTD reminders

There’s no universal ‘best time’ to email your clients. The right timing will depend on who your clients are, what kind of work they do and when they’ll have time to think about their business admin.

For example, a landlord with a full-time job might be more likely to catch up in the evening, while a self-employed tradesperson might be more responsive between jobs or at the end of the working day.

You know your clients best, so use that insight to guide when you send your most important MTD messages.

You can also run simple tests to see which send times get the best response. Try sending similar messages to similar client groups at different times or on different days, then compare what happens.

For example, you could test:

• sending in the morning vs. sending in the evening
• sending on a weekday vs. sending at the weekend
• sending a message midweek vs. sending on a Monday or Friday

Keep each test simple by only changing one thing at a time. When evaluating the results, pay close attention to the impact on email open rates, click-through rates (CTRs) and completed actions.

5. Write subject lines that encourage clients to click

Your subject line has one job: to help clients understand why the message is worth opening.

Clients should be able to understand why your email matters before they open it, especially if they need to take action.

Subject lines that work well often give clients a clear reason to pay attention. For example:

• A clear action: Action needed: check your MTD status
• A deadline: MTD for Income Tax: what you need to do by [DATE]
• A direct request: Please confirm your MTD details by [DATE]
• A relevant prompt: Are you ready for MTD? Check your next steps
• A timely reminder: Reminder: your MTD update is waiting

6. Experiment with different communication channels

Email is useful, but it shouldn’t necessarily carry your entire MTD communications campaign. Some clients may prefer to receive information from you via SMS, WhatsApp or even a letter in the post.

Different channels can prove more effective for different types of messages. For example, a WhatsApp or SMS message could work well for a simple reminder:

A short message like this works because it’s direct, easy to read and focused on a single action.

Of course you don’t have to restrict your campaign to a single communication channel. If you use email management software or a CRM, you may also be able to set up simple follow-up sequences across different channels.

For example, you could share a full explanation of your MTD message by email and then follow up with a short WhatsApp reminder two days later.

7. Consider running a short webinar for clients who need more context

Emails and messages aren’t the only way to share information, and for something as complex as MTD, some clients may need more than a short email or reminder before they feel ready to act.

A webinar can give them a chance to understand what MTD means, what’s changing and what they need to do next.

If you decide to run a webinar, keep the invitation simple. Tell clients what they’ll learn, why it matters and how to join.

For example:

8. Make it easy for clients to take the next step

Even the clearest and most well-structured emails can fail to drive engagement if clients aren’t sure what to do next or how to do it.

Before you send any MTD communication, check whether the client can act on it quickly. Ask yourself:

• Is there one clear call to action (CTA)? The CTA should tell the client exactly what they are doing by clicking. For example, a button that says ‘Check my MTD status’ is clearer than “Learn more”.
• Does the link take the client exactly where they need to go? Remove any unnecessary steps between the CTA and the client taking the required action. For example, a booking link that goes straight to available appointment times is easier than asking the client to reply with their availability.
• Does the client know what will happen after they click? A short reassurance line can help. For example: “Once you’ve completed the form, we’ll review your details and let you know whether you need to prepare for MTD. If you need support, we’ll send your recommended next steps.”
• Can clients complete the action on a mobile device? With 62% of emails now opened on mobile devices, many of your clients will be reading your messages on their phone, so make sure links, forms and booking pages are easy to use on a smaller screen.

The easier you make the next step, the more likely clients are to take action when they’re ready.

Get practical help with improving engagement with your MTD client comms

You don’t need to reinvent your comms to encourage more clients to engage with your MTD communications. The ideas in this guide will help you get more from the messages you’re already sending by making them clearer, easier to act on and more engaging.

If you’d like more help as you prepare your client base for MTD for Income Tax, book an action plan call with one of our experts. We’ll be happy to assess your readiness for the initiative’s upcoming milestones and give you a tailored plan with next steps for your practice.

*FreeAgent was named Star Marketing Team of the Year at The Marketing Society Star Awards 2026 - we were over the moon!