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Many advisors have embraced the idea that blogging should be part of their marketing strategy. Yet they often struggle to come up with new ideas for blog posts. After all, how many times can you talk about 401(k)s, retirement planning and diversification? There’s a lot to say about such worthy topics, but after a while, you could feel like you’re repeating yourself.
Worse, your audience may feel the same way and tune out.
Another reason advisors need to stretch their content muscles? Now that virtually every advisor is also a blogger, it’s harder to stand out. There’s no shortage of people expounding on financial planning and investing online, and unless you have a unique perspective, it can be difficult to make your voice heard.
Instead, write about your clients’ unique interests.
Get out of a rut
If you’re stuck in a blogging rut, one way to break free is to ditch the antiquated idea that just because you’re a financial advisor, you must write exclusively about financial topics. Broaden your horizons and you may find you have plenty of ideas – and that your clients and prospects are more engaged with your content. Plus, if they find that you’re offering new ideas and a fresh perspective, they’ll be more likely to read, share and engage with your content.
You’re more than a money expert
Your clients come to you for help with their biggest money questions. But you likely have areas of interest and expertise beyond finance and investments. You can draw on that seemingly unrelated knowledge as you develop ideas for blog posts. Movies you watch, books you read, sports you enjoy and places you travel can all provide inspiration.
Sometimes, you might be able to make a connection between the things you enjoy outside of the office and a financial issue that is important to your clients. Maybe a movie you just saw has lessons that could help people better prepare for retirement. Perhaps you can make a connection between last week’s big game and how you manage money for clients. The possibilities are endless.
Of course, not everything you write needs to have an obvious financial angle. Show a little of your personality in your blog. A round-up of your must-read summer books, a short essay on why you chose your career or some thoughts on how you applied ideas from financial planning to another area of your life can all be ways to make your blog more compelling.
What do your clients care about?
Just as you have a life outside of your career as a financial advisor, your clients are more than just people with portfolios and retirement plans. Think about the issues that might be most interesting to them.
For example, if you know that many of your clients and prospects are world travelers, perhaps you could write a post on how currency fluctuations might affect their plans for their next trip. If many of them are golfers, consider a post on the similarities between golfing and investing. If you work with couples with children who are nearing college age, perhaps you can relate your own experience of sending kids off to school.
If you have a niche, coming up with ideas for targeted posts will be even easier. If you work with people in a particular industry (for example, lawyers, accountants or pro athletes), pay attention to news in their field and then develop content that relates to those topics. If many of your clients are high-net-worth working women, write on a topic like midlife career changes. If you work with Generation X clients, perhaps you could write about whether going back to school for a new degree or credential is a good investment or how to take a midcareer sabbatical to travel or explore other interests.
Think life, not finance
Your job is to help your clients with their money. But for them, their money is a tool that allows them to do the things they want in their life. Keep that in mind when writing your blog posts. Show them how your services don’t just help them save for retirement or achieve a good investment return, but also help them live the lives they want.
Megan Elliott is the senior copywriter with Wealth Management Marketing, Inc., a firm specializing in outsourced marketing department services to Registered Investment Advisors and fee-only financial planning firms. For more information, visit www.wealthmanagementmarketing.net.
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