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Lately I’ve made leads appear out of thin air for myself and for my clients using this technique. I wouldn’t be writing this article if it didn’t work well. Read on to hear how you can get attention on the Internet for your brand even if you have no money and only a miniscule following.
Basics to get beyond
This is about online marketing. It’s not for everybody. I realize that puts me in the 1% of marketing professionals who do not belong to what I call the “eternally optimistic club” who are game to sell any marketing service to anyone just to get a paycheck. And then, when it doesn’t work, the marketing industry becomes tarnished as a profession, and the client gets nowhere.
Some populations are not going to be on the Internet as much as others. People age 60 and older are not your best candidates. They might be on Facebook, but use it sparingly.
Also, who are you trying to sell to, and what are you trying to sell? You need to know this about your service so that you can understand how people would find you and buy from you. Ask yourself this question. “If I were in the market for this service, would I find the product through a Google search? Or, would I read a blog or article about this service and then possibly contact the writer, instead?”
I’ll use an example from my life. If I were looking for childproofing ideas so that my kids wouldn’t get into my kitchen cabinets, then I would search on Google. If I were looking for new office space, then I would search on Google. Babysitting? Nanny? Doctor for my kids? Not so much.
It doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t read blogs about how nannies do things or blogs written by doctors about how to work with young children. If I read a few articles that I thought seemed intelligent, I might visit their website and join their mailing list. Or, maybe I’d even call them up. But that would be an indirect path. I wouldn’t source them directly through a Google search by searching for “daycare providers in NYC” or something like that.
Do the opposite of every other advisor
Here’s the technique to use if you have no followers or money and want to attract attention to yourself on the internet. It’s called guest blogging, and it involves writing articles as a guest writer for websites where your target audience spends time.
Stay away from the typical financial websites where most advisors post such as Bloomberg News or Investment News. Those are geared towards industry insiders, not the average millionnaire. Ask your affluent clients what non-financial publications they read and start there.
Also, the content can’t be the subjects about which financial advisors typically write. You know what I mean, or maybe you’ve even written them yourself.
Examples:
- Roth vs. Traditional IRA?
- How to Pick a Financial Advisor
- How to Start Saving for Retirement
- Blah, blah, blah. Insert name of dry, boring financial-jargon ridden title [here].
Instead, write about something that really lights you up. And then find some way to relate it back to what you do as an advisor. It could be a financial topic. It could even be about how you love boating. At the end, put in a paragraph about how to sell a boat. Or how to buy a boat, finance it, save for it, etc. And then slip in that you know this because you are a financial advisor.
Get gobbled up
Here’s how to write a guest blog that people will gobble up: blog the opposite way that every other financial advisor in the world blogs.
For example, if you are an advisor who specializes in 529 planning, do not write another boring article about 529 planning and then post it to your social media. The only people who read those things are other financial advisors, your friends, your staff, your mother and service vendors. Right?
Here’s what you should do instead.
- Find the top parent websites. For example, thecradle.com or pluggedinparents.com. Find out which ones take guest blogs. Also pay attention to what other writers have talked about and what made their posts successful.
- Write a blog about an experience that one of your clients had with a bad college planning decision and one that made a good decision. Stories work best. Always write these blogs in the first person (I, you should) rather than third person (one should). It’s less formal but what certain generations such as the Millennials hate about financial advisors is that they feel stifled by their stuffy nature. Speak directly to the audience and you’ll find that they can relate better, which is essentially what makes an online experience successful: relevance.
- Give it a really jazzy title. Relate the article to a trending topic that the audience is obsessed with. Example: This One Thing Made College Planning as Easy as Netflix and Chill
- Submit to a publication and make sure they give you a byline which states your profession as a financial advisor.
The summary on guest blogging for advisors
Guest blogging is a great way to get access to a larger following. Unlike print or digital advertising, it doesn’t cost big bucks. Stay away from traditional financial advisor websites and topics, and write the blog in a non-stuffy, non-technical way.
If you doubt the effectiveness of guest blogging, please note that I’ve been able to get your attention using this same technique. So this works. Try it today, and if you have any questions along the way please visit my website, post on APViewpoint, or send me an email.
Sara Grillo, CFA, is a top financial writer with a focus on marketing and branding for investment management, financial planning, and RIA firms. Prior to launching her own firm, she was a financial advisor and worked at Lehman Brothers. Sara graduated from Harvard with a degree in English literature and has an MBA from NYU Stern in Quantitative Finance.
Read more articles by Sara Grillo
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
