Do Financial Advisors Need A Professional Copywriter?
By Hillary Gale
We live in a digital world, and having an online presence as a business owner today is undeniably necessary for growth and success. Your online presence makes it clear to potential clients how you can solve their problems. It shows them a little piece of who you are before they take the leap and pick up the phone to call you. And it reassures them you’re a real, experienced person who can help them.
The key to building that oh-so-necessary online presence is content and the frequency you publish content to your site. But why is content so important?
The answer lies in the mystery of search engine optimization.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the ticket to getting noticed online. SEO is the strategic process you (should) employ that is designed to improve your website’s rankings in search engine results, so you appear at the top of the list rather than at the bottom...or on page 8 in Google.
So how do you move from page 8 (or beyond) to page 1? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t a simple one.
Google’s algorithms for website ranking are closely guarded secrets. Google wants to provide the best experience for its users, and users get the best experience when they can easily find information they’re looking for. If SEO ranking factors were widely known, spammy websites could take advantage of this knowledge to take shortcuts – which ends up being bad for users.
Quality Content Is Good For SEO
There are no shortcuts when it comes to SEO, and Google can change its ranking factors at any time. But what Google really wants is to provide its users with useful information, so the best SEO strategy is to provide Google’s users with educational content that answers the questions they’re asking.
To put it simply: If you provide users with the information they’re looking for, Google will rank your site more positively.
And as a financial advisor, your opportunities to publish useful content are rich. People search for answers to financial questions all the time. Instead of letting your competitors answer those questions, you should be answering those questions and increasing the traffic to your company website.
In-Bound Marketing Leads
The benefits of publishing good content are twofold. Not only are your site’s rankings improved, but your website traffic is also increasing. When you publish educational content, people land on your site, not Joe Schmoe’s site next door. And the more people who land on your site, the more people who are going to be interested in your services.
This is especially true if your inbound marketing strategy is aligned to attract your ideal clients. If you’re publishing content that answers questions for young millennials just starting out, but your services (and your price points) are geared toward helping pre-retirees and retirees, there’s a mismatch between your content creation and the clients you serve. Cash-strapped millennials reading your budgeting blog are never going to sign up for your premium-priced investment management services.
When your inbound marketing strategy is properly aligned, the payoffs cannot be overstated. If you take out an ad – in a newspaper, on a billboard, on a social media site, wherever – you’re paying rental fees for that ad. As soon as you stop paying your rent, your ad goes away.
But the content you publish on your site is there forever. Bought and paid for. And it keeps producing returns every time your post answers a question for someone who then clicks the “Schedule a consultation call” button at the end of the article. Pretty good ROI if you ask me.
So You Need Content. Do You Need A Professional Copywriter?
The answer to this question, of course, depends on you. Now that you know how good quality content can increase traffic to your website, boost your search engine rankings, and ultimately grow your business, I don’t blame you if you’re chomping at the bit to get writing.
And could you write and publish your own content? Of course you could! But not everyone has the time, the writing skills, or the desire to publish as much content as you need to really see the results you want.
If you’re ready to get started on your inbound marketing strategy, but don’t feel confident that you can do it alone, you may need a professional copywriter who can:
1. Save You Time
The frequency you need to publish content ultimately depends on your goals for marketing. If you want to increase organic traffic to your site, you’ll need to post more frequently. HubSpot offers the encouraging advice to post to your blog as often as possible. I recommend publishing a new piece of content at least once a week.
Obviously, writing a 1,000-1,200 word blog post every week is time-consuming. Writing this type of quality content – which may include research, keyword planning, time for revising and editing, and formatting could end up taking anywhere from 2 hours to 8 hours a week depending on how confident of a writer you are. Most finance professionals I know don’t have this kind of time in their schedule.
Hiring a copywriter can take the burden of publishing so much content off your plate. And as the traffic to your website grows, you’re going to need to save all the time you can to serve those new clients.
2. Simplify Your Content
Another benefit to hiring a professional copywriter is that we’re used to writing content for lay audiences. As a numbers professional, you might be so versed in financial jargon that regular English is now more like a second language to you. As a copywriter, I simplify that financial jargon so your audience is reassured by your content, not scared away.
And as a copywriter who writes exclusively for finance professionals, you won’t have to teach me too much of the financial jargon that you’re so familiar with. I’m familiar with enough financial jargon to dive into good research, even if I don’t know all the ins and outs of what you’re talking about right away.
3. Showcase Your (Best) Voice
Finally, the biggest frustration I hear from non-writers is that they know what they want to say, but when they set pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), it never comes out correctly. Turning intelligent thoughts into engaging written content is an art, and it’s more than understandable if you don’t have the time or bandwidth to practice this art. You’re busy enough developing financial plans, watching the markets, serving your clients, running your business, calculating risk and return scenarios, keeping up with changing tax laws… (do I need to go on?).
A copywriter can take what you want to say and write in your own unique voice. You tell me what kind of voice you want your clients to hear. Friendly and approachable? Professional and formal? Hilarious and witty? I’m an experienced enough writer to write in whatever voice you prefer.
Let Me Take The Content Headache Off Your Plate
You may be thinking that adding content creation and search-engine-optimizing your website is just one more headache – but it doesn’t have to be! If you’d like to partner with a professional personal finance copywriter who can make your life easier and help you grow your business, give me a call at 480-353-1608, email me at hillary@galecreativeagency.com, or visit www.galecreativeagency.com.