Content Marketing for Financial Advisors: How 1 Blog Generated 150 Leads in 2 Weeks

Here’s the harsh reality about content marketing for Financial Advisors:

Most Financial Advisory firms know they need to put out great content, but hardly any know how to do it.

I hear things like this all the time:

“I don’t know what to write about.”

Or “content marketing for financial advisors isn’t worth it.”

Understandable objections. However, imagine getting 150 qualified leads in 2 weeks from just one blog!

You don’t have to imagine it, because you’re going to learn a method that guarantees that you get qualified leads from your content marketing efforts.

You’re going to learn how Steve used content marketing for financial advisors to generate 150 qualified leads from 1 blog. In 2 weeks!

Also, he accomplished this despite having:

• Very little knowledge of how to create an effective blog.
• Zero knowledge of how to distribute a blog and get people to read it.
• Zero knowledge of how to optimize a blog post.

The best part?

It’s actually pretty easy if you use the right system.

In this blog, I’ll walk you through the exact step-by-step process that Steve used to generate 150 high-value, qualified leads. Keep reading to learn more!

A few months ago, Steve had a problem.

Steve knew he needed to get into this “content marketing” thing, but he didn’t know the first thing about creating useful content or blogging.

Steve works for an RIA firm, in Dallas, TX. He wanted to blog but had no idea what his prospects and customers would want to hear about from their financial advisor.

Plus, the firm partners didn’t believe in the ROI of blogging. They had taken a few shots at content marketing in the past with nothing to show for it. It ended up being a waste of time and money for them. Steve was frustrated because he knew it could work if done properly and not the other way.

Fortunately, he didn’t throw in the towel. Instead, he rolled up his sleeves and implemented The Blogging Results Checklist. And the results speak for themselves.

150 Qualified Leads from 1 Blog in Two Weeks

Even though the odds were against him, using our blogging results system, his blog was a huge success. Steve’s firm has an average revenue per client of about $20,000 per year. Their average close rate on a qualified lead is 50% (sometimes even higher).

They put out about 1 or 2 blogs per month. They invest $850 in each blog. Imagine spending $850 for 150 qualified leads that convert to appointments at 20%. Most importantly, convert to clients at 50%. Wouldn’t you agree that that’s a pretty good ROI?

As a nice bonus because of their content marketing efforts, traffic to their site has increased dramatically. Oh, and they’ve seen a huge jump in search engine results in an extremely competitive landscape. Do you think the firm partners believe in the ROI of blogging now?

Now that you’ve seen his impressive results, it’s time for me to walk you through the step-by-step process he used so you can do the same thing for your site.

How to Use The Blogging Results Checklist to Consistently Generate Qualified Leads

Here are 5 steps to The Blogging Results Checklist.

• Step 1: Listen. Stop trying to get attention and start giving attention.
• Step 2: Give Access. Enable your audience to improve their immediate circumstances.
• Step 3: Be Their Guide. Be present and guide your audience to continuous results.
• Step 4: Optimize & Keep it Simple. Format your content so it’s easy to understand and take action.
• Step 5: Engage & Have Fun. Your audience likes to have fun. Right? You can be engaging & fun AND professional at the same time.

Now that you’ve seen Steve’s amazing results first-hand, it’s time to walk you through the 5-step process that he used to get those results.

Step 1 = Listen!

Stop trying to get attention and start giving attention

The Blogging Results Checklist focuses on listening to what your prospects and customers want. It focuses on what really matters to them.

Listening is the first and most important step of The Blogging Results Checklist. Wouldn’t you agree that you can usually tell when someone is really listening to you? Most of the time, people are just waiting for you to stop talking so they can start talking.

Imagine how your prospects and customers will feel when you take a moment and really listen to them. They will feel exactly how you do when someone is truly listening to you!

What happens when you ask a question, pay attention and go above and beyond to give the other what they want based on what they said?

• You’ll end up with a trusting and transparent relationship.
• You’ll end up with longer relationships built on a solid foundation.
• Plus, you’ll end up with loyal customers that trust you.
• Best of all, you’ll take the guesswork out of what content to create. Simply listen to understand the needs of your audience.

Methods to Ask Questions

It sounds so simple, right? Listen to what your customers actually want. But most financial advisory firms don’t do it. Or don’t know-how. Here’s how: Ask questions and pay attention to what really matters to your audience. Then go above and beyond to give it to them.

You can ask questions in several ways:

• Survey: Email your audience a survey and ask them questions.
• Telephone: Call a few prospects or clients, ask them questions, and listen.
• In-Person: Set up an appointment and meet your prospects and clients in person.

What Questions to Ask

Here is a simple guide with 4 types of questions to ask. The key is to make sure your questions are open-ended and that you ask them in the order you see here:

1. Fact-Finding: (70% of your questions) The majority of your questions will be fact-finding. Questions about what they do, how they want to live in retirement, investable assets, income, etc. Most importantly, the point is to develop rapport, pick up some new information about them and show them you care and that you’re listening.
2. Goal-Oriented: (10% of your questions) Ask your audience to describe their goals. Ask them about their retirement goals. How do they want to live in retirement?
3. Problems/Roadblocks: (10% of your questions) Ask them to identify the obstacles in the way of achieving those goals. “What’s stopping you from living the way you want to when you retire?”
4. Emotional: (10% of your questions) You don’t need to make anyone cry here, but you certainly don’t want to just be their buddy. “It must be stressful worrying about planning for retirement! What do you think would happen if you don’t get past those obstacles?”

Now that you’ve asked a bunch of questions, it’s important to review what you’ve learned from them so they really feel that you’ve been listening.

Tip: This might be a good time to present yourself as the solution to their problem.

Step 2: Give Access – Build Trust

When you listen and know what your audience wants, the next step in content marketing for financial advisors is to give access. Give the people what they want!

“Pull back the curtain” to facilitate and enable them to get what they’re after and help them solve their problems. There are no ‘secret formulas’ anymore.

The Relationship Era of Content Marketing for Financial Advisors

We are now living in the Relationship Era. People don’t want to be told what to do. They want to make their own choices. Empower people to be themselves and make their own decisions instead of saying “You SHOULD do this…” When you empower people and guide them in a collaborative way, then their trust in you increases.

“Confidence you can sign for. Trust you have to build.”

Kees de Vries

Be Transparent – Build Trust

Most advisory firms are still stuck in the mindset of legacy thinking. They hide their fees or aren’t 100% transparent with what a  client should expect. Imagine the trust you would build with your clients when you give access.

Empower your clients to get what they’re after – whether it’s information or actual DIY steps. Show them the tools you use.

Step 3: Be Their Guide

Don’t just point them in a direction and leave. Guide and nurture them through the whole process. Awareness is critical here. This is what a lot of online marketing experts call “context marketing.” Send the right message, at the right time, to the right person.

A good guide is always available and reacts to the needs of their audience. How? By being present, asking questions, and listening.

This is where email marketing becomes a critical part of getting results from content marketing for financial advisors. If one of your prospects clicks on a link to learn more about your Premium Wealth Management Service, send them content about that service. If another person clicks on a link to a different service, then send them information about that. Nurture your leads based on their actions and guide them to get what they want.

That’s not all and I can’t emphasize this enough: Always be available.

• Answer your phone
• Respond quickly to emails
• Consistently share useful and relevant content

When you’ve built trust as a guide and show that you are available when they need you, people will go where you guide them.

Step 4: Optimize and Keep it Simple

Time is our most precious asset. That’s why people scan everything first before they decide whether it’s worth their time or not. It’s critical to format your content so it’s scannable. The good news is that while you’re formatting your content to make it scannable, you can optimize it at the same time so people can actually find it.

So how do you make your content scannable and optimize it at the same time? Here are a few tips to make your content scannable and easy to read:

• Use benefit-driven subheadings. Most people scroll through an entire blog or infographic to get the overall theme of the content. Use benefit-driven subheadings to keep them interested.
• Use bullet points. Bullet points are a great way to quickly summarize information.
• Use images. Images and graphics are a great way to deliver your message. Some people love reading. While others prefer to look at pictures.

Basic On-Page Optimization for Non-Coders

Optimizing each piece of content means using focus keywords in these places:

• Title Tag
• URL
• Introduction
• Subheadings
• Alt Attributes

That might sound like a lot of work and that you need coding knowledge. But, no coding knowledge required! There are a ton of plugins that make this process super simple. We use the free Yoast plugin.

How to “Keep It Simple”

Can you guess the most clicked button in every web browser? It’s the “back” button. The Internet is the easiest place to make a ‘mistake’. For instance, all you have to do is click the back button and you’re back where you started. That’s why it’s critical to keep your content simple. And do it quickly!

Every piece of content you publish should focus on telling readers 3 things:

1. Here’s what it is: Clearly state what readers are about to consume.
2. This is what it will do for you: Clearly state the benefits of why they should read it.
3. And here’s what to do next: Have a clear call-to-action at the end of every piece of content.

Step 5: Engage and Have Fun

The last step is to engage and have fun. Your audience likes to have fun. Right? You can be engaging & fun AND professional at the same time.

THE FIX

Use fun and engaging things like quizzes, interactive guides, personality tests, recipe generators, etc. It’s amazing how effective a simple quiz can be.

Now what? You already know how to listen to your audience. You also know what kind of results you can expect from listening. (Hint: It’s in the title of this blog) Now it’s your turn!

Next Steps

In short, the Blogging Results Checklist works. However, only if you put in the effort and make it work.

I heard a great quote from Malcolm Gladwell the other day, “The thing that breaks my heart the most is when I see someone that leaves potential on the table.” He was referring to athletes in that case. However, the same concept is applicable to content marketing for financial advisors.

If you use your potential, follow the steps in the checklist and take action, I guarantee you will get similar results to Steve.

The checklist lays out the 5 steps to get results from your blogging efforts. Keep it by your desk and refer to it when you’re creating content for your website, blog, social media or any other content that your audience will see.

To your continuous success,

Hendrik

P.S. To learn more about the tools & resources mentioned, head over to our Financial Advisor Marketing Tools page.

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