My goal is to increase investor sales leads for RIAs and other financial services firms. Therefore, when I write for an advisory firm or similar, I follow a process that lures the reader to your call-to-action. For this to happen, I need to hook the reader immediately using the headline or email subject line and the first few sentences within the body copy.
Other key steps include ensuring that I’m speaking to a specific audience, e.g., pre-retirees age 50+, baby boomers, wealthy widows, etc., and that my body copy expands on the headline topic, minimizing an informational bait and switch that often causes investors to leave your digital channel.
In general, financial firms lose sales leads when working with agencies and freelance writers. I explain why and offer a solution at the end to increase qualified investor sales leads.
Clearly, once I finish writing a piece, I send it to my client for approval.
The moment you (the client) start making edits, the reading flow is likely altered, diminishing the impact of your copy, ultimately decreasing sales leads. I’ve seen this happen time and time again, particularly when several advisors or other staff are signing off on a blog post or similar communication, i.e., everyone has a hand in the post, and rarely is it as good as the first draft in terms of readability.
Without smooth readability, prospects won’t reach your call-to-action.
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Certainly, you need to ensure the content is accurate and helpful, but when you start changing verbs and adding words, you’ve lost the original continuity and ease of your copy that lures the reader to the action you want them to take.
For example, if you decide to change a verb, often your new word is already in use at the beginning of the next paragraph, adding redundancy to your copy and lowering your professionalism.
Edits increase the chances of writers bailing on you.
(I’m a professional; therefore, I proactively manage the following situations.)
For many writers, when you make excessive edits to their writing, they bail on you emotionally, i.e., Obviously these people don’t like my writing, therefore, it’s unlikely they’ll like my alternative ideas. I’ll keep them to myself.
Furthermore, if you continuously ask for rewrites, the writer loses money. This causes the writer to stop making improvement suggestions. In the end, they “just make your edits” because to try and smooth out the copy that you just jumbled up takes time.
The situation is compounded when using a freelance financial writer through an agency.
The flow of your copy gets disrupted even more if you’re using an agency who is outsourcing your writing to a freelance writer, i.e., two+ people at your firm are adding edits, the agency project manager is adding edits, etc. Overall, all these “editors” distort the readability of your piece, minimizing prospective investors reaching your call-to-action.
To increase sales leads, instead, do this when reviewing others’ writing…
When a writer provides you copy, ensure that it’s accurate and includes your key messages, the ones you both agreed on before the writer started writing. Also, confirm that the content comfortably invites you along to a natural call-to-action.
Furthermore, when a writer sends you a project and it reads well and is accurate, leave it alone. If you find that information is missing (assuming it’s not detrimental), simply write a complementary blog post or similar communication to capture this additional information.
The overall mistake is this…
When people review others’ writing, their natural instinct is to make the writing better. This is a mistake, especially when the post is already well written. Again, continue the dialogue with the reader by adding a related post. Also, when you’re reading copy provided to you, read it as if you are your ideal prospect. The mistake most advisors make is that they read the copy from their personal point-of-view.
In Closing
Most blog posts aren’t meant to be exhaustive. Instead, they’re meant to capture an investor’s interest and keep them reading throughout your blog whereby you’re building a relationship, ultimately increasing trust that leads to an email or phone call, e.g., “Hi, I’ve been following your blog for a while, do you have time to take a look at my portfolio?”
Before You Go
When you’re ready to increase investor sales leads from your current blog posts, consider my blog post review services, whereby I make improvement recommendations regarding the headline, opening paragraph and body copy flow as well as offer suggestions for a more effective call-to-action. See my pricing page for more information.
Keep in Touch
Keep in touch while gaining fresh ideas to attract affluent investors and increase client loyalty, sign up for my free monthly financial advisor marketing tip. Also, be sure to explore my freelance financial writing services.
Thanks for reading, sharing and commenting.
Independently Yours,
Sharron
Excellent advice that everyone needs to hear, Sharron, regardless of industry. Professional writers are professionals. Every word is intentional. Beyond factual inaccuracy or off-key notes to brand voice, clients need put down the red pen and trust their writers.
After all, would they step in and tinker with the work of their plumber? Airline pilot? Heart surgeon? Treat pro writers the same way.
Greg, terrific analogies! Thanks for joining the conversation.
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