4 ideas to get your writing out there
An advisor friend recently came to me with a unique problem: I want to write, and use writing to market my services, but my firm won’t let me. How can I create content that will attract customers if I can’t use my firm (including its site and social media) as a platform?
I’ll admit that was a tough one, but: challenge accepted. As I brainstormed answers for her, I thought I’d share them with you here.
Start your own site
Back in the day, people would “start a Wordpress” when they made a blog. If you’re not familiar, Wordpress is a platform you build websites on. And, in my experience, it’s not the most user friendly way for beginners to build a website. If you want to create something unique to you to host your blog, you can use sites like Squarespace or Wix. They’re budget friendly and offer templates so you don’t have to put too much thought into layout or design. If you do this, remember that small tweaks help you look professional:
- Create a unique favicon (the icon that goes in the browser bar tab for your site)
- Remove the Squarespace (or wix) logo from the bottom of the page, so all clients see is your branding.
Frankly, though, a lot of firms that won’t allow you to write articles on their platforms aren’t going to be thrilled about you creating a blog on your own, either. Especially if it is clear how the blog ties to your services, and how the services you offer tie back to them. So that leads us to a few other options.
Medium
This platform accepts contributions from a wide range of writers on a vast array of topics. Sign up and begin writing for them. The more views you get and popular your content is the more promotable it will be.
The downside is that since a lot of “amateur” writers use this platform, your content could get lost in the noise. But if you’re looking for somewhere to point clients, this could work.
Local news
OK so this one isn’t as much about creating content yourself as becoming a part of other people’s content. Often time, local reporters are looking for sources in different industries. This is particularly true in complicated industries that people don’t understand… like finance!
- Register for sites like Help a Reporter Out… which connects reporters looking for sources with potential sources. So if you’re on there, they might find and call you. Being quoted in a story is a great way to share your opinion with potential clients, and you don’t even have to write the story yourself.
- Reach out to local reporters. This is especially helpful if you’re in a smaller “market” for news, versus a major city. Spend a few months keeping track of the reporters who write stories on the topics that fall in your wheelhouse: taxes, insurance, borrowing from your IRA because of a national pandemic and what that means for your finances… that kind of thing. Then, reach out to them. Offer to help explain tricky concepts to them on background (meaning you wouldn’t be referenced). This might seem like a waste of time but it builds trust with the reporter, who is very likely to start calling you for on the record quotes in stories once they realize you’re an expert and not trying to sell them something. (Pointing out that you’re a fiduciary to clients can also help build this trust when you’re pitching your expertise.)
Become a contributor
A number of RIAs and other financial industry professionals write contributing pieces for Forbes, Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Inc. or others. The application process to become a contributor is usually fairly simple: you may be asked to share writing samples, story ideas, and your qualifications. (Here is a great article detailing the process for applying to a variety of different sites.) If they accept your work, and you hit on topics that become hot, or if you’re promoted by one of the editors, your work could receive tens or hundreds of thousands of views. Even if you’re not one of those “top-billed” pieces, you can still expect your pieces to garner a few hundred to a few thousand views. This is especially true if you keep consumer preferences in mind when choosing your topic, and SEO in mind when writing your piece.
Those are the four best ideas I have for now, but I’d love to hear from other people: Have you found a workaround to creating content if your firm is against it? Or… have you convinced your firm to start using content marketing? Leave a comment below!