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Whether you’re a big company or an independent financial advisor working to grow your personal brand, creating useful and engaging blog posts on your website is a crucial part of your content-marketing strategy. Such posts increase your brand visibility and transform loyal readers into loyal clients.
In part two, Four Types of Financial Content Marketing and Why They Matter, of The Ultimate Financial Advisor’s Guide to Content Marketing, I went into detail about different types of content and gave a few examples of each type.
Now it’s time to talk about the specifics of creating your content and what elements you need to include.
If you stick to these basic elements when creating your content, you’re covered:
Choose your post’s keyword phrase
For SEO purposes, you need to put in the research to come up with an effective keyword phrase for your post. This is the phrase that you want to use to help your post get found in the search engines. Use it throughout your article to increase the likelihood that the search engines will match your article to searchers looking for information on that topic. One caveat: You don’t want to overuse your keyword phrase because search engines will penalize you for “keyword stuffing.” Use it no more than once or maybe twice per paragraph and sprinkle it in your subheadings where appropriate.
Remember:
- Use terms and/or phrases your audience will use when searching.
- Use throughout the article.
- Include in the title.
- Use a tool like Keywords Everywhere.
- Don’t overuse your keyword phrase.
To learn more, read my posts on optimizing your content and keywords.
Title/Headline
The title is what grabs your reader’s attention and gets them to click on your article. You need to make sure that it is clear and concise, conveys your message, and is enticing enough to get them to actually open it. You want to include your keyword phrase in the title, as this is a big signal to search engines that THIS is what your blog post is about.
Remember:
- Keep it short and sweet. Google displays around 65 characters.
- Be as efficient and relevant as possible.
- Make it compelling.
- Include the keyword phrase in the title.
Learn more about creating successful titles in my article about titles and headlines.
Introduction
Getting a reader to open your article is half of the battle, but you want them to read it - in its entirety. A well written and well thought out introduction will encourage more of your visitors to keep reading. Ideally, you should work your keyword phrase into the first sentence of your introduction, but if that’s not possible, at least include it somewhere in that first paragraph.
Remember:
- In the first one or two sentences introduce the problem that you’re going to solve.
- The next sentence should state what you're going to cover.
- These sentences can also be used in your title.
- Be sure to include your keyword phrase in this section as well.
Body
This is where the main point and the details of your article will be conveyed. Try to stay on topic and make it interesting and easy to read. One way to make this process easier is to create a simple outline first. This can help you stay on track and help keep your article to a reasonable length. Include your keyword phrase at various points throughout the body of your blog post without overdoing it.
Remember:
- Break the body of text into sections separated by headlines.
- Avoid “industry speak”, use terms your readers will understand.
- It is a good idea to link to other articles you have written.
- Link to outside sources that are relevant and help you convey your message.
Conclusion
Your conclusion ties the post together. The old rule of “tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them again, and then tell them what you told them,” is not just true for writing papers for school, it applies in all types of informational writing. It helps to bring closure to your article rather than just stopping after your last point.
Remember:
- Review/recap/highlight what was said.
- Make suggestions on the next steps your readers should take.
- Invite them to look for upcoming articles.
- Include your keyword phrase.
Call to action
A call to action is just what it sounds like — a prompt to the reader to do something specific. You want your readers to engage and interact with you and your content as much as possible. Take this opportunity to get these now highly engaged prospects into your marketing funnel, but just be sure to avoid sounding too “salesy.” Depending on your business goals, your call to action might ask readers to sign up for your newsletter, request more information on a topic, or even set up an appointment with you.
Examples:
- Questions? Contact us to set up a free consultation call/free discovery meeting.
- Click here to read another article on this subject.
- Sign-up for our monthly newsletter here.
- Check out this link to our website to see what we have been up to.
- Download this free resource/checklist/etc.
Biography
The biography is where you provide background information about you, your firm, an “about me” section of sorts. It should include your current position, company, email address, and may include previous experience, publications, designations, college and postgraduate degrees, and location. This will help prove your experience and expertise - why you are a qualified person to be writing about this topic. Remember to hyperlink to your business homepage to drive traffic and provide more information.
Remember:
- It should be short and to the point - around 50 words.
- Include it at the bottom of every article after the final paragraph.
- The language used here can be duplicated, so be sure to save it for future use.
- Good keywords to use here if applicable are terms like fiduciary, fee-only, etc.
Tips for overall format
There are always things that people don’t think about when they are creating content that can make or break a good article. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you write and format:
- Always check for grammatical errors, misspellings, and typos, and then check again.
- Use nontechnical language — keep it simple.
- Limit your use of industry-specific jargon.
- Proofread for tone — communicating over the Internet requires extra care.
- Have someone to review or edit the article for you.
- Use images.
Closing
Creating content for your website is a great way to establish yourself as an expert, drive traffic to your website, and attract new clients to your financial advisory firm. Although it may seem like a daunting task, using these guidelines and steps will help you simplify the process. Give it a try and you’ll soon be well on your way to producing quality content for your business.
Crystal Lee Butler, MBA is a creative marketer and results-oriented business consultant with over a decade of experience collaborating with independent advisers. At Crystal Marketing Solutions, she delivers exceptional insights for financial professionals enabling them to create a consistent marketing presence so they can focus on the things that matter most to them.
Download a free copy of the Financial Advisor Content Marketing & Optimization Guide here.
Sometimes content marketing can seem like an overwhelming task to undertake on your own. This is exactly what we do for our clients! We help create and select the right content, optimize it so it is reaching the right people, and handle the scheduling to ensure it is as far-reaching as possible. Let us help you get a handle on the whole process by scheduling a discovery meeting today.
Read more articles by Crystal Butler
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives
