The 52: Use Google Search to Brainstorm Blog Topics

Use Google Search to Brainstorm Blog Topics

When brainstorming topics for your blog, jump over to Google to find common topics people are searching for. Start by typing in a general term (e.g., tax planning) and hit Enter. Scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see searches related to your initial term (e.g., tax planning methods, types of tax planning, tax planning strategies, objectives of tax planning, tax planning 2022, importance of tax planning). Use these topics for future blogs, and incorporate the same terms into the title and content of your blog to help improve your search rankings.

The 52: An Advisor Directory Focused on Niches

An Advisor Directory Focused on Niches

Advisor directories like NAPFA’s Find an Advisor, FeeOnlyNetwork, and FPA’s PlannerSearch can be a cheap, passive way to get unsolicited leads. The problem is these listings are generally zip code based, so they aren't great for people focused on a niche they serve nationally. For advisors who fall into this group, there is an advisor directory site for you: Wealthtender.com! Now prospects can choose an advisor who specializes in working with clients just like them rather than just picking a generalist close to their home.

P.S. We don’t have any financial incentive to promote Wealthtender, but they did give us a discount code to share with you. Use the code KALEIDO for 50% off your first two months of any subscription plan.

The 52: Recycle Your Content

Recycle Your Content

It’s difficult to create original content—blogs, videos, email newsletters, etc.—week after week. To save time, repurpose popular content you’ve already created. Review your marketing analytics and see which content has the most traffic, clicks, or views, and reuse or re-create that same content. One easy way is to reverse the tone—turn positive into negative. For example, take a “Top 10 Retirement Planning Tips for Business Owners” blog and turn it into “Top 10 Retirement Planning Mistakes Business Owners Make” by adapting the same content as a negative.

The 52: Use the Book-Writing Process as Marketing

Use the Book-Writing Process as Marketing

I picked up this week’s marketing tip from Dr. Travis Parry, author of Achieving Balance.

Writing your own book can be an incredibly powerful marketing tool once published. But there is marketing value even before you even write your first word.

Use the book-writing process to interview people in your niche. Asking people to be interviewed for a book is an easy ask when “cold calling.” Once you interview someone in your niche, you can ask for introductions to other people you should be interviewing. You can continue to stay in touch by having them review what you wrote for accuracy. And you can send them a book when it is published.

This interview method will get you in front of dozens of potential clients long before your book becomes its own marketing tool.

The 52: Are You a Cover Band or an Artist?

Are You a Cover Band or an Artist?

In their book Become Known for a Niche You Own, the Category Pirates use a great metaphor to describe the value of those who niche:

“There are a total of zero cover bands in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Anyone who has made it into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame became known for a niche they owned. Notice how differently the world values musicians who write their own music versus musicians who play covers.”[1]

I bring this quote to your attention because I find a lot of financial advisors fear focusing on a niche because they are afraid it will lessen the value of their business. In reality, by niching, you’ll be seen as more special and as a result more valuable to your audience.

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1. Category Pirates, Become Known for a Niche You Own: Why Legendary Writers Use Languaging to Design New & Different Categories, 2021, Kindle Edition.

The 52: Being Better Isn’t Better. Being Different Is Better

Being Better Isn’t Better. Being Different Is Better

When I ask firms, “How are you different?” I get similar answers:

• We have better customer service.

• We offer better financial planning.

• We have a better investment strategy.

But there is a problem with differentiating yourself as being “better”: It is easy for someone else to swoop in and be better than you.

This approach means a constant race to be the best. When you differentiate on being better, another firm can easily dethrone you by offering slightly better customer service or adding one more financial planning discipline.

When competing for clients, being better isn’t a sustainable strategy. Instead, be different in some defendable way (e.g., have a niche specialization) because it is hard for the competition to also be different in that same way.

The 52: Don’t Obsess About Vanity Metrics

Don’t Obsess About Vanity Metrics

I often see advisors obsess over marketing metrics such as website visitors and social media followers—or what we call “vanity metrics.” These numbers make you feel good, but they aren’t leading indicators of your business’s future success. Nor do they provide information to inform your strategy.

Here are examples of vanity metrics:

• Website visitors

• Social media followers

• Number of attendees at your client event

Instead, you want to focus your analysis on metrics that truly help inform your strategy:

• Number of people who scheduled appointments

• Number of new people added to your marketing database

• Lead source (e.g., website, referral) of new prospects

• Conversion rate

The 52: Leverage the Networks of Others

Leverage the Networks of Others

When you start working with a niche, it is unlikely that you will have a large personal or professional network of people who fit your niche. Sure, you could spend time trying to build your network through social media or traditional networking tactics, but that is a long process. To get traction with your niche immediately, leverage the networks of people and organizations that already have built the potential client bases you want to reach.

Here's what that might look like: You can ask existing niche clients to have you speak in front of a group of people they know. You can submit guest articles to websites or publications your niche reads. You can ask existing clients to share your content on online forums they belong to that you can’t join. Or you can be a guest on a niche-focused podcast.

By focusing on leveraging the networks of others, you will both get in front of your niche and build your own network faster.

The 52: Quality or Quantity? Which Is Better for a Blog Post?

Quality or Quantity? Which Is Better for a Blog Post?

If you have limited time and resources, should you focus on quantity or quality when it comes to blogging? The answer depends on your goal.

Exposure

If you are trying to get name recognition as quickly as possible in a niche, blog as much as possible (1+ times/week) and then share the blog through as many channels as you can (e.g., social media, email, other websites). This focus means writing shorter content (600-750 words) to keep up with the frequency. In this case, quantity is more important than quality.   

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Research shows that the companies blogging more frequently generate greater website traffic than those posting less frequently[1] (assuming similar blog quality). That being said, Google gives preference to higher-quality content over lower-quality content, which generally means longer posts (approximately 2,000+ words). Our experience has been that long-form content on our clients’ websites generates significantly more traffic year after year than short-form content. So if SEO is your goal, focus on quality first and quantity second.

1. https://neilpatel.com/blog/blog-post-quality-vs-quantity

The 52: Can You Have More Than One Niche?

Can You Have More Than One Niche?

One of the most common questions I get about niche marketing is, “Can I have more than one niche?” The answer comes down to your available resources. Each niche requires its own marketing plan and its own champion to spearhead the effort. The more niches you have, the more champions you need and the more plans you must implement.

With that in mind, here is my general rule of thumb for whether you can have multiple niches:

• RIAs with a solo advisor: You must focus on one niche—end of story!

• RIAs with a few advisors: You would be best served by having one niche for the entire firm. However, if not all advisors are equally suited for the same niche, you may decide to have multiple niches. This is not an ideal scenario, so you should have as few niches as possible, with each advisor focusing on only one niche.

• Large ensemble RIAs: Unless you started with a niche, it’s unrealistic to assume you will ever transition to just one focus. Instead, you can have multiple niche specialty areas. The key to success is having advisors dedicated to just one niche.