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The Surprising Networking Power of Writing a Book
Your book isn’t just a book—it’s a networking tool, even before it’s published.
Your book isn’t just a book—it’s a networking tool, even before it’s published.
Last Friday marked two years since I published Uncomparable: The Financial Advisor’s Guide to Standing Out Through Niche Marketing. Hitting that milestone made me reflect on the biggest lessons I learned in the process.
Most people assume the marketing impact of a book starts when the book launches. In reality, the benefits can begin months, or even years, earlier if you approach the writing process as one long marketing effort.
When working on your first draft, the act of writing can open doors long before your pages even see an editor. You can use it as an excuse to reach out to prospects or centers of influence cold.
Interviews: Reach out to prospects or centers of influence (COIs) in your niche to interview them for stories or research to use in your book. Even if you have no relationship with them, you might be surprised how open they are to talking if they know they might be included in the book. Those conversations build relationships while also enriching the book.
Beta Readers: After you have a solid draft edited and proofread by professionals, solicit people in your niche to serve as beta readers. That invitation is primarily about feedback, but it also creates early buy-in and sparks conversations with people in your niche that might never have happened otherwise.
The takeaway? You don’t have to wait 18 months for a “finished product” to see marketing results. Every stage of creation, from outlining to editing, can be a reason to connect, engage, and position yourself as an authority within your niche. If you’ve ever considered writing a book, focus on the journey, not just the end result. It can quietly build marketing momentum long before launch day.
Kristen Luke
Founder of Kaleido Creative Studio and OnNiche®
We Want Your Take! Have you thought about writing a book for your niche, or have you already started one? How can you use the process itself, not just the finished product, to open doors and spark conversations? Join the conversation and share your approach at the OnNiche® Public Square!
Rethinking FAQs for the AI Era
FAQs aren’t flashy. But they’re becoming quietly powerful.
FAQs aren’t flashy. But they’re becoming quietly powerful.
For many years, I wasn’t a fan of website FAQs. Long lists of questions rarely helped visitors. But times have changed, and so has my view. Although FAQs still aren’t the smoothest user experience, they’re now a valuable tool for teaching AI exactly what you do—so it can recommend you to prospects looking for an advisor like you.
By offering straightforward answers to straightforward questions, you make it easier for both AI and people to understand what you’re all about. Consider including:
What types of clients do you specialize in serving?
How often will we meet, and in what format (video, phone, in-person)?
How are your fees structured (percentage, flat, hourly)?
Do you provide ongoing wealth management, one-time plans, or both?
What is your minimum asset or fee requirement, if any?
Are you a fiduciary?
These questions not only tune AI to your expertise but may also give prospects the clarity they need to take the next step.
We Want Your Take! Are you using FAQs today? Which questions are you including? Join the conversation and share your approach at the OnNiche® Public Square!
Two Marketing Focuses This Fall
If you can do only two things to market your business this fall, make it these.
If you can do only two things to market your business this fall, make it these.
It’s only mid-summer, but fall will be here before you know it—and by then, it’ll be too late to plan. If I were an advisor, I’d focus on two things this fall:
Getting in front of people face-to-face
Optimizing the places where prospects actively look for an advisor
Why? Because it’s harder than ever to stand out online. Even if you have a niche and something valuable to say, the volume of AI-generated content and the grip of algorithms make it tough to get noticed.
That’s why I’d look for in-person opportunities—networking, speaking, community events—anywhere people can meet you and remember you.
I’d also focus on showing up where prospects are already searching for an advisor to hire. That means improving your search rankings, showing up in AI recommendations, and keeping your profiles updated on sites like NAPFA, Fee-Only Network, and Wealthtender.
Both activities help you get noticed in a noisy world.
We Want Your Take! What’s your plan for fall outreach? Are you doubling down on in-person events, fine-tuning your online presence, or both? Join the conversation and share your experience at the OnNiche® Public Square!
The Many Benefits of Client Reviews
Client reviews were once taboo. Now they’re expected.
For years, client reviews, such as those found on Google or Yelp, were off-limits for financial advisors. Now they’re not just allowed—they’re standard. If you’re not using them, here’s what you’re missing:
Better visibility. Search engines rank businesses with more reviews higher in their results.
AI optimization. AI tools scan reviews when making recommendations. Strong reviews increase your chances of being included.
Credibility with prospects. Reviews help both online and referral-based prospects evaluate you against other advisors.
Always check with compliance before implementing reviews. But in today’s environment, they’re an essential part of your marketing toolkit.
We Want Your Take! Are you using client reviews in your marketing strategy? We’d love to hear how you’ve navigated compliance, chosen platforms, or encouraged clients to share their experiences. Join the conversation and share your experience at the OnNiche® Public Square!
Why Going Niche Is the Smartest Way to Scale Fast
Specializing in a niche isn’t limiting—it’s your fastest path to growth. Bill Cates shares Kristen Luke's insights into standing out and scaling by owning your niche.
Don’t Ignore NextDoor
Turn neighbors into clients.
Turn neighbors into clients.
Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok usually get the spotlight when it comes to social media marketing. But one platform that often gets overlooked is NextDoor.
Now, NextDoor isn’t for everyone. But it can be a source of prospects if you serve:
A small, close-knit community
A niche that fits the demographic of typical NextDoor users (e.g., college planning, retirement planning)
NextDoor allows you to advertise inexpensively to a tight geographic area and post content from your business page. Even better? Neighbors can recommend your services to others in the area, building organic word-of-mouth.
It’s not the right fit for every advisor. But for the right one, NextDoor can be a simple, cost-effective way to turn neighbors into clients.
We Want Your Take! Have you explored NextDoor as part of your marketing strategy? We’d love to hear how you’re approaching neighborhood-based marketing. Join the conversation and share your experience at the OnNiche® Public Square!
Online or In-Person: Finding the Sweet Spot in Your Marketing
How to blend digital and in-person marketing for real results.
How to blend digital and in-person marketing for real results.
It’s tempting to believe that online marketing is the answer to everything. It’s inexpensive, easy to delegate, and you don’t even have to leave your office. But it often lacks the depth of connection that comes from in-person engagement.
In contrast, in-person marketing—through events, networking, or speaking—often delivers higher-quality interactions. But it’s time-intensive and typically more expensive.
The reality is this: Neither path is right or wrong. But each demands a different kind of strategy. And for most advisors, the real leverage doesn’t come from choosing one—it comes from knowing how to blend them.
The Sweet Spot: Merge the Two
The most effective approach is to integrate your online and offline efforts.
Connect online with people you’ve met in person. Then stay top of mind by sharing relevant content and engaging with theirs.
Use your digital presence to nurture relationships between meetings, remind people what you do, and show how you think.
For those you first meet online, look for ways to take the relationship offline—by inviting them to a live event, joining events they’re attending, or arranging a one-on-one meeting.
It’s not about choosing one or the other. It’s about making each channel reinforce the relationship.
We Want Your Take! Is your firm leaning more into digital, staying committed to in-person, or trying to blend both? Let us know how you’re thinking about the balance—we’d love to hear your take. Join the conversation and share your experience at the OnNiche® Public Square!
Attracting Ideal Clients Through Niche Marketing with Kristen Luke
Kristen Luke shares how niche marketing helps financial advisors stand out, attract ideal clients, and grow with purpose.
Volume vs. Quality: Why Your Lead Strategy Needs to Match Your Source
Are you treating all your leads the same?
Are you treating all your leads the same?
Advisors would like to believe that all leads are equal—that leads from the web are the same quality as those from referrals or other high-trust marketing activities like speaking engagements. But this simply isn’t the case.
Web leads are less often qualified and are frequently shopping around. In contrast, leads from high-trust sources are more likely to be qualified and are often only considering you. As a result, you need a much higher volume of web leads to generate the same number of clients as you would from high-trust sources.
This doesn’t mean one approach is better than the other, but it does mean your strategy needs to align with the type of leads you’re aiming to generate.
If You’re Focused on Volume (Web Leads)
When your pipeline depends on volume, you need to lean heavily on your marketing systems.
Follow-up must be fast and consistent.
Qualification processes should filter out poor fits early.
Nurture sequences need to be reliable and well-timed.
Success in this model depends on how efficiently you can attract, sort, and convert.
If You’re Focused on Quality (High-Trust Activity Leads)
High-trust leads arrive warm, but they still require reinforcement.
Your marketing should validate the trust already extended.
Systems must support deeper engagement and timely follow-up.
Each lead carries more weight, so every touchpoint should feel intentional.
In this model, success comes from depth, not speed.
We Want Your Take! Where are most of your leads coming from today—volume or trust-based activities? And more importantly, is your marketing strategy built to support that? We’d love to hear how you’re thinking about lead quality in your firm. Join the conversation and share your experience at the OnNiche® Public Square!
Supporting Business Development for Next-Gen Advisors
The secret to building confident advisors who actually bring in clients.
The secret to building confident advisors who actually bring in clients.
To help the next generation of advisors grow into business development roles, firm leadership must offer more than just a mandate to bring in clients. They need structure, guidance, and accountability. Here’s how leadership can help:
Provide Mentorship
Advisors who have never been responsible for bringing in new clients benefit greatly from regular support. Ongoing mentorship provides guidance on how to approach business development, overcome challenges, refine strategy, and stay focused. Just knowing someone is invested in their success builds confidence and momentum.
Set Expectations
Advisors stepping into business development need to understand what’s expected of them—specifically, what outcomes should result from their efforts. Clear expectations create direction and help advisors prioritize what matters most.
Track Progress
New clients don’t appear overnight, and firms shouldn’t wait for revenue to measure success. Instead, track leading indicators—such as networking conversations, referral introductions, or speaking invitations. These early signals show whether advisors are gaining traction in their niche.
By offering structure, progress tracking, and hands-on coaching, firms create an environment where next-gen advisors can grow with purpose—and contribute meaningfully to the firm’s long-term success.
How We Help
At OnNiche® by Kaleido, firms turn to us to provide the structure their advisors need. We help individual advisors within larger firms set expectations, track progress, and receive the mentorship required to navigate the opportunities and challenges of bringing in new business.
We Want Your Take! How are you helping your next-gen advisors grow into business development roles? Are you providing structured mentorship or relying on informal guidance? What expectations or metrics have made the biggest difference in their growth? We’d love to hear how your firm is supporting the next generation. Join the conversation and share your experience at the OnNiche® Public Square!