BLOG

Thoughts
&
Musings

Kristen Luke 10/3/25 Kristen Luke 10/3/25

You Already Live in a Niche Economy—Your Practice Should Too

Why are so many firms still trying to be everything to everyone?

If the world has gone niche, why are so many advisory firms still trying to be everything to everyone?

Last week, while waiting in line at XYPN Live to have Carl Richards sign his new book, Your Money: Reimagining Wealth in 101 Simple Sketches, I overheard two advisors talking. Both had been in business for about 20 years. They agreed that focusing on a niche would have helped them grow faster when they started, but now it was “too late” and “not for them.”

I understand their perspective. You can absolutely build a practice on strong referral relationships and maybe even through local SEO if you’ve got good reviews and little competition nearby. But here’s the problem: The world your business operates in today looks nothing like it did 20 years ago.

We live in a niche economy. It used to be that everyone watched the same TV shows, read the same newspapers, and listened to the same radio stations. Now, people curate what they want: podcasts, newsletters, YouTube channels, and communities tailored to their exact interests. There’s no such thing as true mass marketing anymore. The only thing close to a mass-market audience is the Super Bowl.

The implication for advisors is clear: If the world has gone niche, your practice should too. Being everything to everyone isn’t how people consume information today. People pay attention to the voices and messages that speak directly to them.

The takeaway? You’re already living in a niche economy. The sooner your practice reflects that reality, the easier it will be to connect with the right prospects.

Kristen Luke

Founder of Kaleido Creative Studio and OnNiche®

Kristen Luke 9/26/25 Kristen Luke 9/26/25

Highlight Pictures of Your Office Online

Why hide your office until someone shows up in person?

If your office looks warm, professional, and inviting, why hide it until someone shows up in person?

Do you have a beautiful office worth showcasing? If so, don’t keep it a secret and only let people discover it once they walk through your door. Sharing photos of your office online can actually influence a prospect’s decision to meet with you.

Why? Because your office space says a lot about you and your firm.

It can make your business feel more inviting and comfortable than prospects might imagine.
It can match a prospect’s design aesthetic, creating an instant sense of connection.

I’ll give you a personal example: I chose my current dermatologist based on photos I found of his office online. The space looked like my living room, and I knew immediately that we’d be a good match.

Where to Feature Your Office Photos

Website Photo Gallery: Create a dedicated photo gallery on your website, often on the About page, where visitors can get a sense of your space.
Throughout Your Website: Don’t limit your photos to one page. Sprinkle them across your site where appropriate.
Google Business Profile: Prospects often check Google before calling or visiting. A profile with welcoming photos of your office creates a strong first impression.
Local Listings: Add them to sites like Nextdoor and Yelp, where prospects might be searching.
Professional Directories: Many industry or referral directories allow for images. Use that space to stand out.

The takeaway? First impressions often happen online, not in person. By sharing photos of your office, you can create comfort, trust, and connection before a prospect ever walks through the door.

Kristen Luke 9/19/25 Kristen Luke 9/19/25

Are You Asking Too Much of Your Marketing Staff?

No single person can handle every aspect of marketing.

The truth is, no single person can handle every aspect of marketing, and expecting them to is a recipe for frustration.

Many advisory firms mistakenly believe they can hire one person to handle all of their marketing needs. In my experience, that almost never works. Let’s look at two common roles firms often hire for:

1. A Marketing Coordinator

A marketing coordinator is great for managing day-to-day marketing administration. They can coordinate events, handle email marketing, post on social media, and even create basic graphics using Canva or AI tools. However, they typically aren’t equipped to provide strategic insight, make recommendations, or take on specialized roles like content creation. That leaves a gap that the senior advisor or owner often ends up filling, or one that requires outside marketing support.

2. A Marketing Director

A marketing director excels at high-level strategy, building partnerships, and designing campaigns. They can often handle much of the content creation as well, especially with the assistance of AI. But you can’t expect them to manage the day-to-day execution a coordinator would handle. You’ll still need someone to take on those tasks. And because marketing directors operate at a higher level, they often want to bring in outside agencies for specialized projects such as video production or podcasting.

The takeaway? Don’t expect any single hire to cover all of your marketing needs. You’ll need multiple roles in-house or a mix of freelancers, agencies, and consultants to fill the gaps.

We Want Your Take! Have you tried hiring one person to cover all of your firm’s marketing needs? Did you find gaps in what they could deliver, or did you build a team to balance strategy and execution? Join the conversation and share your ideas at the OnNiche® Public Square!

Kristen Luke 9/12/25 Kristen Luke 9/12/25

Who’s Really in Charge of Your Marketing Strategy?

Too many good marketing ideas can backfire without a clear strategy leader.

One of the biggest headaches I see in marketing isn’t bad ideas—it’s too many good ideas that don’t mesh together.

When it comes to hiring marketing help, clarity is everything. Too often, businesses bring on multiple vendors—consultants, agencies, freelancers—without defining who’s responsible for what. The result? Confusion, conflicting advice, and wasted time.

If you’re hiring a marketing consultant for big-picture strategy and a marketing agency for implementation, you need to decide upfront: Whose strategic advice takes priority? Likewise, if you hire an SEO company and a copywriter, make sure you know who has the lead. Otherwise, you’ll end up stuck with confusing choices and second-guessing every decision.

Here’s why this happens: In marketing, there’s rarely one “right” way to do things. There are different approaches, and each specialist sees the world through their own lens.

An SEO company will focus on ranking in Google, optimizing every word and page for search engines.

A copywriter will focus on persuasive messaging that resonates with your audience and drives conversions.

Neither approach is wrong, and in many cases, the best solution is a mix of the two. They just have different priorities. But without a clear hierarchy, you’ll end up getting pulled in two directions.

The takeaway? When you hire multiple marketing partners, establish a chain of command. Know whose advice you’ll prioritize for strategy, and whose role is to execute within that framework. Doing this upfront will save you headaches later and ensure your marketing specialists work toward one goal instead of against each other.

We Want Your Take! Have you ever found yourself caught between conflicting advice from different marketing partners? How do you decide whose perspective takes the lead—your consultant, your agency, or your specialist vendors? Join the conversation and share your ideas at the OnNiche® Public Square!

Kristen Luke 9/5/25 Kristen Luke 9/5/25

Stop Trying to Be Like Everyone Else on Social Media

Trying to copy everyone else is the fastest way to lose credibility.

Social media is full of gimmicks, but trying to copy everyone else is the fastest way to lose credibility.

It’s easy to feel pressure to show up online like everyone else—whether that’s creating skits, joining games, or trying to be funny—because those posts seem to “work.” The problem is, when the approach doesn’t feel authentic, it won’t resonate. Many people struggle with this balance, and it’s one of the biggest challenges of building a credible online presence.

In a world where everyone is fighting for attention online, it’s tempting to jump on the latest trend. But just because something is popular doesn’t mean it’s right for you or your business. When you chase gimmicks, you risk diluting your credibility and blending into the noise rather than standing out.

What works better? Authenticity.

Play to Your Strengths: If you’re not naturally a comedian or entertainer, don’t force it. Share insights, stories, or perspectives that come naturally to you.

Be True to Who You Are: Your audience follows you because of who you are and what you offer. Lean into that instead of trying to mimic what others are doing.

Prioritize Value Over Virality: A post that gets 200 views but resonates with your ideal client is more valuable than a gimmicky video that goes “viral” with the wrong audience.

The takeaway? Social media doesn’t require you to perform. It requires you to connect. When you show up as yourself, without trying to be like everyone else, you’ll attract the right people and build trust.

We Want Your Take! Have you felt the pressure to follow social media trends, even when they don’t feel authentic to you? What approach works best for you—sticking to your strengths, experimenting with trends, or a mix of both? Join the conversation and share your ideas at the OnNiche® Public Square!

Kristen Luke 8/29/25 Kristen Luke 8/29/25

Wealthtender’s 2025 Study Reveals How Americans Find & Hire Financial Advisors

Referrals and online search lead the way—see where your marketing energy should go.

If you want to know where to invest your marketing energy as a financial advisor, look no further than how prospects are actually finding advisors today.

Wealthtender recently published its 2025 study on how people are choosing financial advisors (see chart below). Here are the key takeaways I found from the data on resources used to find a financial advisor:

Referrals Are Still the Most Effective Marketing
No matter how digital we get, people will always turn to those they trust for recommendations. That includes referrals from friends, family, and other professionals.
Key Takeaway: Prioritize efforts to generate referrals from existing clients and COIs.
Online Search Requires More Than SEO
It’s not just about Google anymore. Prospects are also finding advisors through AI-driven search tools and online directories such as NAPFA, Fee-Only Network, and Wealthtender.
Key Takeaway: Look at your entire online presence, not just optimizing your website.
Social Media Is Overvalued by Advisors
Social media can be valuable for connecting with new people, building partnerships, and strengthening your reputation. But the survey shows it’s not typically a resource prospective clients are using to find a financial advisor.
Key Takeaway: Shift your thinking about social media to a relationship-nurturing and awareness platform, not necessarily a client generation platform.

*Source:* *https://wealthtender.com/insights/how-americans-find-and-hire-financial-advisors/*

We Want Your Take! How do these survey results line up with your experience? Are most of your new clients coming from referrals and online search, or somewhere else? Join the conversation and share your ideas at the OnNiche® Public Square!

Kristen Luke 8/27/25 Kristen Luke 8/27/25

Follow a Marketing Cadence That Sticks—the Annual Reset

Kristen Luke shares how a consistent marketing cadence helps advisors stay focused and grow sustainably.

Kristen Luke 8/22/25 Kristen Luke 8/22/25

How to Use Your Book for Lead Generation

For less than $10 per copy, your book can be one of the most cost-effective lead generation tools you’ll ever use.

For less than $10 per copy, your book can be one of the most cost-effective lead generation tools you’ll ever use.

July 25 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.

A book doesn’t just build authority—it can also help you build your marketing list. When you position your book as a free resource, it becomes a powerful lead generation tool that attracts people genuinely interested in your expertise.

Here are a few practical ways to use your book for lead generation:

Create a Request Page: Add a dedicated page to your website where people can request a free paperback copy of your book in exchange for their name, email, and mailing address.

Promote During Webinars, Presentations, and Podcasts: Whenever you’re speaking, virtually or in person, mention your free book offer. It’s an easy way to convert an audience into leads in your marketing database.

Leverage Social Media: Use your existing platforms to promote the free book giveaway, either for a limited number of copies or a limited time. Scarcity helps drive action.

Engage Your COIs: Ask your centers of influence (COIs) to include your book in their end-of-year book lists and link back to your free giveaway page. This broadens your reach and introduces your book to new audiences.

The Cost Equation: Not including the time and cost to write and publish the book, I’ve found that sending out a paperback (purchasing a wholesale copy and mailing it) costs about $8–$10. That’s a remarkably inexpensive way to capture the names of people who are genuinely interested in what you do.

Don’t Forget to Nurture: Once you’ve collected names, the key is to have a nurture plan. A book gets you attention, but the real value comes from continuing to engage those contacts and converting them into appointments over time.

The takeaway? A book is more than a credibility marker. It’s a scalable, cost-effective lead generation tool when paired with the right strategy to capture and nurture interest.

We Want Your Take! Have you thought about using a book as a lead generation tool? How would you promote your free book offer—through your website, social media, webinars, or COIs? And once you’ve captured new names, what’s your plan to nurture those relationships? Join the conversation and share your ideas at the OnNiche® Public Square!

Kristen Luke 8/15/25 Kristen Luke 8/15/25

A Book Opens Doors Even If Nobody Reads It

A book doesn’t have to be a bestseller to be your best marketing tool—it just needs to exist.

A book doesn’t have to be a bestseller to be your best marketing tool—it just needs to exist.

A book is a valuable marketing tool, even if nobody ever cracks the cover. That’s because the book itself is just the beginning—it opens doors to marketing opportunities that might be harder to access otherwise.

Here are a few ways your book can work for you:

Guest Podcasts: A published book is a powerful credibility marker for podcast hosts looking for expert guests. Whether the show has an audience of hundreds or hundreds of thousands, your book gives you a reason to pitch yourself to be a guest on a show. Instead of simply saying you’re an expert, you can say, “I literally wrote the book on this.” That small shift in positioning can make all the difference in getting booked.

Speaking Engagements: Event organizers are looking for speakers with built-in authority. Your book can serve as both your calling card and your topic guide. You can pitch talks based on the themes of your book and offer free copies to attendees as part of the event. Being an author, even self-published, increases your chances of being booked to speak.

PR Opportunities: A book gives journalists and publications a reason to feature you. It provides a timely angle (“local financial advisor releases new book”) and positions you as a go-to resource in your niche. You can tie your pitches to current news stories, trends, and problems your niche faces, using your book as proof that you have the authority to comment.

The takeaway? Even if your book doesn’t become a bestseller, it can still be the key to unlocking podcasts, bookings, and press coverage that would be difficult to access otherwise. In many ways, publishing a book isn’t the end—it’s the door opener.

We Want Your Take! Have you thought about how you could use a book to open doors to new marketing opportunities? Which of these would you pursue first—guest podcasts, speaking engagements, or PR? Or do you have other creative ways to leverage a book, even if no one reads it cover to cover? Join the conversation and share your approach at the OnNiche® Public Square!

Kristen Luke 8/8/25 Kristen Luke 8/8/25

How to Turn Your Book-Writing Process into Social Media Content

Your book isn’t just a book—it’s social media content, even before it’s published.

Your book isn’t just a book—it’s social media content, even before it’s published.

Most people assume you have to wait 18 months for a “finished product” to see the marketing benefits of publishing a book. But every step of the process is an opportunity to engage your niche.

The book-writing process can generate months of social media content that positions you as an expert before the release and gives people a reason to connect with you. Here are a few ways to turn your book development journey into social media content:

Repurpose Your Book Content: You’re already creating a wealth of material—use it! Share excerpts, or have AI transform sections of your manuscript into articles for a LinkedIn newsletter. Always mention that the content comes from your upcoming book to build anticipation. You can also post snippets from interviews, and if you have video or audio recordings, consider sharing short clips (just be sure to get permission first).

Get Your Audience to Participate: Share different cover design options and ask for votes. Invite your followers to weigh in on the title or subtitle. This kind of content not only drives engagement, but it also helps your audience feel invested in the book’s creation. When they’ve contributed, they’ll be more likely to spread the word when it’s published.

Make Announcements Along the Way: Use milestones as reasons to post. Reveal the title and book cover, share the print release date, or announce when the audiobook will drop. Each update gives you another touchpoint with your niche.

You don’t have to wait for the launch. Your book can start working for you the moment you start writing.

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!