Financial Advisor Copywriting: How to Capture the Attention of the Affluent

Financial advisor copywriting to attract the affluent investor is serious business.  This should be no surprise since it’s the messaging on your website that motivates people to contact your firm.  And the more contacts, the more likely you will be to convert your website traffic into prospects and clients.

Do it right, and people will engage with you.  Do it wrong, and you may be driving website visitors away without even realizing it.

But it’s usually the most prominent players that invest in financial website copy.  The biggest firms realize its value and often back it up with other tactics such as direct mail or telephone follow-ups.

If you’re a small firm, it may seem difficult to compete.

Use Size to Your Advantage

Thankfully, when it comes to servicing the affluent, your size is not necessarily an obstacle.  In fact, high net worth individuals can usually look past expensive branding more easily than the average person.  They often realize they will likely get better service from small firms.  That’s understandable since many wealthy people got that way through small business ownership.

So your real challenge is simply attracting their attention and doing it in a compliance-friendly way.

The good news?  Financial copywriting helps level the playing field between the dominant players and the small boutique firms.  However, the tactics for small firms must be somewhat different than those employed by big corporations. You likely don’t have the brand power they’ve built over time.  And you probably can’t match their budget either.

That means changing the strategy to fit your needs.  As financial copywriters that have helped many financial firms capture the attention of their affluent targets, here are our top five tips.

#1:   Communicate your benefits fast.

Your ideal prospects are busy people who likely get pitched by service providers frequently.  They also may work with a few advisors at a time, as well.  To catch their attention, you need to do it fast by differentiating your firm and how it can help them. If you don’t achieve that, you’re unlikely to get their attention.

So what does that mean in real life?

Let’s start with the headlines your firm has on your website.  Research by the Statistics Brain Research Institute shows you have about three seconds to capture a website visitor’s attention before they move on.  Yes, that’s 3 seconds.

So your headlines are critical.

Here’s an example to illustrate why.

Let’s say you’re a busy surgeon who has a high income but also really high taxes.  All the recent news about tax hikes has you worried.  Along with that, you’re watching a colleague struggle with a lawsuit and all the attorney’s fees that go along with defending it.  You’re searching on the internet late at night for wealth management help to see what you can do to avoid these issues.

A local firm pops up with this on their home page:

Financial Planning and Wealth Management Since 1995

Yes, this is descriptive, but here’s the problem: it’s all about the firm.  There’s nothing about you, the potential client, and your concerns.  The feeling it evokes?  Not a lot.

But let’s say you move on to the next local firm’s website. This one focuses on benefits, not the firm:

• We help you protect what you’ve built
• We provide tax planning to help you keep more of your money in your own pocket
• We help you find opportunities and strategies to achieve your financial goals faster

As the busy surgeon, simply reading these statements can make you feel understood.  And, you are offering solutions that are needed even before they pick up the phone and talk with you.

Keeping your website focused on the client, not your firm, can impart those feelings and promote action.  And the more you can pinpoint your ideal client’s concerns, the more of a connection you can potentially create.

#2: Show them their priorities are your priorities.

The wealthy want to feel like they are getting the attention they deserve.  So to get their attention, you need to speak their language.  That means talk about what they want to hear about, not what you’d like to discuss.

As a financial person, you may prefer to talk about your investment philosophy or some technical aspect you do differently.  But that’s putting the cart before the horse.  Instead, you want to focus on their priorities and what you do differently in that area:

• Do you provide tax planning services to help clients take advantage of tax-saving opportunities?
• Do you meet with clients frequently (like quarterly) to keep their finances on track so they can feel more confident?
• Do you provide advice on their other investments, such as real estate or business ventures?
• Do you provide complimentary help with refinancing mortgages and buying cars to help save clients time and avoid mistakes?

Many firms offer these services, of course, but surprisingly, this is not always apparent on their websites.  When you’re small and lacking a brand name, you need to play these things up.

So focus your copy on those things that help your clients achieve their goals, feel more peace of mind, or save time.  And write about it in a way that focuses on the benefits they will receive.  So whether it’s a focus on tax minimization or a high-touch service where they hear from you often, show them how your priorities align with theirs.

And don’t just assume they already know you include those services in your fee.  Spell them out and emphasize when you include these services for no extra charge.  Even the wealthy want value, so be specific.

#3:  Showcase your expertise.

The wealthy usually want to work with experts, not generalists.  So you need to display your expertise and incorporate that into your website copywriting.  This is not that different than it was in years past: you need to be usually speaking and writing to build up your expertise in a public manner.

Today, the process of building up your authority is much easier.  You can publish articles on your own blog easily or outsource to a professional content firm to do it for you.  You can also submit guest posts to well-known websites, create eBooks and whitepapers on specific topics, hold webinars, create a podcast, and more.  Get your name out there in a form that the wealthy prospect can read or watch to assess your knowledge.  Then incorporate that into your website copy.

#4:  Be careful with your tone.

When positioning yourself as an expert, there’s a caveat.  Unless you’re a regular name on Bloomberg or CNBC, the days of the “investment guru” are pretty much over.  People seem to feel more comfortable with the approachable specialist.  So when you write or talk, try to do it in a way that avoids jargon.  Instead, make things simple to save the time of the busy person.

Whatever you do, avoid anything condescending.  When it comes to the wealthy, especially, they usually want to be treated as peers.  They may not have your expertise in finance, but you likely don’t have their knowledge in their field, either.

If you ever forget what it’s like to listen to jargon, sit down with a medical journal.  You’ll quickly see that it’s a disservice to clients to write in a formal, technical manner.  You offer the best service when you can translate complex financial topics into more straightforward analogies and explanations. That saves everyone’s time and frustration.

So do that too in your writing.  Put things in simple terms; boil complex things down to basic concepts.  That will make you an attractive person to work with for the affluent or, really, any audience you choose to target.

#5:  Engage the reader emotionally…carefully.

All of us like to think we are entirely rational when making decisions, but research shows that’s not usually true.  Emotions weigh into most decisions.  That’s the case for the affluent too.

So your financial copywriting should reflect that.  Yes, it’s okay to talk about feelings: peace of mind, confidence, that feeling of being organized.  We’re all after that when it comes to our money, and the more money we have, the more important that likely becomes.

In fact, as we know, with wealth usually comes complexity.  Busy people crave ways to simplify their lives and help tame some of the stressful unknowns out there.

However, be careful. Many look at the masters of tactics like Agora Financial and give that a try.  While those are wildly effective strategies for selling newsletters, these can often backfire for financial advisors.  You need to build long-term relationships based on trust, which is very different from trying to convince someone to make a one-time purchase.

Do It First

As you can probably see, website copy is powerful. But to create that power, you need to invest the time to develop the right copy.

If you have a copywriter on staff, count yourself lucky!  Flex that and invest the time to do it right.  If you don’t, consider investing in professional financial copywriting.

While it is an expense, it is usually a one-time, fixed cost.  Given what’s on the line, it may be the best marketing investment you ever make.

But one thing to keep in mind…financial advisor copywriting should be one of your first steps.  It’s not something to put off.  If not, you can spend money on marketing and advertising to attract people to your website.  But if your website copy isn’t compelling enough to hold their attention, you could see those marketing dollars go down the drain.

But prioritize website copy, and you lay the groundwork for the future success of all your other marketing efforts.

Looking for help with your financial website copywriting?  Wavelength, we’ve developed engaging content for many clients, including over 85 Registered Investment Advisory firms.   Contact us for a free consultation.