401k advisors who have caught the writing bug can use it to their advantage in myriad ways, and freelance financial writer and fee-only investment advisor Roger Wohlner—known for his blog The Chicago Financial Planner—is proof positive.
From gaining exposure to carving out a niche (or two or three) to becoming an expert on topics of which one previously knew little, Wohlner, speaking at Fi360’s annual conference in San Diego on Thursday, described the many ways writing can enhance an advisor’s practice.
He encouraged those who wish to author blog posts, articles, white papers, newsletters and the like to write with a purpose by identifying unique issues and concerns of a very specific audience and solving their problems with easily digestible advice.
“Establish yourself as an expert,” he explained, “but don’t be too technical for readers.”
According to Wohlner, writing can keep advisors in front of their clients, build brand awareness for their practice and lend credibility to their reputation. With a string of compliments, he pointed to financial guru Michael Kitces as a prime example of someone who has established himself as a thought leader industry-wide through writing.
Wohlner said having a clear “who, what, why” should be an advisor-author’s starting point, and from there the goal should be to answer the reader’s question—don’t purposely withhold information.
“Tell em the answer for crying out loud. Holding back something and saying, ‘Hey, call me if you want to know how this works.’ I can’t imagine someone doing that in 2018,” he joked.
In spite of that, he did encourage authors to incorporate some sort of call to action in their work, because if left alone, clients and prospects won’t do much.
And a final tip: be yourself. “You want to have a voice, you want to have a personality,” he said, because clients are hiring a person and looking for someone they can trust.
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
