Susan B. Weiner's Blog, page 56

My experiment blogging on LinkedIn

Have you noticed that you can blog on LinkedIn? At first, I told myself “I’ll never do that.” However, as I found myself clicking on posts by my connections, I realized that I should reconsider. Thus began my experiment blogging on LinkedIn. The results surprised me. I’ll share them with you. By the way, if you’d like to learn to write better blog posts, check out my financial blogging class.

In this post I discuss:

Why blog on LinkedIn?
Your choices for blogging on LinkedIn—I discuss five types of content.
My results from blogging on LinkedIn
Tips for blogging on LinkedIn
Google and duplicate content on LinkedIn

Why blog on LinkedIn?

If you’re trying to influence people in the business world, LinkedIn is the single best place to find them. It has more than 400 million registered members—including more than 120 million in the United States—as I draft this post. Blogging on LinkedIn commands attention in the flow of LinkedIn status updates that members see.

The LinkedIn notifications flag appears in the middle of this image.

Your LinkedIn posts show up in the flow that dominates your home page on LinkedIn. Also, when you click on on the notifications flag in the upper right-hand corner of LinkedIn, LinkedIn posts figure prominently. In these locations, your posts may catch the attention of people who would never visit your blog or sign up for your newsletters. You can reach the eyes of people who can hire you, buy your products, or pass your name along to your prospects. That’s golden.

I take LinkedIn seriously because it has been a valuable source of traffic to my blog. One of my blog posts,  “‘CFA credential implies a standard of care not always upheld,’ says Forbes opinion piece” was shared more than 400 times after I posted a link to it in the CFA Institute Members group on LinkedIn. That was a big deal for me.

Speaking of website traffic, some people warn against posting on LinkedIn because it diverts traffic that might otherwise go to your website. I haven’t switched my blogging focus to LinkedIn. I’m keeping my Investment Writing blog going because I want people to visit my website and consider becoming clients. People who read posts on my blog are more likely than LinkedIn readers to check out my website pages on products/coaching, writing/editing, and speaking. I can also snare blog readers as subscribers to my newsletters. My opportunities to attract such actions by my readers are far fewer when I post on LinkedIn.

Another reason to not blog exclusively on LinkedIn is that you don’t control content on LinkedIn the way that you do when the content resides on your website. I know that first hand. I had a bad experience with LinkedIn’s Company Pages’ “Product & Services” tabs. I told my tale of woe in “Ouch, LinkedIn, why did you do that to me?” Partly as a result of getting burned by LinkedIn, I knew that I shouldn’t close my blog in favor of posting on LinkedIn.

Blogging on LinkedIn is a good complement to blogging on your website. Also, it’s a viable alternative if you don’t have the energy to maintain a blog on your website or if you want to test your ability to blog and to attract an audience.

Your choices for blogging on LinkedIn

You have several choices for the content you post when you blog on LinkedIn.

1. Original content

I rarely post completely original content on LinkedIn. I don’t have the oomph to boost my writing output. However, I make exceptions to share content that wouldn’t be appropriate on my Investment Writing blog.

For example, “Tell me YOUR opinion on this ‘high net worth’ controversy” isn’t a full-fledged blog post. Instead, it’s a request for my connections to answer a poll. I also shared this post in my monthly newsletter and via social media. The results of that poll provided color for a post on my real blog,”‘High net worth’ in your financial marketing.”

I agree with Stephanie Sammons, author of Linked to Influence. She says, “I’ve written a few original posts that exist only on LinkedIn because the topics didn’t necessarily fit with my core blog content.” Instead, she suggests republishing complete or partial posts from your main blog on LinkedIn.

However, it’s possible that Google may penalize content that appears in two places, for example, both on your blog and on LinkedIn, as I explain near the bottom of this post in “Google and duplicate content on LinkedIn.” I don’t think it’s a big concern. However, if it worries you, then emphasize original content in your LinkedIn blog posts.

2. Complete text of content posted on your non-LinkedIn blog

You can post content that originally appeared elsewhere on your LinkedIn blog. LinkedIn has no rules against this.

If you drop the complete text of a blog post—or even a rewritten version—into LinkedIn, you should include text saying that the post originally appeared on your blog. Link back to the original and include a call to action.

Linking back to the original introduces new people to people to your blog and reminds occasional blog readers that your blog exists.  Sammons suggests that you put this link at the top of your LinkedIn blog post. I agree that this makes it more likely that people will read your comment and to visit your blog. However, I’ve mostly put the links at the bottom of my LinkedIn posts so readers aren’t delayed from reaching content that offers value.

A call to action is important to entice readers to deepen their relationship with you. After all, you’re posting on LinkedIn because you want people to buy your services or products or to take some other sort of action. Here’s the call to action that I’m using in the run-up to the start of my financial blogging class:

For more tips like this, visit my  Investment Writing blog . You’ll receive a FREE E-BOOK when you  subscribe to my monthly e-newsletter  with helpful communications tips tailored to financial professionals.

Want to learn to blog better? Check out my class, “How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read: A 5-Week Writing Class for Financial Advisors.”

3. Rewritten version of content posted on your non-LinkedIn blog

I don’t have the time and energy to rewrite content for LinkedIn. The most that I’ve done is to change the title and add two new sentences at the beginning of “My best tip for editors who proofread their own work,” which is based on “Why I love Adobe Acrobat Pro for proofreading.” However, if you have the ability to rewrite your content, it could help, as I discuss below in the section on “Google and duplicate content on LinkedIn.”

4. Intro with a link to content posted on your non-LinkedIn blog

To make my life easier, and to increase the likelihood that people will visit my blog, I prefer to post an introduction with a link to the rest of the post on my Investment Writing blog. The introduction can’t be too short. I want to prove to readers that I deliver value before I ask them to click through. “White paper marketing for investment, wealth management, and financial planning firms” is an example of such a post.

However, I tend to write short. Some of my posts feel too darned short for me to ask readers to click through to my blog. “Is it okay to end a sentence with a preposition?” is an example of such a post.

Another factor to consider: Readers may be annoyed by your asking them to click to finish reading your post. I know I feel that way. To inspire people to click, you must convince them with your introduction on LinkedIn that they will find valuable information once they click.

5. Test or quiz format

I invited readers to test their sentence-shortening skills in “Teach yourself to write shorter” on LinkedIn. Here’s the test I gave them:

Print out the list of sentences below.
Write down what you see as the weakness in the sentence.
Write a shorter version of the sentence.
Compare your answers to mine, which I recorded in my blog post on “Can YOU simplify investment commentary better than this?“

You could try a  similar approach. You could ask a question and then direct your readers to a specific blog post for the answer. It could be something specific, such as “How much of your income can you save in in IRA in 2016?”

If you try the test, make it easy for your readers to find the answer. You might even say something like “Read paragraph three on my blog to find the answer.”

My results from blogging on LinkedIn

I had one utter failure. My one purely promotional post to LinkedIn gained way fewer views than any of my other posts. “June 22 WEBINAR: How to Write Investment Commentary People Will Read” had only received 23 views by the time that I drafted this post. I guess the title was too overtly promotional. To attract more eyeballs on the piece, I should have used a title that stressed the benefits instead of the webinar. However, I didn’t want to lure readers with false promises.

Generally speaking, my LinkedIn posts have received about 120 to more than 350 views, according to LinkedIn’s analytics on Dec. 30, 2015.

“My best tip for editors who proofread their own work” was a big winner. It gained 368 views, 41 likes, and 3 comments.

Demographics for PROOFREADING post

You may be surprised by my reaction to what looked like a success with 368 views. The knockout performance by my proofreading tip made me wonder if LinkedIn blogging was right for me. To understand why, look at the demographics of the post’s viewers, as reported by Linkedin (see the first Demographics of your readers image). Then, compare them with the demographics of my post on “How to make one quarterly letter fit clients at different levels of sophistication,” which received 134 views (see image below).

Demographics for QUARTERLY LETTER post

My proofreading post won plenty of views, but it seems as if many of the readers didn’t belong to my target audience. Almost 70% were in higher education. That contrasted with my less popular quarterly client letter post which did well with people who might hire or refer me. with close to 80% in financial services or investment management. This made me wonder if blogging on LinkedIn is best for people who write about topics of interest to the broader public, instead of a niche. While mulling this over, I limited my blogging on LinkedIn to about one post per month.

However, since then I’ve decided that blogging on LinkedIn is worthwhile, as long as it doesn’t take much of my time. Recently I’ve noticed members of my target audience liking and commenting more, even on posts with fewer views. That interaction helps me to learn about the people in my niche.

On Dec. 31, 2015, my LinkedIn blog post on “Treasurys vs. Treasuries–Which is the right spelling?” was featured on LinkedIn Pulse in its “Writing and Editing” category. In the first three days it received 110 views, 15 likes, and 7 comments, despite the long holiday weekend and the esoteric topic. I especially appreciated the comments. However, that’s hardly “going viral.” Still, for the right post, Pulse can help. Snaring a spot on Pulse “can be the difference between getting a few hundred views on your article to getting tens of thousands of views,” says John White in “How to Get Your Article Featured on LinkedIn Pulse.”

You may be wondering, “Susan, have you gained any clients directly from blogging on LinkedIn?” Not yet, but until Dec. 2015 I’d averaged less than one LinkedIn blog post per month so it’s too soon to tell. However, it’s clear to me that my visibility on LinkedIn spurs prospects to contact me.

Tips for blogging on LinkedIn

Here are some tips for blogging on LinkedIn from my personal experience and preferences.

Use images in your LinkedIn blog posts. They’ll attract more views. Make sure the images are sized properly for the space. LinkedIn seeks images that are at least 700 x 400 pixels. (Note: I typically use smaller images because I can get them free from FreeDigitalPhotos.net. I think they look okay). If you want the text in your images to show up when your post is shared via social media, you need to focus your text in the middle of the image. Otherwise, you’ll end up with goofy-looking previews like what you see below in the image I created using Canva.

 

 

 

 

 

 

See how “Proofreading matters” got cut off  to become “freading mat”? Learn from my mistakes so your work looks professional from the beginning.

Tinker with your titles. I think my proofreading post did so well on LinkedIn partly because “My best tips for editors who proofread their own work” is a stronger title than my original title, “Why I love Adobe Acrobat for proofreading.” Perhaps you can come up with a new title that will give your article new life.

Respond to people who comment on your posts. The best practice is the same as when people respond to a post on your official company blog. It’s polite to respond. Plus, it encourages more interaction. As more people comment, your post gains more visibility across your commenters’ LinkedIn networks. Gaining exposure to their connections who don’t yet know you may be particularly valuable. Of course, as a financial professional, you must keep compliance constraints in mind. If you’re concerned about controlling other people’s comments that violate compliance rules, then you may prefer writing only on a corporate blog that you can moderate.

Spend more time promoting the content you post on your corporate blog than what you post on LinkedIn. After all, traffic to your website is typically more valuable than traffic to LinkedIn. I rarely tweet or promote my posts to LinkedIn, aside from linking to them in my monthly newsletter. The one exception is when I want people to respond to a poll that I post on LinkedIn.

Google and duplicate content on LinkedIn

Does Google penalize duplicate content? That’s a widely debated topic. If it were true, it would suggest that you shouldn’t post content from your blog on LinkedIn.

Google says on one of its Help pages that it’s mainly after bad guys who use duplicate content to deceive. Here’s what it says:

In the rare cases in which Google perceives that duplicate content may be shown with intent to manipulate our rankings and deceive our users, we’ll also make appropriate adjustments in the indexing and ranking of the sites involved. As a result, the ranking of the site may suffer, or the site might be removed entirely from the Google index, in which case it will no longer appear in search results.

A post on Search Engine Land quotes Matt Cutts of Google saying about duplicate content, “I wouldn’t stress about this unless the content that you have duplicated is spammy or keyword stuffing.”

However, if you post the same content on your blog and LinkedIn, you run the risk that the LinkedIn version will rank higher in Google’s search results because Google rates LinkedIn more highly than your blog. That’s a shame because your original blog loses a chance to boost its domain authority, in other words, your ranking in search. By the way, if you’d like to learn how to build your domain authority through smart public relations, Gini Dietrich of the Spin Sucks blog is a great resource.

If you prefer to drive traffic to your website instead of LinkedIn, consider delaying the copying of your original blog post to LinkedIn. Let your post build its authority from links and social sharing before you post it to LinkedIn. I imagine this is why Stephanie Sammons suggests in her book, Linked to Influence, that you wait “at least a week before you republish a post from your blog to LinkedIn.”

I’ve been taking delaying tactics to an extreme. Having published about one thousand blog posts, I have plenty of oldies but goodies that I can update to share on LinkedIn. Most of my posts so far have been several years old. Posting on LinkedIn is a good way to get more mileage out of old posts.

What’s YOUR story about blogging on LinkedIn?

If you’re taking advantage of your ability to blog on LinkedIn, I’d like to hear about the lessons that you’ve learned. Please share your experiences.

 

Thumbs up image courtesy of Master isolated images/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

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When do I need quotation marks?

When should you use quotation marks? You probably know that you should use them around quotations or around the titles of some artistic works. (Books are an exception to the artistic works rule.) But other cases are open to debate.

I find that non-professional writers sometimes use quotation marks for emphasis, instead of their intended purposes. I don’t like that. Nor do most professional writers.

Garner’s Modern American Usage lists three times, in addition to when you’re identifying quotations or titles of artistic works, when you should use quotation marks.

when you’re referring to a word as a word, , unless you’re using italics for that purpose
when you mean so-called-but-not-really
when you’re creating a new word for something—and then only on its first appearance

Some sources disagree with Garner and me on avoiding the use of quotation marks for emphasis, but urge discretion. Here’s what Amy Einsohn says in The Copyeditor’s Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications:

Quotation marks may be used for emphasis or irony, but copyeditors should curb authors who overuse this device.

I’m okay with using quotation marks for irony. I believe that’s what Garner aims at in his so-called-but-not-really case. But I prefer to avoid using them for emphasis. In fact, I almost deleted Einsohn’s quote from this post because I dislike them so much.

You can make your own rules on this issue, but I suggest that create a style sheet to help you apply your rules consistently.

What do YOU think about quotation marks?

If you have strong feelings about the usage of quotation marks, please share. If you suggest a different set of rules, it’d be great if you could cite a source for your recommendation.

Disclosure: If you click on the Amazon link in this post and then buy something, I will receive a small commission. I only link to books in which I find some value for my blog’s readers.

 

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Selling PDF e-books online: Tips from my E-junkie experience

If you’re a financial professional interested in selling PDF e-books online, you may learn from my experience with E-junkie, an online shopping cart. In fact, this post was inspired by questions I received from a colleague preparing to sell a PDF e-book online. He wanted to make sure he found a reasonably priced shopping cart provider that would provide all of the functions he desired.

PDF e-book sales tip 1. Figure out what you want from your provider

Figure out what you want from your online shopping cart provider. Do you want the following characteristics?

Low cost—this is a concern for me and many of my colleagues
Ability to securely host your PDF on the shopping cart’s website
Ability to set up a sales page on the shopping cart’s website
Ability to accept credit card sales
Ability to offer coupon codes and incentives for affiliates to sell your book
Ability to stamp your PDF with the buyer’s identifying details to cut down on piracy
Ease of programming your sales page, confirmation emails, and other aspects of your sales
Good support when you run into problems

E-junkie offers seven out of the eight characteristics listed above. I haven’t used its PDF stamping ability.

Number 8 is the one area where E-junkie is a bit shaky in my eyes. E-junkie’s support is okay. There’s no telephone support. The folks who offer support via email are pleasant, but their instructions sometimes difficult for non-technical people like me.

PDF e-book sales tip 2. Figure out if you’re up to dealing with DIY sites

I shifted to E-junkie after selling my first PDF e-book on SmashWords. SmashWords was easy to set up, but it charged me a percentage of each sale that I made. I believe it takes 15% of your sales price as compensation. The rest flows to you.

After two fellow writers enthused about E-junkie’s $5 per month fee for the basic level, I jumped at the opportunity to use it for my $39 PDF book, Financial Blogging: How to Write Powerful Posts That Attract Clients. I saved a bundle selling through E-junkie instead of SmashWords when the PDF sold like crazy upon my book’s launch in August 2013. (Well, “like crazy” is an exaggeration, but sales relieved my nightmarish fears that nobody would buy my book.)

The downside of E-junkie? Little of the set-up is intuitive, at least for me. Things may have improved since my initial encounters in 2013. On the other hand, when my virtual assistant (VA) and I tried to tweak the confirmation pages and emails for my products in late 2015, my VA had to go back and forth with E-junkie’s support.

If you’re not good at dealing with HTML website coding or cryptic instructions aimed at people who understand the workings of websites, you have two options. First, find another shopping cart. Second, hire someone who can do it for you. I’ve been lucky to have two VAs who understand websites enough to plod through the work for me.

PDF e-book sales tip 3. Decide where to host your sales page

If you want to drive traffic to your website, you’re better off putting your book sales page on your website instead of on E-junkie. Then you can send potential buyers to your website instead of to E-junkie, where buyers may get distracted by exploring other items for sale on the site.

It took me awhile to figure this out. I initially set up a sales page for my book on E-junkie. The “Buy PDF” link from my website went there. After I wised up, I made the “Buy PDF” link go directly to a page where buyers can enter their PayPal information. The fewer distractions between your buyer and their purchase, the better off you’ll be.

However, if you’re selling a non-specialized, general-interest book, you may benefit from creating a sales page on E-junkie. After all, someone may stumble on it when entering a common search term into E-junkie’s search box.

PDF e-book sales tip 4. Realize that your book won’t sell itself

Remember that famous movie line, “If you build it, they will come”? It typically doesn’t work like that for books. One exception might be my friend selling a PDF textbook. Students must buy the book if they want to pass the class.

For book marketing tips, see my post on “How to market your self-published book: Lessons from my experience.”

E-junkie Q&A

Here are the answers to E-junkie questions I received from my colleague preparing to sell a PDF e-book about a financial topic. I imagine he’s not the only person with these questions.

Q. Have your customers experienced any issues using E-junkie and making payments via PayPal?

A. Only one person has contacted me with a PayPal issue. She wondered if she could make a payment via PayPal using her credit card, even though she lacked a PayPal account. Yes, that was possible.

Q. Have the watermarks been effective to prevent illegal versions of your book from appearing online?

A. I haven’t used the watermarks. I sometimes see my book advertised for free on illegitimate sites. When that happens, I send a DMCA takedown request. I send it first to the offending website. If that doesn’t work, I contact the website host. Here is a template for a DMCA takedown request that I found through the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), one of my professional affiliations. So far, this has always succeeded, although I’ve often had to go to the hosting company. Here’s a link to help you report content that appears via Google. For an overview of your copyright rights, see “Copyright Infringement: What to Do?” on the ASJA’s Grievance Self-Help page.

Q. If you were to do it again, will you again choose E-junkie to publish your books?

A. Yes, unless I found an easier-to-use vendor in the same price range.

Q. How did you hear about E-junkie?

A. I learned about it from two writer friends who sold their self-published books and other products through E-junkie. I trusted them because we both belonged to the same professional associations.

Q. What is the worst experience that you have had working with E-junkie?

A. E-junkie’s customer service is responsive, but they can’t always explain things in terms that non-technical people like me understand. That’s why I delegate my E-junkie work to my VA.

Q. Have you and/or your customers experienced any issues with unsolicited marketing/spam mail through E-junkie?

A. No, not at all.

Q. Is there anything else that you would like us to know about E-junkie before we publish our book on there?

A. I believe you can do a free trial of E-junkie. I suggest you do a trial, set up your product, and make some sales to yourself to see how the process works. You can create a coupon code to obtain your book for free so you don’t have to spend money on the transactions. This kind of test should give you a sense of whether E-junkie works for you.

If you end up selling items or services other than e-books, remember that you can use E-junkie for those sales, too. I’ve set up sales of my coaching services via E-junkie. I’ve thought about selling my financial blogging class or my investment commentary webinar through E-junkie, but I like the nicer landing page and class registration process offered by EventBrite.

Image courtesy of Supertrooper / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Financial blogging tip: Opinion + summary

If you’re a financial advisor who feels too busy to blog, you’ve got lots of company. It takes hours—maybe even days—to craft a finely tuned, completely original, 1,000-word article. RELAX. I’m not suggesting you write a literary masterpiece. I have a financial blogging tip that will save you time.

Short blog posts are fine. Especially when they also express an opinion and give a sense of who you are, two things that are key to attracting readers. You can do both in only 250 to 400 words. That’s as little as one double-spaced page. In fact, this is the length that I recommend to the beginning writers in my writing class, “How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read: A 5-Week Writing Class for Financial Advisors.”

One quick way to achieve this goal is to summarize and express a personal opinion about an article, blog post, or other brief communication.

Here’s a five-step process to write an opinion-plus-summary blog post.

Step 1: Find an article (or other short piece) about which you have strong feelings

At least for me, it has to be a piece to which I have a gut reaction. Like “This is nuts!” or “I love how this writer made the case for deflation.” Here’s a bonus financial blogging tip: It’s a lot easier to blog when you feel passionately about your topic.

Step 2: Identify the points that you want to make about the article

For example, “This is nuts because of reasons #1, #2, and #3.”

Step 3: Write an introduction that summarizes your topic

It should say the following in a few sentences:

The author says X in his article “NAME of ARTICLE with LINK TO IT ONLINE.”
The author makes some good points, but I disagree—or strongly agree—with a certain part of his argument.

Step 4: Summarize the parts of the author’s piece that are relevant to your argument

You don’t have to discuss the whole thing. Be selective. The nice thing about summaries is they’re relatively easy to write. After all, an author has already tried to organize thoughts logically for you. It’s fine to quote the author, but don’t copy too much or you’ll bore your reader and be vulnerable to accusations of copyright violation. For tips about “fair use” of other people’s content, see “Legal danger for financial bloggers: Two misconceptions, three resources, one suggestion.”

Step 5: Inject more of your opinion into the piece

You hinted at your opinion in your introduction. At some point, you’ve got to explain why you feel that way. Where you place your opinions depends on the flow of the blog post. For example, in “‘CFA credential implies a standard of care not always upheld,’ says Forbes opinion piece,” I spent three paragraphs summarizing the article before elaborating on the opinion I’d briefly expressed in my introduction.

Follow the five steps in this financial blogging tip, and you can write compelling blog posts more quickly than your colleagues who begin by staring at a blank monitor.

If you’re interested in learning how to write better financial blog posts, register now for “How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read: A 5-Week Writing Class for Financial Advisors.”

 

This article was originally posted as a guest post on the Wired Advisor blog, which no longer exists in its original form.

Image courtesy of Goldy at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Top posts from the fourth quarter of 2015

Check out my top blog posts from the last quarter! They’re a mix of practical tips on writing (#1, 7, 9), blogging (#2), investment commentary (#3, 6), marketing (#4, 5), social media (#8), and email (#10).

The top three posts benefited from being recommended by other websites.

Donald Trump, grade level, and your financial writing—I was thrilled that Barron’s “Up and Down Wall Street” column quoted from this post with a link to my website. This is a post that I felt passionately about. When I read The Boston Globe‘s article about the presidential candidates’ communication styles, I thought “I must blog about this.”
Blogging the mistakes your clients make—“For all those financial advisors struggling to figure out what to write about on their company blog, Weiner offers up a offers up a remarkably simple and straightforward approach,” says Michael Kitces about this post.
Investment commentary numbers: How to get them right—this post was inspired by trying to help a client think about how to improve his company’s proofreading process. Synthesis Technology interviewed me about this post on the firm’s blog.
Improve your speeches and deepen your family ties
“High net worth” in your financial marketing
Portfolio performance commentary’s basic components
Writing tip: Make your sentences more powerful!—this is a short video.
Hey, loser, quit @ naming people to promote yourself—this post resonated with my Twitter followers who’ve experienced the same annoying phenomenon.
Writing tip: Kill the ST words!
3 ways to make your emails mobile-friendly

If you’re blogging, you should look at your which posts receive the greatest attention.The exercise will help you to learn what attracts readers.

Thank you for visiting my blog and boosting the popularity of these posts!

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Financial content: Ask questions of your readers

Coming up with financial content can be challenging. Where do you get the information to put in whatever you write? Questions are a great source of information for investment and wealth managers’ tweets, blog posts, articles, and even white papers. I recommend that you keep a paper or electronic notepad handy to record questions asked by your clients.

However, sometimes you need a fresh source of inspiration, opinions, and information. It’s time to turn the tables. Ask questions to generate financial content.

1. Ask questions that people can answer with one word

A webinar presenter—I think it was social media strategist Amy Porterfield—suggested boosting Facebook engagement by posing questions that ask for a one-word answer. Because you request little from your audience, it’s easy for them to respond.

Inspired by this idea, I asked on Facebook and in LinkedIn groups for my readers to share one word that defined ideal investment commentary. The volume of replies astonished me. At one point my question was the “Manager’s Choice” on the CFA Institute’s LinkedIn group. It was nice visibility for me. I believe it happened because group members enjoyed the opportunity to express themselves on a topic about which they felt passionately. The group members’ answers broadened and deepened my understanding of my topic.

2. Run an online survey

My readers’ enthusiastic reply to my one-word question about investment commentary inspired me to create an electronic survey about the characteristics of good investment commentary.

Readers’ answers eventually led to “Ideal quarterly investment letters: Meaningful, specific, and short,” a key piece of content on my blog.

I used some open-ended questions in addition to easy-to-answer multiple-choice questions. When you include open-ended questions, you allow your readers to develop original content for you. A meaty blog post can result. However, beware that analyzing the non-quantitative survey results can be time-consuming. While a program like SurveyMonkey can compile the quantitative answers, it can’t sort through text answers. You’ll need to evaluate the meaning of the answers and identify the best material yourself.

In the compliance-sensitive world of financial services, I find that people like the anonymity of online surveys. They feel free to express themselves in ways they’d shun if they needed approval from a compliance officer. This can spark colorful quotes.

When you write about what your readers say, you give them a voice. This helps you to build a sense of community with them. Reader-generated content also adds a sense of authenticity to what you write. This is especially true when you include direct quotes.

3. Run a multiple-choice poll

“I voted ‘yes’ on your poll.” Back in the days when I ran a poll in my monthly newsletter, my newsletter readers have often mentioned my polls when I meet them one-on-one. If you publish the poll results only in your e-newsletter, as I used to do, you give readers an incentive to subscribe. That’s always a plus.

Like the one-word-answer technique, multiple-choice polls don’t require much effort for people to answer, which boosts participation.

I often enable readers to add their own responses to the polls, rather than choosing from those I’ve listed. I’ve received some good insights from allowing them this freedom.

By the way, consider testing your poll on a member of your target audience before you release it. Your instructions or questions may not be as clear as you think. I think I’m a clear writer, but my outside readers have helped me to refine my questions for better results.

4. Start discussions on social media

Posing a question on LinkedIn or other social media is a great way to collect content. I especially like doing this on LinkedIn because all of the answers are collected in one place. Also, one person’s response often sparks another.

When a social media question inspires a lively conversation, that says that the topic is worthy of a blog post. It’s likely to be shared widely.

“Career strategies for wealth managers without a book of business” is essentially a compilation of answers that LinkedIn members posted in response to a question. I quoted only LinkedIn Group members who gave me their permission since I posted my question on a members-only group. If you post on a public group, then technically you don’t need to ask permission. However, I think it’s the right thing to do, unless you explicitly warn people in your original post that you are looking for quotes.

5. Ask “What do you want to read?” at every opportunity

You can ask clients, prospects, referral sources, and social media connections “What do you want to read?” Also, “What’s your opinion on that?” The people whom you ask will be flattered you asked for their opinion.

More ideas for generating financial content

By the way, for another perspective on using surveys and questions, read “3 Ways to Create Highly Valuable Blog Content” on the Social Media Examiner blog.

You can learn even more ideas for generating financial writing topics and content when you sign up for my class, “How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read: A 5-Week Writing Class for Financial Advisors.” The next session starts in February 2016.

What do you want to read?

Of course, I’d like to learn more about YOUR interests. Please leave a comment suggesting topics for future blog posts.

 

This post originally appeared in a slightly different form on the Wired Advisor blog, which no longer exists in its original form.

Image courtesy of mapichai / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Boost Twitter exposure from your blog

I want to shake some financial bloggers and yell, “Why are you giving up Twitter exposure from your blog?”

That’s the reaction I have every time I click a “tweet this” link on a blog post and the auto-generated tweet fails to state the blogger’s Twitter name. That’s an example of “What NOT to do.” If someone visits your website and shares your blog post using this kind of auto-generated tweet, you’re not maximizing your benefit from their generosity.

Sure, your blog post will get more exposure from an auto-generated tweet that consists simply of TITLE plus LINK. However, the person who shares your content is unlikely to take the time to research your Twitter name and add it to the auto-generated tweet. As a result, you’re missing an opportunity to get Twitter exposure for your name and to pick up Twitter followers.

It’s true that a tweet reader could click through to your blog and then look around to find your Twitter name. But it’s not likely. In fact, the tweet reader who doesn’t navigate to your post may instead associate your blog post topic with the person who tweeted your link—instead of you. That’s a shame if you’re trying to build visibility for your investment, wealth management, or financial planning firm.

Boost your Twitter exposure by doing this

Here’s an example of what your auto-generated tweet should look like (yellow highlighting added by me):

My key point? The auto-generated tweet includes @susanweiner, my Twitter name. You can include your Twitter name automatically in tweets generated using your blog’s social sharing plug-in. That’s what I had my web guy set up. This expands my Twitter exposure without my doing any extra work.

Someone who sees “via @susanweiner” may click on my Twitter name to follow me. Even if they don’t take that action, my name may subtly register in their head so they start to recognize me as an expert on financial blogging.

If you’re a financial advisor who blogs about topics that interest potential clients, please make it as easy as possible for them to follow you on Twitter. More Twitter exposure boosts that likelihood that someday a prospect will contact you to learn more about your services. That’s what you want, right?

Check your sharing plug-in’s capability. Act now and enjoy better social media shares for years to come.

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What’s your financial blogging sweet spot?

How can you find the “sweet spot” for your financial blog? It’s worth seeking, as I explain below.

Sweet spot as starting point

Let’s start with the definition of sweet spot in Joe Pulizzi’s Content Inc: How Entrepreneurs Use Content To Build Massive Audiences and Create Radically Successful Businesses.

A sweet spot

is the intersection of a knowledge or skill set (something the entrepreneur or business has a competency in) and a passion area (something the entrepreneur or business feels is of great value to him or her personally or to society at large.

As an investment or wealth management professional, you have many areas of expertise. But the areas you feel passionately about are probably fewer. Narrow in on passions to identify your financial blogging sweet spot. You’re more likely to be able to sustain your blog. Plus, your passion will attract more readers.

If you work for a large company, you may not enjoy the luxury of focusing on a topic you’re passionate about. Pulizzi has a suggestion for you:

In these cases, replace passion with a customer pain point.

Complement sweet spot with content tilt

Once you find your financial blogging sweet spot, Pulizzi suggests you identify your content tilt. In other words, “find a problem area that no one else is solving and exploit that area with content.”

How do you know if you’ve found a powerful tilt? Try this test, proposed by Pulizzi:

Let’s say someone rounded up all of your content and placed it in a box, like it never existed. Would anyone miss it? Would you leave a gap in the marketplace?

If your answer is “yes,” you’ve succeeded.

Check out Pulizzi’s book for helping finding your financial blogging sweet spot and more

You can learn more about sweet spots and content tilts in Pulizzi’s book.

I think that larger firms will find Pulizzi’s book most helpful because they have the staff and resources to take advantage more of his suggestions.

 

Disclosure: Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from McGraw-Hill in return for agreeing to write about it. Also, if you click on an Amazon link in this post and then buy something, I will receive a small commission. I only link to books in which I find some value for my blog’s readers.

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Financial ads and we vs. you

“We are great. Hire us.” That’s the gist of many financial ads that I see. They could be for a small financial planning firm, a wealth manager, or even an institutional money manager.

Emphasizing “we” and “us” isn’t the way to go. If you’ve attended any of my writing presentations, you know I’m a big believer in the power of “you.”

However, using “we” isn’t always bad in financial ads.

I like how Bessemer Trust combined “we” with “your money” in the ad excerpt you see below. The firm puts the ad’s emphasis on the reader, not the firm.

Also, this wording is more persuasive than the gazillion financial ads and websites that simply say, “We are fiduciaries so we put your interests first.” A fiduciary blurb requires me to trust you. The Bessemer ad gives me a reason to believe.

There’s text in smaller print that supports the headline that I’ve reproduced above. For example, “Have you ever wondered if your investment advisers would behave differently if it were their own money they were investing?”

I also like Bessemer’s use of plain language in this ad. It has no jargon.

I wish I could show you the full text of this ad, which I tore out of The Wall Street Journal. But I can’t find it online. However, you can read another post, “’Smart people’: A good ad by Bessemer Trust.”

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Blogging the mistakes your clients make

Looking for something to blog about—and an easy way to organize your post? Find inspiration for blog posts in “The Mistakes Charitable Startups Make,” a Wall Street Journal article that’s called “Starting a Charity? Here’s What To Do, and What Not To Do” in the online edition.

Blogging mistakes effectively: Copy the formula

Here’s the basic formula:

You do these good things
As you do these good things, you may make common mistakes
Mistakes and their fixes

Mistake 1 and its fix

Mistake 2 and its fix

Mistake 3 and its fix

Mistake 4 and its fix

Part I: You do these good things

It’s good to start with something positive your clients do. It gives them a chance to feel good about themselves.

The Wall Street Journal‘s article kicks off with “People who are passionate about a cause typically have several options.” One of them is starting a nonprofit, the article’s focus.

You can substitute any activity your clients feel passionately about. For example,

Teaching their children to spend money wisely
Creating corporate benefits that boost employee morale and retention
Leaving a legacy for future generations
Planning to travel in retirement

Part II: You may make common mistakes

Teach your clients that their activities may come with challenges. You don’t need to scare the heck out of them. Just give them an incentive to keep reading.

The Wall Street Journal article says the following:

Starting and running a nonprofit is a complicated business, and one that nonprofit experts say individuals all too often seriously underestimate—from raising money and choosing the right board members to filing paperwork correctly. Such shortcomings can lead to costly mistakes, ultimate failures, and sometimes even lawsuits against well-meaning but nevertheless unprepared philanthropists.

Part III: Mistakes and their fixes

After quickly attracting your readers’ attention, provide them with a list of problems and their solutions.

The Wall Street Journal sets off each problem with a heading. For example, THE MISTAKE: Not doing your research or THE MISTAKE: Underestimating the paperwork.

After identifying the problem in a heading, you can quickly explain it. Or, you can follow the Journal‘s example by telling a story of an individual who grappled with the problem. The author of the charitable startup article interviewed people. You may have stories from your clients, colleagues, or personal experience.

Next, explain the solution. The Wall Street Journal makes it easy for readers to find the solutions by adding a heading saying THE FIX.

Wrap up your post

The newspaper story ends with the conclusion of the last mistake-fix pair. You can do the same. However, if your blog post tackles one of your areas of expertise, consider adding what’s known as a “call to action.” A call to action urges the reader to take another step.

Imagine you blogged about “Mistakes People Make When Retiring to Costa Rica.” Your call to action might be “Click to download our report about ‘Managing Your Finances from Costa Rica,'” “Sign up for our webinar on ‘Living in Costa Rica,” or “Call us to discuss how we can ease your transition to Costa Rica.”

Blogging mistakes that your clients can make can turn their mistakes into your success.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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