Guest post: “Peter Lynch Went Grocery Shopping With Me At Whole Foods The Other Day”

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I chuckled, and then I thought, I must ask this author to guest-blog for me, after I heard some of the blog post titles−for example, “How A Threesome Can Improve Your Retirement“− created by Ted Jenkin, co-CEO and founder of oXYGen Financial. I’m glad his co-CEO Kile Lewis introduced us at an FPA Experience cocktail party so Ted can share with you his ideas about how to come up with catchy titles.

Peter Lynch Went Grocery Shopping With Me

At Whole Foods The Other Day

By Ted Jenkin

For the past three years, I have been an avid personal finance blogger discussing everything from managing your wealth to mitigating your tax liability. No matter how substantive the topics I wrote about in the personal finance sector, the big question was whether someone would actually read my content. As bloggers, we often believe that our most recent post will change the lives of millions, but in reality only a handful of people may click through your e-mailed link to read your weekly blog post. The art of creating effective titles is incredibly important because if your title and opening paragraph are catchy and interesting, your readers are more inclined to check out the rest of the article.

Take the title I opened up with in this article. Did it make you at least a little bit curious about what happened when Peter Lynch went grocery shopping with me at Whole Foods the other day? Or did you think that it couldn’t possibly be true that he actually went grocery shopping with me? Perhaps I won some sort of investment contest to get the great Peter Lynch to go grocery shopping with me. In all seriousness, what I would have written about in an article like this where I threw a catchy title like that at you is how picking stocks in companies you know is better than choosing ones that you don’t know. The article would have gone on to discuss the importance of believing in the brands you buy, and said that perhaps some of your next best stock buys are the very items that you put in your grocery cart when you go to the market. It worked 30 years ago for Peter Lynch in his prime and that philosophy probably wouldn’t be a bad one to apply in today’s rocky stock market environment.

So here are three tips from one blogger to another about my thoughts on how to write catchy titles:

  1. THINK THE ENQUIRER– As the saying goes, “Enquiring minds want to know.” But it’s more like people want the dirty laundry gossip about what is going on in the lives of others. What the National Enquirer does in a most brilliant fashion is to deliver hard-hitting titles that make you want to pick up a copy at the store while checking out your groceries. Top stories during the week that I wrote this post included LATIFAH WILL DROP LESBIAN CONFESSION ON LIVE-TV, MILEY CRUSHING FOR PORN STAR!, and IS IT TRUE WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT DIANE SAWYER, BOOZY or BEAT? If you saw Diane Sawyer after the election, you surely might read the Boozy or Beat article. I know I would pay a $1.00 just to check that one out. The first point of writing good lead-ins to your blog posts is to make sure you hit your audience hard with something that may get them engaged in the first paragraph.
  2. LATE NIGHT GOOGLING– The second idea behind writing smart headlines for your blogs is to think about how people may go about searching for your content. One of the interesting things about human beings when they begin to Google is often they aren’t 100% certain what they are really looking for when they begin searching on Google. So, using intros in your headlines with phrases like “How To,” “Top 10,” and “Big Mistakes” are all beginnings to how a person may search for content. Remember that Google likes to index popular searches so try typing in a few different phrases around the content of the article you are writing to grab some ideas. This may also allow your article to rise to page one more quickly within a Google search.
  3. SEX SELLS- Whether or not you like to admit it, everyone quickly perks up when they see something hot and steamy. This is why public sex scandals and extracurricular activities become so viral in the news we read every day. How many of you quickly homed in on the recent story of David Petraeus, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, getting busted for having an extramarital affair? Would you open an article with the headline that read, “CIA Director Wants More Than Just A Google Hangout?” I recently incorporated a great “sex sells” headline in an article I wrote about pensions: “How A Threesome Can Improve Your Retirement.“ The title raised some eyebrows but got my emails more than a 50% open rate.

If you are a frequent blogger, writing ongoing content can be a challenging process especially when you’ve written more than 500 to 1,000 posts. Sometimes, if you can create yourself a juicy headline it can actually spur on the creative writing process to produce a really high quality piece of content your readers will enjoy. You don’t have to draw people in by telling them you were abducted by space aliens, but it doesn’t hurt to drop a little Kim Kardashian or Britney Spears . . . As long as you aren’t exposing any body parts 🙂

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oXYGen Financial, Inc. co-CEO Ted Jenkin is one of the foremost knowledgeable professionals in giving financial advice to the X and Y Generation.

TED JENKIN IS SECURITIES LICENSED THROUGH INVESTACORP, INC. A REGISTERED BROKER/DEALER MEMBER FINRA, SIPC. ADVISORY SERVICES OFFERED THROUGH INVESTACORP ADVISORY SERVICES, INC. A SEC REGISTERED INVESTMENT ADVISORY FIRM. Linked sites are strictly provided as a courtesy. Investacorp, Inc., and its affiliates, do not guarantee, approve nor endorse the information or products available at these sites nor do links indicate any association with or endorsement of the linked sites by Investacorp, Inc. and its affiliates.

Happy Thanksgiving! I’m thankful for…

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Dear readers, Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that you have a wonderful holiday.

I’m thankful for you, my readers. You’ve inspired my writing with your ideas, your responses to my “Reader Challenges” and polls, and your questions. You’ve supported me from the very beginning, signing up to receive my e-newsletter that eventually grew into my blog and social media presence. Some of you have taken my blogging class, attended my presentations, hired me as a writer or editor, recommended me to colleagues or on LinkedIn, or shared my work online.

I’m also grateful for social media. LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook have made it easier for me to reach and chat with you. An introvert like me couldn’t have touched as many people in the days before social media.

I appreciate your support. Thank you!

Guest post: Please, Without All That Jargon, What is “Search Engine Optimization”?

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Search engine optimization expert Marcia Morgan and I met after a trusted friend recommended her services for one of my clients. I was impressed by how clearly Marcia explained SEO, so I asked her to share her explanation on my blog.

Please, Without All That Jargon, What is “Search Engine Optimization”?

By Marcia Morgan

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is all about helping Google and Bing (the big Internet search engines) determine which pages to display when someone types in a phrase like “financial advisor.”

You want Google to find your web site and display your web pages ahead of the other 179,000,000 pages that Google finds with content that has to do with “financial advisor.”  Imagine for a moment sitting in a third grade classroom. Your teacher asks a question, you have the answer, and you want to stand out among the dozens of other classmates all raising their hands, all screaming, “PICK ME! PICK ME!”  That’s how it is with SEO.

So how do you do it?

  1. Recognize that Google uses 200+ different factors to determine which page results to display. Some of these factors are in your control, some are not.  Google constantly refines these factors or “algorithms” so they can deliver the most “relevant” and most helpful information to the person searching. The most important criteria appear to be:
    1. Location of the person searching. Local results are often displayed first, depending on the topic.
    2. Quality of the web site. Trusted, higher traffic sites come first.
    3. Relevancy of the content.  Does the term “financial advisor” appear in all of the places where Google looks?
    4. Freshness of the content. Google considers sites with new content to be more relevant than sites whose last update was a year ago.
  2. Optimize each page on your site. “Optimize” in the SEO world means making sure each page on your site is about a unique topic and then telling Google what those topics are so they can grab the most relevant pages when someone goes looking. This is completely in your control.
    1. Decide what each page is about. Every page should be about something unique, and you should not repeat content from page to page.
    2. Ask an SEO expert to do some keyword research to determine how many people are searching about those topics. This will help you prioritize and organize page themes.
    3. Decide where on your web site you want people to go when they search for a topic. If you do retirement planning, you will want to have a page about Retirement Planning so that people who search will arrive on that page, not the home page.
    4. Try to add images and/or video that supports the content of each page.
    5. Ask someone familiar with SEO to write the meta tags and file names. That person will also make appropriate edits to the copy so Google will agree that you have relevant content.
    6. When your SEO expert is done optimizing, make sure your webmaster submits a new sitemap to Google and Bing so your pages get found more quickly.

Since the process of optimizing your site is technical, seek help from a trusted consultant. Your role should be to stand in front of your web site like a teacher in front of a classroom and decide which pages on your site have the right answers to a web visitor’s questions.

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Marcia Morgan, owner of Contract Marketing, is located in Manchester, NH. You can find her at www.contractmarketingnh.com for SEO Consulting.

FAQ: “How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read: A 5-Lesson Writing Class for Financial Advisors”

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Are you a financial professional, writer, or marketer with questions about whether “How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read: A 5-Lesson Writing Class for Financial Advisors” will work for you?

You’ll find answers to common questions below. Do you have questions I haven’t answered below? Leave them as a comment or call me at 617-969-4509.

Q. Is this a webinar?

A. No, it’s a relatively low-tech approach. Students told me they enjoyed not being tied to their computer during the lecture part of the class. This reinforced my instinct to keep the technology simple.

Q. How are classes taught?

You will download audio files to listen to when it’s convenient for you.

A. Each of the classes consists of a recorded audio file (.mp3 format) and a handout (.pdf or Word file) for you to print or view on-screen, complemented by homework assignments, discussion posted to a private website, and a weekly telephone conference call. You’ll download the files from the private website, and then review the lesson at your convenience. You will post your homework assignment and any questions to the private website. You will receive my feedback through the website.

You’ll use a private discussion forum to access materials and share your homework.

 

Register for How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read: A 5-Week Writing Teleclass for Financial Advisors in Once-a-week telephone conference call for 5 weeks, April 22-May 20 on Eventbrite

Q. What if I don’t see myself as a “financial advisor”? Can I still take your class?

A. I use the term “financial advisor” as shorthand for my target audience, which includes employees of investment, wealth management, and financial planning firms as well as the vendors who support them. You could be a marketer or writer, not just a financial professional.

Register for How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read: A 5-Week Writing Teleclass for Financial Advisors in Once-a-week telephone conference call for 5 weeks, April 22-May 20 on Eventbrite

Q. I can’t commit to a class that meets at a specific time. Will you work around my schedule?

A. I’ve tweaked the class format so you can listen to the class on YOUR schedule, not mine.

  1. Lessons are prerecorded. This way, you can listen when it’s convenient for you.
  2. You can post your homework–and receive my individualized feedback–any time between the posting of the lesson and two weeks following the end of the five-lesson series. Students who did their homework and then revised it following my feedback told me that doing the homework–and getting my feedback–was incredibly valuable.
  3. Class discussion sessions will be recorded and may be downloaded. Listening to a recording isn’t the same as participating “live” but at least you’ll hear your classmates’ questions and comments.

You can save all the audio and handout files to give yourself a refresher course months or even years after your formal training ends.

Register for How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read: A 5-Week Writing Teleclass for Financial Advisors in Once-a-week telephone conference call for 5 weeks, April 22-May 20 on Eventbrite

Q. Why is the class limited to 16 students?

A. You’ll learn more when you get the personal attention that comes with a small class. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to ask questions during our group telephone calls. Plus, you’ll get written feedback on your homework assignments.

Register for How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read: A 5-Week Writing Teleclass for Financial Advisors in Once-a-week telephone conference call for 5 weeks, April 22-May 20 on Eventbrite

Q. Do we get any live interaction with you and other students?

A.  Yes, there will be five live conference calls on at least five dates. These calls will focus on your comments and questions. They will be recorded in case you can’t attend “live.”

Register for How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read: A 5-Week Writing Teleclass for Financial Advisors in Once-a-week telephone conference call for 5 weeks, April 22-May 20 on Eventbrite

Q. What do students say about your class?

A.

You’ll find more recommendations if you scroll down the registration form for the class.

Register TODAY to learn a step-by-step process to

  • Generate and refine ideas for blog posts that will engage your readers
  • Organize your thoughts before you write, so you can write more quickly and effectively
  • Edit your writing, so it’s reader-friendly and appealing

Finding easy-to-follow formulas for your blog posts

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WSJ formual“Are there writing formulas I can follow?” This question from one of my blogging class students popped into my head as I read a Wall Street Journal article.

Find formulas in newspapers

If you’re an analytical, formula-loving blogger, then turn your eyes to The Wall Street Journal or another newspaper. You’ll find great models there. I especially like newspapers as models because their articles are short and typically get to the point right away. This is perfect for financial blog posts.

Formula: Summary + examples + explanation

“U.S. Profit Streak Hit by Global Weakness” on the Wall Street Journal‘s front page on July 30, 2012, suggested a formula to me. Start your article with a short summary statement. Follow it with short examples. Then dive into explanation.

Here’s how it looks in the article.

Intro: Bid adieu to growing profits.

Short examples: Slowing economies from the U.S. to China, increasingly wary shoppers, recession in much of Europe and a stronger dollar…

Explanation: Until Friday, the outlook had been for further growth in earnings. But forecasts are now turning negative…

Does this formula work for you?

If you use this formula, I’d like to see examples of your work. Please post them below.

By the way, if you like this post, you might also like “Make your writing easier with my fill-in-the-blanks approach for structuring articles.”

Escape your fears: A writing topic for financial advisors

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“That guy looks like he wants to escape,” I yelled to my husband. I was joking about the stuffed animal trying to climb over fencestuffed animal climbing up the fence along the Ashuwillticook bicycle trail. However, the sight made me think about how appealing escape is for most people.

You can offer escape in your blog posts. To pick your topic, just fill in the blank for what you can help readers escape. It could be escape from debt, stock market volatility, or anything else that worries your readers.

Put “escape” in your title so it’s clear what you’re offering.

What kind of escape do you offer?

Please share a link to your financial blog post exploring this theme.

For cyclists who escape to western Massachusetts

If you ever get a chance to bicycle in the Berkshire Hills, I recommend the bicycling the Ashuwillticook trailAshuwillticook Rail Trail from Adams to Cheshire where I saw the “escapee” of this blog post. This pleasant trail runs along water most of the way. You may hear spring peeper frogs as my husband and I did. The Daily Grind in Adams makes a good reuben sandwich.

How a blogging buddy can help your financial planning or investment blog

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Inseparable: 2 cats

photo: ljcybergal

Accountability works. You’re probably familiar with the benefits of the accountability imposed by a financial plan or investment policy statement. So, here are suggestions for how to make a blogging buddy work for you – and for your buddy, too. This is an idea I’ve discussed in “Blogging buddies: Financial bloggers’ secret weapons.” I see three potential areas of focus for blogging buddies:

  1. Deadlines
  2. Brainstorming
  3. Feedback

Deadlines

Sometimes simply telling someone else that you’ll post to your blog at regular intervals–for example, every other Tuesday–can make a difference. Scheduling a celebratory email saying “I did it!” can reinforce positive behavior. On the other hand, your buddy’s friendly “Where is it?” may stop you from getting too far behind.

Brainstorming

Every blogger feels stuck sometimes. Perhaps you can’t think of a topic for next week’s post. Or maybe you’re struggling with how to explain a complex topic.

Having a friendly person to act as your sounding board can help you break through. I suggest you identify your biggest challenge and talk it through with your buddy. That may inspire you with new ideas. Plus, your buddy can add her or his thoughts.

Feedback

It’s hard for writers to look objectively at their own drafts. Third-party feedback is valuable.

Here are some questions to help you give and solicit good feedback:

  1. What did you like about this blog post?
  2. What’s your sense of the audience this will appeal to and why it will appeal?
  3. Is there anything confusing or difficult in this draft?
  4. Is the vocabulary appropriate for my audience?
  5. Did you notice any typos or other mistakes?
  6. Does this make you think of other topics for future blog posts?

You can customize your question list based on your needs.

Has a blogging buddy worked for you?

If you’ve experimented with a blogging buddy, I’m curious to hear about your experience. Please share.

I have a goals buddy instead of a blogging buddy. Her perspective and support have helped me conquer many challenges. She is a writer in a noncompeting field. I hope you also find a great buddy.

 

InvestmentWriting.com is one of “7 Financial Advisory Blogs that Rock”

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What a delight! The Investment Writing blog has been named one of “7 Financial Advisory Blogs that Rock” on the ClientWise blog.

My blog was singled out for its “mission to bring clarity to the sometimes arcane and confusing world of financial writing, especially when done by financial advisors, investment advisors and wealth managers.”

More financial blogs that rock

I’m honored to be in the company of outstanding bloggers named by this ClientWise post. They include

What YOU can share with another winning blogger

One of the seven bloggers who rock has taken my blogging class tailored to financial advisors. You can, too. But you’d better act soon. The class starts May 16. I don’t plan to offer it again until 2013. Plus, I plan to raise the price significantly next time.

Register now for “How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read: A 5-Lesson Writing Class for Financial Advisors.“

Identifying “WHAT PROBLEM does this blog post solve for them?”

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“What problem do you solve for your clients?” Knowing what problem your blog post solves for your potential clients is one key to writing powerful blog posts.
This is typically one of the hardest questions for students in my blogging class to answer when they fill out their Blog Post Preparation Worksheet. If you fall into this group, it may help to imagine yourself in your readers’ shoes.

How would your target reader complete the following sentences?

  1. My problem is…and you’re going to solve it by…
  2. My problem is…and it’s keeping me from…
  3. I’m worried about…

Here’s my problem statement  for my blogging class for financial advisors:

My problem is that it takes too darned long−or it’s too hard−to write great blog posts. You−Susan−are going to solve my problem by showing me some techniques I can use to write faster and better.

Here’s a sample from the financial planning world, along with my rewrite:

1.    ORIGINAL: My problem is how to save for college.

2.    RE-WRITE: My problem is that I don’t know anything about how much my kids’ college education will cost and you can help me figure that out and also assess how best to save for it.

Does this help? Let me know if you have questions.

Blogging lessons from Investment Writing Spotlight

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“Investment Writing Spotlight,” my critiques of financial blog posts, disappeared when Facebook eliminated its Discussion tab. However, its lessons live on in this list of recommendations that I made on some of my volunteers’ blog posts.

1. Identify your topic, and possibly your audience in your title

Your title can attract or repel your audience. Catchy titles perform better when they also at least hint at your topic. If you’re writing about the challenges of a narrow audience—for example, municipal pension administrators in the state of Illinois—it’s good to work that into your title. If that makes your title too long, then put it in your introduction.

2. Focus on “you” the client, not “we” the firm

People love to read about themselves, as I’ve said many times before. So, use “you” in your blog posts and write from the client’s perspective on your topic. Make sure you identify the benefit of the topic to your client.

Focusing on the client also means challenging some of your assumptions. Explain some of the vocabulary and relationships that are clear to you. They may mystify your clients.

3. Make your content easy to skim

Everybody’s busy, so make it easier for readers to capture your main points by using, as appropriate

  • Headings that make points rather than just noting topics
  • Topic sentences that convey each paragraph’s main point
  • Short paragraphs
  • Bullet points

4. Edit yourself

Strong topic sentences are a great framework, but you may still be able to strengthen your paragraphs by

  • Deleting or minimizing information that doesn’t support your topic sentence
  • Deleting excess words
  • Shortening sentences or varying sentence length

Thank you, blogger volunteers!

The folks who volunteered their blog posts for my critique were extremely gracious, so I’d like to thank them with links to their blogs and Twitter accounts.