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Back from NAPFA's Spring Conference
As usual, I had a great time at the latest NAPFA conference. It was held in Austin, Texas, which gave me the opportunity to explore the lovely Hill Country around Fredericksburg.
Speaker Curt Steinhorst made me think about ways to more effectively focus my attention. He encourages dedicating a physical location to specific tasks or devices. That made me think that perhaps I should stop checking social media on my desktop computer and focus on writing. Or perhaps not, as I use social media for research and marketing my services. You can read Steinhorst's take on how advisors can attract the attention of clients and prospects in the April NAPFA Advisor.
Consultant
Angie Herbers
discussed how millennials will influence advisor marketing. For one thing, she said, millennials aren't delegators, so you need to provide more education to attract their attention.
I was encouraged by positive feedback on my work by multiple people. One attendee told me, "You've changed the way I approach writing." Another attendee said that when people ask how she blogs so successfully, she attributes her success to my financial blogging book. I also received compliments on my work as editor of the NAPFA Advisor, NAPFA's monthly magazine.
On a more nitty-gritty marketing note, Ben Birken and Roger Pine, presented an informative and ent
ertaining
live podcast on creating a podcast
. Dave O'Brien, the president-elect of NAPFA who podcasts on behalf of his firm, shared his perspective on podcasting for clients and prospects. The Zebra Smash podcast targets financial advisors (and offers continuing education credit).
For additional podcasting tips, if you're a NAPFA member, you can read Pine and Birken's top five tips for starting a podcast on p. 18 of the February 2018
NAPFA Advisor
. The magazine ran Kirk Lowe's "Podcast publishing for performance" in June 2018. (Sorry, those 2018 articles are accessible only to NAPFA members, but Kirk's blog contains several
posts about podcasting
.)
Are you a madman when you write?
My friend, fellow writer Eric Menn, shared an interesting post with me: John Kim's "4 Personalities of Writing: Madman, Architect, Carpenter, Judge" about the different approaches that writers should take at different stages of the writing process. Kim's post is based on the work of writing expert Bryan Garner, whom I respect.
Recent topics
During the past month I've blogged about e-newsletters, grammar, and writing inspiration. You can read the start of my post about "Must you be inspired to write?" below.
I've been writing and editing for clients on topics such as asset allocation, diversity, factor investing, financial psychology, and recruiting. Also, with help from my colleagues, I'm working on a blog post about compliance that will include helpful tips for writers whose work must be reviewed by a compliance professional.
Summer plans?
What are your plans for the summer? If your work load eases during the Northern Hemisphere's summer months, consider signing up for one of my on-demand classes. I offer a webinar on "How to Write Investment Commentary People Will Read" and a five-lesson class on "How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read." Both educational experiences are tailored to the interests of people like you. If you want to learn about any new webinars or events, make sure your newsletter subscription includes my Events mailings (or email me to add you to the Events list).
Assuming you're in the Northern Hemisphere, I hope your summer gets off to a great start! Best wishes also to my Southern Hemisphere subscribers!
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Must you be inspired to write?
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Although most psychologists and writing teachers distrust the Romantic notion of an inspiration that is separate from skill or hard work, and doubt the claim that one can write at one's best only when "in the mood," so many professional writers take these notions seriously that perhaps we should too. After all, psychologists, as opposed to professional writers, are not known for writing well.
I don't know that I'm ever truly inspired. After all, I write about mundane topics on my blog, and for my client work, it's mainly a matter of organizing material logically. However, it's easier for me to blog when an idea strikes. For example, the Flaherty quote that I share above made me think, "This could be a blog post!" I promptly grabbed the legal pad that's often at my side when I read. I immediately started scribbling.
Experiences like this are why I agree with Flaherty's advice that:
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Visit my blog!
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Looking for more practical tips for your marketing and writing?
Visit my blog
to read my latest posts!
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"
I like working with Susan. She's smart, she's sharp, she knows our industry very well and she writes very well. I feel I'm not very strong at writing, so it was a good combination to work with her
."
Photo Credit: Dave Dugdale via Compfight cc
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INVESTMENT COMMENTARY
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