Tag: Wendy J. Cook Communications

Introducing: Set It & (Almost) Forget It

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Are you a fee-only, independent financial advisor, hoping to boost your marketing and communication efforts in 2023? Maybe you don’t want to become the next big Internet sensation. But you would like the right people to get to know you and your firm as a voice of financial reason.

For that, it makes good business sense to publish a periodic e-newsletter, amplify your outreach through some SEO-friendly blog posts, and mix in a measure of targeted social media.

What’s been stopping you so far?

  1. Commitment: There are only so many hours in the day. As a financial advisor, you’d rather spend most of them actually advising your clients.
  2. Control: You don’t want to lose control of your message, or replace your own evidence-based investing and financial insights with generic spew that doesn’t even sound like you.
  3. Compliance: You don’t want to run afoul on compliance concerns.
  4. Costs: You don’t have unlimited funds for getting it done.

If you’ve been hampered by these hurdles, let’s introduce you to your favorite new find for 2023, coming to you from Wendy J. Cook Communications and Social Seed Marketing:

What Is “Set It & (Almost) Forget It”?

Tailored to suit independent, fee-only financial advisors, Set It & (Almost) Forget It is a creative alliance between two seasoned financial service providers:

Wendy J. Cook Communications (WJCC): Since 2009, we’ve been offering writing, editing, and related services crafted exclusively for evidence-based investment advisors (think Fama-French model, asset-class investing). This includes a robust Content-Sharing Library of timely and timeless materials to help advisors share evidence-based investing and related financial insights in conversational terms.

Social Seed Marketing (SSM): Social Seed Marketing launched in 2017 to offer content and ongoing digital marketing support to a range of service providers. Shortly after, SSM owner Catherine Tidd decided to work solely with financial planners to address their overwhelming need to create and distribute engaging content. Today, the SSM team excels at helping financial practices grow their brand, and advance their meaningful work as financial planners.

How Does It Work?

Your experience begins with a complimentary 30-minute consultation with a Social Seed Marketing specialist, so we can get to know your needs. After that, your Set It & (Almost) Forget It package includes:

  • Blog posts: Your SSM team will handpick pieces from the WJCC Content-Sharing Library and post them to your website blog twice per month.
  • Newsletters: We’ll also use the content to produce and distribute your custom-branded monthly newsletter.
  • Graphic Appeal: We’ll include two custom graphics per month, tailored to appeal to your ideal audience.
  • Social engagement: Based on your preferences and audience, we’ll post commentary on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn three–five times per week.
  • SEO: We’ll apply best-practice SEO strategies to your communications.
  • Compliance: We will work with your compliance department to secure necessary approvals. You’ll also have the opportunity to review each piece prior to posting.
  • Customization: You are welcome to supplement our efforts with posts or activities of your own.

What Does It Cost?

What Do We Mean by ALMOST Forget It?

Until now, advisors like you have had limited choices for your marketing & communications support. You could incur the costs of a full-service, personal marketing team. You could make do with budget-minded generic products. Or you could do it yourself.

Set It & (Almost) Forget It is different. By combining quality content with a semi-tailored delivery, we make it as easy as possible for you to send meaningful messages to your clients and prospects, with a solution that still fits your budget and compliance requirements. Our goal is to strike just the right balance between too much and not enough support.

Also, while the program almost runs itself, we do NOT remove you from the loop entirely. The SEC and other regulators want you to keep an eye on your third-party service providers like us … and so do we. So, we’ve also bundled in safeguards to help you and your compliance team maintain control over your communications, without sacrificing excess time out of your busy day.

Ready to Learn More?

Schedule a consultation today …

Schedule a Consultation

Introducing Wendy’s Wares: Sweet New Goodies from Me to You

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© Can Stock Photo / hikrcn

I’m no economist. But if I were, I have a feeling I’d be noticing in numbers what I’m seeing in person among the advisors I serve:

You’ve been stepping up your marketing and communication efforts with renewed zest this year.

Good for you (and your new and existing clients)!

Me too. I’ve been riding the wave of an energizing new year myself. Today, I am delighted to introduce WENDY’S WARES, a new service to help you spread your own good news with greater clarity. (I also will continue to provide my Content-Sharing Library as well as select custom-writing engagements.)

What’s Wendy’s Wares?

The right wording is always important. But an appealing design entices people to actually read it. That’s the inspiration behind Wendy’s Wares, where I’ve married my writing services with polished, professional design. The results? Customizable handouts tailored for you and your evidence-based advisor messaging.

What Wares Are Available?

(1) Your Advisor Firm Fact Sheet

For $250 USD, you’ll receive:

  • A high-resolution PDF file you can use as an online infographic or print as an 8 1/2″ x 11″ handout (printing not included)
  • Custom-branded with your logo, primary brand color
  • Mix-and-match sections can be added or removed to best reflect your key points of differentiation
  • Personalized content and legal disclosure language
Click to learn more

Continue reading “Introducing Wendy’s Wares: Sweet New Goodies from Me to You” →

Coming Out Blinking

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Grumpy grizzly bear
© Can Stock Photo / dcwcreations

If you’ve been plenty busy with your own challenges and opportunities lately, you may not have noticed a dearth of blog posts from me in 2020.

But, hey, it’s 2021 now! And buried under the more startling events of the week, I quietly marked the anniversary of 12 years in business as Wendy J. Cook Communications, LLC on January 5. Yay.

So, let’s get back to it, shall we? In a year characterized by so many plans that didn’t happen, here are a few of the things I did instead in 2020:

Indulging

COVID-19 was as good an excuse as any to hunker down with some classic favorites. I spent a lot more time reading, for work and pleasure. I’d forgotten how much I love reading just for reading’s sake. Also sleeping more. With fitness centers closed here, I have moved my routine in-house, which has saved me a lot of prep and driving time. Then there’s Netflix.

Keeping On

In addition to my day job (including custom-writing engagements and Content-Sharing Library materials), I was also keeping our local American Association of University Women (AAUW) branch chugging along. The pandemic happened to hit about halfway through my term as branch president. So some fancy footwork was required to sustain our organization (well over 100 years old and counting). Thankfully, most of even our senior members embraced Zoom with the same zeal they applied to rotary phones earlier in their octogenarian lives. Score another one for the enduring value of an intrepid spirit and a college education … at any age.

Laying Low

Today’s post is in part inspired by an email I received a couple days ago from an advisor, enquiring if I was still in business. “I noticed your last post was in July,” he said. Ouch. I suppose it’s good to know somebody’s keeping an eye on me.

Getting Ready

Saving the best for last, I’ve been goofing with an entirely new service offering, inspired by another advisor’s request. We’re still working out a couple technical kinks, so keep an eye on your inbox and you’ll see more details forthcoming. But here’s a hint of what’s to come: If your firm could use a handsome, custom-branded, one-page fact sheet describing your key differentiators, you’re going to be able to order one from me soon.

That’s it for now. Here’s to a happy, healthy 2021 in which we try our level best to proceed thoughtfully and in kindness. And yes, I’m here! 😏

TWO BONUS TIPS:

(1) If you’re a financial advisor and you’ve not yet found Lang Cat’s Mark Polson and his weekly Top Class Wednesday blog, do tootle over to his site and sign up for them. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, Polson offers fascinating first-hand insights into how the financial advisory business is faring over in his stomping grounds. In a world where it’s too easy to become bubble-wrapped in my own polarized perspective, I find Polson’s “out there” commentary of great value (even though I only understand about half of it). Besides, his writing craft is indeed top class. Just don’t read his posts while drinking coffee, or your morning brew may end up your nose.

(2) Speaking of thoughtful and kind, AGC (Advisors Growing as a Community) is another quiet little group that’s been making good strides in 2020. Its co-founders Taylor Schulte and Justin Castelli have been carefully cultivating a short list of advisors interested in growing “personally and professionally alongside their peers.” They appear ready to take off more meaningfully in 2021, with some nifty collaborative projects, so give them a follow and see if they’re a good fit for you.

No Fooling: FREE Timely Content and a Discounted Library Membership 🌺🐝🌻

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Photo by Bich Tran (Canva)

Happy April Fools’ Day, such as it is. If there’s one thing the coronavirus has laid bare, it’s that we truly are all in this together. So, to help you stay in touch with your clients during these challenging times, I am giving away two no-fooling gifts to advisors like you:

(1) FREE Client-Ready Content: A CARES Act Overview

My newly published piece, “A CARES Act Overview,” is now available as a FREE download from the Content-Sharing Library. Share this 1,450-word report with clients or (slightly modified) with prospects to provide an approachable but relatively substantive summary of critical content within the Act.

Click here to download it. 

(2) Join the Content-Sharing Library at a Discount

If you find this free content useful and would like plenty more where it came from, you can subscribe to the Content-Sharing Library to access everything else there, plus everything I’ll be adding soon. Use the discount code NOFOOLING to subscribe between now and April 6, and you’ll receive a 10% discount off your annual membership — or $295 instead of $325.

Click here to view the Library collection.

To complete our circle of support, I’d be grateful if you share this announcement with other advisors or advisor forums who might benefit from the information. You’ll be doing them — and me — a lovely favor.

Be well.

Wendy

Get Ready: I’ve Got a Surprise in Store for You 🎁🎈

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Let’s get right to it: Unless all heck breaks loose between now and January 5th, I’ll soon be celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the day I filed my articles of organization for Wendy J. Cook Communications, LLC. Wahoo!

For now, I just wanted to let you know to be on the look-out for a January 4th announcement about a very special gift. Because friends don’t let friends party alone.

In the meantime, I wish you and yours the warmest, most wonderful holiday season. To swipe a quote from a holiday greeting I received from People Science, “May your workload lighten, your in-store crowds be showered and your traffic jams be merry and bright.”

In fact, let’s start the giving early. In case you missed it, Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management just sent out his own announcement, commemorating AQR’s 20-year anniversary by giving away a nifty book: 20 for Twenty: Selected Papers from AQR Capital Management. The book includes one of my all-time favorite reads, “My Top 10 Peeves,” which includes one of my all-time favorite quotes (still every bit as relevant today): “Every time someone says, ‘There is a lot of cash on the sidelines,’ a tiny part of my soul dies. There are no sidelines.”

Looking forward to staying in the fray with you, in 2019 and beyond!

PS: Here’s a hint about your upcoming gift. It involves a friend and colleague who’s been hanging out in New Zealand lately. You’ll find out more on Jan. 4 … especially if you sign up to receive my announcements directly to your inbox. 😉