Books are a great marketing tool for retirement advisors.
But not all books are created equally – especially when it comes to generating business for your practice.
I’ll admit I’m biased in my assessment.
For years, I read industry books that were interesting and engaging but not particularly effective at doing the one thing advisors need them to do: create urgency for a reader to meet with the advisor and get help.
It’s part of what’s led me to co-author four industry-leading books.
In today’s blog, I want to peel back the curtain and show you four features a book must contain if you want it to drive growth for your practice.
As an example, let’s use my newest book, The Road Less Taxed.
My co-author, Neil Wilding, and I wrote this book to shine light on the tax risk coming from Washington. The goal of the book is to open purposeful, decision-driving conversations about Roth conversions, tax diversification, and holistic planning.
To ensure it was an effective advisor marketing tool, we followed the four golden rules of books for lead gen.
And today, I’m going to share those four golden rules with you.
#1 | Easy to Read, Hard to Put Down
We wrote this book to be read in under 90 minutes.
Thick, hardbound tomes are great for your ego, but not great for your client actually reading the book. Soft-cover books of 150 pages or less are the sweet spot for balancing strategy information and validation with readability.
So make sure the book you use was written to be read.
#2 | Friendly, Conversational Tone
Nobody wants to read a book full of industry jargon. Authors often think long words and complex ideas make them sound smart, but they usually confuse the reader and dissuade them from coming on a learning journey with you.
If you want a book to effectively generate leads for your practice, make sure it’s written in helpful, friendly, everyday English. It’s the best way to take complex ideas and make them simple and meaningful to your readers.
#3 | Create the Need for YOU
At the end of the day, the best-written book won’t be effective in growing your practice if it doesn’t stress the importance of working with a qualified advisor like you.
If you’re using a book to generate and nurture your leads, it’s important the book consistently and directly addresses the need for high-level help from a financial professional with the qualifications YOU possess.
#4 | Offers a Powerful CTA
My biggest overall gripe with books in our industry – and the one I set out to overcome with The Road Less Taxed – is the lack of a strong call-to-action.
While books should be enjoyable to read, when you’re using a book to drive leads and appointments, you also need that book to gently agitate the reader: to set up a problem they need an appointment with you to solve.
For example, in The Road Less Taxed, we share the story of a saver who, for the first time, is adding up his retirement tax bill. He learns the size of his tax bill, how much IRMAA he might incur, and the real dollar amount he could save through a tax-free conversion strategy.
Once the reader experiences this saver’s story and sees his analysis, their immediate reaction is, “Wait, I have these problems, too. I want to see MY numbers. I need someone to evaluate these risks for ME.”
The book encourages the reader to seek out this kind of analysis. It emphasizes how important it is to find an advisor who can provide them with this level of planning. And because you gifted your prospect the book, you can let them know that the advisor is YOU.
If you’re looking to market with books, be sure to use a book that includes all four of these golden rules.
And if you’re looking to leverage a book written with these golden rules in mind, check out The Road Less Taxed. Through Stonewood Financial’s Book Customization Program, you can even customize it as the author of the pre-written foreword, with your name and bio on the book.
Regardless of the book you use, I guarantee you’ll have more marketing success if it follows these four golden rules. They turn exceptional books into great marketing tools.
About the Author
Becky helps your clients outsmart Washington and take control of their retirement. Making the complex simple and meaningful? It’s all in a day's work.
