There is no doubt that people have become more cynical and skeptical about financial services firms. Research shows that the trend is continuing. If there’s any industry where cynicism runs deep within its culture, it’s finance.
This is why financial services firms need copywriters like me. We have the expertise and knowledge to do stuff that other copywriters can’t.
Financial copywriting is quite different from standard copywriting for SMEs. Good financial copy needs to have what it takes to persuade any audience to take action and subscribe to a service or mailing list, or to buy a product or service. The ability to create this kind of content is not something the inexperienced can pull off easily. Apart from creating content from the top to the bottom of the sales funnel, the services of financial copywriters also include proofreading and editing content for clients with a blog or landing page.
A financial services copywriter can help financial services in many different ways. For example, accounting and consultancy firms often need copywriters to create a “content calendar” for their articles – e.g. spanning 1-3 months. These topics might be chosen based on various factors, such as:
- Common recent questions from clients
- Trends in the media and search engines
- Milestones in the financial year (e.g. an upcoming budget from the government)
The financial copywriter will also need to have a clear goal for the communication piece. For instance, is it primarily for SEO purposes? Or, is it mainly targeted at current clients via a monthly newsletter?
Because of industry-specific regulations and compliance environments financial copywriters need to be careful not to “push too hard”, for instance, when discussing the pros and cons of different financial planning options in an article. Again, an experienced financial copywriter will be skilled at striking this delicate balance. A non-specialist writer might inadvertently go beyond compliance, while a financial firm might be “too cautious” (and boring) in the writing style. A good financial copywriter, however, will find an ideal middle point that satisfies different stakeholders and requirements. In fintech and investment banking, the stakes are high, and the jargon is dense. The right finance copywriter will be able to create persuasive copy within a framework of complex regulations and clearly expressed financial concepts. This is where an experienced finance copywriter who understands a particular area of finance can shine.
The financial copywriter has a good understanding of Google’s EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) measures for SEO. Google’s Quality Raters are instructed to determine the level of expertise that exists behind content, based in part on how much that content might impact a reader’s life. All site owners should strive to publish content that meets E-E-A-T criteria, but those in YMYL categories have a particular responsibility to ensure that they meet E-E-A-T’s basic principles. It stands to reason that the public has a greater need for qualities like factual accuracy and security when they are looking at financial investment information than they might if they are looking at photos of cats.
If you are a financial services firm looking to stand out in the market, you need a financial copywriter who understands your industry. Contact Leon Gettler at GettlerInk today. Phone 0411 745 193 or email leon@leongettler.com.
