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When I ask a financial professional how they currently market their business, I hear everything from cold calling to websites. Rarely do they ever tell me that they blog. Unfortunately, many professionals are missing out on a great opportunity to market themselves as experts in their field.

Blogging is very easy to do. If you have experience working with Microsoft Word, you should have no problem taking your thoughts and sending them over the internet for all your potential clients to see. You simply log in, pick a design for your site and click on the “write” tap to start blogging. Of course you can do a lot more with your blog but the process I explained to you is exactly what I did to develop this nice looking page.

Why should you blog?

The answer is simple! You are an expert in your field and if you give everyone you speak to the address to your blog, you will begin to develop a following. People may feel threatened over the phone but most will take the time to review your blog. They may not be a perfect fit for you but they may know someone who is and pass the blog off to that person. Your clients should be viewing your blog and if you are good at what you do, you can be assured they will pass your blog off to their friends, family or co-workers. In short, you can’t afford not to blog.

To get started with your new blog that we will host for free, simply visit our Start-up page

What is the difference between someone making $100,000 a year and someone else making $250,000 a year? When asking this question to producers, I receive a lot of different answers. Some of their answers include:

1. Training
2. Education
3. Experience
4. Products
5. Support
6. Luck
7. Referrals

While many of the reasons stated above do play a small part in the success of a producer, many producers overlook the fact that a great marketing plan can significantly increase the amount of business they bring in. There are various ways to actively and passively market yourself that will not only increase exposure but will ultimately lead to more money in your pocket. Let’s first take a look at some of the ways just about everyone markets themselves:

1. Referrals - You should always ask for referrals. If you are doing a good job they will be happy to recommend you to people they know.

2. Cold Calling - It’s time intensive and not everyone’s favorite thing to do.

3. Mail – It’s a dinosaur and although it works, many people do it and it doesn’t set you apart from your competition

Now let’s take a look at what producers can do to separate themselves from the crowd:

1. Website – For less than $100 anyone can have a fully functioning website. If you feel you don’t have the background or time to develop a website, use a service such as Prospect Digital. They offer an easy to set up website and provide a web-based CRM that automatically uses drip marketing to nurture your contacts through the buying cycle with FINRA-reviewed, engaging and pro-client marketing collateral. Visit www.prospectdigital.com for more information

2. Blogs – Creating a blog is easy on websites such as www.blogger.com or www.wordpress.com. I highly recommend starting a blog that is catered to your potential clients. You should focus on educating them while staying away from trying to sell them. You will get leads if your blog has good content and you include a quick line at the end of each entry asking them to forward it along to anyone they know that could use the information.

3. Internet Cafe – Look in your phone book and find places that offer internet access. Generally speaking you should look for internet cafes, coffee shops or libraries. Spend a Saturday morning going to them and ask to put your homepage on their computers. If the internet cafe or coffee shop gets a lot of business, you will be seen by hundreds of potential clients. It may cost you a little money to do, but it will be well worth it. Another option is buying a block of minutes from the internet cafe and offering adults that walk in free time compliments of you while asking the owner to hand your business card or a flyer to everyone that gets free minutes.

4. Give “Free” Assessments – Hire a teenager to spend a few hours at the mall handing out your business cards or flyers to adults. Offer them a free assessment of their “financial health” on the following Saturday. It’s the perfect way to leverage the economy and your expertise.

If you would like to ask a question with regards to marketing techniques, please visit our “ask the expert” page and select “marketing” from the drop down menu.