Overview
The Seven Secrets of Wealth Adviser Copy/ghostwriting
1. Optimal plan design
The copy/ghostwriter should ask sets of questions that lead the wealth manager to spell out the main aims of the project, and the specific nature of his or her target audience. The best way to transfer the information that the writer needs is in the context of an orderly plan, a campaign, a series or a definite project, such as a white paper, a booklet or a book. The writer must understand the scope of the project and then shape a plan for its execution.
2. Expert grammar, syntax and rhetoric
It is imperative that the wealth manager narrows the field by establishing that the ghostwriter is an expert craftsman of the English language. Mechanical proficiency must be accompanied by a developed ear. To meet specific needs, the writer must be able to provide content in a variety of prose tones, from academic and professional to polemic to casual and persuasive, to personal and factual, to name a few.
3. Consistent contact
A copy/ghostwriter who is an organized and enthusiastic communicator will maintain goodwill and motivation among team members throughout the project. It’s up to the writer to confirm timelines and deadlines in the beginning, provide reminders about them in the middle, and meet them in the end. The more a project is able to follow its own momentum, the more cost-effective it will be.
4. Fiduciary respect
The perfect copywriter would have a clear understanding of the significance of the fiduciary relationship between advisor and client. Fiduciary respect means that every assertion must be verifiable; every word, true. A wealth manager’s clients will expect written information to be supported by data that is documented according to the publishing industry’s best practices.
5. A deep grasp of fundamental wealth management concepts
If a writer is a specialist in trading online yet has no understanding of the impact of asset allocation on long-term investment results, chances are he will be of little use to a wealth manager. Be certain the writer is familiar with the principles of global portfolio design for instance, and wealth protection, as well as the difference between commission and fee-only compensation.
6. Writing experience in the investing industry
High net worth clients do not expect beginners. Nor should the writer, who will be at the center of the wealth manager’s content development, be untested. Beyond a basic understanding of what wealth management is, the perfect copywriter will know of — and have written about — all kinds of investment vehicles and trends, across the entire spectrum of contemporary investment culture.
7. Knowledge of modern portfolio theory
If the ghostwriter does not have a sense of modern portfolio theory, the wealth manager cannot teach it to him. Modern portfolio theory stresses diversification to optimize portfolios, and how degrees of risk impact degrees of reward. The basic concepts of the theory have come to provide cornerstones of portfolio management. They include diversification, the efficient frontier, capital asset pricing, asset allocation and the alpha and beta coefficients. In order to make these concepts comprehensible and intriguing to the layperson, the writer will have to bring his knowledge to the wealth manager’s specific project.
Closing thoughts
Establishing a relationship with a ghostwriter should mark the beginning of an ongoing dialogue along established lines and mutual expectations. The wealth manager should take the time to clarify the exact nature of the written content’s originality. If it is not 100% original, it’s not ghosting at its highest level. Generic material that lacks specifics and reads like a boilerplate can backfire, leaving high net worth investors feeling like they have been given something amateurish.
To create the best conditions for success, the wealth manager should give the writer all the materials and resources at his or her disposal. The list of possibilities includes: story boards, notes, outlines, drawings, emails, essays, publications from in house — like brochures, white papers, blogs – or publications from other companies, journals, magazines or books.
The entire process should begin with a clear and simple agreement of obligations and fees, signed by both parties.
Once mindful of the seven-fold path to success, you can take full advantage of the latitude that ghosting offers in terms of authorship. Anyone or group you choose can be the author of anything that you generate as a content provider
