Who’s afraid of big bad marketing? Not me.

But I’m nowhere near as scared as I used to be.

Early in my marketing career, my knees were forever knocking. I was utterly terrified of making mistakes, investing time and effort into something that didn’t work out, or even upsetting people by saying the wrong thing.

There’s no question that marketing can be daunting. Even experienced marketers can still get the jitters before hitting send on an email to hundreds of contacts.

But for financial planners with minimal marketing training and so many other responsibilities to juggle, it can be truly overwhelming.

That said, by overcoming your marketing phobias, you could help boost your brand awareness, build credibility with your audience, and ultimately attract new clients.

Over time, I learned to manage my fears. So, here are four common marketing phobias and how you can overcome them, too.

1. “If I make a mistake, I’ll lose credibility”

As a financial planner, you no doubt want to be seen as faultless. Precise. Detail-focused. Because you need clients to trust that you’ll handle their finances with the utmost care and diligence.

So, mistakes in your marketing can damage that reputation. Whether it’s spelling mistakes, broken links, or inaccuracies, the last thing you want is for your clients to think you’re careless.

That’s exactly why, at Yardstick, we have rigorous processes to check every piece of marketing before it’s sent out into the world.

While you might not have a crack team of expert marketers to check your work, you can help minimise your mistakes by:

• Taking time to stop and review everything thoroughly. Reading slowly and out loud can help spot any mistakes.
• Asking someone else to check it for you. A fresh pair of eyes can be more likely to find errors you’ve missed.
• Using spellchecking software to identify typos and grammatical errors.

Even the most meticulous financial planners (and marketers) make mistakes. The key is to have systems and processes in place to catch them before your clients do.

2. “If it doesn’t work, I’ll feel embarrassed”

We’ve all done it. Published a post on social media that got one like (and that was from your mum) or sent an email newsletter that somehow got more unsubscribes than opens.

Not only can it feel a little embarrassing and disheartening, but it can also seem like you’ve wasted valuable time, effort, and money.

It doesn’t feel great, but it’s part of marketing.

Marketing is a constant experiment – it’s the only way you can discover what works best. If you never fail, you might be playing it safe. And that could mean you only ever get the same results.

But if you learn from poor results, your resources aren’t wasted. By analysing every failure, you can learn what doesn’t work – and what does – to help you optimise results in future.

3. “If I get it wrong, I could put people off”

In marketing, one of the most common mistakes is trying to be all things to all people. As a result, knowing what to say and how to say it can be tricky, as what might trigger one person to get in touch could put someone else off from working with you.

Ultimately, you may have to accept that you can’t be everyone’s cup of tea.

By clearly defining your ideal client profile, you can focus on creating great marketing that appeals to them – without worrying about everyone else.

As a financial planner, you know your clients inside out. You understand their worries, their needs, and how they like to be spoken to. Once you have defined your audience, you can put that knowledge to work and help ensure your marketing appeals to the right people.

If you’re unsure of how to go about creating your ideal client profile, our marketing strategists can help you analyse your current client base and future goals to identify who your marketing should speak to.

By focusing on your ideal clients, you could achieve a clearer message, a more natural tone, and more effective marketing.

4. “Marketing has changed so quickly, I’m not sure what tools and platforms to use”

This can be a big problem for many financial planners. The marketing landscape is constantly evolving, with new ways of connecting with your audience – and new tools to help you do it – continuing to emerge.

Staying on top of these changes can be extremely challenging, particularly if marketing isn’t your primary role.

As a result, you might be worried that you’ll invest in the wrong channel or an outdated platform. Many of these tools can be complex, which can often deter financial planners from using them at all.

Most likely, you won’t have time to truly get to grips with each and every marketing tool at your disposal. Fortunately, Yardstick can help.

Working closely with you to define a strategy with carefully chosen channels, we can take the reins on running your marketing for you. So, you don’t need to know exactly how to set up an email newsletter or run a social media ad campaign – we’ll get it all sorted for you.

Get in touch

If marketing still feels a little scary, you don’t have to face it alone. At Yardstick, we’ll help you plan, execute, and refine your marketing with confidence – no scary surprises required.