Podcast Summary: Advisor Marketing Made Simple Episode: Top Advisor Website Questions (Part 2): Personal Brands & Driving Email Signups
Release Date: March 19, 2025
Hosts: Taylor Schulte and Kendra Wright

1. Evaluating the Necessity of a Personal Website Separate from the Firm’s Website

Discussion Overview: Kendra and Taylor delve into the strategic decision of maintaining a personal website alongside a corporate firm website. They explore the benefits and challenges associated with this approach, providing real-world examples and practical advice for financial advisors.

Key Points:

• Effectiveness vs. Cost: While personal websites can be effective in building a personal brand and attracting specific market segments, they often come with higher costs and increased resource demands. Kendra mentions, “[Personal brand websites] can be very effective but also very expensive” (01:15).

• Autonomy and Flexibility: Personal websites offer greater autonomy over marketing strategies and more flexibility in content creation, which can be advantageous for advisors targeting niche demographics. Kendra notes, “if you want a lot more autonomy over your marketing... there’s a little bit more flexibility” (01:15).

• Operational Challenges: Managing multiple websites can lead to duplicative efforts, increased maintenance costs, and tracking complexities. Taylor relates this to their own experience, stating the operational challenges of handling separate email lists and maintaining brand consistency across platforms (04:30).

• Alternative Solutions: Instead of maintaining a separate website, advisors can use standalone landing pages within the firm’s website or leverage vanity URLs that redirect to specific sections of the main site. Kendra suggests, “a standalone page inside the firm website... or leverage what I like to call a vanity URL” (03:30).

• Strategic Ownership: Having a personal website ensures that the content and brand are owned by the individual advisor, which is beneficial if they decide to leave the firm. Kendra emphasizes the importance of ownership by saying, “you might want to own a separate entity... so that if you ever left this firm... you can take this entity with you” (09:00).

Notable Quotes:

• Kendra Wright: “Does having a personal website make sense? It can be very effective but also very expensive.” (01:15)
• Taylor Schulte: “Managing two separate websites creates a lot of operational challenges... it just creates a lot of operational challenges.” (04:30)

2. Strategies to Convert More Website Visitors into Email Subscribers

Discussion Overview: The hosts focus on optimizing the conversion of website traffic into email subscribers, emphasizing the importance of setting realistic goals, understanding visitor intent, and enhancing the user experience through strategic placement of opt-ins.

Key Points:

• Setting Realistic Goals: Understanding where each activity fits within the marketing funnel is crucial. Taylor advises, “knowing where an activity fits in the marketing funnel allows you to set proper expectations” (12:43).

• Analyzing Traffic and Intent: Identifying the source and intent of website visitors helps in tailoring the conversion strategies. Taylor asks advisors to consider, “How many monthly site visitors do you currently have? Where are these site visitors coming from?” (12:43).

• Typical Conversion Rates: The average conversion rate from site visitor to email subscriber ranges between 2% and 5%. Advisors should assess their current rates and aim for quality over quantity. Taylor states, “the typical conversion rate from a site visitor to an email subscriber is somewhere between 2 and 5%” (12:56).

• Optimizing Email Capture: Enhancing the placement and appeal of email opt-ins can significantly improve conversion rates. Advisors are encouraged to use engaging lead magnets that address specific pain points of their ideal clients. Kendra illustrates, “10 costly mistakes widows make in their first year... is going to hyper target into your ideal client” (22:28).

• Utilizing Pop-Ups Effectively: Despite mixed feelings, pop-ups are effective when used thoughtfully. They should appear after a user has spent sufficient time on the page and offer relevant content. Taylor explains, “pop ups perform very well... ensuring that they're not too intrusive” (19:45).

• Leveraging Other Marketing Channels: Website opt-ins should be complemented with other strategies such as podcasts, social media, and email advertising to maximize email list growth. Taylor mentions, “your website is not the only path to growing your email newsletter” (20:19).

Notable Quotes:

• Taylor Schulte: “The typical conversion rate from a site visitor to an email subscriber is somewhere between 2 and 5%.” (12:56)
• Kendra Wright: “People tend to be more motivated by avoiding pain than seeking pleasure.” (21:29)

3. Favorite Website Marketing Tools and Plugins

Discussion Overview: Kendra and Taylor share their preferred tools and plugins that enhance website performance, user experience, and marketing effectiveness. They highlight both essential and innovative tools that can aid financial advisors in optimizing their online presence.

Key Points:

• Hotjar for Heat Mapping: This tool helps visualize user behavior on websites, allowing advisors to see where visitors click and how far they scroll. Kendra shares, “hotjar... show you can basically heat map a page and you can see how far down people scroll where they click” (24:11).

• Whisper Flow for Transcriptions: An AI-driven transcription tool that facilitates content creation and ideation by converting spoken ideas into written text, thereby streamlining the content development process. Kendra describes it as, “a transcription tool... to write headlines, emails, email copy” (24:11).

• Readwise for Content Management: A tool for saving, highlighting, and commenting on articles, which aids in strategic planning and data recall. Kendra notes its usefulness in “recalling data” and sharing insights with team members (24:11).

• OptinMonster for Email Opt-Ins: A versatile plugin for managing email opt-ins and pop-ups with extensive customization options, ensuring effective and user-friendly email collection (27:29).

• Yoast SEO for Search Engine Optimization: A widely-used SEO tool that helps improve website visibility on search engines through optimization features. Taylor recommends, “Yoast SEO... have a free option which is more than sufficient” (27:29).

• Fusebox for Podcast Embedding: Enables customized podcast player embeds with call-to-action buttons, enhancing the integration of podcast content within the website. Taylor explains its benefits in customizing user interactions (27:29).

• Easy Table of Contents and TablePress for Content Organization: Plugins that improve user experience by adding navigable tables of contents to blog posts and managing dynamic tables within content, respectively (27:29).

• Programmable Search Engine by Google: Allows embedding a custom search bar on the website, enabling visitors to search for specific content within the site efficiently. Taylor cites Roger Whitney’s website as an example of effective implementation (27:29).

Notable Quotes:

• Kendra Wright: “Hotjar... you can see how far down people scroll where they click.” (24:11)
• Taylor Schulte: “Yoast SEO... have a free option which is more than sufficient.” (27:29)

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

In this episode, Kendra and Taylor provide actionable insights into optimizing financial advisory websites. They weigh the pros and cons of maintaining personal versus firm websites, offer strategies to enhance email subscriber conversion rates, and share a curated list of tools to boost website performance. Their collaborative expertise ensures that both new and seasoned advisors can refine their marketing approaches effectively.

Call to Action: Listeners are encouraged to apply the discussed strategies, experiment with the recommended tools, and share their questions for future episodes. Taylor and Kendra also invite advisors to join their community by applying to be guests on the show or signing up for their email list for ongoing updates and support.

Timestamps of Notable Quotes:

• Kendra Wright on Personal Websites: 01:15
• Taylor Schulte on Operational Challenges: 04:30
• Taylor on Conversion Rates: 12:56
• Kendra on Lead Magnets: 22:28
• Taylor on Pop-Up Effectiveness: 19:45
• Kendra on Motivation for Opt-Ins: 21:29
• Kendra on Hotjar: 24:11
• Taylor on Yoast SEO: 27:29

For more resources mentioned in this episode or to join the conversation, check out the show notes linked in the episode description.