11 Tips For Writing A Stellar Financial Advisor Bio (With Samples And Templates)
Writing a financial advisor bio can be difficult.
After all, you’ve probably got a lifetime of personal and professional accomplishments. How can you expect to condense how amazing you are in a few paragraphs? Allow me to help… Why You Need A Bio... 🤔Depending on the study you read, anywhere from 70-80% (or more) of people research a company online before doing business with them.
In my own experience, an overwhelming amount of prospects will visit your website before setting an appointment with you. They may put your name in a search engine to learn more about you or they may visit your website directly. Also, your clients may visit your website and share your bio to facilitate a referral. If your bio isn’t up to snuff, not only will you be damaging your ability to attract prospects, but you could be losing referrals as well. As a financial advisor, your bio (or “about us”) page is likely to be the second most visited page on your website, after your homepage. So, you better make it good. Plus, your bio is something you control. You get to decide what to include in this static document. This is an incredible advantage that you don’t have in a face-to-face or phone setting. Finally, you can use your bio to help you get press in the future. For example, if you’re being interviewed by a reporter or if you submit a press release to some local publications, you can include your bio to help put together the story. You’ll thank me later. Now, let’s get into some tips. Interested in something specific about writing a bio? Jump ahead to:
1. Address WHAT You Do And WHO You HelpThis is one of the biggest mistakes I see financial advisors making with their websites. It’s not uncommon for me to spend a few minutes on a financial advisor’s website - much longer than the average visitor spends - and still have no clue what the advisor does and who he/she helps.
If you have a niche, be sure to call out that niche. And not just in your bio, either. Do it all over your site. It should be abundantly clear to anyone who visits. Next, don’t be afraid to talk about who you are beyond your current role. Have you had more than one role in the financial services industry? Expounding on those roles can help build credibility. Are you a career-changer? If so, talk about that and discuss why you decided to become a financial advisor. For example, if you were a teacher who specializes in working with teachers, you would be a fool not to include that detail in your bio (and other areas of your marketing). 2. Two Unforgivable Sins Are Being Arrogant And BoringNobody wants to read a bio from a know-it-all. You know the type. The person who thinks he or she is the best thing to ever walk in your life. We all hate that person.
Yet, that doesn’t stop some financial advisors from being arrogant in their bios. Here are some things I’ve seen in the past:
The other unforgivable sin is being boring. Financial advisors typically bore their prospects by including a bunch of buzzwords in their bios. Here’s an example:
Talk like a human being. Get rid of the jargon and buzzwords. If these people were historians, they would label William Shakespeare as a “creative forward-thinker with excellent written communication skills”. It’s dry and boring. ALSO READ: 7 Traits Successful Financial Advisors Have (That Others Don't) 
"Sorry, this financial advisor is too boring..."
3. Create Multiple VersionsCreate a full-length bio for your website, a medium one for your LinkedIn summary, and a paragraph for any guest posts you submit or press appearances you have.
This is a little tip that can come in handy when you need it. You’re welcome. :-) Plus, this allows you to repurpose your bio by putting it on your LinkedIn profile. Of course, you’d want to change the call-to-action (if necessary) but most of your bio should stay the same. 4. Include PhotosAnd I don’t mean that awkward photo of you and your team, standing in someplace you’d never stand, dressed as you’d never really dress, and pose as you’d never really pose.
I mean REAL photos. Yes, you want to include a classy headshot, but why not spice it up even more? Do you have a photo of when you got your CFP? Include that. Do you have a photo of when you finally paid off your student loan debt? Include that. Imagine specializing in helping recent medical school graduates, who usually have a ton of student loan debt, and you include proof that you paid yours off in X amount of years. It would illustrate the idea that you take your own advice. 5. Make It PersonalYour financial advisor bio is your chance to humanize yourself and make a personal connection with your prospect. The tip above about posting photos isn’t just for the sake of posting photos. It’s so your prospects can get a glimpse into who you are.
One of the reasons my email marketing system, Appointments On Autopilot, works so well is because it helps you create an email follow-up sequence which includes personal stories and entertainment. You can do the same in your bio. The easiest way to do this is to talk about your family, your hobbies, and your interests. Here’s an example: “When he’s not spending time helping his clients protect and grow their wealth, John is spending time with his wife, Wendy, and their two children, Lil’ John and Lil’ Wendy. John also enjoys fishing on the weekends and volunteering at ABC Charity.” My assistant actually does something similar in her LinkedIn bio... 
One thing I’ve seen that’s pretty cool is to include one “professional” bio and “personal” bio side-by-side. That way you can include more information and prospects can see them both at the same time.
Here is a sample of how your bio should flow: Joe has X years of experience working with NICHE as a financial advisor. Prior to starting in YEAR, he was a NICHE who did Y. He obtained his MBA from SCHOOL, etc. He’s a member of GROUP and a regular contributor to NICHE PUBLICATION. When he’s not serving his clients, he can be found spending time with his family and HOBBY. 6. Show How You Relate To Your NicheI’ve already hinted at this in the other tips, but I wanted to say it explicitly: your bio is a fantastic opportunity for you to foster a connection with your niche market.
The more you can show how you’re involved in your niche, the better. If you work exclusively with dentists, don’t be afraid to mention how you’ve been featured in dental publications (and maybe include a photo of the publication) and how you’re a member of their trade organization. Maybe you work with divorced women and you’ve personally gone through a divorce. Perhaps you struggled with student loan debt and want to help other recent grads. Share any information you can that will call out your niche. ALSO READ: 5 Best Niches For Financial Advisors 7. Include Your Unique Value PropositionYour bio is also your chance to highlight the value you bring and what makes you different. You’ve got your prospect’s eyes on the page, so don’t take it for granted.
The secret to developing a unique value proposition lies in the name, which means you must answer the following questions:
A lot of times, a financial advisor’s value proposition has something to do with the target market he/she serves. It should answer the all-important question: “Why should I work with YOU above everyone else?”. If you specialize in a certain market, this is an easy answer. But never forget that the value you provide is in the eyes of the client, so you need to clearly define what’s it in it for your clients if they choose to do business with you. ALSO READ: The Secret Behind Awesome Financial Advisor Value Propositions 8. Include Questions And AnswersI thought this was a really cool idea. I can’t remember where I first saw it, so I can’t give credit. The financial planner had his regular bio and, after that, he had a list of questions like:
Answers to these questions give prospective clients a glimpse into who the financial advisor really is and it feels more personal when read. 
9. Make It Easy To ReadDon’t make the mistake of having your financial advisor bio be one long chunk of text. If it’s too long, try breaking up the copy with subheads, similar to what I’ve done in this post. It will help organize your bio and make it scannable, which is how many people read online.
The truth is, a digital paragraph is different from an analog paragraph because the way we consume media online is different than how we do it offline. Online, short paragraphs are king. You can even make them really short. Like this. Bullet points are also great for breaking up your text and making it easier to read, because:
Need I say more? 10. Have Someone Else Read ItThis should be required for all financial advisor bios. Get someone who doesn’t know you to read it. Then, give that person a quick pop quiz. Ask questions about what you do, who you help, and your background. If you’ve created a good bio, that person should be able to answer with ease.
Proofreading using an online service such as Grammarly is a good start, but you probably want to get an English major friend to look over it to make sure it’s good to go. Online proofreading services aren’t perfect, so having a human take a look can make all the difference. Also, read your bio out loud. Because when you read your writing silently to yourself, it sounds different in your head than it does to someone else. That’s why reading your copy aloud to yourself is by far the best way to discover how your writing actually sounds to other people. Reading your bio aloud forces your mind to slow down along with your mouth (since you speak more slowly than you can silently read) and increases the chance you’ll catch stumbling blocks, such as:
Having someone proofread your financial advisor bio is a must. (I know I need help with proofreading, I make mistakes all the time...)
11. Remember To Include Your Contact InformationI’ve done a ton of heatmap tests and website reviews LINK and I’ve found that prospects are significantly more likely to contact an advisor when the information is right there on the page. And if someone reads your bio all the way through it means that the person is at least somewhat interested, so don’t lose the opportunity. Make sure you include:
If you have any examples of awesome financial advisor bios, feel free to send them my way. I’m always looking to learn new things. 😎 |