Spice up your blog with free or low-cost photos

A photo can make the difference between whether someone reads--or skips--your financial blog post.

Here are some free or low-cost sources for photos you can use in your blog and elsewhere. 

1. stock.xchg -- I've used this source without any problems
2. Flickr's Creative Commons licensed content
3. morgueFile
4. RGBStock.com

Make sure you carefully read--and abide by--the licensing agreements for each photo. Photos on the same website may have different requirements.
 
I learned about some of these sources from @LawWriting and @ErikSherman. Thanks, Marilyn and Erik!
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Copyright 2010 by Susan B. Weiner All rights reserved

How I've benefited from Twitter

"Has being active in social media helped you grow your business?"

This question from a wealth manager set me thinking. Most of my new business still comes through old-fashioned referrals from people whom I've met face-to-face. But that's changing thanks to social media, especially Twitter. There's no doubt that my Twitter has helped my business. I see three main benefits.
 
#1 Bigger network of experts
When I've got a problem to solve, I can now call on a much bigger network of experts for help. This has been especially helpful with my technology challenges, where @RussThornton, @BillWinterberg, @RussellDunkin, @Blano, and @KristenLuke have been particularly helpful. This is just a sampling of my expert sources. There are many, many other experts on Twitter whom I've learned from.

#2 Bigger pool of prospective clients
Twitter has expanded my newsletter circulation, which is an important source of new clients. For example, most of my teleclass students have been newsletter subscribers for awhile. I've consistently gained more new subscribers post-Twitter than pre-Twitter.

One of my favorite clients found me through Twitter, got to know me better through my newsletter, and then became a client.

# 3 Convenient way to network and socialize
Twitter keeps me from feeling isolated as a solo entrepreneur. It also suits my style. I can hop off a work project for 10 minutes, read and chat with some folks, and then settle back to work. I don't need to spend an hour schlepping into Boston on the commuter rail and then an hour coming back.
 
Feeling happier from brief spurts of socializing help me to focus better when I'm doing actual work.

There are other benefits, too. But these three are enough to keep me tweeting.
____________________    
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Copyright 2010 by Susan B. Weiner All rights reserved

Roger Ibbotson attacks asset allocation "folklore"

"The time has come for folklore to be replaced with reality" says Roger Ibbotson in "The Importance of Asset Allocation" in CFA Institute's Financial Analysts Journal (March/April).

Folklore means "the idea that asset allocation policy explains more than 90 percent of performance," which is a misinterpretation of the classic 1986 article, "Determinants of Portfolio Performance" by Gary Brinson, Randolph Hood, and Gilbert Beebower, says Ibbotson. 

"Asset allocation is very important, but nowhere near the 90 percent of the variation in return is caused by the specific asset allocation mix," writes Ibbotson. Rather, active management plays a role equal to that of asset allocation, as shown by "The Equal Importance of Asset Allocation and Active Management," an article co-authored by Ibbotson with James Xiong, Thomas Idzorek, and Peng Chen in the same issue of the Financial Analysts Journal.

____________________  
Receive a free 32-page e-book with client communications tips when you sign up for my free monthly newsletter.  

Copyright 2010 by Susan B. Weiner All rights reserved

Financial advisor poll: How do you sign your business emails?

Email communications with clients, prospects, and referral sources are an essential part of  your private wealth management or investment business. Handle them well, and you deepen your relationships. In How to Instantly Connect with Anyone, author Leil Lowndes suggests an email closing technique that may boost your effectiveness.

Even something as small as your email signature sends a message to your clients, prospects, and referral sources. You set a different tone when you end with "Sincerely, Jane Advisor, CFP, CFA, Senior Vice President" instead of "See you soon, Jane." 

Lowndes suggests that you forego traditional closings in favor of ending your email with your recipient's name. For example, "Thanks so much for your help, Samantha" when Samantha is the person you're emailing.

According to Lowndes' approach, you can get away with just your first name or initials--or even nothing at all--after such a line. "Hearing their own name unexpectedly as the last word of your message makes them feel an instant connection with you," she says.

I like Lowndes' idea. But only in moderation. If you close every email like this, the technique will lose its impact.

The rest of the time, you've got an array of more traditional closings to choose from. You need to strike the right balance between formality and warmth. This may mean using different signatures for different clients, depending on  your relationship with them. Signatures may also vary by occasion.

Please answer the poll in the right-hand column of this blog about which of the following closings you use most often. 

• Best wishes
• Bye 
• Cheers
• Have a great day/weekend
• Kind regards
• Sincerely
• Sincerely yours
• Thank you
• Warmly
• Yours truly
• --None of the above

I'll report on the results in my June e-newsletter.

By the way, in these days of blogging transparency, I'm disclosing that I got Lowndes' book for free. I won it in a Twitter contest when I was the first to reply to a tweet by the publisher.


Related posts

• To "Dear" or not to "Dear" in your email
• "You" can help your job hunting thank you
• Six ways to stop sending emails with errors

____________________    
Receive a free 32-page e-book with client communications tips when you sign up for my free monthly newsletter.  

Copyright 2010 by Susan B. Weiner All rights reserved

Your customers, your inspiration

"Customer comments can contain pure gold. Many of my most in-demand services came about from a suggestion made by someone who wanted to do business with me."

---Marcia Yudkin's Marketing Minute

What suggestions have your clients made to you? Have they suggested new services? Different ways to deliver your services?  Listen to what they say. You may discover a new way to build your business.

Marcia's tip has worked for me. An out-of-state client asked if I delivered writing workshops virtually, rather than in person. Her question eventually spawned my first teleclass.
____________________  
Receive a free 32-page e-book with client communications tips when you sign up for my free monthly newsletter.  

Copyright 2010 by Susan B. Weiner All rights reserved

Whoa, insurance = spam?

Insurance can get your email tagged as spam. I never would have guessed.

I saw the following message after I ran one of my e-newsletters through a spam checker.

It looks like there are some words in this email that might send your email to a Spam folder. To make sure your email is delivered successfully, we recommend going back to change or remove the following words: insurance.

Perhaps this happened because there are too many spammer pushing shady insurance schemes.

Fortunately one iffy word isn't enough to keep your email out of most in-boxes. Look at your overall spam rating before you panic. If it's low, like the typical rating on my e-newsletters, you should be okay. 

The "open" and "bounce" rates for my e-newsletter mentioning "insurance" were no worse than usual. However, "insurance" was the newsletter's only element tagged as potential spam.

____________________  
Receive a free 32-page e-book with client communications tips when you sign up for my free monthly newsletter.  

Copyright 2010 by Susan B. Weiner All rights reserved

Setting myself a challenge: A May Blogathon

Am I crazy?

I've signed up for the 2010 WordCount Blogathon in which bloggers commit to post every day during the month of May. Yes, that means at least 31 blog posts during the month of May.

I typically post 11 to 15 times a month. So I've got to double or triple my output. Yikes!

One of my survival techniques is to look at unfinished drafts. I've got 80+. Some of them must be worth finishing. 

Please let me know if there are topics you'd like me to address this month. A little outside inspiration would help.

Meanwhile, here's the list of my fellow Blogathoners

Rebecca I. Allen – 356 No More, A journey from couch to fit

Anjuli – bhulbhulaiyan, A complicated entanglement of zigzag pathways

Joan Lambert Bailey – PopcornHomestead, Gardening, place and my life in Tokyo

Karen Bannan – Natural as Possible Mom, Because natural isn’t always possible — or easy

t.a. barnhart – Left Coast Foodie, Damn, that’s good: a foodie blog by someone who knows what he’s doing

June Bell – Enough is enough! Advice and support

Athena l. Borozon – The Desert Rat Dialogues

Jane Boursaw* – Film Gecko, Cool movie news and reviews

Alisa Bowman – Project Happily Ever After, Marriage advice from a recovering divorce daydreamer

Carson Brackney – Carson Brackney, Consultant, Copywriter, Content Provider, Factotum

Sheena Brockington – Greenhouse Advertising, Cultivating ideas for small businesses

Danielle Buffardi – Horrible Sanity, Going into the mind of a mother and freelancer

Beverly Burmeier – Going on Adventures, Travel stories from near and far

Danielle Carter – Live and Love Life VA, Helping you do more of what you love, and less of what you don’t!

Fiona Chan – Candy Prison, A typical teenager

Bernard Chung – Green Tea World, It’s more than just a cup of green tea here

Caroline Clemmons – A Writer’s Life, Writing tips, interviews and miscellaneous ramblings

Shelley Clunie - ShelCluzo’s Blog, Healthy, wealthy and wise at 62

Christianne Cook – A Day in My Mind, The world through my eyes

Sue Dickman – Life Divided, Food, garden, books . . . and India

Jackie Dishner – Bike with Jackie, Using my special brand of BIKE to teach you how to turn obstacles into opportunities

Tracy Doerr – Tracy Doerr, A chronicle of ideas and things that inspire me

Ron S. Doyle* – Blog Salad, All the blog that’s fit to eat

Dana DuGan – Chick with a View, It’s good to live on the edge. The view is better

Dan Eldridge – Labor Party, A Young Pioneers Media blog for Creative and Alternative Entrepreneurs

Heather Faesy – Blame it on the Full Moon, My kids, writing and reading

R. Jill Fink – My Opera, Musings about writing, food, weight loss and other hilarious things

Jennifer Fink – Blogging Bout Boys, All about boys — raising them, educating them, learning with them

Damaris Fish – Damaris Fish on Genealogy, Researching my family history and helping others with theirs

Dylan Fogle – Discordianzen, The map is not the territory

Katie Foote – Littlefoote’s Lab, A chronicle of what the unemployed girl in NoPo is up to

AndreaGenevieve – Andrea Genevieve, Where social medium, technology and higher education meet

Alexandra Grabbe – Chezsven’s Blog, Life as a green innkeeper on Outer Cape Cod

Elyse Grau – My Garden to Table, Growing what you eat, eating what you grow

Wendy Korn Heppt – Budget Style on a Shoestring, Budget savvy fashion, beauty and related news and ideas

Katie Hinderer – Write Beyond the Cubicle, A freelance writer’s thoughts on the industry

Amanda Hirsch – Tastee Pudding, In the search for creative life, the proof is in the Pudding

Lisa Jaffe Hubbell – Eat, Read and Be Harried, Making it through life one book at a time

Nancy Mann Jackson – Growing Food and Kids, Gardening, harvesting, cooking and preserving with kids in tow

Robert Janelle – Without an Apostrophe, Ottawa freelance tech journalist

Elizabeth King Humphrey – The Write Elizabeth, Writing. Creativity. Play. Life.

Walter L. Johnson II – Georgia News Beat, An inside look at what’s happening in the state of Georgia

B.J. Keeton – Professor Beej, Pop culture commentary with an academic slant

Amy Kocur – AmyLizK, Maryland/ DC Metro area arts and analysis

Courtney Koschel – Finding My Muse: A New Writer’s Journey,

Sara Lancaster – No.2PenBlog, Resource for my clients and others interested in marketing communications

Bill Lascher – Lascher at Large, A contemplative, pondered and unrushed thought banquet.

Mary Dixon Lebeau – In the Boom Boom Room, Remember staying out until the street lights came on?

Pooja Lohana – Brown-eyed Mystic, On writing and more!

Sarah E. Ludwig – Parenting by Trial and Error, The learning curve in raising kids

Jenny Lynes – Welcome to the Good Life, A student environmentalist exploring responsible, cheap, and fun living

Harry Marks – Curious Rat, Chewing at the tech industry’s wires…nom nom nom…

Joanne Mason – English Idioms, What they mean, how we use them, where they came from

Kim McNeill – Kim’s Play Place, An active parent trying to make sure my kids are educated

Teresa Mears – MiamiOntheCheap, Discounts, deals and free events in Miami

Rose Medlock – RFM, Rose Flores Medlock

Heather Minton – Stumbling into Grace, The adventure of following God and figuring it out in Portland

Kathy Murray – Out and Employed, News, career advice and job resources for ex-offenders

Alexis Neely – Life, Business and the Pursuit of Truth, A blog about the intersection

Charles Newbery – Pine Tree Paradise, The life of a work-at-home writer and father of three

Eric Novinson – Costing a Green Future, A green business blog

Tracy O’Connor – I Hate My Message Board, Humor, crankiness, a museum of snack foods and the odd motivational piece

Andrea Parker – Autism Fundraising Guide, For parents of children with autism

Lilac Penafiel – What Have You Learned Today, Life lessons learned everyday…

Tara Phillips – Two Hands and a Road Map

Jennie Phipps – WalletPop, AOL’s personal finance blog

Ed Pilolla – Ed Pilolla, What the f*** is love?

Sue Poremba – I Breathe, Therefore I Write

Kate Reilly – Polka Dot Suitcase, Family fun through creative living

Meredith Resnick – The Writer’s [Inner] Journey, Bestselling authors, professional creatives and emerging voices in quirky dialogue about how they write and why it works

Vanessa Richardson – Way Out West Texas, City girl from California moves to Way Out West Texas, what will happen?

Rebecca Robinson – Rebecca Robinson, Updates on freelance projects, reflections on journalism innovation in Portland and beyond, and brainstorms from the wee hours

Carey Rossi – Thank You Everything, Appreciate the little things

Natasha Rogue – The Writing Blues, Little tips on how I find motivation to get past the difficulties of writing life and the road to publication

Andrea M. Rotondo – Luxury Cruise Bible, Your source for unbiased luxury cruise reviews

Melissa Sais – Digital Mom, Raising kids in a digital world

Lisa Samalonis – Single Parent Savings

Sami – Stonerpreneur, Stoner antics as they relate to my business and personal growth

Dina Santorelli – Making Baby Grand, And I thought giving birth to real babies was hard…

Lacey Savage – Tips and WIPS, Talking about writing fiction

Lilian Schaer – Food and Farming Canada, A blog about the farming side of food

Matthew Smith – Smidgen PC, Big news about tiny PCs

Michelle Smith – Law Office of Michelle R. Smith, Because it’s your life, your family and your choice

Stephanie Suesan Smith – Stephanie Suesan Smith PhD, Information Central

Claire Splan – Alameda Garden, Gardening issues in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond

Margarita Tartakovsky – Self-ish, {Sorta} Sage Advice on Being a Better You

Thinkingtoohard – Thinking too hard, This is where I empty my head

Blake Thompson – Black Thompson daht Net, “I’m just saying…”

Jodi Torpey – Western Gardeners, Your online guide to gardening in the West

Paul Tullis – Grim Tidings- True/Slant, My rants about politics & policy

Brandi-Ann Uyemura – Brandi-Ann Uyemura, Rather be freelancing: tips for the beginning writer

Beth VanHoose – Writing in Sand, My adventures in freelance writing, and other stuff

Rachel Vidoni – East Coast Musings, A humorous look at kids, family and life

Jen Walker – My Morning Chocolate, Writing, experiments, culture and adventure in food

Katie Jett Walls – One per Week, 52 posts on things that matter to me

Sarah Webb – Webb of Science, Connecting science and life

Rebecca Weber – Newstilt SAfrica

Susan Weiner – Investment Writing, For investment and wealth managers who want to communicate more effectively with clients and prospects

Rashida Williams – Really Rashida, Urban lit author blogging about my life and times

Jennifer Willis – Jennifer Willis, Thoughts on religion, sustainability, media and culture

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The next session of "How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read: A Five-Week Teleclass for Financial Advisors" will start in September. For more information, sign up to receive "Information on upcoming classes, workshops, and other events" as well as my free monthly newsletter. Copyright 2010 by Susan B. Weiner All rights reserved

Marketing via U.S. mail still pays

"Don't give up on mail," wrote marketing consultant Libby Dubick in "Four marketing resolutions for 2010." I agree that investment and wealth management firms should continue to use the U.S. mail.

Letters and brochures ranked high when Dubick conducted an informal survey of how senior marketing executives would like to be introduced to a wealth manager. They came in second only to personal referrals.

If you write a sales letter, remember these tips

• Emphasize your prospect's WIIFM--What's In It For Me--rather than talking about your firm
• Keep it short--People have short attention spans.
• Don't send it and forget it--Follow up with the individual.

Related posts

• Guest post: "The Lost Art of the Thank You Note"
• Your mail has three seconds to grab your reader's attention
• Guest post: Can I replace my print newsletter with an e-newsletter instead?" 

 ____________________
The next session of "How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read: A Five-Week Teleclass for Financial Advisors" will start in September. For more information, sign up to receive "Information on upcoming classes, workshops, and other events" as well as my free monthly newsletter. Copyright 2010 by Susan B. Weiner All rights reserved

No more fancy-pants prose, please

"The writer who indulges in fancy-pants prose sometimes has too large an ego, and sometimes one that's too small," says Francis Flaherty, author of The Elements of Story.

Fancy-pants prose--in other words, highfalutin, multisyllabic words--rarely serve writers well. Instead, as Flaherty suggests, they're evidence that the author is trying to impress his or her audience.

In the investment and wealth management world, this shows up in the use of words such as "mitigate" when "reduce" or "cut" would serve the purpose. 

Can you think of fancy-pants words you'd like to eliminate from our industry's publications? Please leave a comment.
 
____________________
Susan B. Weiner, CFA
Check out my website at www.InvestmentWriting.com or sign up for my free monthly e-newsletter.
Copyright 2010 by Susan B. Weiner All rights reserved

Treasurys vs. Treasuries -- Which is the right spelling?

What's the right way to spell the plural of Treasury, as in U.S. Treasury bond?

Should it be "Treasurys," following the rule that the members of the Murphy family become Murphys? Or should it follow the normal rules of creating plurals for words that end in the letter y?

I panicked when I saw "Treasurys" in The Wall Street Journal. Eek! Have I been spelling the word wrong for 20-odd years?

However, I quickly discovered that opinions are split. When I Googled the terms, there were 2.2 million results for Treasuries vs. only 1.5 million for Treasurys. 

The evidence for Treasuries
Here's the rule that would typically apply. "...if a word ends in a -y that isn't preceded by a vowel, the plural is formed by omitting the -y and substituting -ies...," according to Garner's Modern American Usage. Garner makes an exception for proper names ending in y. He agrees that Murphy becomes Murphys.

Does Treasury qualify as a proper name? Proper names are usually personal names--such as Murphy--or geographic names--such as Washington, D.C. Following this reasoning, Treasuries makes sense.

My friend, financial editor Harriett Magee, found that sources including the Barron's Dictionary of Finance and Investment Terms agreed with Treasuries. Plus, her spell-checker flagged Treasurys as a mistake. 

If you prefer Treasurys...
You've got some high-powered company if you stick with Treasurys. When The Wall Street Journal spells it that way, that legitimizes it in my eyes.

If you can't bear not knowing what's 100% correct, then use the workaround that Harriett Magee suggests. Refer to Treasury bonds, Treasury notes, and so on. It's bit wordy, but correct. 

Follow this advice, no matter what you decide
It's important to use your words consistently in your corporate communications. Pick one spelling and stick with it. 

Consider creating a corporate style guide that lists preferred spellings. It's a lot easier to have an authoritative source for your company than to try to keep the rules in your head.


My thanks go to David Glen, senior vice president at Boston Private Bank, for raising this question.
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The next session of "How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read: A Five-Week Teleclass for Financial Advisors" starts April 22. Sign up to receive my free monthly newsletter.
Copyright 2010 by Susan B. Weiner All rights reserved