How to Make a Financial Planning Website that Doesn't Look Like a Financial Planning Website

When you think of a financial planning website...what comes to mind?

• Nature pictures.

• Neutral tones.

• The same information over and over again.

I've worked on enough websites for advisors to inwardly groan when I see the typical site. So, imagine how your potential clients must be feeling; they're flipping through websites that all pretty much look the same. And I get it. In the world of financial planning, it's hard to take a risk - even with your marketing - when you've been told for years you should conform.

But there are ways you can look appealing to a potential client while still being professional - and it all boils down to creating something that automatically makes someone think, "I want THAT."

Once again it has everything to do with who you're marketing to. You really can't do anything effective until you know that.

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Then you think about the big question:

What does this person like to do? Or - what do they WANT to do in retirement?

Years ago, I wrote a piece on creating websites that look like the business you want - not the business you have right now. I believe we can take this same principle and use it to create websites that look like what the client wants, not what they have right now.

Here are some examples:

Client Goal: golf as much as they want to

• Website Vibe: High-end golf club

• Examples:

Destination Kohler

The Broadmoor

Client Goal: travel

• Website Vibe: Getaway

• Examples:

Explorateur Travel

Niarra

Client Goal: Being with friends and family

• Website Vibe: Dinner party, wine tasting/winery

• Examples:

Meadowcroft Wines

Sonia Events

Am I saying that you should have people on your website getting drunk on their third bottle of wine? No. Well, probably not. What we're trying to achieve is the overall feel of the websites that naturally attract your ideal client.

What you should be paying attention to on these websites:

• Colors

• Flow from section to section

• Logo

• Fonts

• Images

• Overall feel

It's not a blunt message that says, "Let me be your financial advisor and you can spend the rest of your days at a winery!" It's more of a subconscious message that gives the viewer a feeling: it could be relaxation, fun, luxury, or something else that is part of their overall planning goal.

We want the viewer to pull up your website, get a feeling that that's what they want...and you're the one who's going to help them get it.