How to write personalized financial marketing copy (even when you’re speaking to many)

By Cindy Schrauben

Great Gus Marketing

Imagine this: Two financial advisors send their prospects the same retirement planning email. One gets crickets. The other schedules three consultations that same day. What made the difference? Personalized financial marketing copy that feels like a conversation, not a sales pitch.

The best-performing websites, emails, and blog posts don’t sound like marketing. Nope, the best copy sounds like a person. Personalized copy builds trust. It connects and converts. Why? Because the words feel like they were written just for you.

But writing that kind of personalized marketing copy, especially when you’re addressing a broad audience, isn’t always easy, especially for financial professionals who are used to writing for compliance, not conversation.

Here’s the good news: With a few strategic shifts, your personalized financial marketing copy can sound clear, confident, and human – even when you’re speaking to many.

Why your current marketing probably isn’t working

Most financial advisors struggle with their marketing copy because they’ve been trained to write in a particular way. You’ve learned to be precise, compliant, and comprehensive. Those skills serve you well in client meetings and financial plans but can work against you in marketing.

Here’s what typically happens: You sit down to write a blog post or email, and your compliance training kicks in. You start hedging every statement, adding disclaimers, and using industry jargon that feels “professional.” The result? Writing that sounds like the product of a committee of lawyers.

Your prospects don’t connect with that kind of writing. They want to feel understood, not lectured. They want solutions, not legal disclaimers. They want to know you get their specific situation, even when you’re writing to hundreds of people at once.

That’s where personalized financial marketing copy makes all the difference.

Why writing to one person works

When someone reads your personalized financial marketing copy, they’re doing it alone: They could be on their phone, at their desk, or between meetings. That one-to-one feel matters. Because it’s not just about being informative, it’s about being relatable.

Think about your best client relationships. What makes them work? You understand their specific concerns. You speak their language. You address their real worries, not theoretical problems they might never face.

If your marketing message sounds like it’s meant for “everyone,” it often resonates with no one. But your audience recognizes when it's meant for them because it sounds like them. This creates a connection, and connections build trust.

Consider the difference between these two approaches:

Generic approach: “We help clients optimize their financial strategies through comprehensive planning methodologies.”

Personalized approach: “Worried you’re not saving enough for retirement? You’re not alone, and you’re not behind. Let’s figure out a plan that fits your life.”

The second version speaks to a real person with a valid concern. It acknowledges their emotion (worry) and offers reassurance. Most importantly, it sounds like something you’d say to a client sitting across from you.

How to make your personalized financial marketing copy feel more human

Here’s how to shift from vague to specific, from generic to personal, without writing a separate email or web page for every client type.

Picture a real client you love working with

Instead of trying to write for “your audience,” think of one actual client you enjoy. Someone you understand. Someone who asks smart, honest questions. Someone you’d love to work with again.

Then write to them.

Let’s say you’re thinking of Allison, a 45-year-old dentist worried about saving enough for her kids’ college while funding her retirement. When you write your personalized financial marketing copy with Allison in mind, you might address questions like:

• "How do I balance saving for college and retirement when I can’t afford both?”

• “Should I prioritize my 401(k) or my kids’ 529 plans?”

• “What if I’m starting this planning too late?”

These aren’t theoretical questions. These questions are the exact concerns Allison brought to your office. And if Allison has these worries, chances are many of your prospects do too.

Ask yourself:

• What are they worried about at 2 AM when they can’t sleep?

• What do they need to hear from you to feel at ease?

• What tone would you use when sitting across the table from them?

• What misconceptions do they have about financial planning?

• What’s their biggest fear about their financial future?

This shift makes your personalized financial marketing copy feel more grounded, more human, and much easier to write.

Use language your clients use

Often, writing meant to sound professional ends up sounding robotic. But your clients don’t talk like that and don’t want to read it.

Your clients don’t say, “optimize my asset allocation.” They say, “make sure my money is in the right places.” They don’t “implement tax-loss harvesting strategies,” they want to “pay less in taxes.”

Instead of this:

• “Optimize your retirement distribution strategy”

• “Implement comprehensive estate planning solutions”

• “Maximize tax-advantaged investment vehicles”

Try this:

• “Make good decisions about when and how to use your retirement money”

• “Protect your family’s financial future”

• “Keep more of your money by using the right investment accounts”

Every phrase you choose shapes the tone of your personalized marketing copy. Keep it natural and keep it clear.

Here are some specific swaps that work well for financial professionals:

• Instead of “portfolio diversification,” say: “spreading your investments around”

• Instead of “risk tolerance assessment,” say: “figuring out how comfortable you are with the markets’ ups and downs”

• Instead of “fiduciary responsibility,” say: “I’m legally required to put your interests first”

Write like you talk (just tighter)

If you wouldn’t say it out loud, don’t write it down.

That doesn’t mean writing exactly how you speak. However, it does mean keeping your sentences short, your tone authentic, and your ideas easy to follow. You can still be professional and polished – just don’t overcomplicate it.

Use:

• “You” more than “clients” or “investors”

• Questions like: “Not sure if you’re on track for retirement? That’s completely normal.”

• Brief paragraphs and varied sentence rhythm

• Contractions (you’re, don’t, can’t) to sound more conversational

• Active voice instead of passive voice

This conversational style improves readability and makes your personalized financial marketing copy more likely to stick.

For example, instead of:

“Retirement planning strategies should be implemented by individuals who are concerned about their future financial security.”

Try:

“Worried about having enough money for retirement? Here are three things you should be thinking about now.”

The second version is shorter, more direct, and speaks to the reader’s genuine concern.

What if you have more than one audience?

Good question.

Maybe you work with couples and individuals, or pre-retirees and early-career professionals, or business owners and employees. The key is to focus on shared values and common questions rather than trying to address every possible scenario.

Instead of naming every possible client type, speak to the universal need:

“Whether you’re just starting or planning your exit strategy, you want to feel confident in your financial decisions.”

Here’s how this works in practice. Let’s say you serve both young professionals and pre-retirees. Instead of writing separate content for each group, find the common ground:

Universal concern: Feeling behind on their financial goals

Young professional version: “Started your career later than planned? Worried you’re behind on saving?”

Pre-retiree version: “Feel like you should have started planning sooner? Worried you’re behind on retirement savings?”

Universal version: “Feel like you’re behind on your financial goals? You’re not alone and it’s not too late.”

The universal version acknowledges the shared emotion (feeling behind) without getting specific about age or career stage. It speaks to both audiences while still feeling personal.

Other universal themes that work well for your personalized financial marketing copy:

• Wanting to feel confident about their financial future

• Feeling overwhelmed by financial decisions

• Worrying about making mistakes with money

• Wanting to protect their family’s future

• Feeling uncertain about retirement readiness

The compliance challenge (and how to handle it)

I know what you’re thinking: “This sounds great, but what about compliance?”

Honestly, you can write personalized, conversational copy that’s still compliant. The key is understanding the difference between making promises you can’t keep and speaking to people’s real concerns.

What compliance restricts:

• Guaranteeing specific returns

• Making predictions about market performance

• Claiming to be the “best” without substantiation

• Using superlatives without data to back them up

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What compliance doesn’t restrict:

• Acknowledging common financial concerns

• Explaining your process in plain English

• Sharing general financial education

• Speaking conversationally about your services

You can say: “Worried about having enough for retirement? Let’s create a plan that helps you feel more confident about your financial future.”

You can’t say: “I guarantee you’ll have enough for retirement if you work with me.”

The difference is acknowledging the concern versus promising a specific outcome.

When in doubt, have your compliance team review a few examples of your new personalized financial marketing copy. Most compliance officers appreciate clear, honest communication that builds trust. Remember, they want to make sure you’re not making claims you can’t support.

Specific tactics that work for financial professionals

Here are some proven approaches for creating personalized financial marketing copy that feels authentic and compliant:

Start with their emotion, then offer the logical solution. People make financial decisions emotionally and then justify them logically. Acknowledge the feeling first: “Retirement planning feels overwhelming when you’re juggling mortgage payments, kids’ expenses, and everything else. That’s exactly why we break it down into manageable steps.”

Use “what if” scenarios. These let you address specific concerns without making guarantees: “What if you could retire five years earlier than planned? Here’s how we’d approach that conversation.”

Share what you’ve learned from other clients. This builds credibility while staying compliant: “After working with hundreds of families, I’ve learned that the biggest retirement planning mistake isn’t starting too late. It’s not starting at all.”

Address the elephant in the room. Your prospects have concerns they’re not voicing. Address them directly: “Worried that financial planning is only for wealthy people? Let’s talk about that.”

Final thought: Connection first, clarity always

Successful personalized financial marketing copy doesn’t just inform – it invites, encourages, and builds trust.

Your message becomes clearer when you write like you’re speaking to one person. Stronger. More meaningful. And the people who read it are more likely to nod along and take that next step.

Your prospects don’t need more financial jargon or generic advice. They need to know that you understand their specific situation and that you can help them navigate it. They need to feel like you’re talking directly to them, addressing their genuine concerns, not delivering a lecture to a conference room full of strangers.

So next time you sit down to write? Picture that one client you’d love to hear from. Think about their specific worries, their real questions, their actual language. Then write to them.

That’s how you make your personalized financial marketing copy work, and that’s how you turn blog readers, social media connections, and website visitors into actual clients.

Remember: In a world full of generic financial advice, the advisor who sounds like a real person talking about real problems will always stand out.

That’s your competitive advantage. Use it.

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Want marketing that actually speaks to your ideal clients? I help financial professionals cut through the noise with messaging that works. Book your free 10-minute strategy call and let’s get started.

Based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Great Gus Marketing specializes in copywriting, content writing, and marketing strategy.