Like most advisors, you've probably stared at a piece of marketing copy and thought:
"This is technically correct... but nobody is going to read it."
That's the challenge.
The problem isn't usually a lack of information. It's too much information.
Recently, we took on the task of creating a brochure about Potomac that an advisor could share with an end-client.
We started with nearly 1,800 words of investment philosophy, risk management concepts, portfolio construction, tactical investing methodology, and advisor messaging and created something much harder than writing it in the first place:
Condense it without losing the meaning.
The result wasn't shorter copy.
The result was clearer thinking.
The Curse of Knowledge
When you've been doing something for twenty years, it's easy to forget what it's like not knowing it.
You understand:
Sequence of returns
Correlation
Reducing Drawdown
Tactical management
Diversification
Trend-following
Your clients don't.
And frankly, some advisors don't either.
Our source material explained all of these concepts correctly. The problem was that it required the reader to work too hard.
Good marketing doesn't make people think harder.
It makes understanding easier.
Compression Without Data Loss
One of my favorite lines from the rewrite was:
"A -50% decline on a chart looks manageable. Living through it? Different story."
The original version used several paragraphs to explain drawdowns. This version says the same thing in three short sentences. That's not dumbing it down. That's refining it.
The same thing happened with:
"Math is undefeated."
A concept that could have taken five slides suddenly became memorable.
That's the job. Not adding words. Removing the unnecessary ones.
Less is more!
The Best Advisors Already Think This Way
A good advisor doesn't impress clients by explaining every moving part of a portfolio.
A good advisor creates confidence through clarity.
The same applies to marketing. The goal isn't demonstrating how much you know. The goal is to help someone understand why it matters.
Those are very different things.
Why We Created This
We built this exercise because it highlights one of the most valuable uses of marketing.
Not replacing expertise.
Not replacing strategy.
Not replacing creativity.
Refining communication.
The knowledge still has to come from somewhere. The conviction still must come from somewhere. The investment philosophy still must be earned through experience. But once those pieces exist, great marketing can help sharpen the message.
Sometimes dramatically.
The Bigger Lesson
Most advisor marketing fails because it sounds like advisor marketing.
Long explanations. Industry jargon. Paragraphs that could have been sentences. Sentences that could have been headlines.
The rewrite worked because it focused on what clients actually care about:
Losing money
Protecting wealth
Understanding risk
Making better decisions
Everything else became supporting evidence.
As it should.
Bottom Line
Our goal was simple: taking decades of experience, a sophisticated investment philosophy, and a complex process and distilling it into something a real person could understand after one read.
That's what great marketing does.
Not as the original voice. As the editor.
