What It’s Like to Write Financial Copy – Part 3 (The Difference)

Like I told you earlier, I spent the early part of my copywriting career writing in the alternative health niche. And most of my health clients would just leave me alone to do my work.

No micromanaging. And few edits. They would tell me what they wanted, I’d write it, and they were happy.

That was my copywriting experience up to that point, so naturally I thought writing for financial publishers would be about the same.

Was I ever WRONG!

Here are 7 things about financial copywriting that may be different from writing in other niches:

• You do NOT work alone.

Now, if you’re just starting out as a financial copywriter, this is not a bad thing. Financial promotions are different than anything I’ve ever written before, so I needed some direction – especially at first.

But no one – not even the most experienced financial copywriter – works alone. I was required to work closely with the publisher, investor, and a copy chief – although sometimes the publisher doubles as the copy chief.

You collaborate with this team of people when coming up with the Big Idea for the promotion. And they stick with you until the VSL goes live.

They’re the ones that review your drafts – and rip them to shreds. (The first draft is usually garbage.) They’re the ones that help you find the proof you need to make the copy even more compelling. And they’re the ones that push you to write the best copy you possibly can.

As the saying goes, “teamwork makes the dream work.” If you don’t like to work as part of a team, writing copy for financial publishers is probably not for you.

• You need to be able to handle criticism.

I’m not going to lie to you. The copy critiques are brutal at times – especially when you’re just starting out. Sometimes, you get your copy back, and all you see is red! It’s downright discouraging.

But it’s all part of the process. You need to be able to handle constructive criticism to grow as a copywriter – and to make the promotion as strong as possible.

If you get all bent out of shape when someone says something negative about your copy, then steer clear of financial copywriting!

• You need to be able to travel.

Now, how much you have to travel depends on the financial publisher. One of the companies I worked for encouraged their copywriters to work in their Baltimore office for one week per month. Because of my personal circumstances, I was unable to do that, and I was told that affected my opportunities to get larger projects there.

The other financial publisher I wrote for was different. I was only required to travel for annual meetings and for the filming of the VSL scripts I wrote.

Now, the nice thing about traveling to your client’s main office is you get to meet the people you’ve only seen in Zoom meetings. It gives you a chance to get to know your fellow copywriters and make important connections in the industry.

• You need to be patient.

From Big Idea to VSL launch, the process could take six months – or more. During that time, you are writing and rewriting your copy. When the publisher, copy chief, and investor finally sign off on it, the copy then heads to the legal department. And that means – you guessed it – more edits and more rewriting.

And when everyone is finally happy with the finished product, the promotion still needs to be filmed and edited. And you still have to come up with the emails and ads that will drive traffic to the video.

It’s a long, drawn-out process. If you’re someone that likes to turn around projects quickly so you can get to work on something new, financial copywriting might not be the best fit for you.

• You need to be detail-oriented.

To write the most powerful financial copy, you need to do your research. And I don’t mean poking around on Google for a few hours. I’m talking DAYS of research.

Research is how you find your Big Idea. It’s how you learn about the company, stock, and industry. It’s how you find comparable stocks to illustrate how massive the reader’s ROI might be.

Research is vital to the success of your promotion. But you also need to document every piece of information you use – and every claim you make. The legal department will go over EVERYTHING. And if you don’t list your source for something, they’ll make you go back and find it.

If you hate doing research – or you’re terrible at keeping track of where you find information – you’ll be pretty miserable as a financial copywriter.

• You won’t strike it rich overnight.

If you’re getting into financial copywriting just to rake in massive royalties, you’re going to be disappointed.

Do some financial copywriters receive six-figure royalty payments? Yep. But they are usually the more experienced writers. It’s quite common for the first few promos written by newer copywriters to fail spectacularly – and generate few royalties at all.

One of my copy chiefs told me that financial copy is the hardest type of copy to write. That’s why so many people are involved with each promotion. It takes a lot of work and collaboration to churn out a winner.

And it takes time to learn how to build a financial promo – and to discover what your prospect really wants. It doesn’t happen overnight. And neither do the big royalties.

• You need to work long hours.

If you have a deadline, it doesn’t matter what it takes. Days… nights… weekends… whatever. You’ll be expected to make a way to get the job done in time.

The financial publishers have a schedule to keep. So, if they pencil your promo in to be filmed on a certain day, you had better be prepared to move heaven and earth to make it happen.

When I was with my last financial client, I found myself working on (and filming) two videos at the same time. I worked days, nights, and weekends for a month straight. I was completely and utterly exhausted. But that’s what it took.

Financial publishers expect you to put in 110%. And if that means working nights and weekends, so be it. They want you to put your work for them FIRST – above everything else. Even sleep! So, if you have young children or other family obligations, you may want to rethink a career as a financial copywriter.

These are things I wish I knew BEFORE I started writing financial copy. Hopefully, you now have the information to decide if this niche is really right for you.