The Scariest Marketing Mistakes Financial Advisors Make
You don’t need a haunted house to feel chills—these marketing mistakes will do the trick.
👻 Note: I had a ghostly assist from AI with this article—proof that human + machine can make a frightfully good team.
It’s Halloween, and while haunted houses and ghost stories can be fun, there’s nothing scarier than the marketing mistakes that haunt financial advisors all year long.
Here are five of the most frightening, plus how to keep them from creeping into your business.
1. The Invisible Audience 🕸️
The scariest thing in marketing? When no one’s listening. If you’re not clear about who you’re talking to, your message disappears into the void.
The fix: Focus your efforts on a well-defined audience. The clearer your niche, the more your message will be heard.
2. The Phantom Strategy 👻
Ever feel like your marketing efforts are floating around with no direction? That’s because there’s no real plan holding them together. Random acts of marketing are like ghosts. You see traces of activity, but nothing tangible.
The fix: Ground your efforts in a clear strategy so your marketing has form, focus, and purpose.
3. The Half-Committed Haunting 🕯️
Some of the most chilling results come from great ideas that were never fully executed. Advisors start a podcast, newsletter, or event series, and then ghost it halfway through.
The fix: Finish what you summon or let the idea rest in peace. Consistency is what turns ideas into results.
4. The “Everyone Says I Should” Curse 🧙♀️
Doing something just because everyone says you should (like being on social media) is how advisors end up chasing phantoms instead of real opportunities.
The fix: Do what enchants your audience, not someone else’s.
5. The Fear of Standing Out 🎃
Many advisors play it safe, worried they’ll scare someone off by being too specific. But the real fright comes from blending in.
The fix: The most powerful marketing is bold, clear, and distinct. It attracts the right people and repels the wrong ones.
The takeaway? You don’t need a magic spell or a crystal ball to fix your marketing. You just need focus, consistency, and the courage to commit. Because the only thing truly terrifying in marketing … is doing nothing at all.
