Guest: James Conole, CFP®, Founder of Root Financial Partners and star of a very successful YouTube channel with over 61,000 subscribers.

In a Nutshell: When prospects watch your YouTube videos, read your newsletters, listen to your podcasts, and click on your website, within seconds they should think, “These guys are reading my mind!” Understanding the information your audience wants is key to making content that appeals to both your ideal client and the complex algorithms that determine who gets shown your content.

On today’s show, James Conole explains how he coordinated his YouTube channel, podcast, and website to create a lead-generating machine that in 12 months has attracted nearly 700 prospects with at least $500,000 of investable assets and generated $120 million in new AUM.

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.James Conole and I discuss:

  • James’ process for writing, recording, editing, and publishing his content.
  • Why YouTubers should “think of the algorithm as an audience” when conceptualizing videos.
  • Questions that your website needs to answer to prevent prospects from clicking to the next site.
  • How James defines his target audience and ideal clients.
  • Why storytelling always matters, even in a short video.
  • Elevating your brand beyond the personality of one principal.
  • How James handles prospects who follow the YouTube videos to his website but don’t meet the firm’s minimums.
  • The nonnegotiables at the heart of Root’s values and customer experience.
  • How Dave Ramsey led James to financial services and James’ thoughts on the recent online spat about Ramsey’s 8% retirement withdrawal rate.
  • What Ramsey and other financial personalities like Rick Edelman, Suze Orman, and Ken Fisher can teach all advisors about authenticity and delivering an empowering message.

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