The Yardstick Agency

When you think about what makes a great website, you probably picture eye-catching design, easy navigation, stunning images, and enticing headers. But there’s one key element Elena reckons you can’t overlook: the call to action, or CTA for short 📣 According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a call to action is “something that incites or provokes activity; a prompt or summons to act”. A CTA encourages your reader and prospective clients to engage with your content, whether on your website, an advert, a newsletter sign-up, or a social media post. CTAs can come in many forms, from eye-catching buttons on your website to clickable text links or even just persuasive phrases within your paragraphs. You’ve seen the usual CTAs: “Buy now,” “Read more,” “Find out more,” “Get in touch,” and “Click here.” These are fine and get the job done, but let’s be honest – we can do better! Keep reading through the link in the comments to discover how to make your CTAs stand out on your website and beyond 👇

We're beyond delighted that TWO of our amazing team are finalists at The Verve Awards 2024 🥳 Our Graphic Designer, Sarah Watts, has made it onto the shortlist for Best Marketing Campaign for her brilliant work on both the Melo and Money Means projects. And our Client Engagement Manager, Abi Robinson, is a finalist for Rising Star of the Year for her incredible achievements in such a short space of time in financial services. Please join us in wishing Sarah and Abi a huge congratulations, and lots and LOTS of good luck for the awards ceremony on Monday 9 September 🏆 #VerveAwards24

Everything we do is tailored to your specific needs. We’ll need to get to know you and your firm, so it’s only fair you get to know us too! Laura has been working as a web developer since graduating from Nottingham Trent University. In her free time, Laura can be found at archery, a sport she is incredibly talented at! She also enjoys spending time with friends and family and exploring new places 🤗 Laura works within our digital team. They spend the majority of their time building brand-new websites, and improving upon existing ones. From design to development to copy - our dedicated team have years of experience designing beautiful, award-winning websites for financial services firms. In fact, sites we’ve created won Best Adviser Website at the Professional Adviser Awards in 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024 🏆 So, if you want a website that demonstrates to potential clients you’re the expert they need, email hi@theyardstickagency.co.uk and we’ll be delighted to explain the process in more detail.  

About a month ago, Madeleine went to a free yoga class being offered by her gym 🧘 She had become well and truly immersed in yoga during lockdown – it helped her through some difficult emotional times, motivated her to get fit, and even helped to cure the chronic acne Maddie had suffered with for years. She loved it, but over the last few years, she's lost her way with yoga and stopped practising it completely. So when the chance to attend a free, 30-minute class popped up, she went along, expecting to have nothing more than a nice time... Instead, the yoga teacher made such a powerful first impression that, fast forward to today, and Maddie is now attending these classes twice a week. Head to the link in the comments to discover what Maddie's story can teach you about the power of word of mouth for your financial services firm 🗣️

Every week, our team recognise and reward colleagues who go above and beyond by nominating them to receive a little prize and a lot of kudos 🥰 This week, we have two record-breaking winners! Normally, 16 votes would be enough to see you sail into the distance with your chosen prize... ⛵️ So an especially BIG congratulations to Adam Kay and Euan Cameron! Adam has been keeping a client very happy this week, and was described as being "blessed with a skill to craft words". As a Digital Copywriter, we're sure that was music to Adam's ears. We've been going round the team giving little "get to know me" presentations for the past couple of months, and it was Adam's last Friday. Safe to say, we were all engrossed (and quite moved) by his. Euan's latest Yardstick blog was published this week, and everyone brielieves it was grate (sorry). If you haven't had a chance to read it yet, and want to make your writing as engaging and cliché-free as possible, we've linked it in the comments below 🪤 He's also been helping colleagues out with a few last-minute articles, and keeping a hand in with the social media team. A very good egg! 😄 Euan opted for a tower fan (not sure how much that will come in handy in sunny Scotland 😉) and Adam picked the much-loved book subscription. Enjoy! Have a good weekend 🌞

Client testimonial videos are one of the three types of social proof we recommend all firms need. Unfortunately, most don't have them... They demonstrate your expertise and are the most effective way for existing clients to tell prospective clients about the benefits of working with you 😄 But our research shows that only 6.4% of financial advice/planning firms have them on their website. If you’re one of those firms, you’ll impress prospects and stand out from the crowd. That sounds like a win-win to us! But that leads us to the huge problem preventing most firms from developing client testimonial videos; they’re worried about asking their clients to take part in the project 🫣 So, this week, Phil Bray💡The Financial Services Marketing Guy💡is going to help by explaining how to ask your clients to appear in testimonial videos and give you a free template which deals with each of the three reasons we’ve identified above. Head to the link in the comments to start your journey to feeling the fear, doing it anyway, and showing more prospects the value of working with you 🤝

If there’s one thing in this world Euan couldn’t live without, it would have to be cheese 🧀 Rich, versatile, and endlessly satisfying, it’s no wonder cheese holds such a special place in our hearts. However, there is one area where cheese isn’t a welcome addition: in your copywriting. Sometimes, when you’re writing compelling content, you may find yourself repeating the same cheesy clichés over and over again. Granted, they’re easy to fall into, especially when you’re trying to post blogs regularly. Nevertheless, they can make your copy seem unimaginative and lazy. Much like using processed cheese rather than fresh cheddar on a burger, clichés often detract from the flavour of your writing and undermine its potential 🍔 With that in mind, continue reading through the link in the comments to discover five cheesy clichés that are best avoided when you’re writing engaging and original copy 🪤

You wouldn’t hire someone without getting to know them first. It should be no different with the team looking after your marketing 🤝 Having graduated with a degree in graphic design, Lucy has worked in both freelance and in-house roles. She joins us with previous experience in branding, print and sports clothing design. Lucy is now keen to expand on other areas of design whilst building her knowledge of the finance profession. Outside of work, she's interested in music and playing games like The Sims and Animal Crossing, but also loves nothing more than to relax and take a nap! Lucy is part of our branding team. Put simply, they make your business beautiful ⚡️ Some days they’re helping a new start firm come up with a name and visual identity for their exciting new adventure. Other days they might be working on stationary, designing a slide deck, or jazzing up a terms of business. They’re a dab hand at animations too! Basically, if you want something to sparkle, whether digitally or printed, Lucy and the rest of the branding team can help. Email us at hi@theyardstickagency.co.uk - we’d love to help bring your vision to life 🤝

After weeks of dominating the headlines, the UK’s general election has concluded with Labour securing a historic victory. The column inches dedicated to delving into manifestos and air time given to dissecting the debates, demonstrates the power words have 🗞️ Next time you’re putting together content for your business, considering the effect your words may have and how they might support your goals could improve the outcome... Your approach might have more in common with that of politicians than you think. For instance, when writing content or preparing speeches, politicians might want to: ✍️ Persuade the audience that they’re the right person for the job 🎙️ Establish that they have the necessary experience and skills ✍️ Show that they’ll be acting in the voters’ best interests 🎙️ Demonstrate they’re a safe, reliable pair of hands. As a financial planner, these aims are likely to be similar to yours when you’re writing content to attract prospects or strengthen relationships with existing ones. Read on through the link in the comments to discover five lessons from Charlotte that you could learn from general elections 🇬🇧

🧠 This week on Standard Deviations, Daniel Crosby, Ph.D. is joined by Phil Bray, Founder and Director of The Yardstick Agency, a firm that stands at the forefront of marketing for Financial Planners. 💻 Now in his third decade in financial services, Phil’s experience spans advising, compliance, and marketing. Phil brings this unique mix of knowledge and experience to all Yardstick clients. He’s long dreamed of providing truly high-quality marketing options to financial advisers, planners, brokers, and providers. 🎧 Listen here, or wherever you get your podcasts: https://bit.ly/4bDB0Gv