Three Crowns Mixtape: January 28, 2022

Johnny Sandquist

Founder & CEO, Three Crowns Copywriting & Marketing

Jan 28, 2022

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Important financial industry news + marketing insights + good music.

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Is this the beginning of the end of robo-advising? And what’s up with that Alabama town’s new “F!” logo?

We’ve got the details on Wealthfront’s recent acquisition, the importance of brand images, and tips on how to keep your website feeling fresh. Plus, our favorite music picks of the week ⬇️

Must-Read Financial Industry & Marketing Articles

The Robo-Advisor Dream is Over

Remember when robo advisors first came on the scene? The idea was so fresh, so disruptive. It was like witnessing punk bands in the 70s coming in to bring an end to disco. But now the news is out: Wealthfront, one of the first and most notable robo advisors, has been acquired by UBS for almost $1.5 billion.

It’s the usual business lifecycle, if we’re being realistic. The disruptor comes in guns blazing and forces everyone else to adapt to their new ideas, then gradually they settle into the status quo as they grow, and in the final act they end up selling to the company they were trying to displace (who somehow, always seems to only grow larger while all this disruption is happening around it).

Sure, UBS will give Wealthfront all the usual things you see in acquisition press releases – like “scale” and “shared values” and all that. And this is absolutely a great thing for Wealthfront’s founders and investors. They should be congratulated on building such an incredible business.
But if we’re talking about the “idea” of robo advice completely disrupting wealth management for all Americans, this is kind of like Wealthfront taking their guitars to the pawn shop (or maybe it’s John Lydon of the Sex Pistols doing an ad for Country Life butter). The dream of an independent taking over…is over?

The End of an Era

Build a Pretty Website, Build More Credibility

We build websites for advisors for a living, so it’s probably not a surprise that we think how your website looks is a pretty big deal.

In this guest post on Kitces’ blog, Mikel Bruce from TinyFrog Technologies showcases a few ways your website can build trust through its design and the visual imagery you use.

As is typical with articles published by Kitces, it’s a long read, but a good one. Even skimming it just to look at the images of the advisor sites included could be enough to give you ideas on how to improve yours.

Put That Website to Work

Everything You Need to Know About Blog Images

Andy Crestodina and Orbit Media are back in the mix(tape) with another great article on blogging. If you struggle to know what images to add to your blogs, this piece is for you. And if not, you should still check it out for their great infographic on how to generate leads.

The basic takeaway is that images are essential to making your blogs pop, and the more images the better. They go through 11 different types of blog images and the impact they can have on your blog’s performance, especially when sharing on social media.

And if nothing else, it’s a great reminder that you could be using stock photography with Vince Vaughn in it.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words…and Leads

When Branding Goes Wrong

The city of Florence, Alabama, released their new brand mark this week, and it…could use some work. Maybe a focus group at least? It’s a great reminder that a neutral third party is invaluable when developing a new logo. You don’t necessarily have to hire an agency, but you should at least show your ideas to a few people outside your inner circle to avoid a potential situation that makes you want to shout “F!” If you need a laugh, go check out the comments on their announcement video (assuming they haven’t taken it down by now).