Getting the Maximum Benefit from the Financial Wisdom Library of Content

The CD-based Library of Content provides an extensive amount of content that can be used in many ways. The content includes articles for consumers and small business, HTML formatted files for an online financial library and content that can be used on electronic display screens and more.

The consumer content has articles on the following topics:

The small business content falls into the following categories:

The electronic display content consists of short Financial Factoids and Financial Q&As. The Family Records Almanac is a 40 plus page document that consumers can use to organize and record important family and financial information. In addition, there is a series of 24 articles written as Ideas of the Month that could be suitable for using as rotating content on a home page. The Library of Content also has the Word and PDF files for the Family Records Almanac and a selection of worksheets.

Using the Library of Content in Your Electronic Marketing Efforts

Offer one or more Financial Tools, Resources and Information Centers on your website.
The Library of Content includes the HTML files for these types of sites that are similar to the branded linked services that Financial Wisdom offers.

• Add an Online Financial Library for Consumers
• Add a Small Business Resource Center
• Add a Security Center
• Add a Financial Foundation Center for young adults
• Add a Financial Solution Center that includes all of the above.

You have the flexibility to organize and present the content as you wish. The HTML files can serve as a template for creating and adding one or more of these Centers.

Supplement a Home Page product promotion with an informative article.
If you are featuring a product promotion on your home page, add a related educational article. It will lessen the "pitch nature" of the home page and enable viewers to put the promotion into a broader financial perspective. For example, a limited time promotion on home equity loans can be enhanced with an informative article that emphasizes the conveniences and tax benefits of this type of loan.

Feature a Financial Idea of the Month section on your home page.
Dedicating a small portion of your home page to fresh content (and labeling it as fresh) will keep visitors coming back to see next month's Idea. A short introduction on the home page will lead them to the full article and links to your related product or service. There are 24 Financial Ideas of the Month in the Library of Content.

Provide links from product pages to relevant articles.
Almost every product or service you offer has a related educational article in the Library of Content. Here are some examples:

Promote Deposit and Loan Products with Interactive Articles.
The Library of Content includes 16 articles focused on deposit and loan products that have simple calculators integrated into the article to help consumers evaluate their saving and borrowing options.

Offer the Family Records Almanac as a downloadable PDF on your website.
This comprehensive resource enables consumers to organize and record important family and financial information. Customize it with your name, logo and contact information so consumers think of your institution every time they use it. Here is an example.

Using Financial Wisdom Content in an Electronic Newsletter Program
The use of electronic newsletters is growing. Consumers like the convenience of email and electronic newsletters can be more cost effective and are good for the environment. Deciding what to communicate becomes easier with the articles from the Library of Content or Online Resource Library. Adding informative content to your marketing messages makes electronic newsletters more interesting and effective.

Many organizations use a format with summaries in the email with links back to other web pages. With a Financial Library (as part of your site) or the Online Resource Library, you simply add those links to your emailed newsletter. When a reader clicks on the link in the newsletter, they would link to the full article found in your Financial Library.

Take Advantage of the Calendar to Create a Marketing Effort With Relevant Articles
There is a connection between the time of the year and how consumers think about their finances. Here are some examples. You may want to consider how to incorporate timely themes into your electronic and traditional marketing efforts.

• December and January - as people are planning the upcoming year, provide articles that focus on ways they can organize their financial lives. Examples include: Eight Steps to Simplify Your Finances, Financial Planning Basics, Developing a Wise Borrowing Strategy.
• February, March and April - tax season is an ideal time to suggest IRAs as consumers want to lock in deductions. The Library of Content includes many articles on retirement and IRAs.
• November and December - many people make a majority of their charitable contributions late in the year to secure a current year tax deduction. Offer articles on Charitable Giving Strategies and Contributions of Appreciated Stock.
• November and December - many transfer money to children annually to fund college educations or for estate planning purposes late in the year. Use articles on College Funding Options, Estate Planning Basics and Estate Planning is More Than Minimizing Taxes.
• September, October and November - as students go back to school and start the college application process, offer articles on College Funding Options.

Save time by using the articles in the Library of Content as starting points for writing website content.

Using the Library of Content in Traditional Marketing Efforts

Enhancing a Paper Newsletter Program

• Add an informative column to your paper newsletter. Devoting a recurring section to financial literacy will enable readers to make better-informed financial decisions and show your dedication to their overall financial well being. Consider naming the column Financial Advisor, Take Control of Your Financial Future, Financial Education or some similar term. There are over 350 articles to choose from.
• Add a Financial Question and Answer section to your paper newsletter. Address significant financial issues with a regular Financial Question and Answer column.
• Add a Financial IQ Test section to your paper newsletter. Short questions and answers can help readers better understand specific issues. There are over 75 short questions and answers arranged by topic in the Library of Content. Their size also makes them very usable for short columns within your newsletter.
• Add articles that are very timely or relate to featured products. Consider IRA articles early in the year, mortgage articles to coincide with changing rates, retirement articles to coincide with the political discussion on Social Security, home equity loan articles highlighting convenience and tax benefits.
• Sequentially add one page Worksheet inserts to your newsletters to enable consumers to prepare personal balance sheets, household budgets or record important financial information. There are nine worksheets included in the Library of Content.
• Use the articles in the Library of Content as starting points for writing newsletter content. It can make writing the newsletter much easier and save time.

Other Uses

• Select articles to run as advertisements in newspapers featuring your professional staff.
• Use articles as enclosures as part of a new relationship program.
• Use the Checklists found in the Financial Tool Kit as outlines for public seminars or workshops.
• Use the Guidelines from the Small Business Resource Center as handouts for business prospects.
• Use the Checklists from the Financial Tool Kit as outlines for discussions with consumers.
• Use the articles to supplement your product brochures.