Building in Public: Writing a "Value-add"

My favorite thing is to start any conversation in a positive light, but when there’s a problem that needs solving, you can’t start with gold stars and praise. My current issue is this: There is a deluge of generic, often AI-generated, entry-level ebooks on the market that are usually just re-purposed blog posts. All touted as high quality or strong "value adds."

It's not just AI, to be fair. There are human authors that continue to proffer the same, regurgitated advice.

A portion contain relevant information, albeit oversimplified. But unless you are an absolute beginner, even the best ebooks fall flat. While the majority are actionable—something I greatly admire—they typically are a rehashing of basic concepts that lack in-depth insight into key topic area. If you’re luckily, the author (whether human or ChatGPT is a toss up, given the generic data) will pull a few statistics and facts to support their case, proffer a definition or two, and call it a day. There’s rarely in-depth research or relevant use cases to provide clarity or vivid example.

It makes a content writer reflect on what "value-add" or "high quality" mean in today's saturated market.

One component is that a true value-add closes gaps. That's where I started. What has been missing from my content reference library that would make my life easier? That would help my clients, too?

So, the next project I’m building in public: I’m writing a book about finance and compliance writing.

This isn’t my first rodeo. I've written books and long-form content before. The question here is time, organization, and ensuring the end result is fluff-less.

Until recently, I didn’t have the spare minutes to sit down and write. But after hammering out an outline, I’ve got 60% of a rough draft.

This is the creative brief for that book (and a call to get involved).

The Background

I have over a decade of experience in writing, and around ~8 years under my belt in compliance-heavy fields. Over the years, I’ve read countless books on writing and marketing for finance and fintech, but few have covered compliance in detail.

During the start of my career, I found it challenging to grasp compliance. And while most of my articles made it through with minimal revisions, I always felt I was writing in the dark, no matter how much I Googled about the topic. The legalese of the original texts didn’t help, although I did learn my way around legal documents that way.

I believe I now have the expertise and curiosity about the topic to get the job done — and hopefully help out other writers and marketers in the field.

The Key Question

What book about writing could create high, unique value to clients and other writers alike?

There are books on writing about finance, usually centered around stocks and business writing. Mine is a little different.

It’s a practical approach to content writing for finance organizations, from lenders to banks to payment companies. Each section includes core concepts and regulations to provide a strong basis for writers to understand their industry and restrictions on advertising.

This book will cover key elements of compliant writing:

• Defining finance and fintech regulations in plain English
• Loosely related regulations (such as PCI-DSS, CCPA, Regulation E, etc.) that may come up while writing or that the writer should be familiar with
• Dealing with disclosures and citing information compliantly
• Writing examples
• Glossary of common terminology

Key Message

Compliance is key to sound positioning, smooth content writing, and swift publishing.

Measuring Success (KPIs)

I like to start ‘small’ when it comes to launching a new project, especially when I’m focused on client work, administrative work, and volunteering for my nonprofit. That said, I have a few metrics for success once it launches:

• Goal: 500 sales
• Email collection: 100 emails
• Read through stats, if available, if I publish through Kindle Unlimited. But I need to reassess that distribution method.

Expectations

Normally, I forgo expectations and focus on the work. What I would like to see is generally summed up in KPIs. But I can say that from the 60% already completed:

Compliance is more of a range than a definite list of rules, and that range varies per sector. Some key regulations date back as far as the 1930s and 1940s, making them extremely constricting today — despite good intentions.

It’s not just about finance anymore. Cybersecurity and data privacy are just as importance when it comes to writing about finance and marketing. However, these requirements are less of a competitive advantage for businesses, unless they are going far beyond the mandated infrastructure.

Understanding the regulations help with formatting, as well as writing. Many disclosures must be shown “prominently and clearly”, leading to some industry standards—which may or may not fit the bill in practice. When you know the regulations, you can better visualize how your article will look, place strategic in-article disclosures, and work together better with the design department.

Pooling my knowledge on compliance is refining my process. This is especially true for industries I work in less frequently, such as M&A and insurance.

But, my biggest hope is to tap into my network and get insight from compliance professionals and other writers within my community. I’m a big believer in working together and crediting other professionals in the space — we learn and grow together.

So, perhaps, building my network relationships is my number one expectation.

Reference Point

I’ve read A LOT in the content writing space, and finding niche-specific books can be more challenging. There are several I found helpful, either for improving legal writing or understanding the advisor landscape, such as:

• Legal Writing in Plain English by Bryan A. Garner
• Extraordinary Marketing for Financial Advisors: Mile High Maverick Guide to Ultimate Marketing Success by Stephen Oliver
• Shift: Digital marketing Secrets of Insurance Agents and Financial Advisers by Jeremiah D. Desmarais

But perhaps one of my favorites books on finance writing (and really, more economy and business writing) is Show Me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication by Chris Roush. It’s not a book on compliance, or even finance specific. But as a textbook to business journalism, it is topic adjacent and was a wonderful intro to the genre.

Of course, one of the reason I am taking pen to paper is to fill a gap I noticed during my research: One centered on compliance, not just a brief chapter of content and omnichannel marketing.

Parting Words

As I mentioned, I’m only 60% in. If you are interested in being featured or giving a quote in the book—with your business or agency listed, please let me know and I’d be happy to arrange a time.

Likewise, if you want to be notified when the book is released, drop me your email in the DMs or hit me up at hello@kelseycopywriter.com.