The 60/40 Rule: AI and the Human Touch in Financial Copywriting

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming how we work, communicate, and market our services. For financial advisors, AI tools present a remarkable opportunity to streamline operations and enhance client outreach. But as technology advances, a new question emerges: what is the right balance between automation and the essential human element?

When it comes to copywriting, the answer isn’t about choosing one over the other. It's about a powerful partnership. Think of it as the 60/40 rule. AI can efficiently handle about 60% of the copywriting process—generating ideas, drafting content, and analyzing data. However, the final, crucial 40% relies on human expertise. This is where we infuse our words with empathy, strategic nuance, and the authentic voice that builds lasting trust.

As an advisor, your success depends on relationships. This article explores how to blend the power of AI with your unique human touch to create copy that not only stands out but also inspires potential clients to take the meaningful step of booking a call.

The 60%: How AI Supercharges Your Copywriting Workflow

Let’s be clear: AI is an incredible assistant. It can take on the time-consuming tasks that often bog down marketing efforts, freeing you to focus on high-value activities like strategy and client relationships. By leveraging AI for the initial 60% of the work, you can create more content, more consistently, without sacrificing quality.

Here’s how AI can be your powerful copywriting partner:

• Brainstorming and Idea Generation: Stuck on what to write for your next blog post or email newsletter? AI can generate dozens of relevant topics, headlines, and angles in seconds. By providing prompts about your target audience’s pain points—like navigating market volatility or planning for college savings—you can get a wealth of ideas to kickstart your content calendar.
• Creating the First Draft: The blank page can be intimidating. AI excels at producing a solid first draft. Whether it’s a social media post, a website page, or an educational article, you can provide key points and let the technology structure the initial content. This saves hours of writing time, giving you a strong foundation to build upon.
• Research and Data Synthesis: Need to explain a complex financial concept like tax-loss harvesting? AI can quickly research the topic and summarize key information in simple terms. It can help you find statistics and supporting details to make your content more authoritative and valuable to your readers.
• Optimizing for Search Engines (SEO): AI tools can analyze top-ranking content and suggest keywords to help your website get discovered by more potential clients. It can help ensure your headlines, subheadings, and meta descriptions are optimized for search engines, increasing your digital visibility.

By automating these foundational tasks, AI acts as a force multiplier. It gets you 60% of the way there, faster and more efficiently than ever before. But this is where its role ends and yours begins.

The 40%: Where the Human Touch Makes All the Difference

The content AI produces is often technically correct but emotionally sterile. It lacks personal stories, genuine empathy, and the unique perspective that makes someone choose you over another advisor. This is where the final 40% of human refinement becomes your most valuable asset. Your expertise and humanity are what turn a generic draft into a compelling message.

This human-driven 40% focuses on three critical areas:

1. Infusing Empathy and Building Trust

A prospective client’s financial decisions are deeply personal. They are tied to their greatest hopes and deepest fears. AI can’t replicate the understanding that comes from years of guiding clients through life’s ups and downs.

Your job in the final 40% is to review the AI-generated draft and ask:

• Does this sound like a real person who cares?
• Does it acknowledge the reader's concerns with kindness?
• Does it reflect my genuine desire to help people achieve their goals?

Refine the language to be more conversational and less robotic. Replace generic statements with personal anecdotes (while maintaining client confidentiality) or insights from your own experience. For example, an AI might write, "It is important to diversify your portfolio." You can elevate that to, "I’ve seen firsthand how a well-diversified portfolio helps my clients sleep better at night, even when the market feels uncertain." That small change transforms a cold fact into a reassuring piece of advice.

2. Weaving in Your Unique Voice and Story

In a crowded market, your personal brand is your differentiator. Do you have a specific philosophy on investing? Do you specialize in working with a certain community, like physicians or entrepreneurs? AI knows none of this.

The final 40% is your opportunity to inject your personality and unique value proposition into the copy. Edit the text to reflect your authentic voice. If you’re known for your straightforward, no-nonsense approach, make sure the copy is direct and clear. If you’re more of a nurturing guide, ensure the tone is warm and supportive.

This is also where you tell your story. Why did you become a financial advisor? What client success story perfectly illustrates your approach? These are the elements that create an emotional connection and make a reader feel like they know you before you’ve even met.

3. Crafting Strategic, Action-Oriented Prompts

The ultimate goal of your copy is to guide a potential client to take action. An AI might generate a generic call to action like "Contact Us." This is functional but uninspiring. The human touch is needed to craft a prompt that is strategic, compelling, and client-focused.

Consider the difference:

• AI-Generated Prompt: "Learn more about our services."
• Human-Refined Prompt: "Ready to feel confident about your financial future? Book a complimentary 15-minute clarity call to see how we can help."

The refined version is far more powerful. It’s specific ("15-minute clarity call"), risk-free ("complimentary"), and speaks directly to the client's desired emotional outcome ("feel confident"). This strategic persuasion requires a deep understanding of human psychology—something only a person can provide.

Your Humanity is Your Greatest Marketing Tool

The future of marketing for financial advisors isn’t a battle of humans versus machines. It’s a collaboration. By embracing the 60/40 rule, you can harness the efficiency of AI to handle the heavy lifting while reserving your uniquely human talents for the work that truly matters.

Let AI be your tireless assistant, but never forget that you are the strategist, the storyteller, and the trusted guide. Use technology to get your message out more effectively, but ensure that the message itself is infused with the empathy, wisdom, and authenticity that only you can offer. In a world of increasing automation, this human element is not just your advantage—it's everything.