How To Choose a Fintech Content Writer

In internet culture, when two fictional characters are in a relationship (or everyone thinks they should be), they get a “ship name.” And if those characters happened to be finance and technology, their ship name would be “fintech.”

It works, right? Financial technology, or fintech, is a marriage between the financial services and tech industries. And it’s easy to turn fintech into a story all your customers will fall in love with — if you find someone with excellent writing skills and a knack for great content creation, that is.

But who is this Jane Austen of financial technology? That, dear reader, is a fintech content writer.

Let’s take a closer look at this invaluable marketing role and how to choose a storyteller who can turn complex topics into memorable moments.

Meet a Fintech Content Writer

Sometimes, the best way to understand something is to meet someone who does it for a living. So, without further ado, I’d like to introduce you all to my friend Mr. Fin Tech. (See what I did there?)

Fin likes to say he’s a copywriter first and a fintech expert second. That’s because he focuses his efforts on things that matter to a content creator — like clarity, empathy, quality and strong opinions about the Oxford comma — and then applies them to the fintech space.

His role as a storyteller can take many forms. He might wear the hat of a search engine optimization or SEO content writer one day and a user experience or UX writer the next. Whether he’s writing an infographic, a press release, website copy or a social media post, he’s focused on creating value for his readers. That means he’s always aware of:

Who they are.
What they want from his company.
How familiar they are with the topic at hand.
What they hope to gain from his content.
What he can provide to help them on their journey.

The goals of copywriting may differ depending on the larger content strategy; for example, one campaign might be about brand awareness while another is focused on pushing a new product. Regardless, Fin always knows how to make digital marketing come to life with the power of language.

That’s what makes him a content writer — but what makes him a fintech content writer?

When it comes to fintech content marketing, Fin says it’s all about telling technology stories to a financial services audience. Sometimes that’s reversed, depending on the channel and purpose — but most fintech marketing is built around solving financial industry problems with tech industry solutions.

For example, if Fin worked at PayPal, his job description as a fintech writer might include selling a technological solution to financial institutions and consumers. (That’s an important point — some fintech solutions are business-to-business or B2B, some are business-to-consumer or B2C and some can be both.)

But no matter where Fin works, his goal is the same: fresh fintech copywriting in a world where content sometimes turns into white noise.

A Day in a Fintech Content Writer’s Brain

From freelance writers to in-house experts, every storyteller has a lot going on in their brain at any given moment. To understand how this applies to the fintech industries, let’s take a look at what Fin thinks about every day:

General Topics

If he wants to communicate clearly, effectively and accurately, Fin needs a solid understanding of foundational topics in fintech. The challenge is that this represents two separate industries — and he can’t be a subject matter expert in just one of them. Here are a few examples of what Fin needs to know:

Finance

Regulations relevant to financial services providers, including data privacy, truth in advertising and more.
Business vs. personal finance priorities.
Industry jargon, from point-of-sale (POS) to neobank.
What a financial services company’s customers expect.
Top challenges in finance, including fraud mitigation, compliance and immersive customer experiences.

Technology

The technological basis for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
Data science.
The Internet of Things (IoT).
Cloud tools in all forms.
Software as a service (SaaS), infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS) solution models.
Cybersecurity best practices.

Trends

Trends are a bit more complicated. While Fin can memorize general information about both the financial services and technology industries, he’ll have to stay on top of the latest research and chatter to identify which topics are “in style.” If he wants to create thought leadership content, he’ll need to do even more — for example, tracking industry patterns and making connections to make educated guesses about future trends.

Examples of trends in these areas include:

Top cybersecurity threats in a particular year.
The latest information on social, political or economic disruptors.
Topics that matter to consumers at any given moment — like AI in 2024.

Content Best Practices

Fintech writers like Fin may juggle financial and technological topics like burning chainsaws, but they have to do it all with finesse, skill and creativity. That’s where a few good habits come into play.

For example, Fin knows he needs to balance the value, readability and purpose of a piece with SEO content writing best practices — otherwise, nobody would ever see his content in the first place. He also needs to know whether a blog post, white paper, infographic or eBook would best suit his audience and topic. On top of that, he must always remember to avoid run-on sentences, comma splices, tense switching, passive voice and all the other errors that could make his writing more difficult to read.

General Skills

Don’t forget that being a writer — particularly in the fintech space — takes some everyday know-how. Fin must be an expert in general skills like:

Research: He knows how to phrase queries to get the best results from a search engine, evaluate a source for potential bias, corroborate information, stay away from low-quality resources and cite everything to avoid plagiarism.
People skills: Fin can interview a subject matter expert just as easily as he can communicate content delivery dates to a project manager. He’s also skilled at collaborating with other production teams, including design and video, to help bring his copy to life.
Time management: Whether you’re at a fintech startup or a giant name brand, you need to be capable of juggling multiple projects, priorities, deadlines and requests — and Fin can handle it all.
Resilience: Every writer knows it’s important to have a “thick skin,” because that’s what makes it possible to gracefully accept (and learn from) constructive criticism.
Clear communication: This isn’t just about sharing complex topics with audiences that might not know all the details. Fin’s communication skills also make it easier for him to navigate the fast-paced world of content creation and publication.

How To Choose a Strong Fintech Content Writer

I would give you Fin’s contact information if I could, but alas — his copywriting services are entirely fictional. On the bright side, you can always find your own Fin by putting these considerations at the top of your list:

#1: Experience

A fintech copywriter should have experience crafting content for financial services providers, tech companies or both. For example, Brafton writers (and the whole Brafton crew!) have experience creating blog posts, eBooks, infographics, animated videos and more for clients like:

Moody’s Analytics.
Intuit Turbotax.
Bloomberg.
Nasdaq.
Comerica Bank.

It’s true that almost any writer can become a fintech writer — but a little experience in these complex industries goes a long way.

#2: Creativity

The difference between good content and great content is simple, often overlooked and incredibly important: creativity. You’re not looking for someone who will scribble up more of what’s already out there; you want a person who will say something odd like “fintech is actually a ship name for finance and technology” and then make it make sense. (Or at least try her best.)

And sure, maybe that kind of creativity doesn’t always work — but the point is that your writers need to have the ability, confidence and freedom to experiment. Just remember that there’s no single way to “be creative,” so keep an open mind.

#3: Skillset

It’s important to find a writer who knows their stuff, but knowledge alone isn’t enough. High-quality content is a balancing act between all kinds of different priorities, and it takes someone with real writing skills to tie it all together in a way that:

Resonates with readers.
Reflects your brand’s voice, tone, style and personality.
Puts your company’s expertise on display.
Subtly (or not-so-subtly) pushes your products or services when required.
Aligns with best practices for SEO content writing.
Says something important, interesting or unique enough to be worth 15 minutes of a reader’s life.

Bonus points if this same person can do it all while improving your processes or presenting new ideas that keep you at the forefront of your industry.

Telling Your Fintech Marketing Story

Fintech is a happy marriage, and fintech content creators are just capturing the love story. No matter what that means for your business, remember that your Fin is out there — you just have to know where to look. (Hint: I’ve found that we writers can often be lured in with the promise of hot tea and blank journals.)