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As an advisor or asset manager, getting your story heard and building awareness for your unique brand and differentiated services is a major challenge in today’s noisy, crowded, multimodal financial marketplace. Wider exposure and third-party validation can cement your niche and give incoming investors an instant understanding of what sets you apart and what principles you stand for. However, the reality usually falls painfully short. Despite tireless pitching, fragmented media outreach, and the occasional landed placement, public relations efforts sometimes barely move the needle.
To better understand the dynamic and strategic decisions needed behind public relations and get insights on how best to maneuver with your PR efforts, we reached out to Institute Founding member Dan Sondhelm of Sondhelm Partners – an experienced provider of digital marketing, public relations, and strategic growth strategies for boutique asset managers and RIAs focused on High-Net-Worth wealth management. His firm was recently shortlisted in the With Intelligence Awards as the Fund Marketer of the Year and has been recognized and won their third consecutive award from HedgeWeek as the top third-party marketing firm.
We asked him to share his unique perspective and experiences working with a different mindset and approach to generating awareness, demand, and increased growth with public relations. In our discussion, Dan offers thirteen most damaging yet overlooked pitfalls that are hurting boutique firms’ PR efforts.
Hortz: What are the issues behind even skilled public relations pros not fully optimizing PR programs and coverage?
Sondhelm: Even experienced PR teams often struggle to gain maximum traction and outsized impact. The issue stems not from effort or expertise — but from avoidable execution missteps. We have witnessed firms repeatedly and unwittingly sabotaging their PR success and being trapped in patterns limiting impact, regardless of budgets invested.
I feel it is important to debunk the myths holding back media coverage, sales velocity, and investor conversions and spotlight the thirteen most damaging yet overlooked pitfalls strangulating boutique firms’ PR efforts.
Hortz: What are some of the most damaging and overlooked pitfalls in their approach?
Sondhelm: An effective public relations strategy requires establishing a foundation aligned with your business goals. Five most common pitfalls at this strategic level include:
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Public relations strategy in a silo hurts boutique firms
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Undifferentiated story fails to excite investors
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Blurred lines between thought leadership and product pitching
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Prioritizing quantity over quality of placements
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Keeping PR out of crisis management backfires
Silo - Managing an effective public relations program is challenging when it is separate from the rest of your firm's sales and marketing efforts and needs clearly defined goals. The first step is to explain the intended business results and measures of success for your PR activities, like capturing additional leads, speeding up your sales team’s process, and increasing brand awareness.
After stating goals, you should construct proactive PR tactics and timelines to hit them. Research your sales and marketing strategy and how public relations can strengthen those efforts. Schedule regular cross-team meetings to coordinate initiatives and discuss promotions.
Undifferentiated Story - Like many reputable boutique asset managers, you likely have a disciplined investment process and careful risk management. You also have a strong long-term performance record. While this provides a solid base, it only starts conversations with journalists and investors.
To win over investors requires you to explain what makes your value proposition and story different from competitors. You should analyze why you and your approach are uniquely positioned to take advantage of market conditions and why that matters to investors. Get specific by telling stories. If competing against larger brand name firms for investor assets, compare your investment strategy and expected results. Also, consistently integrate your differentiated story within commentary on broader industry trends, macroeconomic conditions, and current news events.
Blurred Lines - You need an adequate balance in PR between demonstrating thought leadership versus actively promoting your products or services. Some common issues arise when thought leadership articles constantly redirect to your offerings rather than providing unique insights. Your executives may forgo media commentary opportunities on current events in favor of narrowly discussing your funds or businesses. The trend reports you publish can be too promotional and focused on your firm rather than the broader market.
The solution delineates separate objectives and strategies for thought leadership vs. product-centric PR. Dedicate efforts to both but maintain clear distinctions. Thought leadership focuses on trends, analysis, and insights, demonstrating your expertise. Product PR highlights your specific offerings, innovations, and successes in more promotional contexts. With balance, you can leverage PR to attract investor attention while establishing an authoritative industry voice and reputation.
Quantity vs Quality - Historically, a primary public relations metric was the number of media clips created. Firms touted a generic quote reprinted hundreds of times across syndicated news services as a point of pride.
Today, the focus has shifted to measuring the quality and business impact of earned media - does the message and prominence of the coverage directly advance your goals as a boutique firm? Is it a highly reputable and visible publication and reporter that influences your target investors? Does it create a positive brand halo beyond the original circulation you can leverage elsewhere?
Crisis Management - Imagine a breaking scandal striking your firm, alleging impropriety with certain investment products. The lawyers and executive team convene privately to strategize a response quickly. In the rush, no one thinks to include someone from PR. This siloed approach seems logical in the heat of crisis but prevents consideration of potential reputational threats or media issues.
Savvy PR professionals excel at assessing developing issues and risk exposure, even with limited initial information. During a crisis, they ensure legal concerns do not entirely override reputational considerations with critical audiences. Keeping PR involved immediately enables stronger cross-functional collaboration as situations develop, even if it does not lead to a crisis response. Their counsel balancing legal judgment with communications expertise is invaluable.
Hortz: How do you cultivate strong media relationships and avoid jeopardizing reporter engagement and news coverage? What common outreach missteps should you watch out for?
Sondhelm: The most common outreach missteps to be aware of are:
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Passive Approach Waits for Journalists to Call
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Undervaluing Long-Term Media Relationships
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Pitching Mismatched Reporters Miss the Mark
Passive approach - It feels like a significant win when top-tier media calls your boutique firm unexpectedly. They may seek your expert opinion or commentary for an upcoming story. But the reality is that this type of inbound reactive opportunity is rare and unpredictable.
The angle or timing is often not ideal for focusing on your priorities. A fully passive public relations strategy gives up control over proactively getting your preferred narrative, media outlets, and timing right. Instead, actively develop story angles tailored to your top media targets. Consistently pitch these reporters to build relationships and increase relevant coverage over time.
Undervaluing Media Relationships - When asked about existing media relationships, one portfolio manager proudly cited a one-time segment on CNBC… back in 2014. One of the keys to public relations success is actively supporting a network of relevant media relationships over time, not just when something is needed.
You should take the time to identify and research the reporters who frequently cover relevant topics in your target publications. Reach out to introduce your firm as a source for future stories. Establish as a trusted expert willing to provide background perspective “off-the-record” and act as a sounding board for story ideas. Closely monitor media moves and transitions via tools like LinkedIn so engagement can continue with top reporters as they switch beats or outlets.
Pitching Mismatched Reporters - Even with a timely, newsworthy angle, it will flop if you pitch incorrectly. Avoid reporters who do not cover related topics or your industry verticals. For example, to discuss why married couples need a will, find a personal finance reporter, not someone who covers investments or economics.
Similarly, you should verify journalists are based in the city you are traveling to before scheduling media tours. Financial journalists like Jim Pavia regularly post on LinkedIn about PR pro blunders. Diligent target research should be done ahead of time to ensure an appropriate fit.
Hortz: Turning media interest into influential coverage requires flawless follow-through. After making initial reporter connections, what impact-limiting blunders should you watch out for?
Sondhelm: I have found that the best way boutique firms can prevent not being tripped up when executing tactically is to be aware of the following:
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Publishing Your Content on Outside Websites
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Over-reliance on Press Releases as Default Outreach
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Unprepared Firm Experts Underwhelm Journalists
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Missed Repurposing of High-Value Coverage
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SEO Benefits Overlooked After Earning Media Placements
Outside websites - You invest extensive hours positioning your executives as experts to write articles or market commentaries. But then only post it on your corporate website or email the piece to your lists. You should consider significantly increasing the value by pitching the content to relevant industry publications read by your target investors.
They may pick up your contributed article as-is or with limited adjustments. This gets broader distribution to the investment community, allows you to leverage the reprint in your other sales and marketing efforts, and may earn a backlink, helping your website’s SEO. Many respected publications are often open to publishing insightful contributed articles from portfolio managers. The byline also further establishes your executives as experts.
Over-reliance on Press Releases - Some boutique asset managers automatically create press releases on any topic imaginable monthly, weekly, or even more frequently. This “more is more” approach ultimately frustrates time-strapped journalists and rarely earns meaningful coverage.
Why? Most firms do not have a substantive enough volume of newsworthy announcements worthy of external distribution. So, without authentic news, the hook and angle must often be exaggerated or manufactured. Over time, this damages your credibility with the media. If wire distribution services and follow-up targeted pitches do not consistently generate reporter interest, you should reevaluate your press release content, messaging, and distribution strategy.
Unprepared Firm Experts - Imagine you finally convince your top target journalist to schedule a 30-minute call to discuss the market implications of rising interest rates and what that means for your portfolio. But instead of crisp and compelling commentary, your expert representative rambles aimlessly with no clear message.
To avoid this scenario, your experts should be thoroughly prepped on the 3-5 key messages, publication details, and the reporter’s angle. Set your expert up for success by practicing mock interviews before a camera to sharpen communication skills. This improves your likelihood of earning influential coverage.
Missed Repurposing of Coverage - You should not squander high-value media coverage by only passively filing away a press clip. Prominent placements should be showcased across digital and print channels to maximize exposure and leverage.
Prominently feature the story on your website homepage and in an “In the News” section. Repurpose excerpts in related emails, social media, and ad campaigns. Hand out high-quality reprints at conferences and client meetings to spark conversations. Respond to RFPs with an appendix populated with pull quotes. Always use the logo, not just the publication name, to reinforce the third-party endorsement you have earned.
SEO Benefits Overlooked - Earning media placements in high-authority publications can significantly boost your website's Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The backlinks and anchor text mentions in this earned coverage are trusted signals that improve your site's domain authority and keyword rankings.
Articles on these publishers' sites that mention your firm and link back to you will rank higher and drive more referral traffic. Media sites tend to have much greater domain authority than corporate websites.
While republishing placements on your site helps build credibility, the SEO benefit stems from influential media sites linking to you.
Hortz: Any final thoughts you would like to share?
Sondhelm: Earning positive media coverage does not happen by chance for boutique asset managers and RIAs. It takes commitment, strategy, flawless execution, and avoiding common pitfalls. Savvy public relations pros view their role as showing business impact through amplifying your other sales and marketing at every step.
They pitch unique angles to influential reporters and consistently prepare your experts to deliver clear, compelling messages that communicate what makes your firm unique. Maximum impact comes from promoting highlights far beyond the original article - creatively displaying placements across digital, print, and social media channels and getting reprints in the hands of your sales team. The halo effect from prominent coverage builds awareness, trust, and credibility over time. It levels the playing field against larger competitors.
If marketing/PR teams are frustrated by the lack of quality news coverage and wondering why your public relations efforts are not breaking through, we are happy to offer a free Growth Assessment and complimentary strategy session to help firms understand their strengths and areas of improvement, prioritize resources, and better compete for assets.
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