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Key Results

Full-Service Communications 

From launch as a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) through years of growth, Craft Impact has been the single point of contact for content and communications at Certus Wealth Management (CWM), covering newsletters, social, premium content, and one-off client updates.

Consistent Newsletter Engagement 

Monthly newsletters keep clients updated on the market, economy, and financial happenings. Open rates are consistently around 40%, above financial services industry benchmarks.

High-Engagement Life Event Content

A guide on the estate settlement process became one of CWM's best-performing pieces to date. Several clients reached out unprompted to say it helped them through a hard process or pushed them to finally get their own affairs in order.

Proactive, Responsive Communications 

The Craft team suggests client outreach when something warrants it, and turns communications around fast to ensure timeliness on topics from shifts in federal policy and geopolitical developments to custodial platform issues.

Certus Wealth Management

Full-Service Content & Client Communications

CWM tapped Craft Impact, a journalist-led marketing and communications team specializing in financial services, to help launch as an RIA. Craft built CWM's website at launch, complete with supporting branding guidelines, and put together a communications strategy that introduced clients into the new practice.

That partnership has grown considerably since the successful RIA launch. Craft partners with CWM’s founder Joel Van Hofwegen to write in his voice, manage his monthly newsletter, and produce time-sensitive communications as his practice has evolved. At this point he treats Craft as part of his team rather than an outside vendor.

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The Challenge

Transitioning from a larger firm to the launch of its own RIA, it was important to CWM that its clients continued to receive the same high level of service they'd come to expect.

They were facing critical challenges:

1. Launching a new, independent brand while giving clients confidence that nothing about their level of service would change.


2. Limited internal bandwidth for consistent, high-quality content, since Van Hofwegen wanted to spend his time with clients rather than building marketing materials.


3. A need for communications that felt personal and specific to his practice rather than the templated approach used by many other advisor marketing firms.

Client Spotlight

CWM is an RIA dedicated to helping clients achieve their unique financial goals. The firm designs and implements strategies tailored to each client's personal values, going beyond the transactional aspects of conventional financial planning. CWM values its client relationships and stays hands-on with every partnership.

The Craft Impact Solution

Elevating Client Engagement and Confidence

Van Hofwegen engaged Craft to support with launching and growing his practice. The team integrated itself into his business, learning his voice, understanding his clients, and developing informational updates his clients care about. He trusts Craft to keep the plan moving without requiring a great deal of his time.

Craft's ongoing support includes:

Certus Website Scroll Case Study (2)

Website & Brand Launch

Craft built CWM's website when Van Hofwegen launched his RIA, and keeps content current with:

  • Team member profiles
  • Client resources
  • Email newsletter archives with thought leadership blog posts
  • Market commentary
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Monthly Client Newsletters

Craft curates client newsletters on a monthly basis that serve as a powerful tool for engaging clients. Each edition includes:

  • Personal note from Joel 
  • Staff, advisor, and operational updates 
  • A rotating mix of financial planning insights
  • Timely market and economic commentary 
  • Clear messaging to encourage the client or prospect to take action
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Premium Content Deliverables

Custom CWM deliverables illustrate complex concepts and facilitate productive client discussions:

  • The CWM Client Journey one-pager, walking prospective and new clients through what to expect from the relationship.
  • Tax Advisor & Other Advisor Partnerships document, showing how CWM coordinates with a client's other professional relationships to help ensure a fuller financial picture.
  • Retirement Across the Decades handout, offering age-specific guidance for retirement savings, investments, and life milestones.
  • Client Intake Form, a user-friendly form that streamlines onboarding.
  • Service Model & Investment Philosophy documentation detailing the firm's offerings and investment approach.

Life-Stage & Life-Event Content

In addition to a standing calendar of newsletters and posts, Craft has also built out content around specific moments in clients' lives. A family financial education series breaks down money lessons by age, from first savings conversations with young kids through college planning and first jobs. This content has extended into other formats too, including social posts built on questions and polls, a presentation deck and speaker notes Van Hofwegen used for a talk on kids and money.


The estate settlement and planning guides walk families through the steps of settling an estate and getting their affairs in order. The series includes the Personal Estate Information Organizer, a fillable document to record key accounts, contacts, legal documents, and wishes in one place, so family has what they need when they most need it, and the Estate Settlement Checklist, a step-by-step guide through the financial and legal tasks involved in settling a loved one's estate.

Joel Van Hofwegen

"Partnering with Craft Impact has been a huge help for my firm after setting up our RIA. I've had lots of unsolicited, positive feedback from clients regarding our communications. Together with Craft, we've identified timely information to share with clients on a regular basis and have improved our content collateral. My goal is to provide the best possible advisory experience while helping my clients achieve their dreams, and Craft Impact has been an indispensable partner in meeting that goal. Their ability to strategically extract information and deduce it into professional communications has been a time saver for me, allowing my firm to be more effective and efficient."

Joel Van Hofwegen
Founder, Certus Wealth Management
One-Off Client Communications_Certus

Professional One-Off Client Communications

  • Share staff and operational updates
  • Keep clients consistently informed and in the loop on important matters
Featured Blog Posts & Social Content_Certus

Featured Blog Posts & Social Content

  • Engaging and informative blog content, including a life-stage financial education series
  • Timely market and economic insights
  • Weekly social posts, including interactive polls and engagement questions

Client Spotlight

Meet Certus Wealth Management, an RIA (Registered Investment Adviser) dedicated to helping its customers achieve their unique financial goals. The firm is committed to designing and implementing strategies tailored to its clients’ values, going beyond the transactional aspects of conventional financial planning. Certus Wealth Management values its client relationships and strongly believes in proactive partnership.

 

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