How TFS Advisors Built a Marketing System That Works While They Focus on Clients
When TFS Advisors first engaged Perfectly Planned Content in 2019, they had a solid reputation and a genuine commitment to serving families navigating special needs financial planning. They had been marketing with various third-party partners for several years, but were ready to double down and get traction.
Their website attracted an average of 343 visitors per month, almost entirely from people who already knew they existed. Organic search traffic was essentially zero. Social media presence was minimal but intentional. Their president’s expertise has shifted from financial and retirement planning to special-needs financial planning. Completely different client niches, and our content marketing strategy has been able to shift alongside him, now cementing them as an authority in the special needs planning space.
They needed marketing that could grow alongside their firm without pulling the team away from client work to manage it.
What a Fractional CMO Engagement Actually Looks Like
Seven years in, TFS Advisors and PPC have been through a lot together: three complete website redesigns, multiple audience pivots as the firm clarified its niche, and the kind of strategic shifts that happen when a firm grows and evolves. Through it all, TFS has had a consistent marketing partner rather than starting over with a new vendor every time something changed.
Here is a snapshot of what the engagement has produced:
- 188 blog posts written and published
- Multiple video series produced and distributed
- 10+ lead magnets launched, including webinars, ebooks, guides, and checklists
- 1-2 live events hosted every year, with PPC handling logistics, presentation design, swag, printed materials, and feedback forms
- Coordinated webinars with partner providers
- Supported the firm through a compliance audit, coordinating deliverables with the auditor and implementing all recommended adjustments post-audit
- Helped their founder edit and publish his first book on retirement planning and his personal story on Amazon
The Numbers
Across every part of the funnel, the trajectory over seven years tells a clear story.
Assets Under Management — +128%
| AUM | 2019$77.9M | 2026$177.7M |
Website Traffic (Monthly Average) — +289%
| Monthly Website Visitors | 2019343 | 20261,334 |
Organic Search Traffic Share — Near Zero to 56%
| Share of Traffic from Organic Search | 2019~0% | 202656% |
Now ranking for 500+ keywords across every audience they serve: special needs families, Boeing retirees, Edmonds/Seattle area retirees, and Washington-to-Arizona snowbirds. Each audience finds TFS because there is specific, helpful content waiting for them.
LinkedIn Followers (President’s Profile) — +213%, 100% Organic, No Paid Ads or Outreach
| LinkedIn Followers | 2019215 | 2026673 |
On the SEO side, when a partner SEO/AEO company audited TFS’s website, they found that 56% of traffic now comes from organic search. When PPC first started working with TFS, that number was close to zero.
The firm now ranks for 500+ different keywords, with strong positioning across every audience they serve: families navigating special needs financial planning, Boeing retirees managing their transition out of the workforce, retirees in the Edmonds and greater Seattle area, and snowbirds making the move from Washington to Arizona and the Southwest.
What the Numbers Do Not Capture
The results above are measurable. Some of the most meaningful wins from this engagement are harder to chart.
Because TFS has built a consistent content presence in special-needs financial planning and locally focused retirement planning, reporters now call them. That credibility does not show up in a traffic report.
In the past year alone, since PPC began sourcing reporter requests on their behalf, TFS’s president has been quoted in 4-5 publications. He is now a recognized voice in the special needs planning space, not just locally, but in the financial press. Their founder has also been consistently quoted and has built a solid rapport with several writers who reach out to him regularly for feedback and quotes on financial pieces published nationwide.
That did not happen by accident.
It happened because the blog, the lead magnets, and the social content created a consistent, searchable body of work that established genuine expertise over time. The media attention followed the content.
There is also the operational side of a true fractional CMO relationship. Over seven years, TFS has not had to think about who handles the details when something new comes up. PPC has coordinated multiple webinars with third-party partners (Social Security experts, cybersecurity specialists, Medicare specialists, etc.), managing the logistics so the TFS team could attend and present. On the in-person side, PPC has helped plan and execute client appreciation and prospecting events year after year — because showing up consistently in front of the right people is part of a marketing strategy too.
That is the part of fractional CMO work that is hard to describe in a proposal but easy to feel after the first year.
What Made This Work
A few things stand out about why TFS Advisors has seen results that compound over time rather than plateau.
First, they stayed consistent. Seven years of blogging, posting, and building means 188 posts of searchable content, a social following built on trust rather than ads, and a firm that prospects can find and evaluate before ever picking up the phone.
Second, they were willing to evolve. The firm has gone through audience pivots and multiple website redesigns. Having a marketing partner who was already up to speed on the strategy meant those transitions happened faster and with less disruption.
Third, they let their expertise lead across multiple niches. Special-needs financial planning is their most visible area of authority, and it drives media attention and search rankings. But the same content-first approach works just as well for their other core audiences: Boeing retirees navigating a complex transition, longtime Edmonds and Seattle area residents planning for retirement, and Washington snowbirds figuring out what a move to Arizona actually means for their financial picture. Each of those audiences gets content written specifically for them, and each can find TFS when they go looking. That is what makes the 500+ keyword rankings possible. Broad reach built on specific expertise, not the other way around.
Ready to Build Something That Lasts?
TFS Advisors is not an overnight success story. Seven years of consistent strategy and execution built what they have now. The advisors we work with best are the ones who understand that marketing done well is a long game and who want a partner who will still be in the room three years from now.
If you are ready to build a marketing system that grows with your firm, we would love to talk. You can schedule a call with us here!