Stop Being a Source and Start Being a Resource with Ben Lewis of The Financial Planning Association

Ben Lewis, Chief Communications and Development Officer at the Financial Planning Association (FPA), joins Mike Langford to make the case that the age of AI is actually the best moment in years for financial advisors to stand out and get noticed — if they know how to show up as humans. Ben shares the framework behind his whitepaper "The Human Edge: Why Relationship-Driven PR Still Wins in the Age of AI," including the critical difference between being a source and being a resource, how to use client questions as a pitch pipeline, and why FPA MediaSource has a 64.5% repeat journalist rate. If you've ever wanted to get quoted in a major publication or build a media profile that drives real business, this episode is your roadmap. Connect with Ben Lewis at the Financial Planning Association and get access to The Human Edge whitepaper at FPA MediaSource. In this episode we cover: Why the AI noise explosion is actually good news for advisors who show up as humansThe source vs. resource distinction and how to move from one to the otherHow to use your client question notebook to generate a steady stream of story pitchesHow to recognize when a question becomes a trend — and why that changes everythingHow FPA MediaSource works and what advisors who use it well are actually doingWhy compliance culture is training advisors to say nothing worth quotingThe handwritten thank-you note that almost no one sends anymore Chapters: 00:00 Cold Open — Shut Off Your Targeting System 00:52 Intro 01:58 Welcome Ben Lewis 04:15 From Political Campaigns to Financial Services PR 08:10 The Noise Has Never Been Louder — And That's Good News 11:01 The Finfluencer Problem and the Sea of Sameness 13:46 AI Search and Why Your Expertise Needs to Show Up There 16:31 How Financial Advisors Should Think About PR 18:29 Getting Started: Two Things Ben Tells Everyone 21:50 The Client Notebook — Your Pitch Pipeline 22:48 When a Question Becomes a Trend 24:03 Earned Media vs. Advertising 29:43 The Philadelphia Planner Story 32:45 Source vs. Resource: The Distinction That Changes Everything 40:19 FPA MediaSource — How It Works 45:47 The Member Who Got 50 Placements in Four Months 50:12 Say Something Worth Quoting 53:01 Don't Let AI Write Your Pitch 55:07 Nobody Hands You That Trust 56:02 Outro