Many insurance agents approach blogging with the following thoughts: “Great, something else.”
“What a pain!”
“I need someone technical for that”
“GRRRRRRR…”
I understand everything. Two years ago, I was asked to start a blog. I refused and refused for quite some time. My 15-year-old son would tell me that blogging and social networking are essential if I want to grow my business online. I decided 2009 was the year I would focus my efforts on reaching out to my clients through the internet. I also realized that social media and blogging are very similar to what I do every day. They are only in electronic form.
Journaling is something I love. My coach in business tells me to keep a journal. All the business owners conferences encourage you to write down your business vision. I keep notes when I go to conferences or attend educational opportunities. When I’m on the phone with clients, I also take notes. I send emails explaining everything about insurance. Blogging is just what you do online if you’re like me. This realization made me pull out my old journals, which encouraged me to make public my writings for the benefit of my clients. It makes perfect sense when you look at blogging this way and it is easy to do.
1. Are you answering the same questions every day? If so, you can link your entry to “education” in your blog. You can then address the questions you answer each day. All auto insurance articles should be tagged with “Auto Questions”, so that your clients can access a section about their auto insurance queries online. Refer prospects and clients to you website to get answers at their convenience. The most common questions are the ones that agents will be asked, so they would likely have at least 20 blog entries.
Are you keeping up with industry information and changes? This information will be of great value to your clients. The state minimums for auto insurance in Texas changed last year. This information was vital for clients who have had their coverage changed. It’s a great idea to send out a newsletter each month that highlights these changes to your clients and prospects. This will help increase your agency’s exposure.
Inform your clients about any changes happening in your office. You can use your blog to inform them. Notify clients about staff changes, speaking engagements and changes in office hours. Some agents get their staff involved with 5K’s for charity. They post links and photos online. This activity creates community within your office. The blog also helps you to connect with your local community. You can also post your participation in your local chambers of commerce and many businesses will link back to you. This will help you get more exposure in your local community.
4. A blog doesn’t have to be long. Short blog entries are possible. You don’t have to update announcements, make a point or link to something that is of particular interest. Your blog entries should be brief and sweet. You are welcome to post longer articles (like this one), but articles should not exceed 3-5 points of importance and be easy to read to find the highlights.
Get more business for your agency with It’s a simple trick. All of us want more business. Today, consumers shop online for everything. Online shopping allows people to research cameras and computers before buying them. We can also check the grades of our children online and purchase tickets for various events. The internet is not going anywhere. This market is vital for agencies to be successful. Agents pay $15-20 per lead from online sources, but they consider $500 per week and a small investment into their website to be too high. Blogging isn’t “playing on the computer”. Use the internet to communicate with your agents and market them. Many agents are using social media, blogging, and generating leads online to write over 30 policies per month. Online presence is not an option. Neglecting to generate online business will eventually lead to a loss of revenue for your agency.
You should seriously consider blogging. It’s easy to set up and maintain, as well as a great way to make connections in your local community. After you have set up your blog, it is easy to make a few entries per week to maintain interest and consistency. Blog consistency is key for reaching clients online.
