5 Myths of Digital Insurance Marketing

For some insurance agents, online marketing is a mythical concept. It's hard to understand and some see it as a waste of time. However, it is not just a passing fad. The Internet has changed not only how consumers purchase goods and services, it has changed how businesses reach those consumers.
Here are five of the biggest online marketing myths we hear from time to time.

Read More

How Retention Rate is Misleading Your Agency

One of the things I see all the time when it comes to agency marketing and agency health is a reliance on the blanket retention rate. A high retention rate is good, while a low retention rate is bad. Some agencies understand that they will have a low retention rate due to their clientele and have modified their business plans and pricing accordingly. However, the vast majority of agencies will live or die based on their retention rates.
While speaking to a particular agency, I asked, “What is your retention rate?” They proudly stated, “Roughly 85%.” Never mind that the principal did not know the exact number (a carrier offered his retention of their customers), a retention rate of 85% is a decent number. However, this retention rate is misleading the agent into thinking all is well with his agency. When I asked a few more questions looking at a three-year sample of the agency, the following picture unfolded.

Read More

Why You Should Inventory Your Digital Agency Marketing

Once a year you should take an inventory of your digital marketing resources, assets, and anything else you use to connect with your customers online. This inventory will help you determine what works for your agency, what doesn't and what areas may need more attention and effort to get it working the way it should. The more complete your inventory, the better you will be able to understand your resources and make strategic decisions about your digital agency marketing.

Read More

Marketing Smackdown: Email vs. Text Messaging

Some people are saying email marketing is dead. That it's being replaced by text messaging. And to a certain extent, they may be right. But I also think they're wrong, and here's why.
You need an email address for pretty much everything on the Internet today, from signing up for Facebook to purchasing something online. This is not going to change any time soon. As long as people have email addresses, email marketing will have a place in the digital agency marketing mix. Not every email you send will be read, but by consistently being in consumer's inboxes, you are more likely to get noticed.

Read More

AgencyBuzz, Creating More Buzz for Your Agency in 2012

The AgencyBuzz online marketing system saw some phenomenal new features get released in 2012. These features are helping AgencyBuzz become the central online marketing tool for agents nationwide. Let’s take a look at the great features that were added to AgencyBuzz in 2012 and what you have to look forward to in 2013.

Read More

How to Build a Following for your Email and Social Media

A growing number of consumers prefer electronic communication over phone calls or face-to-face. Do you know what your customers prefer? If you are not communicating with them via the methods they prefer, you customers will at some point leave you for your competition who will email instead of call or tweet instead of email.

Read More

Masters of Marketing: How to Write an Effective Email

Presentation slides from the April 5th Masters of Marketing webinar from Insurance Technologies Corporation, presented by Jennifer Fitzsimmons, AgencyBuzz Coordinator. Get more information on Insurance Agency Email Marketing. If you would like to join us every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. Central when we discuss marketing tips, you can register here.

Masters of Marketing: How to Write an Effective Email

View more PowerPoint from Darmini Kara

Today is the Day

Most content is shared on Wednesday mornings.

This infographic from AddThis displays just how 1.2 billion users
have found a way to share 10 million ideas. Effectively.

The next idea someone shares should be yours.

5 Practical Email Newsletter Tips for Better Deliverability and Readability

While content is king, creating an effective email newsletter is about more than just writing. To encourage your readers to open your emails, there are some technical best practices to consider that can help improve your results.

5 practical email newsletter tips for better deliverability and readability:

1. Keep it short. An email newsletter shouldn't contain the full article, especially if you include multiple articles in your newsletter. You want your readers to be able to easily scan the newsletter for articles that interest them. Provide them with easily absorbed fragments of information in the form of headlines and short article introductory paragraphs that link to the full article on your website.
2. Include a table of contents. A simple way to improve the scanability of your email newsletter is to place a table of contents at the top of the newsletter. The table of contents should include article titles and anchors linking to the articles' introductory paragraphs further down in the newsletter.
3. Provide your newsletter in HTML and plain text versions. While HTML is the version you'd prefer everyone to see because it's more visually attractive, not everyone will be able to view it because of firewalls and filters. If you don't have a plain text version of your newsletter, those who can't view HTML won't be able to see your newsletter at all.
4. Use a minimum of graphics. Emails with a large number of graphic images are often marked as spam and never reach the reader. Also, the majority of email clients turn off images by default so readers won't even see the graphics unless they turn them on. Keeping the pictures to a compelling few combined with your relevant content is best, as long as the email design isn't dependent on them.
5. Test test test. Email clients are not created equal. What looks great in one doesn't always look great in another. Send tests of your email to the major email clients - Outlook, Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail - to review your email in the various settings and prevent any blunders.

A well-designed template combined with relevant, informational content can have a great impact on the deliverability and readership levels of your email newsletters. To learn more email marketing tips and tricks read the AgencyBuzz blog.

Image: Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

7 Tips of Effective Email Marketing Campaigns

It takes time to follow up on individual prospects and give your customers the personal attention they want. But time is a limited resource in a busy insurance agency.

Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to consistently communicate with many prospects and customers at one time. When done well, it develops more meaningful, longer-lasting relationships and open, two-way communication so customers can share their pain points and you can demonstrate your expertise. Email marketing also increases the likelihood of future purchases and gathers information that can be used for improving customer service and retention.

Here are 7 tips you can use to create high quality, effective emails that will positively impact your agency growth.

1. Ask for emails. To drive subscription, you need to be asking for your customers’ email addresses at every touch point – on your website, over the phone, in your office, etc.
2. Be consistent. Emailing your customers on a regular basis will keep your agency at the top of their minds. Be careful not to overload them with constant messages. A good rule of thumb is no more often than once every 2-3 weeks. Less than that and it might be difficult for them to remember you. More than that and they might be tempted to hit the spam or unsubscribe button.
3. Relevant content. It doesn’t matter if they gave you their email address and you’re only sending messages every three weeks. If your subscribers don’t find your content interesting, they’re not going to read it. We recommend implementing a mix of insurance specific content with general interest articles, such as tips to reduce gas mileage while driving or to make easy home improvements.
4. Be yourself. People do business with people they like. Your customers already like you so don’t change your writing style because it’s an email. Keep the same style and tone as if the customer was sitting across from you in your office.
5. Segmentation. It’s easy to create a general newsletter that appeals to most customers. However, specific messages sent to specific groups can foster even deeper relationships and make more sales as segmented emails are more likely to be opened and acted upon. Producing different email messages for different groups may be more work, but it is worth the extra effort.
6. Track your results. You’ll never know which email messages are successful and which ones aren’t unless you’re tracking your results. Before you start an email marketing program, determine what your objectives are. They can be as straightforward (an open rate for driving brand awareness) or as complicated (tracking conversions and ROI) as you want. Just make sure to check your results against your objectives to determine your success.
7. Be CAN-SPAM compliant. CAN-SPAM is the law. Violating it can subject your agency to criminal penalties. You are required to include clear instructions for how subscribers can opt out of future email and unsubscribe readers promptly. Also, don’t steal email addresses and don’t be misleading.

Email is an incredibly cost-effective channel of communication for driving new sales and retaining current customers. Once you begin gathering emails, don’t wait to get started. Launch your insurance email marketing campaign as soon as possible.

Additional Resources

• Best Practices For Bulletproof E-Mail Delivery
• 31 content tips and ideas for your B2B email newsletter
• To learn more email marketing tips and tricks read the AgencyBuzz blog.