10 Rules For Creating a Kick Ass Insurance Blog

If you’re learning how to write an insurance blog, you need to read and embrace these 10 tips.

Why does it seem that so many bloggers are simply spewing the last thing that popped into their minds?

You know the ones I’m talking about.

They are more interested in ranting and telling us how smart they are than actually making a meaningful point.

This new generation of “writer” has been head-faked into thinking that we on the Internet care about reading whatever goes through their mind. Blogging to them is typing fast, spell checking (maybe), and hitting send. They can’t wait to tell you they write an insurance blog.

Writing more does not overcome writing poorly. It’s like the old joke in business: let’s lose a penny on everything we sell and make it up in volume.

The Internet has provided us all a new, easy way to reach an audience.

However, reaching an audience doesn’t necessarily mean you keep the audience. What hasn’t changed are the basics of great writing, whether it’s a blog, a book or a message board on a blimp.

These 10 tips will help you learn how to write an insurance blog like a pro!

Insurance blogs must have a purpose

Every blog needs a purpose and insurance blogs are no different. Think through your objective and make sure your content topics are well aligned.

Are you trying to entertain your homeowners?
Inform your readers about car insurance?
Is your content technical
Generate life insurance leads?

Every insurance blog doesn’t have to be the same, but you need continuity and you need to be organized. And, not unimportant, you have to establish yourself as an authority.

For example, I want this post to give you a glimpse into what it really takes to start an insurance blog. At Redbird we’ve published a blog shortly after we started in the insurance industry as a key component of our insurance marketing strategy, and my business partner has been writing for several decades.

Define your audience and focus on providing value

This is where the arm-waving insurance bloggers miss the boat.

They are happy with eyeballs of any kind; they just want attention. Great writing takes time, so make sure your time is well spent ensuring that the people YOU want to read it actually do.

If you sell final expense life insurance then you probably want older, middle to lower income readers.
If you sell pet insurance, your audience is likely a bit broader.

It seems so simple, but many insurance bloggers become enamored with a subject rather than what their primary audience wants. Before every new blog post or writing opportunity, define the target audience, their needs, wants and pain points.

Great insurance blogging requires going deep, not wide

So much about being a successful insurance agent is establishing yourself as an authority.

A freakin expert!

And, the best way to do that is to provide clarity and thoughtful content on what your audience wants to read.

What problem are you helping your readers solve?

Lowering their auto insurance rates?
Educating on how the pandemic has impacted premiums and renewals.How to navigate healthcare after retirement?
Wellness tips for parents with diabetes?
Risk management for workers compensation in a small business?

Many of us mistakenly believe that more is better; that writing for broader target audiences will get more results like a generic articles about the various types of insurance. Define a subject your readers care about and then dig deep to bring it to life.

I like to think of this in terms of hunting.

Certain guns are used for certain types of game. The game we’re chasing is best bagged with a rifle. A shotgun will simply wound the target.

A rifle will… well, you get the point.

**bonus tip: Focus on localized long tail keywords

Deliver content the way your audience likes to consume

Some blogs are highly visual and some are 100% script. Some use video as their sole source of communication.

How you decide to deliver, your insurance blog content should be built around the needs of your target audience.

Using the earlier example of a term life insurance client, the demographics might lead you to think that short videos might do the trick.

On the other hand, if you’re going for seniors in the health insurance market, written text might work great.

If you’re not comfortable with video, for example, but that’s what your audience likes, then you better study up on video and get with the times.

Use a conversational tone

The best way I can describe this is this…speak to your user as if you were sitting at the kitchen table with them.

Your readers want something they can get engaged in and enjoy. Oh, and it’s going to really help you with voice optimization!

Don’t try to get technical, make it simple and use words like “I”, “we”, or “you” to ensure you a getting personal with your readers.

For example, “When you live in a wildfire zone, it’s important for you to know the locations of the resources you’re going to need if and when the time comes to evacuate your family.”

Re-purpose your insurance blog content

I love this!

Content which can be repurposed makes writing your blog much easier once you have enough content published and in your pipeline. In regards to life insurance, maybe you have written a series on underwriting pre-existing conditions and the insurance companies that will accept and decline.

You might find it easy to repurpose that article to talk about a supplemental insurance policy that can help someone who might be more likely to have an accident, and ultimately offer an easy way for them to get an insurance quote. Below are a few ideas to help you repurpose your content to support finding new customers and gaining more readers / followers.

Using the example above regarding the underwriting series, you can repurpose that written content for the following.

Use a service like Canva to take content snippets and turn them into educational visual carousels on your social channels.
Create short micro videos on topics in your article. This allows you to go deeper on niche topics which provide value to your reader.
Use your content as an outline when you go live on social media each week.
Answer questions that people and link to your article as supporting documentation.
Send your article to active social users and ask if they would like to team up for a live event on a social channel.

The options are endless.

Always us a call to action (CTA)

This is the best way to use your blog to for lead generation.

If you’re trying to generate leads, then give the reader a reason to give you their contact information. Maybe it’s through a free guide they can download or an upcoming free seminar on the topic.

For example, you could create a free one page download that teaches coastal homeowners about 10 real risks of climate change in exchange for their email address. Now you have their information and can add them to a customer journey that will over time convert them into a paying customer.

What additional value can you offer once you have their eyes locked on your blog post?

Bonus Tip: Try using a content upgrade to help you capture more client leads and make more sales.

Make your content easy to browse

Learn to write in a concise way to make your points.

It’s important to avoid long paragraphs unless absolutely necessary.

Why?

Because people will look at the length and get overwhelmed.

Minimizing the fluff will maximize the time each reader spends on your page in real-time which in turn will help your SEO rankings. Long and fluffy will hurt you overall, long and jammed with value will pay dividends!

Write and Don’t Forget to Share!

Knowing how to spread the word and promote your post is a whole other topic on its own.

Promoting your insurance blog can be difficult in the beginning, especially when you don’t have any subscribers or clients to send it to.

So, how the heck do you get this promotion boat in the water?

Think about your natural network. What social media accounts do you have? Are you connected to any insurance industry influencers who can share your posts? There is no secret recipe, so start close to home.

Tip: You won’t get penalized for duplicate content, so you should republish your content on other platforms such as Medium and LinkedIn. Once you have published to these platforms you need to make sure you’re linking back to your original article on your blog so you have the best chance of bringing prospects into you funnel to generate leads and sales.

Build a backlog of content

Writing a post from scratch is hard, especially with how boring insurance can be! I mean, can you imagine trying to sit down and write a compelling article about replacement costs, insurance underwriting, or even worse, insurance claims?

A blank computer screen is a scary creature to most writers, especially insurance agents who just want to get out and sell.

However, over the course of a week you probably come up with several ideas that could be blog subjects.

If you have a new idea, put your thoughts down in an initial draft. It may not come out like you thought, so put it away and come back later. Right now I have more than 100 subjects that I am continually working on, so I always have something to kick-start my weekly writing.

Some of my current topics include:

Life insurance companies that have friendly underwriting for things like marijuana or covid in the last 90 days.
Getting a life insurance policy when visiting a war zone.
How to navigate the ever changing insurance marketplace.
Do I pick a drug plan with a deductible or without?

Be different on purpose

It’s hard to have an original thought these days with so much content flying around.

Don’t be afraid to step out from the crowd if you believe in a topic, or have immense knowledge on a subject. But, also, don’t be afraid to take on a well-worn subject and bring a new point of view.

How many blogs have been written about how to write a blog?

This story is about the things we believe are most important. There are some points we’ve left out, only because we don’t see them as critical to success. Different is good if you’ve thought it through.

Set aside daily time to write your blog

An effective blog can’t be left to the last few hours of the day. You’re not an effective seller when you’re tired, so why would you think you’ll be an effective writer?

Blogging is a core strategy of our insurance marketing plan.

I urge you to email me directly if you would like help crafting your blog strategy for your agency. We are dedicated to helping you grow your insurance agency and blogging is a fantastic way to speed up that process!