In case you haven’t heard, the internet is making waves in insurance prospecting. Not only is it widening your network of referrals and prospects but it can put you in touch with an entire generation of uninsured individuals that rely on the internet for much of their shopping and researching.

In 2010, these are the web marketing trends you need to get on top of:

• An agency website

• A blog

• An electronic newsletter

• Email marketing

• Article marketing

• Online networking

  • Twitter

  • LinkedIn

  • Online community forums

Let’s take each of these methods and look at them individually.

Agency website: A well written, informative agency website does not need to be complicated or expensive. Be clear about your message, write with personality but keep it professional, keep the content updated and make sure it has a call to action. Contact information should be easy to find and the site should have some SEO to bring in more traffic.

A blog: A blog is a great way to deliver timely information to your prospective clients and develop a stronger relationship of trust with them. Be sure to update the blog regularly, allow it to have personality without being unprofessional, and keep the content easy to read and applicable to the topic.

An electronic newsletter: Newsletters increase your authority and professional image. They also create a great means of staying in contact with prospective clients without badgering them with incessant telephone calls and mailers. An electronic newsletter should look professional, have pictures and interesting articles that help readers learn about different types of products they might need. It should be easy to sign up for and easy to stop receiving.

Email marketing: Email marketing campaigns are another great way to promote yourself and your services and they cost less money than traditional mailers. Be sure to create a consistent message with a call to action that is not too pushy. Be sure to include contact information and any applicable deadlines.

Article marketing: Article marketing, the process of writing articles and placing them on websites like Ezine, helps to widen your exposure and bring more links in to your website. Be sure to create helpful articles on evergreen topics.

Online networking: Online networking, through sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and various online forums, is quickly becoming a popular way to snag a whole new generation of busy prospects. Be sure to let your personality show when networking online and NEVER just shout your message and leave. Just like in-person networking, you must be a resource and interact with others. If you were at an in-person networking event and just stood in the middle of the room shouting about your insurance products, everyone would think you were insane and nobody would become your client or refer you to potential clients. The same will happen with online networking. Another tip—be sure to network with your clients or people who are the gatekeepers to your clients. Networking with other agents might not be the best use of time.

The first step in developing the print portion of your marketing campaign is to determine what print items you want to have. Leave behinds? Postcards? Brochures? Seminar materials? Here is a list of some of the materials you can include in your marketing arsenal:

• Letterhead

• Envelopes

• Sales flyers

• Business cards

• Blank cards (for thank you notes)

• Address labels

• Newsletters

• Calendars

• Brochures

• Post cards

• Business reply cards

• Seminar materials

  • Notebooks

  • Handouts

  • Invitations

Things to remember when developing your print materials:

• Keep the design and message on all your print materials consistent with your website, social networking efforts, blog and other marketing elements.

• Make sure you have a call to action on every sales piece. If your sales materials don’t compel your prospects to take the next step—and tell them what the next step is–then they are not doing their job.

• Don’t ignore the details. If you spend the time and money on a uniquely designed letterhead featuring a similar design and color scheme as your website, etc. then don’t stick it in an ugly envelope that doesn’t match. If you must get envelopes designed to match your letterhead, don’t put a gaudy white address label on the front of it when you mail it. Pay attention to all those little details that can begin to chip away at your message and branding.

• Keep your information…informative. When you send a newsletter to your prospects and clients on a regular basis you become more than an agent—you become an educator, a journalist, an advocate and a resource. If your newsletter is lacking in quality writing and information then you are just another person trying to take up room in your prospect’s mailbox.

• Keep your message clear and concise. No one wants to read a paragraph of writing on your business card that outlines your entire business philosophy. Keep your message on small items concise and to the point. Generally, a tagline works best because it is no more than one sentence and can fit on all print and web marketing materials.

• Show your value. Let’s face it, there are other agents competing in your area for the same clients. As far as your client is concerned, you all start out on a level playing field. Each of you is licensed, combs your hair and dresses up real nice. You have to send a clear message on all your materials that explains why you are different from your competition and why you might be a better choice of agent.

2010 is coming whether you like it or not—is your marketing plan ready? Are you ready to make all the changes you need in order to unleash a full-scale marketing attack on your unsuspecting prospects? Are you ready to bring your website, blog, print marketing materials, local branding and social networking together into a total marketing plan? Have you thought about how to tie your branding in all these areas together? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with our 4-post Quick ‘n Dirty Marketing Plan series.

This week we’ll talk about all of the elements you need to decide on BEFORE you start developing your marketing items so that everything is tied together and sends the same message while establishing and strengthening your brand. Next week we’ll cover getting all your print stuff ready for 2010. On the 24^th, we’ll talk about your online presence and in our final post on the 31^st we’ll talk about other ideas to create brand awareness.

The Key to Effective Marketing

In order for all three points of your marketing attack to be completely effective, they must have a unified message, theme and style. Your goal is to cement the qualities of your brand into the minds of your prospective clients and referrers and to be seen as a trusted, consistent authority.

In order to maintain this consistency in all your marketing efforts there are some preliminary steps you must take:

1. Develop a tagline or slogan that will be used on all your marketing and networking items. Your tagline doesn’t have to be long or complicated, but it must sum up what your agency and service is all about. Some examples of taglines include:

“You’re in good hands with Allstate.” –Allstate

“Don’t leave home without it.” –American Express

“Reach out and touch someone.” –AT&T

“What’s in your wallet?” –Capital One

Chances are you knew the companies behind most of those taglines before we told you. That’s because their taglines work, they say something about the companies they represent and they are used on every single print, television, internet and radio marketing effort the companies make. And yours must do the same.

2. Create a logo for use on your online and offline marketing. A logo makes your company or agency instantly recognizable. Think about the Prudential rock, the Hartford stag and the Budweiser crown. Just like your tagline, the logo you create should be simple, representative, meaningful and present on all your visual marketing materials.

3. Decide on a style and color scheme for all your online and offline marketing. Not only do you need to make sure that all your marketing materials have the same color scheme [think Coors (blue and gold), Kodak (gold and red) and Prudential (blue and white)] but they also need to have a consistent style. You can’t choose an ultra-contemporary design for one marketing piece and then switch to a flirty, flowery design on the next. Think of your marketing materials as a form of nesting doll—each one must fit into the other and create a continuous flow that strengthens your brand.