Running an insurance agency can be daunting, especially when you consider all of the marketing that you have to do in addition to meeting with clients and maintaining your industry knowledge. The following tips will help you figure out how to start and maintain your email marketing strategy, freeing up your time to spend on other responsibilities.
Know Your Goals
When you start your email marketing, make sure that you have clear goals in mind. Some common goals for email marketing include generating leads, gaining follows on social media, and boosting engagement. Others include creating a method of communicating with clients regularly and converting clients. Of course, there are also common goals such as gaining referrals and cross-selling or retaining existing clients.
As with any other type of goal for your insurance agency, you want them to be measurable. Be as specific as you can with your goals, as this lets you track your progress toward them and evaluate if you are on track to achieve them.
Understand the Types of Email Marketing
As you plan your insurance agency’s email marketing, you will likely want to include a variety of types of emails. Each of these serves an important purpose and can help you reach your goals.
Email Newsletters
These newsletters are a great way to show off your industry knowledge, such as via summaries of insurance-related news. They can also feature useful tips for readers and even drive traffic to your blog. The goal behind email newsletters is typically education. They keep your clients informed and showcase your knowledge, boosting client retention.
Welcome Emails
There are two main types of welcome emails for an insurance agency.
The first greets new clients. This could include a thank you for taking advantage of your insurance offerings. You can introduce them to yourself and your team in more detail, share important information and links, and even offer a “gift.” One example of a gift would be an e-book your insurance agency has created to help guide clients.
The other type of welcome email goes to leads who are not yet clients but just signed up for your newsletter or provided their contact information. You may offer similar information as in a client welcome email, but with some minor differences. After all, sharing information about your agency’s team can help you build a relationship with leads, encouraging them to convert.
Lead Nurturing
There are plenty of ways to nurture leads, including via email. These emails are for people who have expressed an interest in your insurance agency but who haven’t converted into clients yet.
These emails are your chance to build trust and subtly convince them that you are the right insurance agency for them.
Transactional Emails
These emails are directly related to the services you provide your clients. Think of things such as notices about an upcoming insurance renewal, appointment reminders, or invoices.
Other Emails
Savvy insurance agencies will also use emails to share holiday greetings and birthday wishes with clients. This is a small way to ensure your agency stays fresh in the mind of your clients.
How to Create Your Strategy
Once you have some goals in mind and understand the various types of emails that go into marketing, it is time to start forming your strategy.
Start by creating your email list. Remember that privacy laws require you to get permission to send non-transactional emails to clients. If you already have an insurance agency management system like Jenesis, you will likely have email addresses saved in there.
From there, you have to figure out what program you will use for your email marketing. If you already use Jenesis for your agency management, then you can use the same softwareyou’re your marketing campaigns. This saves you time, expense, and ensures your email list is imported properly.
Next, take the time to reevaluate your goals. Remember that you want them to be as specific as possible. Instead of saying “boost cross-sells,” say “gain X cross-sells.” You also need a timeline of when you hope to achieve your goal.
Then, you can work on the practical details. Who will manage the marketing campaign? Will it be you or another member of your insurance agency’s team?
Evaluate and Optimize Your Strategy
Don’t just create an email marketing strategy or set of campaigns and assume they will do fine. Look at the data you have available to measure them. This is why it is so important to choose measurable goals. Make adjustments to your strategy as needed to better reach your goals.
Remember, most every insurance agency will benefit from having an email marketing strategy as part of its overall advertising – it’s an excellent way to connect with existing clients and convert leads.
Interested in seeing how Jenesis can help get your insurance agency’s email marketing efforts off the ground? Request a demo, today!