insurance is something you pay for and hope you never have to use.
That was, in a nutshell, how my dad explained insurance to me when I got my first “real” job. he was trying to decide if adding long-term disability insurance to my benefits package was worth the pennies (at the time) it would cost me.
In a somewhat similar fashion, today’s insurance agents are wondering if investing in direct mail marketing is worth what it might cost them, especially if digital marketing is what everyone is turning to.
It’s true that digital marketing is critically important to businesses of all shapes and sizes. But it’s also true that the more marketing channels you use:
- the more ubiquitous it is,
- the more brand recognition it will achieve,
- the more people it will reach, and
- the more opportunities you have to communicate your value.
As important as these results are to your overall success, they are not the end game (finding leads is) and as we all know, referrals are the best type of leads because they convert more easily make cold leads. once converted, they tend to remain loyal customers for longer periods of time and generally offer greater lifetime value.
The key to generating referrals is to remain top of mind with all your clients, and nothing achieves top-of-mind awareness than a consistent and personalized direct mail campaign—one that includes more than postcards.
postcard marketing
Don’t get me wrong: postcards are a great way to collect direct mail insurance leads.
With postcards you immediately overcome a marketer’s biggest hurdle: will your recipients open the envelope (or click on the email if we’re talking digital marketing) to see your message? postcards eliminate that worry because your message is literally staring them in the face.
Postcards are also very versatile.
You can use different sizes, colors, images, calls to action, offers and message texts, which makes it very easy to test how well a campaign is working and make adjustments as necessary. (We have a podcast episode on email testing that applies to direct mail as well. Listen to it here.)
Plus, you can effortlessly increase traffic to your website with postcards.
qr codes are becoming more and more popular and printing them on postcards makes it easy for recipients to quickly scan them with their smartphones. have the scanned code link to a landing page where potential customers can provide their contact information to get a free item of value, perhaps a useful report or questionnaire to help them assess their insurance needs.
You can be creative with your postcard by devoting one side of a large-sized postcard to your messaging and the other side to a postage-paid response that prospects can tear off and stick in the mail to receive more information, request an appointment, or another call to action you’ve included.
Regardless of how effective postcards can be at generating leads, you’ll only be wasting your time and money if you don’t adhere to the following two non-negotiable rules that apply to all direct mail campaigns.
rule 1: you must be constant.
There is not a single instance of a successful marketing strategy that has been implemented only once.
Before a message can elicit a response, the audience must be exposed to it multiple times. While the precise number and frequency of exposures (the effective rate or cadence) differ depending on who you ask, researchers generally recommend between seven and 20 instances.
then there is the opposite concern. your own experience will tell you that, after a while, you start to disconnect from the same message. but how much exposure is too much?
Researchers haven’t fully established the acceptable frequency or wear-out period, but according to Dr. Louisa Ha, professor of media production and studies at Bowling Green State University, “There are studies on the wear-out effect which show different ad themes have different thresholds of wear-out. To avoid wear-out, there should be variations of the ad so that the same message is reinforced without showing the same thing.”
All of this suggests that if you’re going to send postcards, you should send at least one each month, and it should be a different card each time. We offer automated postcards for insurance agents and will send a different, high-quality, lead-generating postcard every month to your list of recipients.
rule 2: you must follow up
On its own, no postcard (and no marketing tactic) has ever converted a potential customer.
There is no substitute for tracking after delivery of a direct mail piece.
dot.
I’m inclined to speculate that those who claim direct mail postcards don’t work are breaking one or both of these unforgiving rules.
handwritten direct mail marketing
I don’t need to tell you that independently owned insurance companies struggle to compete against national insurance companies and their deep pockets. That’s why independent insurance agents need to be creative, be visible everywhere, and need a direct mail marketing strategy that includes more than just postcards.
and nothing will set you apart from the big boys more, make as strong an impression, and keep you top of mind for repeat business and referrals as a genuinely handwritten note.
I know what you’re thinking. . . where am I supposed to find the time to write letters by hand?
I know you’re busy trying to run your business and serve your customers, but like everything else, if you have a plan and break a big task down into smaller tasks, you can do just about anything.
First, I suggest you write a short note, not a long letter. You can use our free note cards for insurance agents with appropriate coverages to offer an insurance quote, for reference requests, and to say thank you. you or your local print shop can print as many as you like.
Second, you can decide to send a note to only your core clients, or you can commit to writing several cards a week and eventually send one card to everyone in your database.
Finally, you could ask someone else to write your notes for you. While this approach won’t allow you to personalize your message as much as writing it yourself, writing one and having a high school or college student (with good handwriting, of course) copy it for a per-card fee would save you time and money. avoid the higher cost of hiring a handwritten letter writing service.
Remember that even a thank you card is a marketing piece, so you want to make a lasting impression. For tips on how to write a powerful thank you note, you can check out this helpful article.
marketing with a personal brand magazine
Independent insurance agents often tell us that one of their biggest concerns is that their clients forget who they are.
Your clients have no problem telling people who ask that they have their homeowners policy with Farm Farm Insurance Group, their auto insurance with Little Green Gecko Company, and their life insurance with Empire State Life.
But ask them who sold them their policies and they’re clueless, and that endangers commission renewals and residuals. When you lose a client, you lose valuable income.
and no one who has forgotten the name of an agent can recommend them to a friend, colleague or family member.
a personal brand magazine as part of your marketing strategy can eliminate these problems.
If you’re not familiar with personal branding magazines and how they work to help you retain business and secure referrals, I encourage you to read on.
1. they make you go past the dumpster and into the house
A magazine, especially one that’s as attractive as the ones we produce for our clients, stands out amidst the bills, flyers, and junk that routinely land in people’s mailboxes.
These magazines are not perceived as marketing, but rather as gifts from you and something they look forward to receiving because they’re engaging and useful.
- American Lifestyle, our flagship product, includes beautiful images and articles on home decor, travel, food, and entertainment.
- start healthy is created for those with an interest in healthy living. healthy. includes pieces on health and wellness, mindfulness, exercise, healthy eating, and more.
- good for home is for those who enjoy reading about topics related to home and garden, DIY projects, decorating, home improvement and other home ownership topics.
People who receive a magazine from one of our customers report keeping it in their homes in the kitchen or on the coffee table for an average of three to four weeks.*
2. elevate your brand
For your customers to remember you, you need to become familiar with them beyond being the source of a computer-generated bill they receive every six to 12 months.
Our personal branding magazines include your image, your brand and your contact information in six strategic locations: the inside and outside of the front and back covers and on two tear-off cards included in each problem.
Every two months, we automatically send a new number to your exclusive mailing list, giving you a constant opportunity to make your brand visible to everyone in the family and those with whom they share it.
3. allow you to establish a personal connection
With all 3 magazines, you have the option to write a letter that you can personalize for the individual recipient and which we will print on the inside of your magazine cover at no additional charge.
- if you know that john and suzie have a child who is graduating from college, you can remind them that their child may be at an age where they need a policy of their own.
- yes frank and carol just had their first child, you can include a letter congratulating them and saying that you are available to discuss a possible life insurance policy.
- you can include a letter in your vacation number wishing all the best wishes from your customers, and we will fill in the correct name for each address in your greeting.
Messages like these enable you to connect on a more personal level with your clients and help to build long-lasting relationships.
4. they keep you top of mind
Most importantly, a personal branding magazine will keep you top of mind with your customers. Consistently sending your customers a gift they enjoy, display, and keep, and keeping your image and contact information handy, makes it easy for customers to offer you repeat business and referrals.
Basically, the best direct mail for insurance agents is automated, branded, and personalized, three qualities that a very affordable personal branding magazine from remallmedia has in spades. If you’d like to see one of our magazines for yourself, you can get a free pdf copy sent to your inbox by clicking here.
one last word
an insurance magazine article says:
postcards are an affordable addition to other agency promotions. Ongoing local marketing helps independently owned offices stay in the game. without it, it is difficult for small (non-specialized) offices to compete, even in their own hometown. ongoing agency marketing is not a luxury; it is an investment in the survival of your company.
If you’re looking for more comprehensive advice about marketing with postcards, more details about how to write letters to clients, or information about other direct mail marketing options you can consider, I recommend you read 5 Proven Direct Mail Marketing Ideas for Real Estate Agents in 2021. Don’t let the title discourage you—the advice and information provided are largely applicable to independent insurance agents as well.
*2019 Reminder Media Reader Study; made by gfk mri. You can see more results of the study here.