Thursday, June 28, 2012

Save Advertising Money and Gain Integrity by Writing Articles for Insurance Industry Journals

Would you rather have three seconds of an insurance prospect's attention, or 15 minutes of his devoted attention? Of course, all of us would opt for the 15 minutes. That time is the difference between scanning an ad and reading an article in a business journal.

When a prospect sees an ad, he scans the headline. If it interests him, he might read further. Each ad typically receives about three seconds of attention, sometimes less. However, informational articles that pertain to your prospect usually get 15 minutes of his attention. The question is, who is writing these articles? Well, you should be.

Tricks of the trade

Most business owners and operators subscribe to a variety of trade publications. You might even be advertising in some of them. But, have you ever thought about submitting an article to one? Many trade journals accept articles from industry experts. Publishing articles is a great way to establish yourself as an expert and gain publicity for your company.

Why published articles work

While most of us are skeptical of advertising, we often trust that what is printed in a trade journal article is mostly, if not entirely, the truth. Although readers may not believe what is stated in an ad, they are more apt to read and think about what you have to say in an article, and credibility is everything. Many of my clients have told me that they receive higher lead generations through articles than advertisements.

What you need to know

If you want to write an insurance article for submission, take the time to write a genuine, smart article that proves your expertise, that is educational, and that is of interest to your audience. Forget that you are trying to sell something. Any submission that reads even faintly as promotional will be rejected. All editors want articles that are newsworthy. Try to tackle an insurance industry pain point and then take it one step farther and offer relevant solutions.

And remember, never pay to have an insurance article published and avoid advertising for the purpose of seeing your article in print. Reputable magazines never charge you to publish articles; they want insurance stories that are newsworthy.

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