So you want to start blogging for your insurance business.
But you're not quite sure how to do it.
Don't worry. We’ve got some basic best-practices to get you up and blogging in no time. Before you start typing, you should know...
Information overload is a thing.
More than 2 million blog posts are published every day. More than 30 billion pieces of content are shared on Facebook every month - approximately 1 billion per day.
Because of this intense information-overload, the way that we consume information has evolved.
If you want to deploy a blog for your insurance business to attract new visitors or convert these visitors to leads, you need to be sure your blog is structured in a way that can catch - and keep - your audience's attention.
Headline: Keep it True, Keep it Catchy
People will look at your headline and decide in a microsecond if your blog post has the information they are looking for.
A catchy headline can help you capture a very precious resource: your audience's attention.
But once you've got their attention, you need to keep it. So a catchy headline also needs to be true to the topic of your blog.
If you promise one thing with your headline and don't deliver - your audience is going to bounce off your site, fast.
Structure for Scanners
No one is ever going to read every word on your insurance website pages or posts.
Website visitors don’t read; they skim and scan.
So your blog post needs to be structured in a way that will help them as they quickly scan and look for information.
So, how do you keep them reading (ahem, scanning) your post?
Do:
- Break your blog content into sections using headers to organize information.
- Write shorter, more "digestible" sentences and paragraphs.
- Use bullet points and numbered lists whenever possible.
- Use catchy headers and headlines that encourage readers to read further.
- Deliver on the promise of your blog title.
- Use images, graphics, and charts to help get your point across.
Don't:
- Write long chunks of text that aren't broken up with headers, bullets, or images.
- Try to impress your readers with complicated sentences.
- Write boring headers.
- Mislead your readers with a title that doesn’t match up to your blog content.
Tip: More and more people are getting their information on a mobile device. They are using their smartphones or tablet to search for information, browse Facebook, and read blog posts.
Take a look at your blog posts on a mobile device and be sure the mobile experience is just as good - if not better - than the desktop.
That may mean even shorter paragraphs, fewer words, or more bullet points for your posts.
How Long Should Your Blog Post Be?
What's the ideal length of a blog post? 500 words? 3,000 words?
The answer is simple:
Your blog post should be as long as it needs to be, but no longer.
Sound cryptic?
Don't write a blog post with a word count in mind.
Your blog should be a utility for your readers. They are looking for information about a specific topic, and your post should give them the information they're looking for.
Don't worry about word count. Worry about...
- Delivering on the promise of your title.
- Providing all of the information someone may be looking for on that particular topic.
- Not straying off-topic.
Maybe your blog post is 500 words and a few paragraphs. Maybe your post is an epic 5,000 words. Most likely, it will fall somewhere in between.
If you have a lot of information to cover and need to split a post into a 3-part or 5-part series in order to stay focused on a single topic for each blog, do it.
Writing an effective blog post for your insurance business isn't hard. But it's not exactly easy, either.
Remember that you're vying for someone's very-limited attention in a world of information overload, follow these basic best-practices to structure your post, and you should be able to use your blogs as an effective tool to build your book of business.