In business school, we all learned the four P’s of marketing: product, price, promotion, and place. But what about the four P’s of copywriting? Are they the same? Not at all. The American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI) prescribes the following four-P formula for writing persuasively:
- Paint a Picture — Use metaphors, stories and analogies to bring problems and solutions to life.
- Promise Something — Tell the reader what your product will do for him or her. Communicate your unique value proposition (UVP).
- Provide Proof — Give your promise credibility by supporting it with facts, statistics, case studies and testimonials.
- Push for Response — Create a highly desirable offer and make it irresistible.
These four P’s apply to all types of writing, but let’s take a look at how you can specifically use them for insurance copywriting.
1. Paint a Picture
You’ll never persuade anyone to buy from you if your copy is full of fluff, you just talk about how great your insurance products are without giving specific examples and you fail see the situation from the customers’ perspective. Instead, you need to paint a picture with words. This will bring your products alive for your customers and start the process of convincing them that they need the insurance you’re selling.
Sprinkling the occasional metaphor into insurance copywriting can help make your products feel essential. This is a great tactic for simplifying complex concepts and getting points across quickly. However, a word of warning: Avoid overusing metaphors. Overuse can lead to the exact opposite of the desired effect.
Another great way to sell products through insurance copywriting is to tell a story. For example, you could write about common problems, the consequences of either having or not having a policy and how coverage can solve customers’ problems. If the audience you’re targeting is quite specific, go into detail to help readers see themselves in the story.
A final tactic you can use to paint a picture with your writing is to use analogies. This is useful when a story alone may not be compelling enough or if you have a limited number of words to convince your audience. For instance, you could compare lacking the type of insurance you’re selling to forgoing another essential.
2. Promise Something
In the picture you’ve painted, you’ve shown customers why they need a particular type of insurance. Now you need to make it clear why your products are the best choice. You can achieve this by making a promise that relates to your unique value proposition (UVP).
Introduce your UVP in the headline and then make it the main theme running throughout the copy. It’s critical to pick just one promise for each piece of copy. While there are likely many reasons why customers should choose your products, trying to include all of them will only dilute your message, making readers less likely to come away with a clear idea of what you have to offer.
There’s a misconception that a UVP should be about how your company is special. Although it is necessary to highlight what makes you stand out from your competitors, your prospects are most interested in how you’ll meet their needs. This means your customers (not you) should be at the forefront of your messaging. For more on this topic, read Insurance Marketing Mistake #3.
Bearing all this in mind, how should you choose a promise for your copy?
Start by considering what you have to offer. It can help to make a list of all the top features of your product. You can then choose the one that’s the most unique — what you can offer that other competitors cannot. Next, consider how this feature benefits your customers. Write your copy explaining how your product meets customers’ demands and desires because of the feature you’ve identified.
3. Provide Proof
The next step is to ensure prospects believe you. After all, anyone can make a promise — but you need evidence to back it up. It’s particularly important for customers to know that an insurance or insurtech partner is reputable.
The good thing about selling insurance products is there are plenty of ways to prove that what you’re saying is true by using facts and figures about key exposures and about how customers have already been helped by your solution.
You can also turn to storytelling when providing proof by presenting a case study. Describe the customer’s situation, talk about what you offered and explain how insurance ended up solving a problem. Case studies should be specific enough that it’s clear you’re referring to a specific customer but they should also be relatable to your entire target audience.
In addition, it is helpful to provide proof produced from other sources than your own company. In particular, customers love social proof. Yelp conducted a survey and found 75% of the people surveyed said they were reading more reviews than they used to, and 70% were unlikely to use a new business without reading reviews. The survey also found that people want quality reviews with a description of the person's experience.
Rather than relying on prospects to seek out these reviews, include testimonials with your copy. If you’re lacking testimonials, reach out to satisfied customers and ask if they’d be willing to write one for you. It’s even more impactful if they also give you a rating, as seeing five stars makes it immediately obvious to prospects that a review is excellent before they read a single word.
4. Push for Response
Finally, you need to push prospects to take action right now. If they find your offer only reasonably interesting, they may decide to pursue it later or compare your products with those of other companies, which could mean you lose out on a sale. To ensure readers take immediate action, your offer needs to speak to prospects and convince them your offer is the best possible option.
To achieve this, prospects need to know what you want from them when they finish reading: This is contained in the call-to-action (CTA). There are a few things you can do to make your CTA irresistible:
- Know exactly what your audience wants. It’s impossible to craft the perfect CTA if you’re unclear about what your audience is looking for. Run surveys and use other types of market research to find the answer.
- Create a sense of urgency so prospects won’t want to delay.
- Keep it simple. Your CTA should sum up your offer in a few words.
Create Content That Converts
Knowing the four P’s of writing can help you go a long way, but if you want outstanding pieces of content that convert prospects, you need to turn to the professionals. You will receive premier insurance copywriting services from Inbound Insurance Marketing.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Insurance Copywriting
Knowing when to bring in a specialized insurance marketing copywriter can make all the difference in your business's success. Here are some clear indicators that it's time to seek professional help:
1. Stagnant Conversion Rates
If your marketing efforts aren't translating into increased sales or inquiries, it could be time to revamp your approach. An expert copywriter can create compelling calls-to-action and tailor messages that resonate with your target audience, turning potential leads into loyal customers.
2. Lack of Engagement
Your content might not be capturing the attention it deserves, resulting in low engagement on your platforms. An insurance copywriter can craft captivating headlines and intriguing narratives that draw readers in and keep them engaged.
3. Difficulty Articulating Value
Struggling to clearly convey the unique benefits and features of your insurance products? An experienced insurance copywriter can help articulate your value proposition in a way that’s not only understandable but also appealing, ensuring your audience knows exactly why they should choose you over competitors.
4. Time Constraints
As your business grows, so do your responsibilities. You might find you simply don't have the time to focus on crafting effective marketing content. Hiring an insurance copywriter allows you to maintain a strong brand voice and consistent messaging without sacrificing other priorities.
5. Inconsistent Brand Voice
A cohesive brand voice is essential across all platforms and communications. If your messaging feels disjointed or inconsistent, a seasoned copywriter can help align your content with your brand’s identity, ensuring every piece of writing strengthens your brand.
Bringing in an expert insurance marketing copywriter can streamline your messaging, enhance customer engagement, and ultimately drive conversion, freeing you to focus on what you do best —growing your business.
As you explore the writing services available, you may notice websites offering copywriting, content writing or ghostwriting. Here at Inbound Insurance Marketing, we are unique, in that we combine all three practices to create insurance-intelligent prose. We write persuasive copy for email and collateral as well as educational copy for thought leadership pieces such as articles, white papers and case studies. In all instances, we are ghostwriters, meaning that you are the named author for the pieces we write for you. Here’s a breakdown to further clarify these distinctions:
Insurance Copywriting: Conviction and Call to Action
Insurance copywriting blends creativity with strategy, aiming to captivate a specific audience and inspire action. Whether encouraging potential clients to schedule a consultation, respond to a call to action, or simply stay informed, this form of writing is more focused on persuasive selling.
The essence of insurance copywriting lies in its ability to craft messages that not only intrigue but also motivate. It’s about generating leads, driving sales, and establishing a connection between the company and its audience.
Content Writing: Educate and Inform
On the other hand, content writing serves a more educational purpose. For insurance blogs, content writing focuses on delivering informative and engaging material. This strategy aims to increase website traffic, bolster search engine rankings, and solidify the company’s authority in the market.
While content writing might include some elements of persuasion, its primary goal is to inform and educate, offering value to the reader through comprehensive guides, insightful articles, and expert tips that can establish trust over time.
Ghostwriting: Behind-the-Scenes Craftsmanship
Ghostwriters write on your behalf, so you are the named author when pieces are published. Many times, they interview you or your team’s subject matter expert, so they can communicate with your unique point of view. Ghostwriters possess the versatility to adopt different voices and styles, making it an invaluable service for businesses looking to maintain a consistent brand voice without stretching their internal resources.
Final Thoughts
While all three forms of writing—insurance copywriting, content writing, and ghostwriting—share some similarities, they each serve unique purposes and require different approaches. Insurance copywriting focuses on persuasion and action, content writing on education and engagement, and ghostwriting on providing expertise while staying invisible. Understanding these distinctions ensures that the right type of writing is used to meet specific business goals. When you hire a writing partner, always make sure they understand your insurance niche. Many people who say they are insurance copywriters have only written about home, auto or life insurance. We may be the only insurance copywriting service that truly writes for all B2B insurance and insurtech segments.
In the insurance industry, effective copywriting is essential for building trust and engaging potential agents and policyholders. Here's an overview of distinct types of copywriting commonly utilized by insurers.
- Website Content: Your website is often the first point of contact with potential clients. It's crucial that the content is clear, informative, and engaging. This section should emphasize your expertise and highlight your range of insurance offerings.
- Blogs and Articles: Informative and insightful articles can boost your website’s searchability and establish authority. By covering a variety of insurance-related topics, you can attract more visitors and build trust. Bylined articles can be published in insurance journals to further expand your reach.
- Resources to Fuel the Buyer’s Journey: The commercial insurance buying journey can be long, involving many stages and stakeholders. Resources (typically in PDF format) such as infographics, decision trees, buying guides, checklists, white papers and case studies can support multi-channel campaigns. They can be downloaded from your website and promoted in social media or through direct mail and newsletters. They can also be used in presentations and included with sales follow-ups.
- Email Campaigns: Drip campaigns and newsletters help keep your clients informed and engaged. These emails can cover market updates, insurance tips, and industry news, establishing you as a thought leader in the field.
- Sales Copy: Creating targeted sales collateral for specific insurance products can effectively convert leads into clients. These pages should be persuasive, focusing on the unique benefits of your services.
- Risk Management Resources: After onboarding new customers, you can deliver value and increase engagement and loyalty by providing helpful risk management resources.
Each of these copywriting forms plays a critical role in attracting and retaining clients in the insurance sector, ultimately enhancing brand credibility and customer relationships.
When selecting an insurance copywriter, it’s crucial to seek out a blend of creativity and industry-specific expertise. Here are a few qualities to look for:
1. Insurance Industry Knowledge and Experience
The insurance industry has its own vernacular – one that is not easy for outsiders to quickly learn. If you hire a writer who hasn’t worked in the insurance industry, you will spend a lot of time up front explaining your business, and a lot of time at the end of the project, editing the piece. That’s a waste of your time! By hiring an insurance-intelligent partner, you can efficiently create content and achieve your goals. A skilled insurance copywriter should decode complex terms and present them in a way that highlights the value and benefits to the reader.
2. Technical Skills
Your copywriting partner should have a sound understanding of AP Style guidelines, SEO best practices and market research. This ensures your content meets the standards of professional publications, supports your search engine optimization objectives, and is thoroughly researched and sourced, so you avoid misquotes or copyright infringement. Inbound Insurance Marketing is well-versed in all these requirements.
3. Human Storytelling and Point of View
Don’t settle for cheap, AI-generated copy. Effective writing is original, thoughtful and includes a human point of view that connects with your target audience.
By prioritizing these skills, you’ll find an insurance copywriter who can both engage your audience and enhance your brand’s authority.
