When you think about it, an hour is a long time. In an hour, you can drive 60 miles, bake a cake, play a basketball game, mow the lawn or even get a massage – no problem.
However, when it comes to writing an insurance blog, an hour can seem like a stifling timeframe. You have to choose a topic, generate research, write the article, create a compelling headline, add SEO, edit and post. Whew! Is it challenging to complete all these tasks in an hour? Sure. Can it be done? Absolutely. Should it be done? Yes.
The reason it’s important to learn the art of creating content quickly is because when a task is easier, it gets done, and done more often. And in insurance marketing, frequent blogging pays off. Consider these points from HubSpot’s “100 Awesome Marketing Stats, Charts and Graphs for You”:
- Blogging results in a 55 percent increase in website visitors
- Blogging increases the number of indexed pages on your site
- Companies that blog have twice the Twitter followers than those who don’t
- Companies that blog have 97 percent more inbound links than those who don’t
Five tips for accomplishing the crucial task of insurance blogging in only one hour:
1. Keep a running “potential blog topic” list. Every day, you run into interesting circumstances that could become compelling insurance blog articles. Think about customer service issues, success stories, and questions you receive from employees and customers. These are all excellent blog fodder. If you keep a running list of potential topics, you won’t have to waste time figuring out the topic – just choose one and go in 60 seconds or less.
2. Maintain “ready-to-go” research. Research is the biggest time drain of blogging. Here’s a better way: Every morning, as you scan through your e-mail, save any articles that contain citable research. For example, if you see an article on auto insurance customer satisfaction, save it in your auto insurance folder on your computer. Then, when it’s time to write a blog article, simply go to the research folder that relates to your topic, and find information to add “meat” to your article. Of course, make sure to source the information. By accessing “ready to go” research, you can limit research time to 10 minutes or less.
3. Don’t waste time on the headline … yet. Many writers make the mistake of dawdling on the headline before they start writing the article. Don’t. Jump right into the body of the article and write – keeping the simple formula used in this article in mind (intro, supporting facts, how-to points and close).
4. Don’t think about search engine optimization … yet. You want your copy to be natural and substantive, so don’t even think about SEO at this point. Just write directly to your audience with helpful information.
5. Add the important finishing touches. Once the article is written, circle back and write down at least five suitable headlines. Choose the best one and take time to refine it, with headline best practices in mind. Next, turn your thoughts to SEO. Does the article already contain some of your targeted keyword phrases? Choose two keyword phrases that work well with the topic, and make sure they are repeated a few times. Now, see if you can add the keyword phrase into the headline while keeping it compelling. Finally, write your coordinating meta tag description.
6. Edit and post. While blogs are less formal than other types of communication, it’s a good idea to instill an editing process. I recommend slowly reading the article out loud, and if possible having another person review it with fresh eyes. If no one else is available, set the article aside for at least an hour and read it again before making the blog article live. Fresh eyes make all the difference.
The most important thing to remember is you don’t have to be an insurance copywriter to write great insurance blog articles. Just keep practicing and working on your speed. If you haven’t already done so, make sure to download our free resource, “How to Write Remarkable Insurance Blog Articles: Your 10-Step, Sure-Success Checklist.”
Also, download our blogging infographic to post in your workspace for easy reference.
