MARKETING
side with run-of-the-mill promotional emails . After all , much of that junk mail cluttering our inboxes every morning is made up of “ newsletters .” To put it bluntly , they aren ’ t cool anymore .
I know several agents who sent newsletters to their clients that included well-intentioned content . Each told me their goal was to build relationships with their clients and increase retention and cross-sales . It makes sense . But , having read through their newsletters , I noticed that most of the content covers broad insurance issues : stuff the agent believes is helpful to clients of all shapes and sizes . Sure , there were some creative spins on topics , but it was much of the same . After a handful of uninteresting newsletters like this , just about everyone is going to tune them out moving forward .
But the question remains : If newsletters seldom get opened , and the content is only occasionally valuable , are they still worth sending ?
A study last year by Bain & Company ( the inventors of the Net Promoter Score ®) showed that insurance clients are much more loyal if they receive even one meaningful interaction throughout the year . When applied across an entire book of business , this improved loyalty translates to an overall 3 % increase in client retention .
Each year , agents who have several meaningful interactions with their clients see even more significant boosts to retention and referrals . So staying in front of clients in a meaningful way is suitable for insurance agents . Still , a newsletter will not help you accomplish this . Instead , the communication must be meaningful , personal , and impactful .
Keep it personal . People like to think that their insurance agent is looking out for them individually . So , when an agent takes the time to communicate with them , they assume the agent must also be setting aside time to look out for their insurance needs . Because newsletters are written for everyone , they don ’ t check this box .
Impactful content ( and delivery ) keeps the reader interested . Essentially , does the communication make the client smile , or does it leave another positive impression ? You can accomplish that with a thoughtful gesture like a handwritten thank you card . Another way to keep clients interested is to take the time to share content that is specifically relevant to them . Because newsletters speak to and are intended for everyone , they don ’ t meet the impactful threshold either .
Curated content can switch up your relationship with clients . Newsletters that include curated content have survived and are thriving today . Why ? There ’ s so much noise out there that the problem is no longer accessing information but choosing what to pay attention to . Media companies figured this out and started creating newsletters to curate content for specific interests or demographic niches . Take “ The Hustle ” newsletter . It was designed for young tech professionals and reached more than a million regular subscribers within a couple of years . By promising to “ cut through all the nonsense out there and concisely tell users what they need to know and how it impacts them .” The bottom line is that there ’ s no shortage of content . What we want today is content meant for us . Agents can be successful with curating content for their users , too . But here ’ s another little myth that won ’ t go away : You need to write the content yourself . Clients understand that most agents are not copywriters . As long as the content is relevant to them , they don ’ t care who wrote it . Instead of typing out a newsletter , agents could spend that time curating relevant articles and education that would benefit different clients : the more specific the information , the more significant the impact .
If you ’ re an agent , it ’ s your job to make sense of policies and coverages for regular people . A well-positioned article emailed to specific individual clients can do just that . It can work a whole lot better than an entire newsletter because it ’ s well-targeted . But make sure you don ’ t over-explain it . Just include a sentence or two with the article , telling the client that you were thinking of them , and briefly explain why the article might be helpful . It makes them feel like
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