Every May, we look at our Producer's Guide to Marketing as one of our most important issues of the year. The topic has wide appeal, as all producers need to market themselves effectively, and it is a pressing concern for many as the economy recovers and we look to bring business back to "normal." Still, budgets are tight and regulations tend to quiet the things producers say in their marketing materials and the ways they present themselves to clients.
But marketing is your No. 1 concern. And as the publication dedicated to bringing you the information you need to take your business to the next level, ASJ started looking at ways we could bring the most up-to-date marketing advice to your desktop in a way you've never seen it before.
That's why this year, we settled on a format that explored marketing strategies by product market, rather than our usual collection of longer articles that focused on marketing techniques. We went to the top practitioners in five market segments – annuities, employee benefits, health insurance, life insurance, and long term care insurance – to find out what these experts have done to distinguish themselves from others. The advice ranges from ways to position the products you sell to tips for getting your name in front of prospects.
And throughout the section, we offered advice on how to use different marketing vehicles to achieve your goal – whether it's blogging, search engine optimization for your site, press releases, direct mail, or networking at conferences and other events.
One other way we tried to reach out to you, our readers, was by asking you what your biggest marketing lessons have been over the years. Our hope was that we'd hear from you about the types of things you've done that have worked very well – or not well at all – and have ultimately led you to refine your marketing techniques for the better. We reached out on Twitter, on LinkedIn, on Facebook, and on our home page at www.ASJonline.com.
Now, we're asking you to continue responding to this call. The No. 1 way that agents learn how to improve their practice is by talking to other agents. Visit ASJ's Twitter profile, our Facebook page, and our LinkedIn group. Send us an email at [email protected]. We want to hear from you what's worked and what hasn't – and what you'd tell a colleague who was struggling with marketing.
