5 Tips for Creating an Agency Blog that Works

There are two realities about blogs:

1) They work. We’ve seen the statistics: Companies that blog have 97% more inbound links. Business-to-business marketers with blogs generate 67% more leads. Websites with blogs have 434% more indexed pages.

2) No one wants to be the blogger. Everyone’s plate is already full, thank you very much.

A blog was always part of the MJ Insurance rebranding plan. We actually began working on our blog, “MJ Insight,” a full year before it went live. We created a library of material based on topics generated by our producers and fueled by common client inquiries and areas of agency specialty.

In our inaugural blog entry, our CEO, Michael Bill, shared our intent: two-way conversations that would “meander from one topic to another” and lead us to delightedly ask, “How in the world did we end up talking about that?!”

How have we done? Well, we’ve maintained our bi-weekly posting schedule and readership has grown. Employees and clients are noticing. “MJ Insight” is a work in progress, but that’s the beauty of a blog—it’s never really finished.

Here are a few pointers based on our experience:

Extend your reach. We include current blog links in the bi-weekly employee benefits newsletter we send to clients and prospects. We encourage employees to read and share, and we post links to social media sites.

Don’t look away. Monitor comments. Readers expect quick reply to both positive and negative remarks. In rare instances, you may need to remove offensive material.

Stay relevant. Our agency library is a great resource, especially when deadlines loom. We also add timely messages about community events and holidays.

Install spam filters. You’d be surprised at the content unscrupulous spammers try to jam onto sites. Don’t fall prey to link-building schemes.

Finally, your agency is diverse with personalities, expertise and specialties. Use them. For corporate blogs, it’s ok to use more than one author, as long as you assign one person to oversight. In many cases, it’s this individual who handles marketing and communications, including:

• Assigning topics based on agency strategies
• Reviewing for consistent tone and brand personality
• Posting and promoting
• Monitoring and responding

Britni Johnson is corporate marketing and communications coordinator at MJ Insurance in Indianapolis.