Launching and maintaining requires readily available and highly affordable online tools.
As was discussed in Part 1 of this series, creating a local online news content can open you up to substantial new business opportunities. To get started, there are some tools and resources you will need. Fortunately, these are all easy to obtain, inexpensive and are not complicated.
Once you’ve laid the groundwork, you’ll become a resource to current and prospective customers.
To get started in local insurance news, there are a few things you will need and certain decisions you will need to make. Before you can know what you’ll need, ask yourself the following questions:
- Will I be launching a dedicated website for this content?
- Will I be adding the content as a blog on my existing website?
- Will I be submitting content to an existing insurance industry news website?
Launching a dedicated local insurance news website
If you will be starting from scratch and creating your own website specifically for this content, the main things you will need to get moving are:
- A media logo
- A domain name
- A web host
- A web design/template
- A source for the news you’ll write
- A news writer with insurance industry experience (if you won’t be writing it yourself)
- Social media pages for the site
- Optional: Additional possible sources of income such as Google AdSense or affiliate programs
Adding a local insurance news blog to your existing website
If you already have a site that would be well complemented by a blog – or perhaps you’ve already got a blog roll going – then you’re already halfway there. You can skip the first few steps that you’d need to follow if you were creating a dedicated site and will instead need:
- A media logo (if you don’t already have one)
- A source of local insurance news
- A news writer with insurance industry experience
- Social media pages for your site/blog (if you don’t already have them)
Submitting content to an existing industry site
If you’re ready to dive right in to writing local insurance news but would prefer not to create or maintain your own site or blog, you still have options. Find an established website that already has a solid following and with a press release submission feature. This will allow you to publish your unique content so you can reach a larger audience. Then, share your published piece across your social media accounts to further target it toward your own community. For this, you’ll need:
- A source of local insurance news
- A news writer with insurance industry experience
- Social media pages for your site/blog (if you don’t already have them)
Extra tips to boost reader draw and appeal
Remember that your logo will say a great deal about your site’s integrity and quality. Though a bit of basic graphic design skill may make you think you can create your own, unless you have experience in this field, it might be worthwhile to hire someone to do it for you. This can be done very affordably through resources such as Fiverr. Make sure you’re happy with it before you get started as it will represent your site across all your channels, including social media.
Select a website design that is visually appealing and easy to navigate. It’s easy to get swept up in bells and whistles, but when it comes to a new site, less is typically more. Unless you’re already skilled in web design, use a template that balances content and white space well. Too much clutter takes away from the site and will cheapen its impression.
Don’t miss Local Search SEO for Agents Part 3: How to Write Local Insurance News, which will be published next Monday. You’ll learn about the importance of discovering relevant topics for your readers, having an interesting angle, and of the importance of quality writing. You’ll also discover how to affordably hire expert help if writing isn’t your thing (or you simply don’t have the time, for that matter). Bookmark this site, follow us 
on our social media, or – easiest of all – use the “Get More Stuff” form below to sign up for our completely spam-free mailing list, including a newsletter that will contain each part of this local insurance news series.
