In my last article "Sprout More Leads," I used a gardening metaphor to illustrate the basics of marketing.

Here's a quick refresher: 

• Your marketing pieces = seeds
• Your list = soil
• Your writing & offer = growing agents, i.e. water, fertilizer and sun

In this article, we're going to talk about the third category and answer the question, "What turns seeds into leads?"  

1. Precision: In gardening, you can use a drip system to deliver water directly to the roots, or you can use a rain bird and sprinkle everything. The same is true in marketing. For better response, precise delivery is preferable. Your message should be highly customized so that it precisely addresses the needs of a certain target audience. This is called relevancy. Higher relevancy results in greater response. 
2. Appeal: If you want to fertilize your garden, you can pile on some chicken poop or you can try something more sophisticated. In marketing, if you choose "the poop" (i.e. the hard sell, the 'all about me' approach and the 'boring/stiff' style) your seeds are going to duck for cover. Instead, shine some sun on their faces by engaging them, telling a story, painting a picture and writing from their points of view. It's almost never, ever a good idea to use a stiff, formal writing style. Why? Because formal writing won't put your audience at ease and in the mood to take a chance on you. Instead, write how you talk - using "YOU" a lot. Contract your words - instead of "it is" - say "it's." Keep your sentences short and to the point. Make your reader feel like he's conversing with an old friend.
3. Reason to Act: Buyers usually don't decide to buy a product that costs hundreds or thousands on impulse - especially if the product lacks emotional draw. A buyer might splurge on a vintage cherry red corvette ... but with insurance, not a lot of emotionally-driven splurging goes on. So, when selling insurance, it's best to move prospects through a series of logical steps, ultimately leading them to the decision to buy - but never scaring them away with too much pressure, too fast. This is why OFFERS are critical. They give buyers a good reason to step into your selling cycle, even when they're not ready to buy yet. Here are some characteristics of good offers: 

• They're unique - not available everywhere else
• They demonstrate your unique value proposition (UVP) - if expertise is your UVP, your offer should demonstrate your expertise
• They require very little commitment and can be obtained by completing a few simple fields
• They're delivered immediately via e-mail so the user enjoys immediate gratification
• They allow you to follow up and nurture the lead 

An often-overlooked part of making an offer is selling it. In fact, you have to sell offers as hard (or maybe even harder) than you sell your core product or service. You can't just say, "Get your free e-newsletter." You have to go a few steps further, saying, "Each issue of Insurance Marketing News features a marketing idea that you can initiate in 15 minutes or less. Suddenly you've turned ideas into actions - dreams into results - opportunities into successes. Subscribe now!"

As you can see, both gardening and marketing involve three parts science, one part art and a whole lot of great luck. But, I guarantee that if you follow these steps, you'll be much more likely to turn seeds into leads.

By Heather Sloan. Heather Sloan is the President of InsuranceCopywriting.com. Heather has been helping insurance professionals grow their businesses for more than 15 years. To learn more, visit http://InsuranceCopywriting.com/ - make sure to request your free report, "Ten Marketing Mistakes That Are Costing You Sales Right Now!" Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Heather_Sloan