So what is the big secret weapon? Co-Op advertising, because it is how you can advertise your small insurance business using little to none of your own money!

 Oh just a secret weapon that should be in every insurance agents back pocket. Co-op advertising is defined by entrepreneur.comas “Advertisements by retailers that include the specific mention of manufacturers, who—in turn—repay the retailers for all of or part of the cost of the advertisement.”  Did you get all that? To put it more simply Co-op advertising is a way to have the big insurance company you represent reimburse you for advertisements you place in the direct sale of their product.

The only way you can get co-op advertising with the insurance company’s you currently represent is to talk to your agency marketing representative. 

Make sure you go to them with a plan for your advertising campaign. You have to do your homework! That means researching your target marketing, and creating a campaign that will really resonate with them and represent your agency the way you want it to be seen by your potential customer. It helps if you can supply your rep with expected statistics like total audience reached, expected policy’s sold and other stats that can help you get some co-op dollars back in your pocket.  

You name the type of advertising you want to do and chances are you can co-op the cost of that advertising with your primary insurance provider. TV, radio, telemarketing, direct mail postage and printing cost, Google ad words, and even Facebook advertising. The trick is to have a plan and report your results back to your insurance company representative. If your joint advertising venture is successful it’s a good chance you will get more support for any advertising you want to do in the future.