Kevin Hayward originally envisioned himself as a newspaper writer. He studied communication and was an active freelance writer for his local newspaper, but soon realized he had a passion for the insurance industry.
After earning his bachelor’s degree, Kevin entered the insurance world as a claims agent in 2007. He worked his way up the company ladder and became a public affairs specialist and wrote articles for the insurance company’s magazine.
Instead of writing articles these days, Kevin now enjoys writing policies for people as an insurance agent in Lacey, WA.
We caught up with Kevin to learn more about his experience with insurance marketing and how Melon Local has helped him along the way!
ML: How did you first approach marketing?
Kevin: One of the things I did before I opened my agency was a lot of door-to-door marketing. Internet leads were also a big thing. We’d buy a handful of leads a day, but it was crucial for us to work them effectively. I think people can spend excessive amounts of money and they’re not really getting a lot from it, so we tried to strike that balance of buying and following up with leads.
ML: Did you work with any other insurance marketing agencies before us? It’s okay if you did!
Kevin: Melon is the third company I’ve worked with on my Google Ads. I don’t consider myself a major expert, but it’s something I do care about and tune into. The other two agencies I worked with were insurance agents who did it on the side. They were fine, but the effectiveness of our campaigns was hit or miss. There were also communication and responsiveness issues. I think that’s something I’ve been really impressed about with Melon Local is how my Client Success Manager is so on the ball with everything. If I need her dedicated to anything, she’s on it!
ML: So how did you find out about Melon Local?
Kevin: There’s an agent Facebook group that about a third of our agents are on. There was a lot of chatter about different things on that page and I kept seeing Melon Local pop up. Several people had spoken very highly of the company and how it does a really good job with search engine marketing. I wasn’t super impressed with who I was working with, so I reached out to Melon Local for a demo. When my other contract was up, I switched.
ML: That’s really awesome! What have you enjoyed the most about working with us?
Kevin: The responsiveness – just to know and get those updates about what’s working and what’s not, being able to make little tweaks to my account. Through Melon, I found out about being able to advertise on Bing (now known as Microsoft Ads) and that you can get pretty good deals on cost-per-click. A couple of months in, I signed up with them for SEO stuff. I was a little skeptical because I thought this was something I really could do all by myself. They’ve done a nice job of that and specifically whenever we get reviews. It’s just nice to know that my account is being automated and it’s not something that I have to think about. My lead volume has definitely increased since we’ve been with Melon.
ML: How else can agents generate leads?
Kevin: You need to be drawing on lots of different marketing activities and lead sources so you’re not putting all your eggs in one basket. With all due respect to Melon, I think that if your mindset is that you’re going to just spend all of your money on Google Ads, I wouldn’t limit it to that. I think there’s an inner play on the different sources that you have like community involvement. You don’t join those things because you’re going to get new customers tomorrow or next week. But, over time you develop relationships with people who can send you their business.
ML: You’ve been in the insurance world for over 10 years now. Have any advice for new agents?
Kevin: What we do is a sprint and a marathon – especially coming out of the gate – but you’ve got to find that sustainable pace. It’s really hard to get back into the game if you keep sprinting. Try to figure out what that sustainable pace is for you. Stay consistent with things. Take plenty of breaks, make sure you have a good team in place so they can help you stay in that rhythm. I also encourage new agents to be wise about how they spend their money.
Thanks, Kevin, for the sound advice! We’re thrilled to hear about the positive impact we’ve had on your business.
Interested in working with a professional insurance marketing agency like Kevin? Look no further! Reach out to our team to learn more about our marketing packages. You can also read more interviews like this one on our blog as part of our Interview with an Agent series!