I’m going to give you a step-by-step roadmap for gaining that market edge using content. It’s one of the most overlooked pieces of authority-building you can use to separate yourself from the competition, generate leads and get direct access to decision-makers in your market.

And if you know the “insider tricks,” it can be very easy to do.

White papers vs. reports

I once had a client named Joseph, a commercial lines producer looking for a way to get access to the elusive business market in his community. He had tried cold calling, door knocking and attending early-morning networking meetings, but the going was tough.

Since he wasn’t adding value to the market, I advised him to shift his approach. I suggested that we start producing valuable pieces of content for the market as a way to attract the ideal prospects.

First off, we had to decide the kind of content we would produce. The most basic form is a PDF labeled either “white paper” or “special report.”

Related: Selling insurance to small business: What works, and what your should be trying

A white paper is a special type of report that takes an elevated approach to a complex topic. It tends to be more professional and sophisticated than a special report. You can use the same strategy for coming up with content that I’ve laid out previously, but it should be aimed at a reader who is a bit more sophisticated.

I’ve found that calling these pieces “special reports” works best for converting consumers (senior products, health and life insurance, home and auto); but when dealing with the business-to-business community (commercial lines, group benefits, investments, etc.), it’s best for conversion to call them ”white papers.”

If you don’t want to write your white papers yourself, try to find writers experienced in writing specifically for the business community, as white papers require an expert voice. You can find many of these on www.upwork.com.

Finding topics for your white paper

Joseph and I spent some time brain-storming topics related to what he sold by making a simple list of products, each of which could be the subject of a white paper:

• Commercial lines.
• Drones.
• Risk management.
• Workers compensation.
• Professional liability.
• Cybersecurity.

I know. They are pretty generic, right?

Then, we headed over to Google and started crowd-sourcing our content. What’s “crowd-sourcing?” It’s a simple way to tap into a community to co-develop a project, piece of content, or find what’s working already.

Using Google to see what others have written on a given topic and how you can adapt it is a great shortcut to content development, and a clever way to get your content written quickly. Just use what’s already working!

Start by writing down your core area of focus, then add keywords such as:

• Tips.
• Ideas.
• Report.
• Study.
• Survey.

For example, Joseph was writing about annuities, so we did a Google search for “Annuity tips” and “Annuity study.”

The number-one result was a great article called “7 tips to avoid annuity headaches,” written back in 2013 as a press release that made it into MarketWatch.

Joseph then headed over fiverr.com and hired someone to do some “article spinning” for $5 to $10.

Be careful when doing this, though. You don’t want your article written by a piece of software, so make sure your writer explicitly spells out that he will do the work by hand. And another thing: Some articles don’t allow you to rewrite unless you have permission, so check to be sure you aren’t violating someone’s copyright.

To be clear, Joseph was not copying the article; that’s outright plagiarism. What he was doing was having the story completely rewritten so it was a brand new piece of content.

A quick aside on press releases

Let’s take a quick break from talking about white papers for a minute to talk about press releases.

Did you notice the date on that article I picked? It’s April 18, 2013. Years later, it’s still ranking above the New York Times! How did they DO that? And how can you do the same?

Related: 12 best practices for writing small business accounts

It’s a pretty simple formula actually, and may change a bit if Google updates its ranking algorithm between now and when you read this, but here are the basics:

Step 1: Write up a press release in a story format, or have someone on upwork.com do it for you for about $100-150.

Step 2: Pay a top-notch PR distribution company such as BusinessWire to send it out for around $350.

Step 3: Go to fiverr.com and hire a contractor to do “SEO backlinks” for $5, and have them point the words “Annuity tips” back to the most reputable website your press release was sent to.

This way, you’ll have a release out on the major networks and some search-engine links that point back to the article.

Yes, it IS that simple!

OK, back to the main point . . .

Review other resources in your city

Another idea Joseph and I pursued was to review various insurance programs or products available in his city.

Chances are, your clients don’t know what their options are; you probably have access to carrier profiles and program requirements they’ve never seen before, because every agent before you has shown them only “good fits.”

Related: 9 ways to double your business in one year

Clients want as much information as possible at the beginning of the buying process. Create a simple white paper that includes the name of your city. For example:“Chicago Commercial Insurance Programs: Reviewed and Rated.”

And, since you are the person reviewing and rating them, you can contribute your expert voice, which will help bolster your credibility.

Or, here’s another idea: “Denver Benefit Advisors: Reviewed and Assessed.”

Here, you can use your experience to point out the weaknesses of other advisors.

Offer the white paper to local HR managers via LinkedIn, or post it in local groups as a “service to the community.”

Once Joseph had completed his white paper, we reached out to local firms that were potential power partners for him — in his case, attorneys, CPAs, and business consulting firms. He invited them to contribute a page to the white paper, offering them full credit.

He then sent this more well-rounded report to his internal email database of 1,200 contacts (including his LinkedIn contacts). His partners were pleased to have the report distributed to their contacts as well, so he added another 800 people to his database from their lists. When recipients attempted to download the white paper, they were prompted to enter their contact information.

By the end of the month, Joseph had an inbox full of prospects and back-to-back appointments lined up for sales opportunities. Incredible!

Powerful way to gain market credibility

Creating thought leadership pieces can be a powerful way to gain market credibility, generate leads and gain market advantage. Though writing them yourself can be tough, using content that’s already popular can shave hours off of your decision-making process.

Google can be a great resource to for compiling and crowd-sourcing your ideas. Using outsourced writers from online networks can further shortcut your speed to market. Inviting partners to collaborate on your piece can double or triple your exposure base and open up a new source of leads you hadn’t had access to before.

What piece of content did this article inspire you to come up with? What could you Google right now to start generating ideas for the title of your report?

The takeaway

• Brainstorm challenges and risks your business customers face.
• Use Google to come up with content ideas.
• Use your experience and expertise to guide the white paper content.
• Hire a writer to build the white paper or “spin” the content.
• Distribute the finished white paper via LinkedIn or other social networks.

Jeremiah D. Desmarais ([email protected]) is a 23-time award-winning financial marketer, TED Speaker and philanthropist that has been featured on Forbes, CNN, and Worth. His work has generated over two million insurance leads and helped advisors in over 51 countries. His #1 best-selling book, SHIFT: 201 Instant-Action Proven Marketing Strategies to Sell More Insurance and Financial Products Now is available at www.TheShiftNation.com.