In the digital age, the traditional methods of marketing yourself and selling your skills won’t make the cut. These days, you need an Internet presence (website, blog, social media) to attract business. Part of that is providing current and potential clients with information that is valuable to them. One way to do it is by writing whitepapers to show your expertise as an insurance broker on topics they care about.

Whitepapers are in-depth reports on certain topics, intended for online publication. They are usually at least 10 pages long and include graphics, charts and sources. They are not meant to be read quickly at-a-glance, but several times to absorb all of the information. You need to provide a high level of expertise backed by research and references. Writing a whitepaper isn’t a fast endeavor—it can take weeks or even months to write a solid whitepaper.

When you sit down to start writing, consider the following:

Style. You should approach whitepapers like you would research papers. They are professional yet engaging in tone (read: not boring!). It’s important to understand that much of your audience will be clients and potential clients, so you want to be sure that it’s written well and carefully edited. Appearance matters, too, so consider hiring a graphic designer to lay it out and include compelling images, fonts, colors, etc. to keep readers engaged. You should also have one or two experienced editors review your paper for spelling and grammar. Typos reflect badly!

Topic. You want to choose a topic that fulfills a need. You should think about your audience and consider what information—based on your expertise—you can give them that will help them in some way. One way you can start brainstorming ideas is to look on social media profiles you follow and see which topics generate a lot of discussion. Those are hot topics that your audience will want to read about.

Make it yours. Be sure that you don’t just piece together other people’s work. Be original! Do your research, analyze the data and deliver it in a concise way that’s easy to understand. Show that you are an authority on the subject. This will go a long way in gaining the trust of your clients, as they’ll have the peace of mind knowing their insurance broker knows his/her stuff.

When you’re finished, it’s time to promote your whitepaper. You’ll want to do more than merely put it up on your website. You should utilize social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn groups), as well as your blog if you have one (you should!) to let people know about it. The goal is to get it in front of as many clients and potential clients as possible!