The Insurance Marketing Playbook

Shelby McFarland
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  • Marketing

The Insurance Marketing Playbook is your go-to podcast for insurance agents who want to attract more clients, close more policies, and scale their business with modern marketing strategies. Each week, we break down proven tips on digital marketing for insurance agents, including SEO, social media, email campaigns, Google Business Profile optimization, paid ads, and referral systems. Hosted by Shelby McFarland, The Marketing Broker, who specializes in helping insurance agents grow, this show gives you actionable marketing strategies designed specifically for the insurance industry—no fluff, just play-by-play tactics you can implement right away. Whether you’re a new agent building your book of business or an experienced producer looking to modernize your marketing, this podcast is your competitive edge. Subscribe to The Insurance Marketing Playbook and learn how to generate quality leads, build your brand, and grow your insurance agency with confidence.

  1. 1d ago

    Marketing Through Life Seasons Without Burning Out

    Confidence isn’t a vibe, it’s a skill you build under pressure. Shelby McFarland, known as The Marketing Broker, talks about how her “boss persona” started as a survival move when she was the youngest in the industry and slowly turned into real self-trust. We get honest about what changes when you stop performing success for other people and start believing your own value. We also dig into what most marketing advice ignores: your life season runs your business season. Shelby shares how becoming a mom, working through postpartum depression, and navigating the uncertainty of COVID forced her to rethink balance, capacity, and what “showing up” actually looks like. If you’re a business owner trying to market consistently without burning out, this conversation puts real language around harmony, boundaries, and sustainable momentum. From there, we go tactical on sales slowdowns, client cancellations, and the systems that turn frustration into insight. Shelby explains how an offboarding process helped her learn why clients left, protect relationships, and ultimately raise her pricing while serving fewer clients at a higher level. We also talk stoicism and the “pause” between stimulus and response, plus a modern content marketing workflow: record once, repurpose into podcast episodes, SEO blog posts, and short-form clips for Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. If this helps, subscribe, share it with a business friend, and leave a review with the one boundary or mindset shift you’re working on right now. Order "Market Like a Boss" at www.shelbysmarketingbook.com

  2. Oct 7

    Relationships Beat Leads When You Track The Work

    Referrals can feel like luck until you hear how Hannah McDonald turns them into a repeatable system. We sit down and get honest about what business development really is: relationship marketing with clear goals, real follow-through, and enough patience to let trust compound. Hannah walks us through her career from radio sales to leadership in a remote sales org, then into insurance agency marketing and business development where her main job is simple and hard at the same time: show up, build credibility, and earn the right to receive introductions. We dig into the question every business owner asks: what does the ROI look like when you are paying someone to take coffees, lunches, and drop-ins? Hannah shares an accountability framework that starts with activity metrics before revenue metrics. First track meetings and follow-ups, then referrals, then closed households once the pipeline matures. If you have ever hired for growth and felt like you were guessing, this gives you a clean way to measure progress without demanding instant sales on day one. We also draw a bright line between business development and marketing. Social media content creation is a full-time job, and stacking it on top of referral goals often kills momentum. Plus, Hannah shares what it looks like to expand into Northwest Arkansas with a satellite office and a remote team member, and she introduces her strategic mindset coaching for professionals and business owners who want accountability and a personalized plan to get unstuck. If you’re building a sales pipeline, growing an insurance agency, or trying to scale through referrals, listen now, then subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review. What is the one metric you would track first for business development?

  3. Sep 30

    How A Functional Dietitian Builds Health And A Business Organically

    “You’re just a busy mom” might be the most expensive sentence a woman can hear. Shelby McFarland sits down with registered dietitian Megan Green to talk about what happens when your body is waving red flags and no one is connecting the dots. Megan shares her own health spiral during COVID, the exhausting list of symptoms that were brushed off, and the moment deeper lab testing finally revealed an autoimmune disease and major nutrient deficiencies. We get into what functional nutrition looks like when it is done with integrity: comprehensive labs, symptom patterns, and plans that fit real life. Megan explains why personalized testing matters for women dealing with fatigue, burnout, stubborn weight, sleep problems, hormone chaos, and gut health issues, and why stress and cortisol are not “soft topics” but real drivers of inflammation and depletion. You will also hear the less glamorous truth about healing: consistency with food, supplements, movement, sleep, and stress support beats perfection every time. Then we shift into the business side of wellness. Megan built a thriving practice through organic marketing, referrals, and steady visibility, even while learning SEO, websites, and social media the hard way. We talk about how to stay credible in a crowded industry, why views matter even when no one comments, and how to treat slow seasons as a cue to rebuild, rebrand, and pivot. If you’re ready for a smarter approach to women’s health and a more sustainable approach to growth, press play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review so more women can find real help.

  4. Sep 23

    You Can Start A Business In An Industry You Barely Know

    You can build a real business in a space you barely understand at the start, but only if you’re willing to learn out loud. I’m Shelby McFarland, and I’m joined by Chelsea Todd from Revolution Financial Management, who proves that “no background” doesn’t have to mean “no chance.” Chelsea shares how she got licensed, leaned on a strong training system, and grew through word of mouth instead of cold calling, door knocking, or chasing strangers. We also talk about the phrase she lives by: people don’t know what they don’t know. That shows up in financial literacy and in marketing. Chelsea opens up about her first clients and the heartbreaking reason she works so hard, then we pull the lesson forward into practical action: start with trust, lead with education, and make it easy for people to understand what’s possible. If you’ve ever felt intimidated by money topics like life insurance, retirement planning, or “how money works,” this conversation will help you ask better questions without feeling judged. On the marketing side, I share what I see in the business owners who last: consistency through dry seasons, staying visible even when it’s slow, and refusing to disappear for months at a time. We get into networking tactics that actually fit real life, how to show up on social media without perfection, and options like voiceovers when you hate being on camera. If you want more confidence, more referrals, and a clearer plan, hit play, then subscribe, share this with a business friend, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. Order "Market Like a Boss" at www.shelbysmarketingbook.com

  5. Sep 16

    Why Great Marketing Still Fails Sometimes

    Your ads can get clicks like crazy and still produce zero sales. That’s the uncomfortable truth we’re getting into, and I’m sharing a story I don’t love telling because it felt like failure even when I did the work the right way. An out-of-state client found me through Google, signed on for a bigger-than-usual proposal, and I thought it was proof my marketing strategy and SEO efforts were paying off. Then the real test hit: launching a construction software product in a brutal niche where competitors have massive investors and spend tens of thousands of dollars a month on paid ads.  We walk through what we built and what we tried: pre-launch groundwork, social media marketing, SEO on the back end of the website, backlink building, content shoots, and multiple ad experiments including Meta ads, geofencing, and a one-time Google ads test. The analytics showed activity and clicks, but the conversions never followed. That gap between traffic and subscriptions forced tough questions about product-market fit, positioning, website conversion rate optimization, and what’s realistically possible when budget limits collide with heavyweight competition. I even pitched a bold “Hail Mary” brand idea using an AI mascot, and I’ll tell you how that landed.  Along the way, we get honest about self-worth, pricing, and the emotional load marketers carry when a client’s business starts to feel like our responsibility. I also share a simple competitor research lesson I wish more founders would do early, plus a real example from my own content studio pricing shift to show how to adapt without losing your confidence. If you’ve ever felt like you’re failing a client or your own business, you’ll leave with clearer boundaries and a smarter way to read the market. Subscribe, share this with a marketer friend, and leave a review with your biggest “great work, zero results” moment.

  6. Sep 9

    Setting Client Boundaries When Everyone Wants It Yesterday

    Your business can be solid and you can still have weeks that feel like the wheels are about to come off. I talk through one of those stretches: long days, nonstop demands, and that nagging feeling that everyone wants everything “yesterday.” But instead of spiraling, I focus on the mindset shifts that keep me steady as a business owner and service provider, especially as I write my next book, Hustle Like a Boss (launching January 2027).  We get practical about boundaries that protect your time and your cash flow. I share real client scenarios, including the moment someone tried to refuse a deposit on a $14,000 job and how I held my line without apology. We also dig into why deposits matter, what happens when you front material and labor costs, and why chasing money is one of the fastest ways to burn out. If you’ve ever felt tempted to bend your policies just to “keep the job,” this will help you rethink what that really costs.  Then we go deeper on contracts, cancellations, and the fear of getting attacked online. I explain how documentation and clear clauses change the entire power dynamic, and why confidence is often the difference between being pushed around and being respected. We also talk about entitlement, chargebacks, and how easily a small business can lose money even when they did everything right.  I end with a challenge for both sides of the transaction: treat people like humans, give feedback with a normal tone, and stand up for your value without copying competitors. If this hits home, subscribe, share it with another business owner, and leave a review with the boundary you’re working on right now.

  7. Sep 2

    Women Leaders And The Invisible Weight They Carry

    Leadership can look powerful on the outside while feeling painfully quiet on the inside. We’re Kayla and Shelby, and we get real about the loneliness that shows up when you’re a woman leading teams, building a business, and trying to have a life that doesn’t collapse under the mental load. If you’ve ever skipped the networking night because it’s your only time with your kid, or felt like nobody in the room understands what you’re carrying, this conversation is for you.  We talk about what it’s like navigating male-dominated industries, the pressure to “earn respect,” and the mask we put on to avoid being labeled too emotional or too vulnerable. We also name the stuff people avoid: hormones, chronic health challenges like PCOS and endometriosis, and how women keep moving things forward anyway. Then we share a simple daily tool that helps when overwhelm hits hard: reconnecting to your intentions so you can focus on what matters right now instead of spiraling into everything at once.  The conversation goes deeper into how loneliness can show up as self-doubt, overworking, and shutting down, plus how past trauma can program our nervous system to blame ourselves. We close with what we’d say over coffee to anyone feeling isolated: you’re not broken, and you don’t have to do it alone. Subscribe, share this with a woman who needs it, and leave a review with the one line that hit you hardest. Order "Market Like a Boss" at www.shelbysmarketingbook.com

  8. Aug 26

    The Real Cost Of Small Business Services

    “Reasonable” sounds friendly until you’re the one paying the bills behind the scenes. I’m Shelby McFarland, and I’m joined by my hair boss Rachel Harris to get real about the stuff small business owners vent about after hours: price pressure, discount culture, picky customers, and the quiet fear of a bad review when you’re doing everything you can to make it right. We talk about why you truly can’t have “the best” and “the cheap” at the same time, and how experience, licensing, tools, and time create real value in service-based businesses like hair, marketing, signage, and beyond. Rachel shares what it takes to stop bending over backwards for the wrong clients, and we unpack the hard part of entrepreneurship: raising prices, communicating changes, and learning that not all money is good money. We also get practical about boundaries that protect your schedule and your sanity, including cancellation policies and charging for consultations to cut down on ghosting. Then we flip the lens to consumers and ask for a mindset shift: support local businesses all year, stop treating small business owners like faceless companies, and show appreciation in ways that actually help, like referrals and Google reviews. If this hits home, subscribe so you don’t miss the next one, share it with a small business owner who needs the reminder, and leave us a review with your biggest takeaway. Order "Market Like a Boss" at www.shelbysmarketingbook.com

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About

The Insurance Marketing Playbook is your go-to podcast for insurance agents who want to attract more clients, close more policies, and scale their business with modern marketing strategies. Each week, we break down proven tips on digital marketing for insurance agents, including SEO, social media, email campaigns, Google Business Profile optimization, paid ads, and referral systems. Hosted by Shelby McFarland, The Marketing Broker, who specializes in helping insurance agents grow, this show gives you actionable marketing strategies designed specifically for the insurance industry—no fluff, just play-by-play tactics you can implement right away. Whether you’re a new agent building your book of business or an experienced producer looking to modernize your marketing, this podcast is your competitive edge. Subscribe to The Insurance Marketing Playbook and learn how to generate quality leads, build your brand, and grow your insurance agency with confidence.

Information

  • Creator
    Shelby McFarland
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    44
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Insurance Marketing Playbook
  • Show Website
    The Insurance Marketing Playbook