The article also briefly touched upon the use of Pay-Per-Click  and Facebook ads as part of this growing strategy, which are undoubtedly helpful for lawyers who engage in “quick strike campaigns” or campaigns designed to reach plaintiffs as a breaking injury or product liability story hits.

And while I agree that social media sites are a place to find and engage new clients in a systematic, consistent and authentic way, it’s only a small piece of the puzzle as far as an overall social media strategy should be concerned.

Remember, social media conversations happen in real time.   Never in the history of man have consumers had the ability to express their feelings (positive or negative) about a product or service to thousands of people the moment they experience them.

Of course that could mean disaster for firms who are ignorant of such conversations (ever read about the Motrin Moms debacle?) or for those firms who give less than adequate service to clients who are actively involved on Twitter or Facebook.

In the ignorance category, I’m specifically reminded of a lawyer who called me a few months ago for social media help.

Essentially, his firm (which is nationally known) did not have a social media strategy and they never quite got around to developing one either.  Until of course they were notified that their social media profiles were hijacked and someone was posting comments and information that made them look VERY bad in the public eye.

The partners of this firm did their best to jump in and fix the problem, but the damage was already done.  Yet had they been more involved in monitoring the chatter about their firm to begin with, they could have caught the imposter and started damage control right away.

So in talking about social media, I like to encourage lawyers to take a four-prong approach to their strategy in which they will:

1. Consistently and systematically connect with, and educate,  prospective clients on their practice area/ services
2. Show their firm (and trial lawyers in general) in a favorable light to the local jury pool
3. Engage in real-time reputation management
4. Connect with and reach out to the local and national media

Again, I want to reiterate that an attorney’s presence on social media sites requires more than simply trolling for cases or potential clients.

Instead, resolve to implement a comprehensive approach to social media and you’ll find the cases and clients come naturally in time.

Of course if you need help implementing a comprehensive social media strategy that promotes, engages and ensures the good reputation of your firm, I encourage you to email help@legalmarketingmaven.com or fill out this contact form for more information on our team training programs or social media implementation services for attorneys.

Luckily, there are easy, practical ways to stimulate your brain, keep your energy up and motivation full force.  Here are a few:

Glucose

To complete any task (especially those that require a lot of creativity and ‘out of the box’ thinking like new law firm marketing campaigns), a person must have a lot of self control and discipline to keep on track and stay on a schedule. This can be taxing on your energy supply. In fact, according to researchers from Florida State University, “Some patterns of poor self control are attributable to drops in glucose level.”

So what does this tell you? If you find your mind wandering, your finger itching to go click endlessly to the outer edges of the Internet when you should be focusing on work, it may be due to low blood sugar (glucose). Replenish the supply! Drinking some fruit juice is a quick and easy response to wandering minds.

Exercise

More than just getting into your swimsuit for the summer – exercise has been shown to keep your mood elevated, reduce the risk of certain diseases and also increase your mental ability. In a paper by Henrietta van Praag of the National Institutes of Health it is shown that exercise is one of the most active stimuli in creating new brain neurons! It’s a process called neurogenesis, and it factors into your learning ability and memory retention.

Meditation

Don’t roll your eyes – many studies show that meditation can improve your ability to focus, as well as build on your emotional control. The more you mediate and learn to control your thoughts, the more attention you will be able to give to your tasks. Meditation also reduces stress and helps you to live a more balanced lifestyle. There was a study done in the Science Daily that actually shows you can reap these benefits by meditating just 20 minutes a day for FOUR days. However, researcher Fadel Zeidan points out – ‘This doesn’t mean that you meditate for four days and you are done – you have to keep practicing.’

Nature

We are all a part of nature, so it’s only (no pun intended) natural that the beauty and splendor of our world would add to the relaxation of the mind. Beyond aesthetics, putting plants in your office or even just hanging nature pictures can improve your memory! Really! An experiment conducted at the University of Michigan gave the participants a string of random numbers to memorize and repeat backwards. Half of the group was sent to a busy street and the other half to an arboretum – there they repeated the test.

Those in the arboretum outperformed by 20% or more! So, hang some pictures and if you can take weekend trips out to just relax in the natural world for a while, see if you don’t have some improvements if not in your memory, then at least in your anxiety levels.

The site is http://www.easyprompter.com and it’s just that—a web-based teleprompter that rolls a script across the screen as you record videos online.

With this tool, there’s no more stumbling for words or trying to figure out what to say next as you literally copy and paste your script onto their site, choose a comfortable font size, set the speed you want the words to scroll and start talking.

You can even insert pause brackets which physically stop the scroll for one second to remind you to slow down and take a natural break when you need to.

Not to mention, you won’t have the noise distraction of someone trying to hold a paper in front of your face or give away the fact that you’re reading a script by continually looking away from the camera.

It’s President Obama eloquence on a shoe-string budget.

I’m loving this tool and if you’re a lawyer hesitating to record videos, I know you’ll love it too.

But don’t just take my word for it, go over and try it and let me know what you think.  I’ll tackle WHY you should be doing videos as part of your law firm marketing strategy anyway in next week’s post.

Of course let me first make clear that you should NOT get involved in your local community simply to GET back.  If you read this post with those intentions, you will surely be disappointed.

But, if you can identify a cause that you feel passionate about and truly offer some sweat equity, cash or pro-bono legal help toward making that charity, organization or non-profit flourish, you’ll find referral sources and client streams in places you’ve never thought of before.

Now I understand as a small or solo attorney, your schedule is insane.  Most of you are holed up in your offices so long that you rarely see the light of day.   But I want to throw out 3 simple ways you can give back, get involved and ultimately get more clients for your law firm:

1. If you DO have some extra time, I recommend finding a non-profit, charity or religious organization that you believe in and put some cold, hard- sweat-equity into making it grow.  Serve on a board of directors, volunteer your time or offer pro-bono legal help.  It’s a hands on approach but it will grow your network base and position your firm to make a real impact where  it matters the most.
2. If your time is limited, I suggest offering monthly contributions or donating a percentage of your fees to the charity, non-profit or religious group of your choice.  One of my Legal Marketing Maven clients gives back 10% of her fees to any non-profit group that allows her to speak and ultimately serve their members.    Of course, the group is thrilled to have her donations and she’s thrilled to work with their client base.  It’s a win-win for everyone.
3. If you have office staff willing to get involved, start your own community outreach.  Distribute blankets and sandwiches to the homeless. Buy pack packs and schools supplies each fall and personally give them to families in low-income areas.  Make care packages of toiletries and other household items and hand them out to residents living in local motels.  The opportunities here are endless , provided you have the time and support staff to make it happen.

Finally, I recommend creating a page on your website entitled, “giving back” or something of that nature so  prospective clients can see what you’re up to and how you’re using the money they pay into your firm (you’d be surprised at how much community and charity involvement influences buying decisions).   You can check out my friend  John Bisnar’s page for a great example of this.

But the overall message here is that you must get involved.  By doing so, you’ll grow your referral and client base, open the door for speaking engagements and other promotional opportunities and sleep well at the end of the day knowing you played a part in helping others in your own back yard.

And as always, I’d love to hear how this strategy has worked for you and/or your law firm in the past.  Feel free to leave your success stories (or challenges) in the comments section below!

Online Business Manager and law firm marketing expert, Laura Lee Sparks, is one of the most authoritative and well respected voices on attorney outsourcing, legal marketing and virtual assisting for lawyers on the web.  Her advice and legal marketing campaigns have helped lawyers reach and surpass the million-dollar mark in their businesses numerous times thanks to her straight-forward advice and ability to make legal marketing principles easy to understand and implement.  For further information on lawyer outsourcing programs or to contact Laura Lee directly, please email help@legalmarketingmaven.com

As I explained last week, I am turning the page and no longer working with Alexis Martin Neely and the Family Wealth Planning Institute.

Instead, I’ve realized it’s time to re-open the doors of my own business, which was extremely successful before my  decision to commit to one client in 2007—and ultimately one that changed the lives of many attorneys and practices all over this country.

So I’m excited to announce that I’ll once again be providing private coaching and high-end implementation services for qualified attorneys and attorney membership organizations in the US and Canada.

But here’s the really exciting part.

My company, Legal Marketing Maven, is now partnering with my good friend and well-respected implementation Goddess, Paula Woolley of Progressive Office Solutions and other incredible team members to provide full-service, complete marketing support for lawyers who are really serious about exploding their business this year.

So what does a full-service, complete virtual marketing team look like?

Basically, you’ll have a private coach, marketing director, copywriters, graphic designers, IT gurus, client service directors and administrative support staff virtually at your fingertips… devoted entirely to the growth, prosperity and vitality of your small or solo law firm.

You’ll also get the benefit of working with me as your personal mentor, coach and business strategist.  I’ve helped multiple businesses surpass the million dollar mark and I’m happy to give you the tools and strategies to do the same.

You will  also benefit from my network of service providers, marketing professionals and business gurus as I’m out there continuing my own personal education and staying up to date cutting edge strategies both in the legal and non legal communities. which of course is needed for long-lasting growth.

However, as I said this is a major time commitment on our part and we can only take a limited number of these high level relationships.  They are also limited geographically to ensure fairness and a true competitive edge to the lawyers we serve.

If you’re interested in becoming one of the few lawyers we serve at this level (and FYI a number of spaces are already filled—and filling fast just via word-of-mouth) please email me directly at help@legalmarketingmaven.com

Yet for those of you simply looking for a la carte legal marketing , virtual administrative services or regular marketing support on a less-intensive level, we still have plenty of options to meet the growing needs of your small or solo firm.  You can see all of our services or request more information by visiting our services offered page.

Again, I am so excited to embark on this journey with you and look forward to completely transforming law firms across the country this year.

To your success & productivity!

Laura Lee

There are many times in business where sending a personal note or card goes a long way, but as a busy attorney, it’s not always something you can fit on your plate.  However, there is a new tool that allows you to personalize such notes and cards to your clients or referral sources….and you don’t even have to do it yourself!  In fact, this “handwriting font”  allows you to outsource the drafting of these notes to your team members, all while keeping the personal integrity of the note intact.

And hey – isn’t it just cool to be able to have a font in your handwriting?

Brought to you by Fontifier it is simple to do:

• Go to www.fontifier.com
• Print out the template
• Write your characters on the template (use a good dark pen)
• Scan, save and upload
• Preview and purchase the font (only $9)
• Install the font on your computer (not complicated & they give good instructions)

Have fun with it, I’ll keep you posted with marketing ideas that you could use the handwriting font on (they are already running through my mind).

In the meantime, if you have an idea or suggestion on how you are going to use this – post it below I’d love to hear about it and I’m sure the other readers would too!

I’ve seen it happen over and over again, lawyers notoriously work by deadlines and when it comes to working ON your business, most solo’s aren’t very good at creating self imposed deadlines. What inevitably happens is all of those great ideas you keep learning about never get implemented, and of course because they don’t happen you never reap the rewards of seeing the RESULTS!

The lawyers I work with get results….and they get to them quickly. I have worked with lawyers for over 20 years and I have the ability to laser into where you are STUCK and come up with the ‘simple solutions’ to get you UNSTUCK and moving forward, whether it is with marketing your practice, building a team, or simply streamlining the systems in your practice so you are not recreating the wheel from scratch each time.

In the past, monthly strategy accountability calls with me have cost at a bare minimum $397 (they haven’t even been available outside of the Personal Family Lawyer program for almost 3 years!) but because of my Irish heritage and in honor of St. Patty’s Day,  I decided to offer these calls for 10 attorneys for only $247 a month.

Each month during our 60 minute call, I will review with you where you are in your practice and where you want to go and outline 4-6 attainable steps you need to take that month to get you there.  I will also hook up with resources to get these action items completed if you are not the one that wants to or should be doing them!  We will have a weekly check in via email each week in between our calls and I will then become your “deadline” because you will know the following month you will be talking to me again, and we will be checking your progress!  Not only do you get to tap into my vast knowledge, experience and resources – you get me to be your personal nag (and that is priceless – ask my kids)!

To take advantage of this opportunity go here and select “Special St. Patty’s Day Strategy Accountability Call” to get your first call scheduled!

Here are some of the things attorneys that work with me personally have to say about the experience:

“Laura Lee has that rare combination of extensive knowledge about her subject and a passion for the people and businesses that she helps to succeed. During our personal accountability phone calls, Laura Lee has helped me to refocus and shift my mindset to solve problems, and she has helped me to develop specific strategies to overcome the challenges that I face in my business. I consider Laura Lee to be both a professional and personal mentor. She truly cares about the businesses and people that she works with.”

Candice Aiston
Law Office of Candice Aiston

SteveWorrall -Great marketing strategy call w/ @LauraLeeSparks this week (perk of being a PFL). Attys, you need her help!

JackieBedard -@lauraleesparks Enjoyed our call this afternoon. As always, thanks for the awesome advice!

victormedina -Loving the help I’m getting from @lauraleesparks – she’s totally undervalued as an “ideas” lady.

dgvelaw- I’d shout it from the rooftops, “I love you, @lauraleesparks!” Thank you *so* much.

Don’t delay – my time is limited and I can only offer this to the first 10 attorneys – it will come down once those slots are filled.  Go here now to sign up.

Maybe your marketing seems to be working…..people are calling the office, asking for more information– and even setting appointments, but for one reason or another those same people aren’t making the decision to move forward with your services.

If that sounds like you– don’t worry!  Hundreds of lawyers are going through the same thing right now and it’s a problem easily fixed with a bit of automation and advanced business skills.

Fortunately, you can learn the skills and strategies you need to succeed in running a small law firm that engages 97% of it’s clients (yes, that’s right— 97% should be the NORM for you) on a free call with my friend and law business strategist, Alexis Martin Neely on Thursday, October 29th at 12p PT/3p ET.

Below is an email Alexis sent out to her network.  I wanted to extend the same invitation to you, the readers of LegalMarketingMaven.com because I know you’ll benefit from the free coaching and advanced strategies you need to end 2009 with a bang– even in a down economy.

So please read below, jump on the call for some free coaching and watch your business grow!

- Laura Lee 

********

Do you know what puts most lawyers out of business… especially in a tough economy?

It’s doing the same thing over and over and hoping to get a different result. (Albert Einstein calls that the definition of insanity.)

One of biggest areas that lawyers struggle with is client engagement. With the economy being the way it is, engaging the prospects who make it into your office is more important than ever.

The ugly truth that we all must face is that when the economy is slow, you will have fewer prospects. This makes it more important than ever for you to maximize your opportunity with the prospects who do come to your office for an initial consultation.

And that’s where I can help.

After two years of intense and painful trial and tens of thousands of dollars of error, I developed a literally foolproof system for getting 97.5% of the people who call my office to make an appointment,keep their appointment and engage my law firm – at higher fees than I’d ever commanded before.

On Thursday, October 29th at 12p PT/3p ET, I’m revealing my system for engaging just about every prospect who calls my office during a free tele-conference and you’re invited. The topic is: “How to Get 97.5% of Your Prospects to Say Yes!” You’ll discover everything I did to build my client engagement rate from a dismal 50% to almost 98%…and increase my average fee from $2,500 to $5,000!

Here is some of what we’ll cover:

* A step by step strategy that will allow you to convey so much value to your prospects they’ll feel compelled to SAY YES to working with you just about every single time.

* The #1 best way to QUOTE FEES that gets almost every single person I meet with to say “yes” and to higher fees than I ever could have charged before.

* The one thing you must do before your prospect ever comes to your office to ELIMINATE CANCELLATIONS. This is a controversial strategy but it works and I’ll prove it!

* My killer system that ensures that you DON’T WASTE TIME in long, initial consultations just to find out that your prospects are just shopping or aren’t sure.

* The perfect ice breaker that uncovers your prospects biggest concerns and BUILDS IMMEDIATE TRUST in less than 15 minutes.

* How to DOUBLE YOUR PROFITS in less time, with less effort, without having to make huge changes and upset your staff.

Want to be part of this free tele-conference?

Go here: http://budurl.com/9vuk

To Your Dream Law Business!

~ Alexis Martin Neely

PS: Check out how RobRoy Platt charges FOUR time what he used to charge and has a 100% engagement rate since implementing these strategies. Watch his video at http://budurl.com/k9af Then be sure to register for the call: http://budurl.com/9vuk

PPS: Not sure if you can make the call? Register anyway. I can’t promise there will be a replay due to special bonuses only available to attendees, but if there is a replay it will only be available to those who register.

Yet if you’re marketing without a PLAN, I can guarantee you are wasting a ton of cash on your efforts.

Why?

Because a marketing plan is the only way to ensure you are strategic in your objectives and actually get a return on your money at the end of the year.

They also help you to see and monitor your day-to-day marketing goals so you can quickly ditch a plan that isn’t resonating with your target audience.

Plus your marketing plan allows you to see what tasks or goals can be handled in-house with your team and what needs to be outsourced to effectively get the job done.

Finally, your marketing plan shows you months in advance what you’ll need to create products or campaigns that WORK rather than throwing money at “trendy” or run-of the mill campaigns and merely hoping they stick.

And while I’m not going to cover the nitty- gritty of creating a great legal marketing plan, here are a few attributes to let you know if you’re on the right track:

1. Your legal marketing plan will tie into your overall business objectives- If your goal is to make 6 or 7-figures of revenue this year, your marketing plan should pin-point exactly how many leads you need to attract (and convert) to reach that dollar amount.  It should also track your marketing budget dollar- for-dollar to ensure your campaigns are contributing to that goal and not detracting from it at the end of the year.
2. Your marketing plan should communicate your objectives to your entire team and pull them into the process- Great companies ensure everyone is on board when it comes to marketing.  Everyone has a task and key piece of the puzzle to implement.  Your marketing plan, then, will give your staff the clear guidance and instruction they need to ensure your plans are being carried out and reaching your target market accordingly.
3. Your plan will help you stay on track and manage objectives- It’s so easy to get off track when a semi-good legal marketing plan brings a few customers into the pipeline. Yet before you know it, that short burst of clients WILL dry up and you’ll be at square one all over again in your marketing efforts. Instead, resolve to keep your appointment book full at all times by creating a plan that keeps you on track and makes sure your campaigns go off each month without a hitch.

Of course, if you are totally overwhelmed with the thought of creating a marketing plan for your firm or really aren’t sure where to start, please email me at help@legalmarketingmaven.com for a boost in the right direction!

Remember, the point of your newsletter is to develop a relationship with your leads and prospective clients on their own turf.   It’s so easy to just “start a newsletter” because a marketing guru tells you to, but you really must understand the “why” behind the “what” if you want to be effective and generate leads/referrals in this area.

So with that said, let’s jump right into the top three things you should NOT be writing in your newsletter:

1. Case Briefs- It seems logical that a law firm newsletter would have case briefs of relevant decisions in your practice area, right?  Wrong. While information on recent case law may be valuable to your clients, what you have to say about it is probably WAY over their head.  Unless you can write on a third grade level and explain what the case means for THEM in plain English, leave complicated case briefs out of the newsletter.
2. Promotional Hype- Your newsletter isn’t another opportunity to pitch your firm and services.  You might get by with that here and there, but eventually the client will get sick of “being sold” and throw it in the trash.  Instead, stick to useful content, tips and how-to’s that will improve or add value to their life in some way.
3. Legalese- Again, you’re trying to reach clients on their level so try to leave complicated legal jargon out of the mix.  And if you’re trying to educate your client on a certain area of the law and absolutely must drop a few legal terms, be sure to provide clear and alternate definitions so your prospects can actually follow along with the article.

Hopefully you’re noticing a trend here with my emphasis on words like them, their, etc.  Understand that if you can bring the focus of your newsletter back on the client and away from the firm, you’ll be much more effective in bringing in referrals and converting existing leads.  

And of course, if you still hate the newsletter process and can’t seem to unleash its true potential, then consider this a job to be outsourced!  In today’s economy, a newsletter is one marketing tool that you MUST have, so commit to having one that works for you—even if that means brining in outside help!

Note: If you need help finding a legal newsletter manager for your firm, please email help@legalmarketingmaven.com

Online Business Manager and law firm marketing expert, Laura Lee Sparks, is one of the most authoritative and well respected voices on attorney outsourcing, legal marketing and being a virtual assistant for lawyers on the web.  Her advice and legal marketing campaigns have helped lawyers reach and surpass the million-dollar mark in their businesses numerous times thanks to her straight-forward advice and ability to make legal marketing principles easy to understand and implement.  For further information on lawyer outsourcing programs or to contact Laura Lee directly, please email help@legalmarketingmaven.com