• By Laura Lee

Holy Excuses!

Theoretically, every small business owner understands that marketing is a basic need for success.  Still, it can be intimidating and leave lawyers wishing they didn’t have to develop this skill.  It’s impossible to overstate the importance of marketing for lawyers, though.  If you find yourself procrastinating due to any of the following excuses, you’re not alone.

I Have Enough Work

When you’re busy filing briefs and meeting with clients, it can seem like there’s just no time in the day to devote to marketing your law firm.  You might even think that you don’t need to market because, “Hey, look how busy I already am!”  All businesses are cyclical, though.  Busy today does not mean busy tomorrow, ESPECIALLY if you’re not marketing today.  In order to keep your business thriving, it’s imperative to constantly be cultivating new clients and new projects.  Otherwise, you’ll end up in a dreaded “slump” where you’ll be wishing you’d thought ahead.

I’m a Lawyer, Not a Marketer

You spent years studying and working to get to the point where you could be the best lawyer, and now you’re expected to market your law firm, too?  Yep!  While you are obviously a lawyer, you are also a business owner, which means you have chosen to take on the responsibilities that come along with that role, too.  You don’t have to get an MBA to be a success, but you do need to take steps to market your business in order to make sure you have a business to market!

I Don’t Know How to Market My Law Firm

Great news!  You don’t have to know everything.  Learn one skill at a time and build on that knowledge base.  There are also companies like ours that can take a lot of the marketing stuff off your plate.  Work closely with the company to figure out what your goals are and then let them do the job for you.  That’s not to say that you don’t have to put any personal effort into marketing your law firm, but we can definitely make it a lot easier on you.

I Feel Uncomfortable Marketing to People I Know

The point of your marketing doesn’t have to be about selling yourself or your service.  Instead, it should be about building relationships and helping people solve their problems.  You don’t need to be pushy or take advantage of others in order to market your business.  What you have to offer is helpful and valuable to others, and your job is to let them know what you can do for them.

No matter how you look at it, you need to be marketing your law firm all the time.  Some efforts are more overt that others, say sending out email newsletters or purchasing an ad.  Others are less obvious but arguably even more important, such as providing great service, being an active member of your community, and helping others understand how you can help them.

Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.

• By Laura Lee

Online Reviews…The Good, Bad and Ugly

There are so many ways for clients to tell everyone they know about you, and thanks to the Internet, they can even tell people they don’t know!  This is great if the things they’re saying make you look good.  If they’re posting negative reviews and comments, however, it can feel like a punch in the gut to someone running their own small firm.

So, what do you do if someone is trying to sabotage your legal marketing plan by saying nasty things on Yelp, their blog, or your Facebook page?

First, don’t panic.  This is a time to keep your cool, because how you respond is more important than whatever this person had to say in the first place.  Keep in mind that even though this negative comment is out there, it is certainly not the only thing out there.  It is one person’s opinion in a sea of opportunities for you to present yourself as you’d like.  It’s annoying and infuriating, but it is not the end of the world.

Once you’re calmed down, not just pretending to be calmed down—take a day or two if you need to, you can plan how to respond.  Because of their background, a lot of lawyers jump right to the idea of writing a cease and desist letter.  There are some problems with this.  For one thing, it could theoretically add legitimacy to whomever made the claim against you.  It can also be really hard to even find out who made the comment as so many of those things are done anonymously.  And in the grand scheme of things, the letter might not even work.

With the idea of a letter considered and thrown away, you can now look at actually responding to the comment.  Most of the review sites will allow you a way to respond to the negative comment.  In doing so, you don’t want to come off as anything but professional.  You can use the opportunity to explain your side of the situation—oftentimes the individual is mad that they lost their case, not because there is actually anything wrong with you—but do it in a calm, rational way that doesn’t sound overly defensive.  If the person responds back, make a point to only engage if you can do so calmly and in a way that shows you in your best light.  Remember, too, that there’s no rule saying you have to respond at all.

Finally, consider asking your clients, colleagues, and supporters to visit the site and leave their own feedback. This will “bury” the negative comment down to a lower position that will probably not be seen by many.  In addition, when you have a bunch of five-star ratings or comments about your professionalism, it shows that the negative comment is not par for the course and is likely coming from someone who is bitter.

A bad review here or there isn’t going to completely destroy your legal marketing efforts.  If you find that you are getting a lot of negative reviews, however, it may be necessary to take a look at what you’re doing and make some changes.

• By Laura Lee

Could you use some individualized help growing your practice?

Summer is almost here, our team has expanded significantly and we have room this quarter to accept a few additional private clients who could use some more individualized help growing their practices.

This is NOT exclusive to just Estate Planning and Elder Law attorneys.

This is more than just receiving marketing materials that your team can implement on their own (if that’s what you need, check out our Done-For-You program here).

Instead, this is OUR TEAM, doing your marketing FOR YOU, so that you can focus on what you do best: practicing law!

We serve attorneys in the following areas:

• Copywriting and ghostwriting
• Blogging
• Website management
• Email marketing
• Email newsletter creation and management
• Print newsletter creation and management
• Graphic Design
• Public Relations
• Social Media management
• CRM or Infusionsoft management
• Mailing and fulfillment
• Team coaching

Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.

P.S. Curious about what it’s like to work with us? Here’s what a few of our clients have to say:

“Laura Lee is a great motivator and implementer. She is passionate about helping her clients grow their practices and she has certainly helped me grow mine. Laura Lee and Legal Marketing Maven have been instrumental in helping me transition my practice from all divorce and family law to its current 50-50 mix with estate planning and probate, and that side of the practice growing each year. As a direct result of their materials, I have been on local television and radio shows featured as an expert on the topic of estate planning and probate. I have several ready-made and often-requested educational and promotional e-books and legal guides which they prepared and taught me how to deliver them to my prospects in a systematic and effective manner. Their team is highly trained in communicating the legal principles I with which I wish to educate my potential clients, so that they are already prepared to retain me before we even meet. Best of all, they are great people to work with and very loyal and dedicated to their clients and their needs. ”

~Steve Worrall
Attorney at Law

“Laura Lee is AWESOME. She listens, asks questions and works closely with you to achieve the best results, quickly and at a reasonable cost. She is number 1 in my book!”

~Nancy Cavey
Attorney at Law

• By Laura Lee

Exposing yourself (decently, of course!)

When it comes to successful marketing, the name of the game is exposure.  You’ve got be willing to “put it all out there,” as much as possible so more people can become acclimated to your practice.

I always say there are two ways to do this.  You can throw money at it.  Or, you can get creative and invest your time.

If your budget isn’t where you would like it to be at the moment, one of the easiest ways to expose your business to others is to simply TALK about what you do to everyone you meet!

At first glance, this might seem icky, slimy or embarrassing. But it shouldn’t!  Let me give you an example of how beautifully this can work when done the right way.

My right hand gal, Amber, went on a cruise to Cozumel last week.  While sitting on the beach with her 3-year-old daughter, a woman walked up to her and asked to share a bucket and shovel.

She casually asked Amber where she was from and what she did. She then proceeded to tell her that she was a swim coach who teaches children to swim in 5 days and people from all around the country fly in to use her services.   In fact, her toddler was swimming freely in the Caribbean, while Amber’s toddler was still wearing swimmies close to the shore.

But the “exposure” of her business didn’t stop there.  After the trip, she found Amber on Facebook.  She wanted to stay connected and reminded her that she was there if she ever needed anything for the kids.

Amber was so impressed that she’s now considering flying her two kids down to take her classes after many failed attempts with private instructors (and her own lack of patience lol).

But my point is, if the instructor had been afraid to EXPOSE herself and what she did, she wouldn’t have earned a potential client who was willing to fly halfway across the country to use her services.

If she was too afraid to open her mouth and share how she helps children and parents have peace of mind to swim safely, her business wouldn’t have the national reach that she currently enjoys.

You must be willing to expose yourself, all the time, every day about what you do and who you serve.  For some people, this is a natural thing, but for others, it’s more dreadful than having teeth pulled.

But remember, it’s FREE marketing!  And nothing beats that in my book!

I would love to hear if you have had similar experiences like this.  Please feel free to email me and let me know how it worked out for you and if it generated new business.

Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.

• By Laura Lee

5 great resources for a profitable 2013

We all make resolutions to be more profitable and bring in more business
in the New Year, but the real question is…

What specifically are you doing to ensure your goals become a reality
in 2013?

• How will you command the attention of better quality prospects
  each month?

• How will you increase your referrals from local professionals?

• How will you pull together live seminars that fill your pipeline to
  capacity for 2-3 months at a time?

• How will you land FREE publicity in your local papers and on TV?

-and-

• When will you find the time to focus on your marketing and create
  the materials necessary to make 2013 your best year in practice yet?

If you keep doing the same things you’ve always done, you’re likely to get
the exact same results. Einstein called that insanity, right? I happen to
agree.

Instead, why not start off 2013 with some NEW tools in your arsenal?
I’m talking about tools designed to get the job done right, with a proven
track record of RESULTS (i.e. new quality clients, 1^st page SEO rankings,
publicity in your local paper or TV stations, etc.).

To kick off the New Year, I’m releasing 5 of our favorite campaigns and
marketing resources that continue to bring in excellent results for our private
clients, and I KNOW they’ll do the same for you!

But I don’t want you to just take my word it. Here’s solid proof that they WORK:

• Using our Estate Planning Seminar Mega Pack for spring seminars, our
  private clients in various parts of the country averaged 20-25 attendees
  EACH NIGHT during a 4 night seminar spree. Average amount of
  appointments madeat the seminars consistently ranged between 35-45.
  What would you do with an extra 30 appointments this month?

• Our clients were regularly featured in their local media using our press
  releases and publicity campaigns. Here are a few links from 2012 for you
  to check out

Steven Spewak featured on STLtoday.com, “Estate Plan Strategies, LLC Offering
Free Health Care Directives For Local Heroes November 26-30^th http://interact.
stltoday.com/pr/local-news/PR110112011010912

Darlynn Morgan featured in the Orange County Daily Pilot, “When Teens Become
Adults” http://articles.dailypilot.com/2012-05-24/opinion/tn-dpt-0525-mailbag-20120524 _1_water-taxi-service-harbor-commission-harbor-character/4

Albert Hehr featured in the Plain Dealer, “When Your Graduating Teen Becomes a Legal
Adult, Take Steps To Protect Your Right to Parent In a Crisis” http://blog.cleveland.com/
letters/2012/06/when_your_graduating_teen_beco.html

Need some more page one rankings? Here are a few screen shots showing how our
supercharged blog content packs great SEO results:

And the BEST part with all of our products and campaigns? There’s no guess work.

We walk you step by step through EVERYTHING you need to know to implement the campaign fast and get the best results. We’re also easily accessible by phone and email if you need guidance purchasing mailing lists, fulfillment, etc.

So, if you’re ready to hit the ground running in 2013, you can now scoop up one… or ALL of our favorite resources for the next 48 hours ONLY at 25% off the regular price. This is a firm deadline…the page will come down and purchases will NOT be possible after January 10th.

Use the code SUCCESS2013 at checkout to apply the 25% discount to your order.

The only catch is that the materials are area exclusive, so they will be issued
on a first-come-first serve basis. If your area is no longer available because
someone purchased it first, or we have a client already in your territory, we will
contact you immediately and issue a full refund. We believe in marketing integrity
and do not work with competing firms.

With that said, I encourage you to check these resources out if you desire to build
stronger, more profitable relationships in your community this year. This New Year’s
blowout because is based on our commitment to YOU and YOUR success, so don’t
wait to take advantage of the materials at this pricing. As always, if you have questions
or would like more information about a particular campaign or product before you buy,
just email us and we’ll help you out.

If you are training someone to handle marketing and community relations at
your firm, purchasing these materials to use as a guide or template of a solid direct
response marketing campaign is an excellent idea. Check it out here!

Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.