Understanding How Legal PR Impacts Legal Marketing Efforts
For any client browsing an attorney website, the words “As featured in the New York Times” or “as Featured on the TODAY Show” really brings a sense of credibility to the table.
After all, if the “unbiased” media considers you a credible source, the client is inclined to feel that way too.
Getting Estatblished as a Legal Expert on a Budget
So now you must be wondering, “what exactly does it take to get a quoted in a national publication or land an interview on TV without hiring an expensive PR firm?”
Well it’s quite simple actually—it just requires a plan, a team in place to carry out the work you need done and a budget for pitch-related expenses.
To start with one of the free resources you can tap into, I suggest setting up Google Alerts for any topic you feel qualified to speak on should a story break. For example, a medical malpractice attorney should set up alerts on the words “medical error” or “medical neglect” to stay abreast of relevant stories as they hit the mainstream media. A divorce lawyer may want to keep the words “custody battle” on alert to stay on top of that subject as another example.
The second and relatively-low cost thing you should do is hire someone with media and writing experience to pump out press releases or story pitches when something breaks in your area of expertise. This person can work either in-house or virtually, but it should be someone that knows how to write a pitch that’s not only newsworthy, but interesting enough to catch a journalist’s eye as they wade through hundreds of pitches and releases every single day.
Remember, your press release or direct pitch is the key to landing a spot in high profile publications or a TV segment. After all, how can the media invite you to speak on their TV show or to give a quote in a magazine/newspaper if they don’t know you exist or why you’re qualified to speak on the subject in the first place! So to ensure you’re on their radar, you must find someone media savvy enough to know what journalists are looking for and how to write in a way that doesn’t get your content rejected the minute it hits a news desk.
Finally, you’ll need to invest in a press release service like PRNewswire or a similar database that offers paid access to contact information to writers, editors and producers. This can be a rather expensive task (In the case of PRNewswire, there is a yearly fee plus a $400-$650 charge per press release), but it is much more effective than sending out blind pitches to the “contact us” section of a publications’ website.
The Key to Great Legal Marketing Through Legal PR: JUST GET STARTED!
So if you’re ready to get some good publicity and you haven’t taken any of the steps listed above, I suggest you start implementing what you can immediately (after all, your competition is doing it—might as well get started!).
And as always, if you need further assistance writing press releases or developing a media plan from a qualified Legal Marketing Maven, please contact help@legalmarketingmaven.com and we’ll get back with you as soon as possible.
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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
