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Free Legal Marketing Tool: Prepare Great Videos Online With EasyPrompter.com

recoding online videoI stumbled upon a great legal marketing resource the other day which has the potential to take the fear, anxiety and sheer excuses out of recording online videos so you can incorporate this media back into your overall law firm marketing plan.

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.

 

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.

Give Back, Get Involved…..and Get Clients for Your Law Firm

volunteerI wanted to address something today that’s seemingly fallen by the wayside in the legal industry, and that’s getting involved and giving back to your local community as part of your long-term, law firm marketing plan.

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!

 

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.

A lesson on nurturing, and a FREE resource for you!

networkingWoW! The flood gates have opened which is such a lesson in marketing.

Since making the announcement of the relaunch of Legal Marketing Maven and the awesome team I have put in place, I have been overwhelmed at the response from attorneys across my networks who are interested in working with us or who want to help us by referring business.

The important lesson here, it is important to nurture your list, and your relationships all the time, no matter what!

I confess, other than this blog and social media, I haven’t been PERFECT at this but I have been CONSISTENT with it and because of that, my calendar is full of phone conferences with attorneys and other service providers that would like to work with us going forward or simply want to reconnect to see how we can serve each other.

During these conversations, something else became clear to me as it should be for you.  Not everyone is going to be a perfect fit to be your client, and there are a multitude of reasons that can contribute to that.  Sometimes, it is simply timing and you should always look for a way to bring value to those that are in your tribe.

Because of this, and because there have been so many that do want to stay more closely connected to me and my team, I have decided to set up a F*R*E*E private forum for attorneys and service providers, to share resources, ideas and conversation – introducing LM2 Connections.

If you would like to join this private forum there are some basic guidelines you must meet:

1.  You must be an attorney (law students will be considered email us for more info)

2.  You must have a website where this is verifiable.

3.  You must have a phone number where this is verifiable.

All membership requests will be subject to our approval.

To apply, simply email help@tremendous-arm.flywheelsites.com from your business email account with your name, contact information (including website and phone number) and a short line or two about why you would like to be part of our community.

We look forward to seeing your application!

 

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.

Online Marketing and Sales Resource for Lawyers: SocialTriggers.com

typing on computerAs part of our team’s commitment in staying on top of the trends and tools you need to effectively market your law firm, Legal Marketing Maven’s Content and PR Director, Amber, recently came across a site that I believe holds tremendous value for lawyers seeking to market themselves, their firm or their speaking engagements online.

The site is SocialTriggers.com run by SEO and web marketing guru, Derek Halpurn.  Over the past 5 years, Derek’s pushed more than 60 million page impressions for his own sites, maintained top rankings for competitive keywords, and most importantly, built a profitable online business with that knowledge (which many ‘self proclaimed’ gurus have yet to do!).

Here are some key things you’ll learn from socialtriggers.com about marketing your law firm online:

  1. The true psychology behind how and why people buy online–  While you may not sell physical products through your website (although some of you do),  as a lawyer you ARE using your website to sell the legal services of your firm.  So it would behoove you to know what marketing elements immediately grab a reader’s attention and what elements will make your prospective client click off the page faster than you can say “hey get back here!”
  2. How to increase contact form submissions and phone calls from your site—  It’s one thing to drum up traffic or clicks to your site. It’s an entirely different ballgame to get those same prospects to fill out the contact form or call the office.  Socialtriggers.com will teach you the simple psychological cues and tricks necessary to increase conversions and get more people to say YES passively through your website.
  3. Data, data, data—Derek has a knack for data.  He knows what’s working online, what elements of a website test well, convert well and what seemingly clever and hot fads FAIL user tests every time.  You need this data and it’s conveniently broken down into English (not tech or geek speak) on this site.

So after talking to Derek (he personally gave us some great tips for our OWN site which you’ll see come to life in a few weeks) and reading the online sales strategies at socialtriggers.com, I truly believe the information there is vital to your online marketing strategy and I suggest subscribing so you don’t miss a beat.

And of course we’d love to hear what other resources out there have been beneficial or influential to your online legal marketing strategy.  Feel free to leave any useful links or product information in the comment section below!

As always, we’ll continue to share the resources we come across to benefit those lawyers not directly working with our marketing implementation team.   Stay tuned!

 

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.

Officially Re-launching LM2- Coaching, Implementation and Marketing Support for Lawyers

jumping offWow—it’s been long time coming in writing this post!

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@tremendous-arm.flywheelsites.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

 

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.

Turn the Page

turn the pageFor the past several years, I put my own businesses on the back burner and devoted my time and energy to a mission, one to help small/solo lawyers build a business with systems, consistent marketing and developing a lifelong relationship with their clients.

That mission was, and is very dear to my heart, not because it is the means to my monthly income but because I know from personal experience the importance of that relationship with a lawyer.

You see, I grew up middle class, my dad was an electrician with his own business, my mom a waitress and yet, they had a lawyer who played a role in our life.  It wasn’t a transactional role, it was one of a caring trusted advisor…and I recognized the importance of this even as a child.

Fast forward a few years.

After high school, I began working for a local GP lawyer that had relationships with his clients and worked from a converted house that he turned into an office.

I started as a file clerk and thought that one day, perhaps I would become a lawyer as well.  But that wasn’t what was in store for me.  Instead, by the age of 21 I was working in a larger firm with 3 partners as the senior paralegal/office manager.  It was an estate planning/tax law office and the lawyers were awesome lawyers.  They gave excellent council to the clients, but they were stuck in the traditional model of billing by the hour and many times, it was me that had the relationship with the clients—NOT them.

I always knew there were better ways, and I have been fortunate to work, and learn from, some of the greatest trendsetters in the legal industry  (especially over the past 6 years), that are making a difference in the way attorneys in small firms are running their businesses.

In August of 2007, I made the decision to focus completely on one budding program to help build, create and coach the members. Unfortunately, over the course of the past 8 months it became clearer and clearer to me that the partner I was working with had very different views on the direction the business and what the various roles and responsibilities I typically held were…. and would be going forward. I found myself in the unsustainable position of having my reputation tied up into a program that was moving in a direction that I couldn’t agree with and could no longer effectively influence.

Despite my love for the members of that program, and my passion for what we were teaching, it became clear that it was time for me to go back to my own business of helping lawyers in the way that I always have in the past, in my own way,  bringing even more experiences to the table.

I believe that everything happens for a reason. Was this the perfect time in my life to make a change? (definitely not, – but is it ever?) I am absolutely certain of one thing, when one door closes many will open, and my needs will always be met.  I do not regret the experiences that I have had over the past 2 ½ years, and I’m proud of the many accomplishments that were made.  I have made some of the best friendships of my life, some with people that I have never even met in real life.

Spring is the perfect time for transitions, changes, and as much as it excites me, it saddens me at the same time.  I will miss the lawyers that I worked with so closely, the team members that I helped grow professionally, and working in the program that I put my heart and soul into growing that has helped many lawyers and made a difference in their lives.  I truly believe I was part of building something that will continue on, and will continue to be a resource for lawyers and make a difference in their practice and their clients lives.

It’s time to turn the page and close that chapter for me, knowing that I made a difference that mattered and will have a lasting legacy.

The exciting part is that with this new chapter the difference can be bigger and better, because of the lessons learned, experiences had, the relationships created and how they have all played a role in who I am today and the difference I can continue to make going forward.

I love new beginnings and look forward to sharing my opportunities with you.

 

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.

Weekly Staff Meetings – What NOT to Do

office meetingLast week we discussed the importance of having a weekly meeting with your team, and some suggestions to make these meetings productive and help streamline the work flow in your law business.

We’ve all had to attend meetings (sometimes regularly scheduled meetings) that we simply dreaded.  Since you do want your team meeting to happen every week, the last thing you want is for it to be something your staff does not look forward to.

Here are my tips for what NOT to do with your weekly team meeting time:

Do not assume everyone can stay in the meeting for an unlimited amount of time.  I recommend scheduling 60 minutes for the team meeting, and do your best to keep it within that time frame.

Do not spend the entire time, focused on one agenda item.  Everyone should come to the meeting with a printed agenda of items that everyone has contributed to.  If you see that the discussion of a certain item will take more than a few minutes and your agenda is full, suggest that the members of your team that are involved with that item, have a separate meeting to go more in depth on the topic.

Do not forget to take notes, always appoint someone to be in charge of taking notes (keeping the same person for this each week works well) and appoint someone in charge of reviewing the notes from the previous week and making sure that all open items carry over to the next agenda.

Do not ever use a team meeting to call someone out personally about a problem.  If you are having issues with a team members you or your manager should handle those problems privately.  On this same note if you are having a problem with a team member do not make that obvious during the staff meeting, by you comments, tone, or lack of responsiveness to that staff person.

And do not control the meeting.  You have selected your team because of the talent and gifts that they bring to the table.  When you bring all of those gifts to a meeting of the minds that is conducted in a “safe place” where there are no stupid questions or ideas, your business will benefit from this weekly activity in ways that you never dreamed possible.

Do you have tips that make your meetings more productive, or a staff meeting experience to share, please post a comment, we love to hear from you!

 

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.

The Importance of Team Meetings and 4 Things you MUST Do To Keep Them Productive

team meeting phone callAs an attorney is important to have a team; be it in house, virtual or a combination of both,  and in order to manage your team effectively, it’s critical to implement weekly meetings so the team stays productive and your business keeps moving forward each month.

These team meetings can be done in person, via phone, or on a video platform like skype.  Yet no matter which platform you choose, the key is to ensure they happen each week without fail….schedule it at the same time every week as if it is your most important client.

That’s because your team needs at least an hour of your undivided attention to ask questions, go over open items, provide feedback and discuss future projects in a way that’s organized. And by setting aside a specific time each week for this to occur doesn’t interrupt your daily work flow on a regular basis.

You, in turn, need these meetings to check up on the progress of your team, give them the time to hear their feedback and answer questions, hold everyone accountable, brainstorm future projects and keep everyone informed of the happenings in the firm.

Having a weekly team meeting, is a great way to do this in a controlled and focused environment where everyone gets their needs met and your team is empowered to tackle their work load without struggle, confusion or lack of clarity each week.

If you’re not already holding weekly team calls for the employees or subcontractors of your firm, now is a great time to start.  Here are a few things you should ALWAYS do during a team meeting to ensure it is always a productive and efficient use of your time:

  1. ALWAYS have an agenda– This keeps the meeting focused and on track.  Essentially, one person should be in charge of compiling the agenda and gathering talking points (from every person that attends the meeting) that they would like to cover in advance of the call.  You’ll then use this to guide the conversation and ensure all issues are discussed and resolved appropriately.
  2. ALWAYS Share the Stage– It’s important that meetings are a collaborative and safe space and not just what you want, need or expect from your staff.  While that will ultimately be addressed on the call, it’s equally vital to make sure everyone has a chance to voice their needs, questions and/or concerns for feedback from the group.  In fact, I recommend starting each call by celebrating the successes of the week so it naturally pulls everyone into the conversation.  You can then proceed into the agenda from there.
  3. ALWAYS look ahead two weeks in each meeting– This gives everyone the big picture as to what’s coming up so no one is scrambling at the last minute…or worse…misses an important deadline for your firm.   This two week run down should include everything significant on the company calendar—and if you don’t have a company calendar, now’s a great time to start one!
  4. ALWAYS take notes– meeting notes are a great point of reference…and even a refresher as your team moves through their work load for the week.  It’s also a great point of reference for you or your manager to stay on top of what was assigned and to whom.

So there you have it….4 things you should ALWAYS do during a team to ensure they become an effective…and extremely beneficial use of your time.  Once you get started with these simple tips, you’ll be on your way to having more productive, efficient and happy team and hence a more productive business in no time.

Be sure to leave a comment below with any team meeting tips you find beneficial for you and your team.  Next week we’ll discuss the top things you should NEVER do on a team call, so stay tuned!

 

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.

 

Lawyers: Get Listed, Get Links and Get Reviews With Yelp.com

yelpAs you may know from previous posts, I’m a big fan of getting your law firm listed in as many local search directories as possible on the web.

That’s simply because consumers now search for EVERYTHING online, and lawyers who aren’t savvy to this trend (or sadly believe people under 50 still use the yellow pages) are missing out on business because of it.

Not to mention, getting listed in local directories gives you extra links back to your site and takes up more real estate  in Google, both which are great for SEO and standing out in an oversaturated legal market.

So with that said, one of the most popular local directories right now is yelp.com.  Yelp.com provides hyperlocal results for people actively looking  for services in their immediate area.  The site also allows consumers to leave reviews of your services—which can quickly help you stand out (for the better I hope) in the crowd.

Fortunately, getting your business listed on yelp is free and can be done in 3 easy steps.  They are as follows:

1.       Get Started

Simply click here to get started on yelp.com’s business page.   The screen should look like the one below:

yelp get started

2. Find your business

Enter the name of your law firm and city to “claim” your business.  If your business can not be found by yelp, you’ll come to the screen below and have the ability to create your own business profile:

find your business

3.       Complete your company profile

 Yelp 3- ad biz

Simply fill out as much information that you can regarding your law firm.  Once you’ve done that, check your email address, confirm your listing and you’re firm will be live on yelp!

As a bonus (and for even better results), ask a few happy clients to leave a detailed review about their experience working with you.  You’ll also want to make the review process as easy as possible for your clients, which means giving them the direct link to your profile page and offering a “gift of thanks” (i.e. a gift card, discount on future services, etc) as an incentive for following through with your request.

That’s it!  Now go claim your business and get listed on yelp.com!

 

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.

Happy Teams Make More Money!

It’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day operations of running a law firm that you’ve probably overlooked a HUGE component to your success—and that’s team morale.

Remember happy teams make more money—and boosting team morale is one of the easiest ways to help them do this…hands down.

That’s because an employee treated well by her boss will radiate a “you must spend your money with our firm because this place is the best!” energy to prospective clients on the fence about signing with your law practice.

Not to mention, happy team members are more productive, they won’t drag their feet on the clock, nor will they cut corners or blatantly disregard tasks out of sheer loyalty and gratitude for all you do for them and the great work environment you’ve attempted to provide.

So what can you do to boost team morale and create loyalty among your staff?

Try some of the following:

  • Order lunch (or even breakfast) for your team often. Or just give your office manager permission to take the team out to a nice restaurant on you.  Even if you can’t be there, the gesture goes a long way.
  • Surprise your team with ice-cream or water ice at 4 pm as they are finishing up their day.
  • If your team is pulling 15 hour shifts helping with trial prep or upcoming litigation, hand out a few $50 bills to say thanks for burning the midnight oil with you.
  •  Institute a policy on Fridays that if everyone’s work is done, the team is can get a two hour start on the weekend by leaving early.
  • Say thank you and give praises often.  Your team needs to hear a balanced message from you—not just criticism when things are messed up and stress is rising high.

Taking steps to boost team morale is a time-tested principle that can’t go wrong and will easily turn into more dollars for you as your team works harder, projects a better image of your firm to prospective clients and morphs into your own little “word-of-mouth army” that constantly sings your praises to their family and friends.

So what are you waiting for—make it your goal to boost morale this holiday season and get ready to grow!

 

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.

Give the Gift of Gratitude to Your Clients This Holiday Season

giftAs we head into the season of giving, now is a great time to show appreciation to your clients and customers. Taking the time to give thanks to your clients will set you apart, increase loyalty, improve retention, inspire more sales, and deepen relationships that last long after the initial sale.

Here are 10 easy ways you can say thank you to your clients:

1. Greeting Cards

My husband often teases me that I should own stock in Hallmark for the amount of money I spend a year on cards. I love to send cards, for a specific reason or for no reason at all.

For business, you’ve probably heard of SendOutCards (and no, I’m not an affiliate or a distributor). I get a lot of cards this way, from colleagues, and it definitely deepens the relationship for me. And it is a super-easy way for you to do that with your customers too.

2. Personal Notes

I love to send personal notes too. I have specially designed notecards that I send when I just want to connect with someone after a particularly powerful coaching call, when someone makes an investment in Platinum, when I’ve made a special connection with someone in person, or when a client just needs a little cheer.

3. Invitations

One of the things you can do for your top clients is to invite them to a special event just for them. It can be a lunch or dinner at an event you’ll all be at, or carve out a portion of your own live event to spend time just with them.

You can also invite them to special teleseminar or webinar where you offer them free content just for being your top clients.

4. Small Gifts

Flowers, books, a mug, or something more specific are all thoughtful gifts for clients. They can be sent for certain occasions or just because (that’s actually my favorite way to send a gift).

Click here to keep reading more ideas.

 

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.

Relationships are Important and Must be Nurtured

relationsihpsHow are you nurturing the relationships in your business? I’m not talking about the relationships with your prospects, clients, or referral sources; instead, I’m talking about the people who support you and your business.

If you haven’t thought about this question before, let me just say having a support team and building & nurturing those relationships plays a VITAL role in the success of your law practice.

Whether you are a solo with a few contractors that work on a freelance basis or you have a large in-house staff; having a team that supports you free of drama or complications is an integral part of building your business. Note: If you do not have someone to support you please put that on your list of priorities for the New Year!

However, to ensure you are receiving the best support possible, you must know how to communicate effectively with your team or they can be a regular source of stress, unnecessary work load and aggravation– just the opposite of what you want in your firm.

That is why open, honest and direct communication with your team (or at least the manager of your team if you are not the best communicator) is critical to keeping everyone in sync.

This means empowering your team with communication about what the goals of the firm are, what the marketing plans are and exactly what you expect of them. Learning how to disagree and come to resolutions where no one is walking away feeling unheard or respected is also a vital part of the process.

So with that said, here are a few tips for effective communication:

* Always respect all your team members; and insist they honor/ respect each other as well, respect is a two way street and the only way to build good team morale.

* Be sure to give your team members clear project requirements and standard operations in your office — including the HOW and WHY behind each task for clarity and understanding.

* Conduct regular team meetings WEEKLY to understand and discuss the doubts, questions and concerns of every team member and provide solutions accordingly; remember no question is ever stupid!

* Explain the why when answering questions so your team understands the desired outcome and feels empowered to make decisions on their own based on this information.

* Define the role and responsibility of every team member clearly which allows the team member to take ownership of their responsibilities, avoid confusion or un-necessary re-work.

* When in a meeting or discussion, allow everyone have their turn to speak and suggest. Meetings do not serve a purpose if you alone keep talking and ignore/ dismiss what others have to say.

* Listen to your teams opinions and use their suggestions if found to be effective. Listening plays a significant role in effective communication.

* Always be polite in your way of speaking and behavior. When you tear down, criticize, use rude tone or body language it will usually bring upon negative feelings among team members.

* Clear out any personal differences and misunderstandings by dealing with them directly in a private setting. Keeping it inside and harboring grudges against one another may affect the team spirit and have a direct impact on the quality of everything in your law business.

* Always look for ways to display acknowledgement and appreciation through face to face interaction or electronic modes when a team member performs well. Just a pat on the back, or two lines of appreciation in an email can have a great impact to motivate a team member.

* Deal with tense situations calmly. If you are unable to do that because of the situation, simply say, let me think on this for a little while and schedule a time to deal with it after you have had a chance to relax.

* Avoid placing blame on others when any work is not done. Instead, try to figure out the cause and create a solution

Of course, these are just a handful of suggestions to improve communication in your firm. Start by implementing just 1 or 2 and add new strategies weekly as you feel comfortable with them.

It may seem like a hassle, or even a waste of time at first, but as you observe how communication directly correlates with productivity, morale, and the support you receive I guarantee this will become a permanent fixture in your law firm!

 

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.

Is there a Plan Behind Your Legal Marketing Efforts? If Not, You’re Wasting a Ton of Cash!

legal marketing plan for the futureIn this economy, legal marketing is a given.  You must be spending money on email marketing, internet marketing or direct marketing campaigns to get your name out there or you’ll fall prey to your market-savvy competition.

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.

 

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.

Three Things You Should NOT Include in Your Law Firm Newsletter

law firm newsletterIf you dread writing your law firm newsletter each month because a) it’s not fun or b) clients are generally unresponsive to your efforts, you’re probably committing one of three legal marketing sins.

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 bringing in outside help!

 

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.

 

Free Legal Marketing Resource: Setting up a Google Profile

google-profile2If you’ve ever tried Googling yourself and find that a bunch of other people share your name and it’s hard to distinguish yourself on the web, you’ll want to get a Google Profile set up ASAP!

Essentially, your Google Profile will show up in the search results when someone looks for you by name.  However, the profile contains more detailed information about your background, current location, alternate names, etc. so people can distinguish you from the other people that pop up on the same page.

For example, a Google search of an attorney friend of mine from New Jersey by the name of  “Joel Schwartz, esq.” pulls up a personal injury attorney from Boston AND  an estate planning attorney in Ohio. 

I hope you can see how a potential client who’s not too tech savvy may end up calling the wrong attorney looking for your services if you share the same name of someone else in your immediate practice area!

And of course that’s never a good thing.

But, what is good is that you can put links back to your firm, which is an added benefit for SEO purposes and your current link building strategy. 

Likewise, having a Google Profile set up gives you yet another spot on the first page of Google—which means your “importance factor” goes up and there’s less room for the competition on page 1!

Not to mention, setting up a Google Profile is so simple and literally takes 5 minutes—so there’s no reason not to do it.  Just go here and start filling in your personal information.   You can even include an image or a branded logo for your firm to further distinguish yourself from neighboring competition.

Then give it a few hours and your profile should be showing on the first page of Google when you search for your name.

It’s that easy!  Now go do it!

 

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.

Social Media for Lawyers: 3 Easy Ways to Engage

Legal marketing and social media for lawyersI’m sure by now you’ve heard about the necessity of implementing social media marketing as it relates to your overall legal marketing strategy.

In fact, most online gurus talk about social media marketing as though it’s the end-all, be-all to all to your legal marketing plan!

Unfortunately, most of those web 2.0 marketing “gurus” have never set foot in a law firm and don’t understand just how crazy your schedule really is!

Fortunately, there are still a few ways to engage (and be effective) in social media marketing without being “inauthentic” or non-transparent to your target market (which is a very bad situation to be in if you get caught!).

These are just a few strategies that I’ve found to be really helpful for lawyers that can’t devote too much time social networking.  I encourage you to pick and choose what works for you and just jump in as soon as possible!

  1. Outsource SOME of your social media marketing- This is a really great idea for the lawyer that just doesn’t have time to engage, but really wants to.   If you’re using twitter as your main social media source, have someone on the team pre-write tweets of events, links to blog posts or other things going on at the firm that you can approve.  Then ask them to schedule the tweets in a Twitter client like Hootsuite or Tweetlater to go off randomly during the week.  Then when you actually have time to engage, you can just focus on talking to people and won’t have to worry about getting your marketing out.   You can also follow the same strategy for posting updates on Facebook if that’s your network of choice.
  2. Encourage your team to start networking– This is the scariest option for most lawyers, but it can be quite effective if you set things up right!  You’ll need to lay down some guidelines, but it can be done.  For example, you may want to have your team open a corporate twitter or facebook account separate from that of their personal account.  It’s also a good idea to have them setup branded user names around the firm (for example, the people at Dell Computers use names like @JoeatDell or @MaryatDell just to show it’s a corporate account).  You’ll also want to make it clear that they can’t give legal advice! While their goal is to engage and make strategic relationships, they’ll need to direct people to a blog post or to an attorney if someone has a legal question.  Other than that, let them loose and have them engage throughout the day.  It will make work fun for them and increase your sphere of influence at the same time!
  3. Outsource ALL of your social media marketing–  While some people really look down on this approach, it can be effective if done the right way and for the right reasons.  If you are absolutely intimidated by social media—or just aren’t the social type, this might be a good route for you.  You’ll definitely want to find someone that has a background in the legal industry and will use social networking to promote and engage on behalf of YOUR FIRM, not on behalf of you.   That should be the understanding right from the beginning.  You don’t want someone pretending to be you, the attorney (and I hope you can see why that’s a bad idea for a number of reasons).  Instead this person or company will be part of the “team” and will essentially be doing your marketing as though they work in-house.  If you have further questions about this or need someone qualified to handle your social media, feel free to email help@tremendous-arm.flywheelsites.com for further assistance.

But as you can see from the tips above, all that matters is that you get involved.  And fortunately there are so many ways to do it that even you, a busy attorney, have no reason to stay behind in the dark ages of legal marketing 1.0.  So pick a strategy and get started with social media marketing ASAP!

 

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.

 

 

 

How to be a “Legal Expert” in National Publications and on TV

How to get publicity as a lawyer or get featured as a legal expert

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!).

 

 

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.

Legal Marketing Tip: Quick Ways to Ensure Your Legal Copy is Not Being Plagiarized

how to check to make sure legal content isnt stolenFor all you legal marketers and ambitious attorneys out there, I just wanted to post a brief update reminding you just how important checking your work for “content scraping” is.

This has been happening a lot lately in the cyber world, but I was really inspired to write on this after my friend and renowned Virginia personal injury lawyer, Ben Glass,  had content directly stolen off his website by another Personal Injury attorney.  You can read more about the unauthorized use of Ben Glass’s legal marketing and informational materials here.

Whether you write your own web copy/ marketing materials or you may pay someone a nice fee to do it for you, I’m sure you don’t want someone else reaping the benefits of your work.

So to ensure other people aren’t using your content, I recommend you visit www.copyscape.com every now and again and test out some “unique” phrases from your work.    You can also use http://www.fairshare.cc to ensure your blog copy is not published illegally by someone else.

Either way, be proactive with your web copy and assign someone in your office the task of keeping tabs on this.  When you stop someone from making money with your copy, you’ll be glad you took the time to do this.

 

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.

 

Are You Maximizing Your Most Valuable Legal Marketing Resource?

emailWhat does legal marketing mean to you?

Is it buying a full-page spread in a glossy, high profile magazine?

Maybe it’s starting a blog and hoping someone, somewhere will come and read your posts?

Whatever “legal marketing” means to you, if your campaign does not include the intentional gathering and centralization your email contact list, you are missing out on one of the cheapest and MOST EFFECTIVE ways to generate referrals and additional revenue sources to your firm.

Think about it.  The contacts on your email list are people you already have a relationship with.  Chances are, they aren’t going to delete your emails as “spam” as though you were a stranger.  Instead, a client or former client will generally open your email to see what you have to say.

So now that you have their full attention, you can use this opportunity to build relationships, educate your clients on changing areas of the law that pertain to them, or send out friendly reminders that you and your team are always willing to help—or will at least refer them to another practicing attorney that CAN help if the problem goes beyond your expertise (again, thinking about income from passive referral sources).’

It’s also a great opportunity to ask for referrals from friends and family if the client has been satisfied with your work as an attorney.

But most importantly, email marketing provides that constant contact that you may not be able to achieve during office hours with your client.   It keeps you involved in their life and in their face, without sacrificing countless hours of your time as a busy attorney.

So hopefully by now you realize why the contact list is an “overlooked goldmine” when it comes to generating referrals and repeat clients.

What you may not know is how to get started, or how to centralize your email list so you aren’t manually adding your contacts one by one in Outlook, etc.

In my experience, one of the best (and low-cost) programs to assist with your email marketing campaign is A-Weber.  Not only does A-Weber allow you to centralize your contacts in one database (as well as individual groups), but it also helps you create an opt-in mailing campaigns to reduce the chance that your emails get marked as spam (and hence face the threat of landing on an email blacklist).

Yet for those that want to go one step further and use the list to promote products, services, etc., I recommend using a fully integrated program such as Infusion that offers shopping cart solutions, individual and group email history, fax and voice broadcasting, sale tracking, web forms, etc. all in this one platform.

But whatever program you chose, I encourage you to make a serious effort to not only collect email addresses for each and every client that walks in the door, but to also centralize your contacts into one of these programs to fully maximize your successes in an email marketing campaign.

 

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.

Twitter Directories for Lawyers: Getting the Most out of Social Media Marketing

legalbirds-1For legal marketing professionals and attorneys, getting signed up and active on Twitter is an important step in any social media marketing campaign.

But what’s the point of signing up if you can’t be found?

That’s where twitter directories come in.

Twitter directories are third party apps that allow you to submit your twitter handle and profile so that potential clients or colleges can find you and follow in a matter of minutes.

Clearly, this is an extremely valuable tool when it comes to networking with other legal marketers, attorneys, and members of the media that may be looking to use you as a source.  Likewise, these directories allow potential clients to search by practice area (i.e, personal injury, criminal, estates), so if you don’t utlize the 5 minutes it takes to get listed, you might miss out on a great case!

You also want to make sure you are following the key players in your industry and Twitter directories make it so much easier to do that.  They also help the key players find YOU and follow what you have to say.  Obviously, it’s a win- win situation as far as networking is concerned.

So without further adieu, here are a handful of Twitter directories to get started with.  The first two are specifically for the legal profession, while the rest offer general directories and categories in which your twitter handle and profile can be named:

 

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.