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Search Engine Integration: A “New” Concept That We Recognized Years Ago

It’s good to be validated.

Not that we needed it, but it is a good thing to find a widely-respected publication affirm the very advice that you have been giving for years. That happened to us recently when the online publication Search Engine Watch published an article about the future holds for effective marketing.

In short, the article points out the fact that “being found” is much more than writing articles with the appropriate keywords and meta tags. It is about integrating SEO tactics into marketing. What this means is that it is simply not possible to focus heavily on one aspect of marketing and expect it to be effective.

This is not news to us at Legal Marketing Maven. Even back in the day when everyone else was pushing rankings, we recognized that this was just a small part of a commanding online presence. We recognized that marketing tactics should be looked at as holistic, integrated approach and not individual parts. It was with this idea that we developed our Done-For-You marketing program.

We recognized a long time ago that an effective marketing program only works if you include Branding, PR, and demonstration of thought leadership through articles, videos and social participation. We put a package together that allowed estate planning attorneys to easily implement this marketing strategy on their own and managed to keep the cost very low.  That was 2 and ½ years ago.

Are we tooting our own horn here? Probably. But, sometimes when you are leading the pack you should let people know about it.  In fact, we hope you are doing the same!  Toot away!

 

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.

Blogging to Grow Your Law Practice

There’s no doubt that the Internet has changed the way that most businesses work, especially when it comes to garnering new clients.  There are plenty of reasons for that, but web sites and search engines certainly play a huge role.  One of the most powerful tools on your web site is the blog feature.  (You do have a blog feature, don’t you?)

Blogs are an excellent marketing resource for several reasons, and if you’re not blogging yet, then it’s time to get started.  Just a few of the reasons you NEED to start blogging include:

  • Authority
  • Relationship
  • SEO

Authority
Just by virtue of being an attorney, you already have a significant amount of authority when it comes to matters of law.  It’s understood that you have extensive education and understanding in areas that most lay people do not.  But, what sets you apart from all of the other lawyers in your field?

Blogging about your topic gives readers the reassurance that you know what you’re talking about.  When they see your words on the screen, offering them information they truly need, they recognize you as being an expert.  When it comes time to hire an attorney, they’re going to remember you over the lawyer whose static web site does little more than offer some pretty pictures and a contact form.

Relationship
Blogging is a form of social media, and “social” means building relationships.  When people read your blog, they begin to feel like they have a relationship with you.  In addition, many blogs allow for readers to leave comments, questions, and feedback.  When you respond to a comment left on your blog, you are doing more than simply answering a question.  You are showing the reader you are responsive and  you care about their needs.  Simply put, you are building a relationship which creates a great starting point for further engagement with your readers.

SEO
SEO, or “search engine optimization” refers to using proper methods to help search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing to notice your site and to rank it as relevant to search terms input by users.  Blogging is great for SEO!  For one thing, the search engines notice that your content is updated often, which is a good sign to them that you’re engaged and active.  Additionally, you can use “keywords” in your content.  By dropping in terms that you feel others might be using when looking for your type of information, you can show the search engines exactly why you are relevant to certain topics.

There are other good reasons to consider blogging, but these three alone are enough to get you more business.  If you don’t have time to blog on your own, it’s possible to hire “ghost bloggers” to cover topics which fit your practice and give you all of these benefits.  We are happy to give you recommendations to companies we love, or if you are an estate planning lawyer, check out our Done-For-You program where we take care of this for you.  Either way, commit to blogging in 2013. As much as it can feel like a chore, the benefits are well worth the effort!

 

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.

3 Ways to Get the Most Out Of Your Attorney Coaching Program

Over the years we’ve worked with many lawyers who have easily spent 6 figures on coaching and mentoring services to get their law firms off the ground.  A lot of these  coaches are really great. The attorneys come away with a great understanding of what marketing needs to be done, yet they fail to see results. When we’ve worked with these  attorneys and peeled back the layers we typically see the same disconnect.

The attorney doesn’t have a marketing problem; they have an IMPLEMENTATION problem.

What we’ve found is that the knowledge and strategies that they’ve paid 6-figures to learn isn’t being implemented because there is an expectation that everything they learned can be done in-house.  We’ve identified 2 common reasons why this isn’t happening for them.

  • The attorney never finds the time to implement what they’ve learned on their own. They have discovered that creating and implementing marketing takes quite a bit of time.
  • They turn marketing over to their staff that did not have the benefit of the coaching or mentoring. They simply do not have the know-how to move forward creating technical email marketing, direct response marketing and online marketing campaigns.

The good news is there are solutions to these issues. You can get the benefit of great attorney coaching programs and get things implemented.  Here’s a little help.

1. Involve key team members in your coaching and training programs.

If you go to a marketing or practice management event, bring your staff! The extra cost will be well worth the benefit of having the team all on the same page and receiving the training that you have gone out of your way to receive. You can’t do it all yourself but you also can’t expect your staff to be mind readers or overnight gurus either…so bring them!

2. If you are a solo and don’t have staff, you must start blocking time to work ON your business and not just in it.

Having all of that knowledge in your head and doing it sporadically when you can find the time is not going to bring results. If you want your pipeline full, you need to set aside regular time to implement your marketing campaigns. Block off an hour to make phone calls and touch base with new referral sources. Set aside a Saturday morning to write your email newsletter and print newsletter for the month. If you don’t start intentionally making time for it, it will never happen.

3. Get a head start by getting help.  

We created our Done-For-You program to get you over the barriers. We give attorneys and their teams a “head start” on creating their marketing each and every month.  As much as you may hate marketing, it’s a necessary evil and has to get done if you want new business.  With a program like DFY, you don’t have to worry anymore about more starting from scratch and expecting your team to be marketing gurus and wasting hours that should be better used servicing your clients. We create the campaigns, have everything designed by a professional designer, write the blog posts, do  the newsletter so all you are doing is editing and making tweaks where you see fit.  It’s easy for you and easy for your team, and it is affordable!  Take a look.

If you’ve felt frustrated by the lack of clients coming in the door, don’t blame your coach or mentor. Just take the necessary steps to turn all of the terrific training into
reality and make it happen!

 

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 Facebook’s New Search Engine Affects Google, SEO and YOUR Law Firm

The big news in the tech world today is Facebook’s unveiling of a new, “smarter” search engine known as “Graph Search”.

This tool would seek to effectively rival Google, as users will receive more personalized results based on the interactions of people already in their social circles.  Here’s a great description of how it works from Mashable:

The search improvements involve the ability to ask questions in regular English, such as “which of my friends live in New York?” The search is now intelligent enough to rank your friends based on how much interaction you’ve had — so that closer friends will appear higher up the results list.

It can also search based on stories or photos you’ve Liked. One example Zuckerberg offered: the site can now display which of his friends have Liked the HBO show Game of Thrones. You can search for people who Like multiple products or services, which seems likely to be a bonanza for marketers.

And for those search queries that can not simply be answered by looking at the recommendations and “likes” of close family and friends, the graph search will default to a web-based search powered by none other than Google’s rival, Bing.

SO the big question in all of this is what do these changes mean for your law firm, SEO plan and current social media strategies?

Graph search was not intended to replace Google as a “traditional search engine” for web based results, but there is a very good chance that this “social” search engine will cut into a decent chunk of Google’s pie.  As we’ve seen with the integration online reviews and the popularity of sites such as Yelp, people are interested to hear honest feedback about local businesses from neighbors and friends before they make a buying decision.

As far as SEO, the writing has been on the wall for years now that social media would one day have a greater impact on SEO and search results.  Social sharing is already a factor that affects Google’s algorithm, and with Graph Search on the horizon, users may no longer have to turn to Google at all to find a local professional.  Again, from Mashable:

Facebook’s Graph Search isn’t just for looking up your old buddies and potential new friends, it’s also designed for Business Pages.

The company gave the example of a search for “sushi restaurants that my friends have been to in Los Angeles” and “TV shows my friends like.” Though these are largely organic results rather than paid ads (“There are no new ad formats available today,” Facebook noted on its marketer-friendly Facebook Studio blog), Sponsored Stories will show up in searches as will Sponsored Results.

Overall rankings will be based on top search suggestions including people, Pages, apps, places, groups and suggested searches. The results are also based on data shared by a business and connections of the person searching. In the blog post, Facebook urged business owners to “Continue to invest in your Page” by making sure it’s up-to-date. That means updating addresses to show up in local searches and cultivate “the right fans.”

http://mashable.com/2013/01/15/facebooks-graph-search-businesses/

Essentially, if you have been late to the social media marketing game for your law firm, now is a really smart time to jump in and get ahead of the curve (…and ahead of your competition!).   If people are going to be searching for legal services based on the recommendations of those in their network, you want to do everything in your power to get “liked” and show up on that list!

Here are a few action steps to ensure that happens:

  • If you haven’t done so already, set up a Facebook business page and claim your vanity URL.
  • Spend the money on a graphic designer to create a cover image that is professional and reflective of your practice.
  • Take the time to fill in all relevant details about your firm, including your current address and all contact information (this will be important for geotargeting reasons).
  • Use various Facebook apps to spotlight your events, opt-ins and free reports.
  • Start promoting your page by sending an invitation out to your Facebook friends.
  • Commit to updating your page daily.  Post helpful articles, videos, tips and more on legal topics and current events.
  • Interact and engage with people who comment on your links. Encourage shares and likes in a tasteful way.
  • Consider running targeted ads and sponsored stories aimed at prospects in your own backyard in order to increase your page “likes”, get new opt-ins for your free reports, generate referrals and more.

If you need help with this, our team at Legal Marketing Maven is available to get you up and running with an amazing Facebook fan page before these changes take place.

Our Fan Page set up for attorneys in any practice area is a one-time fee of $250, which includes a professionally designed cover image reflective of your branding and the values of your firm.   Prices on Facebook ad management and fan base growth vary depending on the length of the duration and campaign, so just “email us” to inquire of those services.

And of course, don’t forget to check with your local bar regarding any ethics rules that pertain to social media marketing—ESPECIALLY if you are going to have staff members contributing to, or updating your page!

I’m interested to see how this plays out.  Millions of people are already on Facebook, so I can see this new search engine being something that sticks.  Regardless, you still need to be there.  Follow the tips I outlined above and get started this week!

 

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.

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, 1st 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 26-30th 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.

 

Being held hostage by a contractor or service provider?

It never fails that when we start working with a new client, we discover some area where an old contractor or outside firm is holding their intellectual property hostage.

It may be a social media account or website hosting.  It could be access to a CRM or your email marketing platform.

The point is that you can NEVER be too careful when it comes to ensuring that you have long-term access and control of your various accounts.

Not long ago, we started working with a client who asked us to take over the management of his Facebook Fan page. It hadn’t been used in a while and they were ready to start posting more updates on behalf of the firm.

When we asked this attorney to make us an authorized “admin” of the page, it turned out he couldn’t. Lo and behold, a former employee had set up the page under THEIR personal name. That meant the attorney could no longer access the page and we were forced to start from scratch setting up new accounts and building up their fan base.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

I can’t TELL you how many times we started working with clients only to discover that they did not own the hard coding or hosting of their website! Rather, the contractor or web company who set it up retained this control and if the attorney wanted to make any changes or use a different provider, they would lose their entire site!

In fact, this recently happened to a very good friend of ours (and a very brilliant attorney) who had to redesign her site from scratch after paying $10,000 for a beautiful site that she did not own and no longer had access to once she terminated her relationship with the designing company.

I shared the following tips with her in order to avoid this nightmare in the future, and I encourage you to use them as well to protect your intellectual property or online real estate.

1. Any accounts set up in YOUR name and on your behalf must be done using a central email address that YOU OWN. When we start working with clients, we set up a basic gmail account that the attorney has access to at any time. We use this gmail address when we make purchases, submit press releases, submit event listings, open new accounts, etc.  That way, the client has access to everything in one central location should we decide to part ways in the future.

2. Do not sign a contract for a website or hosting services unless you retain total control! I don’t care how pretty it looks or how fancy it seems; unless you own that html code, do NOT sign on the dotted line! Same goes for sites you “rent” too. It’s not the brightest idea to pay $2500-$5000 a month for a website that you CERTAINLY won’t have access too if you want to break up with the service provider down the road. For what you pay in one month’s “rent”, you could OWN a site with all the bells and whistles they are offering you.

3. Ensure social media accounts are set up using either your PERSONAL login or a central account like I mentioned in step 1.  This goes for Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google+, YouTube and even a hootsuite account—which is used to manage these profiles all in one place.

4. Retain ownership of your phone number! This may sound like a “duh” tip, but we recently had a client who learned this the hard way. When she decided to stop renting her office space, she learned that her phone number (which goes to the main switchboard of the building) would not be coming with her, nor would the receptionist be forwarding the calls.  I’m sure you could imagine what a nightmare this turned out to be.

A few proactive steps like these can save you from a TON of headaches and hassles when working with outside companies and independent contractors.

If you’ve ever found yourself held hostage, I’d love to hear your experience and what you did about it. Please feel free to leave a comment 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.

Expecting magic vs. momentum in your legal practice

Magic Marketing ImageIn most professional fields, people seem to equate the word “marketing” with “magic”. Maybe you’ve unknowingly done it in your practice, too. You create a marketing plan, hire the appropriate staff members, run some campaigns and nothing happens.

Sound familiar?

I know the frustration of this from personal experience. Typically around the second or third month of working with a new client, this becomes the topic of our private coaching calls. They express concern that their phone is not ringing off the hook, no one seems to notice what they are doing and it feels like their money is getting wasted in the process.

They are striving for magic, not momentum.

After effectively talking them off the ledge, I’m able to teach them how REAL, relationship-based marketing works. Typically it’s front-end loaded, requiring a small investment of time to lay a foundation in which you are REGULARLY reaching out to prospects and potential referral sources in the community.

It’s a further understanding that you can’t just swipe a cold mailing list of financial advisors or CPA’s from the Internet, mail to them one time and expect business like crazy. Instead, it’s recognizing the Rule of 7 at play and making a plan to constantly stay in touch.

And, especially when it comes to internet marketing, it’s understanding that the website you spent ZERO time marketing in the past will not show up on page one of Google just because you posted a blog or two.

You have to do these things consistently, usually over a period of a few months before you can accurately gage results!

So back to my coaching calls. Once I’m able to help the client see that business relationships and momentum are not built overnight (much like relationships in real life!), it never fails that within the next 30-60 days I’m getting emails from the SAME EXACT CLIENTS like this:

“I don’t know what happened but the largest nursing home in my
community just called. Said they’ve seen my name all over the
place and I was also mentioned by someone on staff. They’ve
invited me to speak to their residents. I had two similar calls this week for smaller speaking engagements. I’ve had zero invites prior to this”.

“I’m finally starting to get calls from my website and ranking all over the place. And not just waste of time calls before, but these are actually quality cases. Amazing how this works”

“We engaged a very lucrative client today. She inquired about our services a year ago but put it on the backburner. I started sending my newsletter and after reading it for the past two months, she knew she had to come in and get everything taken care of. She thanked us for the push…but I should probably be thanking you for the same”.

I encourage you to take a cold, honest look at your marketing expectations today. Are you expecting magic or are you realistically focused on building momentum and long-term relationships?

It’s wise to expect some form of ROI (return on investments) but make sure you are allowing the proper timeframe for that to happen. Just like you probably wouldn’t agree to marry someone after the first date, you also need to allow for proper “courtship” and “wooing” before a client is willing to fork over $5,000-$10,000 on your services.

 

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.

CSI for a Poor Lead Generating Law Firm Website

CSIOne nice thing about attending the Planning for the Generations Symposium last month was the ability to sit down with attorneys and have in-depth conversations about what they felt was…or was not working in terms of driving new business to their law firm. 

By far, the biggest area of disappointment we heard had to do with their law firm website. 

Most told us they had spent big money to have a site designed, but it wasn’t driving leads. This was especially frustrating for attorneys who did not own their websites, but were hosted with big companies which charge hefty monthly fees to maintain and keep the site live. 

At the very least, they just wanted to see their website cover the costs of maintenance–but they were certain the site wasn’t even generating that much. 

Finding the Disconnect 

Whenever a client tells us their website isn’t bringing in new business, our first job is to identify the disconnect. Here are some of the questions we ask:

  • Is there a website MARKETING problem? Having a website and website MARKETING are two totally different things. It takes ongoing work to ensure your site is found by ideal clients. Is the site optimized for SEO? Is the attorney (or legal staff) blogging regularly? Is the site being promoted on social media or via Pay-Per-Click ads? All of these strategies can increase the effectiveness of your firm website and must be done on a consistent basis or you WON’T see results! 

  • Is there an ADMINISTRATIVE problem? Whenever an attorney tells us they aren’t getting calls from the website, we go into full-blown data gathering mode. What I typically find is that their phone is connected to a voicemail answering service (so they don’t actually know who is calling and where they are coming from)–OR the secretary is not asking each and every lead how they found the firm. Once we take care of these two very simple things, it then becomes clear that leads ARE coming in from the website….they just didn’t know it! 

  • Is there a CONTENT problem? Maybe you’re ranking on page 1 in all of the search engines, but people STILL aren’t calling your office. It could be that your content is unclear, overwhelming or has no real call to action. Perhaps it looks too generic and doesn’t display you as the expert you are. All of these issues can cause visitors to immediately leave and move onto to the sites of your competition. 

  • Is there a NICHE problem? More people than ever are searching for services online, but what if your ideal clients still aren’t there? Do you handle elder law? VA Benefits? Social Security? Many of your ideal clients may simply not know how to find you because they can’t use the web. In this case, it’s still important to have a great website, but you’ll need to focus your efforts on traditional advertising and offline marketing strategies, too.

Collecting The Data 

Until you figure out the answer to the questions above, you can’t really come up with a solid plan to increase the effectiveness of your website. Here are a few things to set up and start tracking to help you get to the bottom of these issues:

  • Google Analytics- You must have analytics installed on your site. You can’t make an educated plan of attack if you don’t know exactly how many people are visiting your site, where they are coming from, how long they are staying on your pages (i.e. if your content is not relevant or is overwhelming, they’ll bounce right off), what keywords people are using to find you and what the most popular pages on your site are. Google analytics gives you all of this data every single day–for FREE. 

  • Track all inbound calls- I know things can get crazy during the day, but every single caller must be asked how they found your firm. This can be done conversationally as your secretary works to gather more information and determines how you might be able to help them. Some secretaries may feel awkward asking this question until a potential client actually schedules an appointment, but encourage them to ask everyone regardless. 

  • Make sure your calls are being answered by a live person- You can’t do the step above if your calls are being forwarded to an answering machine. If you don’t have anyone to answer phones at this time, sign up for Call Ruby. I highly recommend their services. 

  • Ask people you trust to critique your website- Find out how they feel about your content, the layout and the first impression it gives them. Where do they feel confused? Overwhelmed? Turned off? You’d be surprised what an extra set of eyes can discover. When doing this just last week for a client, we found out  his homepage said he practiced in a completely different state and his phone number was wrong! Would you call that guy? And if you did–you wouldn’t even get through! 

  • Google yourself- Know where you are ranking for your top keywords (including your name!). If you can’t find yourself past the first few pages in Google, you are virtually invisible to potential clients. Time to do some SEO.

These are just a few steps we take when undergoing website analysis for a client. If you’re unhappy with the results of your website, I encourage you to do a little “tech CSI” and seek to uncover the answers to some of these questions. Your findings may make a huge difference in the business you are able to generate from your website and marketing efforts this year.

 

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 Struggling To Get More Business From Your Website?

Are you struggling to get more business from your website? Are you driving regular traffic but it feels like no one is taking the next step to pick up the phone and call? 

As you probably know from browsing online yourself, people often bounce from website to website “vetting” local professionals and trying to find the answers to their questions. The whole process can feel very overwhelming, as most legal websites look the same and consumers are afraid to make the wrong choice. 

A great way to neutralize the overwhelm and capture a prospect’s information anyway–even if they aren’t quite ready to call–is to implement a strategy of lead generation. 

Effective lead generation is the process of offering something of value to the prospect in exchange for their contact information. They are getting something they want for free with no pressure to buy. You, on the other hand, are getting their email address and phone number so you can stay in touch and continue to build a relationship with them via your newsletter or other campaigns until the very moment they are ready to make an appointment. 

Can you see how this strategy is different than passively putting up a website and hoping people call? By focusing on lead generation, you are getting permission to put new prospects on your LIST, which means you can now communicate with them indefinitely. They may not call right away, but as you build the relationship and become someone they know, like and trust, you are creating a higher quality client and increasing the chances they’ll refer their friends and family to you. 

So what kind of lead generation strategies can you implement to encourage prospects to take the next step and request a no-charge offering from you? Here are a few of our favorite ways to capture fresh leads online: 

1. Offer a free digital download that’s accessed by entering their name and email address on your contact form. You can give potential clients a free report, a digital brochure, an MP3 or even video series. An example of this would be the report we created this month for our Done-For-You program was entitled, “Surviving The ‘Sandwiched’ Years: How To Protect Your Parents’ Assets, Honor Their Wishes & Provide Long-Term Care….Without Losing Your Money–Or Your Mind!” By downloading this report, someone who is looking to do legal planning for their aging parents can get the information they need without pressure and you are able to capture their contact information so you can follow up and stay in touch. 

2. Require registrations (opt-ins) for your public seminars. Don’t just pass out flyers hoping people will come. Send prospects to a landing page that is designed to capture the full contact information of attendees. This allows you to stay in touch with your new leads after the event and reach out to no-shows with a special marketing campaign. 

3. Make available a free gift by mail. For consumers who would like more information on a key topic or about your firm, offer to send out physical products by mail. This could include Cds, DVDs, a copy of your book or a “shock and awe” package for your firm. This is similar to offering digital downloads but you may find that your ideal clients are less tech-savvy and prefer to receive things the old fashioned way. 

I encourage you to take some time this week and think of your most frequently asked questions or the greatest challenges your clients face and create an educational piece that addresses these issues free of charge. Then put this new lead generation piece on your website, social media profiles and even in your traditional advertising campaigns to entice more potential clients to reach out to your law firm. 

We will talk about some creative follow up strategies next time!

This is the complete marketing campaign from our Done-For-You program that includes a free report to help aging parents plan for long term care which will help you capture leads on your website, landing page copy, advertisement copy and a follow-up email campaign to help convert readers into paying clients of your firm. It’s one of our largest and most comprehensive packages that will WOW your prospects. Get the campaign now for just $497. 

 

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.

3 Ways to Get More Love From Referral Partners

Referral ImageIf your referrals from local professionals are running dry, it might be time implement new strategies to nurture those professional relationships and keep business flowing again. Rather than just asking for their recommendation, here are three creative ways to add value to your referral partner’s business and make it irresistible to work with you:

  1. Ask to promote their services, no strings attached- Let your referrals sources know that you have a blog or newsletter reaching thousands of families in the local area and that you’d love to tell your clients more about them. Offer to post a guest blog on their behalf or feature their upcoming events in your email newsletter. Besides creating good will with your referral partners, they’ll be more receptive to promote your events and services when approached in the future.
  2. Make Promoting YOU Beneficial For THEM- One strategy we use for our private clients is to craft a beautiful letter and custom certificates that the referral source can send to THEIR clients saying “…because you are so important to us, I wanted to personally send you a valuable gift to say thank you for your business.” The gift, of course, is a free session with the attorney, which we note has a value of $500. The referral partner’s clients feel great about receiving such a valuable gift (increasing business for THEM), while you benefit from all the new appointments!
  3. Share Without Selling- Don’t overlook the importance of sending along helpful articles or resources to your referral partners from time to time. It’s a great way to keep the relationship going without a huge time investment. We always like to include a note along the lines of, “Hey–I thought this information would be helpful to you and wanted to pass it along…hope you are doing well” at the top of the email for that extra personal touch. It’s almost always appreciated and keeps you at the top of your referral partner’s mind.

What are you favorite strategies for nurturing relationships with referral sources? We’d love to hear what gets you consistent results! Leave a comment below and let us know!

 

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.

5 Ways To Spark More Engagement With Your Law Firm Email Newsletter

Law Firm Ezine EngagementOne of the biggest frustrations I hear from attorneys sending email newsletters is that people seem to ignore them and open rates suggest they aren’t being read.

If you’re also concerned about this, or you just want to make sure your email marketing is bringing in maximum results, take a few minutes and read the 5 strategies I’ve outlined for you below.

5 Ways To Spark More Engagement With Your Email Newsletter

If you’re sending an email newsletter but feel like it’s not getting much attention….or perhaps not even getting read at all, it may be time to change your approach.

The purpose of email marketing is to build relationships, not just occupy inbox space.  It’s one of those low-cost “touches” that help people get to know, like and trust you, so that they feel comfortable doing business with you down the road.

But if you’re not being heard, or worse, your email is not being delivered–all of your efforts will be in vein.

Before we get into the 5 steps you can take to get more mileage out of your ezine , an important first step would be figuring out your current email marketing “stats” as they stand.  This will help you to track your results as you implement some of the suggested strategies below.

Specifically, pay attention to your current open rate and deliverability stats if you have them.  Then try some of these small, but powerful changes to increase your engagement and help ensure your hard work doesn’t end up in the virtual “trash”:

1. Spark curiosity with your subject lines– If your email open rates are low, start using creative subject lines that make opening your email irresistible. Pull something from the ezine that leaves them hanging so they feel the need to click and learn more.  Here’s a few examples of highly clicked titles we recently used for our clients: “My Valentine,” “I stole the chairs,” and “I never saw this coming…”.

2. Open with a personal note– People want to do business with people–not law firms.  Don’t be afraid to add a few personal tidbits before your article each week to help people relate and connect with you on a personal level.  Talk about your family, vacations, weekend activities…and even include some pictures, too!

3.  Avoid too many “promotional” or “spam” words– One reason your emails may not be getting opened is that you are using too many words that cause your email to be filtered into spam.  Free is a big one, and so are other promotional phrases like “50 % off!”  and “call now !”.  In some cases, email providers won’t even deliver these messages to their users at all…filtering them instead into the black hole of the internet.

4.  Make your email newsletter interactive.  Ask your readers questions and seek out their opinions.  You can even go outside the box and ask questions that have nothing to do with the law.  One of our clients recently moved into a new office, so we asked readers to share their favorite places to find inexpensive artwork and décor.  Responses came pouring in from people she hadn’t heard from in years.  It’s great to know that people are listening, asking questions helps to build relationships without sacrificing too much of your time.

5.  Tell people what you want them to do– If people aren’t taking action after reading your newsletter, it might be that you aren’t telling them clearly enough what to do. Don’t be afraid to include clear calls to action asking readers to sign up for an event, take advantage of a discount, follow you on social media or forward your email to a friend.  As long as you are providing quality content and are not being overly promotional, people will appreciate you helping them take the next step.

Try implementing these changes and pay close attention to your results.  If more people are interacting with you and open rates improve, you’re on the right track!

Have any other tips to increase engagement with your email newsletter? Please come share them on our facebook page.

 

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.

Does the Rule of 7 Apply to Law Firm Marketing?

ConsistencyIf you’re not consistent, you’re non-existent

If the marketing for your law firm is not producing the ROI or results you want, you may have a problem with being consistent.

Consistent marketing isn’t just slick sales lingo from a marketer or advertising rep. trying to get more business from you.  In order for people to know, like and trust you, they have to hear from you regularly.

If you’ve never heard of the “Rule of 7”, it’s an old marketing adage that says a prospect needs to see or hear your marketing at least 7 times before they’ll take action and buy something.

If you think about this in light of your own buying habits, you’ll probably find it to be true.  How often do pick up the phone and call a high-end service provider based on a one-off advertisement coming from someone you don’t know?

But when you start to hear from someone regularly…and then maybe a friend or a independent 3rd party (like the local news media) drops this service provider’s name too, your relationship with the company can quickly move from ice-cold to warm and receptive.

Now consistent marketing doesn’t mean you have to buy expensive ads in local magazines or the yellow pages every single month, either.  That may work for your particular business, but here’s a few other places where you can increase your marketing results by committing to consistency:

•    Email newsletter- Pick a frequency that you are comfortable with and start sending your email newsletter regularly.  If you decide to send it bi-weekly on a Friday, make sure it goes out bi-weekly on a Friday!  Be a consistent presence in your prospect’s inbox.

•    Social Media- Building a presence on social media requires consistency! With so much happening on sites like Twitter and Facebook, you can’t expect to post an update once a month and get noticed!  At the very least, commit to posting and interacting on your channels at least once or twice a day.

•    Blogging- Great SEO results depends on posting regular content.  You don’t have to post daily–but shoot post on your blog at least once or twice a week.

•    Follow-up- There MUST be consistency in your follow-up!  Every client and every prospect needs to be hearing from you the exact same way, every single time.  If you’re not sure how to put a consistent follow-up strategy in place, or you’d like do train your staff how to  follow-up more effectively with the prospective clients of your firm, grab our free audio training on follow-up in the law firm here.

These are just a handful of places where implementing consistent marketing can maximize your efforts. Take the next 60 days, try our advice and track your results. We guarantee you’ll see a much greater return for your marketing dollars!

 

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.

Take a break from your legal marketing this Spring …(yes, really)

If you’d like to simplify your life and stop worrying about marketing this spring without having to jeopardize new clients coming in the door….

…then take a peek at the special we have right now on our Done-For-You monthly marketing packages for estate planning attorneys.

DFY SamplesWe know that you are so busy taking care of your business, servicing your clients and building referral relationships that your marketing sometimes takes a backseat to everything else going on.  That is why we created this program specifically for you.

These are high-quality, professionally done marketing materials with a proven track record of helping estate planning attorneys gain more clients, more page 1 search rankings, better conversions, newspaper and TV coverage, increased referrals, new speaking opportunities and more!

Each month, our DFY program includes:
•    A direct-response marketing campaign and step-by-step instructions on how to implement it (i.e. free reports, landing pages, postcards, brochures, follow-up scripts);
•    A press release and media pitch letter for maximum local publicity and SEO;
•   A weekly blog post professionally written and optimized to dominate the search engines (…for many DFY clients, our blog posts show up on page one in Google before any other page of their website!),
•    A done-for-you print newsletter to stay in-touch with clients by mail;
•    4 video scripts for video marketing; and
•    Area exclusivity!  We will not work with your competition.

It’s all of your marketing, professionally done for you each and every month, without theDFY Brochures aggravation or expense of hiring in-house staff.  All of the materials are delivered to you in editable format so that you can customize and edit as you see fit.

To head off March, we’re offering these marketing materials at just $797 per month–a $200 monthly savings off the regular price of $997.   There’s no time commitment either; try it out at the discounted price and cancel if it’s not for you. No worries, no hassles.

This is like hiring a part time legal marketing professional for your firm for only about $12 per hour, that is a huge savings while still giving you expert results.

This offer is only good until March 5th, so to learn more about the program and request exclusivity in your area, visit https://legalmarketingmaven.com/dfy

 

P.S.-  Please feel free to browse through our Portfolio photo gallery on Facebook to see real results that our clients are getting and samples of materials that you will receive in the program.

 

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.

 

Law Firm Marketing Tips: 4 Free Ways To Increase Registrations To Your Next Live Speaking Event

The number one concern when booking a live speaking event or workshop on a legal topic is, “how can I put more butts in seats and make it worth my time?!”

I don’t know one attorney who does not feel this way—and, quite frankly, it’s a legitimate concern.

You’re spending a bunch of money and time to put on a speaking engagement or workshop and it’s only natural to expect some ROI for your efforts.

So to increase the chances that you get the outcome YOU want, try these 4 FREE strategies to get more publicity and registrations for your next speaking engagement:

1.   Send an email to your database:  Let your clients, prospects and referral sources know about your upcoming events and encourage them to forward the information any friends or family members that may also need help.

2.   Canvas your town with a great flyer:  Make a great flyer with a strong call to action and have someone on your staff put it on bulletin boards or drop it off at all the places where your target market hangs out around town.

3.   Submit the event to online event calendars:  Many newspapers and TV stations have online calendars dedicated to promoting local events.   For the most part, these submissions are free and give you a great opportunity get in front of new people with your events and workshops.

4.   Write a press release and pitch local journalists-  If you know of a journalist who covers the topic you will be speaking on (i.e. senior issues, parenting issues, tax issues), write a press release  and ask him or her to cover the event.  You can also pitch your release to hyperlocal sites (i.e, patch.com) that like to publish events and any information beneficial to local citizens.

So there you have it—4 FREE ways to increase registrations to your next live speaking event or workshop.  Give them a try and be sure to come back and leave a comment about the results you get from these easy strategies!

 

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 Book Legal Speaking Engagements Without Making Cold Calls

Regular speaking engagements are a key piece of any good legal marketing strategy.  The more you can get out and educate How to book speaking engagments for your law firmthe public about your practice area and the value of your services, the more quality leads you’ll see flowing into your law firm.

Perhaps your phone isn’t currently ringing with invites and the thought of cold-calling organizations gives you the creeps.  Instead of letting it deter you from speaking all together, think of it as a chance to give our favorite LM2 multi-step technique a try:

1.    Target ONE specific group or organization– It could be non-profit organizations, moms clubs, nursing homes, companies that host regular “lunch and learns,” etc.

2.    Gather all necessary contact information– You can manually compile the contact information of local groups you want to target or work with someone to compile the full contact information of every group or organization within a 25 mile radius.

3.    Warm them up with a mailing– This can be an email or a physical mailing explaining who you are, what you’d like to present, and most importantly, how inviting you to speak will benefit their particular group or organization (never forget to address the issue of “what’s in it for me!”).  Adding a lead generation piece or free guide to this mailing will supercharge your efforts.

4.     Follow up with a phone call– Now instead of “cold” calling, you are simply following up to make sure someone received your letter or marketing materials.  From there you can gauge whether there is interest in having you speak or work with their organization in some capacity in the future.

It’s a great technique that works in just about every practice area.  Just be sure not to neglect that follow up phone call (even if you have to ask your secretary do it for you!) as it often makes the difference between having your materials collect dust on someone’s desk to getting your speaking opportunity booked and confirmed.

 

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.

Emergencies & Legal Marketing It All Boils Down To Systems

Emergency imageSpring time has arrived here in the Panhandle of Florida – it doesn’t last long, we move into summer-like weather rather quickly!  I’ve been enjoying the warmer weather with cool breezes by doing a little gardening, taking afternoon swims and working as much as possible out on my deck enjoying the fresh air.

As I’m sure you have heard this week, the south was hit hard with horrible tornadoes. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the South after the horrible storms that moved through leaving devastation in their path. I know from experiencing tragic losses during Hurricane Andrew how devastating Mother Nature’s fury can be.  I hope you and your loved ones were spared and my company will be donating 10% of our revenues next month to the relief efforts.

It makes me think about emergency plans, and my post that I did a while back on that subject, if you missed it you can read it here.  If you do not have an emergency plan in place for your business, I encourage you to do it, you never know when an emergency could strike, and as scary as it is we are seeing natural disasters becoming more and more frequent. ??Please feel free to leave a comment on that post or shoot me an email with any tips or resources you have for emergency plans, I’d be happy to compile them and share them with the readers.  I’m sure by putting all of our heads together we could come up with a plan that fills in most gaps!  Again this is all about creating a system that you would follow should the unthinkable occur .

Last week, I also interviewed Nate Hagerty and we discussed the importance of Social Media marketing and how to convert the time spent on those platforms into clients in the door.  If you missed the call, we have set up a replay page at http://www.lawyersocialmedia.com.  Nate gave his formula for successful implementation of social media marketing (it has proven results for his CPA firms) so be sure to go listen to the call if you have not already done so. I think you’ll also be very surprised by what Nate shared is the most important component of social media marketing – and I’m sure it isn’t what you think!

We also discussed what I feel is one of THE most important pieces of your marketing plan, and that is consistency!  Simply put, having a system in place so that you know it is getting done.

Nate and I did a little digging into some of the sites of the lawyers that registered for our call, both by signing up for their newsletters (for those that had them) and also by checking out their social media profiles (again for those that had them or we could find).

The results were that for most, when we signed up for a newsletter, we received a simple thank you note – sometimes – and that was it.  There were some social media profiles that were really doing a good job, but others that hadn’t been updated in a very long time, almost looking abandoned.

Is that what happens with your marketing?  You get gun-ho coming up with campaigns, putting yourself out there on social media, doing speaking engagements, etc…and then business picks up and you get busy doing the client work.  Leaving no time for the marketing, I call this the marketing merry-go-round.  I see it quite a bit, and it doesn’t have to be that way.

In order for your marketing to be effective it must be consistent.  You must be in front of your prospects all of the time, because you never know when they are going to decide that now is the time that they need your service.  And when they need that service you want them to call YOU not the new lawyer down the road that has suddenly gotten on their radar.  ??It’s all about relationships, and relationships have to have consistency.

They want to know, like and trust you and the like and trust factors sometimes can take a while to build.

Here are my suggestions (bare minimum) for keeping a consistent marketing plan going:

  • Weekly Email to your list
  • Daily Post on Social Media (not always about you but to drive conversation)
  • Monthly Print Newsletter (you need to be getting in the MAILBOX of your prospects)
  • Regular Videos – Multi-media marketing is important as it allows your prospects to “see” you and it is great for SEO
  • Monthly press releases – you probably won’t get picked up every month but keeping in regular contact with your local media with timely advice and articles establishes yourself as the expert, and when you are picked up and your prospects see you in the news it is certainly a credibility boost that money can not buy.
  • Blogging regularly – you must be updating a blog regularly if YOU want google to take notice of you, and let’s face it people are going to Google to find professionals to work with.

This can all be systemized so that it is happening on a regular basis without much effort from you at all.  I know this hard for a lot of lawyers to believe, but you have got to let go of the concept that YOU must do everything. Delegate these items to key team members.  If they need training we are happy to help or you can contact us to learn more about how we help law firms implement consistent, educational-based marketing into their firms.

If you are an Estate Planning or Elder Law attorney you may want to check out our DFY package that will give you all of the content you need on a monthly basis to begin getting a marketing system in place in your firm right away.

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.

What Is the Point of Social Media Anyway?

Time Flies ImageI’ve heard this question over and over from lawyers who are wondering why they would want to invest their valuable time into what they consider to be some frivolous conversations that take place on social media outlets.

And yes, social media CAN be just that.  However, it is also much more importantly the new media way of marketing.  People are no longer turning
to the yellow pages or ads run in newspapers and magazines when they
are looking for a service provider.  Instead they are going to their network,
their “social network”.  And YOU need to be there!

The question then becomes about how you show up once you are there.

I see a lot of lawyers making what I consider to be three huge mistakes.

  • Setting up an RSS feed ONLY and just feeding the content from their blog onto their social media profile.  While this can be good for SEO, it is not doing much to build you a following of local prospects and leads.  Nor does it usually generate any interaction.
  • Building relationships with other lawyers but neglecting looking for prospects and potential referral sources in their own back yards to build relationships with that will turn into real ROI for the time they are investing in “new media” marketing.
  • Not realizing that social media contacts (fans, followers, connections) are worth FAR less than email and direct mail contacts. And failing to set up systems by which they *leverage* social media to build these much more valuable lists.

 

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.

 

 

Addressing Some FAQ’s

Wequestion mark‘ve had a ton of interest in the DFY materials that we have been talking about for the last few months but I’ve also received a quite a few emails and wanted to answer some of the frequently asked questions I’ve been getting.

Does Legal Marketing Maven also help with implementing the marketing materials? I don’t have enough time to do it myself.

Yes!  We are an implementation company!  The DFY packages were put together to help lawyers that have in house staff (or virtual teams that they are working with) so that they didn’t have start every month from scratch.  But we will happily put together an implementation package that meets your needs, just reply to this email and schedule a complimentary strategy session with me to explore those options.

Do all of your DFY materials focus on general estate planning (or focus on one particular niche)? I am an elder law lawyer, will it work for me?

Our DFY materials are eclectic and focus on estate planning for the young and old, we try to incorporate basic estate planning, elder law and administration into our materials each month because we believe your practice will benefit from serving clients in all stages of their life.

Do you have DFY materials for other practice areas? I am a bankruptcy lawyer and would love materials like this for my law firm.

Currently our DFY materials are only for Estate planning attorneys however, we are planning to launch 2 new practice areas this year.  If you are interested in these types of materials for your practice area please reply to this email and let me know what that is, it will help me determine which 2 areas we will roll out next.

If you need the services now, let’s schedule a time to chat about what your needs are and create a custom package that will meet your needs.

Does Legal Marketing Maven work with lawyers in other practice areas?

Yes!  We privately work with clients in a variety of practice areas – personal injury, medical malpractice, bankruptcy, business law and family law.  Our services span a wide range including but not limited to:

•    Development and execution of direct response marketing campaigns
•    Web writing, Copywriting and Blogging
•    Teleseminars and Webinars
•    Landing Pages/ Squeeze Pages
•    Email Marketing
•    Newsletters
•    Infusionsoft Management
•    Autoresponders
•    Search Engine Optimization
•    Social Media Marketing
•    Article Marketing
•    Reputation Management
•    Press Releases and Public Relations
•    Marketing of In-Person Events/ Conferences
•    Creation and Launch of Lead Generation Pieces
•    Product Launches

Do you have more questions, or 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.

 

Pick Up the Phone and Follow Up

Legal Marketing Tip of the Week

I’ve been doing a lot of hands-on outreach for our private clients lately to get them speaking gigs in front of referral sources ortelephone imageother relevant groups.

I literally spent hours on the phone this week following up with every organization we sent a pitch or speaker packet to, just to see what they thought and if they were interested in moving forward.

For every unfriendly voice on the other end of the line who couldn’t be bothered with my call (which would probably be discouraging if I didn’t have such thick skin!), there was another who was thrilled that I took the time to follow up.

Many had further questions (and real interest) about the materials we sent, but they just never found time to pick up phone and call us back (you know how that goes).

We eventually did land a few speaking engagements and invites to lunch as a result of our efforts–which shows how important follow up is during any marketing campaign.

If you can make one shift in your marketing plan this week, I would encourage you to assign SOMEONE on your team to follow up by phone, email or preferably both when you are reaching out for speaking gigs.

To make things even easier, send something tangible first (i.e a speaker packet, letter, postcard) and you’ll find the follow up call isn’t so “cold,” as you are already on the group or organization’s radar.

Now what are you waiting for–get to it!

Do you have more questions, or 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.