Monday - Friday | 9am - 5pm Central

Social Media Marketing for Lawyers Means More Than Trolling for Cases

An interesting article was published today by the Wall Street Journal detailing how plaintiff’s lawyers are using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to find, target and ultimately sign up new clients for their firms.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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 Brain Tapped Dry? 4 Ways to Replenish the Source

business man bikeIn our world, no magic potions exist to give us infinite motivation or a download of creative energy to our law firm marketing brains. For the lawyer, the long hours and stress can tax your energy reserves pretty quickly.

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

Glucose

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

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

Exercise

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

Meditation

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

Nature

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

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

 

Would you like to talk about how we can save you 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 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.

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.

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.

 

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.

 

 

 

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.

Law Firm Newsletters: The Key to Referrals and Relationships for Life

A monthly newsletter from a law firm is more than fluff; rather, a newsletter is a way to engage and communicate with your clients to create trust, relationships and eventually referrals down the road.  If you already have a monthly newsletter and aren’t reaping the fruit listed above, chances are the publication needs some help.

The key to understanding what makes up a good newsletter is to understand why you need one in the first place.  To keep things simple, a newsletter gives the people of the firm a chance to showcase their personalities and expertise.  By writing a small article each month, lawyers can personally show prospective clients that they are not “ambulance chasers” or just another name in the phonebook, but rather a public servant that really cares about his or her clients.

Oddly enough, most firms I encounter think publishing a list of recent verdicts and settlements, attorney bios or summaries of high profile court decisions constitutes a newsletter.  But think about it- what exactly does that information do for your clients?  Nothing if you ask me. The majority of people signed up (or thinking of signing up with the firm) don’t care about the latest decision out of the 9th Circuit, nor do they care to see pictures of you and your buddies golfing while they are heartbroken and going through a bitter divorce or custody battle.  Similarly, the art of just throwing words on a page to take up space shows the client that you value appearances and the “look” of engagement more than the actual issues affecting their lives.

But, if you connect with clients where they are by using stories, tips, answers to frequently asked questions and things they can relate to, they will feel directly engaged with you and the firm.  This is so important when you think about the way clients call and want to speak with you on a monthly or weekly basis just to know you are “still there”.  You probably don’t have the time to take these calls, which irritates the client, but all they are looking for is that assurance that you care about their case and what happens to them.   The newsletter, then, can be used as a broad platform to explain that you really do care, while answering those burning questions that new clients may have.

If you still aren’t quite sure how to build relationships and trust through a newsletter, check out the December issue from the Ben Glass Law Firm. Notice how the firm starts with an educational piece about something that matters to their clients, namely how chiropractors are scamming PI victims and impacting their bottom line at settlement.  Then notice how they publically answer letters and recognize local business people to keep that level of trust and involvement going.  They touch on topics that affect and confuse average people, such as disability insurance and the fine print behind rebates and other consumer topics.  The information is 100% client focused rather than being a soapbox for “the big, fancy rich lawyers that can’t relate to me anyway.”

And this gesture of building relationships goes along way.  Word of mouth is clearly one of the cheapest forms of marketing, but the returns are astronomical.  Learn how to make word of mouth marketing work for you and you’ll be in business forever.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see how a satisfied client that felt engaged and kept in the loop through the legal process will refer friends and family for life.  Similarly, a happy client will go out of their way to speak to someone that was hurt, or involved in a custody dispute or looking to draft a will to give out your number and pre-sell that person on your services.

Realistically though, isn’t it the ultimate goal of any firm to generate clients based on referrals, which do not cost a dime in advertising or marketing?  If you’ve answered  ‘yes’, then take the time  to utilize this powerful marketing tool right at your fingertips and begin to connect with clients in their own space.  Show them that you really do care what happens to their children, their 401k and the town in which they live by starting a newsletter and building relationships for true ROI (Return on Investment).

 

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: Get Your Law Firm on the First Page of Google with Google Maps

Do you want to explode your legal marketing efforts and show up on the first page of Google without the help of an SEO firm or an expensive Ad Words campaign?  Fortunately, that’s possible with the help of a separate search engine known as Google Maps.  Google Maps is a free, quick and easy way to ensure your law practice can be found by local clients by simply setting up an optimized account.

What is Google Maps, aka Local Search?

Local search is a special algorithm (or search method) that helps the searcher (or your potential client) find more relevant results closer to home.  The following screen shot of the search “divorce attorney, Moorestown, NJ” will illustrate what I mean by this:

google-local3

As you can see by the image, there are 10 law firms listed next to a map at the top of the page.  You’ll also notice these listings are well above firms that spend thousands of dollars a year on SEO and PPC campaigns for better search rankings.   This happened because the client “googled” a search term + a specific location or zip code and the local search engine kicked in to trump the regular search results.

As mentioned before, Google does this to provide more relevant results for those that look for goods and services in their immediate area.  If people weren’t searching this way, Google wouldn’t have created local search.  Therefore, by simply recognizing this trend and setting up an account, your firm can snag the best clients on a shoe-string marketing budget.

How to Get Your Law Practice Set Up on Google Maps

Setting up your law practice on Google Maps only requires 15 minutes of undivided attention and access to a few good videos or pictures to upload with your listing.  To get started, you’ll have to create an account with Google’s Local Business Center (www.google.com/local/add).   Fill out your personal information and follow the instructions given.  When you’ve successfully completed this step, you can then choose “add a new listing” on the following page.

From there, you will be taken to a screen asking for general business information and a brief description of the company.  Now, before you rush through and put a blanket statement such as “Florida family law practice” in the description, remember this is a search engine similar to regular Google search.  Therefore, you must use as much optimized content as possible if you want to show up above the other listings.  Going on the example above, a better way to set up your description would be, “ABC Company is a Florida (FL) family law firm specializing in divorce, wills, estates, prenups and child support cases”.

Get Personal and Showcase Your Firm

The next screen will bring you to a more personal page where you can add the firm’s hours or acceptable payment methods, in addition to pictures, YouTube videos and a personal message from the firm.  It’s important that you take the time to utilize each of these optional areas, as Google is essentially giving you the chance to add some personality to a generic listing. Similarly, it’s a known fact that seeing pictures of the building, the staff, or maybe a video of a key attorney saying a word or two about the firm can help a client overcome the fear of calling an attorney in the first place.

This page also gives you the opportunity to add 5-7 categories in which your business qualifies.  Start by typing in the words “lawyer” or “attorney” into the blank field and see what specific categories populate.  Then choose among the drop down list the categories that best describe your law practice.   Always be sure to utilize every category possible, as this too can determine when and how your firm is shown in the local search results.

Validate Your Listing

The final step in setting up Google Maps is to validate the listing.  The following screen will give two options on how to do this: 1) an automated system can call the main phone line ask for a password or 2) Google will mail a postcard within 2-3 weeks with a password to confirm the listing.  The second option will be necessary for those firms that bounce their calls to a switchboard or a pre-recorded message, as a live response must be given with the phone option.  But whichever option you choose, follow the instructions and confirm the listing to complete the set up process.

Congratulations! You Have Now Mastered Local Search

Now that you’ve mastered Google Maps, go ahead and try your hand with Yahoo and MSN local.  The larger your web presence is in this area, the more clients you will draw in for the firm.  And as a final warning, if the listing is not optimized correctly or your firm is entering a crowded industry, it may take some time before your listing shows up near the top of the map.  Remember, at the end of the day Google Maps is just another search engine, in which time and keyword popularity will always dictate who holds the top spot on the first 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.