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Networking for Dummies…and Lawyers

Networking is really all about developing new relationships and opportunities. That seems simple enough, right? Well, some lawyers are really great at it. Others….not so much.

id-10032685You are building a law firm. You are doing that by seeking out potential clients and converting them into paying clients. If you have been connected to me for any length of time, you know that I frequently share ideas for doing that. I speak a lot about referral marketing because word-of-mouth is probably the most effective way to get clients. We have several plug-and-play referral marketing campaigns from which to choose to obtain referrals from professional acquaintances, colleagues and friends and family. But, another great way to get referrals is to attend networking events. Networking events are really great because all you need to do is show up. No pre-work necessary. But there is a process that you should follow so that you spend your time at networking events wisely.

  1. Engage

This is no time to be shy! Constantly look for people to speak to and when you have their attention, make sure they have yours as well. Keep the conversation going by asking questions about their business and then listen carefully to the answers. Resist the urge to look at your phone! Be sure to pass out your business cards and gather ones from people you’d like to continue getting to know.

  1. Share

Generosity gets you everywhere. There are many ways to show your generosity. You could offer to give presentations or speak to civic groups, let them know about the free reports you have to offer that teaches them the basics of your area of practice, and even doll out a little free advice if warranted. Beyond sharing your knowledge, you should share opportunities. Look for opportunities for your networking colleagues to provide their services to you and others you know. The “give” part of give-and-take is important and will go a long way in cementing solid business relationships.

  1. Follow-up

As you probably know, following up with your potential clients is a really effective way to turn them into paying clients. You also need to follow up with your networking colleagues. Send them a card or call them immediately after the event and let them know you enjoyed meeting with them and suggest that you meet again over coffee or lunch. You would be surprised how well people respond to gestures like this.

Once you have made a solid connection, you should start to see referrals come in. But remember this; relationships go both ways, be sure to send referrals to them as well.

Many lawyers understand and can easily do number one above, but you’d be surprised at how many don’t do the next two. Networking is a process just like everything else. Follow this process and let me know how it goes. I love hearing networking success stories!

If you want to discover the basics of legal marketing join our FREE 21 Day Legal Marketing Bootcamp.  Click here to join now!

 

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.

Using Project Management Systems in Your Law Firm

Legal project management systems can be a great way to increase efficiency in your law firm, which leads to more clients and more revenue. Introducing project management strategies to evaluate your practice, identify strengths and weakness, and implement a plan for strategic growth may be one of the best investments you could make in your law firm. But as with any practice management change, you’ll have to get buy-in from your staff. Here are 5 tips for presenting legal project management to your staff in order to get the best outcome possible:

Guidance

Let’s face it, even if your staff needs help in becoming more efficient, it doesn’t mean that they’re completely incompetent – in fact, no one knows how your law firm works better than your staff. That’s why any project management approach should not be about teaching your staff things they already know, but more about guiding them to the path of more efficient outcomes. Acknowledge that your staff is aware of the basic tenets of project management, and explain that you’re merely putting their knowledge and experience into a more structured and streamlined approach in order to become more efficient and effective.

Simplicity is Key

Don’t try to achieve grand goals all at once, or take up copious amounts of work time on training sessions. Instead, focus on the simple aspects of the practice that you can turn around and make more efficient through proper project management. In fact, in order to get better buy-in from your staff with this approach, you should come to your staff and ask them what they need help with or what processes they’d like to see improved.

Concentrate on One Thing at a Time

As stated before, simplicity is key. That means you should focus on improving just one process at a time when engaging in project management in your law firm. This way your entire staff can focus on improving one aspect of the firm without losing track and getting caught up with other projects. Once this pattern sets in, your staff will become more efficient at identifying issues and – more importantly – discovering effective solutions.

Follow Up

Track your staff’s progress and follow up with them so your project management strategies don’t fall through the cracks. It’s very easy for new initiatives to fall by the wayside, especially when there is a glut of day-to-day work to contend with, but it’s important to stay on track in order for your law firm to grow.

Discuss and Debate

The most valuable information you’ll receive during the project management process is the feedback from your staff. Allow them the opportunity to discuss and debate the effectiveness of their undertakings and learn from what they’re saying. However, it’s extremely important to make sure that discussions and debates have a positive focus and that the end goal is about improving your law firm – there should never be a discussion or debate that ends without a resolution.

Would you like to learn more about implementing project management strategies in your law firm or discuss how we can save you time on your marketing? Schedule a no-strings virtual cup of coffee so we can discuss how you can become more efficient and gain staff buy-in!

High Employee Turnover Could Be Crippling Your Practice

Constantly having to replace employees who quit is a huge drain on your time, money, and patience. Training team members only to have them leave within a year can be painful and demoralizing, and your practice will suffer because of it. Below are some things to think about if you want to keep your employees happy and reduce turnover:

Compensation: The Be-All End-All?

When asked, most employees say that compensation is the most important factor when staying at job. And it is – but it’s not the only factor. Make sure you’re paying your employees a decent wage for the type of work they’re doing, and compare the wages you pay with what your colleagues pay their employees. If you notice that you’re paying much less than everyone else, you might want to consider upping your pay scale before your employees become their employees. But like I said, money isn’t the only factor. I’ve heard stories about plenty of employees who were making decent money at their law firm jobs, but left because they just couldn’t deal with the stress, felt like they had no work-life balance, or didn’t get any additional benefits like flexible PTO. Find out what’s important to your employees (besides money) and do your best to provide it. You can only work within reason, but it will mean a lot to your employees if you go the extra mile trying to provide them with a good workplace environment.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

Don’t wait for the exit interview to ask employees why they’re leaving; instead, conduct interviews with current employees to ask them why they’re staying, what might motivate them to stay longer, and what might make them leave. You’ll get valuable information on your strengths and weaknesses as an employer, and you’ll be getting it straight from the people who it applies to. Most importantly though, you need to act on this information where possible, because in a year from now, it could be the difference between a stay interview and an exit interview.

It’s the Little Things

Small gestures of kindness can go a long way for your employees. Does it seem like one of them is having a bad day? Take a couple minutes to ask how you can help or even just give some encouraging words. Do your employees come in early or stay late consistently in order to keep your firm running smoothly? Buy them lunch or dinner to let them you know you appreciate it. You never know how much a tiny gesture will mean to someone, so it’s a good idea to always be aware of what’s going on and how you can help, even in the smallest of ways.

If you have more questions about lowering turnover in your office or you are interested in implementing some of the strategies listed above, please feel free to schedule a no-strings virtual cup of coffee. We can also talk over how we can help you save time on your marketing. 

Staff: Your Most Valuable Law Firm Asset

Thank you lettering with watercolor spots on background. Modern typography. Thank you colorful greeting card calligraphy design.

When a lawyer thinks about his or her law firm’s most valuable asset, the answer should always be the staff. These are the people that run the office day-to-day, that interact with clients the most, and that are responsible for putting forth the best representation of your law firm possible. That’s why it’s so important to avoid the typical pitfalls of any business with employees, such as high turnover and the constant cycle of training that accompanies it, employee burnout, and low morale.

All of those issues could have a huge detrimental effect on your law firm and your bottom line. Think about it:

  • Your receptionist is a potential client’s first point of contact with your firm. If he or she doesn’t present the firm in a positive light, chances are you’ve just lost out on a new client.
  • Your paralegals and assistants are responsible for the day-to-day work of keeping your clients happy and working behind the scenes to make sure the clients are taken care of, for example by communicating with banks to ensure trusts are properly funded or by working with the courts to make sure filings are in the proper order. These staff members need to be engaged and happy, as burnout can take its toll on them.
  • The entire staff represents your firm, from the receptionist in the front to the bookkeeper in the back. Morale needs to be high and staff members need to be happy, otherwise it will reflect poorly on your law firm.

There are many ways to keep your staff happy, engaged, and working at their peak capacity, including competitive wages and benefits, special perks, and an atmosphere that’s conducive for teamwork. But it all boils down to one main key factor: respect. A staff that feels respected is a staff that will do the best work possible. If staff members feel that attorneys, whether they’re senior partners or junior associates, don’t have an adequate level of respect for them, it won’t be long until the quality of work begins to slide and the flow of clients starts drying up.

That’s not to say that all staff problems exist solely because of attorneys and a lack of respect. Sometimes, a staff member just may not be a good fit for a particular law firm. But it’s important to examine any possible reason why there’s a problem with the staff and, if possible, address it accordingly.

Are you experiencing any issues with your staff? Have you noticed a change in attitude of any of your employees? Or are you interested in learning some of the ways to keep your staff engaged at work and presenting your law firm in the most positive light possible? Then please feel free to schedule a call so we can discuss some ways to utilize your most valuable asset! We can even discuss how we can lighten your load by helping you save time on your marketing. Win-Win!

The Joy of Delegating

The Joy of Delegating

No one needs to tell you – lawyers are busy people, especially if they run their own practice. Sometimes, they’re so busy running their practice, they don’t get to spend too much time doing what they got into law to begin with: helping people achieve the best outcomes possible and providing peace of mind that their affairs are in order. And that’s where delegating comes in.

Building a confident, cohesive team that you can depend on to run your law office while you focus on helping your clients will put you on the path to success. In order to do that, though, you need to learn which tasks you can delegate and choose the right people for the job. Here are some of the key tasks you’ll want to delegate in order to build that successful law firm you’ve always dreamt of:

Accounting

One of the most important tasks to delegate in a law firm is accounting. Why? Because that’s how you get paid! I don’t know how many lawyers I’ve spoken to who are constantly seeing clients, but their cash flow just doesn’t reflect that fact. Managing invoices, accounts payable, trustee accounts, and payroll is a huge task – especially on top of all the legal work that comes along with being a lawyer. Hire a bookkeeper – full-time, part-time, or even virtual –and you may see an increase in your finances and, just as important, a decrease in your stress levels.

Phone Calls and Paper Work

How much of your day is spent taking phone calls or filling out paperwork? A competent administrative assistant can definitely help in this regard. You need someone who can handle difficult phone calls, answer a wide range of questions (and also know when not to answer a question), and take care of the mountain of paper work that comes with running a law office. If you’re running your office on a budget, consider hiring a virtual receptionist to pick up the phone for you.

Intakes

Separating the good potential clients from the bad can be a time-consuming process, and one that requires a person skilled at intakes. You don’t want to bring in every person who calls – you’ll spend all your time in initial consultations that never go anywhere. And obviously, you can’t be TOO picky otherwise you’d never see any clients. A good intake specialist can make or break your business, so fill this role carefully.

HR

You went to law school to become a lawyer, not a manager. Let someone else handle employee disputes, vacation requests, and all the other little day-to-day things that keep you from focusing on the practice law. Give them enough input so they know how you want your firm to run, then let them have at it!

If you want to talk more about delegating tasks in your law office and freeing up your valuable time, along with how we can save you time on your marketing, then schedule a no-strings virtual cup of coffee with me and let’s chat about how many hours we can save you each month.

5 Ways Law Firms Waste Money

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“You have to spend money to make money.” That’s a well-known saying and there’s a lot of truth to it.  I’ve worked with law firms for MANY years and I see these same 5 mistakes over and over. All of these mistakes start out as good intentions, but the good intentions never make it through to full implementation which results in a losing investment. The list is shared with you to help you avoid, or correct, your good intentions gone wrong.

1. Hire a great receptionist, but never train him to close the deal

You place ads or hire recruiters to find the best candidates. You take your valuable time reading resumes and interviewing them. You bring the best candidate on-board paying a competitive salary and benefits. Good job! You did all of the right things. But, if you fail to train him to “close the deal” with prospects who call your office, you might as well toss all of that money and time spent out of the window! Your receptionist, or whoever answers your phone, should be fully trained to be able to talk to prospects and convince them to make an appointment with you. Make sure that this person understands your ideal client’s pain points and can describe how you can help them. Good customer service is great, but being able to talk about your services and persuade them to make an appointment is invaluable.

2. Not following up on workshops, seminars or presentations

This one really causes me pain. I know that workshops and presentations take a lot of time and effort. Finding the presentation and workshop opportunities, advertising the event, the costs of the workshop such as food or hand-outs, not to mention the time it takes for you to prepare, is really expensive! So many lawyers bring a list of names back to the office and hope they’ll call the office and make appointments. You stopped short of what you need to do to get the best bang for your buck. It is critical that you follow-up with these people. They are obviously interested in your services or they wouldn’t have taken their time to attend your event. For whatever reason, many people will still drag their feet about calling your office to schedule a time to see you. You need to properly finish this process with a well thought out follow up plan. You might schedule a series of calls or you might choose to follow up via email or snail mail. Or better yet, do both!

3. Not using CRM properly

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems can be pricey. Make sure that you are taking full advantage of your system. It’s easy to use CRM for contact management, but you need to use the powerful tools many of them have that can automate your practice management activities as well as your follow up activities. Setting up a CRM and the automated systems takes time, but you really aren’t getting your money’s worth if you invest in one and don’t take the time to use it to its fullest extent.

4. Advertising with brochure ads

Advertising takes money. You need to spend money on a designer who will create your ad and then the fees of the publication to place the ad. Advertising can reap great rewards, but only if you have a fully developed strategy. Many law firms pay big bucks to place ads, but the ads are just all wrong. If you have an ad that only provides your name, contact information and a list of services you provide, you are wasting your money. Before you do anything else, develop your marketing strategy and make sure it includes non-threatening ways for them to take another step toward you. For example, you could create a free report and offer that through your ad. They are more likely to go to your website and download a report than to call your office right after seeing the ad. When they download the free report, make sure to collect their email address and other contact information so that you can follow up with them.

5. Learn tips and not implement

With the power of the internet, you now have scads of great law firm marketing tips at your fingertips. If you follow this blog, you know that I provide tons of tips and tricks that you can easily implement. If you haven’t already, sign up for our 21-Day Marketing Bootcamp and you’ll see what I mean. But, don’t just stop at reading – implement!  Take steps, even small ones, every day to grow or tweak your marketing. Don’t just learn it, DO it!

If you would like to learn more about legal marketing AND be held accountable for taking those consistent steps to implement, check out our Inner Circle Accountability and Private Group Coaching Program. In fact, here is a coupon that will discount the month fee to $97 – just enter SAVE at check out.Our group is lively and fun and best of all, I will hold you and your team accountable each month to achieve consistent and measurable growth. This is the perfect group for you if you need help and encouragement to get things going and keep them going.

How far would YOU go on a first date? (yes, seriously)

First DateThere are a lot of ways for law firms to get marketing wrong. But, there is one critical mistake that law firms make that makes me a little crazy. When I see it, I get that same feeling that you get when someone rakes their nails on a chalkboard. I call it the “premature marriage proposal.” It’s like meeting someone for the first time, not knowing if you are good for them or if they are good for you, and just blurting out, “Will you marry me?”

Let me explain…

Take a look at a few attorney ads and you’ll see what I mean. Most attorney ads are really brochures. They are filled with phrases like “We do this,” and “We do that.” Then, in big bold letters at the bottom they say, “Give me a call TODAY!”

News flash most prospects….they aren’t going to.

To most people, calling a lawyer’s office is scary. It takes a lot before someone is willing to call the office and schedule an appointment. They aren’t going to schedule an appointment just because you told them to.  They need to know more about you and how you can help them before they take the step of coming into your office.

Advertising is expensive! Be sure that you do it right. Before you throw your money away on brochure ads, stop and think about your strategy first, then develop baby-steps that will guide your prospects to your front door.

Here’s an example:

You decide your strategy is to target motorcycle drivers who’ve been injured due to negligent drivers. The trick is to give them a step that is easy and less intimidating than coming into the office. Address their pain points. Answer the questions you know they have. They may be wondering, “Do I have a case?” or “Should I call my insurance company first?” or any number of things. Speak to them about these things by offering a free, downloadable report. Explain the pros and cons of their choice so they understand it really is in their best interest to work with you.  You should also be ready if they still need more encouragement by developing a follow-up sequence that provides even more information – easily done with an automated email follow-up sequence.

I challenge you to take a look at any ads you are running right now and to put yourself in a position of being someone who really doesn’t want to see you. I know that sounds strange, but with this mindset you can determine if you are jumping to the marriage proposal too soon.  If so, take a step back and think more about the courtship. Woo your clients rather than demand. You are spending too much money to not make sure that you are in the best position to convert prospects to clients!

If you would like to learn more about “wooing” prospects, sign up for our free 21-day Day Legal Marketing Bootcamp. It’s filled with ideas about how to reach your clients in a multitude of ways and concrete steps to take to produce results.

[Marketing Idea] Law Firm Sponsored Scholarship Contest – A Win-Win!

 

Spring flowers in mountain valley.
Spring flowers in mountain valley.

It is still early in the year and many of you are still dealing with ice and snow, but now is the time to think about spring! In the spring, you’ll see a flurry of activity around high school graduations. Families are focusing on their young adults’ impending graduation and it is the time when the “rubber hits the road” for parents regarding paying for college. That would be a great time to jump in and offer some help to parents in the form of a scholarship. Scholarship winners will benefit by the added boost of funds and you’ll benefit by the positive exposure you’ll receive in your community.

Creating your scholarship opportunity doesn’t have to be hard or time-consuming, but you should get started now. (Before your competition beats you to it!) Here is what you need to do:

Develop the guidelines

You’ll need to decide what criteria you’ll use to select the winning students. We’ve done this with our clients and we find that asking each applicant to write an essay is ideal. You should pick a topic that is something people care about and is relevant to your practice. For example, if you are a personal injury lawyer you could ask students to write about how losing a young person to drunk driving impacts the community. (Sadly, almost every community has at least one of these stories.) If you are a business attorney, you could gear your scholarship towards business students asking them to explain how their knowledge of business has helped them overcome a personal challenge. The sky is the limit when it comes to the topic of the essay.

Contact the schools

Once you have the criteria set, you need to reach out to your local high schools to let them know about the scholarship. We’ve had great luck with sending a letter to high school principals and counselors. Be sure to include the criteria and let them know that you would be happy to attend their senior awards ceremony to announce the winner personally. (Extra exposure!) Once you have sent the letter, be sure to plan a follow-up series of phone calls. In many cases it won’t be necessary to call them because they’ll call you back immediately. Most schools look for as many scholarship opportunities as possible! But, high school principals and counselors are very busy people so you may need to follow up by phone. You could do this personally or you could delegate that to someone in your office. Just be sure that you do follow up. This will increase your chances tremendously!

Promote the opportunity

You’ll find that scholarship opportunities spread quickly among the high school senior community. You can extend this even further by offering to pay for an ad in their high school paper (generally, very inexpensive!) and you can publish the scholarship opportunity on your website and social media channels.

And the winner is…

One of the benefits of your scholarship is that it is open to everyone. The student doesn’t have to be the best athlete or musician or even the best student. This opens the door for students who might not otherwise be eligible for other scholarships. And, even though you may offer scholarships as low as $500, this could make a tremendous difference to them. You can rest assured that you are making a positive impact while you are increasing your presence in your community. It’s really a win-win.

This is just one of the law firm marketing methods we brainstorm with the attorneys in our Law Firm Marketing Inner Circle and Accountability group. If you’d like to join this group and get more easy-to-implement marketing ideas directly from people who already had success with them – join us today.

 

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.

Here’s an idea for you next blog post (SUPER EASY)

774748_10206635104010926_2063704206746737390_oClients find you online. Period. The days of skimming the yellow pages for an attorney are gone. You know this. But, being online means a lot more than just having a website. It means writing and sending e-newsletters, engaging social media and online advertising. Improving your social media presence is a topic that comes up quite frequently in the LM2 Inner Circle. The lawyers in the group and I talk about different online marketing tactics – what’s worked and what hasn’t. One of the tactics that find to be the most successful is blogging.

There are many reasons why blogging for lawyers works so well. One of the top reasons is to improve your search engine optimization (SEO). People need to be able to find you when they search for your services on Google. Regular consistent blogging with using quality keywords will help optimize your website and then improve your chances of Google listing you at the top of the list. Many people know this and simply write with this in mind. This means they stuff their blog posts with keywords like “drunk driving arrest” or “business litigation” and write with the search engines in mind. This is a mistake. The search engines might get your potential clients attention, but it is your content that will keep them.

The lawyers that are truly successful with online marketing know that their blogs should be an educational resource that serves a need in their community. They write for clients, not search engines. They provide information that helps them with their problems. By doing so, they are seen as leaders in their practice areas and it demonstrates that you care about them since you are answering their most burning questions.

Writing blog posts doesn’t have to be daunting. Just think of the most common questions that you get and schedule an hour each week to write a post – 250 to 300 words will be just fine. You might even be able to write 2 blog posts in that hour. At minimum, get 4 new articles per month on your blog. That 1 hour per week will return big dividends!

Blogging is just one of the topics I cover in the 21-Day Legal Marketing Bootcamp. Sign up today for this free course where you’ll get one easily digestible marketing lesson on creating and implementing the most effective online legal marketing 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.

A Resolution You Can’t Afford To Break

 

2016 goals - New Year resolution concept - isolated text in vintage letterpress wood type printing blocks on a laptop screen with a cup of coffee

With 2016 just around the corner, many of us are thinking about our New Year’s resolution. Well, about 45% of us are making them according to statistics. If you are like most Americans, getting fit and healthy is at the top of that resolution list. However, the number of people who managed to stay focused is infinitesimal. In fact, 1 in 3 will ditch that vow by the end of January. The top reasons that people give for this is being “too busy” but most likely they weren’t committed to their goals in the first place.

Even with this abysmal track record, we encourage you to make a resolution. Resolve to get your marketing organized and consistent. You may not need a resolution if your marketing is already consistent and it bringing a steady flow of clients to your door. So, three of you can stop reading this article right now.

Now, for the rest of us…

You simply must get your marketing system in place. Don’t fall into that trap of doing a bit of marketing, getting a few clients in your pipeline, and then ignoring marketing again because you are busy with client work. This up and down is no way to live – and certainly no way to run a successful law firm.

I get it. The thought of developing a marketing plan for the year is overwhelming. Okay then, set quarterly, monthly, or even daily goals. How about this resolution, “I will touch base with one potential referral source every business Monday.” Doable, right?

Breaking an overwhelming project down into smaller chunks makes anything doable. Deciding that you will write one blog article per week, can be done right? A quick 250 to 500 work article about how you can solve a client’s pain point should be simple for you.

The hardest part may be getting started. Sit down with a calendar and plot out assignments that can be carried out to you or an assistant. Here are a few ideas:

  • Phone/follow-up with previous clients
  • Contact potential referral sources and offer to talk to their organization members
  • Set up social media channels for your law firm and post to them regularly
  • Make a list of media sources (local magazines and newspapers and TV stations) and offer to write an article or speak to their audience

Once you have a plan, be sure to follow it! Wherever possible, delegate, delegate, delegate!! You don’t have to do it all. Consistency really is the key to keeping a steady flow of clients.

You may not keep that resolution to lose 5 pounds, but you really should keep the promise you made to yourself – your law firm is depending on you!

 

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

Will New Ad Blocker Trends Affect Your Law Firm?

Are you one of the many lawyers running online Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaigns to try and boost business for your law firm? If so, you’ll want to take a second and read this article to learn more about ad blocking, which is a trend that’s changing the landscape of digital marketing.

Ad blocking is a way to basically tune out pop-ups, banners, and other intrusive ads that can ruin your web browsing experience. Ad Block Plus is the most popular ad blocking plug-in, as it can be downloaded for free right from their website. In fact, Ad Block Plus claims it is the most popular web browser extension in the world. However, Ad Block Plus has been shown to be a bit overzealous when it comes to which ads the extension blocks: Google AdWords, Facebook ads, and Twitter ads have all been affected. Thus, if you’re currently spending money on any of these PPC campaigns, you may be at risk of not reaching your target audience and, depending on the specifics of your campaign, you may be charged for ads that no one is even seeing.

So what can be done to combat this new trend? As of this writing, advertisers and developers are working on ways to make ads un-intrusive by focusing a better user experience and creating ads that are less bulky and do not take up a lot of bandwidth, since these issues were the the whole reason ad blocking software was developed. AdBlock Plus is also working with Google and Twitter to find a solution to this issue, though whatever solution is reached will likely cost those companies extra money – and that cost will presumably be transferred to you, the ad buyer. However, none of these solutions are imminent, meaning some extra steps need to be taken in regards to your law firm’s digital marketing strategy.

While PPC marketing can get your law firm to the top of Google searches through paid means, there’s a very good chance potential clients will not see your ads. Instead, a marketing strategy that relies on content and SEO rich blogs will help your law firm rank higher on search engines and will be visible to your specific audience. Organic searches are not affected by ad blockers, and the content you offer will be beneficial to your audience, who may then share it with others who may be in need of your services. Blogs, YouTube videos, and ebooks are just some of the many marketing materials you can use to get around the ad blocking trend.

 

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.

No time to write a book? I have a 25+ e-book you can give to clients/prospects ASAP!

You’ve likely heard time and time again how important it is to have a print book or downloadable e-book when marketing your estate or elder law practice.

Of course it positions you as an authority, looks great in the eyes of professional partners and always perks up the ears of the media.

But… if you’re like most lawyers I know, there’s just ZERO time in your life get something meaningful typed out and into print.

Even writing an e-book can be a challenge…and you may feel that because the content requires a ton of legal expertise, its not something that you can easily delegate to your team for the sake of “saving time.”

Well if you are struggling in this area, I want you to know that the LM2 TEAM has the legal background you are looking for and we have an awesome selection of e-books that are available to the lawyers we work with!

Just this month, we released our 25 + page Caregiver Guide.   Not only is it professionally written and graphically designed, but we also give you EVERYTHING you need to market your new “book,” including:

  • Landing page copy for your website—so people can download your new book easily online in exchange for giving you their full contact info;
  • Follow up email copy, which is designed to “drip out” to people who request your book to entice them to come into the office for an appointment;
  • Letters/ emails to people and organizations that serve caregivers in your community—letting them know about your services and offering the book for National Caregiver’s Month (November).

This is one of my FAVORITE campaigns we’ve ever created and its received rave reviews from every client that we’ve given it to so far!

That’s because the book itself is written in such a way to not only support the needs of caregivers, but to show them just how much easier their job/life can be when they have a great estate planning attorney on their side.  Essentially, the book sells YOU in a non-pushy and empowering way.

Because I have been a caregiver for most of my adult life and feel this campaign is so critically important to get out into the local communities, I am making the FULL package available for $695 just until the end of the week. 

You do not have to join our monthly program and I will give you all of the pieces a la carte.

Just so you have a point of reference, the cost of having the e-book alone designed by a high-end graphic designer in an EDITABLE file (like we are providing you so that you can customize the material as you see fit!) is WELL OVER the cost of this entire campaign.  That doesn’t factor in the copywriting, editing and marketing support!

This is a labor of love for me and the materials have COST ME lot more to create than it will cost you to get the campaign live on your website and implemented in your practice. Don’t miss the chance to snag everything at such a discounted price.

If you would like to get started, contact me and let me know.  If your area is available (we don’t work with competitors), I will then email you back the link where you can download all of the campaign pieces.  Easy peasy!

P.S. If you would like to talk about some of the other e-book campaigns we have available on many topics related to estate planning and elder law, schedule a no-strings virtual cup of coffee with me. I’d love to talk over how we can help with your marketing!

Boost The Effectiveness of Your Legal Marketing by Leading With “What’s In It For Me”

A common complaint I hear from attorneys is that they are diligently DOING marketing, or what they believe to be great marketing, and they are just not seeing any significant results or ROI from their efforts.

As someone who managed law firms for 20 + years, I understand how frustrating this can be.  When you have employees to pay, expenses to take care of, and oh, let’s not forget about your own paycheck too, having the phone fail to ring…and worse, throwing a ton of money at something that is not bringing in any results can really hurt and sting.

I want to keep this article realistic and admit upfront that not every campaign you run will work, and you should be prepared for a few misses here and there.  For example, what is working for other firms may not work for you because your demographic is different, it’s not a practice area you feel totally comfortable with and so on.

But when you are CONSTANTLY missing the mark on your marketing goals, that is a huge problem.  And I’d venture to say that 99% of the time when I review marketing that isn’t working, it’s not the medium that’s wrong, it’s the MESSAGE.  The attorneys are simply failing to lead with a powerful principle known as “What’s In It For Me” in their letters to referral sources, print ad campaigns, networking attempts and so forth.

In order to be great at crafting an effective marketing message, you have to learn how to uncover and tap into the unspoken desires of your target market so that you are able to hit their deepest pain points and offer solutions to what matters most TO THEM.

Think about the marketing that YOU respond to.  Think about the invitations to host collaborative events that YOU jump at the chance to participate in.  You usually don’t have to wade through a ton of B.S. before you find out how YOU can benefit.   Go even deeper and think about what exactly it is that is driving you in each situation. Maybe it’s:

  • An opportunity to get in front of an untapped audience of potential clients
  • Free media exposure
  • A chance to network with really great potential referral sources
  • You have the chance to get something at a great discount or for free
  • You can take advantage of education opportunities that will make you more money down the road
  • … etc.

Marketing that compels and incites action will not only hint around at these selfish desires, but will position the company or person crafting the advertising as the answer to the problems you face.

Let me give you a recent example.  A client showed me a letter that she crafted to go out to senior organizations to have her come in and speak about Veterans Benefits Planning.  In the letter, she simply introduced herself, came out strongly with some information on her expertise (she IS a noted leader in her field, but that message just got lost in the mix), and included a few bullet points on what she could teach on.

The message was ignored by everyone she sent it to.  Why?  Because it was all about HER and failed to explain what was in it for THE FACILITY DIRECTORS to take on the time and expense of hosting a workshop and having her come in to speak.

When I got her on the phone, I started working with her to drill down deeper on WHY having her in to speak would be beneficial for THEM.   Turns out, many of the seniors in her area are unable to move into facilities because they don’t yet qualify for Medicaid, or all of the Medicaid beds are full and the seniors just don’t have enough money to private pay.  They are simply hanging out on waitlists until their financial situation changes.

The pain point for the facility then would be getting these people OFF the waitlist so that they can fill their non-Medicaid beds and bring in more income.  They are, after all, a business too.

We redrafted the letter to lead with this key point… that by teaching on VA Benefits Planning, our attorney would be able to help those who are on the waitlist, who also happen to be wartime veterans, begin to collect additional income through the VA so that they have a better chance of private paying to receive the care they need.  Win for the senior and WIN for the facility!

So, was the letter effective? You bet.  She had calls from directors right away to meet for lunch and talk further about her proposal.

I hope you can see the difference in how these two letters were framed.   One led with why she was so special and her expertise while the other lead with why having her in would make good financial sense for the FACILITY and their seniors on the waitlist.

As you create your marketing, be sure to go back and look it over with the “What’s In It For Me” principle in mind.  Are you addressing your target audience’s needs, wants and desires… or are you simply concerned about your own?

A few simple shifts in this area can uplevel your marketing dramatically.  Give it a try and track your results.  Please also feel free to send me some of your materials if you are in need of an honest critique.

 

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.

Yelp Is a Powerful Tool When It Comes to Lawyer Marketing

Yelp is a web site that allows consumers to rate businesses, and its influence is undeniable when it comes to marketing your law practice. When a potential client is choosing an attorney, there’s a pretty good chance he or she will check their reviews on Yelp before deciding. In fact, according to the Managing Editor of Software Advice, Yelp is the site that the majority of those surveyed turned to first when looking for attorney reviews. That means that you want to leverage the site as a means for getting new business in the door.

Lawyer marketing has always relied on word-of-mouth and referrals. A great thing about Yelp is that it provides both in one place. Not only that, but the consumer only has to leave a review once, and it remains there to influence decisions for anyone who is looking for a lawyer. Rather than asking friends for referrals and hoping for the best, consumers are now much more likely to hop online and see what perfect strangers have to say. The kicker, though, is that research shows that 79% of consumers trust these online reviews just as much as they do personal recommendations!

There are dedicated lawyer review sites out there, and while it’s certainly not a bad idea to have reviews posted on them, they should probably be a lower priority in your lawyer marketing plan than Yelp. That’s because many, many more people will turn to Yelp when searching for a lawyer to represent them. The site has a lot of name recognition and is highly trusted by those who use it.

It’s possible that your clients are already reviewing you on Yelp, so you will likely want to take a look to see what’s being said. This can be hard, as bad reviews can hurt the ego, but it’s still necessary to know if they are out there. If nothing else, it will give you an idea of what improvements you may need to make. You may also be able to respond to negative reviews in positive ways to take some of the sting out of them. (A word of warning: Do NOT become defensive or combative on these sites. It never works out to the business owner’s advantage!)

The best way to get good reviews is to ask for them. This should become a basic part of your legal marketing plan. When finishing up with a client, let them know how much you would appreciate a positive review on Yelp. Even if there are some negative ones on there, a large number of positive reviews will raise your average rating and will make it clear that complaints are the exception, not the rule.

It’s easy to think of “social media” as being all about Facebook, but the truth is that there are so many other platforms for individuals to share their thoughts, ideas, knowledge, and recommendations. Yelp is a pretty powerful tool for doing just that.

 

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

The Perfect Welcome Email to Send to EVERY New Client!

One of the greatest frustrations clients have with their lawyers centers around the issue of communication.  Many people lament that they never hear from their attorney until it’s time to write another check.  Even if that’s not really the case, the “perception” of such can quickly make a client standoffish… always questioning your time and your motives.

Who wants that as the start of a business relationship?  At the same time, you don’t have the time to “chat” or answer questions all day.  And really, it’s equally frustrating that clients would EXPECT that of you.

What’s the attorney to do?

Well, I’ll tell you a super easy way to cause your new clients to “stand down” and put away their negative ammo… attitudes (particularly the bad ones):

Start sending the PERFECT welcome email when someone engages your firm.

Sounds simple, right?  In reality, it is.

Within 24 hours of a client coming in to meet with you, there needs to be at least one email that goes out, from the ATTORNEY, that personally welcomes the client to your practice and sets positive expectations up front.   Here are a few points you may want to cover:

·  Your gratitude for the client choosing you as an attorney.  You realize it’s not an easy decision to make and you look forward to earning their trust.

·  An introduction to EVERYONE on the team who may have a hand in their matter.   This is your chance to EDIFY EDIFY EDIFY your team members and let your clients know they are in wonderful, capable hands.  Let them know that the team will be responsible for keeping in touch with the client regularly and answering any questions they may have so that the client is NOT resentful if every call does not come from you, the lawyer.

·  Clearly walk them through how to proceed if they have a question and what to expect.  Each office has their own unique processes and nuances, so let them know how yours works.

·  Provide the client with links to any helpful articles, blogs or materials that they can be reading to learn more about the legal journey they are embarking on.  It will help them to feel more apart of the “team” and the overall process.

·  If you have a newsletter or email newsletter, let them know exactly when they can expect to hear from you (ex. Until we meet again in the office, I’ll be communicating with you bi-weekly via my newsletter.  I’ll be sending you helpful tips that I think you can benefit from, and you will have the opportunity to reply over email if you have any questions.”)

Truth is, it doesn’t take much to make the lawyer-client relationship a less adversarial one.  Simple little gestures, like sending the perfect welcome email, will work wonders in showing your clients that you are different from all of the rest.

If you don’t have a great welcome email in place, sit down this afternoon and draft one.  Give the copy to your assistant and ask him or her to ensure it goes out from an email address with your name on it after every client comes into meet with you.  The results will be immediate and you’ll significantly cut down on client drama in your practice!

 

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.

Think twice before setting up a “review station” in your firm!

I talked to an attorney this week who wanted to get some more reviews posted online from happy clients following the completion of their legal services.

He was thinking about setting up a “Review Station” in the firm where clients could spend a few minutes at one of 5 dedicated computers he would set up in the office and leave feedback about their attorneys before leaving.  He felt this would get around the issue of clients forgetting to review the firm when they got home… and that the reviews would be mostly favorable because he was “striking while the iron was hot” when clients were pleased with their service.

While in theory the idea of having a review station or a few dedicated iPads in the office for reviews is a great plan, it’s just not doable.  Why? You run the risk of not getting your reviews published, or worse, your entire account shut down.

The idea of “Review Stations” is nothing new to Google.  One business owner recently wrote the following post in the “help” section online:

“We work really hard at doing the right things with our customers and in doing so we feel we earn the right to ask for them to review us on Google Places.  As of 2 weeks ago our reviews stopped showing up.  We offer the use of our computers to make it convenient for the customer to write a review.  Are we being penalized for having reviews come from the same IP address?  We do business with thousands of people every month, so it is not unreasonable to have a very small percentage actually leave us excellent reviews.”

The Google team had a swift response to why reviews may not be showing up anymore:

There have been a lot of questions about reviews lately in the forum, and we wanted to address some of the more common ones.

1. Where did my reviews go?

Edit, December 12: Please note that the Review content policy now states that business owners or employees should not review their own businesses. We also discourage review stations or kiosks set up at your business location that are solely for soliciting reviews.

The same information is also found on the Review Guidelines for Google Plus.  The “conflict of interest” subheading specifically mentions Review Stations again by name:

  • Conflict of interest: Reviews are most valuable when they are honest and unbiased. If you own or work at a place, please don’t review your own business or employer. Don’t offer or accept money, products, or services to write reviews for a business or to write negative reviews about a competitor. If you’re a business owner, don’t set up review stations or kiosks at your place of business just to ask for reviews written at your place of business.

Sites like Yelp are even STRICTER about soliciting for online reviews.  They discourage the mere act of ASKING for reviews.  You can read more about that HERE.

Policies such as these have been put in place to stop folks from gaming the system.  A recent study shows that 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as they would a personal recommendation.  It is important for the Googles and Yelps of the world to put safeguards in place to help ensure people are only reading accurate and unbiased reviews of the companies they are investigating.

So, what’s a business owner to do?  How can you get more reviews without getting in trouble?

1.     Don’t think you can get around this.   It can be tempting to think you can “trick” the system and Google, Yelp, etc. would never know.  Reviews are tracked by IP addresses, so if multiple reviews are coming from one computer, there is a chance that all of your great reviews will suddenly disappear or your account will get shut down all together.  I have seen this happen!  Don’t take the chance, it’s not worth it!

2.     Make it easy as possible for people who ARE willing to leave you a review on their own time.   We make sure to put icons to review sites such as Google + and Yelp on one central page on our clients’ websites.  There is nothing wrong with telling people that you have a page where it’s really easy to leave their feedback with one click of a button.  When it’s easy to do and minimally time consuming, clients are more apt to take the time to help you.

3.     Keep an eye on your profiles.  While it may take you time to gather a bunch of great organic reviews, one bad review from a cranky client or prospect can really tarnish your online marketing efforts.  Take the time to watch out for such posts and respond whenever possible so that other people reading the review can see that you addressed the situation and that perhaps the reviewer was just a bad egg!

As long as you keep within the Terms of Service, online reviews are definitely something you WANT and need.  Again, it’s no secret that prospects often read such reviews before making a buying decision, so the more great ones you have, the better!  Just be sure to ask for them in an ethical way to protect your accounts and the integrity of your 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.

[News] Helping Clients Take Advantage of Facebook’s New “Legacy Contact” Feature

As our lives become increasingly digital, more and more of the assets we accumulate are based in technology or created online.

Estate planning attorneys have the important job of educating their clients on how to handle “digital assets” in the event of a person’s death or incapacity, and then helping the client document such wishes in a will or trust.  Whether it’s an email account, blog, collection of domain names, hosting accounts, apps, ebooks, etc., a good estate planning attorney can help ensure that only a person the account owner trusts can access and maintain digital assets in their absence.

One area of digital asset planning that has received a lot of attention lately is the management of one’s Facebook profile page.  Until recently, loved ones of the deceased only had two choices: 1) Keep the wall public so everyone could continue to post messages and thoughts on the wall or 2) request to have the page “memorialized,” which meant the profile was no longer searchable or visible to those who were not already friends of the individual.

What Facebook did not allow to happen was for someone to manage the profile in the owner’s place.  Without explicitly having the password (and the permission to use it!), loved ones could not accept new friend requests, pin important information about memorial services to the top of the profile or update pictures.

That’s all changed this week, though, with the roll out of Facebook’s Legacy Contact feature.  Facebook users now have the opportunity to choose a “legacy contact,” either a family member or a friend, whom they want to manage their account when they pass away.  Or, they can let Facebook know that they want their account deleted immediately upon their passing.

From Facebook’s Newsroom:

Today we’re introducing a new feature that lets people choose a legacy contact—a family member or friend who can manage their account when they pass away. Once someone lets us know that a person has passed away, we will memorialize the account and the legacy contact will be able to:

  • Write a post to display at the top of the memorialized Timeline (for example, to announce a memorial service or share a special message)
  • Respond to new friend requests from family members and friends who were not yet connected on Facebook
  • Update the profile picture and cover photo

If someone chooses, they may give their legacy contact permission to download an archive of the photos, posts and profile information they shared on Facebook. Other settings will remain the same as before the account was memorialized. The legacy contact will not be able to log in as the person who passed away or see that person’s private messages.

Alternatively, people can let us know if they’d prefer to have their Facebook account permanently deleted after death.

As your clients plan for the handling of their digital assets after death, the Facebook Legacy Contact Feature is an important tool to mention during the process.  By simply logging into their account and following the directions below, they can easily make their wishes for their Facebook account known.

How do you feel about the creation of Facebook’s new “Legacy Contact” feature?  Will you take advantage of the opportunity to name a contact and share this information with your clients?  Sound off why, or why not, in the comments 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.

I Stink at Marketing My Law Practice—Now What?

A trash can full of smelly garbage. Not really sure why he is smiling, but he is!

The weather couldn’t be prettier down here in the Florida Panhandle this time of year.  I’ve been enjoying some beautiful weather here at the beach soaking up some much needed sunshine after battling the flu for weeks!

If you get a chance to come down to the Panhandle be sure to let me know so we can meet up!

It is October now, and I hope that the marketing plans you made for your firm in January are rolled out and implemented full steam ahead.  Because 2017 is right around the corner.  You should have been reaching out to organizations about speaking opportunities, setting up coffee dates with key referral sources, or making fabulous offers for prospective clients if you’ve dropped the ball.

However, that window of opportunity in 2016 is closing fast, so strike while the iron is hot!  Even seemingly small connections can turn into bigger and more lucrative opportunities down the road.  Just a few months ago, we had a heck of a time getting a client into a well-known organization to speak to a group of HIGHLY targeted prospects.  So…we put our marketing hats on and got creative. We thought, “How can we get in the door just in time for the New Year?”

Here’s a big secret: When you get stuck, always approach things from the perspective of “What’s In It For THEM.”  Shift your mindset!

So, with 2017 approaching, we gave another call back and explained how much we love what the organization is doing and wanted to support them financially to help meet THEIR goals.  We were basically making a sponsorship donation.  And, as we had hoped (and planned for), the small donation FINALLY cracked the door open for the coveted speaking opportunity that other law firms in town would kill to have!

Even if you think you stink at marketing, there are so many ways to get the visibility for your firm that you want and deserve.  Sometimes you just have to think outside the box. My feature article below has some pointers for you…

I Stink at Marketing My Law Practice—Now What?

Not every lawyer has a gift for marketing a law practice.  On the other hand, pretty much every law practice depends upon marketing.  It can be a very difficult dilemma, indeed!  So, for those who don’t feel like they’ve got what it takes when it comes to marketing, what’s the answer?

Actually, there are a few good options.  Being a less-than-skilled marketer doesn’t need to spell doom for your law practice, rather it means that you need to dig deeper to uncover what will work for you.

Go With Your Strengths

If you’re reading this, then it’s probably because you already know the importance of marketing your law practice.  You’ve probably also noticed that there seems to be no shortage of ways to do just that.  But, it’s quite likely that you don’t feel comfortable with all of the possibilities.  For example, if you’re someone who doesn’t like speaking in front of a crowd, we could tell you all day how beneficial it is to give presentations without you deciding to give it a try.  It’s just not your thing!  On the other hand, you might be hugely charismatic in one-on-one situations.  If you also happen to like to eat, then you might just have hit on an area of marketing in which you excel: the lunch meeting!

  • I never want to cold call someone, but I love writing = direct mail
  • I have tons of info to share but no desire to do a seminar = blogging
  • I want to reach out to others, but I don’t have time to go in-depth = social media

Take the time to analyze your strengths and then build on those for an authentic and results-oriented way to market your law practice.

Educate Yourself

Maybe you don’t know a ton about marketing a business, but it sure does look like fun to you!  In that case, why not take a marketing class at a local college or even take a course online.  Nothing quite beats the enthusiasm that goes along with implementing new ideas, and classes are a great way to gain exposure to those ideas.

If a class doesn’t seem like it would work for you, you might also consider hiring a business coach.  This person will get to know your specific business, along with your personality, in order to make suggestions for strong methods to market your law practice.

Hire a Pro

Let’s face it.  Not every lawyer has an interest in marketing his or her firm.  With few exceptions, it’s just not typically why someone goes to law school.  If you’ve determined that you don’t enjoy marketing and/or that you’re just not getting good results from your efforts, it might be time to bring in the big guns.  Hiring a professional, especially one with a proven track record of marketing lawyers, can actually be the best course of action.  Not only does it free up the lawyer’s time to do Lawyer Stuff, but it can also save a fair amount of money in the long run by avoiding newbie mistakes and giving your legal marketing a more professional appearance.

So if you want to do this at no risk (well, actually for $1.00 to kick you off) click here to learn more about our Inner Circle Accountability & Private Group Coaching Program! What do you have to lose besides getting the phone to ring and revenue?

 

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.

 

 

[SWIPE] Our Best Email Subject Lines of 2014

I love January.  A New Year always brings new opportunities to review the inner-workings of our businesses and see how we can proactively make changes, or improve upon things that are already working for the year ahead.

This week I’m actually battling walking pneumonia (BOO!), so in between rest and loads of chicken soup, I decided to dig in and take a peek back at our top performing email subject lines of 2014.

Email marketing is such a HUGE part of our business and a huge part of our attorneys’ businesses, as well.  Whether it’s sending out weekly email newsletters, promotional emails for legal workshops or upcoming events or persuading referral sources to send new business and collaborate, email marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to communicate with the prospects and clients of your firm.

But, please don’t be fooled.  Just because email makes direct response marketing more cost-effective and accessible, doesn’t mean that it’s EASY.  If your communications are constantly getting filtered into junk, or worse, no one is opening your messages, it’s a huge waste of your time and effort.

I always say that there’s a fine art to getting an email open and read, and it’s something we really focus in on here at Legal Marketing Maven.   And, once the email is opened, it’s a whole ‘nother animal to get people to respond and take action.

If you’ve sent out email communications in the past and felt ignored or that your efforts produced little to no response, I’d challenge you to go back and review the content of what you sent out.

Start with the subject lines.  Here are a few tips to get your readers to open up:

Make it personal:  If a prospect believes the email is coming personally from you, they are more likely to open it and respond.  Ex:  Can we talk for a second, <insert name>?

Create a little mystery:  Be purposely vague or intriguing with a subject line to entice readers to open and learn more.  Ex.  We announced the overhaul of a client’s new website with the subject line: “I got a facelift!”  Imagine the clicks!

Use numbers:  People like numbered lists and steps.  Examples include, “5 Ways to Avoid Probate” or “6 Mistakes To Avoid When Choosing An Attorney.”

Shed a little light on your personal life.  Readers are nosy and want to know what’s happening with YOU behind the scenes. Give them a peek at your life outside of the law.

Get to the point:  Let them know upfront if there is an invitation or gift inside that requires their attention.  Ex.  I have a gift for you… open quick!

The other piece of advice I would offer you is to make sure that you are including a CLEAR call to action in your emails.  Are you TELLING the reader what you want them to do?  Are you letting the reader know HOW you want them to respond?

Many times we’ll help our attorneys spark communication with their readers by clearly asking for responses or suggestions about a whole host of topics that simply catch people by surprise, humanize the attorney and open up the lines to chat.  Try it in your own mailings.  For example, ask clients for their top suggestions of places to vacation within a two hour drive, or favorite local spots to buy art or discounted furniture for the office.  You may be shocked when your inbox fills up with responses and the occasional…”oh by the way, I’d like to come in and get your help with something.” I promise, this REALLY works!

And, if we want the reader to take fast action on something, we ASK.   There’s no beating around the bush.  The call to action is clear, concise and easy to act upon.

Remember that when it comes to email marketing, and marketing in general, a confused mind always says “no.” If it’s not clear what you are promoting or what you want the client to do, your emails will get deleted or lost in the shuffle.  Be sure to have a CLEAR call to action in every communication that you send.

I hope you find these tips helpful and that you are able to use some of these suggestions to craft more effective email marketing campaigns this year.   And, feel free to swipe some of our top performing subject lines from 2014.  You can see how they easily fall into the guidelines and tips I gave you above:

My facelift  (Note: This was the launch of a new website)

I’m moving, AGAIN + Info on our scholarship opportunity!

Thanks (insert name)

My naked mermaid saga

Hey… I need your help with something real quick

How Did We Get So Much Stuff?!

With Thanks

A tribute to my young client killed in a horrific crash

Saying goodbye to my old love  (NOTE: this was about a purchase of a new car)

I can’t stop laughing at this (truly) + a new workshop for you!

A friendly reminder for you… + my epic mom FAIL moment

See you this month?

Thanks for the pics + heads up for these warning signs!

Have a great week!

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.

Holy Excuses!

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

I Have Enough Work

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

I’m a Lawyer, Not a Marketer

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

I Don’t Know How to Market My Law Firm

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

I Feel Uncomfortable Marketing to People I Know

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

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

 

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