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3 Creative Ways To Capture Leads At Live Speaking Events

A few months ago I had a strategy call with an attorney who was frustrated he didn’t have more business coming in the door. As I started to ask he questions about his current marketing efforts, I found out that he was doing speaking engagements almost every week! 

Stunned by this, my very first question was, “how are you staying in touch with the people you’re meeting at these events?” and “what are you doing to convert them into clients?” He told me that he typically passes out business cards and just waits for them to call. 

Ouch. 

When doing any kind of live speaking engagement, your primary goal (besides putting on a great presentation!) is to capture the contact information for as many people as you can in the room. 

Remember our trusty rule of 7? Capturing attendee’s information now gives you the opportunity to add them to your mailing list and communicate with them on a regular basis. 

In fact, when our private clients do speaking events, we have multi-step, automated follow-up sequences in place to ensure we are staying in touch with these warm leads and gently pushing them toward becoming a paying client. These sequences typically include an immediate post-event email, a letter and sometimes a personal phone call. 

Now remember, people will not just give you their name, email and phone number just because you ask. You may have to get a little creative in order to capture this valuable information. Here are 3 of our favorite ways to collect personal information without acting ike a used car salesman:

1. Do a raffle or prize giveaway- Make sure the prize or free giveaway that you are offering is something the particular audience you are speaking to wants. Examples might include tickets to a ball game, a certificate for a local restaurant, spa, etc. To enter, attendees must include their contact information on your registration form. Be sure to note on the form that they’ll also start receiving a complimentary subscription to your email newsletter as a bonus for registering. 

2. Offer bonus educational materials- Another great way to capture leads during events where you are not allowed to overtly promote yourself is to offer supplemental learning materials that you can “mail out” to attendees free of charge. This could include free guides, brochures, informational CDs etc. Examples might include a guide to securing VA benefits for a loved one or a CD on 7 things you should know before filing bankruptcy. Have an order form ready so that you can deliver the goods (and stay in touch with your leads!) after the event. 

3. Make a special offer for a free appointment with you- Many of our estate planning clients will offer a free, 2-hour planning session with anyone who fills out a questionnaire and qualifies during their live events. It helps them to book more initial consultations while simultaneously builds their internal database. If your practice area allows you to make a similar offering, bring your calendar and consider ways to capture names and book appointments on the spot. 

Finally, don’t forget to ask attendees to follow you on sites like Twitter and Facebook, as it’s another great way to stay in touch with warm leads! Make a plan to start collecting this information any way you can so you can stop leaving money on the table at live events!

 

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

3 Ways to Get More Love From Referral Partners

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

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

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

 

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

Are You Gathering The Right Data?

Pie ChartIf your serious about having a greater impact with your legal marketing, it’s time to start gathering the right data so you know what’s working and whether you’re on the right track.

To do this effectively, your receptionist should be asking every person who calls the office how they heard about you. Keep a record, either a spreadsheet or in a database, and document if they are coming from the internet, an advertisement, a particular referral source, the yellow pages, etc.

Many of us know this is important, but it’s a marketing task that easily falls by the wayside when the office gets busy or if you are a solo and doing much of the administrative work yourself. These numbers are critical though, so for the next 30 days, make a commitment to track all calls.

If you don’t have Google Analytics on your website, now would also be a great time to get that installed. You can set up an account and follow the directions to put the tracking code on your website here: http://www.google.com/analytics/ This will help you discover how many people are visiting your website so you can watch for improvements in the future.

Finally, I want you to start tracking your conversion rates. This is the percentage of prospects you are able to convert into paying clients each month. If you are only engaging a small percentage of the people inquiring about your services, this will help you to quickly identify a disconnect in your presentation or procedures in your office where potential clients are falling through the cracks.

You’ll get a birds eye view of where you might be leaving money on the table, and where the majority of your business is coming from so you can continue to nurture those sources. Be sure to discuss these numbers during your staff meetings.

So I encourage you not to go any further into the year without collecting these critical stats. You can’t improve your business if you don’t have an accurate baseline from the start. Put someone from your team to work on this and be sure to keep in touch with us if you have questions about any disconnects you immediately identify in 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.

What Attorneys Need To Know About Facebook’s Timeline For Pages


Meet the Rockstars

Laura Lee Sparks

Founder & CEO

Laura Lee founded Legal Marketing Maven in 2005 after 20 years of working with attorneys (both in house and virtually) as a solution for attorneys seeking to slash overhead expenses without sacrificing skilled marketing and practice management support.

 

After years of working with attorneys, organizations that support attorneys and personally being a member of many legal mastermind groups; she knew firsthand that what attorneys struggled with was not what to do but instead, it is finding the time or the staff to actually get it done.

 

Utilizing her 30+ years of experience, today LM2 employs an outstanding team of marketers, copywriters, designers, techs, and social media experts – most of whom have a legal background and/or studied the practice of law.

 

Their specialty is working with Estate and Elder law attorneys, creating educational, ethical marketing content and then getting it implemented in a variety of ways that drive leads, and most importantly builds and nurtures relationships both online and offline resulting in increased initial appointments and revenue.

 

To book a call to discuss your law firms marketing strategy & goals visit: www.CoffeeWithLauraLee.com

Amber Tardiff

Title

Laura Lee founded Legal Marketing Maven in 2005 after 20 years of working with attorneys (both in house and virtually) as a solution for attorneys seeking to slash overhead expenses without sacrificing skilled marketing and practice management support.

 

After years of working with attorneys, organizations that support attorneys and personally being a member of many legal mastermind groups; she knew firsthand that what attorneys struggled with was not what to do but instead, it is finding the time or the staff to actually get it done.

 

Utilizing her 30+ years of experience, today LM2 employs an outstanding team of marketers, copywriters, designers, techs, and social media experts – most of whom have a legal background and/or studied the practice of law.

 

Their specialty is working with Estate and Elder law attorneys, creating educational, ethical marketing content and then getting it implemented in a variety of ways that drive leads, and most importantly builds and nurtures relationships both online and offline resulting in increased initial appointments and revenue.

 

To book a call to discuss your law firms marketing strategy & goals visit: www.CoffeeWithLauraLee.com

Michelle Foster

Title

Laura Lee founded Legal Marketing Maven in 2005 after 20 years of working with attorneys (both in house and virtually) as a solution for attorneys seeking to slash overhead expenses without sacrificing skilled marketing and practice management support.

 

After years of working with attorneys, organizations that support attorneys and personally being a member of many legal mastermind groups; she knew firsthand that what attorneys struggled with was not what to do but instead, it is finding the time or the staff to actually get it done.

 

Utilizing her 30+ years of experience, today LM2 employs an outstanding team of marketers, copywriters, designers, techs, and social media experts – most of whom have a legal background and/or studied the practice of law.

 

Their specialty is working with Estate and Elder law attorneys, creating educational, ethical marketing content and then getting it implemented in a variety of ways that drive leads, and most importantly builds and nurtures relationships both online and offline resulting in increased initial appointments and revenue.

 

To book a call to discuss your law firms marketing strategy & goals visit: www.CoffeeWithLauraLee.com

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

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

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

5 Ways To Spark More Engagement With Your Email Newsletter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

Does the Rule of 7 Apply to Law Firm Marketing?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

Social Media for Lawyers: 4 Places To Find More LOCAL followers on Twitter

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We’ll Keep Your Entire Team Accountable and On Track in Our Inner Circle Group

Our Inner Circle is a private training and accountability group where you and your team will work with me (Laura Lee) and the LM2 team to tackle the marketing tasks in your firm that are likely going by the wayside. I’ll be teaching you new strategies, best practices, and will actually GUIDE the marketing and management of your law firm.

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How Do I Know I’m Targeting The Right Keywords For My Law Firm Website or Blog

keyword research Targeting the right keywords on your law firm website or blog is a critical step in attracting clients who are looking for legal services online.

But how do you know if you’re using the right ones?   How do you know that you are using the same language potential clients are typing into Google?

The only surefire way to tell is research.

Many times in the legal world there is a huge disconnect between how attorneys describe their services and what an average person would search for online.  For example, an estate planning attorney may call their services as such–but an average person unfamiliar with that term may simply look for an attorney who specializes in “wills and trusts”.

That’s why it’s so important to do the research and find out what your prospects are actually searching for.  Here are 3 easy ways for you to do this:

1. Ask Google- Google has a great keyword tool that you can use for free here.  Start by typing what you think someone would search for, so you can see just how accurate your hunch was.  Then check out the related keywords Google provides for a better understanding of how people are finding you in search.

2. Ask Your Family and Friends- Talk to people who aren’t familiar with the jargon and formalities of the law. Ask them to describe what you do and how they would search for you in Google if they needed your help.

3. “Spy” On Your Target Market- If you are a bankruptcy lawyer, check out online forums of people who have bankruptcy related questions and see what they are asking.  If you are a divorce attorney, spy out popular books on Amazon related to divorce and see what real people are saying in the comment section.  Pay close attention to the language they are using and how they are framing their questions so you can target them on your site.

So get researching and in the next article, we’ll tell you what to do with your top keywords once you’ve identified 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.

The Real Reason You Need a Blog For Your Law Firm


Our Clients Say the Nicest Things

Laura Lee and her team have been instrumental in helping me consistently put out quality and informative content on social media. I have worked with other companies and virtual marketers in the past, but have run into problems because they didn't understand my industry or brand. Laura Lee and her team took the time to better understand me and have helped me refine my messaging so that my brand resonates. What is most important to me is the value of the content which is above board. I am constantly getting great feedback on my presence and the helpfulness of the content. I also don't need to manage them, it's more like the other way around! They keep me on task for deadlines and help me to keep the marketing engine moving forward. Which was something else that was lacking with others I've worked with in the past. I wanted valuable content, brand awareness, and someone to make the process easy. They nailed it on all those marks and more! Plus, Laura Lee has so many great marketing resources available to her clients and earnestly cares about them. That in and of itself is invaluable.
Kevin S.
Attorney at Law
I hired Laura Lee as a virtual assistant for my solo law practice in Richmond, VA. Anything that I wanted to get done or implement in my law practice, she knew how to do for me. Her work was always outstanding and she became a trusted implementation manager and brainstorming partner.
Bob B. Attorney at Law
I have been using Laura Lee for the past couple years for legal marketing. She is an invaluable asset for any law firm, especially those entrepreneurial attorneys flying solo! She is caring and has a deep love for helping others - plus she keeps you on your toes to help you work to achieve your goals. I highly recommend Laura Lee for the small and solo law firms for marketing needs!
Maura C.
Attorney at Law
As a very busy solo practitioner I know the importance of making certain that "things" do not fall through the cracks. Laura and her team understood the importance of this as well. I retained Laura's services a few years ago to assist me in implementing processes and procedures for each type of client I assist. The methods she and I put together worked with my goals and the quality of service I wanted to maintain and provide my clients with. Laura made suggestions that I had not thought about and provided alternate (and honestly...better) methods to accomplish my end result. I have also used several of Laura's marketing campaigns and strategies. They were each written with the goal of educating the public and spotlighting the firm. And they worked! Without a doubt, I would recommend Laura with any type of Legal Marketing. She will grow your firm...you just need to listen and implement!
Sabrina W.
Attorney at Law

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

Law Firm Publicity Tips: 3 Things You Should Never Say In a Press Release or Media Pitch

ReportersWhen reaching out to your local media for coverage about your firm, there are 3 specific things you should NEVER say in your press release or media pitch.

Saying these things will almost always land your press release in the trash and alienate you from the particular publication or TV station you are trying to target in the future.

Here they are:

1. The word “publicity”. We all know that the point of reaching out to local media is to score free publicity for your firm, but if you actually say that in your press release or pitch, your story will never see the light of day.  You would be amazed how many lawyers craft pitch letters saying, “dear so and so, I am reaching out to you with hopes to secure media coverage or publicity about our firm”. FAIL.

2. Anything that resembles a blatant advertisement for your firm –  The media’s job is to run unique, interesting and timely stories for their audience, not just cover small businesses in the area, just because.  You should be pitching with this in mind and offering real story ideas or useful tips (i.e. 5 Ways to Avoid Financial Strain When Caring for Aging Parents or Getting Your Legal House In Order Before The New Year), and not just asking them to run a glorified advertisement about your practice (ex. Please cover why we are so great or what kind of results we get for our clients….).

3. “I’m really busy so please schedule an appointment with my secretary so we can talk further…”– Yes, you are busy, but so are producers and journalists.  If getting a hold of you for an interview is like pulling teeth, they will almost always move on to the next credible source.  So if you are serious about adding free publicity as part of your overall legal marketing strategy, don’t drop hints that you might be hard to work with or get a hold of in the future.

Know of any other “kryptonite” words or phrases that have backfired on lawyers in their media pitch or press release in the past?  Be sure to share your experiences in the comment 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.

How To Book Legal Speaking Engagements Without Making Cold Calls

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

Emergencies & Legal Marketing It All Boils Down To Systems

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What Is the Point of Social Media Anyway?

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

 

Addressing Some FAQ’s

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Pick Up the Phone and Follow Up

Legal Marketing Tip of the Week

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now what are you waiting for–get to it!

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