2 Devastating Mistakes That Will Kill Your Print Marketing
As you know, I am a big believer in using social media to advertise your law firm. Our clients have had significant results from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other channels. But, just like everything in life, it’s not a good idea to put all of your eggs in one basket. You need to use a wider range of advertising channels to stay competitive.
Print media is another important outlet and is still very relevant. Some attorneys, especially those just starting out, shy away from this lucrative advertising method because they fear the cost.
But, print media in the form of post-cards and ads in publications still work! However, you need to pay close attention to details when you are creating print media advertising. It is possible to completely waste your money on print if you make one (or both!) of these devastating mistakes.
Let me tell you about a recent experience that could have been very painful for an attorney that I know.
This attorney had all the right pieces for what could have been a fabulously successful print ad campaign.
- A beautifully designed ad that was going in a local publication that was targeted and would reach the exact prospects she was looking for.
- An amazing eBook that was filled with great content that her prospects needed.
- A really effective landing page that her prospects would use to request the report or a consultation.
- A great follow-up campaign that was sure to get appointments made.
When she asked me to take a look at the campaign, I had nothing but praise for the pieces of the campaign. Then I took the next step, the step that a lot of attorneys forget, and that is to go through the entire process.
By the process, I mean to go through the steps as if you were a prospect. Start at the ad and follow the steps.
If the prospects look at the ad, do they know what to do next? If so, GREAT! Continue your testing process by actually taking that next step, then the next step, all the way through all the pieces of the campaign: (type the url into the computer, call the phone number, read the follow up emails/letter, etc).
When I tested this process, I found two painful and potentially devastating mistakes.
- Typo in the URL
The ad was promoting the awesome eBook. I went to the page that was on the ad and successfully downloaded the eBook. So far so good! As I have already mentioned, the eBook content was great! At the end of the report there was a link on the PDF directing me to a page where I should have been able request a consultation. Guess what, the URL in the eBook was broken! It took me to a “Page Not Found”! Ugh! But, that was not the only problem.
- No contact information!
When I realized that the URL was broken, I then thought that there could be a way to save a potential prospect. Even though there are a lot of prospects that would give up there (remember – short attention spans!) maybe they would look through the eBook to find the contact information to make an appointment. Guess what? There was no contact information in the eBook! Most people download eBooks and read them later. There’s a small chance that someone might remember the law firm name, but that’s doubtful. Put your contact information on every piece of your marketing campaign!
Between these two devastating mistakes – this attorney would have gotten VERY FEW, if any, responses on that ad.
Luckily, this attorney was part of my Inner Circle and had asked me to review her campaign. We caught everything and corrected it before the ad hit mailboxes. But, because many people fail to test the process, this happens more than you might think. It may have already happened to you!
The moral of this story is to test, test, test! Have multiple people test every link, call every phone number, check every URL – you get the idea, before an ad hits the street. With all of the pieces in order and the process in place, you are going to see results.
Ad review is just one of the many benefits of our Inner Circle program, to learn more and take a 30 Day trial for only $1 – click here.
Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.