I’ve got a perfect gift for your “Valentine”
What your valentine (and the rest of your family) REALLY wants from you is TIME. Preferably quality time with you present and not distracted worrying about your business.
Laura Lee Sparks
Monday - Friday | 9am - 5pm Central
Laura Lee Sparks
What your valentine (and the rest of your family) REALLY wants from you is TIME. Preferably quality time with you present and not distracted worrying about your business.
Referrals are very valuable. If you aren’t actively and consistently taking action to give and receive them, do something now!
But, here’s a little tip that I wanted to share with you that many lawyers either don’t take the time to do or don’t think about-send handwritten notes.
I know that many think that handwritten notes are old school and that the primary form of communication is email. That is true, but handwritten notes will demonstrate to the recipient the value you place the relationship. It takes time and effort to write and mail a card, but you will be rewarded because it will place you higher in their minds than those that may, or may not, send an email.
In some cases, the low-technology and old school methods are the way to go!
Do you send hand written invitations and thank you notes to your referral sources? If not, why not? I’d love to hear from you so post a comment below and let’s chat!
We have a lot of little tips and techniques to help you market your estate and elder law practice. Sign up for our 21 Day Legal Marketing Bootcamp and we’ll deliver them daily right to your in-box!
Do you want to talk about other strategies to help you implement your marketing plan? Feel free to schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee to chat about your business. I promise you will come away with a good plan for turning your ideas in actions!
“Ack! My open rate is 25%!”
I’ve heard this a few times from lawyers who believe that they are shooting for a 100% open rate. The thing is, the open rate is not an accurate measure for determining how many people are reading your email or ezines. Here’s why:
Email programs are finicky!
There are some email programs that are not capable of displaying the HTML (the behind the scenes code that makes your email look good) and images. There are a few programs that only display straight text, and you really need nice looking, easy-to-read content. Even the email programs that allow HTML and images, gives the user the option to turn that feature off. So, if someone opens your email in text-only, the program does not count this as an open. Several email clients also have a preview pane option. Many people read through the preview feature so those would also not count toward the open rate.
Even the email development services will tell you not to expect high numbers. According to Mail Chimp, in the best case scenarios the open rate would be around 50%. When they measured open rate per industry, the found that the average open rate in the legal industry is 22%.
Once explained, we tend to hear something a bit different from our clients. Like this…
Oh boy! My open rate is 25%!
Almost the same words, but with a completely different attitude!
I’m not advocating for ignoring your open rate, just know that this isn’t an exact number and should be used as a guide. If you would like to learn how to get the best bang for your marketing buck, give us a call.
Did you know you can join our Inner Circle Accountability & Private Group Coaching Program for just $1.00? That’s it! Click here and you’ll see all that you get for 30 days!
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.
Our mission here at Legal Marketing Maven is to make law firm marketing easy, efficient and affordable. We do this by offering a wide range of services that will allow you to have access to professionally developed marketing that works. No matter what your budget is, we have something for you. But, there are a lot of things that you can do on your own that cost you nothing to catapult your law firm on the top of the heap of your competitors.
Here are a few very simple ideas for you:
Attend events in your community.
Business networking events are great, but the events that you attend don’t have to be situations where you sell. Attend community celebrations, fundraisers, religious events, the PTA at your child’s school, or any other gathering in your local area. The idea here is to be seen. People want to do business with people they are familiar with so give them the opportunity to get to know you.
Look for opportunities to teach.
You could offer free classes in your community or even serve as an adjunct professor in your local community college or university. Not only do you benefit from getting to know more people, you’ll also be in a position to demonstrate your expertise.
Remember that referrals go both ways.
You know how valuable referrals are to your law firm, right? They are also valuable to others so send referrals to other attorneys and other colleagues. Not only will you be doing a very nice thing for them, you are increasing the likelihood that you will get more from them.
Get to know your clients before you meet them.
Research your potential clients before they meet with you. You might want to pick the brain of the person who referred them or talk to others who may know them. You can even give Google a try. I’m not suggesting that you stalk them, but having an idea about who they are could go a long way in your first meeting.
Knock their socks off!
It probably doesn’t really need to be said because for most it is common sense but do a great job and provide great customer service to each and every client. This will set you up very nicely for repeat clients, but it will also help your reputation in your community.
Take advantage of social media.
There are just too many lawyers that fail to take advantage of social media. This is a big marketing miss. Unless you truly live off the grid, you must know that this is where people are communicating. Even if you aren’t using social media personally, you can still have a professional presence there. Social media can be used to attract new clients and to keep your past clients interested.
Regularly update your blog.
With so much information available on the internet people tend to turn to search engines for almost every purchasing decision they make. You should be the one who provides that information. You can attract the attention of a lot of potential clients simply by sharing your thoughts and providing basic information. Also, all that new content gives the search engines something to work with. T
Create a marketing plan.
Rather than aimlessly working your way through the year throwing money at this marketing agency or that ad publication, create a plan that allows you to more forward confidently and with much less risk. Not having a marketing plan is like constructing a building without blueprints. You might be able to muddle through, but you won’t be happy with the results. A strategic marketing plan allows you to understand the direction you want to go and determine the actions to take to get you there. Oh, and once you develop a marketing plan, don’t just sit it on a shelf. Use it! As they say, “Plan the work and work the plan.”
I understand that some of these things might not be easy for you to do. In particular, the more technical marketing things. That is why I created this “Keep it Consistent” program. In a nutshell, it is a very affordable service where we do all the heaving lifting to create your blogs, social media content and email newsletter – and, we even manage the implementation. If, while you were reading this blog, you thought, “Oh yeah, but who has the time!” you should take a look to see if this will work for you.
These are just a few of the things you can do to accelerate your marketing efforts. Do you want to talk about other strategies to help you implement your marketing plan? Feel free to schedule a time on my calendar for a no strings virtual cup of coffee to chat about your business. I promise you will come away with a good plan for turning your ideas in actions!
I am a big believer in the refocus and personal renewal the new year can bring. It’s that time of year when you can reset your path and chart a new course for the future. Although many people do this with enthusiasm as one year rolls to the next, the new direction and goals set in January are nothing but a distant memory by March for some.
But that doesn’t have to be the case for you! There are a few tips that I’d like to share with you that I use to stay the course with my New Year resolutions.
Writing things down does two things; first, it provides a visual reminder that is hard to ignore – especially if you keep them posted in a prominent location. Second, the act of writing helps set the intention. The physical act of writing helps solidify the goals in your heart and mind.
Here’s my process for writing my goals. First, I find a nice, quiet spot that helps me feel inspired. I love to grab my journal, wrap up in my favorite blanket and sit in front of my fireplace. It’s really cozy, but it’s also a place where I feel most inspired. I recommend that you find a location that makes you feel the same.
Once I am in my zone, I start writing. I normally have about 5 major goals that I choose to focus on for the year. You may choose to write more than 5 or fewer. Just find the goals that will take you to the place that you’ve envisioned to be by the end of the year.
Here’s where the resolution-keepers leave the resolution-breakers behind in the dust – make a real, step-by-step plan for reaching those goals. It’s not critical that you create your plans at the same time that you are writing your goals, but if you feel inspired to do so at that time, move ahead! However, it may be necessary for you to do research or enlist the help of a coach or technical expert to create a plan that will allow you to achieve the life you are dreaming of. If you do decide to do your plan later, give yourself a timeframe to get it done. Actually block time on your calendar to do your plan. Just whatever you do, do not allow too much time or you will lose steam and allow your daily grind to get in the way.
Each goal would be a different plan, so a good way to start with your plan is to put your goal at the top of the page and then brainstorm the steps. At this point, you may want to get the help I mentioned before. If so, find that help right away. Remember, while you are creating your plan, you will have specific tasks that you will need to do so make sure you capture everything you’ll need to do to reach that goal.
You will need to take steps to hold yourself accountable to the plans you created. A great way to do this is to add deadlines for each plan and every task. Again, your daily life will constantly whisper in your ear encouraging you to focus on what you are doing right now – the “same ole.” Don’t allow that to happen. Write these dates in your calendar and stick to them!
If you find it difficult to keep these critical appointments, you may want to get additional help keeping yourself accountable. Join a mastermind or coaching program where you will be encouraged when your plan is on schedule, or nagged when you are not. For some, that voice that whispers in your ears telling you to ignore your goals is more of a screaming banshee! I totally understand this! That is what makes accountability groups like our Inner Circle so valuable. I have been a member of several type of groups and they have taught me more about building a profitable company than all of the business books in Barnes and Nobles!
Sometimes, people who are building a business tend to move as fast and furious as possible and simply place a checkmark next to each goal they achieve. Take time to celebrate! Celebrate at many milestones along your journey. You find the right coaching group? Take your family for a nice dinner! You complete a task early? Allow time to get outside and enjoy nature, or to call a friend, or to sit with a café latte at your favorite coffee shop. What you do to reward yourself doesn’t really matter. Just make sure that you recognize and celebrate steps along your journey. This will not only allow you to celebrate the moment, it adds fuel to your burning fire that will take you to your goal.
Did you take time to refocus and concentrate on where you want to be on December 31? If not, why not? If you did, tell me how you are going to achieve those goals. Just respond to this post and let’s chat. Maybe we can share more tips and tricks for evolving our businesses and lives in this next year. After all, we both deserve it, right?
Is implementing a social and content strategy in your plan? If so, let us take care of your email marketing, content, and social media this year. Schedule a no-strings virtual cup of coffee with me, and let’s chat about how many hours we can save you each month.
We often come across law firms that are unintentionally throwing their money away using what we call “shotgun marketing.” Shotgun marketing works like this:
Two months go by, and then…
1 You look at your calendar for the next several months and discover that you have a LOT of time on your hands. Panic sets in.
2. You quickly throw together a marketing campaign…..
On and on and on it goes…
Shotgun marketing is very flawed. This feast and famine is no way to run a business. The good news is that there is an easy answer…
Consistency.
Your marketing needs to be consistent to keep the flow of new client appointments coming in. Keeping your pipeline full will increase your number of new clients. No more months of panic!
Here’s how to achieve consistency:
Many lawyers mistakenly believe that consistent marketing will take too much time and cost too much money. But, with advanced planning you’ll spend less time than you think and you’ll see a steady flow of billable work – no more periods of famine!
There you have it! You now know the secret sauce of marketing. Having a consistent marketing schedule really will change the way your law firm operates for the better. There will be less stress for you and more money flowing into your firm.
We have a select number of private clients for which we serve as their marketing department, as well as a “Done for You” marketing program where we send you professional and fully-tested marketing material automatically every month, ready for you to customize and execute. Schedule a no-strong virtual cup of coffee with me to talk over which of these programs is right for you!
Your logo is the most prominent visual for your brand. It should be simple, memorable, versatile and appropriate for your audience. If your logo doesn’t meet these criteria you might want to consider an update. There’s a great company that I recommend to lawyers who are just getting started and need a new logo, or those looking for a refresh. The company is 99designs and it is very affordable and offers a wide range of talented designers. Actually, there are a lot of great design agencies and independent designers that will be happy to work with you. Maybe you even know a talented designer.
But no matter who you work with, there are 5 things you’ll need from them after the design is final. Most lawyers aren’t graphic designers and don’t speak “design-speak” so I wanted to be sure that you know what to ask for.
Do you want to talk about other strategies to help you implement your marketing plan? Feel free to schedule a time on my calendar for a no strings virtual cup of coffee to chat about your business. I promise you will come away with a good plan for turning your ideas in actions!
Ramp Up Speaking Engagements to Promote Your Law Practice in Multiple Ways
It’s pretty common for lawyers to be advised to incorporate speaking engagements into their overall marketing strategies, and we don’t mind jumping on that bandwagon…because it works! A lawyer’s original goal in doing these types of talks might be to have someone from the audience come up and hire them on the spot, and while that does happen from time to time, it’s good to recognize that there are actually several other ways that speaking engagements benefit your practice and boost your marketing.
Building Your Reputation
If you’re doing it right and presenting good information, every speaking engagement you do helps put you in the position of “expert.” The more people who see you giving advice and insight on a particular topic, the more will recognize you as the go-to person for it. It’s not all for show, either. The more presentations you give on something, the more you actually do understand and become an expert. It’s a win-win situation that markets your law practice in a really positive way.
Cost Effective
Most of the time, the chance to do a speaking engagement costs you nothing other than the gas to get there and the time it takes to present. Heck, you might even get a free lunch out of the deal! There aren’t a lot of marketing methods for lawyers that are so incredibly cost effective.
Minimal Work
When an organization invites you to speak to its members, they generally do 90% of the work for you. They take care of scheduling. They set up the microphone and any other needed technology. They even bring you the audience! Your only real preparation is to put together a presentation that the audience will find valuable. Plus, once you’ve got your notes, slides, or other materials created, you can give the same presentation to many different audiences.
Opportunity for Further Marketing
When you leave the speaking engagement, the marketing doesn’t have to end. Instead, make sure that everyone who is interested is able to take some sort of branded material away from the event so that they know how to contact you if they need further information. This is also a great opportunity to follow through on one of a lawyer’s favorite marketing practices: offering a free consultation.
Finally, make sure everyone at the event has the opportunity to sign up for SOMETHING so you can continue reaching out to them long after the event is over. In my opinion this is the NUMBER ONE goal of speaking engagements and where I see the most mistakes made! Just because someone is not ready to hire you on the spot doesn’t mean that they (or their family members) won’t need your services in the future. But, if you don’t continue to “touch” these leads, they’ll find their way to someone else. I don’t care if you offer a free book, an exclusive free service or even just raffle off some hot sports tickets or a massage at a local spa, do whatever it takes to entice audience members to fork over their full contact info to you.
Speaking engagements represent some of the best free or low-cost marketing for law practices, and as you can see, there are a lot of benefits that stem from even a single presentation. Imagine how these compound when you make them a regular part of your firm’s marketing calendar.
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.
It’s good to be validated.
Not that we needed it, but it is a good thing to find a widely-respected publication affirm the very advice that you have been giving for years. That happened to us recently when the online publication Search Engine Watch published an article about the future holds for effective marketing.
In short, the article points out the fact that “being found” is much more than writing articles with the appropriate keywords and meta tags. It is about integrating SEO tactics into marketing. What this means is that it is simply not possible to focus heavily on one aspect of marketing and expect it to be effective.
This is not news to us at Legal Marketing Maven. Even back in the day when everyone else was pushing rankings, we recognized that this was just a small part of a commanding online presence. We recognized that marketing tactics should be looked at as holistic, integrated approach and not individual parts. It was with this idea that we developed our Done-For-You marketing program.
We recognized a long time ago that an effective marketing program only works if you include Branding, PR, and demonstration of thought leadership through articles, videos and social participation. We put a package together that allowed estate planning attorneys to easily implement this marketing strategy on their own and managed to keep the cost very low. That was 2 and ½ years ago.
Are we tooting our own horn here? Probably. But, sometimes when you are leading the pack you should let people know about it. In fact, we hope you are doing the same! Toot away!
Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.
Over the years we’ve worked with many lawyers who have easily spent 6 figures on coaching and mentoring services to get their law firms off the ground. A lot of these coaches are really great. The attorneys come away with a great understanding of what marketing needs to be done, yet they fail to see results. When we’ve worked with these attorneys and peeled back the layers we typically see the same disconnect.
The attorney doesn’t have a marketing problem; they have an IMPLEMENTATION problem.
What we’ve found is that the knowledge and strategies that they’ve paid 6-figures to learn isn’t being implemented because there is an expectation that everything they learned can be done in-house. We’ve identified 2 common reasons why this isn’t happening for them.
The good news is there are solutions to these issues. You can get the benefit of great attorney coaching programs and get things implemented. Here’s a little help.
1. Involve key team members in your coaching and training programs.
If you go to a marketing or practice management event, bring your staff! The extra cost will be well worth the benefit of having the team all on the same page and receiving the training that you have gone out of your way to receive. You can’t do it all yourself but you also can’t expect your staff to be mind readers or overnight gurus either…so bring them!
2. If you are a solo and don’t have staff, you must start blocking time to work ON your business and not just in it.
Having all of that knowledge in your head and doing it sporadically when you can find the time is not going to bring results. If you want your pipeline full, you need to set aside regular time to implement your marketing campaigns. Block off an hour to make phone calls and touch base with new referral sources. Set aside a Saturday morning to write your email newsletter and print newsletter for the month. If you don’t start intentionally making time for it, it will never happen.
3. Get a head start by getting help.
We created our Done-For-You program to get you over the barriers. We give attorneys and their teams a “head start” on creating their marketing each and every month. As much as you may hate marketing, it’s a necessary evil and has to get done if you want new business. With a program like DFY, you don’t have to worry anymore about more starting from scratch and expecting your team to be marketing gurus and wasting hours that should be better used servicing your clients. We create the campaigns, have everything designed by a professional designer, write the blog posts, do the newsletter so all you are doing is editing and making tweaks where you see fit. It’s easy for you and easy for your team, and it is affordable! Take a look.
If you’ve felt frustrated by the lack of clients coming in the door, don’t blame your coach or mentor. Just take the necessary steps to turn all of the terrific training into
reality and make it happen!
Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.
The big news in the tech world today is Facebook’s unveiling of a new, “smarter” search engine known as “Graph Search”.
This tool would seek to effectively rival Google, as users will receive more personalized results based on the interactions of people already in their social circles. Here’s a great description of how it works from Mashable:
The search improvements involve the ability to ask questions in regular English, such as “which of my friends live in New York?” The search is now intelligent enough to rank your friends based on how much interaction you’ve had — so that closer friends will appear higher up the results list.
It can also search based on stories or photos you’ve Liked. One example Zuckerberg offered: the site can now display which of his friends have Liked the HBO show Game of Thrones. You can search for people who Like multiple products or services, which seems likely to be a bonanza for marketers.
And for those search queries that can not simply be answered by looking at the recommendations and “likes” of close family and friends, the graph search will default to a web-based search powered by none other than Google’s rival, Bing.
SO the big question in all of this is what do these changes mean for your law firm, SEO plan and current social media strategies?
Graph search was not intended to replace Google as a “traditional search engine” for web based results, but there is a very good chance that this “social” search engine will cut into a decent chunk of Google’s pie. As we’ve seen with the integration online reviews and the popularity of sites such as Yelp, people are interested to hear honest feedback about local businesses from neighbors and friends before they make a buying decision.
As far as SEO, the writing has been on the wall for years now that social media would one day have a greater impact on SEO and search results. Social sharing is already a factor that affects Google’s algorithm, and with Graph Search on the horizon, users may no longer have to turn to Google at all to find a local professional. Again, from Mashable:
Facebook’s Graph Search isn’t just for looking up your old buddies and potential new friends, it’s also designed for Business Pages.
The company gave the example of a search for “sushi restaurants that my friends have been to in Los Angeles” and “TV shows my friends like.” Though these are largely organic results rather than paid ads (“There are no new ad formats available today,” Facebook noted on its marketer-friendly Facebook Studio blog), Sponsored Stories will show up in searches as will Sponsored Results.
Overall rankings will be based on top search suggestions including people, Pages, apps, places, groups and suggested searches. The results are also based on data shared by a business and connections of the person searching. In the blog post, Facebook urged business owners to “Continue to invest in your Page” by making sure it’s up-to-date. That means updating addresses to show up in local searches and cultivate “the right fans.”
http://mashable.com/2013/01/15/facebooks-graph-search-businesses/
Essentially, if you have been late to the social media marketing game for your law firm, now is a really smart time to jump in and get ahead of the curve (…and ahead of your competition!). If people are going to be searching for legal services based on the recommendations of those in their network, you want to do everything in your power to get “liked” and show up on that list!
Here are a few action steps to ensure that happens:
If you need help with this, our team at Legal Marketing Maven is available to get you up and running with an amazing Facebook fan page before these changes take place.
Our Fan Page set up for attorneys in any practice area is a one-time fee of $250, which includes a professionally designed cover image reflective of your branding and the values of your firm. Prices on Facebook ad management and fan base growth vary depending on the length of the duration and campaign, so just “email us” to inquire of those services.
And of course, don’t forget to check with your local bar regarding any ethics rules that pertain to social media marketing—ESPECIALLY if you are going to have staff members contributing to, or updating your page!
I’m interested to see how this plays out. Millions of people are already on Facebook, so I can see this new search engine being something that sticks. Regardless, you still need to be there. Follow the tips I outlined above and get started this week!
Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.
In most professional fields, people seem to equate the word “marketing” with “magic”. Maybe you’ve unknowingly done it in your practice, too. You create a marketing plan, hire the appropriate staff members, run some campaigns and nothing happens.
Sound familiar?
I know the frustration of this from personal experience. Typically around the second or third month of working with a new client, this becomes the topic of our private coaching calls. They express concern that their phone is not ringing off the hook, no one seems to notice what they are doing and it feels like their money is getting wasted in the process.
They are striving for magic, not momentum.
After effectively talking them off the ledge, I’m able to teach them how REAL, relationship-based marketing works. Typically it’s front-end loaded, requiring a small investment of time to lay a foundation in which you are REGULARLY reaching out to prospects and potential referral sources in the community.
It’s a further understanding that you can’t just swipe a cold mailing list of financial advisors or CPA’s from the Internet, mail to them one time and expect business like crazy. Instead, it’s recognizing the Rule of 7 at play and making a plan to constantly stay in touch.
And, especially when it comes to internet marketing, it’s understanding that the website you spent ZERO time marketing in the past will not show up on page one of Google just because you posted a blog or two.
You have to do these things consistently, usually over a period of a few months before you can accurately gage results!
So back to my coaching calls. Once I’m able to help the client see that business relationships and momentum are not built overnight (much like relationships in real life!), it never fails that within the next 30-60 days I’m getting emails from the SAME EXACT CLIENTS like this:
“I don’t know what happened but the largest nursing home in my
community just called. Said they’ve seen my name all over the
place and I was also mentioned by someone on staff. They’ve
invited me to speak to their residents. I had two similar calls this week for smaller speaking engagements. I’ve had zero invites prior to this”.“I’m finally starting to get calls from my website and ranking all over the place. And not just waste of time calls before, but these are actually quality cases. Amazing how this works”
“We engaged a very lucrative client today. She inquired about our services a year ago but put it on the backburner. I started sending my newsletter and after reading it for the past two months, she knew she had to come in and get everything taken care of. She thanked us for the push…but I should probably be thanking you for the same”.
I encourage you to take a cold, honest look at your marketing expectations today. Are you expecting magic or are you realistically focused on building momentum and long-term relationships?
It’s wise to expect some form of ROI (return on investments) but make sure you are allowing the proper timeframe for that to happen. Just like you probably wouldn’t agree to marry someone after the first date, you also need to allow for proper “courtship” and “wooing” before a client is willing to fork over $5,000-$10,000 on your services.
Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.
One nice thing about attending the Planning for the Generations Symposium last month was the ability to sit down with attorneys and have in-depth conversations about what they felt was…or was not working in terms of driving new business to their law firm.
By far, the biggest area of disappointment we heard had to do with their law firm website.
Most told us they had spent big money to have a site designed, but it wasn’t driving leads. This was especially frustrating for attorneys who did not own their websites, but were hosted with big companies which charge hefty monthly fees to maintain and keep the site live.
At the very least, they just wanted to see their website cover the costs of maintenance–but they were certain the site wasn’t even generating that much.
Finding the Disconnect
Whenever a client tells us their website isn’t bringing in new business, our first job is to identify the disconnect. Here are some of the questions we ask:
Collecting The Data
Until you figure out the answer to the questions above, you can’t really come up with a solid plan to increase the effectiveness of your website. Here are a few things to set up and start tracking to help you get to the bottom of these issues:
These are just a few steps we take when undergoing website analysis for a client. If you’re unhappy with the results of your website, I encourage you to do a little “tech CSI” and seek to uncover the answers to some of these questions. Your findings may make a huge difference in the business you are able to generate from your website and marketing efforts this year.
Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.
One 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.
If 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.
Regular speaking engagements are a key piece of any good legal marketing strategy. The more you can get out and educate 
the 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.
A monthly newsletter from a law firm is more than fluff; rather, a newsletter is a way to engage and communicate with your clients to create trust, relationships and eventually referrals down the road. If you already have a monthly newsletter and aren’t reaping the fruit listed above, chances are the publication needs some help.
The key to understanding what makes up a good newsletter is to understand why you need one in the first place. To keep things simple, a newsletter gives the people of the firm a chance to showcase their personalities and expertise. By writing a small article each month, lawyers can personally show prospective clients that they are not “ambulance chasers” or just another name in the phonebook, but rather a public servant that really cares about his or her clients.
Oddly enough, most firms I encounter think publishing a list of recent verdicts and settlements, attorney bios or summaries of high profile court decisions constitutes a newsletter. But think about it- what exactly does that information do for your clients? Nothing if you ask me. The majority of people signed up (or thinking of signing up with the firm) don’t care about the latest decision out of the 9th Circuit, nor do they care to see pictures of you and your buddies golfing while they are heartbroken and going through a bitter divorce or custody battle. Similarly, the art of just throwing words on a page to take up space shows the client that you value appearances and the “look” of engagement more than the actual issues affecting their lives.
But, if you connect with clients where they are by using stories, tips, answers to frequently asked questions and things they can relate to, they will feel directly engaged with you and the firm. This is so important when you think about the way clients call and want to speak with you on a monthly or weekly basis just to know you are “still there”. You probably don’t have the time to take these calls, which irritates the client, but all they are looking for is that assurance that you care about their case and what happens to them. The newsletter, then, can be used as a broad platform to explain that you really do care, while answering those burning questions that new clients may have.
If you still aren’t quite sure how to build relationships and trust through a newsletter, check out the December issue from the Ben Glass Law Firm. Notice how the firm starts with an educational piece about something that matters to their clients, namely how chiropractors are scamming PI victims and impacting their bottom line at settlement. Then notice how they publically answer letters and recognize local business people to keep that level of trust and involvement going. They touch on topics that affect and confuse average people, such as disability insurance and the fine print behind rebates and other consumer topics. The information is 100% client focused rather than being a soapbox for “the big, fancy rich lawyers that can’t relate to me anyway.”
And this gesture of building relationships goes along way. Word of mouth is clearly one of the cheapest forms of marketing, but the returns are astronomical. Learn how to make word of mouth marketing work for you and you’ll be in business forever. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see how a satisfied client that felt engaged and kept in the loop through the legal process will refer friends and family for life. Similarly, a happy client will go out of their way to speak to someone that was hurt, or involved in a custody dispute or looking to draft a will to give out your number and pre-sell that person on your services.
Realistically though, isn’t it the ultimate goal of any firm to generate clients based on referrals, which do not cost a dime in advertising or marketing? If you’ve answered ‘yes’, then take the time to utilize this powerful marketing tool right at your fingertips and begin to connect with clients in their own space. Show them that you really do care what happens to their children, their 401k and the town in which they live by starting a newsletter and building relationships for true ROI (Return on Investment).
Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.