Archives for October 2007

More free traffic to your blawg: BlogRush Phase 2

October 31, 2007 by
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Internet empresario John Reese, announced today that Blogrush, designed to help bloggers generate free, targeted traffic to their blog, has entered phase 2. (I announced the arrival of Blogrush, here.)

You’ve seen the Blogrush widget on this blog, and others, for the last month or so. The widget displays posts from other related blogs, providing visitors with a convenient method of finding other relevant blogs. My posts have appeared in the widget on other law-related blogs; posts from other blogs have appeared on mine. The result: free, targeted referral traffic to my web site.

Thanks, John!

Because my blog is new and I don’t yet have a lot of traffic, Blogrush gives me free "bonus credits". This gives me extra impressions, which bring extra traffic. Thanks again!

In Phase 1, The Attorney Marketing Center has been listed in the "law and legal" category. On Friday, Reese says the company will unveil new categories. I’m hoping to see vertical market categories for lawyers and others interested in marketing legal servicees. I sent an email to the Blogrush team today, and suggested some representative key words: attorney marketing, lawyer marketing, law firm marketing, legal marketing, marketing legal services. I could live with a category that includes law office management and marketing, but the more specific the categories, the more targeted the traffic.

Blogrush is free. If you have a blog, go watch the movie and see how Blogrush can bring you free traffic.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Web traffic

Building a law practice from the inside out

October 29, 2007 by
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Last week, I talked about personal development and how it affects every aspect of our personal and professional lives. One of the hallmarks of personal development and building a balanced life, is good health. Of course a key component of good health is getting enough sleep, and if you’re like me, you usually don’t get enough. Lack of sleep not only affects our physical health, but also our mental well-being. It is a factor in how we handle stress, how well we perform, and our overall quality of life. To our rescue comes Steve Pavlina, who just wrote a comprehensive article, How to wake up feeling totally alert.

Pavlina’s blog is one of the most popular on the web, and it’s easy to see why. It is a treasure trove of information and advice on personal development, well documented, interesting to read, and always right to the point. Some of his material may appear to be out in left field, but there’s no doubt Pavlina is an intelligent observer and leading edge thinker. You’d almost have to be when your "slogan" is "Personal Development For Smart People".

By the way, if his home page looks vaguely familiar, it’s because I modeled mine on it.

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Filed Under: Dealing with stress, Personal development, Productivity

Change your life by changing your thoughts

October 25, 2007 by
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“You are what you think about,” said Earl Nightengale. If that’s true, then we can change our lives by changing our thinking. According to John C. Maxwell in “Thinking For a Change,” this is how it works:

  •  When you change your thinking, you change your beliefs.
  •  When you change your beliefs, you change your expectations.
  •  When you change your expectations, you change your attitude.
  •  When you change your attitude, you change your behavior.
  •  When you change your behavior, you change your performance.
  •  When you change your performance, you change your life.

Maxwell says, “If you want to improve an area of your life, don’t start by trying to change your actions. Start by changing your mind.”

I agree.

How do we change our thinking? Through personal development.

On a conceptual level, personal development is everything we do to improve ourselves–our thoughts, our attitudes, our habits, our knowledge, and our skills. It affects everything–who we are, what we accomplish, how much we earn, our health, our entire quality of life. It is based on the so-called “Law of Attraction” which says, “like attracts like,” the idea being that we get what we ARE (as defined by our thoughts), not necessarily what we WANT.

Why is it that “the rich get richer” and some people are “always lucky”? The Law of Attraction.

Why is it that “negative” people always have negative things happening to them? The Law of Attraction.

Negative people aren’t negative because bad things happen to them,
bad things happen to them because they are negative.

According to the Law of Attraction, if you want a more prosperous life, you need to first become a more prosperous person (though your thoughts, habits, attitudes, etc.) and personal development is how you do it.

Ben Franklin was speaking about personal development when he said that if he had three hours to chop down a tree, he would spend two hours sharpening his ax. Jim Rohn said, “Success is not to be pursued, it is to be attracted by the person you become.” He also said, “To attract attractive people, you must be attractive. To attract powerful people, you must be powerful. To attract committed people, you must be committed. Instead of going to work on them, you go to work on yourself. If you become, you can attract.”

So, how do you “do” personal development? There are five mechanisms:

  1. Learning: (What you read, listen to; training, seminars, etc.)
  2. Activities: (Practice; real-world “trial and error”)
  3. Modeling: (Associating with people who have the desired thoughts, habits, skills, etc.)
  4. Mentoring/Coaching: (Contextual advice from others; structured accountability)
  5. Teaching: (Teaching/coaching others, speaking, writing)

Personal development is a process, something you do for the rest of your life. I like to think of it as Continuing Personal Education.

Personal development takes commitment and it takes time, but you can start with as little as thirty minutes a day. (You may already be doing things that “count” towards your CPE credits.) Start by scheduling time each day for reading and/or listening. Check this blog for recommended books, web sites, CDs and audio downloads.

Be an active reader or listener. Think about what you are learning. Take notes. Write down questions. Apply what you learn to your activities. As you get better results from your activities, that feedback will influence future learning. Learned knowledge, followed by activity knowledge, followed by more learned knowledge. Over time, you develop better thoughts, and eventually, you attract a better life.

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Filed Under: Personal development

13 ways to get web traffic without search engines

October 23, 2007 by
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At last count, 564 subscribers to The Prosperous Lawyer newsletter have downloaded the free ebook from websmartlawyer.com I mentioned a few days ago. Apparently, a lot of lawyers have or want to have a web site to help them build their practice. If you didn’t get your copy, here is the link.

In reading the author’s discussion of search engines, optimizing web pages, and generating search traffic, I started thinking about how all lawyers should have a web site but many undoubtedly hesitate to get one because of the enormity of the task of generating search engine traffic. If you feel that way, forget about search engines for the time being and get a web site anyway because it provides other valuable benefits.

A web site is a mechanism for prospective clients and referral sources to get to know, like, and trust you. It sells you and your services and operates 24/7, at almost no cost to you. Browsers can spend as much time as they want, getting to "know" you through your web site, learning more about what you do, and for whom you do it, and discovering everything else they might like to know that could bring them closer to calling and making an appointment.

Your web site can be (should be) a resource of valuable information, helping clients and prospects to better understand their legal situation and the options that are available to them, as well as demonstrating your experience in helping others with similar issues. This can result in new business, repeat business, and referrals.

Your web site allows you to "cross sell" your other services to clients who may not know "what else" you do.

It provides a mechanism for building your email list, allowing you to communicate more frequently (and at less cost) with clients, prospects and referral sources.

And it is a resource for networking with other professionals. Your clients may be among the 25% of Amercians who don’t use the Internet, but I assure you, your prospective referral sources are not. Your web site and online newsletter give you a reason to reach out to those professionals, perhaps to have them write "guest articles" for your newsletter or blog, or to participate in an online survey.

Now don’t get me wrong, you do want search engine traffic. It’s free, it’s targeted, and it’s a brilliant way to build your practice. But there are other ways to get visitors to your web site, beyond search engines. Here are a baker’s dozen:

  1. Put your website on your business card, stationery, brochures, and in your email signature. (I hope you’re not still using your personal email address. Instead of lawyerjoe[at]sbcglobal.net, it’s much more professional looking to use yourname[at]yourdomain.com. It also allows you to "brand" your domain with every email you send. If you don’t already have your own domain name, get one immediately.)
  2. Use a "resource box" at the end of articles you write; list your contact information, including your web site
  3. Put your web site address in your bio, and your introduction for speaking engagements
  4. Write articles and post them in online article directories (e.g., www.ezinearticles.com, et. al.)
  5. Post comments on others’ blogs or in online forums or list servs, and link to your web site
  6. Write press releases and submit to www.PRlog.com or www.PRWeb.com
  7. Advertise offline: newspapers, magazines, TV/Radio, direct mail, etc.
  8. Advertise online: ezines, Google Adwords & other PPC, www.craigslist.com, etc.
  9. Provide an appropriate testimonial for a product or service you use, with a link to your site
  10. Submit your site to online niche directories
  11. Buy a domain name related to your niche that is already receiving traffic and forward it to your site.
  12. Create an Amazon.com profile and submit reviews for books and other products
  13. Create an ebook and list in on the free ebook sites; contact others who serve your target market and offer to provide this as a free resource to their clients (just like the author at websmartlawyer.com)
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Filed Under: List building, Networking, Online Marketing, Web traffic Tagged With:

“The 30-second rule”: more clients and better verdicts?

October 22, 2007 by
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In a recent post, How to make people like you, I said that a positive attitude is a key to getting people to like you, especially when dealing with people facing stressful situations. Being liked may not be first on the list of traits you associate with success in the legal field, but countless studies demonstrate that people prefer to do business with people they know, like, and trust. All things being equal, clients will choose you and referral sources will refer to you, because they like you.

Let’s face it, even litigators benefit when juries, judges, adjusters, and opposing counsel like them.

Books like The Likeability Factor: How to Boost Your L-Factor and Achieve Your Life’s Dreams by Tim Sanders and 25 Ways to Win With People:How to Make Others Feel Like a Million Bucks by John C. Maxwell and Les Parrott substantiate this and offer specific strategies for achieving greater likability.

Maxwell and Parrott say the way to make people like you is to make them feel good about themselves when they are with you. One way to do that is with something Maxwell calls, "The 30-Second Rule: within the first thirty seconds of a conversation, say something encouraging to a person."

Maxwell learned this from his father who taught him that when you make contact with people, instead of focusing on yourself, search for ways to make them look good. It could be saying thank you for something they have done for you or someone you know. You might praise them on an accomplishment, or offer a word of encouragement as they work towards a goal. Or you might simply compliment their appearance.

Maxwell encourages us to ask ourselves, "What positive, enouraging thing can I say to each person I will see today?"

With whom is your next appointment? Who will you be speaking with later today? Think about what you could say to them that will make them feel good about themselves, and say it.

This may feel uncomfortable, at first, but give it a try. What might surprise you is how good you feel making others feel good about themselves.

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Filed Under: Book review, Client relations, Image, Relationship marketing Tagged With: , , , , , ,

New resources for marketing your law practice online

October 18, 2007 by
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If you’re interested in marketing your law practice online (and you should be) there are two resources I want to recommend. The first is a new book, "The New Rules of Marketing & PR" by David Meerman Scott. The sub-title is, "How to use news releases, blogs, podcasting, viral marketing & online media to reach buyers directly." That about says it all. I’ve just started reading it and can tell you, it’s excellent. Highly recommended.

The other resource is a free ebook from consultant Brandon Cornet at websmartlawyer.com. It covers web sites, blogging, search engines, lead generation, and has links to oodles of resources. Valuable stuff.

Cornet’s ebook is itself a fine example of viral online marketing, in that it is a free download from his web site (you don’t even need to supply an email address to get it), coupled with good content that demonstrates his knowledge and experience. Sure enough, here I am "distributing" it to you, and thus, this strategy could quickly generate hundreds of qualified leads for Cornet’s consulting services.

It illustrates another key marketing concept, niche marketing. Cornet could hold himself out as, simply, an Internet/website consultant, hoping to appeal to "everyone" but, like so many others, he would find his voice drowned out by his many competitors. Instead, by targeting lawyers, he narrows his focus, which should make it easier to both generate leads and close them, since clients (and that includes lawyers) prefer specialists.

Both books agree, the Internet has forever changed the rules of marketing. Those who ignore this, do so at their peril.

 

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Filed Under: Blogging, Book review, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Press release, Publicity, Specializing, Technology, Web traffic Tagged With:

How to close a client–more ways to get them to ‘yes’

October 17, 2007 by
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I learned a lot about marketing legal services by studying sales and marketing in other fields. Apparently, Susan Cartier Liebel has, too. Her post, “How to close a client,” suggests that lawyers use a thought process similar to what a sales person would use to help clients move forward to a “yes”. I agree. In fact, I think every lawyer should read books on sales and salesmanship. “How to Master the Art of Selling,” by Tom Hopkins is a great place to start.

I wrote about overcoming objections and closing in my article, ‘What to say when the client says, “I want to think about it.” When it’s time to ask the client to sign on the dotted line, most lawyers don’t want to sound pushy or overly aggressive. But at decision making time, many clients do hesitate, even if they have no good reason for doing so. But if hiring you is in their best interests (it is, isn’t it?), then I think you have an ethical duty to help them make that decision. You don’t want to push, but you could give them a little nudge.

Here are a few easy ways to do that:

SOFT CLOSE:

“It makes sense to me. What do you think?”

“What part of this makes the most sense to you?”

ALTERNATIVE CHOICE:

“Would you like to get the trust AND the LLC done today or just the trust?”

“Would Tuesday or Thursday be better for you?”

“How would you like to take care of this, check or credit card?”

ASSUMPTIVE CLOSE:

“Go ahead and put your name here and I’ll get started on this immediately.”

“Where do you want me to send your copies of the documents we file in your case?”

“I have everything I need; how soon would like us to get started working on this?”

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Filed Under: Closing the sale, Salesmanship Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Marketing legal services in 15 minutes a day

October 15, 2007 by
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Marketing your law practice is like exercising–it works best when you do a little bit every day.

I started walking recently, about thirty minutes, five days a week. In the couple of months since I started, I’ve lost weight, cut my appetite, and gained energy. I feel better, too. I’m exercising a few minutes every day and I’m getting results. And because it’s only a few minutes a day (and because I’m getting results) I can and will continue.

The results didn’t happen overnight, however. I didn’t see any changes the first day or the second or third. It took weeks of continued effort before I saw appreciable improvements. Marketing is like that, too. You do a little bit every day, and over time, the compounding effect of your efforts kicks in.

Lawyers often feel about marketing like they do about getting in shape: there’s too much to do, no time to do it, and it will take too long before you see results. And so, like an exercise program, they never start. Or they start, but because they are trying to do too much, too quickly, they don’t stick with it. It doesn’t have to be that way. You can be successful in marketing your practice in as little as 15 minutes a day. Here are a few "rules":

  • Do something every day. 15 minutes a day is better than an hour, once a week. Consistency, over time (persistency) is key.
  • Do it yourself. You can delegate some aspects of your marketing, but it’s important that you are involved in the process, learning, making mistakes, taking responsibility, and developing your marketing muscles. And don’t even think of delegating relationship building.
  • Don’t trust your memory–calendar it. Block out 15 minutes a day or 30 minutes a day, five days a week on your calendar, like an appointment, and KEEP THAT APPOINTMENT! Don’t schedule clients during that time, don’t take calls during that time, and don’t re-schedule that time. Trust me, if you don’t do this, in a week, you’ll be completely off schedule. (C’mon, you know I’m right!)
  • Focus on the activity, not the results. Marketing professional services takes time, especially since so much of it is relationship building. If you look at the results you’re getting, you can get frustrated and miss the big picuture. If you focus on doing the activities consistently, every day is a success. In time, the results will come, but only if you do enough activity over a long enough period of time.

So, what do you do in that 15 minutes? Plenty. Here are some ideas to get you started:

  1. Read this blog and others, like this, this, or this, and write down marketing ideas
  2. Call a client and say hello (Yes, that’s marketing and you will be amazed at how well it works)
  3. Invite a referral source or client to lunch
  4. Send a client an article you clipped from a trade journal
  5. Send a note: thank you, congratulations, happy birthday, thinking of you (also amazingly powerful)
  6. Brainstorm ideas/chapters for a speech, article, report, book, ebook, etc.
  7. Research local organizations that might need speakers
  8. Call a client and ask him to introduce you to his CPA or insurance agent
  9. Write a brief "needs" survey to send to old clients
  10. Call or surf for information about joining your local chamber of commerce, Rotary, or BNI
  11. Register to take a public speaking class at community college or Toastmasters
  12. Write an article: "The top ten things everyone needs to know about [your practice area]"
  13. Browse through amazon.com to find (a) books for you to read, (b) gifts for clients, (c) ideas for books/articles you can write, (d) books you have read and can comment on (and link to your web site)
  14. Look at a competitor’s web site for ideas for yours
  15. Send an email to "friends of the firm" updating them on new hires, successful cases, additions to your web site
  16. Research services for hosting your online newsletter or website
  17. Research blog platforms to see which one is best for your new blog
  18. Read an article from a magazine read by decision makers in your target market
  19. Send an article to someone in your target market
  20. Research venues, costs, dates for a seminar
  21. Email and recommend online resources to some of your clients
  22. Research professionals with whom you might co-market or network
  23. Write or revise your "elevator speech"
  24. Read books, web pages, ebooks, blogs, on marketing, advertising, publicity, search engines
  25. Buy a domain name for your future web site and branded email
  26. Brainstorm questions to ask fellow professionals you can interview for your newsletter
  27. Post comments on a blog, link to your web site/blog
  28. Post on your blog, or brainstorm ideas for subjects for future articles
  29. Browse www.infousa.com for ideas for target markets, possible referral sources
  30. Update your lists: contacts, clients, prospects, newsletter, etc.
  31. Create a postcard you can mail to inexpensively "clean" your mailing list
  32. Research online/offline publications where you can submit articles
  33. Read other lawyers’ blawgs for ideas, information, networking opportunities
  34. Read about and implement legal technology to "find" more time for marketing
  35. Find a "work out" partner, to share marketing ideas, accountability
  36. Research networking groups in your area and forums where you can network online
  37. Create a marketing calendar and list projects to undertake throughout the year
  38. Start a marketing "journal" where you record ideas, resources, questions, progress
  39. Go to classmates.com or martindale.com to find old friends you can contact
  40. Brainstorm possible niche markets, their problems/needs, publications, groups, advisors
  41. Write a press release to announce your new report, web site, offer, award, verdict, etc.
  42. Research online press release distribution services
  43. Set up an account with Google Adwords and experiment with  pay per click advertising
  44. Find online marketing gurus and subscribe to their mailing lists
  45. Set up Google Analytics to track traffic to your web site
  46. Go through your local yellow pages to find professionals you can contact
  47. Draft a "phone survey" for contacting professionals (publish the results in your newsletter)
  48. Draft questions someone should ask when they interview you
  49. Write or re-write your bio
  50. Examine your brochure or other marketing piece for revision
  51. Investigate "music on hold" advertising messages for your phone system

Where do you start? It doesn’t matter. Just start.

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Productivity, Time Management Tagged With: ,

How to influence social media users

October 11, 2007 by
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It’s just over a month since I began blogging. Here’s a quick self-evaluation:

THINGS I HAVE DONE WELL

  1. Posted good content (Positive comments attest thereto)
  2. Posted regularly (nearly five days a week)
  3. Built traffic, subscribers (RSS and newsletter), made new friends
  4. New customers for Referral Magic and The Lawyers’ Marketing Toolkit without paid advertising

THINGS I NEED TO IMPROVE/DO MORE

  1. Reach out to other bloggers (Comment on their posts, point my readers to their good content)
  2. Improve search engine rankings for certain key words
  3. Learn more about "nettiquite"–what’s the proper way to quote others, post comments on other blogs (i.e., can you link to yours?), etc.
  4. Learn more about "social networking" sites and how I can use them to build traffic and develop relationships with prospective promotion partners and mentors.

An excellent article on doshdosh.com, "How to influence social media users" presents a step-by-step plan for doing just that and has applicability to any kind of online networking.

Many of the web sites mentioned I’ve never heard of let alone visited, but they influence millions. So much to learn in this new world. . .

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Filed Under: Blogging, Networking, Online Marketing, Relationship marketing, Web traffic
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