Archives for June 2008

How to get free traffic for your blawg

June 26, 2008 by
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If you’ve are a regular reader of this blawg, you know that I have had the BlogRush widget installed on my site since it first came out. You can see it in the right-hand sidebar. It has provided a steady of stream of referrals to me each month, all free traffic. If you have a blog, consider adding the BlogRush widget.

Some months ago, the BlogRush people instituted a new web site–TrafficJam.com. The site lists the top blogs in the BlogRush system in various categories, by popularity of posts. This has also brought traffic to my site. I’m not sure how many lawyers this includes since TrafficJam has a multitude of consumer-related categories, but it doesn’t matter. The more traffic I get, the more referrals the BlogRush system gives me.

Anyway, go to TrafficJam.com and click on the category for Law & Legal. As I write this, my recent post, "How to get big personal injury cases" is number three on the list. Pretty good, wouldn’t you say? At number 10 on the list is my article, "When the ABA wants to interview you. . .". My post, "Hot practice areas for lawyers? Here’s what I think. . ." is number 33. And, as I scroll through the list I see other articles from me (The Attorney Marketing Center). I think what happens is the popularity of the articles depends on the number of clicks they get (so click on mine when you see them!) Actually, I think they also factor in clicks from websites that display the BlogRush widget and other factors.

Check out TrafficJam.com and BlogRush.com and see what you think. If you do sign up, tell your friends who have blogs (lawyers or not). If they sign up, you’ll get credits for their referrals (clicks from their web site) which will bring you even more traffic.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Web traffic

How to get big personal injury cases

June 23, 2008 by
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A personal injury attorney wrote and asked me if I have a strategy for bringing in bigger cases. I was a personal injury attorney for most of my legal career and when I look back at what I did, I have to say that I did not have that strategy. In fact, I intentionally focused on bringing in a volume of smaller cases.

My thinking was that quantity would bring quality. Bring in thousands of clients over a period of years and you are bound to have some big cases in the mix. And that was certainly true for me. But I also recall thinking, as every personal injury attorney does, that one day, I’ll get a case that will bring me millions of dollars in fees and I’ll be able to retire if I want to. But in twenty years, that never happened. Big cases, yes, but not a single practice-making monster.

But there’s something else I understood and that was that I was not one of the big boys. The biggest cases are almost always handled by the biggest names and most of the time, they are referred there by other attorneys. I wasn’t prepared to compete in that arena. I didn’t have the expertise and, more importantly, I didn’t have the passion for developing it.

The best strategy for getting the biggest cases is to become one of the best lawyers. Win bigger and bigger verdicts, develop your skills and your reputation amongst the bar, and when you have the respect of your colleagues, you will get their referrals.

Another way to get big cases is the one adopted by a lot of attorneys who aren’t one of the best and that is to appear to be. They swing a big stick with multiple full page yellow page ads and TV commercials, they sponsor charitable events attended by centers of influence in their community, they network with the right people, send press releases celebrating their victories, and otherwise promote themselves so that they appear to be one of the biggest and one of the best. And by and large, it works.

To do this, you need money and some marketing skills, but most of all, you need drive. The biggest promoters have big, healthy egos. They are driven as much by the desire for attention as the desire for money. I’m not taking anything away from them. They are usually good enough to serve their clients well and smart enough to bring in one of the best when they aren’t.

If you’re not one of the best and you aren’t willing or able to become one, and if you’re not willing to do what the big promoters do, there is an alternative: target niche markets. Become the biggest fish in a small market where word of mouth is strong and limited resources (and hubris) can go a long way. Become the attorney everyone in that market thinks of when they think of injuries. Network in that market, write for that market, serve that market and the centers of influence in it, and over time, you’ll get big cases. Do it well enough and long enough and you may even get one of the very biggest.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Image, Increase your income, Marketing legal services, Networking, Press release, Publicity, Referrals, Specializing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What I learned about marketing (and creating wealth) in Cancun

June 16, 2008 by
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My wife and I just got back from a week in Cancun. We were at a five-star resort, courtesy of a company I work with in another business. They have twelve restaurants and everything is truly first class.

The thing about this resort is that everything is included in your stay. Eat all that you want, drink all that you want, and never reach for your wallet or sign for your room. We had room service every morning and ordered just about everything they had on the breakfast menu (and ate everything, too).

The menus have no prices on them. It doesn’t matter; order whatever you want.

There is no tipping. Everything, from the chartered bus ride from the airport, to baggage handling to rides in golf carts to get around the sprawling grounds, are taken care of.

I could go on about how well we were treated, the amenities and so on, but I want to make a point. Two points, actually.

First, while I was there, I thought about how relaxed we were not having to think about how much anything cost. Sure, I can afford the estimated four thousand the trip probably cost, but it’s still refreshing to not have to think twice about what anything costs or how much to tip someone. And I thought about how that applies to marketing legal services.

What our experience did was reinforce the efficacy of "flat rate" billing for legal services. When your clients can have your services without having to wonder or worry about how much you’re going to charge them for that ten minute phone call or for the photocopies or for bringing in a law clerk to take notes during your meeting, they are much happier clients. They’ll be more inclined to hire an attorney who "takes the risk out of the deal" and they are happier and easier to work with throughout the engagement, all because there aren’t any surprises and they know they won’t be nickle-and-dimed.

The second thing I thought about was how a stay at a resort like this is good for reinforcing a "wealth mindset." If you want to be wealthy, getting a taste of what wealth is like provides your subconscious mind with an example of what you are seeking. The good feelings one associates with not having to look at prices on the menu, for example, are worth experiencing. Do you still look at prices on the menu? Do you do that first? What would it be like if you didn’t have to do that anymore?

If Cancun isn’t in the cards for you right now, find something small that is, something you can treat yourself to (and pay in advance for) that will give you a taste of what it is like to have financial freedom. Or, do something that doesn’t cost anything. Go to an art show, for example, and pretend you can buy anything there without giving it a second thought. Relax and imagine how good it will feel to be able to actually purchase anything on display. If you can get to a place of feeling good about that, if you can "have" the life you seek in your mind, that is the first step towards achieving it in reality.

Unfortunately, most people have trouble doing that. It’s not that they can’t use their imagination any more. It’s that when they do, they think negative thoughts that aren’t conducive to attracting wealth. They think about how much things costs and how unlikely it is that they could buy it. They become self-conscious about the experience, thinking they must look foolish or they are wasting their time. Instead of thinking about what they want, they think about (and attract) what they don’t have and what they don’t want and thus, they wind up getting more of what they don’t have and don’t want.

How do you get to the point where you can truly relax and enjoy the experience of imagining having the life you want? How can you think about having what you you want instead of why you don’t have what you want? You start with where you are and what you are thinking and how those thoughts make you feel.

If thinking about buying a $20,000 painting makes you feel bad (because you can’t afford it now and don’t know how you’ll ever be able to), then reach for a thought that feels better when you think it. If thinking about "buying it now" doesn’t feel good, perhaps thinking about "buying it someday" will feel better. If that thought feels better than wherever you are right now, think about that, and from that vantage point, you will have a basis for continuing to think better feeling thoughts until you literally think your way into manifesting your desires. It starts in your mind and with your feelings and while you may not be able to control whether or not you can go to Cancun right now, you have 100% control over what you think and how you feel.

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Personal development, Wealth Tagged With: , , , ,

The quickest way to bring in clients

June 4, 2008 by
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Q: How do I bring in quality clients fast? I think the best way to bring in a steady stream of [type of] clients is to find a good referral source. What should I do?

A: Referrals are the BEST source of quality clients, but they are usually not the FASTEST. It takes time to build relationships, earn trust, develop a reputation.

If you can compensate those sources (i.e., referral fees to other attorneys, if permissible), or work out other kinds of alliances (paid advertising, cross-promotions) where the source has a more immediate incentive for working with you, then you could get some quick business.

Of course your clients are the first place to look. They should be willing to refer, but they may not be able.

Generally speaking, nothing is faster than advertising (except publicity, but you have limited control with that). Cost is obviously an issue. You could try writing for targeted publications and speaking and networking at targeted events. You’ll get access to the right markets, at no cost, plus the unspoken endorsement of the meeting holder or publication, and if you get your message in front of the right people, you will get clients.

Remember that you are always marketing to at least two separate markets: prospective clients and prospective referral sources. One is not necessarily better than another, nor faster.

Q: How do I know if I’m targeting the right market?

A: A market is only as good as your ability to communicate with it. Do prospects have an organization you can join? Meetings you can speak at? Publications you can write for or advertise in? Can you find centers of influence in that market with whom you can network?

Most lawyers look at their services first and then look for people who need those services. Better is to find a market with a need, then look for ways you can satisfy that need.

Start with professionals and business contacts you already know. What markets do they serve? What unresolved needs do those markets have? Find the market first, then work backwards.

You’ll have greater success giving people what they WANT, which may or may not be what they NEED. Find out what people want and then look for ways to help them get it.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Networking, Publicity, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,