How to get free traffic for your blawg

June 26, 2008 By Leave a Comment

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

What is the key to success?

February 15, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Bill Cosby is purported to have said, ""I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." Have you found that to be true? I have. I’ll give you a recent example.

I just launched a new website, PassiveIncomeForLawyers.com. Passive income is a hot topic and in a very short period of time, the site got a large number of visits and subscribers. Several attorneys have already joined me in the program. I’ve heard from many others who have said nice things about the program itself and about the way it is presented. The feedback has been very positive. Of course you usually don’t hear from people who don’t like something. They usually just quietly go away. But I did get the following email from one attorney:

"Please take me off of your miserable site. At first I thought you were legitimated, now we are getting the mass marketing crap. Passive income my ass! You wouldn’t know passive income if it hit you in the face. And what’s with the long winded motley fool type advertising site. Un professional. Get lost."

I didn’t reply, I simply removed him from the subscription list, and deleted his email. But then I got to thinking about what could be learned from his response and I retrieved the email. After all, this is not just anybody; according to his email signature, this individual is a partner in a firm of at least five lawyers. I presume he is influential. He may or may not be interested in something I offer, but I’d like to think he would reject the offer, not the person (me). But not only is he not a fan, he was so angry, he took the time to embarrass himself with this email.

From a marketing perspective, what should I do? He was turned off (to say the least) by the sales-y copy on my web page, although I have to wonder why he filled out the form to subscribe if he was so offended. Should I assume that others would be, too, and change it? Should I try to please the ones who don’t like what he calls "long winded motley fool type advertising," even though most people find it acceptable and the site is successful? The Motley Fool folks seem to be doing okay.

But if I create something that is less of what he does not like and it dramatically reduces the number of subscribers, I haven’t done myself any good, have I? So no, I shouldn’t try to please everyone. That truly is a formula for failure, and it’s an important marketing lesson.

Marketing is about metrics. You do something, measure the results, and compare those results to something else. It’s called testing, and it’s crucial to the success and profitability of any marketing campaign. So, I will create other versions of the web page and compare the results to the ones produced by the current one. Whichever version produces the highest percentage of conversions (subscribers) will become the "control," against which I will continue to test, seeking to best that control. But one does this to improve results, not in an effort to please anyone, let alone everyone.

You can’t please everyone anyway, and you’ll only hurt yourself if you try. So, as you design your marketing messages, intelligently consider the ethical standards of your bar association and your own sense of propriety, and perhaps the concerns of your spouse or partners, but beyond that, do what works best, and what works best is what brings in the most results.

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Filed Under: Copywriting, List building, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Wealth, Web traffic, Writing Tagged With:

Free web site builder–get online in minutes

January 15, 2008 By Leave a Comment

 

If you don’t have a web site, but want one, you now get a free and very easy to use web site builder at www.weebly.com. Even if you do have a web site, you may want to use this site to create additional web sites. Here are some ideas for secondary sites:

  • A "personal" web site, where prospects and professional contacts can get to know you
  • Web sites for testing different Adwords or other advertising campaigns
  • Niche web sites, with information on narrowly targeted subject matters
  • One page "sales" web sites
  • Content-rich web sites, to draw search engine traffic and point it at your main web site
  • Experiment with a blog (or a second blog) before you go live on your main site
  • A portal web site, with links to your other sites
  • Hobby, personal interest sites

Check out this site I created recently: http://LawRich.com. What do you think? Yes, it’s simple, but it took me no time at all.

Weebly provides

  • Free web sites with no advertising
  • Free hosting
  • Easy as pie web site builder and designer
  • A free Blog
  • Great templates you can use to be online today!
  • Meta tags & the ability to track stats

Clients hire (and referral sources refer to) people they know, like and trust. Go put up a web site so folks can get to know you. Send me the link and, if you want, I’ll post it at AttorneyMarketing.com. You might get some attorneys you can network with, and you will certainly have some fun.

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Filed Under: Online Marketing, Web traffic

Free SEO advice for your blawg

December 14, 2007 By Leave a Comment

If you want to know how to optimize your blog for search engines and other great tips for building visitors and subscribers, check out this easy to read free resource, The Blogger’s Guide to SEO. I have it on good authority that the author of this guide is a good authority. In fact, he wrote the book on it: (The SEO Book).

Author Aaron Wall says, "While we wrote a 300+ page book about SEO, only a dozen pages are needed to cover how to do SEO for a blog." Get it? It’s not because there’s not much you can do with a blog vs. a static web page, it’s becuase you don’t have to–blogs do most of it for you.

If you are hesitant to start a blog (or add one to your existing web site), perhaps this will persuade you. But hey, if you don’t want free advice about getting free traffic that could turn into paying clients, then go ahead, renew your M-H web page and tell yourself you are marketing online. (Yes, I’m being sassy; deal with it.)

The latest version of the software I used to create The Attorney Marketing Center blog (and several new web sites) has just released a new version. Very cool. I’ll be upgrading the site soon and show you some of the new bells and whistles. In the mean time, you can check it out on this page.

 

 

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Filed Under: Blogging, Online Marketing, Technology, Web traffic

Even more free software for marketing online (thru Xmas only)

December 12, 2007 By Leave a Comment

Does AdWords make AdSense for lawyers?

If you take some time to learn what you’re doing with Adwords, you can economically drive targeted traffic to your web site. The campaigns I’ve run have only been on Google searches, however, mainly because I didn’t want to take the time to find appropriate web sites for my (Adsense) ads to appear.

I just downloaded a new piece of software that makes that easy, and it’s free until Christmas Day. I’ve just started playing with it and like what I see. If you use Adwords, or think you might any time soon, check it out. Here’s the page with a demo video and download link: http://portalfeeder.com/adsensefinder.php

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Filed Under: Advertising, Online Marketing, Technology, Web traffic

More free traffic to your blawg: BlogRush Phase 2

October 31, 2007 By Leave a Comment

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

13 ways to get web traffic without search engines

October 23, 2007 By Leave a Comment

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

New resources for marketing your law practice online

October 18, 2007 By Leave a Comment

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

How to influence social media users

October 11, 2007 By Leave a Comment

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

Is this fee splitting or smart marketing?

October 2, 2007 By 2 Comments

Wouldn’t it be great to have hundreds of people referring clients to you on a commission basis?

"You can’t do that! That’s fee splitting. It’s illegal!"

Well. . . it depends.

It’s true that you can’t compensate non-attorneys for referring clients to you. But there’s nothing wrong with paying commissions to people who sell your book or tape set or other product–or service–as long as that product or service does not constitute "legal services".

The idea is simple. Let’s say you’re a divorce lawyer and you write a book (ebook, audio book) entitled, "Squash ‘em: The complete guide to successful divorce". You offer your book for sale from your web site. The more books you sell, the higher your profits. But the purpose of the book isn’t just to make a retail profit. Think bigger.

People who buy a book on divorce, written by a divorce lawyer, are likely to be a prospective client for that lawyer’s services, don’t you think? Or someone who works with couples with marital problems, perhaps. When they read your book and see how you have helped other people in their situation, they’ll see how you can help them (or they people they can refer).

If these people do hire a lawyer, there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll be the one who is hired, especially if your book offers a free consultation or otherwise invites them to take "the next step".

Okay, so your book does a good job of selling your services to those who read it and the more books you sell, the more clients you are likely to have.

Now, to sell more books, you could advertise, and you might want to do that. You can offer your book on amazon.com and through a myriad of other outlets. But you can also set up an affiliate program and let other people advertise your book for you.

Why not let marriage counselors and people who run support groups, for example, sell your book to their clients? You pay for "advertising" (commissions) only when sales are made.

Technology makes it easy to automate the selling process and track affiliate commissions. All you do is find more affiliates and tell them about your book and the opportunity to market it. The affiliates sell the book, the book sells you, and hundreds of prospective clients find out about you and the services you offer, and pay you for the privilege!

Another strategy is to give away your ebook. Offer it as a download from your web site in return for the visitor’s contact information. You can also invite others to offer it from their web site, as a free resource to their readers, or, perhaps, as a premium for subscribing to their newsletter. The viral nature of ebooks could bring you an enormous amount of target traffic to your web site.

If your book is available online, you’re likely to get inquiries from prospective clients in jurisdictions where you do not practice. Now you’ll have the delightful problem of finding lawyers in the appropriate jurisdictions and developing reciprocal referral arrangements.

There are many other benefits to publishing a book and most lawyers are capable of writing one in about 90 days. If you don’t have the time, you could hire a ghost writer, work with a collaborator, or create something you do have time to do, i.e., a recording of one of your seminars.

One last thing (and I wish we lived in a world where I didn’t have to say this): check with your jurisdiction’s authority (bar association, law society, et. al.) regarding the ethics of this strategy. If they say you can’t do it, move. This is too good an idea to pass up.

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Web traffic, Writing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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