David M. Ward, Author at The Attorney Marketing Center

Minimalist Marketing

November 6, 2020 by David M. Ward

You don’t like marketing. You don’t want to network, build a list, write or speak or do anything on social media.

You’re willing to do something, as long as it doesn’t take a lot of time or money or require you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable.

What can you do?

Go old school, 21st century style:

(1) Set up a one-page website that identifies what you do and how to contact you.

If you want, you can add something about your experience and accomplishments (why you’re better or different), and a few FAQs.

Set this up with your name in the domain name to make it easier to remember.

The primary purpose is to give your clients and contacts a place to send people who are looking for legal help, so they know how to contact you.

(2) Stay in touch with your clients and contacts.

Periodically send letters or emails to let them know you’re still in business, when you have news (eg., you’ve moved, added a practice area, etc.), and to wish them a happy birthday or new year.

Contact them if/when it’s time for their annual review or when you want them to know about a change in the law that affects them.

Consider calling your best clients and professional contacts once in awhile, to say hello and see how they’re doing.

(3) Ask yourself, “What would Dale Carnegie do?”

Read (or re-read) How to Win Friends and Influence People and do what it says.

Say please and thank you. Use their name. Make eye contact. Listen more than you talk. Treat them like you would like to be treated.

This is how you get repeat business and referrals.

This is “old school” marketing and it still works.

If you want to grow bigger, faster, this is what you should do

Filed Under: Marketing legal services

Poker, practicing law, and elections

November 5, 2020 by David M. Ward

I caught the tail end of an interview recently. The reporter asked an expert about the election and the expert used an expression that caught my attention: “The best possible outcome vs. the best outcome possible.”

You want to win everything (best possible outcome) but you have to accept the best outcome possible–under the circumstances.

As a lawyer, you want to win every case but you can have a successful career if you win a preponderance of them. You want to sign up the biggest cases or clients but you can earn a great income with smaller ones.

I played a lot of poker in college. I wasn’t as aggressive as I could have been and was rarely the biggest winner for the night. But most nights I walked away with a tidy profit. A fellow player was very aggressive. He bet big and often went “all in”. He won a lot of big pots but lost a lot, too. Most nights, he finished down.

No matter what our path, most of us will agree we need to know “when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em”. You do the best you can and live to fight another day.

Some will say, “that’s not how I want to live my life”. For them, it’s full speed ahead, no matter what.

Sometimes they win. Sometimes they crash and burn. Either way, we hope they have our phone number on speed dial.

How to grow your practice big, fast

Filed Under: success

Unsuck your marketing

November 3, 2020 by David M. Ward

When I started practicing I hated marketing. Primarily because it didn’t work.

It didn’t work because I didn’t know what I was doing, I spent money I didn’t have, and everything I did seemed like a colossal waste of time.

It wasn’t fun.

I kept plugging away and eventually found a few things I was good at, notably, getting referrals.

I was able to build a big practice, primarily through referrals from my clients and (eventually) professional contacts.

That’s when I came to love marketing.

Marketing that worked, that is.

If your marketing isn’t working, don’t give up. There are things you can do.

First, consider fewer practice areas. Focus on one or two and let of everything else. Marketing is easier and more effective when you don’t have to compete with lawyers who specialize. (NB: you’ll get more referrals from lawyers when you don’t do what they do.)

Second, stop doing things that aren’t bringing in the kinds of cases or clients you want. Get rid of unprofitable strategies. Get rid of (or outsource) things you hate.

Try new ideas, or old ideas you did (poorly) a long time ago.

Maybe you wrote off networking but maybe you can reinvent yourself by marketing online. Maybe you’re a better writer than you think you are. Write something and find out.

Third, niche your marketing. If you’ve been trying to appeal to “anyone who needs my services,” try focusing on smaller segments of the market.

I did these things in my practice and it made all the difference.

The Attorney Marketing Formula can help

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Marketing legal services

Managing your marketing assets

November 2, 2020 by David M. Ward

What you focus on grows (and improves). So it makes sense to pay attention to the tools and resources that help you build and manage your practice.

Make a list of your marketing assets. Start with your clients. Yes, all of them, past and present.

Each client can bring you repeat business and referrals. They can promote your content and events, send traffic to your website, provide testimonials and reviews, introduce you to other professionals they work with, give you ideas for blog posts, support the businesses and causes of your other clients and contacts, and the list goes on.

If they’re not on a list, it’s too easy to forget them.

Next on your list: anyone who has ever provided you with referrals and/or anyone who is influential in your target market and, therefore, could send you referrals.

Your employees are an asset. They can help (or hurt) you in keeping clients and others happy. Add them to the list.

You know a lot of other people who should also be on your list–prospective clients, potential referral sources, people who provide services to you (copywriters, consultants, artists, other experts), bloggers, editors, centers of influence in your niche market, colleagues and friends who inspire or encourage you, etc.

They should be on your list, too.

Your marketing assets also include:

Your website(s)
Your email subscriber list
Your social media profiles
Your marketing documents and other collateral (reports, ads, sales copy, emails, templates, keywords, etc.)
Ideas for posts, articles, promotions
Notes about your niche market and the key people in it
Stories, jokes, examples for presentations, etc.
Blogs and authors you follow

And we could go on.

They all have value to you. Add them to your list so you don’t forget them.

Once you have a list, pay attention to it. Schedule days to review your list and associated notes so you can nurture your relationships, update and improve your content, and get ideas for what to do next.

Quantum Leap Marketing System for Lawyers

Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing legal services

2 things you need to know before your next paper or presentation

October 30, 2020 by David M. Ward

You’re working on a presentation, paper, article, brief or book. You’re about to have a conversation with a client or prospect, negotiate a contract or address a jury. You’re writing an email for your newsletter or to someone you’d like to meet.

Any time you have a message to communicate, there are two things you need to know first:

Your audience.

Who are they and what do you know about them and their situation? What’s important to them? What do they already know about you and your subject? How will they benefit from reading or listening to your message?

Your purpose.

Why are you writing to or speaking with them? What do you want them to know? Why is this important? What do you want them to do after they read or listen to your message?

Give this some thought, make some notes, and then distill this information into a single sentence:

“As a result of my [talk, paper, email, etc.], they will understand [this] and respond by doing [this].”

For example:

“After reading my [email/blog post/article], they will understand the benefits for [updating their estate planning/corporate documents and the problems that can occur if they don’t], and respond by [making an appointment].”

Answering these questions before you write or speak will help you create a more effective message and make it more likely you’ll get the response you want.

[Based on this article about writing a better speech]

How to build your practice with email

Filed Under: Communication, Content creation, Writing

Better than a testimonial?

October 29, 2020 by David M. Ward

Is there anything better than a glowing testimonial or review from a happy client?

Sometimes, there is.

An endorsement from an influential leader in your target market can enhance your status in that market and bring you a lot of clients.

When you say you’re good at your job, people can doubt you. When a lawyer you’ve worked with (or opposed) says you’re good, that’s a different story.

Endorsements from a fellow professional, business executive, or prominent person in your community are invaluable. When they say nice things about your character, when they attest to your skills or experience, when they say that you’ve helped their clients or friends, their words carry a lot of weight.

How do you get an endorsement? You ask. Tell them you’re updating your website or brochure and you would appreciate if they’d say a few words about you. You might offer to do the same for them.

Who do you know? Who do you network with? Who sends you business or has hired you?

Go through your list of lawyers, CPAs, CEOs, business owners, speakers, authors, and others who sell to, advise, or otherwise influence your target market, and talk to them.

Their endorsement can open doors to you for speaking, writing, or networking. It can lead to new clients, introductions to other centers of influence, and referrals.

Here’s how to get endorsements and referrals from lawyers and other leaders

Filed Under: Referrals Tagged With: endorsements, testimonials

And now for something completely different

October 27, 2020 by David M. Ward

If you don’t promote your legal services, you run the risk of losing business to attorneys who promote theirs. If you only promote your legal services, however, you run the risk that some people will tune you out.

Yes, repetition of your marketing message is important. But if someone doesn’t have a legal problem right now, they may stop listening (reading) when you talk about what your services can do for them.

That’s why you need to talk about other things in your newsletter and/or blog or other outlets. And that’s why you need something else to promote.

What else can you promote?

How about the legal services of your partner or someone in your firm? Or the products or services offered by your referral sources or business clients?

When you do that

You help your clients and prospects who may need or want those products or services.
You earn the good will of the people you promote, some of whom will promote your services (and/or provide referrals).
And you get something else to talk about besides your services.

You can also promote your content.

Tell people about your articles, reports, websites, books, videos, courses, and so on, and let that content promote you.

Which is what I do with my books.

When someone reads them, they learn about me and how I can help them. I promote the books to get them in front of more people.

Which is what I did yesterday when I asked you to help me by leaving a review on The Encyclopedia of Attorney Marketing and told you about the .99 promotion.

Many thanks to all the attorneys who bought books. I’m looking forward to seeing your reviews (which can take a day or two to show up).

The Encyclopedia of Attorney Marketing.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services Tagged With: content marketing

Can you help me?

October 26, 2020 by David M. Ward

I need reviews for The Encyclopedia of Attorney Marketing, my 5-volume collection of “best of” articles from my blog.

So, I’m running a special on the Kindle edition:

Volume One: General Marketing and Practice Development
Volume Two: Client Relations and Referrals
Volume Three: Online Marketing
Volume Four: Productivity
Volume Five: Professional and Personal Success

For a limited time, you can get any volume for just .99.

You can see everything here

If you’ve read any of these books (and liked them), please show me some love by adding some stars and a review. Even a one-sentence review helps.

(And yes, you can leave a rating or review even if you haven’t read any of the books.)

You can get the entire series for less than $5 during this promotion.

Check it out here

I appreciate your help.

The Encyclopedia of Attorney Marketing

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, News