David M. Ward, Author at The Attorney Marketing Center

If you can get one client, you can get 100

April 21, 2020 by David M. Ward

Are you over-complicating your marketing?

I’m going to go with “yes” because most people do that. Especially lawyers who, by and large, would rather be doing something else.

So, this is me telling you to make things simple (and easy) for yourself by focusing on just one or two things.

One or two strategies. One or two markets. Let go of everything else (at least for now).

If you did that, how much time and money would you free up?

How much additional mental energy would you have if marketing only required you to do one or two things?

What things?

Something that’s already working.

Look at your current and recent client lists and figure out where they came from.

Referrals? From whom? What preceded the referral? What did you do to help it along?

Advertising? Which publications or platforms? What did you offer? What did you spend, what was your ROI?

Did they come through your website? How did they find you? What did they do before they contacted you (e.g, read something, opt in, etc.)

Did they come through organic social media? Which platforms? What did you do to engage them and get them to take the next step?

You don’t need to be a rocket surgeon to figure this out. Find something that’s working for you and do more of it.

If it brought you even one client, it can bring you a lot more.

What if more than a few things are working for you? What if you’re getting new business through several means and there is no clear winner?

Dig deeper.

Which method(s) are bringing you better clients (lots of work for you, willing to pay top dollar, ability to refer, etc.)?

And. . .

Which method(s) do you like best?

Because if you enjoy doing it, you’ll do more of it.

When I was practicing, it was referrals, all day every day. I enjoyed it and focused on it and got good at it.

If that sounds good to you, here’s a good place to start.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services

Hit pause and take inventory

April 20, 2020 by David M. Ward

Many people are feeling lost right now, uncertain about their future and what to do about it. Out of desperation, some are considering major career changes, thinking they have no choice but to start over.

If you know someone in that position, you might suggest that they stay put. Remind them that no matter where they are right now, they’re probably in a better position than they’d be in if they started from scratch.

They’ve got skills, experience, contacts, and a reputation. They’ve worked hard to get where they are.

Instead of jumping ship and working on a new career, they might be better off working on themselves.

That’s what Sue Hawkes, founder and CEO of a consulting firm, did when she had hit bottom.

â€œMy life was in a deep, dark hole at age 42. I was living in a friendâ€™s second home, I was working through my divorce, the economy and my businesses were in a shambles. It was 2008 and all areas of my life were challenged. I made a resolution to mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, and financially intentionally improve myself by the time I was 50 by making long term, consistent and incremental improvements. I learned to say no to anything misaligned with my plan which included: learning to delegate without guilt, prioritizing my time and sticking to it, journaling my gratitude for a positive attitude, surrounding myself with supportive people who are champions of possibility, finding clarity in my purpose and personal values, and giving back to others. Over time, adding these small changes and practicing them changed my focus and my life.â€

Sometimes, changing careers is the right decision. Before anyone takes that leap, they consider building on what they already have.

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Personal development, success

An easy way to get targeted traffic to your blog

April 17, 2020 by David M. Ward

An easy way to get targeted traffic to your blog sounds good, doesn’t it? Â

How about if you didn’t have to do any of the writing?Â Even better.

No, I’m not talking about hiring writers to create your content for you. I’m talking about leveraging other people’s writing by aggregating “clips” or blurbs from other blogs in your target market.Â

Blogs written by people in your client’s industry or market. Or by vendors, consultants, and other professionals who sell to or advise that market.Â

Find blog posts and articles in the niche, copy the headline, the lead paragraph or two, and the link to their post. Cobble together five or ten of these into your post.

Add your own title and call it a day.Â

You’re doing your readers a favor by providing them with links to content they want to consume.

You’re doing the other bloggers or professionals a favor by promoting their content and bringing them additional traffic and readers.Â

And you’re doing yourself a favor by building traffic to your site from search engines and from readers who share your posts with others.Â

Do you need permission? Fair use, isn’t it? Besides, who wouldn’t want you to promote their content?

You might want to let them know after the fact, however, because that could lead to more good things.

They might reciprocate and share some of your original content with their readers. They might see what you do and ask to interview you or invite you to write a guest post. They may refer you some business.Â

Since you already read deeply in your target market, (you do, don’t you), you have access to a lot of content to share. So, this shouldn’t take you much extra time.Â

If you do have extra time, you could add a few comments to your posts–mentioning what you liked about the original post, offering your own stories or observations, or mentioning the writer’s other articles you recommend.Â

Give this a try. Write one post and see how it goes. You can then make it a regular feature or start another blog that exclusively features the best content in your niche.Â

For more blog content ideas, get this

Filed Under: Blogging, Web traffic

How are you doing?

April 16, 2020 by David M. Ward

I haven’t connected with you in a while and thought I’d check in and see how you’re doing.

Or something like that.

Go through your phone or your email and contact your clients and other people you know. Say hello. Share a positive thought. Let them know you’re thinking about them.

It’s called networking and it’s a good idea on any day but especially today, when the world is on lock down and everyone is going a bit stir crazy.

And yes, you can do this with business contacts.

Remember opposing counsel on that case you had last year? That vendor you met at a conference? The web guy you hired a few years ago?

Them, too.

Ask about their work or ask them about a colleague you both know or ask them how they’re holding up.

What you say isn’t really that important. What’s important is that you show up in their in box.

Your words will be appreciated and, no doubt, reciprocated. Sometimes, your message will lead to a phone call or a video chat. You might learn something interesting or valuable.

You will keep your name in front of people who haven’t thought about you in a long time. You’ll strengthen your relationships with others.

Will this bring you repeat business? Referrals?

It might.

But don’t do it for that reason. Do it because it makes you feel good to brighten someone’s day.

How to get referrals from lawyers and other professionals

Filed Under: Client relations, Networking

Blog vs. Newsletter

April 14, 2020 by David M. Ward

I read an article this morning entitled, “How to Write a Blog Post: A 12-Step Guide.”

After reading it, I feel like I need a 12-Step program. It’s too much to do for those of us who can’t (or don’t want to) spend hours and hours writing blog posts.

Which is why, years ago, I switched from being blog-centric to email centric.

I used to write a blog post first (with images, if you can believe that) and then send it to my newsletter subscribers (in html, if you can believe that).

Now I write an email first, then post it to my blog.

Seems like the same thing, but it’s not.

My emails are plain text. And brief.

And they take takes mere minutes to write, send and post.

Yay me.

I’ve got nothing against blog posts. But they require a lot of time and effort I would rather invest doing other things.

What kind of effort? Here are the 12-steps in the article I mentioned:

Understand your goals
Understand your audience
Brainstorm a list of ideas

Sure, we need to do this for every kind of marketing we do.

Do keyword research

Yes, research keywords for your blog. I don’t do that for my newsletter.

Organize your content into an outline

I don’t think of my emails as content and I don’t write an outline. I may write down a few notes about what I want to say but usually, I just let it fly.

(Check Google and) read the top 10 posts for that keyword

Good idea for a blog post you write once a week or once in a while. Not going to happen for a short, daily email.

Write the body of your blog post
Write a killer intro
Write an excellent headline

I don’t spend more than 30 minutes to do this.

Proofread and format your post

I don’t format anything.

Optimize your post

I don’t optimize anything.

Publish your post

Finally! I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted just reading this list.

Bottom line: a blog and a newsletter are both valuable resources for building a professional practice and should be a part of most lawyers’ marketing mix. But I’m sure you don’t want to spend hours and hours of your precious time crafting fine art.

You don’t have to do that, if you use my system.

Which you can learn more about here.

Filed Under: Blogging, Email, Newsletters, Time Management

Your post-pandemic plan

April 13, 2020 by David M. Ward

Soon. That’s when the world will return to a semblance of order. The fear and restrictions holding us hostage will subside, the economy will recover, and we will carry on.

But there will be changes.

Changes to what we do and how we do them. So, I suggest the need for a plan.

To create your plan, start by asking yourself a series of questions, to help you think about what you need to do.

Some questions to help you get started:

Your office and staff

What do you need to do to make the office germ-free and help clients and staff feel safe? What procedures will you follow? What supplies will you keep in stock?
Will you let (require) any employees to continue working from home? How will you equip them? How will you supervise them?
What will you do to accommodate clients who still aren’t comfortable coming to your office?
What will you do to bring on new employees, or let go of existing ones? What will you outsource?
Will you change any of your billing and collection practices?
What expenses will you cut?
What changes to your office/employee manual will you make?

Your marketing

How will you lesson dependence on face-to-face meetings?
What changes will you make to your warm market marketing systems (Newsletter, client appreciation, referrals, etc.)?
What changes will you make to your cold market marketing efforts (advertising, social media, websites, networking, speaking, etc.)?
What changes to your marketing budget do you need to consider?
Which practice areas do you want to ramp up? What new practice areas will you add? Which practice areas will you curtail or phase out?
Will you run any kind of promotions to celebrate the re-opening of your office?

You should also ask questions and create a plan for your personal life.

As you consider your options, you should also consider that the world, and your practice, won’t return to business as usual overnight. It will likely be many months before we’re fully up to speed and there will no doubt be permanent changes.

So, be prepared to regularly update your plan with new questions and new answers.

Whatever you do, don’t fret about anything. Yes, the world has changed but the fundamentals have not.

And good things are on the horizon.

Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing Plan, success

P.S. I love you

April 10, 2020 by David M. Ward

The other day, I mentioned TV detective Colombo and how, when he was finished speaking to a witness or suspect, when they thought they were off the hook, Coolumbo would turn to them and say, “One more thing. . .”

When he did that, everyone in the room paid attention.

Because people notice things after a break in the conversation.

The same goes for email. People almost always read the P.S. in your email, even if they only skimmed the rest of what you wrote.

Many people read the P.S. first, because they think important things reside there, and they’re usually right.

You can use the P.S. to include more information you want the reader to know, to remind them of something you said in the body of the email, including your offer, or to mention something new but relevant to the subject of the email or the reader’s interests.

If the body of your email is about the need to have a certain issue evaluated and you have offered of a free consultation, for example, your P.S. might remind them to call to schedule it. It could also point out that you’re only accepting a limited number of appointments this week or that time is of the essence regarding their issue.

You could also provide a link to your “contact” page, or to a FAQ page that talks about what to expect during a consultation.

In a follow-up email, you might use the P.S. to recall something they told you, or something you noted about their business or family, or about something you have in common, as a way to strengthen your relationship.

Your P.S. is valuable real estate in your emails (and letters). Give some thought to how you can make full use of it.

To learn how to write an effective P.S. in your email newsletter, slide on over to my email marketing course

Filed Under: Copywriting, Email, Newsletters

How to make your writing more accessible

April 9, 2020 by David M. Ward

A lot of lawyers’ writing is formal and stilted, and I’m not just talking about legalese.

Using phrases like, “In order to” or “What’s more” or “Please note that” and the like–that’s formal.

Academic, archaic, stale.

If your writing sounds like Star Trek’s Data (no contractions), or Star War’s Yoda, (ass backwards), your writing could probably use a level 5 diagnostic.

There may be times when formal phrases are appropriate. But when you write to clients or prospective clients or to anyone you want to connect with, you’re usually better off ditching them.

Lose your inner professor. Take off your tux and tails. Take that stick out of that place where the sun don’t shine.

And write simply and informally. Not to impress but to communicate.

Formal language puts distance between you and the reader. Even when your reader is another lawyer.

Yes, sometimes you’ll catch me using formal phrases and ten-dollar words, but I try to avoid them because when I write to you, it’s supposed to be just the two of us, sitting on a porch, having a chat.

Why do we struggle to let down our hair? Because we’re professionals and we associate professionalism with formality. We’re uncomfortable being anything but, so we keep our distance.

And yet, when we give a presentation, we speak plainly, don’t we?

Correctamundo.

So, here’s a good rule of thumb: if you wouldn’t use a word or phrase in a speech or a private conversation, don’t use it in writing.

Here’s your homework:

The next time you write an email or article or letter, before you send it off to your victim, read it out loud and listen to how it sounds.

If it sounds like it was written by Chewbacca or Groot , put that thing through the universal translator before you send it.

How to get more clients with your website

Filed Under: Communication, Writing

Personal productivity rule book

April 8, 2020 by David M. Ward

You probably have a long list of things you do to manage your time and increase your productivity. No doubt you also collect articles and ideas you’d like to try.

But, do you have a centralized place to record these things? A book of rules you follow or would like to follow?

Having a “rule book” will make it more likely that you’ll follow those rules.

You might have a set of rules for how you start your day, how you do a weekly review, and how and where you record and back up client information.

You might have a set of rules for doing research: where you begin, how you record citations, how you organize (tag, label, file) the information.

Your rules don’t have to be complex or overly detailed. One sentence for each rule will often be enough.

It also helps to record the rationale behind each rule.

Here’s an example of some rules you might adopt regarding email:

Turn off notifications and keep Outlook/browser tab closed (so you’ll check email less often)
Schedule (times) on calendar for checking email (so you’re not tempted to check it constantly)
No email before (time). So you can get important things done first.
Use templates to respond to FAQs, provide links, share bio, deliver work product, etc.
Reply with statements: Don’t answer a question with a question [Not easy for lawyers, is it?] Example: When someone asks, “When do you want to talk?” you tell them, eg., “10:15 Tuesday. I’ll call you.”
Short answers. Five lines max. (Don’t write ten lines when two will do.)
Delay response. Many “urgent” issues often solve themselves.

And so on.

Over time, add new rules to your book, refine existing rules, and remove rules you no longer follow.

Keep your rule book close by and check it often. In fact, make that a rule.

Speaking of email, here’s how to use email to get more clients

Filed Under: Productivity