David M. Ward – Page 261

My formula for persuasive writing

November 12, 2014 by David M. Ward

When I write sales copy, presentations, books, or blog posts, I often use a formula that makes it more likely the reader or listener will do what I want them to do.

I may want them to buy something, do something, or remember something. The formula works the same way.

The persuasive writing formula I use (no, I didn’t invent it) has five parts:

State the PROBLEM (here’s what’s wrong, what you don’t have, what will happen if you don’t do anything about it.)
AGITATE the problem (dramatize the pain, here’s more about how bad it could get, here’s other ways this will affect you)
Present the SOLUTION (what can be done to stop the problem)
Describe the BENEFITS (relieve your pain, other good things you get with this solution)
CALL TO ACTION (what to do to get the solution and benefits)

Try this formula the next time you write something. You may find it helpful to start with the call to action. What do you want them to do? What’s the key takeaway?

Then, either work backwards through the other partsÂ (ie., the benefits they will get when they do what you want them to do, the solution that delivers those benefits, etc.) or go to the beginning, describe the problem, and work forwards.

Anyway, an article in the Harvard Business Journal presents a similar formula based on classical story structure. In “Structure your presentation like a story,” author Nancy Duarte says:

After studying hundreds of speeches, Iâ€™ve found that the most effective presenters use the same techniques as great storytellers: By reminding people of the status quo and then revealing the path to a better way, they set up a conflict that needs to be resolved.

That tension helps them persuade the audience to adopt a new mindset or behave differently â€” to move from what is to what could be. And by following Aristotleâ€™s three-part story structure (beginning, middle, end), they create a message thatâ€™s easy to digest, remember, and retell.

Persuasive writing is about creating tension (or identifying it) and then relieving it. If you want someone to hire you, show them the status quo and the path to a better way: “You’ve got this problem that’s only going to get worse; if you hire me, I will solve that problem (or help you take the first step towards solving it); here’s how you’ll be better off; here’s what to do to get started.”

Tell them a dramatic story that makes them angry or afraid. Just make sure it has a happy ending.

Do you know the formula for earning more in your practice? GoÂ here.

Filed Under: Communication, Copywriting, Presentations, Public Speaking, Writing Tagged With: persuasion, persuasive-writing

Would you like to get started today or is next week better for you?

November 11, 2014 by David M. Ward

In sales, the “alternative choice close” is a well known technique for getting the client to buy something, rather than nothing. You ask them if they want “A” or “B” and no matter which one they choose, they’re buying something.

“Credit card or check?” “Deluxe package or basic package?” “Would you like to come in at noon or 4:30?”

Clients want you to help them make a decision. They know they might procrastinate and never get the work done. When you help them take action and get the benefits they want and need, you’re acting in their best interest.

And did I mention you’ll also get more clients?

Anyway, you can also use the “alternative choice” concept to improve your own decision making and productivity. It can help you reduce procrastination.

The idea is to always have more than one project you’re working on, or could be.

Writer Geoff Dyer put it this way:

Have more than one idea on the go at any one time. If itâ€™s a choice between writing a book and doing nothing I will always choose the latter. Itâ€™s only if I have an idea for two books that I choose one rather than the other.

If you find yourself procrastinating on Project A, you can turn to Project B. Or Project C. When you find yourself resisting something, work on something else.

You probably do this now with client files. When you are frustrated or bored or unsure of what to do next on a given file, you put it aside and work another.

I do this with blog post and other writing projects. I’ve got lots of irons in the fire and when I run out of steam on something, I’ve always got something else I can work on.

I also do this with reading books. I have thousandsÂ of books in my Kindle and I usually read two or three of them at a time. When I find myself losing interest with one, I turn to another.

You can use the “alternative choice” concept for anything you’re working on, or should be. Calls, letters, documents (drafting or reviewing), even errands. Always have something else lined up, because doing “A” or “B” will always be better than doing nothing.

Filed Under: Closing the sale, Law office management, Personal development, Productivity, Salesmanship, Time Management Tagged With: procrastination

Promote your practice with a tasty holiday promotion

November 10, 2014 by David M. Ward

A local real estate agent sent me a card for Thanksgiving. It says, “Thanksgiving is the perfect time to remember special clients and friends like you. . .” It closes by saying, “Wishing you and your family a blessed Thanksgiving!”

I don’t know this agent and I assume she sent this card to many of my neighbors. If she’s like most real estate agents, she has a “farm” of 300 or 500 contiguous homes she targets. She advertises to us, mails cards and note pads or calendars and such, and otherwise keeps her name in front of us so that when we’re ready to sell, we’ll think of her.

Anyway, what made this card different is the offer. It says, “Email to order your complimentary FRESH APPLE or PUMPKIN PIE by Monday November 17, 2014” followed by her email address. It continues, “Delivery is Wednesday, November 26, 2014, 2:00 to 6:00 PM”.

Now, what does this accomplish? Well, I assume she will drop off the pies herself and get to meet the homeowners, give them her card, and possibly offer a free home evaluation. If they’re not home, she’ll drop off the pie with her card or note attached, and follow up with a call to make sure they got the pie.

But it’s not about the pies, or meeting homeowners. It’s about creating an impression. It’s about standing out amongst all of the other agents in the area. It’s about anchoring her name with the pie promotion and being remembered for it.

That’s why you create a farm, and that’s why you build a list. So that when the client is ready, your name will be in their “minds and mailboxes”.

My guess is that no more than 25 out of 500 homeowners will request a pie. She’ll pay perhaps $3 per pie, plus the cost of the mailing, so maybe $300. She may get a couple of homeowners who want the free home evaluation, and that may turn into a listing. Or not. But more than a few homeowners who aren’t ready to sell will remember her when they are.

In addition, some of the people who got her offer but didn’t request a pie might be interested in a home evaluation. They may also know people who aren’t on the agent’s list but who are looking for an agent, so she could also get some referrals.

Anyway, could you use an idea like this in your practice? Next month for Christmas or next year? Or any other time?

What could you offer? Who would you mail to?

If you do something like this, I have a suggestion. Instead of asking people to send you an email to accept your offer, tell them to go to a page on your website with a form to fill in their name and email address. This way, they will subscribe themselves to your email list, allowing you to send them more information, offers, and invitations.

The other things this will do is get them to your website, where they can read your articles, offers (i.e., free consultation, download your report, etc.) and begin the process of getting to “know, like, and trust” you.

Okay, gotta go. All this talk about pie is making me hungry.

Filed Under: Advertising, List building, Marketing legal services Tagged With: direct mail, gifts, holiday promotion

Success is not the key to happiness

November 7, 2014 by David M. Ward

Albert Schweitzer said, “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you’ll be a success.”

If you don’t love what you’re doing, are you doomed to fail? What if you don’t love your work but you don’t hate it, either?

The way I see it, if you’re miserable, you probably need to get another gig.Â If things are okay but you’re not completely happy, you’ve got a couple of choices.

The first is to find some aspect of your work that does make you happy and focus on that. Surely you love some part of your work. (Yes, but don’t call me Shirley.)

I didn’t love practicing law, and after more than twenty years, I moved on. While I was practicing, I focused on the things I enjoyed such as how good it felt when a client said thank you. I liked writing creative demand letters and getting judges, juries, and arbitrators to rule in my favor. I alsoÂ liked the money and what it allowed me to do.

The rest of my work I found boring, stress-inducing, or otherwise unrewarding. Research (before computers) seemed unending. Discovery was a drag. Dealing with nasty opposing counsel was enervating.

But there were enough things I enjoyed doing and theyÂ allowed me to handle the things I didn’t.

If your work doesn’t provide you with enough joy to make up for the things that drag you down, the otherÂ thing you can do is find your happiness outside of work.

Time with your family may make your heart sing. You may have a hobby or side project that you are passionate about. Charitable work may give your life meaning. Whatever it is, spend more time doing it, thinking about it, and looking forward to doing it. Let your work support your passion.

I did this, too. For several years prior to my transition out of a law practice and into a publishing and consulting career, I worked on creatingÂ the marketing course that was to make that new careerÂ possible. I worked on it at lunch, in the evenings, and on weekends. It was hard work and I didn’t know if it would be successful, but I was happy working on this project and thinking about my future.

Your work may not make you happy or successful, but if you have enough happiness in your life outside of work, then you have a happy and successful life.

Filed Under: Inspiration, Personal development, success Tagged With: happiness

Even more ideas for writing quick blog posts

November 6, 2014 by David M. Ward

This week, you learned three ways to writeÂ quick blog posts. You learned the three point model (with opening and summary), you learned about commenting on someone else’s post, and you learned the question and answer post. Today, I want to talk about the another method of writing quick blog posts: the series.

Writing a series means taking a bigger topic and breaking it up into a series of smaller posts. This week, I could have written about the subject of writing quick blog posts in one long post. Instead, I wrote a series ofÂ short posts.

You might write a series about litigation, for example. You could write short posts about liability, damages, filing a complaint, statutes of limitations, discovery, motions, trial, and appeal. You could undoubtedlyÂ break down mostÂ of these topics into multiple posts.

With some series topics, you’ll have enough material for many weeks of posts, and yet each post will only take you a few minutes to write.

One advantage of a series of short posts is that each post represents another point of entry to your website for prospective clients who are searching for information about one of your topics. Put links in each post to the other posts in the series and you’ll get more visitors reading more of your content.

What’s that? You want even more ideas for writing quick blog posts? Your wish is my command:

Update old posts. Add new information, new links, newÂ or revised comments, and links to other resources, including your other posts
Round up posts. Grab five or ten of your old posts on a given topic and write a new post that simply links to each of them. Add a sentence or two describing each post
Graphic post. Photos, infographics, charts, survey results, videos, and the like, don’t require a lot of writing.
Re-purpose other content. Post excerpts or entire transcripts of your articles, slides, presentations, white papers, books, reports, videos, audios, and so on. You can also break these upÂ and create a series.
Resource post.Â A list of websites, apps, books, blogs, and other resources you recommend relative to a theme.
News. One paragraph summaries of recent news stories, appellate decisions, or upcoming events.
Interviews. Interviews with professionals, bloggers, authors, speakers, and other subject matter experts, make good posts and are easy to write. Ask questions (over the phone, via email) and let them supply the material for your post. You can post a video or audio, a transcript, a summary, or any combinations thereof.
Guest posts. Let others write posts for you. They get exposure to your subscribers, you get good content. You may also open the door for writing a guest post on their blog.

The more content on your site, the more opportunities you have to show visitors how much you know and how you can help them.Â I hope you can see that there are many ways to write quick blog posts and you are encouraged to do so.

For more ways to use content to get more traffic, more subscribers, and more clients, get this

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

Look Ma, I’m blogging!

November 5, 2014 by David M. Ward

Over the last two days, I’ve provided you with a couple of ways to quickly write a short blog post. Today, I have another method for you and it’s the quickest of them all.

It’s also easy because it’s something you do every day.

You guessed it, I’m talking about answering questions.

People ask lawyers questions all the time. What does this mean? What happens next? What’s the best way to accomplish this? What are my options? What should I do?

Write down as many questions as you can think of and answer them. Quickly.

What questions do you often receive in emails? (Start saving those emails.)
When you do a consultation, what do people usually want to know?
What do new clients want to know about their case?
What do people ask you during your presentations?
What do people ask you at parties or while you’re networking?
Look at the comments on your blog (or another lawyer’s blog); what are people asking?
Go look at forums where people post questions. What are they asking?
Do a keyword search and see what people are searching for in your practice area
Ask your social media followers and email subscribers what they want to know
Find interviews of other lawyers in your practice area; what do people routinely ask them?

A blog post can be three paragraphs. You can write this type of post in a few minutes. In fact, you could write ten or twenty this weekend and post them over the coming weeks or months.

So get crackin. Here are a few more questions to prime your pump:

What should someone ask a lawyer in your field before they hire them?
How do I go about hiring a new lawyer if I already have one?
What is legal malpractice?
What should I do if I think my lawyer has committed malpractice?
My lawyer wants me to settle but I don’t think I’m getting enough. What should I do?
How much do lawyers charge in your area?
What are contingency fees?
How much of a retainer should I expect to pay up front?
My lawyer won’t give me a copy of my file. What should I do?
My lawyer won’t call me back. What should I do?
How can I get a second opinion about my case?

Simple questions that people ask (and search for) every day.

For more ideas for blog posts, this is what you need

Filed Under: Blogging, Newsletters, Online Marketing, Writing

Another example of how to write a blog post quickly

November 4, 2014 by David M. Ward

Yesterday, I showed you how to write a blog post quickly, in about 15 minutes. Today, I’m showing you another kind of blog post that’s quick to write.

It’s based on the notion of serving your readers by providing them with valuable or interesting information, including information that was written by someone else. You’re like a librarian or bookseller: “Here’s something I think you might like to read”.

So, you find an article or post that would be appropriate to share with your list and link to it. Add a few comments to add interest and value. You could say what you like about the article, or what you agree with, and what you don’t like or don’t agree with.

You might also add something the author didn’t mention, or add a story about how you or someone you know have used the information or concept in the article.

To illustrate, here’s an article I thought was interesting for anyone who has a boss or is a boss. It’s called, “10 Traits of a Bad Boss”.

Can you see yourself or your employer in any of these 10 traits?

Speaks offensively and seldom communicates with the team.
Fear is his/her form of motivation.
Wants complete control over your job.
Blames the team for failures.
Does not consider suggestions other than his own.
Does not do his/her job properly and you work harder than him/her.
Does not provide guidance.
Does not have a firm goal or vision.
Ignores the importance of team-building activities.
Your boss makes you work hard but the compensation is low.

My favorite is number 3 since I see so many attorneys having difficulty delegating work to their employees. Learning how to delegate much of the work in my office was one of the keys to multiplying my income. It allowed me to earn more and work less. It freed up time so I could do more marketing which further grew my income.

I take issue with number 10. Compensation is a two way street. If you don’t like what you’re being paid, improve your skills and ask for more, or simply go work somewhere else.

Offering low compensation doesn’t make you a bad boss. It could hurt your profits, however. Offering higher compensation generally allows you to hire better employees who usually earn you far more than the increased salary you pay them. You also have lower costs for turnover and training.

So there you have it. Another type of post that you can write quickly.

Did you write a blog postÂ yesterday? Will you write one today?

For lots of ideas for writing blog posts and marketing your legal services online, get this

Filed Under: Blogging, Newsletters, Productivity, Time Management, Writing

How to write a blog post in 15 minutes

November 3, 2014 by David M. Ward

The other day I spoke to an attorney who wanted some help with his marketing andÂ made sure to tell me he didn’t have a lot of time to do it. As you know, I advocate doing things in short increments and often say, “You can market your law practice in just 15 minutes a day.” And you can. To prove it to you, I’m writing this blog post in just 15 minutes.

There are three parts to the post. The beginning captures the attention of the reader and introduces the topic.

The middle provides the meat and potatoes. This can be done in paragraph form, like this post, or with bullet points. Three points is enough, and that’s what this post includes, but you can certainly do more.

The last part is the summary and call to action. Review what you want the reader to remember and tell them what to do next.

Write quickly, not just because you have allocated only 15 minutes but because writing quickly usually results in better writing. Don’t try to be brilliant, just say what you want to say.

Obviously, things are much easier if you know what you want to say before you start writing. If you can write down three points about your subject in advance, the writing should go more quickly.

If it helps, pretend you’re speaking, not writing, and imagine you’re speaking to someone you know who is seated across the desk from you. Or, write your post like an email.

Include at least one story. This could be about you and your work, a client story, another lawyer’s case you are familiar with, or anything else. A story adds the human element, allows you to illustrate one or more points, and makes your post more memorable.

At the beginning of this post, I told you about the attorney I spoke with who said he didn’t have a lot of time for marketing. Does that qualify as a story? Sure, and it’s about someone you can probably relate to. An attorney has a desire but his lack of time is keeping him from getting what he wants. The solution is to work in 15 minute increments, which I am demonstrating with this post.

By the way, the opening of your post is a good place to tell your story. It sets the stage for what is to come. You can come back to it towards the end, as I am doing here.

So, there you have it. How to write a blog post in 15 minutes, written in 15 minutes. A beginning, three points, a summary, one story, and you’re done.

I’ll take another five minutes to email this to you and post links on social media. And that’s it for marketing for the day. I’m off to do other things.

I challenge you to write a blog post today and see for yourself how easy it is. It might take you a bit longer the first time you do it, but the more you write, the faster you will get. Send me a link to your finished post. Or post in the comments.

For more help with writing blog posts and marketing online, get this

Filed Under: Blogging, Communication, Online Marketing, Writing

Get better results by asking better questions

October 30, 2014 by David M. Ward

Yesterday, I spoke with an attorney who wants to increase his income and is transitioning into a new practice area. It turns out that if he had a choice, there’s something else he’d rather be doing career-wise and it’s not practicing law.

I slammed on the brakes and asked him to write a one page, “ideal life” scenario dated five years from today. I said there were no rules, he didn’t have to follow logic to explain how he got there, “just describe your life as you want it to be five years from today.”

Because you can completely re-make your life in five years.

Write your scenario in the present tense. It’s already happened. You’re living the life you want, doing the things you want, being with people you want.

What does your typical “ideal day” look like?

I’ve given this exercise to many people, and done it myself. I’ve found that people often have trouble being honest with themselves about their ideal day. They don’t believe that what they really want is possible so they choose something different, something they think is possible, or something they think other people in their life would approve of.

When you do this exercise, you must forget possible. Ignore “how” (for now) and simply describe “what”.

The idea is that once you have described your ideal life, you’ve got something to work towards. “Start with the end in mind,” and work backwards to make it so.

Anyway, today I was clicking my way through the Interwebs and found a blog post that asked readers a provocative question I thought was on point:

What would you do with your time if you werenâ€™t allowed in your house from 8am â€“ 7pm, didnâ€™t have to work, and your children were being taken care of?

Answering this question can help you describe your ideal life scenario.

Once you have done that, once you know where you want to go, the next thing you have to do is figure out how to get there. You do that by asking yourself another question.

In the post, the author says

The better questions we ask ourselves, the better the answers will be. . . Your subconscious mind. . . will start working out ways to answer your question.

So, if you constantly ask: ‘Why do I never get what I want in life?’ Your subconscious mind will go to work to help you find the answer and it will always be negative. Whereas if you constantly ask yourself ‘How can I make this possible? your subconscious mind will get to work and start looking for ways to get what you want.

To get better results in life, first ask, “What do I want?” Then ask, “How can I get it?” Your subconscious mind knowsÂ the answers.

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Increase your income, Mentors & Coaches, Personal development, success