Attorney newsletters: what do you write about?

March 24, 2014 by
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You see the value of staying in touch with clients and former clients. You want to start a newsletter or email list. But you hesitate, because you don’t know what to write about.

Your divorce clients don’t want to hear about all things divorce. They want to forget about it and move on. Your personal injury clients don’t plan to be in another accident. Why would they want to constantly hear about injuries and claims and trials? Estate planning clients might need to stay up to date with changes in the law or with the latest strategies, but every week?

If you have a consumer oriented practice, how do you write an attorney newsletter anybody would want to read?

That is the essence of an email inquiry I received last week.

The answer is to realize that your clients have different roles and interests and you can provide them with information related to those roles and interests.

Start with general consumer information and advice. Write about insurance, mortgages, debt, identity theft, taxes, saving money when buying a house, avoiding scams, building credit, repairing credit, leasing vs. purchasing, home appliance warranties, and a host of other topics.

But you’re a lawyer, not a consumer expert. Where do you get this information? How are you qualified to give advice?

You have several choices.

You can read and learn this information. I didn’t say you need to become an expert. You can learn just enough to share these ideas with your subscribers. You only need a few paragraphs per topic.

You can do a roundup of articles and resources you find online, and link to them. “If you’re looking for a way to. . . here are three articles you might like. . .” Add a few comments: “When I refinanced, I did exactly what this expert suggested, and here’s what happened. . .”.

You can reach out to subject matter experts in these areas and have them supply the information. They can write a “guest post” or article. You can interview them. Or you can ask them to supply something they’ve already written and allow you to quote from it (and link to it).

You can write articles describing your life as a consumer. Describe how you handled the purchase of a new car, researched contractors for some repair work to your home, or shopped around for a new insurance policy.

In addition to general consumer information, how about writing about legal issues outside of your field? Research and write it yourself or have another attorney write it. You can write articles for his or her newsletter in exchange.

What else. . . ?

How about. . . ANYthing?

Write about your personal life. What did you do on your last vacation? What’s going on with your search for the right college for your son or daughter? Have you seen any good movies lately? Read a great book?

Have you had an interesting case or client lately? Do have any clients who own a business?

And hey, the practice of law is local. What’s going on in your community? New stores opening? New restaurants you tried? A controversial rezoning effort? A scandal in the city counsel? Any interesting speakers at your rotary meeting?

Each time you add content to your website, you can mention this in your newsletter. Tell  what it’s about, provide a link, and describe who might benefit from that content. It might be your subscriber, it might be someone they know, so encourage them to forward your email.

In answer to the email inquiry I received about what to write about, I asked the attorney, “What would you talk about at a party?” You wouldn’t talk about the law (unless someone asked), you’d talk about the things people talk about at parties: life, kids, travel, food, art, community. Why can’t you “talk” about these things in your newsletter?

Your newsletter doesn’t have to be about your practice area. You can write about anything. Your newsletter is a mechanism for staying in touch with the people in your life. Each time they receive it, they are reminded of your name and how to contact you. They open and read your newsletter because you are a friend who shares interesting information. A friend who happens to be a divorce lawyer.

For much more on what to write about on your blog and newsletter, get this. Really. You’ll thank me.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Writing

How to get better results from networking

March 21, 2014 by
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One of the biggest mistake people make in networking is expecting too much too soon. Networking is a process, not an event. You can’t simply pass out cards or connect online and expect anything to come from it in the short term.

It takes time to nurture a relationship. You need to learn more about what a person does, what they want, and how you can help them. You have to focus on them before you can expect them to focus on you.

Another mistake is expecting the other guy to initiate contact or follow-up with you. If you want the relationship to progress, you have to move it forward.

Call or email and set up a time to talk or meet. Learn all you can about their business. Find out what they want or need.

If you know anyone who can help them, give them a referral. If you see information they need, send it along.

Give, without expecting anything in return. Waste of time? It might be with some contacts. But there’s this thing called Karma and if you put out enough positive energy and help enough people, it does come back to you. You don’t know from whom, or when, but it always does.

Want some good news? You can get better results from networking without leaving your office or making a single new contact online. You already know plenty of people.

Look at your address book. There are people in there you haven’t spoken to in years. You might not even remember who they are. You’ve got old clients, attorneys and other professionals, dozens if not hundreds of people you met at one time. You have a connection, however tenuous, and you can leverage it starting today.

Choose someone, even at random. Pick up the phone and call, or send an email. Tell them you just saw their name in your contact list and you are embarrassed to admit that you don’t remember where you met. Or tell them it’s been years since you spoke and you want to say hello and see how they’re doing.

Tell them you’d like to get to know them better, or get reacquainted. Ask them to tell you about their company, what they do, or what’s going on in their life.

Start a conversation. Update contact information. Keep your ears open to learn how you can help them.

At some point, they will ask about you. Answer briefly, and then go back to them. Show them you truly want to know more about them. You might find out that they offer a product or service one of your other contacts needs. Perfect. You can help both of them.

Follow up with a brief note, acknowledging your conversation. Send the information you promised or remind them to send you theirs.

Schedule an in person meeting. Or calendar a date in a couple of weeks to contact them again. Ask more questions and tell them you would love to see how you could work together. Propose some ideas.

No man is an island. All of your contacts need or want something, whether it’s referrals, information, or advice, and so do you. All you need are a few who see the value of having you in their life and the willingness to meet you half way.

Marketing is easy, when you know The Formula

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Filed Under: Networking, Referrals, Relationship marketing

How to protect yourself from freebie seekers

March 20, 2014 by
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For many people, a free offer is irresistible. They’ll sign up for your newsletter to get your free report or audio or other goody, with no intention of hiring you. In fact, many will unsubscribe from your list the first time you mention your paid services. Others will languish on your list and cost you money, as their collective numbers push you into a different cost tier.

Should you attempt to pre-qualify people before they join your list?

Generally, no. A bigger list is usually a good thing, even if it includes a large number of freebie seekers. So make your offer as inviting and easy to accept as possible. Don’t make people go through hoops to join your list.

Many will drop off soon. And the cost of keeping non-prospects on your list is acceptable because the easier you make it for anyone to sign up, the more who will, and that includes real prospects. If you make it harder to join, you’ll keep out the riffraff but also reduce the number of true prospects. And, you never know when someone might actually need your services, no matter what their original intentions.

There are some things you can do to pare down your list. You can periodically ask if they want to continue to be on your list. You can ask them to opt-in again. Or, you can sweep your account and remove subscribers who have not opened your (html) emails. But unless your list is in the tens of thousands, I wouldn’t worry about it.

Free consultations and free service offers are different, of course, because of the time factor. Here, you should at least minimally pre-qualify people before you see them. You can ask them to fill out a questionnaire, have them speak to someone in your office first, or briefly speak with them yourself on the phone.

In addition, make sure you post enough information on your website so that visitors can get most of their questions answered without speaking to you, and self-identify as a good candidate for a consultation.

Free is the most valuable word in marketing. Don’t let freebie seekers stop you from using it, um, freely.

The 30 Day Referral Blitz shows you how to write a kick-ass free report to build your list and drive referrals. 

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Filed Under: List building, Newsletters, Online Marketing Tagged With: , , ,

Attorney marketing in a nutshell

March 19, 2014 by
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Relax. Marketing really isn’t difficult.

Yes, you have to work hard the first few years in practice to establish a client base and develop some professional relationships, but once you do, you can leverage those clients and those relationships for the rest of your career.

Yesterday’s clients come back and send you referrals. Professional contacts send you business and introduce you to their counterparts. New clients and new contacts help your list grow, and the cycle continues.

That’s the way it always was. That’s the way it always will be.

The Internet lowers costs and gives you more options. But it can also become a big distraction. When you find yourself wondering what to do, go back to the fundamentals. Build a list and stay in touch with it. Contact former clients. Remind them you’re still here. Send them news and information.

What’s sad is that so many attorneys don’t get it. They don’t build a list, or stay in touch with it. They write big checks for advertising or consultants, instead of investing in their existing relationships.

The people you know, right now, are your biggest source of new business. Invest in them. Find ways to help them. Stay in touch with them.

I’ve hired attorneys before you never contacted me again. If I had a referral, I wouldn’t send it to them because I can’t remember their name.

Hello, is this thing on?

I’ll say it again. Attorney marketing is not difficult. Build a list and stay in touch with it.

You are on my list. I stay in touch with you. You buy my products and services and send me referrals and traffic. Thank you for that. I appreciate it. Of course you do this because I provide you with value. We have a mutually rewarding relationship.

What if I didn’t have a list? I wouldn’t be able to provide you with that value. I couldn’t stay in touch with you.

What if I never wrote to you? Would you remember me? Send me referrals or traffic? Not so much.

Yes, there are other things you (and I) can do to bring in new business. But nothing is more effective, less costly, or easier than building a list and staying in touch with it.

And that’s attorney marketing, in a nutshell.

Use your website to build your list. This is all you need.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, List building, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Referrals, Relationship marketing

How to become a better writer

March 18, 2014 by
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I used to write like a lawyer. Dry, stilted, cautious, boring. I’m stifling a yawn right now remembering how I used to sound.

Then I started reading books about copy writing and saw what I was missing. I saw what it meant to write to communicate and persuade, not just inform. I tried it, first in my demand letters. It was liberating and I’m pretty sure it earned me a few extra shekels.

I used some of those ideas in my briefs and declarations. Not to the same extent, of course, but a sprinkle here and a dash there. Judges and opposing counsel noticed.

Eventually, my efforts to become a better writer made me a better lawyer.

Lawyers earn our keep with words. It behooves us to improve our writing skills. If you want to know how to become a better writer, here are five ways to do that.

  1. Write every day. Take 15 to 20 minutes a day and write. Every day. Write a journal, free write (look it up), or write a page for your office operations manual, but write something. Practice doesn’t make perfect, but the more you write, the better you get.
  2. Write faster. Fast writing is usually better writing. When we let go and let the words flow, our writing is more natural and has more power. Of course it goes without saying that you shouldn’t edit while you write.
  3. Write letters to specific people. You’ve heard the oft-repeated advice to “write like you talk,” right? The next time you write something, write the first draft as a letter to a real person. You might actually speak, record, and transcribe your thoughts.
  4. Read every day. Read, in different disciplines, including fiction. Read slowly and pay attention to how good writers present their ideas, how they describe people and places and action.
  5. Study. Read books on grammar, copy writing, and creative writing. Learn the rules of effective writing and develop a sense of when it’s okay to break them.

None of this should be a revelation. It’s common sense advice you’ve heard before. I’d heard it, too. But I wasn’t doing it. I was busy. But then I realized that this is the kind of continuing education that could really pay off over the rest of my career. And it has.

As Jim Rohn put it, “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.”

If you want to know how to write better reports, better headlines and titles, get this

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Filed Under: Continuing Legal Education, Personal development, Writing

Building a law practice is like growing a Chinese Bamboo tree

March 17, 2014 by
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I mentioned to my wife that the recently planted tree in our yard didn’t seem to be growing much. She reminded me that it would first build its root structure before it grew above ground.

Of course. Roots before branches.

What a perfect metaphor for building a law practice. Before you grow branches or reaching out methods, make sure you have a strong foundation.

Before you attract prospective clients, make sure you are ready to do a good job for them and leverage their experience with you to generate referrals, website traffic, and positive word of mouth.

The roots of a successful law practice include your core competencies, your operating systems, and a commitment to delivering exceptional service. If your roots aren’t strong, networking, advertising, and content marketing may bring prospective clients to your door, but you may not sign them up. You may be able to do the work but if you aren’t prepared to surprise and delight the client, he may not be back.

Before you do any external marketing, you should know how you will ask clients for referrals. What will you say? When will you say it? What collateral material will you provide to make it easier to provide those referrals?

Before you connect with anyone on social media or at a networking event, you should be ready to respond when they ask for information about what you do and how you can help them. Make sure your website is filled with information and success stories that demonstrate your expertise and knowledge.

Before you sign up your next client, make sure you have a new client kit, thank you letter, and a system for sending out timely bills.

I am told that the Chinese Bamboo tree shows no visible signs of growth for four years after it is planted. All of the growth is underground. Then, in the fifth year, it breaks through the surface and in the next six weeks it grows to a height of 80 feet.

My law school torts professor told us it would take five years to build a successful practice from scratch. I didn’t want to believe him, but he was right. Today, because of the Internet, you can do it a bit quicker. But you still must have a solid root structure before you do anything else.

The 30 Day Referral Blitz shows you how to quickly get referrals. Click here for details.

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Filed Under: Law office management, Legal industry, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan

7-minute attorney marketing workout

March 14, 2014 by
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Have you seen those 7-minute workout apps? You set them up with your workout schedule, the app reminds you what to do and when, and as you do your workouts, you record it in the app. It’s like having a workout coach in your pocket.

If you miss a day, it shows. Some apps nag you about it. You are motivated to keep up your workouts and not “break the chain” and so, even with just a few minutes a day, you get in shape.

What if you had something like this to track your marketing? Do you think you would get more marketing done on a regular basis? Do you think it would be easier to develop the marketing habit?

I think so, too.

And trust me, doing something every day, even for a few minutes, is easier than trying to book an hour or two once a week.

I don’t think there are any attorney marketing apps, but you could accomplish something similar with just about any calendar or reminder app. You need a list of activities (exercises), and a schedule. Set up recurring tasks or appointments, with reminders.

You might also want to have someone in your office, or a workout partner, hold you accountable. At the end of the day, they ask you if you did your workout. If you do this with a workout partner, you do the same for them.

I suggest 15 minutes per day, five days a week, but if you can only do 7-minutes, do that. Consistently is more important than quantity.

You can do a lot in a few minutes. You can make calls, write, work on your website, read and take notes, learn a new software program, or share ideas with your workout partner. You can plan a new seminar or webinar, outline a report, or work on a speech. You can research new networking groups, write and post blurbs on social media, or add new contacts on LinkedIn.

A few minutes a day and you can get your practice in shape. Without breaking a sweat.

Want ideas for marketing online? Get this.

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Personal development, Productivity

Using sales funnels in your law firm marketing plan

March 13, 2014 by
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When you create your law firm marketing plan, I strongly suggest you consider using sales funnels.

A sales funnel simply means that on the front end of the sales process (the narrow part of the funnel), you offer something inexpensive (relative to everything else you offer) or free. The idea is to get as many people as possible buying something on the front end, to get them into your funnel, where they will be offered progressively more expensive products or services.

On the front end, you can offer products, services, or both. So, your front end offer might be a free report or a free consultation. It might be a $5 or $10 ebook or a $99 document tune-up. Once they have purchased something, or availed themselves of your free offer, you have their contact information and tacit permission to contact them with additional offers.

A sales funnel is useful because it helps you to identify prospects (leads) and build a list of prospective clients. You then invest time and money marketing to these higher probability clients.

A sales funnel also works because someone who buys something from you, however inexpensive, is more likely to buy something else. When they buy two products or services from you, the odds that they will buy a third go up exponentially. And, clients who buy more than one service or product are also more likely to buy your more expensive services. Their lower priced “purchases” help build trust in you and help them to see the need for additional work.

Studies in the banking industry prove that if you have multiple accounts with a bank, the odds of you staying with that bank increase dramatically. It works the same way with legal clients.

You can have multiple sales funnels bringing in clients from many directions. One of your funnels might start with advertising a free report to build your list. Another funnel might start with offering your basic package (e.g., estate planning, corporate formation, etc.), followed by offers for more expensive services.

You can also work with other professionals to create packages that both of you can offer on the front end. For example, an estate planning attorney and financial planner could offer packages that include information, consultations, and/or actual paid (or free) services, to get prospective clients into your sales funnels.

Sales funnels all come down to two things: giving prospective clients a sample of your work or your expertise, and building your list. Make sure you use them in your law firm marketing plan.

For more on creating a law firm marketing plan, see The Attorney Marketing Formula

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan Tagged With:

What are you working on?

March 12, 2014 by
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The life of a practicing lawyer is fairly predictable. Cases and clients come in, we do the work, and then we’re done. Some clients come back, new clients come in, and the cycle continues.

Is that all there is? Is that all there is? If that’s all there is, my friends, then let’s keep dancing. Let’s break out the booze and have a ball. If that’s all there is. (Big Peggy Lee fan, here.)

This can’t be all there is. There has to be something else. Something you’re working towards.

I’m not talking about formal goal setting here. I’m talking about something exciting that you are working on, outside of your regular daily work.

Renowned plastics surgeon and author of Psycho Cybernetics, Maxwell Maltz, put it this way:

“People who say that life is not worthwhile are really saying that they themselves have no personal goals which are worthwhile… Get yourself a goal worth working for. Better still, get yourself a project… Always have something ahead of you to ‘look forward to’ – work for and hope for.”

You might be starting a side business, writing a book, or training for your first marathon.

It should be something that puts a smile on your face every morning when you wake up and think about it. Something that makes you feel better when you’re having a bad day.

We all need a project. We all need something to look forward to.

So, what are you working on?

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Filed Under: Inspiration, Personal development Tagged With:

“Here, call my law firm,” said nobody ever

March 11, 2014 by
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Your clients may write their check to your law firm, but they hire. . . wait for it. . . YOU.

They know you. When they call the switchboard, they ask for you. If you leave the firm, they will probably follow you. And when someone needs a referral, they hand them your card and say, “Here, call my lawyer”.

Not your firm. So, if you are marketing your firm, stop it. Market you.

When you send an email, it should be from you@yourname.com, not you@yourfirm.com.

If your firm has a blog, posts should be by-lined by you, the individual lawyer, not the firm. If you don’t want to take my word for it, here are seven reasons why you should be the author. And if your firm doesn’t have a blog, you should start one. You, not the firm. It should be hosted at yourname.com or yournamelawyer.com.

Social media pages and profiles, you guessed it, should feature you, not your firm. Your firm can have a page, too, but you should promote yours, not theirs.

This is not just for branding purposes. It’s also for self-preservation. If everything is in your firm’s name and not yours, what do you do if your firm dissolves or you leave? You start from scratch, that’s what you do.

Now, what if you own the firm? Same advice. Brand yourself. You can promote and brand the firm, too, but don’t forget to get and keep your name in front of your target market. Because people hire lawyers, not law firms.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Law office management, Marketing legal services Tagged With: ,
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