David M. Ward, Author at The Attorney Marketing Center

Is Twitter marketing for lawyers a waste of time?

February 25, 2011 by David M. Ward

A new study, reported by Mashable, finds that while nearly half of Americans use Facebook, only 7% use Twitter. Â So, is it safe to ignore Twitter in marketing your law practice? The answer lies in an understanding ofÂ who uses Twitter.

According to the study, Twitter usage is dominated by “power users,” (approximately 22%) who are responsible for the majority of Tweets (approximately 90%). While these probably don’t reflect the target market of most lawyers, it’s logical to assume that this group of regular Tweeters is comprised of well-connected, avid communicators who could turn out to be a great source of referrals for lawyers.

I don’t think I’m going out on a limb here by suggesting that the frequent-tweeter club includes a lot of professionals, many of whom have followers in your target market. The numbers may be small but the influence is great. These are the folks you want to meet–and network with–and Twitter is a great way to find them.

Twitter is also continuing to grow and enter the mainstream. Those of us who have staked a small claim will benefit by that growth.

I don’t consider myself a power user of Twitter or any other social media tool. Far from it. But through Twitter, I’ve been able to meet some power users. And that’s the point. Networking is not about meeting everyone, it’s about meeting a few of the right people.

Filed Under: Social media, Social media marketing, Web traffic Tagged With: attorney-marketing, attorney-twitter-marketing, attorney-twitter-usage, checklist, imagefortwittermarketing, lawyer-marketing-on-twitter, lawyers-twitter, marketing, Social media, Social networking, tagline-examples, taglines-for-twitter-marketting, Twitter, twitter-for-lawyers-marketing, twitter-lawyers-marketing, twitter-marketing, twittermarketing, twittermarketingimages, Writing, your-work-going-fill

Social media is dangerous for lawyers with big mouths and thick heads

February 7, 2011 by David M. Ward

Kevin O’Keefe commented today about an article in the ABA Journal suggesting that social media for lawyers is dangerous. As proof, the article cites bone-headed lawyer moves such as blogging about a Judge and calling her “a witch,” “mentally unfit,” and “unfit for her position”; an assistant public defender revealing confidential information about cases she was working on online; and, ex parte communication via Facebook between a judge and an attorney appearing before him.

For attorneys like this, yes, social media is dangerous. But so is the Postal Service, fax machines, email, and courtroom hallways. Lawyers with poor ethical grounding or loose lips are a danger anywhere they are allowed to speak.

It’s true that social media gives lawyers even more ways to show their ignorance or lack of discretion. But that doesn’t mean we need new rules restricting its use. So says Mr. O’Keefe and I agree, as I’ve written before.

In fact, couldn’t we make the case that what’s really dangerous is the idea of restricting social media? Aside from it being an assault on freedom of speech, it would be an assault on the use of common sense. Putting extraordinary limits on attorneys’ use of social media might give readers a false sense of trust in what they read online. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to live in a world where people think, “I saw it on Facebook so it must be true.”

Filed Under: Social media, Social media marketing Tagged With: ABA, aba journal, big-mouth-media, big-mouth-media-logo, big-mouths, bigmouth, bigmouths, clients, dangers-of-using-social-media-lawyers, dengerous-witchr-picture, disabledbigmouths, lawyer-social-media-icon, myfreef, school-supplies, tagline-examples, taglines-examples, very-big-lips, very-very-big-lips, verybig, Writing

Why the yellow pages will never die

January 31, 2011 by David M. Ward

For the last several years, the demise of the yellow pages has been repeatedly predicted, but they will never die.

In the same way that AT&T and other “wire” phone carriers re-invented themselves as mobile carriers, the yellow pages has reinvented itself in search engines and online directories. These new and improved directories allow advertisers to have a bigger presence, with more information about their firm, at lower cost. Smart attorneys (and other advertisers) are taking advantage of these changes by creating better web sites (and more of them), optimizing their sites to improve search engine ranking, and promoting their sites through social media.

There are other improvements. Technology makes it easy to see which ad is working best, allowing you to adapt immediately instead of having to wait until next year’s print edition. You can increase or decrease your advertising investment with a click or two and you can just as easily change your headlines and copy and offers, making the same dollars bring in even more business.

If you previously spent $1,000 a month on yellow pages ads, that same $1,000 spent online could yield a much greater return. A small firm that had been limited to smaller ads in print directories can, with some marketing smarts, compete with firms with a bigger budget. Consumers obviously benefit by the added information and convenience of the online world.

So, for advertisers and consumers, the changes are positive. But what about the publishers of print directories? What will happen to them?

Some have already made the shift to online and are will thrive. Others, will die out. And some will see a void in the market left by theÂ disappearanceÂ of their competitors and make a killing in the next frontier.

What do I mean? Our mailboxes today contain far fewer pieces of mail compared to ten years ago. As a result, direct mail advertising is potentially more effective. Smart advertisers will eventually shift dollars into mailings–catalogs, solo sales letters, coupon books, and so on, and I believe we’ll eventually see phone (and web site) directories being delivered by the post office. But, as more and more advertisers shift dollars from online to offline, the effectiveness of that advertising will decline and advertisers will shift yet again back to the Internet or to the next big thing.

Change is inevitable in business and advertisers need to be nimble to survive. Gone are the days when an attorney could write a check to “the” yellow pages, the only viable advertising option, and forget about it until the following year. Attorneys today must understand that advertising online is just one facet of an integrated marketing plan and they must be prepared to continually acquire the knowledge and resources needed to stay competitive.

Filed Under: Advertising, Online Marketing Tagged With: attorney-marketing-yellow-pages-not-working, checklist, do-i-need-the-yellow-pages, do-i-need-to-be-in-the-yellow-pages, getting-things-done-evernote, iphone-call-logo, logo-by-themselves, logomarca-da-yellow-pages, searchengineslogosofyellowpages, the-yellow-pages, theyellowpages, why-we-need-yellow-pages, will-yellow-pages-survive, Yellow pages, yellow-page, yellow-page-logo, yellow-pages-com-logo, yellow-pages-logo, yellowpage, yellowpages

Are you branding your law firm? Here’s why you shouldn’t.

January 24, 2011 by David M. Ward

When one of your clients has a friend or business contact who needs a lawyer, they’ll hand their friend your business card (we hope) and say, “Here, call my lawyer”.

Notice they don’t say, “Here, call my law firm.”

Your clients have a relationship with you, not your firm.Â Even if you are a partner, your brand is “you” and “you” is what you should be promoting.

If permitted, you should have your own web site or blog,Â your own social media accounts, your own domain name, and your own email account (you@yourdomain.com).

If all you do is promote and brand your firm, what happens if you leave the firm or the firm disbands?

Your brand is valuable. It should be protected, nurtured, and grown.

(Note, the above photo is a business card from lawyer James Rains, circa 1857. It says, “Will practice in any of the Courts, and attend promptly to the collection of claims.” It looks like he was a partner in the firm of “Kernan & Rains,” yet the card promotes Mr. Rains.)

Filed Under: Business cards, Client relations, Referrals, Relationship marketing, Social media Tagged With: attorney-business-cards, attorneybcards, Branding, branding-law-firm, can-i-call-my-law-firm-a-center, can-you-brand-a-law-firm, carl-brundtland, clients, how-to-name-your-law-firm, law-firm-card, lawyers-business-cards, meet-goals, name-or-brand-for-law-firm, visitingcardforcallcentre, what-should-i-call-my-law-firm, what-should-i-call-my-law-firms, why-brand-your-office, Writing, you-tubefacebook, your-work-is-going-to-fill-a-large-part-of

What to do if your business has fallen off

January 21, 2011 by David M. Ward

This morning, I spoke to a coaching client, a successful personal injury attorney, about a recent decline in the number of new clients his firm was signing up. It wasn’t a precipitous drop, but enough to bring it to my attention. The economy has hurt attorneys, but clients don’t need money to hire someone on a contingency fee, right? Could it be that people are simply driving less?

After some discussion, the question answered itself. The attorney realized that he had gotten away from doing some of the things he had done to build his practice. For one thing, he didn’t have as much time to meet with clients personally. He used to do the initial client interviews himself and now has a paralegal do that for him. He knows it is the personal touch that builds relationships (and that those relationships create future business) but he doesn’t have ninety minutes to invest in the initial client meeting.

I suggested he continue having the paralegal do the interview but that he come into the room at the end, shake hands, review the file, and say something wise and reassuring. Five minutes instead of ninety.

Isn’t that what happens when you see a doctor? The nurse takes your history and then the doctor comes into the room. The doctor sees you for a couple of minutes, writes aÂ prescription, and moves on. You expect this and you are satisfied with this. He or she is still “your” doctor.

It is important to meet clients personally, to let them know they made a good decision in choosing you, and to give them some encouraging words about their case. Â This has nothing to do with the technical aspects of the case and everything to do with building a relationship with the people who are putting your kids through college.

But this post isn’t about the value of building relationships so much as getting back to basics, about doing what worked so well in the past that you stopped doing it.

Football coach Vince Lombardi began every new season with a lecture to both veterans and rookies alike on the basics of football. “This is a football,” he would begin, followed by instructions on the elements of the game–passing, blocking, punting, and tackling. Lombardi knew that mastery of the fundamentals was the key to success in football and it is no less so in building a law practice.

If your business has declined, the economy could be a factor, but there’s nothing you can do about that. What you can do is get back to fundamentals. What have you done in the past that worked so well you stopped doing it?

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Coaching, Law office management, Marketing legal services, Time Management Tagged With: animated-zen-garden-gif, answer-call-icon, call-icons, contact-person-icon, high-res-iphone-icons, iphone-call-icon-hi-res, Marketing legal services, phone-gif-icon, phone-icon, phone-icon-gif, phoneicongif, saying-hello-to-a-client, standard-telephone-icon, standard-telephony-icons, telephone-as-a-logo, telephone-logo, telephone-office-icons, telephonelogoicon, what-do-you-do-if-some-has-fallen, what-to-do-when-a-business-has-your

Attorneys need coaches

January 18, 2011 by David M. Ward

The top people in any industry, whether sports or business or the arts, have coaches. Attorneys should, too.

A coach can provide training and mentoring and yes, some hand holding, but perhaps the most valuable service they offer their clients is providing a mechanism for accountability.

My coach taught me that accountability is one of the most powerful forces in motivating human behavior. I know when I have to report my progress to him at the end of the week, I get the work done. Without that accountability, it’s too easy to delay and defer. I don’t know why I listen to my excuses, but I do. I’ll bet you do, too.

If you want to get more done, especially in the area of marketing your legal services, you should consider hiring a coach. Actually, you should hire me.

As an attorney, I built a successful practice by implementing marketing strategies and techniques that I learned through a lot of trial and error and a lot of study. As a marketing consultant, I’ve helped hundreds of attorneys with different backgrounds and practice areas in all phases of marketing and business development.

When we work together, you’ll be able to:

Get more repeat business and referrals
Determine the best markets for you to target
Get better clients and bigger engagements
Develop a web site or blog that builds your brand and brings in new business
Create compelling content for your web site or newsletter or for a speech or seminar
Build targeted lists of prospective clients and referral sources
Use social media to drive traffic to your web site
Create marketing documents that make your phone ring
Increase your gross income and your net income
Earn more while working fewer hours
Create a marketing plan that works for you, your practice, and your market

If you are on my newsletter list, you will be notified when the next group coaching program is open.

If you’re interested in one-on-one coaching, please call me at (949) 888-2800 or use this contact form.

I can also provide referrals to experts in other fields. Please contact me if you’re interested in any of the following:

Copy writing (web, brochures, sales letters, landing pages, radio/TV)
Media buying
Email campaigns
Print ads
Web site (and blog) development
SEO
PPC
Videos (scripting, shooting, editing, publishing)
Social media campaigns
List rental
Web site metrics

If you want to be at the top of your profession, surround yourself with experts who can help you achieve more than you can achieve on your own. Hire someone to help you determine your most important goals, equip you with the tools and resources for achieving thoseÂ goals, and hold you accountable to the monthly plans and daily activities that will help you accomplish them.

Filed Under: Advertising, Coaching, Copywriting, Marketing legal services, Mentors & Coaches, Newsletters, Online Marketing, Public Speaking, Referrals, Relationship marketing, Social media marketing, Web traffic Tagged With: attorney-coaching, attorney-for-coaches-needed, bad-lawyer-advertising, coaching-for-attorneys-marketing, divorcelawyerads, lawyer-advertising, lawyers-spend-on-advertising, logo-yellow-printers, Marketing legal services, overheadcostclipart, preprinted-attorney-marketing, spoof-advertising, tv-ad-with-dialogue, tv-advertisements, yellow-pages-iklan, yellow-pages-logo, yellow-pages-phone-book-clipart, yellowpages-directory-book-clipart, yellowpageslogoparody, yellowprinters

Register for this free goal setting webinar and achieve your goals in 2011

January 12, 2011 by David M. Ward

“Most people fail to achieve the goals they set,” my mentor and personal coach David ByrdÂ told aÂ group of 2000 entrepreneurs over the weekend. You probably already knew that. ButÂ doÂ you know why?

The first part of the answer is that they don’t know how to set goals in the first place.

Should youÂ choose goals that are so easy you know you will accomplish them? Well, if you do that,Â you’ll feel good about accomplishing a lot of goals but you won’t see much growth. So how aboutÂ choosing huge, lofty goals you will probably never accomplish? Is that the answer?

I used to think so.Â For years, I set goals I never came close to achieving. Year after year I wouldÂ set the same goals and year after year, fail to accomplish them.Â It was discouraging and eventually,Â I lost interest in goal setting.

Now, things are different. I know how to set goals that are both inspiring and achievable and I amÂ achieving them. ButÂ not justÂ because I know how to set them properly. You also need a system forÂ goal achievement.

On Wednesday, January 19, I’m hosting a webinar featuring David Byrd who will teach you howÂ to set goals and achieve goals. You’ll learn a system he has used for more than thirty years workingÂ with professionals, executives, and business owners, as an executive leadership coach.

The webinar is 100% free and I promise you will learn a lot that you can use to achieve more in 2011.

Click here for details and to register.

Filed Under: Goal Setting, Mentors & Coaches, Personal development, Productivity, Time Management Tagged With: 1st-place-goal, achieving-goals, achieving-the-goal, achieving-your-goals, business-goal-setting, checklist, goal-achievement-webinar, goal-setting, goal-setting-webinar, goal-webinar, goalsettings, how-to-set-personal-goal, my-interest-and-goal-setting, overworked, set-goal, set-goal-and-achieve, setthegoals, tagline-examples, webinar, webinar-for-goal-setting

Do lawyers need a blog?

January 10, 2011 by David M. Ward

The Attorney Marketing Center web site launched in 1998 and transitioned to a blog in 2007. At that time, I wrote an article detailing the change, David’s Website Diary, and promised updates. To be honest, I forgot about the article and didn’t update it until today.

Sorry, but you didn’t miss much.

From a technological standpoint, not much has changed since I switched to the blog format. I’ve changed the color and layout and added some new plug-ins, mostly having to do with social media integration, but not much else.

My site has grown because I focused on creating content, not on the latest bells and whistles. Content creates value for visitors, allows you to demonstrate your expertise, and brings traffic from search engines and from word of mouth. And so the number of subscribers to my newsletter has grown and the number of blog subscribers has grown and I have continued to sell products and services.

Do you need a blog? If you want to get more clients online I think you do.

A blog has several advantages over a static web site. As you update your content, search engines are notified and they bring visitors. As those visitors see the solutions you provide, they may (a) take the next step toward hiring you, (b) connect with you by subscribing to your newsletter or your blog feed or commenting on your posts, or (c) tell others about you via social media.

Your blog allows prospects and referral sources to see you “in action”. Your content is not just puffery about how great you are it is an exemplar of your abilities. As visitors become familiar with your style and hear your “voice,” as they get to know and trust you, your preeminence grows, your traffic grows, and your client base grows.

You can set up a blog yourself Â in about an hour. WordPress makes is easy. There are many free and inexpensive “getting stated” videos available and you can hire people inexpensively to do it for you. Contact me if you would like some referrals.

Once you have your own blog, you control it; you don’t have to wait for tech support to do updates for you, you can do them yourself. It’s as quick and simple as using a web browser. And, other than paying for hosting (under $10/month), it’s free.

What about content–do you have enough to say? Trust me, you have enough. There is an endless amount of material you can supply. Everything from posts about the law and procedure in your practice areas, success stories you helped created, general business (or consumer) advice, guest posts from experts (referral sources) in allied fields, and much more. A post can be as short as a few paragraphs and as simple as you commenting on something you found on another web site or blog or in the news. And you can outsource content creation, too.

A blog may seem to be a big commitment but think of it as theÂ front door to your online office. You won’t be there 24/7 but your presence will be. If you write an offline newsletter, publish articles, or do any public speaking or networking, you are already doing the things that are done online through a blog.

If you have a web site, you have something you can point to and that’s good. But you have to do the pointing. If you want free traffic, you need a blog.

Filed Under: Blogging, Communication, Email, List building, Newsletters, Online Marketing, Social media, Social media marketing, Technology, Web traffic Tagged With: a-blog-lawyer, blog, clients, do-lawyers-need-a-website, do-lawyers-need-blogs, do-lawyers-need-to-blog, intextnotify-me-of-followup-comments-via-e-mail, lawyerscommentingblogs, notify-me-of-follow-up-comments-via-email, notify-me-of-followup-comments-via-e-mail, notify-me-of-followup-comments-via-e-mail-call-center, notify-me-of-followup-comments-via-e-mail-outsource-call-center, notify-me-of-followup-comments-via-e-mailnotify-me-of-followup-comments-via-e-mail, tagline-examples, what-do-lawyers-do, what-do-lawyers-need, what-do-lawyers-need-like-supplies, why-do-lawyers-need-social-media, wordpress, you-tubefacebook

The cure for the overworked and overwhelmed attorney–part two

January 4, 2011 by David M. Ward

So it’s a new year and you’re ready to get back to work. If you’re like most attorneys, you’re excited about all of the plans you’ve made for the future but feeling overwhelmed with everything you have to do. You’ve got “too many”.

Too many articles and blog posts to read (not to mention the books piled up on your shelf (or floor) and in your Kindle or iPad
Too many people to call, letters to write, lunches to attend
Too many projects you’ve been putting off but promised yourself (spouse, partner) you will (finally) do
Too many continuing education seminars you don’t have time for but must do because your compliance group is “due” (guilty)
Too manyÂ commitmentsÂ you’ve made that you know you can’t possibly keep

And let’s not forget your legal work. You know, the stuff that actually gets you paid.

In a previous post, I wrote about how I dramatically cut my work hours (and stress) by delegating. If you’ve ever emptied a closet or a desk drawer, all that empty space feels good but you know it won’t last. It’s only a matter of time before that closet or drawer is once again filled to overflowing. Once you get good at delegating as much as possible and have more time available, it’s the same thing: you find more and more things to fill your time and before you know it, once again, you’re overwhelmed.

I’ve still got “too many”. I have a backlog of hundreds of articles I need to read and I’ve bookmarked so many web sites to visit my head is spinning. I glance at the updates in my Twitter stream and wonder how I could possibly read even a fraction of the tweets that go past me, let alone follow up on the relevant ones, let alone connect with the people who sent them.

I think it’s safe to say we all have “too many”. So how do we avoid being overwhelmed?

First, take a deep breath. Exhale. Once more. Now, repeat after me, “I can’t do it all, I will never get everything done, and that’s okay.”

None of us will ever get it all done. We’ll never read all those articles or complete all those projects. There’s too much and there will always be more and the first thing we need to do is acknowledge that we’ll never get it all done AND THAT’S OKAY.

So relax.

The key to success and a well-lived life Â isn’t doing everything, it’s doing the most important things. It is the 80/20 principle: a few things matter, most everything else doesn’t; the ones that matter are the ones that produce most of your results. Focus on doing a few important things, and don’t worry about the rest.

Success comes from achievement, not from being busy.

About a year ago, I started working with David Byrd, an executive coach, who helped me get clear about what I wanted to accomplish. He taught me the value of being driven by vision–my vision of the future I want to create–instead of being driven by circumstances. The idea is to start with the end in mind and then set goals that are consistent with that vision. In doing so, we cut through the clutter of “too many” possibilities and focus on the most important ones. The system gives me a place to come back to whenever I find myself wandering. WhenI feel overwhelmed or losing clarity about what to do next, I revisit my vision and my goals and I’m back on track.

David Byrd also taught me a system for achieving my goals. I plan each month so that my activities (projects, actions, etc.) move me forward towards my goals. I also plan each day. As a result, I always know what I need to do.

In short, the system helps me putÂ one foot in front of the other and continually move forward towards my destination. I don’t get distracted by all of the side roads or billboards.

So, as we begin a new year, have you chosen your most important goals? Have you put them on paper? And do you have a plan for achieving them?

If you are driven by vision, have goals that support that vision and a plan for achieving them, you’ll have clarity about what to do and what you can let go of. You’ll be empowered, not overwhelmed. And you’ll be excited because you know where you’re going and you have a map that will get you there.

—

On January 19, Mr. Byrd will be conducting a free goal-setting webinar for my subscribers. Please join us.Â Register here for this free webinar and make 2011 your best year ever.

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Dealing with stress, Increase your income, Law office management, Mentors & Coaches, Productivity Tagged With: americans-overworked-and-overwhelmed-2011, businessforcastclipart, checklist, Delegating, goal-setting, high-contrast-photography-of-race-cars, how-to-deal-with-law-firm-stress, ive-got-too-many-projects, lawyer-and-overwhelmed, lawyer-overworked, lawyers-overworked, overwhelmed-at-work-lawyer, overwhelmed-attorney, overwhelmed-lawyer, overwhelmed-lawyers, overworked-as-an-attorney, overworked-lawyer, tagline-examples, webinar, Writing

Where good ideas come from by Steven Johnson

December 23, 2010 by David M. Ward

Soon, we’ll all be thinking about the New Year. How can we grow our practice? What can we do to enhance our personal life?

For some, the answer is to continue executing plans that are already in place. They know what to do, they just need to get better at doing it or simply give it more time. Others need a new plan. What they’ve been doing isn’t working. New plans call for new ideas, but where do ideas come from?

To answer this question, author Steven Johnson takes us on a visual journey into the creative process in this fascinating video:

[mc src=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NugRZGDbPFU&feature=player_embedded” type=”youtube”]Where do good ideas come from?[/mc]

Filed Under: Inspiration, Just for fun, Personal development Tagged With: attorney-marketing, attorney-marketing-ideas, attorney-marketing-social-media, checklist, Creativity, economy, economy-tagline-example, ideas-for-attorney-marketing, myfreef, ppt-where-the-good-ideas-come-from, simple-plan, Steve Jobs, tagline-attorney, tagline-examples, tagline-for-economy, whe-good-ideas-come, where-good-ideas-come-from, where-ideas-come-from, where-the-good-ideas-come-from, Writing

Why the yellow pages will never die

What to do if your business has fallen off

Register for this free goal setting webinar and achieve your goals in 2011

The cure for the overworked and overwhelmed attorney–part two

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