This is WHY the ABA wants new rules to regulate online lawyer marketing

November 15, 2010 by
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world's tackiest lawyer ad everLast week, I joined the chorus of attorneys who strongly object to the ABA’s proposal to promulgate new rules regulating what attorneys can do on the Internet to market their services.

This weekend, I saw a video of a TV commercial by Florida divorce attorney, Steven D. Miller and thought I might have been hasty. The video, which someone put on YouTube with the caption, “Tackiest Lawyer Ad. . .Ever,” is a prime example of why the ABA is considering new rules. Watch and you’ll see why.

[mc src=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1Qk6QPzuIc” type=”youtube”]Tackiest Lawyer Ad Ever[/mc]

Wait. It gets better.

The web site for Mr. Miller’s practice is. . . (are you sitting down?). . . “DivorceDeli.com“. Yep, you can look at their menu, call or click, and order your divorce. “Would you like pickles with your restraining order?”

I’m pretty open minded but let’s face it, this commercial and the entire “deli” concept is in very bad taste. It reflects poorly on all lawyers. One subscriber to this blog wrote to say he was against lawyer advertising of any kind because of the negative impression lawyers’ TV commercials have on juries and this has to be “Exhibit A”. But as ugly as this is, I still don’t want (or think we need) more rules.

I don’t want to legislate taste. I don’t want to outlaw embarrassing behavior. I don’t want to be told what I can and cannot do. And, unless it is the only way to prevent serious, irreparable harm, I don’t want to tell anyone else what to do.

Mr. Miller obviously does what he does because it’s working for him. God bless him. He’s serving a segment of society that might otherwise be denied access to the legal system because of their lack of funds (or good taste). I disagree with his approach but I must defend his right to do what he does without interference from the ABA or anyone else.

So, whether you laughed at this video and web site or recoiled in disgust, I hope you’re with me. If you agree that despite examples like these, we don’t need or want additional regulations, please tell the ABA.

Comments should be sent to: Natalia Vera, Senior Research Paralegal, Commission on Ethics 20/20 ABA Center for Professional Responsibility, 321 North Clark Street, 15th Floor, Chicago, IL 60654-7598. Phone: 312/988-5328, fax: 312/988-5280 and email: veran@staff.abanet.org. The comment period ends on December 15.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Blogging, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Social media, Social media marketing, Technology Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Getting started with online video–so simple, even an attorney can do it

November 11, 2010 by
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youtubeOnline videos are easier to create than you might think. The video below shows you what I’m using to create my first online videos and how I’ve been able to use them to drive a lot of free traffic to this web site.

If you know of any resources I missed, please leave a comment. And please share on Twitter (Facebook, et. al.)

[mc src=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li111bDWyow” type=”youtube”]Getting started with online video[/mc]

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Web traffic Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Attorney Turns Director–Debut Film Exposes American Bar Association Plot

November 8, 2010 by
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David S. Ward is the Hollywood writer and director of “Field of Dreams,” “The Sting,” and many other amazingly successful films. I never met the man but when I lived in Beverly Hills I would sometimes get calls from his fans, telling me how much they enjoyed “my” latest movie. I confess to having a lifelong dream of writing novels and screenplays but for years, David M. Ward has lived in the shadow of David S. Ward.

Not anymore.

Today, my dream has become reality as I am now the writer, producer and director of my first motion picture.

Last week, I found out from Larry Bodine that the ABA wants to regulate marketing on the Internet. Big Brother wants to control just about everything we do online. According to Larry, the proposal would have a chilling affect on every aspect of attorney marketing:

  • Online social networking (Facebook, LinkedIn & Twitter)
  • Blogging
  • Facebook and Linkedin profiles
  • Pay per click advertising
  • Gathering information through networking websites
  • Discussion forums
  • Lawyer websites
  • Use of case histories on law firm websites

Tom Kane echoed Bodine’s concerns and I do too.

We have enough rules. Too many rules. Unnecessary rules. We are regulated, micro-managed, watched, and warned, by the very organization that is supposed to represent our interests. True, the ABA has no direct jurisdiction over us but they wield tremendous influence over the bar associations that do.

Enough is enough

I decided to do something about it. This film, “The Convention,” is an urgent message to all attorneys to rise up and tell the ABA, “we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore!”

And now, I present to you, uncensored and uncut, “The Convention”:

[mc src=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93lmTepypqU” type=”youtube”]The Convention: A young lawyer attends his first ABA Convention[/mc]

Okay, just having some fun but this is a very serious subject. I urge you to write to the ABA and tell them to keep their hands off. The cut off for discussion is December 15, so please voice your concerns and tell your colleagues to do the same.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Blogging, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Social media marketing, Technology Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The single most valuable skill for attorney marketing

November 4, 2010 by
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copy writing for attorneysLearning how to write effective copy not only helped me to build a successful law practice, it helped me to sell millions of dollars of my signature marketing course and other products. Copy writing, which as been called “salesmanship in print” is an important skill for every attorney, even those with no intention of writing their own sales materials.

Effective marketing documents can make the different between unbridled success and abject failure. A change of headline or offer can increase the pulling power of a letter or ad or web site twenty-fold–and even more.

The best way to learn copy writing is to study effective marketing documents. When you see something good, something that’s working, perhaps something that made you buy a product or service, copy the sales letter or ad or web page so you can study it. Create a “swipe” file of letters, brochures, ads, web pages, newsletters, and other compelling copy, to study, for ideas and to use as models for creating your own documents.

(Shameless plug alert. . .) The Lawyers’ Marketing Toolkit is a swipe file of marketing documents for lawyers. It is a collection of referral letters, reports, ads, newsletters, brochures, and other marketing documents submitted to me for critique by lawyers in my marketing program–along with my (detailed) critiques.

Start your copy writing education by studying the sales letter for The Toolkit. Print the page, copy it, read and re-read it. It works and it could be the first document for your new swipe file.

After many years of collecting marketing documents in file boxes, today, I use Evernote to collect them electronically. It’s free and a great place to start your swipe file.

[mc src=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObHOvFoRLxk&feature=mfu_in_order&playnext=1&videos=QOSWMn-miTw” type=”youtube”]The single most valuable skill for attorney marketing[/mc]

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Filed Under: Advertising, Copywriting, Writing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lawyers: Now you can get legal marketing videos on youtube

November 1, 2010 by
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legal marketing videosOkay, this first video isn’t specifically about legal marketing, but I’ve got a youtube channel now and will be posting videos you can watch while sorting email or having your morning coffee.

Actually, I’ve got some good things planned and when you subscribe to my channel you’ll be notified when there’s a new video posted. I also added social media badges to the blog for youtube and linkedin.

What’s this first video about? Well, social media. I wanted to have a simple page where people can find the links (badges) to all my social media accounts so they can friend/follow/like me. Since I have another business and blog, this was even more important. I was getting to the point where even I couldn’t remember how to find me. Anyway, this short video explains what I did in case you want to do the same.

Please leave your comments (or questions) below. Since this is my first video (imagine that), I’ve probably left out something important and I’m sure you’ll want to mention it (as my wife just did when she poked her head in the door to tell me about how I messed up “attorney marketing”.)

Oh, please also use the share button or tweet button to tell people about this post. They might want to show their spouse that they aren’t the only ones who can’t speak proper English.

[mc src=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhZEpFTg8XI” type=”youtube”]How to create a personal social media hub page[/mc]

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Filed Under: Blogging, Social media, Social media marketing, Web traffic Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Other ways lawyers may use social media (besides marketing)

October 26, 2010 by
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Lawyers are usually not early adopters. Although more and more lawyers are using social media for marketing, many others feel constricted by their employers’ policies (i.e., firms that insist the attorney promote the firm instead of themselves), by concerns about ethical issues, or, simply, by their natural tendency to “play it safe”.

Many attorneys who have no objection to using social media but are either overwhelmed by the myriad of choices or (believe they) just don’t have the time.

I see social media as nothing more than an electronic extension of the “real world”. It’s still just communication with people you know and people you want to know. We’ve been networking all our lives; why should networking online be any different?

True, the Internet provides reach and permanency that do not exist at a Chamber of Commerce dinner, although the presence of cameras on our phones tends to blur that distinction. But if we mind our P’s and Q’s (does anyone use that expression anymore?) it isn’t difficult to stay out of trouble. And let’s face it, it’s a lot easier and less time consuming to interact via your iPhone than it is to press the flesh, although, arguably, not as effective.

Whatever your viewpoint and experiences with social media, one thing we can all agree on is that it’s here to stay. Like any trend that changes the way people communicate, we ignore social media at our peril.

Social media is starting to be used as evidence, for example.

So, like it not, use it not, we all have to pay attention. Experts say, “lawyers already tuned into social media are not only on the right track, but will have a head start on the competition.”

How about you? How are you using social media in your law practice? Please add your comments below.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Relationship marketing, Social media, Social media marketing, Technology Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Poll results and NEW poll: What are you doing to increase your income?

October 25, 2010 by
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Last week’s poll provided some interesting results. The numbers themselves were as predicted–most who responded said their income and/or number of new clients was down. You can see the results and add your vote if you’d like–the poll is still open.

There were some comments suggesting that attorneys are adapting to the current economic situation by taking on new practice areas.  How about you? If your income has suffered, what are you doing about it? If you’re doing better now than in the past, how did you go about it?

Please take this new poll to share with our readers what you are doing to increase your income. Feel free to add your comments as well.

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Filed Under: Attorneys fees Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Poll: How has the economy affected your law practice?

October 21, 2010 by
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How has the economy affected your law practiceHow has the economy affected your law practice?

If you practice real estate law, the last couple of years have probably been rough. On the other hand, some real estate lawyers are reinventing their practices and appear to be thriving. The economy has been good to them.

I believe that while some lawyers are doing better in this economy, most lawyers are not. Most are treading water and more than a few are going under.

To me, this is obvious. There are fewer (paying) clients and fewer jobs for lawyers. This morning I read an article about a law student who looked at the job market and asked the dean of his law school for a refund. I previously noted a law school graduate who sued his law school for misrepresenting his prospects for a job.

So, are things better or worse for you? Are you hanging in there or hanging by a thread? Please answer by responding to this (anonymous) poll:


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Posting to two twitter accounts: what do you use?

June 28, 2010 by
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posting to two twitter accountsI have two twitter accounts, one for The Attorney Marketing Center and one for my personal blog (about network marketing and internet marketing). It’s more work to have two twitter accounts, but attorneys who want information about marketing their legal services is a completely different market from internet marketers, and thus, two accounts

Follow me on twitter and I’ll follow you back (if you have something intelligent to say–kidding. . .).

I’ve been using ping.fm to tweet for one account and to simultaneously post facebook status updates. I don’t see a way to use ping.fm to update two twitter accounts, however, and am looking for an alternative solution, both for desktop and my iPhone. I’m looking at tweetdeck and hootsuite, among others.

What do you use and recommend for posting to multiple twitter accounts? Add your comments to this post (and re-tweet it!)

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Filed Under: Online Marketing, Social media, Social media marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A marketing plan for lawyers–part two

June 22, 2010 by
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In a previous post, we examined the four steps to creating a marketing plan. You learned that a marketing plan should be simple, and that it is an ongoing process, with most of the planning taking place on a monthly and weekly basis.

You also learned the importance of having a long-term vision statement and annual goals.

Before we move on to discuss monthly planning and daily activities, let’s delve a little deeper into the goal setting process.

There are six major areas of life–Career/Financial, Physical/Health, Family/Home, Mental/Educational, Spiritual, and Social/Cultural. For most people, happiness comes from having a well-balanced life, with success in all six areas.

This doesn’t mean you need to set annual goals in all six ares. Some areas may be going well for you right now, or there may be one or two areas that are more important to you this year. Throughout your life, your priorities will change and so will your goals. So, right now, if you want to focus on just one or two areas of your life, that’s fine.

For each area of focus, you should have no more than three annual goals. One is even better.

Sometimes, people confuse “benefits” with “goals”. For example, in the area of Career/Financial, you may have a goal to earn a certain amount of money, another goal to buy a new house, and a third goal to pay off your credit card balances. But the second two are really benefits to be obtained from the first goal, so, in reality, you have just one goal.

Right now, I have just one area of my life I’m focused on and I have one goal in that area. There are many benefits to be derived from achieving that goal and there also many sub-goals I need to hit before I will achieve it. This works for me and you should do what works for you. (You can always change your goals.)

For each annual goal, follow these five steps and you will be well on your way to achieving them:

STEP ONE

Make sure your goal is S.M.A.R.T.–Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Tangible. Write your goal in the present tense, as though already obtained, make it specific, and attach a date. Since we’re focused on marketing, here’s an example of a S.M.A.R.T. financial goal: “I’m excited that I am now earning a net income of $15,000 per month, or more, in my law practice, by or before December 31, 2010.”

STEP TWO

List (a) the benefits to be obtained and (b) the losses to be avoided by achieving this goal. It’s important that you understand the value and importance of your goals and have some emotional investment in them.

Benefits to be achieved

  • Pride, feeling of accomplishment
  • Pay off debts
  • Increase savings, build for the future
  • Hire another paralegal, gain more free time
  • Reduce stress

Losses to be avoided

  • Cancelling next year’s vacation
  • Moving to a smaller office

STEP THREE

List (a) “Possible obstacles” to obtaining the goal and, for each obstacle, (b) “Possible Solutions”.

One of your obstacles is “you”. No doubt there are things you need to learn, things you need to do more of or get better at, or things you need to stop doing. What are they? What obstacles have prevented you from achieving your goal in the past? And what are some possible solutions? (Your goal is not S.M.A.R.T. unless you list possible solutions because without solutions, you can’t move forward.)

Possible obstacles/Solutions [Examples]

  • Obstacle: Me–my lack of patience. Solutions: Read Dale Carnegie, other books, find a mentor who has overcome that obstacle
  • Obstacle: Not enough clients. Solutions: Study marketing, set up a blog, join networking group.
  • Obstacle: Not enough time: Solutions: Find a “time management” system; hire another paralegal.

This will help you identity actions you need to take on the way to achieving your goals and help you identity sub-goals and projects you need to tackle.

STEP FOUR

List specific action steps you need to do to move you forward towards achieving the goal. Schedule target dates for each of these steps and put these dates on your monthly calendar.

These four steps will help ensure that you have meaningful goals, specific action steps and target dates for their achievement.

STEP FIVE

This goal setting process should be reviewed and re-written each month, at your monthly planning session. Ideally, this will take place a day or two before the end of the previous month. “Always plan next month before next month begins.”

Each month, as you make progress towards your goals, circumstances will change and your plan will change. As you move forward, you will conduct a weekly review of your monthly plans and make adjustments to your daily activities. We’ll talk about that in our next post on this subject.

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Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Goal Setting, Marketing legal services, Personal development, Productivity Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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