David M. Ward – Page 92

Use a trigger list to identify people you don’t know you know

August 12, 2021 by David M. Ward

One of the first things you do when starting a new business or professional practice is to make a list of people you know. If it’s been awhile for you, this might be a good exercise to go through again.

Going through your high school, college or law school yearbook, for example, might help you remember people you used to know but haven’t spoken to in years.

Looking at a map might prompt you to recall your days living in another city and remember some people you knew.

Searching online lists of occupations or businesses might prompt you to remember people you know or used to know in those occupations or businesses.

As you remember names, add them to a list to contact in the future. If you remember faces but not the names, put them on a list to track down.

Is this worth the effort? You tell me.

Some people you connect with might have work for you. They might know people who need your help.

Someone might ask you to speak at their event. Someone might want to read your book or see your presentation.

And some might share the link to your website in their newsletter or on their blog, exposing your name and website to thousands of people in your target market.

Saying hello to someone you used to know could lead to dozens or hundreds of new clients for you.

Would that be worth it?

On the other hand, you might get nothing more than the opportunity to talk to some old friends and recall some old times.

Would that be worth it?

Filed Under: Networking

A simple business development productivity system

August 11, 2021 by David M. Ward

You want to bring in new clients and build your practice. You have a list of projects that will help you do that.

You might want to work on your website or start a newsletter, update your social media profiles, consolidate your contact lists, or watch videos about a new note-taking app you’ve heard so much about.

But you’re not doing them.

You scheduled time to work on X this week but when you sit down to do it, you realize you don’t have enough time, you need to do more research, or you just don’t feel like doing it.

So you do nothing.

“I’ll work on that next week,” you tell yourself, but do you?

There’s a simple solution.

Instead of scheduling to do X (today, this week, next), schedule time to work on business development (marketing, operations, systems, etc.), and keep of menu of projects to choose from during that time.

So when you don’t feel like working on X, you can work on Y or Z.

Here’s how you might set this up.

Make a list of 5-10 projects or tasks you are committed to working on soon.
Choose a day of the week to work on “Business Development” for one hour. A Wednesday afternoon, a Saturday morning, or whatever.
Set up a weekly recurring task in your task management system, calendar, or reminder app, or use a free email service like FollowUpThen.com, so that every week you are prompted to work on business development for one hour.
Add your list of 5-10 tasks or projects as sub-tasks, or a link to your list.
Each week, when your system prompts you to work on business development, look at your list and choose something you want to do.

This week, you might write an email or two. Next week, you might outline a new presentation. The following week, you might modify your new client intake form.

You always have several options and it doesn’t matter which one you choose. Each week, you do something related to business development, and that’s better than doing nothing.

Ready to work on a newsletter? Here’s all you need

Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing legal services, Productivity

Not all clients are created equal

August 10, 2021 by David M. Ward

Some clients are worth more to you than others. I’m not just talking about billing or cases or revenue, or even the value of the referrals they send youâ€”or could.

I’m talking about the people they know and could introduce you to. The doors they could open for you for networking, speaking, and publishing content. The information they have about their industry or market or local market, information that can lead you to opportunities you didn’t even know existed.

I’m also talking about the value these clients represent to you by allowing you to be seen with them. When important people in your niche see you interviewing other important people in your niche, for your blog or channel, the value of your “stock” tends to go up.

Because we are known by the company we keep.

Hold on. If you primarily represent consumers, if your clients don’t have the status and connections we’re talking about, you’re not out of luck. Your professional contacts can also provide this value.

Your homework: identify 5 or 10 of your top clients and/or professional contacts and go to school on them.

Study them and their business or industry. Find out more about what they do, how they do it, and who they know. Figure out what they can do for you (or your clients), and. . . what you can do for them.

What do they need? What do they want? What are their problems and goals?

If you can, interview them. Spend more time with them. Tell them you want to get to know better. Ask questions and take notes.

The things you learn will help you take your relationship to the next level.

Your research will help you do a better job for them as their lawyer, and for your other clients in that niche or practice area, and help you assist your inner circle in ways that go beyond your core services.

Good for them. Good for your other clients and contacts. And good for you.

There you have it. Off you go. You’ve got people to talk to and notes to take.

Make sure you have a copy of this in your backpack

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Networking

10 tips for better blog post titles

August 9, 2021 by David M. Ward

Good blog post titles attract search traffic and social traffic and get more people reading your posts (and newsletters).

So how do you write a good title?

These10 tips should help:

Write a lot of bad titles. The more bad titles you write, the more likely you are to write some good ones. Keep an idea file, mix and match phrases to create new (and better) titles.
Check your stats. If one of your posts did well before, it will probably do well again. Update an old post with new information, change your opinion, show a different side of the issue, and write a new title to reflect this. Or just use the same title again.
Read what other lawyers write. Agree with them, disagree, point out what they missed, use your own examples. Emulate their best titles (and subjects) and use them as prompts for your own.
Numbers work well. People are drawn to specificity and order. They’re curious and want to know the “10 tips” or “7 Steps” or “5 Secrets”.
Explanations and predictions work well. Readers want to know what happened and discover what’s going to happen.
You can go wrong with “How to”. People use search engines to learn how to do something or find something or someone (a lawyer). A title that promises to deliver what they’re searching for is likely to draw more readers. Also good: What, When, or Why.
Pain and promises. Talk about your readers’ pain, show them you understand their situation, their industry, their problems, their desires, and promise solutions and benefits,
Use cultural references. Movie, song, TV and book titles, news stories, famous people, hot products, trendsâ€”things people are already thinking about, talking about, and will recognize.
Mix it up. When someone visits your blog, you want them to see some variety. Use short titles and long titles, “normal” titles and “strange” titles, intriguing questions and surprising statements. Show readers you’re not like other (boring) lawyers.
Have fun with it. Don’t (always) be so serious, don’t contort the title for SEO purposes, or try finding the perfect title. Write what comes into your head, play with it, twist it, kick it in the arse, be irreverent and bold. If a title makes you smile or laugh or cry, chances are it will do the same for your readers who will want to read your post to find out more.

Sometimes, the content of your post will drive your title. Sometimes, it works the other way around. I’ve written many posts with nothing more than a title.

Which means there are no rules, except one:

If you’re getting traffic, opt-ins, appointments and new business, you’re doing it right.

More ways to find and create good blog post titles

Filed Under: Blogging, Content creation, Copywriting, Newsletters, Online Marketing, Writing

Another day, another newsletter alternative

August 6, 2021 by David M. Ward

Yesterday, I suggested sending an occasional “client alert” as a less-demanding alternative to the usual newsletter.

It takes less time and can bring you a lot of repeat business and referrals.

Today, another idea:

News and information for professionals and other referral sources.

You send occasional alerts or bulletins to other lawyers, business owners, and anyone else on your contact list who might like to know what’s going on in the legal world you inhabit.

You can do this for:

Other lawyers in your practice area
Lawyers in other practice areas
Business owners, executives, community leaders
Anyone you know who might send you referrals, and/or introduce you to other professionals who can.

Yes, you can include professional contacts who are themselves prospective clients, and anyone else with whom you would like to stay in touch.

One difference between this and the alert you send to clients, however.

With the client alert, I said adding your comments is recommended but not essential. With a bulletin sent to lawyers and other professionals, I suggest always including your comments.

Why? Because with clients, the alert is about staying in touch and building the relationship. That’s also true with professional contacts, but with the latter, you also want to position yourself as a thought leader in your field.

Thus, the necessity of including your thoughts.

Tell them what you think, what you’re doing with the information, and what you think they might want to do with their clients, practice or business.

Of course there are no absolutes here. Do what feels right for you and your practice.

But do something.

Repeat business and referrals are waiting for you.

How to build your law practice with newsletters

Filed Under: Email, Newsletters, Referral sources, Relationship marketing

It’s a memo, Jim, not a newsletter

August 5, 2021 by David M. Ward

Maybe you’re not ready to write a newsletter. Or maybe you tried it and gave up.

You see the value of staying in touch with your clients, but you don’t want to take the time to do it, or you don’t know what to say.

If you’re willing to reconsider, to do a “test drive” and see if it really is worth it, I have a suggestion.

Instead of a newsletter in the usual senseâ€”sent to anyone who subscribesâ€”consider sending something only to your clients.

You have their email and permission to contact them. You don’t need to add a form to your website or do any list building.

You already have a connectionâ€”they know, like and trust you, so you don’t have to do anything newsletter-ish.

And you don’t have to stick to a regular “publishing” schedule. You can write to them if and when you have something to share.

In prehistoric times, when a lawyer had something to share with their clientsâ€”an article, news, case summaries, business or consumer tips, or anything else they thought might interest their clientsâ€”they’d make copies and put them in the mail.

It was a way to keep their clients informed, add value to the relationship, and remind their clients that they were still there to help them (or someone they know).

You can do the same thing with email.

Set up a file, collect articles or tips or ideas, and when you have a few, put the blurb and/or a link in an email and click send.

You can comment on the tips or information if you want to, and while this is a good idea, it’s not required.

That’s right, you don’t have to do any writing or editing or make anything look pretty. Just send.

Because it’s not a newsletter.

And because most of the value of this exercise, to your clients, and to you, is in the sending.

If you’re ready to write a newsletter, this shows you everything you need to do

Filed Under: Client relations, Email, Newsletters

Read this immediately

August 4, 2021 by David M. Ward

Clients, prospects, anyone who reads or listens to your words, need to be told what to do.

You should tell them because you’ll get more people signing up, calling, engaging, sharing your content, and hiring you when you do.

They’ll do it because it’s good for them, but they’ll do it more often when you tell them to do it.

So, you add a call-to-action to your blog posts and articles and web pages and presentations. You tell people to call, visit, download, sign up, and so on, and whyâ€”to get valuable information, to learn more about their case, to help their friends, to find out their options, to get your advice or help.

Yes?

You also add a call-to-action to your networking conversations (“Call me,” “Give me your card,” “Go to my website to get that article,” “Give me your wallet”).

Tell them what to do and why. You’ll get better results when you do.

But you can get even better results by adding one more element: urgency.

Tell them to do it now.

Not tomorrow, not next week, not next monthâ€”NOW.

Tell them why it is in their best interest to act immediately. Forthwith. Without delay. Right this minute. Before they do anything else.

Because you’ll get more people doing it when you tell them to do it now. And why.

What benefits do they gain by doing it immediately?

What could they lose if they don’t?

If they might incur additional damages, for example, make sure you point this out. If they can solve their problem quickly, at a lower cost, make sure they know this.

Limited quantity and limited time are other ways to create urgency. But you can also do it by saying something as simple as “So you don’t forget”.

Because if the action you’re asking them to take will bring them an important benefit, surely they don’t want to miss out.

Go through your content, think about your conversations, and ask yourself if you have included urgency in your call-to-action.

If you haven’t, you have work to do.

Do it now so you don’t forget.

Filed Under: Copywriting Tagged With: calls-to-action, urgency

Beast mode

August 3, 2021 by David M. Ward

According to the dictionary, “‘Beast Mode’ refers to a state of performing something, especially difficult activities, with extreme power, skill, or determination.”

Some people operate in beast mode all day every day.

They hustle like there’s no tomorrow. They fill every minute of their day with activity. They continually push themselves to the limit.

They don’t have an off switch. “I’ll rest when I’m dead,” they say.

When they get an idea, they try it. While others are thinking about it and researching it, they’re doing it.

Instead of launching one product, they launch 10.

They might fail at a lot of things but they make fortunes from the things that work.

Musk and Vee, I’m looking at you.

On the other hand, history is littered with the bodies of people who gave it their all but didn’t make it.

They burned out or failed and couldn’t recover.

Working harder and longer doesn’t automatically equal more success, or quicker success.

And most people couldn’t do it even if they wanted to.

On the other hand, some massively successful people proudly tell us they don’t work that hard. Warren Buffett is a notable example. But most people don’t have what it takes to do what he does.

So, where does this leave us mere mortals?

How do we find a plan and a pace that allows us to achieve big things without sacrificing our health, our relationships, or other aspects of our life?

The answer is simple.

For most of us, beast mode shouldn’t be a way of life, it should be something we turn on when we need extra power or endurance.

We need to be like David Bannerâ€”nice and normal most of the time, but turn into The Hulk when we need to.

Filed Under: success

Does your life need to go on a diet?

August 2, 2021 by David M. Ward

It was just yesterday that you started practicing. Or so it may seem. The days whiz by, don’t they? Another day, another week, another month, another year, come and gone.

Where will you find the time to do everything?

The answer is to let go of things you don’t need to do or want to do but continue to do out of habit.

A good place to start is by reducing physical and digital clutter. Clean out closets and drawers, delete apps, and cut down on subscriptions.

To do your work, you need a calendar, a place for notes, a list of tasks and projects, a tool for writing, and a system for managing and storing documents.

You probably don’t need much more.

If you do, be judicious about what you add to the mix.

You want to reduce the noise around you and simplify your workflow. You want to focus on the “precious few” instead of the “trivial many”.

The goal is to be effective, with as little friction as possible.

To do that, you need to keep things as simple as possible.

The same goes for the information you consume. Be selective about what you read. Buy fewer books and courses, re-read and study the best ones.

You don’t need every idea; you need a few good ones.

Improve your note-taking skills and habits, so you can better use the information you consume.

How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler and How to Take Smart Notes by SÃ¶nke Ahrens will show you what to do.

Read broadly but focus on your core skills: your practice area, marketing, writing, speaking, leadership, and productivity.

One thing you should add to your workflow if you’re not already doing it, or doing it consistently, is time for planning.

Spend ten minutes every afternoon planning the following day. Spend an hour each weekend planning the following week.

This habit will help you get the most value out of your limited time.

One more thing.

When you do your planning, make sure you schedule time to enjoy the life you’re building.

Because no matter what you do, the days and weeks will continue to whiz by and you don’t want to look back someday and wonder if it was all worth it.

The only course you need on email marketing

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Productivity, success, Time Management

Why not you?

July 30, 2021 by David M. Ward

Youtube thought I’d be interested in watching an attorney explain what to look for when choosing a family law attorney.

The video is made to look like an interview, with the attorney explaining what to look for and what to ask. It’s less than 2 minutes and looks like it was recorded in her office.

Nothing fancy. She probably had a member of her staff record it on a phone.

Under the video, she lists her website, phone number, and an offer for a free consultation. There’s also a transcript of the video.

I offer no comment on the content, although I would stay away from mentioning an hourly rate, even as an example as she does.

Some viewers will think it’s too high and won’t call. Others won’t call because they think it’s too cheap.

Anyway, this is the type of video any attorney could make and post in about ten minutes.

If you’re a novice at making videos, it doesn’t get any easier than this.

You could do it facing the camera, speaking to prospective clients, or like this one, as a simulated interview. The latter has the advantage of looking less like a commercial and suggests that the attorney is someone worth interviewing.

The video has very few views, but that’s another issue. I don’t know what the attorney has done to promote it, but there are many options.

I’d start by optimizing the video with keywords a prospective client is likely to use in searching for information or help.

A video like this one, explaining “How to find a (your practice area) attorney” is a good choice, but I’d add “in (your city or area)” because that’s what a prospective client would no doubt include in their search.

And then I’d create other videos, explaining the law, procedure, risks, options, and other questions frequently asked by prospective clients.

This weekend, set up your phone on a tripod and speak into it. Record some information about your field or about your practice, or both.

Upload your video or videos and if you’re self-conscious about them, put them on “private” for now.

You’ll be only a click away from having a new source of traffic, subscribers, and clients. You’ll also have some great outtakes to show at your next office party.

Ask your clients and contacts to share your video. It’s a simple way to get more referrals.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services Tagged With: video marketing, Youtube marketing