The Attorney Marketing Center--Earn More. Work Less

2 things you need to know before your next paper or presentation

October 30, 2020 by David M. Ward

You’re working on a presentation, paper, article, brief or book. You’re about to have a conversation with a client or prospect, negotiate a contract or address a jury. You’re writing an email for your newsletter or to someone you’d like to meet.

Any time you have a message to communicate, there are two things you need to know first:

Your audience.

Who are they and what do you know about them and their situation? What’s important to them? What do they already know about you and your subject? How will they benefit from reading or listening to your message?

Your purpose.

Why are you writing to or speaking with them? What do you want them to know? Why is this important? What do you want them to do after they read or listen to your message?

Give this some thought, make some notes, and then distill this information into a single sentence:

“As a result of my [talk, paper, email, etc.], they will understand [this] and respond by doing [this].”

For example:

“After reading my [email/blog post/article], they will understand the benefits for [updating their estate planning/corporate documents and the problems that can occur if they don’t], and respond by [making an appointment].”

Answering these questions before you write or speak will help you create a more effective message and make it more likely you’ll get the response you want.

[Based on this article about writing a better speech]

How to build your practice with email

Filed Under: Communication, Content creation, Writing

Better than a testimonial?

October 29, 2020 by David M. Ward

Is there anything better than a glowing testimonial or review from a happy client?

Sometimes, there is.

An endorsement from an influential leader in your target market can enhance your status in that market and bring you a lot of clients.

When you say you’re good at your job, people can doubt you. When a lawyer you’ve worked with (or opposed) says you’re good, that’s a different story.

Endorsements from a fellow professional, business executive, or prominent person in your community are invaluable. When they say nice things about your character, when they attest to your skills or experience, when they say that you’ve helped their clients or friends, their words carry a lot of weight.

How do you get an endorsement? You ask. Tell them you’re updating your website or brochure and you would appreciate if they’d say a few words about you. You might offer to do the same for them.

Who do you know? Who do you network with? Who sends you business or has hired you?

Go through your list of lawyers, CPAs, CEOs, business owners, speakers, authors, and others who sell to, advise, or otherwise influence your target market, and talk to them.

Their endorsement can open doors to you for speaking, writing, or networking. It can lead to new clients, introductions to other centers of influence, and referrals.

Here’s how to get endorsements and referrals from lawyers and other leaders

Filed Under: Referrals Tagged With: endorsements, testimonials

And now for something completely different

October 27, 2020 by David M. Ward

If you don’t promote your legal services, you run the risk of losing business to attorneys who promote theirs. If you only promote your legal services, however, you run the risk that some people will tune you out.

Yes, repetition of your marketing message is important. But if someone doesn’t have a legal problem right now, they may stop listening (reading) when you talk about what your services can do for them.

That’s why you need to talk about other things in your newsletter and/or blog or other outlets. And that’s why you need something else to promote.

What else can you promote?

How about the legal services of your partner or someone in your firm? Or the products or services offered by your referral sources or business clients?

When you do that

You help your clients and prospects who may need or want those products or services.
You earn the good will of the people you promote, some of whom will promote your services (and/or provide referrals).
And you get something else to talk about besides your services.

You can also promote your content.

Tell people about your articles, reports, websites, books, videos, courses, and so on, and let that content promote you.

Which is what I do with my books.

When someone reads them, they learn about me and how I can help them. I promote the books to get them in front of more people.

Which is what I did yesterday when I asked you to help me by leaving a review on The Encyclopedia of Attorney Marketing and told you about the .99 promotion.

Many thanks to all the attorneys who bought books. I’m looking forward to seeing your reviews (which can take a day or two to show up).

The Encyclopedia of Attorney Marketing.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services Tagged With: content marketing

Can you help me?

October 26, 2020 by David M. Ward

I need reviews for The Encyclopedia of Attorney Marketing, my 5-volume collection of “best of” articles from my blog.

So, I’m running a special on the Kindle edition:

Volume One: General Marketing and Practice Development
Volume Two: Client Relations and Referrals
Volume Three: Online Marketing
Volume Four: Productivity
Volume Five: Professional and Personal Success

For a limited time, you can get any volume for just .99.

You can see everything here

If you’ve read any of these books (and liked them), please show me some love by adding some stars and a review. Even a one-sentence review helps.

(And yes, you can leave a rating or review even if you haven’t read any of the books.)

You can get the entire series for less than $5 during this promotion.

Check it out here

I appreciate your help.

The Encyclopedia of Attorney Marketing

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, News

Don’t know what to write about? Here’s what to do

October 23, 2020 by David M. Ward

When you’re out of ideas to write about in your blog or newsletter, there’s no need to panic.

You can write about almost anything.

Let’s say you’re in the market for a new computer. You’ve looked at the options, compared brands, found answers to lots of questions, and made some decisions. You may have ruled out certain brands or operating systems or options. You may have chosen your next machine.

Why not write about that?

Share the story of your quest–what you went through, what you discovered, what you decided and why. And. . .

. . .use that story as an analogy for hiring an attorney.

Tell readers what to look for in an attorney, the questions to ask and the answers they should hear.

Tell them the pros and cons of different types of attorneys or different services; explain the must-haves and the nice-to-haves.

Tell them what they need to know and do to make a good “purchase” and the problems they may have if they don’t.

Show readers you understand what they want and guide them to taking the next step.

You might end your post by telling them you’re happy with your choice of computer and relieved the hunt is over and you can get back to work, because that’s what readers want in their hunt for an attorney.

Look at what’s happening in your practice or personal life. The odds are there’s something you can use in your next post.

I’ve written posts about my cats, shopping with my wife, hiring service people for our home, stories about cases and clients, things I see online, things I see on my walk, and much more.

You can, too.

You don’t need to write more than a few sentences about your experience, a question someone asked you, a video you saw, or a thought that crossed your mind.

You can write about almost anything.

How to write emails that bring in repeat business and referrals

Filed Under: Blogging, Communication, Email, Writing

Do more of what’s working

October 22, 2020 by David M. Ward

Franklin Roosevelt said, “Do something. If it works, do more of it. If it doesn’t, do something else.”

Splendid advice.

Too often, we try to fix what’s not working. Too often, that’s not the best use of our time.

So, ask yourself, What’s working for me right now? What am I doing well?

And do more of it.

Because what’s working well will probably continue to do so. Because the more you do something, the better you get at it, and the better your results.

Look at your calendar and your “done” list. Look at the things you do each day to run your practice and put a star next to things you want to do more of.

Things that make money, improve your skills, and help you grow. Things that help you work more effectively and efficiently. Things that make what you do more gratifying.

Keep a list of these “keepers” in front of you, to remind yourself to do more of them–because what you focus on grows.

Where do you find the time to do more of what’s working? By eliminating or cutting down on things that aren’t.

Do more of what’s working, less of what isn’t.

How to get more referrals from your clients

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Productivity, success

Do you enjoy marketing?

October 21, 2020 by David M. Ward

For many lawyers, marketing is something they have to do, so they do it. But they don’t like it.

If you’re among them, imagine what it would be like if you loved marketing and didn’t have to force yourself to do it.

You’d do more of it, wouldn’t you? You’d get better at it. You’d be able to do it more quickly. And you’d get better results.

Sound like a plan?

Okay, a few thoughts on how to make marketing your jam.

First, it’s okay to start by not enjoying it. It’s probably best not to hate it with every fiber of your being but it’s okay if it’s not your favorite thing.

Give yourself time to try different strategies and methods, learn the ropes, and experiment.

Start small. Write one email, call one business contact, get your feet wet and see how it feels. Can you see yourself doing more of this or that? Good. Keep doing it and see if you really can.

What comes natural to you? If you like to write, do that. If you don’t like speaking or networking, don’t do those.

If you don’t like anything, or you have more money than time, delegate or hire an outside firm, or advertise. And don’t forget, “internal marketing” (great client relations leading to repeat business and referrals) is marketing and it’s okay to focus on that.

Take notes about what you did and how you felt while you did it. What worked, what didn’t, what did you enjoy, what did you want to put up against a wall and murder?

Finally, take comfort in knowing that you don’t have to do everything or be great at anything. You need to find one thing you don’t hate and do it regularly. Eventually, as you get better at it (and see better results), it may become your bff.

The Attorney Marketing Formula is a good place to start

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Marketing legal services

How to write an effective follow-up email

October 20, 2020 by David M. Ward

“Follow-up to our call,” is not the most effective subject line in a follow-up email to someone you just met or spoke to. You want them to open the email immediately, if not sooner as my grandfather used to say.

The subject line should make them curious and/or promise a benefit, or otherwise get their attention.

Depending on the circumstances, you might use something akin to one of these:

“You asked for a copy of my xyz report–here it is”
“This [form, app, site, idea, etc.] has saved my bacon more times than I can count”
“I won’t be able to sleep tonight unless you do this”
“I was surprised when you told me this. . .”

Use humor if appropriate. And funny. (If you’re not sure, talk to my wife.)

For the body of the email, reference your conversation, thank them, and be yourself. Not your lawyer self if you can help it, your real person self.

More.

Keep it simple–one thought or question.
Keep it brief. The longer the email, the less likely they’ll be to read it.
Lots of white space. Short paragraphs and sentences, bullet points, and a smattering of bold and ALL CAPS, so they can skim or read it quickly.
Informal. You know them, now, so write like a friend or colleague.
Tell them what you want them to do. Ask for the sale, invite them to take the next step. Or tell them what you’re going to do next.
Consider using a P.S., to remind them what to do or to add something personal, eg., “Say hello to Jack from me,” or to say thank you (again).

Save your best messages as templates. Make sure to change the name of the recipient before you hit send, however. [Smiley-face goes here.]

How to market your practice with email

Filed Under: Email, Networking, Relationship marketing

5-Minute Marketing

October 19, 2020 by David M. Ward

Most professional services marketing is done a few minutes at a time. We make a call, we write an email, we jot down notes for our next article.

Sure, we also spend hours writing articles, delivering presentations, and meeting prospective clients and referral sources, but in the aggregate, most of our marketing is done in small snippets of time.

Which means we could do a lot more of it.

Between appointments, meetings, court appearances, drafting documents and everything else we do, we have access to snippets of time we could use for marketing.

What could you accomplish by adding several 5-minute marketing activities to your day?

The key to doing that is to keep a running list of things you could do between appointments, in the car, or while you’re drinking your third cup of coffee.

Things that don’t require you to schedule time on your calendar or do a lot of heavy lifting. Things you can do in the moment.

You grab your list and call a former client and say hello. You open your notes app and choose a idea for your next blog post. You watch a video on a skill you want to improve or a subject you could write about in your newsletter.

You can build your practice 5-minutes at a time.

If you don’t know where to start, visit my blog. You’ll find lots of marketing ideas, many of which can be done in 5-minute increments.

And hey, since it only took you only a minute or two to read this, you’ve got time to do something else before your next appointment.

Marketing is simple when you know The Formula

Filed Under: Marketing legal services