The Attorney Marketing Center--Earn More. Work Less

Does quantity lead to quality?

January 16, 2024 by David M. Ward

In the old days, when we sent out our newsletter via the postal service, every subscriber cost money. There was good reason to do our best to control the size of our “mailing” list by removing bad addresses and troublesome subscribers.

Today, in the digital world, there is virtually no such thing as “too big” or “too many”.

Almost.

There is still a cost to acquire and maintain our list, and while this is usually not prohibitive, we need to consider the cost of our time answering questions and building engagement, plus any additional costs for providing incentives for signing up e.g., a copy of your book, a free consultation.

Since we don’t sell chewing gum, for most lawyers, the added cost of maintaining a bigger list is usually worth it.

If you have 5000 subscribers, and it turns out that only 500 are good prospects and eventually hire you or refer a client, it doesn’t matter if 4500 aren’t interested, don’t have a case, can’t pay you, refer no one, or don’t even read your newsletter.

The cost of maintaining your newsletter is relatively insignificant compared to your potential return.

Besides, you never know when a “bad” prospect might become a good prospect, or meet someone who is.

Which is why, unless your list is extremely large and the costs of maintaining it are prohibitive, don’t worry about how much “dead wood” is on your list, or invest a lot of time or money to remove them.

However, if you want to “clean your list” and eliminate subscribers who are unlikely to become a client, here are a few ways to do that:

Narrow your focus. Don’t make your newsletter (blog, etc.) about “the law,” make it about your practice area(s). Don’t target “business owners,” target specific industries or professions.
Offer fewer freebies. Many, perhaps most, subscribers sign up primarily to get the bonuses you offer as an enticement to subscribe. Offer fewer bonuses, or tone down your rhetoric about the benefits thereof, and you’ll get fewer subscribers.
Make them “qualify”. Ask questions about their industry, problems, needs, or interests as part of the sign-up process. The more you ask, the fewer will subscribe.
Tell them how often they’ll hear from you. If you email once a week or daily and they think that’s too often, you’ll get fewer subscribers.
Periodically ask subscribers if they still want to continue getting your newsletter. Make them reply in the affirmative to continue getting it. Or, track your “opens” for a few weeks and remove the ones who aren’t reading your messages.

Conversely, and more importantly, if you want more folks on your list, do the opposite. Build your list as big as possible. Quantity does lead to quality.

Email Marketing for Attorneys

Filed Under: Newsletters

What makes your marketing go viral?

January 12, 2024 by David M. Ward

Good question. But I’m not sure anybody knows the answer.

Yes, the message (document, site, article, slogan, image, opinion, etc.) must be easy to share. And yes, it must be worthy of sharing. But what does that mean?

Interesting? Helpful? Weird? Funny (or fun?)

Should it feature something relevant to the recipient or could it just fall into the category of “human interest”?

I don’t know.

I just know that it happens, and when it does, it can get a lot of attention. Maybe that attention will lead to something good for the person who shared it. Or maybe it won’t.

Which is why I don’t think we should spend a lot of time trying to figure out what makes something go viral, or trying to light a fire to make that happen.

If it’s funny or interesting (enough) it will be shared. Organically. If it isn’t, there isn’t a lot we can do to be certain of that happening.

But what do I know?

One thing I do know is that if we have something we’d like to be shared (and potentially go viral), we should ask the people we share it with to share it.

Ask them to Like (and share) your post. Ask them to forward the link to your article. Ask them to tell people about your new seminar or new book.

But don’t just ask them to share, tell them with whom they should share it.

If you know any lawyers who practice xyz. . .

If you have any friends or followers who could benefit from abc…

If you know anyone who might find this interesting…

By limiting your request to a sub-set of everyone they know, you get the recipient to think about the people they know who fall into that sub-set, and that can stimulate more sharing.

On the other hand, it might not. Because what the hell do I know?

Do you know any lawyers who are into marketing? Please share this post with them. Maybe they can straighten me out . . .

Filed Under: Online Marketing

Approachable you?

January 11, 2024 by David M. Ward

Do you think your clients and prospects and professional contacts see you as friendly, open, and easy to talk to, or relatively impersonal or distant?

It makes a difference.

You don’t have to be everyone’s best friend, but the more likable and approachable you appear, the more likely it is that you will be approached.

You’ll get more prospects inquiring about your services, asking questions, making an appointment, and hiring you. You’ll get more people signing up for your newsletter, following you on social, and telling others about you.

When people meet you, read your newsletter or articles or your posts on social (by you or by others about you), when they read the “About” page on your website or your clients’ reviews, what do they think about you?

When you’re not in the room, how do you suppose they describe you?

Image is fundamental to the success of a professional because, to a great extent, it determines how comfortable people are about approaching and hiring you.

So, how do you appear to be approachable, especially if this doesn’t come naturally to you?

The simplest way to do it is to use a conversational tone in your writing, presentations, and conversations.

Don’t write in the third person or formally. Loosen up. Write (and speak) simply and plainly, as though you were speaking to a friend.

Well, almost. There is such a thing as being too informal, sharing too much personal information, and appearing less than professional.

Be professional, but friendly.

Get readers involved in the conversation. Ask what they think, what they have done, or what they want to know.

And don’t make everything about you. Tell stories about people you’ve helped, not just the outcomes but some of the process, so readers can see what it would be like working with you.

And smile. In your photos and in person.

Show the world you are approachable by showing them you are a real person, a nice one at that. The kind of person they would like to know even if they weren’t looking for an attorney.

Filed Under: Image

Bad breath

January 10, 2024 by David M. Ward

If a prospective client doesn’t connect with your presentation or sales material, if they don’t relate to your “style” or approach, if they don’t like what you’re saying or how you’re saying it, it will be difficult for you to convince them to take the next step.

Which is why you need to do whatever you can to speak to your prospects in a way they understand and accept.

To do that, you need to know as much about them as possible.

Before the presentation or conversation, do your homework. Research their industry or business, have them fill out a form on your website or in your waiting room, and ask lots of questions to learn about their background and experience, what’s important to them, and what isn’t.

You want to know how they found you, who referred them, how they know them, and what they told them about you.

You want to know the search terms they used to find you, what they read or listened to on your website or elsewhere, and what convinced them to make an appointment.

Watch their body language. Are they nodding, taking notes, watching and listening, or fidgeting in their seat and looking at the door?

Get them talking. Ask questions, see if they understand and accept what you’re saying.

Everyone has a different “buying” style. Some want you to lead with the big picture—the benefits, risks, the timetable, and cost. The details can come later.

Others want to know everything now.

Some want to get to know you before they listen to what you offer. They want to see that you understand them (not just their legal matter) and care about helping them, not just the work.

Some want just the facts. Some want to hear about other people you’ve helped. Some want to know what you do, some want to know how you do it.

Some want you to guide them in making a decision. Some want to have a conversation.

If you have a standard presentation and talk to every prospect the same way, you’ll get some who like your message and hire you on the spot, and some who don’t like you and tell you they have to think about it (but don’t).

Figure out what’s best for each prospective client—and give it to them.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Salesmanship

How to get great clients

January 9, 2024 by David M. Ward

You may be very good at marketing, write great copy (or hire great copywriters), invest time and money getting more leads, and a host of other things that make your phone ring.

But as good as that is, there’s something better. Easier. More profitable. And more likely to lead to a steady stream of happy clients who help you build your practice.

Instead of relying solely on good marketing strategies, target better prospects.

Better prospects include people who

Know they need a lawyer and don’t even consider doing what needs to be done themself
Have the ability to pay top dollar for top level legal services (yours) and are not only willing to do that, prefer it
Sees you and what you offer as a good match for them. If you’re a sole practitioner with one practice area, for example, they understand how that benefits them and aren’t looking for something else.
Doesn’t need permission to hire you, or can usually get that permission
Are action-oriented. When they see the need, they don’t hesitate; they put you to work
Have a lot of legal work for you—repeat business, big cases (if that’s what you want), or lots of smaller cases, with work you’re good at and enjoy
Know other people with similar needs and ability to pay, i.e., they can (and will) send you a lot of referrals, introduce you to people you want to know, and otherwise promote and support you.
Are easy to work with, don’t complain, don’t micromanage, don’t slow-pay, etc.

Feel free to add other attributes you consider important components of your “ideal” client. Because you should be targeting your ideal client, not “anyone” who has legal work you can handle.

No matter what kind of marketing you do, or how much you do, targeting your ideal client is the force multiplier. It makes everything easier and better.

You may not always get them. They might have some of the qualities you desire, but not all of them. But if you want your marketing to be easier and more profitable, you should focus more of your resources on this type of client and less (maybe much less) on other types.

Why wouldn’t you? You can always “tolerate” other types of clients or cases, at least until you’re ready to go “all in” on your ideal.

Where do you find these dream clients? Primarily, eventually, through referrals. There’s no better way. But there are other ways, and they can lead to a lot of referrals.

Start with your existing clients. You may only have a few who are “ideal” (or close to it) but if you spend more time with them and do more to help their business grow or personal life prosper, they will lead you to more people like themself.

The Attorney Marketing Formula helps you identify your ideal clients, and get more of them

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan

Who’s your daddy?

January 8, 2024 by David M. Ward

We all need one. Someone who tells us what to do, guides us, and keeps us in line. Because we work better and behave better when we do.

Our teachers and parents did that. Our employers and clients do that now. We might have paid advisors or be guided by colleagues, family or friends.

There’s always a higher authority. It might be our maker, the rule of law, or our own values or experience.

Our clients tell us what they want from us. So do our subscribers and followers. We have deadlines; we make promises we are compelled to keep; we have an image to uphold. And it’s all good because without that structure, guidance, or feedback, we might have too many options or too much leeway and find it difficult to stay on our path and achieve our goals.

Don’t begrudge the rules. Precedent, tradition, and common sense make our life more orderly. We might not like being told what to do, but these constraints give us a path to follow and make it more likely that we’ll get what we want.

When we start a case or new project, we decide what needs to be done and create a plan. We might question that plan, or stray from it, but the case, the client, and the rules give us a foundation to come back to when we do.

Everyone needs a boss. Especially when we are our own boss.

Aren’t there exceptions to every rule? Don’t we have free will? Aren’t we better off when we’re different and stand out from the crowd?

Yes, yes, and yes.

Which is why we do what Daddy tells us, but not without asking a lot of questions.

Filed Under: success

My new list

January 5, 2024 by David M. Ward

I’ve tried adding tags to my tasks, estimating the amount of time each task will take so I could be more effective in planning my day. It sounded like a good idea, and I know many folks do this successfully, but I couldn’t make it work for me.

But I’m going to give it another try.

Sort of.

I’ve started a new list of “10-Minute tasks” that I can pull up when I have a few minutes between appointments, calls, or other scheduled tasks, and don’t want to waste that time scrolling through my phone or playing a game, or I need a “palette cleanser” before I start on the next task on my list.

On my list are things I can complete in 10 minutes or less, or work on for 10 minutes and come back to later. Things like processing email or my task list inbox, filing notes, reviewing one of my projects, reading an article or two in my “read later” app or a few pages in my Kindle, or checking in with (someone).

Productive things. Yay me.

Another example: I organized the documents folder on my hard drive recently and wound up with a big file of “old stuff” (digital detritus) to go through and purge or put to use somewhere. It’s a big, boring project, perfect to hack away at 10 minutes at a time, so yes, it’s on the list.

A list like this is also valuable when you’re mobile, so make sure you can access your list on your phone. When you arrive early for your dental appointment, you’re in line to pick up your kids after school, or you’re on a bus or train on your way to work, grab something on your 10-minute task list and use that time to tick something off your list.

Or scroll through your dang phone. The kids will be there soon, and having a few minutes for “me time” is good for your sanity.

Filed Under: Productivity

Know, like, and trust?

January 4, 2024 by David M. Ward

It’s often said that clients prefer to hire lawyers they “know, like, and trust,” and that’s true, but something’s missing. The aphorism begins with the statement, “All things being equal…” meaning when the client has a choice of lawyers with the same or similar capabilities, or who offer the same benefits, those clients tend to choose the lawyer they “know, like, and trust”.

You have to be able to solve the client’s problem or help them get something they want. And prospective clients (and the people who refer them) need to believe this.

In other words, you can’t build a practice on good looks alone.

Which is why your marketing must begin by telling people what you do and how you can help them, and offer some proof that you can deliver.

Most lawyers try to do that. Fortunately for you, most don’t do a great job of it. They list their practice areas and note some of their accomplishments, but little else. If you know what you’re doing, you can easily show your target market that you are the better choice.

But at least show them you are a contender.

And then, help them get to “know, like, and trust you” through your speaking, networking, writing, how you comport yourself when you meet them, and through testimonials and reviews from your happy clients.

Let your clients describe how you made them feel safe, what it was like having you by their side, how you were patient, thorough, fair, and honest.

Let the people who know, like, and trust you tell others why they chose you and recommend that others do the same.

There’s a formula for that

Filed Under: Marketing legal services

How to get subscribers for your new newsletter

January 3, 2024 by David M. Ward

You’re thinking abut starting a newsletter for your law practice, but wonder if it will be difficult getting people to sign up.

It won’t.

If you have something to say that people want to know, and you make it easy for them to subscribe, they will.

Use an autoresponder to manage the mechanics for you. Add an opt-in form on your website or blog or on a landing page. And write a “welcome” email that will be automatically sent to your new subscribers, thanking them for signing up and telling them what to expect, e.g., how often they’ll hear from you and what they will learn or get.

You can do all of that in a weekend.

The next step is to tell people about your newsletter.

Ask your current and former clients, your prospects and leads, your social media followers, and your friends to sign up and tell them why they should. Tell them the benefits they get—what they’ll learn, how it will make their business or life easier or better—and tell them they can opt-out (unsubscribe) at any time.

Sweeten the pot by telling them they’ll also get a report or checklist or form as a bonus for signing up.

Depending on the size of your list and your relationships with the people on it, this might be all you need to do to get your first 100 or 500 subscribers.

And that’s a great start.

It may be enough to get a new client, repeat client, referral or inquiry.

Then, if you deliver decent content, your subscriber count will grow organically as people talk about you and your website or blog gets more traffic.

If you want to grow further or faster, there’s plenty you can do to make that happen.

But for now, just start.

Check out my course on building your practice with a newsletter

Filed Under: Newsletters

The most important part of goal setting

January 2, 2024 by David M. Ward

Resolutions? Goals? Habits? Okay, but “why”?

Why have you set that goal? Why do you want to start (or finish) that project? Why do you plan to develop that habit?

Why is the key. It is much more important than “how”.

If you have a reason, the goal or habit is important to you. If it’s important, you’re more likely to do it, or at least try. If it’s not important, if you chose it because you think you should or because it’s the next logical step in your journey, you might not.

You have to know why. If you don’t, your subconscious mind thinks, “why bother?”

You want to double revenue this year? Why? What problem will that help you solve? What will it help you achieve? Why is doubling revenue important to you?

The best “why” is one that makes you emotional when you think about NOT getting it.

Whatever you want to be, do, or have, write it down and read it daily until it manifests.

In fact, if you’re taking notes, write this down: “What and why are more important than how and when.”

Your subconscious mind will lead you to how and when (and who might help).

But only if you know why.

Filed Under: Goal Setting