The Attorney Marketing Center--Earn More. Work Less

Let me entertain you

November 2, 2022 by David M. Ward

Most people read your blog or newsletter because they are looking for information. But you can also use your content to entertain them.

It’s a great way to connect with your audience. Make people smile or think about something besides their problems and they’ll like you and come back next time to hear more.

But it depends on how you define entertainment.

Humor is fine, if it is appropriate and you don’t overdo it. A sprinkling of puns, turns of phrase, wry observations, and colorful asides can show your audience that you are down to earth. Not just a legal machine, but a person they can talk to and might like to know.

But you have to be careful. Especially today, where it’s difficult to know what is and isn’t acceptable.

You have to know your audience. And maybe have an editor or someone who can tell you when you’ve gone too far.

But entertainment isn’t just about humor. Sports, games, books, and music are also entertaining. Use them, either to make a point or add context or color to your information.

If you’re writing about winning a case, for example, and you’re in a hockey town, go ahead and use phrases like “hat trick” or “shutout”. Or talk about something you saw or heard when you were at a game.

What we’re really talking about isn’t so much about being entertaining, it’s about being interesting.

Not just the facts. Not just the law. Something else people will recognize and relate to or like hearing about because it’s different.

Speaking of different, did you see Heidi’s latest Halloween costume? Girlfriend did it again.

Unfortunately, I can’t think of a way to fit that into a blog post for lawyers. Wait, I just did.

How to write interesting articles and blog posts

Filed Under: Blogging, Newsletters, Writing

Hope

November 1, 2022 by David M. Ward

We’re really good with the how-to’s, you and I. We know our stuff and we’re good at explaining it to our readers and listeners.

We’re also good at sounding alarms, warning them to watch out for things, protecting our flock so they don’t get eaten by the big, bad wolves of the world, and letting them know how we can help them when those wolves come around.

But we can do more.

We can inspire our readers and show them a better and safer future. We can tell them what we see (and predict), and share quotes and stories and words of wisdom from other smart people.

We can make our readers feel better and glad to have us in their life.

We can do this by reframing the bad news and putting it in perspective. And share things they don’t ordinarily see because they’re too busy worrying about their problems and working to pay their bills.

Distract them from their troubles. Comfort them and give them hope.

You may say this is not your province, you should stick to the things people look to lawyers for and not wander off that path.

But you would be wrong.

Because the people who follow us want, more than anything, to hear that everything is going to be okay.

Use your credibility, knowledge and persuasive skills to show people why they should be excited about the future. You’ll make a lot of people happy and want to hear more.

How to use a newsletter to build your practice

Filed Under: Blogging, Newsletters, Writing

Passion is contagious

October 31, 2022 by David M. Ward

I don’t know what you write about on your blog or newsletter or on social media posts, but I do know that if you’re passionate about the subject, your readers will be too.

Because passion is contagious.

Is that true about esoteric legal topics, the kinds that appeal to a lawyer or allied professional but are too “heavy” for regular folks?

It can be, if you write about the people as much as you write about the law.

Write about your clients, the litigants in a case you read, or anyone else who has a connection to the subject. Tell their stories. Talk about their fears, their pain, their triumphs and tragedies. Talk about why the issues are important to them, or might be in the future.

This is also true if the protagonist of your story is you.

Why do you care about the subject? People want to know.

It doesn’t matter if your readers have never had the issues you write about, or ever will. They will relate to the characters and plot in your stories, and enjoy hearing them, for the same reason they like novels and movies.

You don’t have to have the talent of a novelist to get your readers involved in your story. If you’re passionate about the subject, they will feel that passion and get caught up in it.

And in you.

Filed Under: Blogging, Writing

Can you give me some advice?

October 28, 2022 by David M. Ward

When asked this question, most attorneys reply with, “Visa or Mastercard,“ because they’re not in the advice-giving business, they’re in the advice-selling business.

Free consultations are no exception.

You don’t charge the would-be client for a free consultation, but since a preponderance wind up hiring you, you still get paid.

What about free information you provide via a blog or newsletter, video or podcast?

You don’t speak to the viewer or listener about their situation, but they still get your valuable information and opinions. And many who consume said information will hire you or refer business to you.

So you still get paid.

We’re lawyers. We always get paid.

Free advice and free information are effective ways to market legal services. But are they right for you?

Some attorneys want to get paid for their advice and information, besides getting paid for their services. And many attorneys do.

Many attorneys don’t offer free consultations. If you want their advice, you write a check. Some attorneys don’t offer free content. You want to know what they know, you buy their book or course. Or hire them.

What’s the right way to go?

Do the math.

If you get more clients by offering free consultations and/or free information than you would if you didn’t, there’s your answer.

But not always.

It depends on how much time you need to invest to give those consultations or create that information. And it depends on the quality of the clients that result from your efforts.

Some clients are worth more. Bigger cases, more work, repeat business, more referrals, more contacts they can introduce you to, more opportunities they can help you find and exploit.

It’s complicated.

And then there’s the matter of your marketing.

If you have a big back end, you can afford to spend more on the front end. It’s an investment. If you know the value of building a list and staying in touch with it, you’ll be inclined to create more free information, not less.

And then there’s the matter of your gut. What does it tell you?

You shouldn’t do anything just because all the cool kids are doing it, or not do it because they aren’t.

Hey, just some things to think about. And talk to your people about.

If you want to talk to me about it, I take Visa and Mastercard.

Filed Under: List building, Marketing legal services

The options paradox

October 27, 2022 by David M. Ward

People say they want a lot of options. But they don’t. Experiments prove this, including a famous one labeled “The Jam Study”.

Researchers set up two tables with fruit jams for purchase. One table had 24 different flavors of jam. The other table had 6.

The table with 24 flavors got 50% more shoppers to visit. But. . . the table with 6 flavors got more sales.

3% of shoppers bought something from the table with 24 options; 30% bought something from the table with just 6 options.

The reason is simple. When confronted with too many choices, people find it difficult to choose. Our brains prefer fewer options because it is easier to decide.

When you’re speaking to a client or prospect about the services you offer, don’t give them too many options. You’ll get fewer sign-ups.

In the calls-to-action in your emails and web pages, don’t include several “asks”. Don’t ask them to download something and share something, fill out a form and Like your post.

Too many options usually gets fewer people to do anything.

So, how many is too many?

You have to test that and find out, but, as a general rule, one or two options is usually best.

One option, “Fill out this form” gives them a choice between getting your report or other incentive (by filling out the form) or getting nothing. They either want the report or they don’t.

Two options, “Service A or Service B” or “Relief from your problem (by hiring you) or continuing to have that problem (by not hiring you)”. Much less to think about.

In marketing, less is (usually) more.

Here’s the formula for getting more clients and increasing your income

Filed Under: Copywriting, Marketing legal services

New clients from old contacts

October 26, 2022 by David M. Ward

It’s exciting to meet new people, whether prospective clients or business contacts who can send you referrals, and this should be a regular part of your practice-building routine.

That doesn’t mean you need to get dressed up and go to networking events, however. You can do this without leaving your home or office.

My “Lawyer-to-Lawyer Referrals” mini-course makes this easy. It shows you how to find them, what to say, and what to send them, and is not just for other lawyers but for any type of business or professional contact.

But I don’t want you to do that. Not yet, anyway.

Because it’s a lot easier to get referrals by re-connecting with your old contacts. Including (or maybe especially) your old clients.

People who would know your name if I mentioned it to them. People who will remember you and ask how you’re doing since you last spoke. People who have sent you referrals in the past, or would have if they had had any to send.

Because they know, like, and trust you.

Yeah, those people.

Your old contacts will take your call and respond to your email. And most of them will be glad to hear from you.

They’ll want to know why you’re calling or writing, of course. Just say something like, “I saw your name (or thought about you) and wondered what you were doing since the last time we spoke”.

Catch up with them. Business, family, life. Ask about them. They’ll ask about you.

This is easy to do, doesn’t take a lot of time, and can bring you a lot of repeat-business and referrals.

And you don’t have to ask.

If they have legal questions or need help, or they know someone who does, they’ll tell you about it. Simply because you’re on the other end of the phone or sitting in their email inbox.

If they don’t, that’s okay. Confirm that you have their best email and ask if you can stay in touch.

And then stay in touch.

Lawyer-to-Lawyer Referrals (for professionals) and Maximum Referrals (for clients)

Filed Under: Referral sources, Referrals

Onboarding new clients

October 25, 2022 by David M. Ward

I download a lot of apps to try out. I delete most of them almost immediately.

It’s not the app necessarily. Many of them come highly recommended, have great reviews, and look like something I can use. So, why do I kiss them goodbye so quickly?

Because they don’t make me feel welcome.

They make me sign up before I can see anything. Their instructions are confusing (or there aren’t any). They assume I know things I don’t know, or they do things in ways I’m not used to and don’t explain why.

I’m the customer. You should make me feel appreciated. Take me by the hand, show me around, and help me get started.

Don’t just point out a list of features. Help me start using them.

Some apps do it right. From the first click, they invite you into their world, and an exciting world it is. They show you everything you need to see and hide (for now) everything you don’t. They make you feel like they know what they’re doing and you will be well taken care of.

The app might not have every feature you want. It might not be the best at everything it does. But you fall in love with it because of their exceptional onboarding experience.

Something attorneys should seek to do with new clients.

Make them feel welcome, appreciated, and safe. Make them feel like you’ve done this before and they are in good hands. Make them fall in love with you and very happy they downloaded you.

Filed Under: Client relations

Better than digging ditches

October 24, 2022 by David M. Ward

A lot of lawyers love what they do. A lot don’t. A lot of the ones who don’t love it (or like it) do it because they make a decent living and don’t know what else to do.

If you find yourself in the latter group, if you’re okay with the job but aren’t passionate about it, one thing you might do is let go of the need to love everything and focus on the parts you do.

Love the money? That’s fine. Love helping people? Great. Love being able to use your brain and not get your hands dirty? That’s a win in my book.

But what about the things you really don’t like but feel you have to do?

You have a choice. You can find other ways to get the job done. Change your practice area, market, or clients. Change your marketing methods. Change your worklows and habits. Delegate the work you don’t like or aren’t good at.

Your other option is to change your mindset. How you feel and think about what you do. Maybe you don’t want partners or employees, but maybe you could make that work.

Reframe the boring parts or cringy parts by seeing them as a small but necessary means to an end. An end you truly want and are willing to make sacrifices to get.

And then focus on the things you do love and do more of them.

There will always be parts of the job you don’t like. You might not like getting up early, fighting through traffic, and arguing with people all day.

But some things are worth it.

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Dealing with stress

Sorry, you don’t qualify to hire me

October 21, 2022 by David M. Ward

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to pick and choose who can (and can’t) hire you?

It would and you can start doing it immediately.

Decide who you want as a client in terms of demographics, industry or market, and other factors, and don’t accept anyone else. Or, accept them if you want to, but don’t target them.

Invest your time and resources attracting your “ideal” client.

This will necessarily be a small segment of the entire market of people who might need your services. Why limit yourself?

Because it will make your marketing much more effective and your practice more profitable and enjoyable.

You’ll bring in better clients, the kinds you have determined you want to work with, and eliminate ones you don’t.

Many prospective clients will seek you out because they’ve heard about you from people they know and trust. They’ll be pre-sold on you and your services and won’t need a lot of persuading to sign up.

These clients will be able to pay you and will have a lot of work for you (because you targeted clients who do). They’ll also have more referrals for you, people like themselves who are a good fit for you.

Professionals and businesses in your target market will more readily steer people your way, because they’ve also heard about you from people they trust, some of whom will be their existing clients.

Is this starting to sound too good to be true?

Maybe it is. Maybe your message won’t resonate, your reputation won’t precede you, or people won’t trust you or want you anywhere near their clients and contacts.

But maybe they will.

How about finding out?

Start by understanding that “not everyone is your customer” and that you get to choose.

Choose well, my friend. You might be pleasantly surprised and handsomely rewarded.

If not, you can always go back to marketing to everyone and taking what you get.

Here’s how to choose your niche market and ideal client

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan Tagged With: ideal client, Niche marketing

How to get 4 articles out of one idea

October 20, 2022 by David M. Ward

Leverage is my name. Content my game. If you want to play this game, behold a simple way to turn one idea for an article or blog post, video or podcast, into 4.

Choose a subject. It doesn’t matter what it is—anything you know something about. It can be as simple as “torts” or “trusts” or “the rule against perpetuities” (JK).

If you’re not sure, choose something at random.

Once you’ve got a subject, write down ways you could write about that subject based on these 4 categories:

Actionable (How to Do X, How I Do X)
Inspirational (You Can Do X, You Can Get X)
Analytical (How X Works, The Details, The Steps)
Explanatory (Why it Works This Way, How Things Used to Be, What I’d Like to See Changed About X)

Let’s say you decide to write about “negligence”. Your 4 articles might be:

Actionable: How to Represent Yourself in Small Claims Court, 3 Things I Always Do Before I File a Lawsuit, How to Maximize the Value of Your Case
Inspirational: You May be Entitled to A and B and C, How I won a ‘Lost’ Case, What Happened When My Client Tripped and Fell and Thought it Was His Fault
Analytical: How Damages are Calculated, What You Need to Prove to Win Your Case, What is The Reasonable Person Standard?
Explanatory: How Our System Developed (and Why), How to Improve Our System, Why Legal Expenses Are So High

Hold on. We’re not done.

I promised you 4 articles out of one idea, but you can use these categories to dig deeper into your subject and come up with even more ideas.

For example, if you plan to write about why legal expenses and lawyers’ fees are so high, you might come up with 4 (more) articles:

Actionable: Five Ways to Reduce Your Legal Fees
Inspirational: How My Client Built an 8-Figure Business Without Spending a Fortune on Lawyers
Analytical: What I Spend Each Month Just to Keep My Doors Open
Explanatory: Why Hiring a ‘Low Cost’ Lawyer Costs You More, Not Less

And thus, one idea may lead to dozens.

If you find yourself unable to come up a subject to write about, instead of racing around wildly searching for ideas, take something you deal with every day and know well, extrapolate concepts related to it (based on these 4 categories) and come up with 4 (or more) ideas, not one.

Love means never having to say you’re sorry; leverage means never having to say “I don’t know what to write about”.

More ways to get ideas to write about

Filed Under: Content creation, Leverage, Writing