Communication Archives - Page 17 of 31 - The Attorney Marketing Center

Superbowl commercials: spending millions and getting pennies

February 3, 2015 by David M. Ward

Last night, I watched almost all of the Superbowl commercials back to back. I had heard that they were mostly a poor lot, with a handful of standouts, and that’s pretty much what I found.

But I didn’t watch merely for entertainment value. I wanted to see if any of these multi-million dollar creations did something that is essential in advertising. On this, they all failed miserably.

Toyota ran a good ad, about a man driving his daughter to the airport. Visually and emotionally effective. If they asked for my opinion before they ran it, here’s what I would have said:

Okay, Toyota, this ad is going to be seen by hundreds of millions of people all over the world. Many viewers will associate your name and brand with a positive message (what it means to be a father), and that’s good.

In addition to that, how would you like to have the names and email addresses (and zip codes) of a million future car buyers who saw that spot and wanted more information about your vehicles?

That would be cool, wouldn’t it? You could send them an online brochure, more videos, and an invitation to come in to their local dealer for a test drive.

You could also notify them when their dealer is having a sale, remind them when the new models are in, and send them special offers on maintenance and accessories.

On holiday weekends, you could invite them to come get free hot dogs and hamburgers and balloons for the kids. While they are in your dealer’s parking lot, they can get a free assessment of the trade-in value of their current vehicle, and take a test drive of the new model.

If you had this list and did these things, do you think you might sell more cars?

I think so, too.

So, here’s what I suggest. Instead of ending the ad on an emotional note and hoping for the best, put an offer in the ad. Offer viewers something they might want, like a 0 discount coupon on their next Toyota, and tell them how to get it. Tell them to go to a specific page on your site, provide their name and email and you’ll send it to them.

You’ll easily spend 0 per head on newspaper and TV ads to bring in prospective customers, but that’s money down the drain if they don’t buy. With a coupon offer like this, it costs you nothing unless someone buys a car.

Alas, they didn’t hire me and there was no offer in the ad. They missed out on a prime opportunity, and so did all of the other advertisers.

Many ads had a website, but in small letters at the bottom of the screen, almost as an afterthought. None had an offer. No incentive to visit the website and no call to action telling viewers what to do, and why. I watched the Victoria’s Secret spot several times, just to make sure I didn’t miss it, but no dice.

A few ads came close. They said things like, “To see more. . .”, and directed viewers to a specific page, but didn’t provide enough specifics or incentives to get anyone to take action.

I saw a lot of hashtags. Great. More people who know your name but don’t go to your website or sign up on your list.

These are billion dollar companies who spend millions on ads that don’t accomplish a fraction of what they could.

Why? Is it because they don’t know what they could do? In many cases, yes. They are so caught up in image and brand, and so far removed from actually selling anything, they are clueless about how to increase their bottom line. Others know but think that direct response advertising is beneath them.

Foolishness.

The lesson is simple. In every ad, in every piece of marketing collateral you circulate, offer something prospective clients or customers would want enough to identify themselves to you, and tell them what to do to get it.

It’s okay to use puppies and beautiful women to get their attention, but once you have it, get them to your site and onto your list so you can stay in touch with them and actually sell them something.

Filed Under: Advertising, Communication, List building, Marketing legal services, Web traffic Tagged With: direct response advertising

How much selling should a lawyer do?

January 14, 2015 by David M. Ward

How much selling should you do in your letters and emails and blog posts?

More than you think.

The people on your list, your readers and subscribers, your friends and followers, need your help. If they’re not getting that help, if they don’t hire you, they will continue to have those problems and needs.

Your job isn’t to wait until someone taps you on the shoulder and asks you to get to work. It is to reach out to them and persuade them to hire you, or at least take the next step in that direction. If you don’t do that, you’re doing them a disservice.

Educate your prospects about the law and procedure and their options, but don’t merely deliver information. Sell them on why they need to hire you to get the solutions and benefits they want.

Pound your drum with warnings about what could happen if they don’t hire you, or if they wait too long. Share horror stories about people with the same issues whoÂ failed to act. Make your prospects feel what it was like for those people, and imagine what it will be like if they follow the same course.

Do everything in your power to convince people to hire you. Pull out the big guns. Don’t leave them to suffer their problems and pain when you can help them get relief.

Don’t be all thunder and brimstone, however. They’ll tune out. Mix things up. Share success stories. Back off the main message and talk about something else. But never stop reminding people about their problems and how you can help them.

And don’t leave it up to them to figure out what to do next. Tell them to hire you, or tell them to call with questions, schedule a consultation, fill out a form, or read more about the issue.

How much selling should you do? More than you think.

If you want to get more clients and increase your income, get this.

Filed Under: Blogging, Communication, Copywriting, Email, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Salesmanship

It’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it

December 12, 2014 by David M. Ward

When I was in high school, lifting weights in the gym, I remember a song that played over and over on the radio. You might remember, “I never promised you a rose garden” by country singer Lynn Anderson.

If not, you can watch Ms. Anderson (and her big hair) on thisÂ video.

The song begins, “I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden. . .” and that lyric is repeated throughout.

I heard that song so many times that eventually, I started playing around with the lyrics in my head. I changed the whole meaning of the title and primary lyric by emphasizing different words.

“I [emphasized] never promised you a rose garden.” Maybe it was someone else.

“I NEVER promised you a rose garden”. Nope, not once.

“I never PROMISED you a rose garden”. I might have mentioned it, but I never promised it.

“I never promised you a ROSE garden.” A garden, maybe, but not roses.

“I never promised you a rose GARDEN”. I said I’d plant a few roses, not a whole garden.

Crazy, but fun, especially for a word lover, and it passed the time while I was doing bench presses and squats.

Now, I’m not saying I think you don’t know the proper word to emphasize when you are speaking. I would NEVER think that. Okay, I might THINK that, but I would never say it.

Where was I? Oh yeah, the point is that while we probably don’t change the meaning of what we intend in such an obvious manner, we often do it in other, more subtle ways.

Suppose you’ve got a prospective client in your office and it’s time to talk about fees. You’re telling them the dollar amount they will have to pay. If you speed up your words even a little, or lower the volume of your voice, you might communicate that you are a little embarrassed about how much you charge, or afraid that they might say no. The same is true if you break eye contact.

Our body language and tonality often say things our words do not.

Our choice of words also matter. Telling the client that you hope to win isn’t the same as saying you expect to win. Saying you’ll do your best isn’t as good as saying you’ll do whatever it takes.

It’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it.

Filed Under: Communication, Image, Public Speaking Tagged With: body language

How Neil Patel got to 100,000 visitors per month

December 8, 2014 by David M. Ward

Neil Patel is a very smart, and very successful marketing guy. His blogs receive a boatload of traffic.

In a post today, he explains how he got to 100,000 visitors per month by following 7 rules for writing blog posts.

He’s an expert at SEO and social media, and I expected his rules to be oriented to those subjects. They’re not. There’s nothing technical about his rules. They are the softer side (my words) of writing blog posts to communicate with your readers.

For example, he talks about hooking your readers by framing your post properly, and writing about subjects you are passionate about. He also talks aboutÂ the critical importance of headlines and building your list.

One thing he recommends thatÂ I think most lawyers intuitively understand: using data to build credibility. Citations, links, quotes from other experts, and our own opinions, backed up by our experiences, are routinely included in posts and articles by attorneys.

Often when I read Patel’s posts I come away thinking, “Okay, I don’t do that,” and “I don’t want to do that.” With this post, I was pleased to find that he and I are on the same page.

If you want to know how I handle SEO and social media, get this.

Filed Under: Blogging, Communication, Web traffic, Writing Tagged With: Neil Patel

My formula for persuasive writing

November 12, 2014 by David M. Ward

When I write sales copy, presentations, books, or blog posts, I often use a formula that makes it more likely the reader or listener will do what I want them to do.

I may want them to buy something, do something, or remember something. The formula works the same way.

The persuasive writing formula I use (no, I didn’t invent it) has five parts:

State the PROBLEM (here’s what’s wrong, what you don’t have, what will happen if you don’t do anything about it.)
AGITATE the problem (dramatize the pain, here’s more about how bad it could get, here’s other ways this will affect you)
Present the SOLUTION (what can be done to stop the problem)
Describe the BENEFITS (relieve your pain, other good things you get with this solution)
CALL TO ACTION (what to do to get the solution and benefits)

Try this formula the next time you write something. You may find it helpful to start with the call to action. What do you want them to do? What’s the key takeaway?

Then, either work backwards through the other partsÂ (ie., the benefits they will get when they do what you want them to do, the solution that delivers those benefits, etc.) or go to the beginning, describe the problem, and work forwards.

Anyway, an article in the Harvard Business Journal presents a similar formula based on classical story structure. In “Structure your presentation like a story,” author Nancy Duarte says:

After studying hundreds of speeches, Iâ€™ve found that the most effective presenters use the same techniques as great storytellers: By reminding people of the status quo and then revealing the path to a better way, they set up a conflict that needs to be resolved.

That tension helps them persuade the audience to adopt a new mindset or behave differently â€” to move from what is to what could be. And by following Aristotleâ€™s three-part story structure (beginning, middle, end), they create a message thatâ€™s easy to digest, remember, and retell.

Persuasive writing is about creating tension (or identifying it) and then relieving it. If you want someone to hire you, show them the status quo and the path to a better way: “You’ve got this problem that’s only going to get worse; if you hire me, I will solve that problem (or help you take the first step towards solving it); here’s how you’ll be better off; here’s what to do to get started.”

Tell them a dramatic story that makes them angry or afraid. Just make sure it has a happy ending.

Do you know the formula for earning more in your practice? GoÂ here.

Filed Under: Communication, Copywriting, Presentations, Public Speaking, Writing Tagged With: persuasion, persuasive-writing

How to write a blog post in 15 minutes

November 3, 2014 by David M. Ward

The other day I spoke to an attorney who wanted some help with his marketing andÂ made sure to tell me he didn’t have a lot of time to do it. As you know, I advocate doing things in short increments and often say, “You can market your law practice in just 15 minutes a day.” And you can. To prove it to you, I’m writing this blog post in just 15 minutes.

There are three parts to the post. The beginning captures the attention of the reader and introduces the topic.

The middle provides the meat and potatoes. This can be done in paragraph form, like this post, or with bullet points. Three points is enough, and that’s what this post includes, but you can certainly do more.

The last part is the summary and call to action. Review what you want the reader to remember and tell them what to do next.

Write quickly, not just because you have allocated only 15 minutes but because writing quickly usually results in better writing. Don’t try to be brilliant, just say what you want to say.

Obviously, things are much easier if you know what you want to say before you start writing. If you can write down three points about your subject in advance, the writing should go more quickly.

If it helps, pretend you’re speaking, not writing, and imagine you’re speaking to someone you know who is seated across the desk from you. Or, write your post like an email.

Include at least one story. This could be about you and your work, a client story, another lawyer’s case you are familiar with, or anything else. A story adds the human element, allows you to illustrate one or more points, and makes your post more memorable.

At the beginning of this post, I told you about the attorney I spoke with who said he didn’t have a lot of time for marketing. Does that qualify as a story? Sure, and it’s about someone you can probably relate to. An attorney has a desire but his lack of time is keeping him from getting what he wants. The solution is to work in 15 minute increments, which I am demonstrating with this post.

By the way, the opening of your post is a good place to tell your story. It sets the stage for what is to come. You can come back to it towards the end, as I am doing here.

So, there you have it. How to write a blog post in 15 minutes, written in 15 minutes. A beginning, three points, a summary, one story, and you’re done.

I’ll take another five minutes to email this to you and post links on social media. And that’s it for marketing for the day. I’m off to do other things.

I challenge you to write a blog post today and see for yourself how easy it is. It might take you a bit longer the first time you do it, but the more you write, the faster you will get. Send me a link to your finished post. Or post in the comments.

For more help with writing blog posts and marketing online, get this

Filed Under: Blogging, Communication, Online Marketing, Writing

Stop writing blog posts and articles and do this instead

October 27, 2014 by David M. Ward

Instead of writing blog posts and articles and emailing them (or a link thereto) to your email list, I suggest you consider doing the opposite: write emails first and then post them onÂ your blog.

Why?

Because an email is faster and easier to write. You can write one in a few minutes. And because emails get more engagement and a higher response to whatever it is you’re asking your subscribers to do.

Emails are short. They are personal, natural, and direct. They simulate you talking to your ideal client.

Blog posts and articles tend to be longer and more formal, or so we tend to make them. They take more thought, more research, more writing. There’s a natural tendency to delay and defer writing something so “important.”

If you want to write more easily and more often, write more emails. If you want to have more engagement with your list, if you want to get your readersÂ to respond Â (call, write, fill out a form, sign up for your webinar, promote your event, etc.) in greater numbers, writeÂ more emails.

Post some or all of those emails to your blog, with graphics and links if you want. Or not. Your blog can continue to provide lengthier content and serve as link bait and proof of your legal prowess. But do that in addition to, not in place of sending more emails.

How to write blog posts and emails, and make the phone ring

Filed Under: Blogging, Communication, Email, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Online Marketing, Writing

An easy way to write a blog post

October 9, 2014 by David M. Ward

When I don’t know what to write about, sometimes I find ideas by looking at famous quotations. Today, I thought I would show you how easy it is to write a blog post starting with nothing more than a random quote.

I did a search for “success quotes” and clicked on the first site in the list. I looked through the first few quotes displayed on the page and this one caught my eye:

“Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it. –Bruce Lee

Don’t try to be someone else, Lee says. You are unique and valuable and need nothing else. Success isn’t a function of mimicry, it is a function of being true to who you are. Not only is this the best path to success, it is the only path.

This is encouraging, isn’t it? To be told by one of the most successful martial arts practitioners in our lifetime that we have what it takes to be or do whatever we want?

On the other hand, haven’t we always been told to better ourselves by associating with successful people in our field and following in their footsteps? Aren’t we encouraged to study history and read biographies of successful people so we can learn from their stories and avoid their mistakes?

I don’t think these messages are inconsistent. We can and should learn from others, not to copy them but to improve ourselves.

Lee had great teachers and sparring partners. He spent many years training and perfecting his technique and eventually created his own style of martial arts. He learned from many others, but when he stepped onto the mat to fight an opponent, he didn’t try to emulate them. He made his mark on the world by showing us who he was.

So. . . there you go. A blog post, from scratch. From a quote. I could add some observations about how this might apply to marketing a law practice, but it’s not necessary. The lesson touches on a universal theme.

When you write a blog post or article for your list, you don’t have to talk about the law. In fact, you probably shouldn’t talk about the law most of the time, even if you’re writing for other lawyers. Write about things that resonate with you and you’ll find an audience of people who want to hear what you say.

Be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself.

Filed Under: Blogging, Communication, success, Writing Tagged With: Bruce Lee