Leveraging other people’s content

August 7, 2023 by
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Some lawyers buy “canned” content for their newsletter or blog. They pay a company for the rights to publish individual articles or entire newsletters and don’t have to write anything themself. 

It’s better than nothing because it gives them an excuse to stay in touch with clients and prospects but while these articles are usually well-written, they are necessarily generic—there’s nothing in them about the lawyer or his clients or cases, which is why people continue to consume that content. 

For years, I’ve said it’s okay to buy canned content but to re-write it. Put it in your own words, with your advice and comments and stories about your clients and people in your readers’ world. 

On the other hand, you don’t have to pay for content, canned or otherwise. The Internet is awash with it, and free. 

Find blogs and articles or videos about topics that will benefit or interest your readers and put that content in your own words. 

But you have another option. 

Instead of rewriting other people’s content, simply mention that content in your newsletter. Tell your readers why you recommend the article and provide a link. 

It might be an article by someone in your target market’s industry or market, or someone who sells to or advises that market. Even other attorneys.

That content could be anything. A how-to article, a product review video, a book review, a new website or product that might interest your readers—literally anything. All you need is a sentence or two about why the article caught your eye and why you recommend it. 

Is there something new (or newsworthy) in it? Something helpful or interesting or different? 

You don’t need to write more than a sentence or two and provide a link. But you can add whatever you want. 

Explain how your readers might use this information, or why they shouldn’t. Quote from the video or summarize parts of it. Share your thoughts and experiences, or those you’ve observed or heard about from clients, colleagues, or friends. 

This is a quick and easy way to create content and provide value to your subscribers, without doing a lot of writing yourself. 

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Filed Under: Content creation, Newsletters, Online Marketing

Make them come to you

August 4, 2023 by
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You’ve heard it before—don’t chase clients. Because it looks bad (and feels bad) and usually pushes cliens away because you look needy and unsuccessful. 

Clients want to hire successful lawyers, and if you’re chasing, that’s not you. 

Something else, when they chase you, they’re usually willing to pay more to work with you. 

So don’t chase, make them come to you. 

How? What marketing strategies are best for attracting clients? 

First (by a long shot) are referrals. When clients and professionals and business contacts recommend you, it is the ultimate affirmation of your success. They know you. They’ve seen your work. And their recommendations make their referrals easier to sign up. 

You also tend to get better clients and bigger cases through referrals than any other marketing method.

On the other hand, you can’t scale as quickly as you might like via referrals, which leads to my second recommendation—advertising. 

Surprised? Don’t be. Advertising allows you to maintain posture.

You’re not chasing anyone because you’re not talking to anyone—until they decide they like what they see and want to talk to you. 

Yep, they come to you. 

And advertising scales. And can pay for itself. When you have an ad (or campaign) that works, you can run more ads in more places. You can run bigger ads and run them more often. And bid on more competitive keywords. 

You don’t have to advertise your services directly if that’s not something you want to (or are allowed to) do. You can advertise your book or report, your channel or blog, your seminar, or anything else that gets your name and offer in front of prospective clients and the people who can refer them.

They see, they like, they come to you.

The third way to get clients to come to you is through content marketing. 

You share information about the law, explain problems and solutions, and show people what’s possible, and in doing that, those people see that you know what you’re doing and become interested in learning more about how you can help them.

They come to you. 

You can do content marketing via a blog, newsletter, podcast, video channel, or by being interviewed on someone else’s channel or for their newsletter. You can speak at industry events, conduct seminars, network with people in your target market, or offer your content via social media. 

Or through advertising. 

Referrals, advertising, and content marketing. Three proven strategies for making clients come to you. 

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Filed Under: Advertising, Content creation, Marketing legal services Tagged With: ,

Are you giving clients too many options?

July 24, 2023 by
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Have you ever heard the expression, “A confused mind says ‘no’?” Research confirms it—when we have too many choices, we often choose nothing. 

A confused mind says ‘no’ because it is confused. 

When you give people too many options, you make their decision more difficult. In your marketing, therefore, rule number one should be to make things simple for clients and prospects, and that usually means giving them fewer options. 

Do you have an ad that describes all of your services? Do you feature all of your practice areas in your content? Clients might be impressed by your capabilities, but they’re usually looking for the solution to one problem. Too many options or offers, especially when most of them are not currently relevant, make decisions more challenging, which is why people tend to say no. 

This is also true with content creation. If you give people too many articles or blog posts to read, videos to watch, or events to attend, it is more likely they will choose “none”.

This doesn’t mean you should eliminate other options. It means featuring or leading with the best, the most relevant, the most likely to become a gateway to your other content or services. 

Post everything on your website, but make the visitor dig for it if they want it. Or send it to them later in your email sequence.

But just as offering too many options can lead to confusion and fewer “sales,” offering only one option can do the same. If the prospective client sees they can hire you for service X and service X doesn’t tick all the boxes for them, they have no other choice but to say “no”. 

Which is why it might be better to give them two options instead of “hire me or don’t”. 

When I created my first marketing course, I thought about offering several packages but eventually settled for just two: Basic and Deluxe. Instead of “yes” or “no,” the choice became this package or that one and it resulted in more sales. 

If you want more people to read your content, sign up for your list, or choose you as their lawyer, don’t give them too many options, or too few.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Content creation, Copywriting, Increase your income, Marketing legal services

Need a topic for your blog, stat?

June 23, 2023 by
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It’s happens to everyone. They need to post an article on their blog or in their newsletter, but don’t know what to write. And the clock is ticking. 

No problem. 

It’s okay to write about subjects you’ve written about before. Your “go to” topics. Things you know well and can talk about with ease. 

It’s also okay to grab something you’ve written before and use it again. 

Yep.

An article, part of a presentation or report, any content in your archive. 

Re-post or re-publish it, as is. With no changes or additions. 

I do it. Everyone does it. And guess what? Your readers either won’t notice or won’t care.

You have new subscribers or visitors who never saw it. You have old subscribers who saw it but didn’t care about it because they didn’t have that problem (but now they do). Your article might be precisely the thing they need to see today and they will marvel at how you must be reading their mind, and be grateful that you are.

Or forward it to a friend who just told them they have that problem. 

And guess what? Even if your readers have seen it before, that doesn’t mean they paid attention. (How many times have you reminded your clients not to do something or say something? Or to come in to talk to you about something?)

Remind them again in your newsletter. 

Of course, if you have a little time, go ahead and update your old post. Re-write or re-edit it, change the headline or title (or keywords), emphasize different points, add new examples, add a different graphic if you want to, or shorten or lengthen the post. 

Your newsletter, your rules. 

Okay, maybe don’t re-use posts you published last month; give it some time. 

And relax. Be easy about this. You won’t get a knock on the door from the blog police hastling you for reposting something. 

After publishing thousands of articles and blog posts, and endlessly repeating topics, I’ve never once had anyone say, “Again? Don’t you have anything else to write about?”

Of course, there’s always a first time

More easy ways to create content for a newsletter or blog

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Filed Under: Blogging, Content creation, Newsletters

3 keys to effective content

June 15, 2023 by
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The reason you publish a blog or newsletter, post anything on social media, or deliver presentations, is to achieve a desired outcome. You’re not merely exercising your fingers or your voice, you want to inform or persuade people to do something. 

If you do, your content is effective. If you don’t, you might want to make some changes. 

There are lots of things you can do to improve your content and make it more effective. Editing, formatting, optimizing for readability and search, and more. But there are 3 things your content should always be or have:

  1. Clarity. Nothing you write or offer will do you or your readers any good if they don’t understand it. Your message must be clear and easy to follow, with sufficient detail and precision so that readers know what you want them to know or do. Explain terms, provide examples, and show them what you want them to see. If you maintain a publishing checklist, make sure “clarity” is at the top. 
  2. Helpful. Your message should help readers be, do, or have something they want or need. Your message should give them a reward or benefit for taking the time to read or listen. Teach them something important or useful, get them to think about something, or help them make a better decision. And if you can’t write something helpful, at least write something they will find interesting. 
  3. Next. Tell them what to do with this information. How to start, how to do it better, where to go to find additional information. End your piece with a “call to action” so they know exactly what you want them to do. That might be to call you, share your content, fill out a form, sign up for your webinar, or download your report. Tell them what to do, and why, i.e., how they will benefit from doing that. 

Make your message clear and easy to follow, provide helpful or interesting information, and tell them what to do next. These are the keys to effective content.  

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Filed Under: Communication, Content creation, Writing

What’s new?

June 12, 2023 by
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In your blog or newsletter or other content, it’s okay to repeat yourself. Go ahead and write about familiar topics. As long you’re providing helpful information, or reminding them about important things you’ve told them before, you’re good. 

Just make sure you follow Rule No. One: “Don’t be boring”. 

On the other hand, when you have the opportunity to tell them something new, take it. Because new is better. 

We watch the news (God help us) because it’s “new”. We believe we’ll see something different, helpful, or interesting. Your subscribers and clients and followers do the same thing when they click on your content. 

And almost anything can be new. 

Write about something you haven’t talked about before, or a new take on something you talk about often. 

The law is always changing. You can always find something new to talk about.

New legislation, new decisions, new rules, and new cases you’ve handled or heard about. There’s a new consumer advocacy group doing something important (or wasting everyone’s time), a new idea making the rounds, a new blog or website or social media channel. 

Write about it. Tell them what’s new.

Maybe you’re packaging your services in a new way, opening a new office, launching a new presentation, or tweaking your fee structure. Maybe you have a new employee, a new practice area, or a new page on your website. 

Tell your folks about it and how it benefits them. Does it make you better able to help them? Will it help them save time or money? Make things easier or better? 

It’s news. So tell ‘em. But don’t worry about it if it doesn’t do those things. 

As long  as your “news” is interesting, your clients and subscribers and followers want to hear about it, or at least won’t mind you mentioning it. 

In part, because it’s coming from you and they’re interested in what you do, what you like, and what you think.

Your content isn’t merely a mechanism for educating your reader about things they need to know or do, or showing them how you can help them. It’s also a mechanism for building a relationship with them.

You talk to them (on paper), they listen. Sometimes, they reply. But always, they are a part of your world and you are a part of thers.

You don’t have to write anything amazing to foster that. Almost anything will do. Especially if it’s new. 

How to write a newsletter that brings in more business

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Filed Under: Content creation

TLDR? 

June 5, 2023 by
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I usually write short blog posts because long posts often get skipped (because readers are busy) or postponed (and then skipped). 

I’d rather show up in your inbox frequently and give you something you can read in a couple of minutes. 

But there are advantages to longer posts: 

  • Longer, more detailed posts tend to get more traffic than shorter posts because they often rank higher in search engines.
  • Longer posts give you room to provide more tips and more thorough explanations of complex or abstract concepts, providing more value to visitors looking for help, and to find an attorney.  
  • Longer posts are generally more authoritative than shorter posts because there is room to provide more examples, citations, graphics, and links to other posts (yours and other authorities). 
  • Longer posts keep visitors on your blog longer, making it more likely they will read your other posts, as well as pages about your services, your upcoming events, and other content, and more willing to sign up for your newsletter.
  • Longer posts tend to get more Likes from readers and links from other blogs. 

In short, longer, more detailed posts provide opportunities to get more readers, subscribers, and clients.

But none of that happens if people aren’t reading your posts because they look too long to read. In addition, longer posts take more time to research, write, optimize, and format, which means you can’t publish as often. 

What’s the solution? A combination of long and short posts can give you the best of both worlds. Long posts for traffic, authority and engagement, short posts to get more people to read what you write, creating a gateway to your longer content.

 If you’re new to blogging, you might write 1000- to 1200-word posts once or twice a month, and 300- to 500-word posts, once or twice per week. On the other hand, if you’re new, it’s better to write anything, because building the habit of regularly creating content is more important than how long it is or often you publish it.

How to write a blog people like to read

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Filed Under: Blogging, Content creation, Newsletters

New blog, newsletter, or podcast? This will help.

June 1, 2023 by
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When I started writing a blog, one of the first things I did was to find other blogs in my niche, to see what they were doing. I learned a lot and was convinced I could do what they did. If you’re thinking about starting a blog or newsletter, or want to re-start or re-invigorate yours, I suggest you find blogs and newsletter published by other lawyers and use them as a model for your own.

It doesn’t matter where they are located, or even their practice area. You can learn something from each blog you follow or subscribe to. 

Study them and take notes:

  • How often do they publish? 
  • How long are their posts, articles, episodes, etc?
  • What is their writing style? Formal? Informal? Somewhere in between?
  • Do they write about news or evergreen topics? 
  • Do they advocate or educate?
  • Do they write detailed posts, with citations, or something more beginner-friendly?
  • How are their posts structured? What formatting choices have they made?
  • Do they do interviews? Guest posts?
  • What do they offer as an incentive to sign up?
  • What calls-to-action do they use? 
  • Do their blog posts get comments? Shares? Or is that function turned off? 
  • Do they use images or mostly text? 
  • Do they promote their services directly or just a provide a link to their website? If they promote their services, do they “pitch” hard or less so? 

What do they do that’s working? What do you like? What would you change?

Also note ideas for topics you could write about. 

You’re not looking for the perfect newsletter or blog to emulate, you’re looking for ideas and inspiration. You might like how one blog structures its content but prefer another’s writing style. You might like how one blog is consistent or how another uses a variety of detailed and lengthy posts mixed with brief and lighter fare. 

Guess what? You get to choose.

This exercise might get you excited and ready to start or re-start your blog or newsletter. On the other hand, it might convince you that you don’t want to do this, at least not right now, and turn your attention to something else. 

Before you decide, try something. Put some content out there and see what happens. Content marketing might not be your favorite marketing method (now), but if it makes your phone ring the way I know it can, you might just change your opinion.

How to start a blog that makes your phone ring

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Filed Under: Blogging, Content creation, Newsletters

Denny Crane

May 8, 2023 by
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My wife and I are watching Boston Legal. Yeah, first time. I don’t have anything I want to tell you about any of the characters or storyline, or how that firm does rainmaking, but at some point, I know I will. . 

So I’ve started a page in my notes app to record ideas about that. 

Other than a title, that page is currently blank. But it serves an important purpose because every time I see that note, it will remind me (and my subconscious mind) to find something to write about. 

That note is a placeholder for a future blog post. 

Yes, I could simply put the idea in a list of blog post ideas, just as I do for future projects or someday/maybe tasks. But there’s something about opening a new folder that makes an idea a bit more likely to happen. 

It also gives you a place to collect notes and information for that project or idea, which helps you get started on it.  

Tiago Forte says, “When you have a place for something, you find more of it.”

Set up a placeholder for the book you want to write, the investment you want to research, or the project you want to start. Set up a note for the blog post you’re thinking about. 

You’ll probably feel compelled to add notes, ideas, web clippings, photos, quotes, bullet points, research, and other things related to that project or post. 

Which means you’ll be a stop closer to getting started.

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Filed Under: Content creation, Productivity

I should have done this years ago

May 5, 2023 by
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For a long time, I’ve talked about the value of choosing tomorrow’s tasks today. Instead of writing your task list each morning, write it the night before. 

And for years, that’s what I’ve done. 

Previously, I had to wake up my brain each morning and plan my day, and it was often quite a while before I started working. Now, I know what’s on tap for the day and I can get to work immediately. 

One of my daily tasks is writing a blog and newsletter. Choosing the subject the day before has made a big difference for me, especially since I often find it takes longer to choose the topic than to write the post. Choosing the topic the day before has the added benefit of allowing my subconscious mind to work on the topic overnight.

This has worked well for me. But here’s the thing. . .

Sometimes, I get towards the end of the day and see I still need to choose tomorrow’s blog topic. I do it, but if I’m tired or finishing up something else or I’m hungry and ready to call it a day, I may not have the presence of mind to do it. 

So recently, I changed my workflow. A small change, but it has made a big difference. 

Now, as soon as I finish and publish “today’s” post, I choose the following day’s topic. I don’t do this in the afternoon or evening, as before, I do it immediately. 

It’s not a separate task, it’s part of the “write blog post” task. So effectively, I have one less task to do that day. One less thing to think about, or do, especially when I’d rather do something else.

If you write a blog or newsletter or post content on social, try it. Choose your next subject as part of finishing the one you work on today. . 

Actually, you can do this with any type of task, not just writing. 

Before you finish working on a case or project, choose the next one to work on. Make it part of your process, so you can roll from one into the next one. You may find, as I have, that it makes for a more productive day.

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Filed Under: Content creation, Productivity
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