How to get new clients through email

October 14, 2013 by
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Can a lawyer really get new clients through email? Sure. If direct mail works, why not direct email?

If it’s ethical in your jurisdiction (it probably isn’t), and you don’t mind being accused of spamming (you should mind), you could pick up some clients this way. Go find some people in your target market, send an email and offer them something of value they would find helpful in their business or personal life. An article, report, video, seminar transcript, or newsletter that helps them solve a problem or achieve a goal.

They’ll read or listen, see that you know what you’re doing and can help them, and some of them will contact you to take the next step towards hiring you.

Make sense?

But there’s a much better way to get new clients through email that’s not unethical, tacky, or spammy. And it will probably work even better.

Instead of reaching out to prospective clients by email, reach out to prospective referral sources.

Find other professionals who serve your target market. Study their website and google them. Then, send them an email that says you target the same market they do and want to introduce yourself. You’d like to find out more about what they do and see if there’s a way the two of you can work together. Ask if they want to meet for coffee, or chat on the phone.

Make your email personal. Say something specific about them or their website, so they know you’re not sending a “form letter” to thousands of others.

When you talk to them, find out what they are looking for and see if you can help them get it. I know, they want referrals and you may not have any to give right now, but there are other ways you can help them. Do they have a seminar you can promote? Would they like to come to your networking meeting as your guest? Do they have a Facebook page you can like?

At some point, tell them about your video, report, article, or newsletter and invite them to make this available to their clients, subscribers, and followers. They also may not have referrals to give you right now and this gives you another way to gain exposure to their contacts.

Send ten emails this week and see what happens. If only one professional offers your report or video to his or her list, hundreds of prospective clients, perhaps thousands, will not only get your information, they will get the implied endorsement of that professional. New clients won’t be far behind.

Learn more about how to get more referrals from other professionals. Click here.

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Filed Under: Email, Marketing legal services, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing Tagged With:

How often should I write to my clients and prospects?

September 13, 2013 by
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When it comes to writing clients and prospects, many lawyers are worried about writing too often. Instead, they should be worried about not writing often enough.

You need to stay in touch with people on your lists, to remind them that you are still around, and still available to solve legal problems. They need to continually see your name and think nice thoughts about you, so that when they have a legal problem, or know someone who does, you’ll be “in their minds and in their mailboxes”.

The more often you write, the more business you’ll get.

Is there such a thing as too much or too often?

Sure. If you write boring, self-serving crappola, once is too much.

On the other hand, if you send interesting, helpful information that your clients and prospects want to read, you almost can’t write too often.

Let’s not make this more complicated than it needs to be. Make a vow to send high quality information, interesting stories, and valuable resources to the people on your list. Then, pick a schedule and stick to it.

Write often. It doesn’t have to be long. A few paragraphs is enough if that’s all you have to say. Link to an article or video you thought they would like to see and tell them why. Tell them about a change in the law that might affect them. Give them a few tips.

Instead of a monthly newsletter with several articles, send one article once a week. That gives you four opportunities to connect, and shorter articles probably have a better chance of being read instead of set aside “for later” and never opened.

Actually, it really doesn’t matter if they read what you write. What’s important is that they see your name. Better once a week than once in awhile.

If you want hundreds of ideas for articles, blogs posts, and emails, get this.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Client loyalty, Communication, Email, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Online Marketing, Referrals Tagged With: , ,

How to market by email (NOT)

August 8, 2013 by
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I got an email this morning from a guy trying to sell me his Internet marketing services. You’ve probably seen emails like this a thousand times.

The subject says, “Schedule call”. The email starts, “Are you getting the most out of your Internet marketing efforts? More than 80% of businesses and consumers research products and services online before making a purchase, creating a massive opportunity from an effective campaign.”

Blah blah blah. Yada yada yada.

He goes on to tell me how great his company is and asks to schedule 30 minutes on the phone to tell me what they can do for me.

Now if this guy knew ANYthing about Internet marketing, he would not be doing this. This is NOT how to market by email.

Yeah, I know, he wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t working. Lucky for him, there are plenty of people who know even less than he does about marketing and if he sends enough of these emails, he will get some business. But not nearly as much as he could if he was doing things the right way.

I’m not being critical of his email because it arrived unsolicited. I don’t get bent out of shape when I receive unsolicited email. But. . . don’t subscribe me to your list without my permission and make me DO something to get off of it. So guess what this idiot did?

Oh no you didn’t! (Yes, he did.)

So. . . instead of simply deleting his email and parting friends, after I unsubscribed, I clicked and identified the email as SPAM. As others do the same, eventually none of his emails will get through to anyone’s inbox.

As I say, this dumb bastard doesn’t know anything about Internet marketing.

But the problem with the email isn’t that it arrived unsolicited. The problem is that the email is a stinker.

It should be blindfolded and executed by firing squad.

You don’t need to see the entire email. All you need to know is that it’s all about the company and not. . . about ME.

There are some bullet points that attempt to suggest benefits: “Maximizing social media for business development,” and “Ensuring your website stays up-to-date on search engine. . .”.

Zzzzzz.

Boring. Weak. Trite.

Stuff we’ve seen so often our eyes glaze over.

And I don’t want to “maximize social media for business development”. I want clients. I want people to hire me and pay me. I want more people to find me and sign up for my list so that more people will hire me and pay me.

Okay, what is he offering? Even a poorly written email can be effective with a strong offer.

Hmm, . . a 30 minute phone call. . . so he can try to sell me something. . . yeah, thanks but I’m just going to have to pass.

Even if I liked his email, it’s too soon in our “relationship” to close for a phone call.

What could he have offered that might have gotten me to click?

Information. A report, for example, with tips and advice about how I could beef up my Internet marketing, get more traffic, more sign ups, and more clients.

I might have at least taken a look.

If the report delivered good information, I might have been open to learning more about his company and what he can do for me.

Most lawyers aren’t going to send out unsolicited emails. But if you do, that’s how to do it. The same goes for your ads, speeches, and articles. Or when you are networking.

Don’t talk about yourself. Don’t go for the close the first time you communicate. Talk about the prospect. Offer information.

Let the information demonstrate your knowledge and experience and sell the reader on hiring you or taking the next step.

There. Now you know more about Internet marketing than this guy. Please don’t subscribe me to your list.

Need help with Internet marketing? This shows you what to do and how to do it.

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Filed Under: Communication, Copywriting, Email, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing Tagged With: , , ,

Long blog posts, articles, and emails, or short?

August 7, 2013 by
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How long should an article or blog post be? Right, long enough to say what you have to say. If you can communicate your information or message in three well written paragraphs, great. That’s what it should be. If you need 2500 words to get the job done, that’s what you should do.

But there are other considerations.

It is well known that long blog posts (articles), I’m talking 2000 words, or more, tend to get more search engine traffic and incoming links. Longer posts tend to be perceived as authoritative and rank well with search engines and human beings (social media sharing).

On the other hand, the objective isn’t just traffic. It’s clients and sign-ups for your email list. To accomplish that, visitors have to read your content and see how smart you are and what you have to offer. If your content is long, they may save it “for later”. I don’t know about you but I’ve got gigabytes of saved articles (and pdfs) that I’ll probably never get around to reading.

Also, if you write to your email list frequently, as I suggest you do, you may overwhelm them with too much content. They either won’t read it or they will unsubscribe from your list.

How frequently you post or write, and how long individual posts should be, does depend on context. Are you writing for consumers or business people? If you’re writing to professionals and providing valuable and relevant content, they will probably make the effort to stay with you. Consumers may not, but if are writing about the very problem that currently plagues them they’ll read every word.

So, the answer to the question of “long or short” is a very lawyer-like, “it depends”. The best course is to have a mix of both.

Write longer, authoritative articles and posts for search engine traffic and to address issues prospective clients want to know about. Write shorter posts to engage your readers and allow you to contact them more frequently.

One thing you can do with longer material is to break it up into segments. Three 700 word posts instead of one with 2000 words. In addition to giving readers the impression that there’s not “too much to read so I’ll save it for later,” it gives search engines three opportunities to find you. (Make sure each of the three parts is optimized for different keywords).

So, this post is around 400 words. Not too hot, not too cold, but just right.

Learn more about internet marketing for attorneys. Click here.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Communication, Email, Law office management, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Online Marketing, Web traffic, Writing Tagged With: ,

Internet marketing for attorneys and handymen

August 2, 2013 by
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My wife and I hired a handyman yesterday. She found Dan on a review site for trades people. He had nearly 100 positive reviews, more than any other on the site.

Dan doesn’t have his own website. He probably thinks he doesn’t need one. He’s got all that business coming in from the review site and I’m sure he also gets lots of referrals.

But what if that review site shuts down? Yes it does happen. Sites that aren’t making money, sites that are mismanaged, sites that get sold to someone who has different ideas.

Just like that, Dan’s online presence would be gone. All the business from that site, gone.

Then what?

Okay, he would still get referrals. But when the people getting referred go online to “check him out” and find nothing, what do you think they will do? They’ll go find someone else, that’s what they’ll do.

Now then, how about you? What kind of online presence do you have? Do you have a website? If you don’t and someone goes online to “check you out,” what will they find? Bad stuff? No stuff? Don’t you want them to see some good stuff?

If you do have a website but it is hosted on a site that you don’t own, what will you do if that site goes away?

It won’t happen? That’s what everyone who had their sites at Posterous.com said, just before they shut down.

You need your own site. Hosted on your own account. www.yourname.com.

Directory listings and reviews on other sites are fine. Having a page on your firm’s site is fine. You still need your own site.

I get a lot of emails from attorneys who use the email account at their current employer’s law firm. joelaw@myemployerfirmname.com But what happens when they leave that firm? They lose that email address.

A year from now, if someone has a referral and wants to email them, they can’t. They don’t work here anymore. Do they track him down? Who knows.

So, if you’re not ready to create your own website, at least get you own domain name and your own email address that will never change. you@yourname.com

Here are some of the resources I use and recommend for domains and hosting.

And here is my course on Internet marketing for attorneys.

And, if you need a good handyman. . .

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Filed Under: Email, Law office management, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Technology Tagged With: , ,

Email marketing for lawyers

July 25, 2013 by
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I talked to a lawyer yesterday who told me looks forward to reading my emails every day. I hear that a lot.

There’s a lesson in this.

When you deliver value–information, ideas, stories, tips–you can email your list often. Even daily.

Your readers will look forward to getting your emails and they will read them.

The ones who don’t, the ones who either don’t read your email or unsubscribe from you list, would probably never hire you anyway and you can safely let them go.

The ones who like your emails:

  • Know you. They know your name and what you do.
  • Like you. They like hearing your “voice” and reading your advice and stories.
  • Trust you. They see that you are consistent, dependable. They see that you are continually solving legal problems for other clients and believe you could do the same for them.

So. . .

  • When they need your services, they’ll almost always call you instead of any other lawyer
  • When they know someone who needs your services, they’ll refer them to you instead of any other lawyer
  • When you ask them to “Like” your page, share your article, or invite their friends and contacts to register for your seminar, there’s a good chance they will

Compare this to lawyers who don’t have a list. They have no way to stay in touch with prospective clients so none of the above can occur.

And compare this to lawyers who do have a list but either don’t send value or don’t email often enough:

  • When they do email, it goes into spam or is not recognized, so it is not opened and read
  • Or, it’s been so long since they have heard from the lawyer, they don’t really know, like, and trust him, and thus, won’t hire him (or refer)
  • Or, the email is opened and read but it’s been so long since they heard from the lawyer, they’ve already hired someone

You don’t have to mail every day. Once a week is fine. But do mail often and do deliver value.

Your emails can be short and sweet. A tip, a quick story, a reminder. If you write an article or blog post, send that. If you find an interesting article or video on someone else’s site, send them a link. If you have an interesting case or client, tell them about it.

Email marketing for lawyers is simple. Build a list and build a relationship with the people on that list.

You know you’re doing it right when your subscribers tell you they look forward to getting your emails.

Want to know how to build a list and what to send them? This shows you what to do.

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Filed Under: Communication, Email, List building, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Online Marketing, Relationship marketing Tagged With: ,

IMPORTANT: If you use gmail (and if you don’t, your clients DO)

July 24, 2013 by
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Gmail is rolling out a new feature that may make it less likely that you will see my emails. If you have an email list for your clients and prospects, they will be less likely to see YOUR emails.

The new feature categorizes incoming emails into “Primary,” “Social,” or “Promotions” tabs. Because I use a commercial autoresponder to deliver my emails, they will automatically be categorized as “Promotions” and lumped together with other “commercial” emails, including advertising.

You know, the stuff you don’t read.

That means my emails won’t go into your inbox and you may never see them. Your clients won’t be see YOUR emails.

This can be avoided by adjusting your settings, once the new feature is active.

Simply find one of my emails in “Promotions” and drag it into “Primary”.

A pop-up will appear and ask you if you want to do this for all future messages. Click “Yes”.

That’s it. Now, my emails will appear in your inbox.

If you want to completely remove these new tabs, go to the Settings box in the upper right hand corner of your inbox and select “Settings.” Click on the “Inbox” tab and unselect all categories but “Primary” (remember to save your changes).

That’s what I’ve done for my account. Don’t like all those tabs crowding my space. Seems like more work for me, not less.

Anyway, once you’ve done this, make sure you notify your lists to do the same. Many people use Gmail. As much as 50% of your list, by some estimates. If they don’t make this change, they won’t see your emails, and that’s not good for them or you.

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Filed Under: Email, Law office management, List building, News, Newsletters Tagged With:

Email marketing for attorneys

June 6, 2013 by
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Yesterday, an email arrived in my inbox. See if you can tell what’s wrong with it:

–BEGIN EMAIL–
David,

First of all thanks you for subscribing over the years. I know
many of you have read my books or taken some of my courses
and I truly appreciate that.

The reason I have been so passionate in creating an online
business over the years is because it is the perfect way to
reach people worldwide and EXPRESS YOUR CREATIVITY.

I have tried the do this in my [Product names] . . . as well as my music.

——————————
QUICK NOTE:

Our once a year World Class [Product Name] Certification
Program starts next Monday June 10. Only a few spots left.

[Link to sign up]

——————————

THE SECRET OF LIFE

In my opinion it is doing what you love and sharing it
with others (and best of all make a living at it).

But rather than talk about it let me SING it to you
with some help from [Famous singer]…

[Youtube link of famous singer with writer of email]

In this You Tube channel you will see a part of me
many of you haven’t. In 1976 I got a Masters in
[Music degree, school]

. . .

–END EMAIL–

Okay, that’s enough. The rest of the email discusses his music and asks us to subscribe to his Youtube channel. He then mentions that he is working on another product and signs off.

So, what’s wrong with this email?

1. Who is this guy?

You can’t tell from the email itself but this is a list I signed up for a long time ago and I haven’t heard from this guy for at least six months. I don’t remember anything about him or what he does.

When people subscribe to your list, you have to write to them regularly or they forget who you are and that they signed up on your list. At best, they delete your email or unsubscribe. At worst, they flag your email as SPAM and now, when you do write to your list, your emails get filtered out and don’t get read.

You must write regularly, and frequently. You want to build a relationship with your readers, so that they know who you are and look forward to hearing from you. You don’t know when they will need to hire you, or know someone who does, and if you’re not in their mailboxes and their minds when that occurs, you’re not going to get the call.

2. “I know many of you have. . .”.

When you write to me, write to me. Don’t write in the collective. Say “you” not “many of you”.

Even if there are thousands of subscribers on your list, write your email as though it is a personal communication sent only to one reader. Me.

3. What’s in it for me?

When you write to me, tell me something that will make my life better. Give me something valuable–a tip, a link to something I can use in my business or personal life. There is nothing in this email that does that.

I’m blazing through my inbox, reading and saving a few emails that have something of value for me and deleting (and unsubscribing) everything else. If you want me to read your email, give me a reason. Give me a benefit. Tell me what’s in it for me.

4. “I have been so passionate about. . .”.

Your readers may care about what you are passionate about, but only if they share that passion or they have a relationship with you. The rest of us don’t care. We have our own problems to solve and lives to lead. We’re busy. We don’t have time to look at what you’re doing and did I mention, we really don’t care?

Ironically, I do share his passion for expressing my creativity. I also like the music of the famous singer he refers to. But I didn’t go watch his videos because I can watch videos of the famous singer any time I want. I don’t care that years ago, this guy played with him. So what? Lots of people did. I don’t know them, either.

On the other hand, when you have a relationship with your subscribers, you can share with them something about you that has no direct benefit to them, and they will pay attention.

When you have a relationship with someone, they’ll read your emails, Like and Tweet your posts, send their friends to your website, and respond to your requests. When they need your help, they’ll hire you. When they have a referral, they’ll give it to you. And when you share a video of you playing with a famous musician, they’ll go watch, because they probably don’t have a relationship with anyone else who did that and it might be neat to go see someone they know in a video with someone famous.

Build your list. Build relationships with your list.

Email marketing for attorneys. Click here for details.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Communication, Copywriting, Email, List building, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Online Marketing, Writing Tagged With:

Stop sending me these emails!

May 13, 2013 by
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I heard from a subscriber who was planning to sign up for my newsletter with a different email address but couldn’t figure out how to un-subscribe from her old email.

She knew she was supposed to scroll down to the link at the bottom of the email but when she hit some white space she thought it was the bottom of the email, stopped scrolling, and didn’t see the link.

It happens.

What I don’t get are the people who don’t know there is a way to un-subscribe. Like the one I heard from last week that huffed and puffed and said, “Stop sending me these emails!”

Lawyers.

Did he forget that he signed up? Did he not realize that he would be getting daily emails? Did he just lose a big case and need to yell at someone?

I don’t know. He didn’t say.

Here’s the point.

No matter how often you email your list, you will always have people who want to unsubscribe. Some think you email too often. Some are caught up in life and don’t read your emails and don’t know what they’re missing. Some haven’t heard from you in six months, don’t remember who you are, and think you are spamming them.

Lessons:

  • Provide value
  • Email often
  • Don’t worry about the ones who think you email too often. If you are providing value and they don’t appreciate it, they don’t deserve to be on your list.

Most people know how to remove themselves and you won’t hear from them. For the ones who don’t know what to do, it’s easy to remove them manually. I just scroll down to the bottom of the email they replied to and click the link.

As I’ve said before, you don’t want a list of 10,000 subscribers who don’t appreciate what you send them, don’t read it, and don’t hire you. Much better to have 200 who love what you say, read every word, and if they can’t hire you themselves, refer lots of their friends.

Anyway, every once in a while, you get a email like this one:

David,

Just wanted to let you know that I am unsubbing this email address from your newsletter ONLY because I thought the stuff you send is so good I ended up subscribing twice 🙂

Just to keep my inbox to a manageable I’m dropping back to just one subscription…though I must admit I was tempted to keep both just to make sure that I didn’t miss anything…

Good stuff!!

Best regards,

Dat’s what I’m talkin ’bout.

The Attorney Marketing Formula shows you how to get more clients and increase your income.

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Filed Under: Communication, Email, Marketing legal services, Newsletters
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