Whether expressly forbidden by ethical rules or just inappropriate for a professional practice, attorneys can’t do many of the things a retailer can do to bring in business.
Like have a sale or special promotion. Or an army of affiliates.
But don’t you sometimes wish you could?
Actually, there is a way. All you need to do is create a product you can sell to the people in your target market.
A book or audio course. A set of forms or checklists. A do-it-yourself kit.
Take your expertise and turn it into a product. Not only can it bring you more clients, it can become an additional source of income.
You have a body of knowledge that people are willing to pay for, don’t you? Your expertise is valuable. Take a portion of that knowledge and “product-ize” it.
It could be a $5 ebook or a $5,000 8-week seminar. It doesn’t matter. Anything you can offer to the market place will do. Promote that, not your services, and watch your traffic and leads grow.
Now before you say, “it won’t work for my practice,” (you were going to say that, weren’t you?) go to your closet, get out your thinking cap, and put it on your head.
What’s that? You don’t have a thinking cap? No problem. I can get you one wholesale. Just need to find my affiliate link. . .
If you have trouble creating something your prospective clients would buy, find something that’s already available and sell that. Someone else’s book perhaps (e.g., an expert in a related field, a consumer advocate), or even a product.
You could even sell t-shirts if you wanted to. The trick is to tie it to a cause. Find something you’re passionate about (literacy, rain forests, cure for cancer) and donate the proceeds to an appropriate charity. They get the money, you get the customer list.
Anyway, don’t be so quick to dismiss the idea. If you can make it work, it would open up all kinds of marketing possibilities.
Yes, check with your bar association to make sure. We know how fussy they can be. They may claim that because the purpose of selling your book or widget is to bring in clients, the same ethical restrictions apply. Argue it, if you can. Find a way around it.
And stay tuned. Next week, I’m having a sale on thinking caps. You’ll want to stock up.
How to get free content for your blog
First, don’t assume you need to spend hours writing your posts. As I’ve written before, a post can be a few paragraphs that take just a few minutes to write. It can be as simple as taking something you read online and adding your comments. Tell why you agree, or disagree, link to another post that provides a different viewpoint or additional information, or share a story from your practice that illustrates the points in the article.
For longer posts, you have several alternatives:
One of the best ways to get original content for your blog is through guest posts. Someone else writes the post in return for a byline and link to their blog.
The benefits to you are
The benefits to the guest blogger are
Now, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. If guest posts are a good way to get exposure and traffic, why not offer to do some guest posting yourself? Find blogs that write for your target market and offer to do a guest post. Here are 21 tips for landing guest posts.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of guest posts is that they allow both parties to make a new connection. This can lead to referrals, introductions, advice, interviews, endorsements, networking and cross marketing opportunities.
Start looking for blogs that reach your target market. Invite them to write a guest post for your blog or offer to do the same for theirs.