Marketing legal services Archives - Page 3 of 134

The number one reason your practice isn’t growing (and how to fix it)

August 7, 2025 by David M. Ward

If your practice isn’t growing, there’s a very simple reason. It’s not growing because you’re not growing.

You’re the same lawyer today as you were yesterday. You know more and can probably do more, but you don’t, and you won’t unless you change your philosophies and activities—what you think about and what you do.

Your practice is a reflection of the decisions you have made in the past and the decisions you are making today. To get better results, you have to make better decisions, and to do that, you need better information.

You have to read the books, take the classes, and seek the advice of experts. You have to use different strategies than you usually use, and do them in different ways. You have to take more risks with your marketing, learn from your mistakes, and double down on your successes.

Because marketing is a process, not an event. You have to work at it. And do something most attorneys don’t want to do—stand out.

Most attorneys choose to blend in and be just like most of their competitors. They offer the same types of services, offer similar promises, and charge similar fees. They go out of their way to avoid being different and effectively become invisible.

If you want to be more successful, you can’t do that. You have to stand out.

That means doing things that are different and uniquely valuable. Something your competition doesn’t do.

Most attorneys don’t, which is why most attorneys never enjoy the level of success enjoyed by the few who do.

It’s a profession, yes, but it’s also a business. If you want your business to grow, you need to grow. Or it won’t.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Personal development

Why your content isn’t working

August 5, 2025 by David M. Ward

You work hard on your blog or newsletter, recording videos or podcasts, or posting tips on social media. It’s good content, your target market is seeing it, but you’re not getting new clients.

Why?

It’s likely that while your market is seeing your content, they’re not reading or watching it. They’re busy, and you’re asking for too much of their time, so they “save” your article for later and forget about it.

Could it be that simple? Yes. And the solution is just as simple. Create content that’s easier to consume.

Shorter articles and posts. A few hundred words, not a few thousand. Once a week, not 3 times a day. And while you’re at it, make it interesting, not academic. Tell stories, don’t lecture.

There’s a time and place for more comprehensive material, but when most of your material looks like “work,” you’re making it less likely anyone will want to consume it.

And hey, don’t push so hard.

Yes, you’re in the business of selling your services, and your readers and clients need your services and benefit from them. Asking them to call you to discuss their situation and explore their options might be precisely what they need, but if they feel like you’re chasing them, don’t be surprised if they run in the other direction.

That doesn’t mean you should be passive. You’re a professional, an advocate, and not merely in the information delivery business. Tell your readers what they need to know, tell them what to do, and why, and tell them what might happen if they don’t.

And then invite them to contact you to take the next step or learn more.

Content marketing isn’t difficult, but it’s still marketing.

Filed Under: Content creation, Marketing legal services

Marketing legal services requires just 3 things

July 31, 2025 by David M. Ward

At its core, marketing your services is simple. You don’t need to follow a checklist with 27 steps or account for a multitude of elements. You just need to do 3 things.

First, you need to get the attention of the right people. That means identifying and appealing to the self-interest of people who need or want something you can give them.

Target people with a legal problem you can solve or a desire you can fulfill.

Second, you need to stimulate them to take action. That means motivating them to call or click, read something or do something, by telling them the benefits for doing that—what they will get or avoid, how they will be better off—and not leaving this up to them to figure out.

Tell them what to do and why they should do it.

The third step is to get them to take that action immediately. Now, while their need or desire and interest are highest.

You don’t want them to hear another attorney’s message or become distracted by their phone or an appointment. You want them to take action now, not later, because (you must assume), later will never come.

And that’s it. 3 steps. Attention, benefit, urgency.

But as simple as this is, many attorneys’ marketing messages miss one or more of these elements. They don’t tell prospective clients what to do, don’t motivate them to do it, and/or don’t provide enough urgency to do it immediately.

And it cost them a fortune.

But not you. Because you know what to do, and why, and because it is simple, you won’t forget to do it.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services

Your 5-second introduction

July 17, 2025 by David M. Ward

“Hi, I’m Joe. I’m a business attorney here in Small Town.” Within seconds, most people won’t remember what Joe said.

Joe’s introduction is accurate but forgettable. It tells people who he is, not what he does, for whom, or why it matters.

We can do better.

It’s as simple as showing new contacts a picture. Something they can see in their mind’s eye, and immediately appreciate your value—the reason clients hire and trust you.

It doesn’t need to be clever. Five seconds isn’t enough time for cleverness. Not enough time to get into detail or tell any stories. That can come later, if there is more time, or you’re on a stage.

For now, tell them what you do, for whom, and why it matters.

What problems do you solve? What benefits do you deliver? What kind of clients do you help?

That’s all you have time for, but it’s enough. Enough to get your new contact to see your value and remember you. Because if they have or have had the problem you mention, or are close to someone who has, your message, however brief, is going to resonate and stick with them and open the door to hearing more.

Which is all you can hope for in a 5-second introduction.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Networking

I thought about you this morning

July 15, 2025 by David M. Ward

I just got back from my daily walk. I usually listen to podcasts when I walk, and today, I listened to the aptly named “Walking is Fitness” podcast, which provides information and inspiration that helps people get started on their fitness journey and make it a habit.

That’s when I thought about you.

No, I didn’t think about your fitness level, or lack thereof. I thought about how a podcast might be a great way for you to get more clients and increase your income.

Hold on. I know I’ve mentioned podcasting before, and as I mention it now, I can hear you say, “I don’t have time for that,” but hear me out. Perhaps you do.

The walking podcast is just ten minutes. The man who does it records it on his phone while he is walking. Ten minutes out in nature, talking about what he does and knows and recommends.

Do you have ten minutes’ worth of information you can share about your work? Could you explain the law, share a war story or two, and encourage listeners to go to your blog or read your article and contact you to talk about their case?

If you don’t have ten minutes’ worth of information, how about 5?

You can script your message and read your script. Or jot down some bullet points and just talk. It really doesn’t matter. What matters is that you have something valuable and helpful to share, and share it. All you need is something to say and an app to record your voice. Add the recording to one of the many free podcasting platforms and post a link on your website and on social media.

Sounds good, you say, but how often do you have to do this? That’s up to you. You can post once or twice a week, once or twice a month, or once in a while.

One more question. Yes, you, in the back…“Most people listen to podcasts while doing other activities, like walking or driving or at the gym. How do you get listeners from your podcast to your website?”

The answer is to give them a reason to visit—more information, a free consultation or another limited-time offer, a helpful form or checklist to download — and a shorter and easier to remember version of the URL to your website.

But don’t worry about all of this, or any of it. As long as people are hearing your message and your name, you’re building awareness for your “brand” that will eventually lead to more traffic, more leads, and more business.

Filed Under: Content creation, Marketing legal services

Repurposing content

July 8, 2025 by David M. Ward

One of the best ways to build your law practice is to create content about your field and what you do to help your clients.

Writing articles and blog posts, posting on social media, recording videos and podcasts, and the like, are a simple and effective way to boost engagement with prospects and clients and professional contacts, establish your authority, generate traffic to your website, build trust, generate more leads, and “close” more of the leads you generate.

If you don’t create much content, no doubt the time required is a major factor.

You can reduce that time, and get a better return on your investment, by reusing or repurposing your content.

You can

Update a previously published blog post with additional thoughts, comments you received (and your replies to those comments), questions you were asked when you posted it (and your answers), additional examples from recent cases, and anything else that adds value to the original post
Expand a short post into a longer version
Convert a post or article for a different niche
Use the post as an outline for a new post for a different practice area
Cut up a long post into smaller posts
Compile several posts into a report and use it as a lead magnet for your newsletter, or for prospects who make an appointment or sign up for your webinar, or as bonus content for your new client welcome package
Add several posts to your email autoresponder for future opt-ins
Translate your articles into other languages
Write additional posts or articles on the same subject but with a different angle
Repost your article on sites like Medium or Quora or Substack

You can also

Convert an article into a blog post or a blog post into an article
Convert an article into a video or podcast episode
Convert the transcript of a presentation or interview into an article or post
Create an autoresponder e-course from a series of posts
Post your LinkedIn post on Facebook or vice versa
Compile articles into an ebook and publish it on Amazon
Use a series of posts as the basis for a webinar
Create an infographic highlighting key points in your article or presentation
Record your speech or presentation and post it on YouTube
Record a video speaking about the subject of your article and embed the video in the original post
Create PowerPoint slides and record yourself doing a summary of your article(s)

Need help? Ask your favorite ai for suggestions for ways to repurpose your content for your existing niche or repurposing it for different niches.

The easiest thing to do? Send it or post it again to your existing list because most of your subscribers didn’t see it six months ago, won’t remember it, or didn’t appreciate your message because they didn’t have the problem you speak about, but now they do.

I’ve used several of these strategies to repurpose and reuse content and recommend them. It’s a great way to get more bang for your content buck.

Filed Under: Content creation, Leverage, List building, Marketing legal services

Marketing for lazy lawyers

July 1, 2025 by David M. Ward

A little clickbait-y? Sorry. I know you’re not lazy. You’re busy and don’t have a lot of time for marketing.

Or you’re just not into it like some lawyers.

No problem. You don’t have to invest hours (or spend a fortune) to build your practice. What you need to do is leverage the time you do have doing small things that have the potential for a big return.

To wit:

If you can’t commit to writing a regular blog or newsletter, you can do guest posts on blogs or occasional articles in publications read by your target market. “Borrow” their audience, authority, and list.

You’re not big on social media? Identify a handful of non-competitive lawyers or other professionals in your market who are very active on social and comment on their posts.

You do a seminar in your conference room but haven’t had time to promote it? Hire high school kids to go door-to-door and pass out flyers or put them on windshields.

You’re not ready to do your own seminars or events or to do a lot of networking? Find existing events and meetings and get yourself invited as a guest speaker or to sit on a panel. Similarly, find podcasts and channels with an appropriate audience and offer to appear as a guest. They need smart people like you with something to say.

No budget for advertising? Invest $500 a month improving your website SEO, navigation, and content, and get more traffic. Don’t forget to add an opt-in form or landing page and collect names (by offering a report) and start building a list you can connect with when you’re ready.

Not getting as many referrals as you’d like? Talk to your clients, former clients, prospective clients, business contacts, and personal friends. “If you know anyone…. I’d appreciate the referral” is simple and effective and takes no time or money.

Don’t forget lawyers in other fields, or even in your field. Tell them to keep you in mind when they have something they don’t handle, a conflict, or a case that’s too small or too big for them. I got my practice started that way and it was very effective.

In short, there is a middle ground between “all in” in your marketing and doing nothing and that middle ground can bring you a lot of new business.

Filed Under: Leverage, Marketing legal services

Fake deadlines

June 19, 2025 by David M. Ward

You’ve heard me talk about the value of using “fear of loss” in your marketing and that it is usually more effective than speaking to a prospective client’s “desire for gain”. A client or prospect will be more likely to call you, opt in, or sign-up when they know that if they don’t, they may lose something valuable—their freedom, money, access, peace of mind, or something else they “own”.

More prospective clients will sign up because they fear losing their home or business, for example, than will sign up to increase their income or profit.

So, when you have a choice, show clients and prospects what they stand to lose by NOT taking action.

But whether your message is about fear of loss or desire for gain, you can increase response to your proposition by telling prospects there is a deadline.

When you tell them they might suffer financial loss if they don’t act before a specific date, for example, the urgency of that deadline gets them to focus on their situation, increasing their fear and motivating them to make a decision they might otherwise have delayed or rejected.

Bottom line, when you point out (emphasize) a deadline, you usually get more business.

Deadlines are effective because they tap into one of the strongest motivators in business—scarcity. There are a limited number of days left to sue and time is running out. There are only a few seats left at your seminar, and they are going fast. You are accepting only five new clients this week because you won’t have time to handle more.

The client or prospect doesn’t want to lose anything. You’re doing them a favor by telling them about the deadline. Tell them what to do, when to do it, and what they will lose if they don’t.

The urgency of deadlines is good for your clients and good for you.

What about “fake” deadlines?

Telling prospects there are “only two days left” when there is no real reason for that deadline, for example? You could extend the deadline, add more seats, or make room for one more client, couldn’t you? So, technically, the deadline is artificial.

Do fake deadlines work? They often do. Should you use them? Maybe.

If you get more people to say yes and those people benefit by doing so, that’s a good thing for them. Where’s the harm?

The harm in using fake deadlines is that clients will deduce that it is fake and their trust in you will diminish.

So, if you use fake deadlines, don’t do them too often or too ?capriciously.

Filed Under: Closing the sale, Copywriting, Marketing legal services Tagged With: Deadlines

Reminder marketing

June 17, 2025 by David M. Ward

Many attorneys don’t advertise because they believe it is inappropriate. They consider it overly aggressive, constantly pushing for sales and leads.

There is an alternative.

Unlike “lead generation advertising” and other forms of marketing featuring a “call to action,” the focus of reminder marketing is to show your audience that an issue exists, or still exists, and what could happen if it is ignored. It may mention your ability and readiness to address the issue, or this may simply be implied.

Reminder marketing isn’t restricted to advertising. Reminder marketing also occurs through emails to clients, prospects, or business contacts, newsletters and blogs, social media posts, press releases about news stories, and other communication mechanisms. It is a viable way to attract new clients, as well as stimulate repeat business and referrals.

Sometimes, you remind your audience that they may have an unaddressed problem or impending deadline, sometimes you remind them that updates are advisable, or that certain benefits are available to them they may not realize or might have forgotten.

You provide information and use examples of cases in the news or in your practice, and in doing so, not only remind them about the issues but keep your name or “brand” top-of-mind.

Reminder marketing is the essence of staying-in-touch with your market. Your messages remind your clients that you are still practicing, still protecting and supporting your clients, regardless of your message’s content. It’s a simple and effective mechanism for bringing in more business.

On the other hand, just because the focus of this type of marketing is educating or reminding, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t persuade your audience to do something. You should.

But you can do that without pushing.

Filed Under: Advertising, Marketing legal services

A simple tool for attracting new clients

June 12, 2025 by David M. Ward

Your phone rings. A prospective client has a few questions or wants to make an appointment. He wasn’t a referral, didn’t see your ad or article, didn’t hear you interviewed, doesn’t follow you on social media, and hasn’t met you.

How does he know what you do and how you can help him?

He knows because he’s on your email list and, for weeks or months, or even years, has been hearing all about what you do and how you can help him.

He’s heard you discuss law and procedure and tell stories about cases you’ve handled. He’s heard what you do for your clients and believes you’re good at your job.

Whether you write a weekly or monthly newsletter or email your list from time to time, your list keeps you in touch with prospective clients, former clients, and business contacts. When they’re ready, they call.

You can’t do that effectively on social media. It’s out of your control. Algorithms change, policies change, and you never know who sees your information.

If you have an email list, however, you can contact your target market any time you want and know you’re addressing people who have actually chosen to hear from you.

They may not open every email, but they’re much more connected with you than they might be on social.

So, you need a list.

But you can’t (shouldn’t) just add names to a list and hit send. You want them to “opt in”.

You get them to do that by offering an incentive. Not just the information they get in your newsletter or blog or channel.

Something else.

It could be a report about a legal problem and solution you offer. It could be a guide to accomplishing something your target market wants to accomplish. It could be a form, a list of resources, or anything else a prospective client might want and be willing to sign up to get.

Offer them something they can download in exchange for their email address (also known as a lead magnet).

It has to be good. Don’t just throw something together. It should be valuable enough that people think, “Wow, I can’t believe they give this away for free.” That’s how you get more opt-ins and build trust with your audience.

On the other hand, it doesn’t have to be amazing. Solid information and a benefit-rich title can do the trick.

If you target small business owners, for example, a report or guide entitled, “22 Smart Strategies Business Owners Need To Stay Out Of Court” could be plenty.

Start with one lead magnet and use it to build your list. Over time, you can add more lead magnets, for different practice areas, different target markets, and different types of cases, to help you grow your list.

Filed Under: List building, Marketing legal services, Newsletters Tagged With: Lead magnet