Marketing legal services Archives - Page 41 of 135

Stop marketing

April 24, 2020 by David M. Ward

You’ve created content that isn’t bringing in much business. People aren’t following your links or answering your call to action.

What are you doing wrong?

It could be a lot of things, but I’m going to go with one I see a lot of lawyers (and others) do.

You’re “marketing” instead of communicating.

Your content is too promotional. All about you. Trying too hard to get the reader to act.

And they can see you coming.

Yes, you want them to act. But there’s a better way to do that than pushing out promotional content. Let go of the self-promotion and create content that connects with people on an emotional level.

Offer helpful information or advice or share an emotional client story.

Talk to people about what they’re already thinking. Engage them. Show them you understand them. Build a relationship with them.

You want them to like and trust you. And not lump you together with all the other lawyers who are flogging their services and talking all about themselves.

Yes, they want to know about you, but before they’ll listen, they want to know you’re worth listening to.

So, talk about your reader. His life, his problems, his pain.

Then you can let him know you have solutions and invite him to read more or contact you about his situation.

If you do it right, your reader will listen to you and take the next step.

My email marketing course shows you how to do it right

Filed Under: Content creation, Email, Marketing legal services

If you can get one client, you can get 100

April 21, 2020 by David M. Ward

Are you over-complicating your marketing?

I’m going to go with “yes” because most people do that. Especially lawyers who, by and large, would rather be doing something else.

So, this is me telling you to make things simple (and easy) for yourself by focusing on just one or two things.

One or two strategies. One or two markets. Let go of everything else (at least for now).

If you did that, how much time and money would you free up?

How much additional mental energy would you have if marketing only required you to do one or two things?

What things?

Something that’s already working.

Look at your current and recent client lists and figure out where they came from.

Referrals? From whom? What preceded the referral? What did you do to help it along?

Advertising? Which publications or platforms? What did you offer? What did you spend, what was your ROI?

Did they come through your website? How did they find you? What did they do before they contacted you (e.g, read something, opt in, etc.)

Did they come through organic social media? Which platforms? What did you do to engage them and get them to take the next step?

You don’t need to be a rocket surgeon to figure this out. Find something that’s working for you and do more of it.

If it brought you even one client, it can bring you a lot more.

What if more than a few things are working for you? What if you’re getting new business through several means and there is no clear winner?

Dig deeper.

Which method(s) are bringing you better clients (lots of work for you, willing to pay top dollar, ability to refer, etc.)?

And. . .

Which method(s) do you like best?

Because if you enjoy doing it, you’ll do more of it.

When I was practicing, it was referrals, all day every day. I enjoyed it and focused on it and got good at it.

If that sounds good to you, here’s a good place to start.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services

Why the majority is always wrong

April 7, 2020 by David M. Ward

In a well-delivered TED Talk about high performance, Paul Rulkens points out that only 3% of the population achieves extraordinary results and that the common denominator among them is that they eschew industry standards.

High achievers don’t do what everyone else does. They do something different.

The majority conform to industry standards and customs and consequently achieve average results. That’s why, when it comes to high performance, the majority is always wrong.

The speaker pointed at two companies that made their bones by going their own way. IKEA went against tradition by asking customers to assemble their own furniture. Dell built their brand without opening a single retail store.

How about the legal field?

Think of the lawyers you know or have read about who are at the top of their field. The odds are there is something about them that’s different.

It may be their personality or remarkable trial skills and record. They may have notable clients or a track record in a certain niche. They may have taken on controversial clients or cases or championed a notorious cause.

Yes, they may have had the right connections or stumbled into a bit of luck, but you can bet they parlayed their luck into even bigger success.

As the presenter pointed out, great achievers think out of their industry’s box, while the majority run their lives on auto pilot.

If you want to be among the 3% and leave the majority behind, one place to start is by looking at how your competition does (or doesn’t do) their marketing and make that your point of differentiation.

One idea, one campaign, can make all the difference.

To learn how to do that, head on over here

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, success

Thereâ€™s no such thing as a former client

April 2, 2020 by David M. Ward

Everyone who has ever hired you is still your client.

At least that’s how you should think of them, even if you haven’t done any work for them in ten years.

They’re still clients and you should treat them that way.

Yes, you should give more attention to clients you’re currently working with but don’t ignore the others.

They may have another case some day. They may have referrals. They may promote your video or send traffic to your website. They may know someone who needs help with something one of your referral sources provides. They can help you build your social media following and your email list.

Stay in touch with them. Remind them that you’re still practicing, still available to help them and the people they know.

Do the same thing with prospective clients and professional contacts.

Send them information, keep them informed about what you’re doing, and invite them to stay in touch with you, too.

Because one day, maybe soon, some of your “former” client will wake up and become “current” clients, or do something else that makes you glad you didn’t forget them.

The easiest way to stay in touch with clients and prospects

Filed Under: Increase your income, Marketing legal services

The best marketing you can do right now

April 1, 2020 by David M. Ward

Phones quiet? Not a lot of work coming in? Courts closed?

Now would be a good time to do some marketing.

But what?

The same kind of marketing I nag you about all the time, only now you have time to do it on a bigger scale.

It’s one of the simplest and most effective kind of marketing a lawyer can do.

Get on the blower and blow.

Call your clients (and former clients) to say hello, wish them well, and ask if there’s anything you can do for them.

Works well during good times. Should work like gangbusters now when people are concerned about the future and not too busy to take your call.

Don’t expect to get any work when you call, but don’t be surprised if it does.

Right now, you may learn what your clients want to know so you can get the answers for them and share those answers with your other clients and in your newsletter.

If someone need help with something you don’t do, you can refer them to someone who does, earning Brownie points with the client and the professional or business owner to whom you refer them.

Mostly, you’ll strengthen your relationship with the people who once put bread on your table and who will again.

They’ll appreciate you and remember that you thought about them, and while others wrote to them and wished them well, you were the one who made a personal call.

Mark my words, when things get back to normal and they need legal help or know someone who does, they’ll be calling you.

So, how many clients will you call this week?

How to use a newsletter to build your practice

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Marketing legal services

Positioning yourself for the coming upswing

March 31, 2020 by David M. Ward

If you have some downtime right now, consider using some of that time to invest in the future of your practice or career.

Think about what’s next for you, make plans, research ideas, and do things you might not have time to do when everything gets back to normal.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Brainstorm additional ways to promote your services
Outline your book (or finish writing the thing)
Create a new lead magnet (or update an old one)
Clean up/organize your computer desktop and documents
Give your website a makeover
Research some new keywords
Learn how to use new software
Start your newsletter
Update your social media profiles
Add a new social media platform to your mix
Get ahead on CLE
Read books, take courses on personal development
Write content for your newsletter or blog
Research new target markets
Make a list of professionals you can approach to propose marketing alliances
Clean out your email inbox
Research new marketing or advertising platforms
Clean up your smart phone: delete unused apps, delete or download photos and documents
Update passwords, add 2-factor authorization
Clean up your “to read” list(s)
Brainstorm/research ways to build your email list
Work on a new presentation, speech, or video
Go over your budget and create plans to reduce spending and/or debt, or increase investment and retirement funds
Explore ways to give back to your community (run for office, promote a charity, donate, volunteer)
Revise/create a new campaign to stay in touch with your former clients

Before you know it, normal life will return and you’ll be glad you took care of some of these, instead of getting to a higher level in your favorite game or binge watching your latest guilty pleasure.

How to start a newsletter to build your practice

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Productivity

Overwhelmed?

March 30, 2020 by David M. Ward

I’m not talking about the recent news, I’m talking about your practice.

Too much work to do, too much to read, too many projects in your pipeline that never get off the ground.

Every day, you get 50 emails about marketing and managing your practice, on top of emails relating to client work and emails from someone trying to sell you something.

You don’t want to miss something important. But sorting the wheat from the chaff takes mental energy. . . and time.

I get it. It’s daunting.

But you’re running a business with a lot of moving parts, people, and important issues, and details matter. So, in addition to the work, you have to stay on top of everything else.

Sometimes, a lot gets pushed to the side, or to the future. Sometimes, the work doesn’t get done on time. Sometimes, you finish the day exhausted.

And the emails continues to pile up.

Here’s the thing.

The lawyers who earn top dollar have as much work as you do and get just as much email as you do, but they don’t get overwhelmed.

Because they work LESS than most lawyers.

They’re able to do that because they’ve set up their practice so they only focus on the most important tasks.

The tasks that move the needle.

The tasks that bring in more clients and better clients and let them continually grow their income.

If you’d like to find out how to do it

Go here

Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing legal services, success

How often should you blog?

March 27, 2020 by David M. Ward

How often should you publish a new blog post?Â Often.

According to this infographic, “82% of marketers who blog daily acquired a customer using their blog as opposed to 57% of marketers who blog monthly”.

A few reasons:

The more you post, the more opportunities you have to get found by search engines or shared by visitors.Â
Uncle Google tends to see frequent publishers as authorities. Prospective clients who visit your blog are likely to do the same.
More content gives you more chances to keep visitors reading your content. The more time they spend on your blog, the more likely they are to take the next step.Â
More content and a more frequent publishing schedule helps others bloggers and influential sites see you as an authority, making them more likely to link to you
Once published, your content lives forever. Something you wrote two years ago can continue to create leads and produce clients for you.Â
Inbound marketing is more personalized in the sense that you can tailor your content to the interests and needs of your target market.Â

The infographic also shows that leads produced via inbound marketing have higher conversion rates. One reason is that prospective clients are more likely to trust you (because they found you).Â

Inbound marketing also has a lower cost-per-lead.

You don’t have to publish daily to realize most of these benefits. Just more often than once a month or once in a while.

Start with once a week. As you find yourself getting more leads and more new clients, you may suddenly find the time to publish more often.Â

How to use a blog to make the phone ring

Filed Under: Blogging, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing

Why you shouldn’t sell legal services

March 26, 2020 by David M. Ward

It may sound like I’m picking a nit but this is important.

When prospective clients search the Internet or ask their friends for a referral, they’re not looking to hire a lawyer or “buy” legal services.

Not really.

They’re looking for someone who can solve a problem for them.

They’re looking for relief from a failed marriage. They’re looking to collect money that is owed to them. They’re looking for protection from creditors, the tax man, or criminal authorities.

Your services are the solutions to these problems.

When you start marketing your services from this point of view, two things happen.

First, you’re now offering something people want to buy. Which means your marketing is much easier and more effective.

And second, because you’re solving painful problems and delivering valued benefits, you can charge more than if you were only selling your services.

Sometimes, a lot more than your competitors.

Because they’re selling a commodity, while you’re selling a way out of a seemingly hopeless situation, relief from pain, security, hope, and financial well-being.

So, the next time you run an ad, do a presentation, write a blog post, or talk to a decision maker, make sure you talk about the problems you solve and the results you deliver.

To learn how to do it right, check out my marketing course