Lawyers with blogs aren’t necessarily bloggers

January 13, 2014 by
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One of the best ways to show prospective clients and referral sources what you can do to help them and the people they know is to post high quality information on your website. Whether that information comes in the form of articles, blog posts, videos, or anything else isn’t that important. It’s also unimportant whether you post that information on a static website or a blog.

If you post your content on a blog, that doesn’t make you a blogger. A blog is merely a convenient format for displaying content to visitors in a way that is accessible and search engine friendly.

Blogging is often said to be more than just writing and posting content. We are told that there is a distinct social aspect to blogging, involving things like engaging visitors through comments, interviewing subject matter experts, and conversing with other bloggers. But it appears that the importance of these activities may be overstated.

I read a post this morning which asked whether introverts can be successful bloggers. The author cites Pete Cashmore (Mashable), Guy Kawasaki, Brian Clark (Coppyblogger), and Darren Rowse (Problogger.net), four successful bloggers and self-confessed introverts, in support of his position that yes, introverts can be successful bloggers. In fact, these four individuals have all built big businesses through blogging.

I noted recently that a preponderance of attorneys are introverts. I am, too. I have a successful business that is built on a framework of blogging. While I don’t ignore the social aspects of the job, my primary focus is on creating and delivering content.

Am I a blogger? Perhaps. I don’t know. I really don’t care. What’s important is I don’t let my introversion stop me from leveraging the power of the Internet, and neither should you.

Quality content attracts traffic via search engines and social sharing (done by your visitors). That content then educates visitors about their legal issues and the possible solutions. In so doing, it shows those visitors how you can help them and demonstrates your skills and experience. It helps visitors get to know, like, and trust you, and prompts them to hire you or inquire about doing so. If they’re not ready to hire you immediately, your content can prompt them to join your email list so you can stay in touch with them until they are ready to take the next step.

If you want to add more of the social elements to the mix, that’s fine. It can help. And if you’re an extrovert, you’ll be naturally inclined to do so. But if you are an introvert, you can dabble with the social aspects, as I do, or ignore them completely.

You don’t have to be an extrovert to have a blog and lawyers with blogs aren’t necessarily bloggers.

Content marketing for attorneys. Click here to learn how.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Web traffic Tagged With: , ,

How NOT to propose a guest post

January 2, 2014 by
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One of the best ways to get targeted traffic to your blog or website is to write guest posts on other blogs in your target market. Guest posts bring traffic from prospective clients, exposure to prospective referral sources, sign-ups for your newsletter, and new clients. They should be a regular part of your online marketing activity.

Getting the go-ahead for a guest post is not that difficult, especially for a lawyer. Show the owner of the blog that you have something to say that will be of interest to their readers, show them that you are qualified to say it, and show them that you can write.

I get a lot of emails offering to write guest posts for my blog. Most of them don’t follow these basic guidelines and get no more than a glance from me before I delete them. Like this one which arrived this morning:

—
Hi,
I am interested in guest’s posting on your site, how much time you will take to review my articles. I assure you that all content will be legal and would add value to your reader.
Here are samples given below:

[links]

Kindest Regards

[Name]
—-

C’mon now, really?

If you want me to consider you for a guest post, sending me a poorly written bulk email with links to poorly written, off-target articles isn’t going to cut it.

Show me that you read my blog and understand my readers. Comment on one or two of my posts and tell me what you like about them.

Tell me what you propose: What would you write about and why would this be of interest to my readers? How would it be different from anything they might read elsewhere?

Tell me why you are qualified to write this. What is your background? Do you have your own blog I can look at? Have you done guest posts on other blogs?

It’s not difficult. And plenty of blogs want guest posts, especially from subject matter experts. You provide their readers with quality information and they provide you with traffic. You get to demonstrate your expertise to a targeted market of prospective clients and they get the day off from writing.

That’s the good news. The even better news is that because so few people follow these basic guidelines, blog owners are inundated with unprofessional proposals like the one above, making it so much easier for you to get their attention.

In fifteen minutes of searching you could find dozens of blogs in your target market that accept guest posts and would love to hear from you. Spend some time reading those blogs and then approach them with a proposal.

Learn more about guest posts, traffic, and marketing online for attorneys.

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Filed Under: Blogging, List building, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Web traffic

Social media marketing for introverts

December 23, 2013 by
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I just took a CLE course about improving client communication. The instructor used the Meyers-Briggs assessment to explain how different people relate to the world. I’ve taken the Meyers-Briggs self-test several times in the past, but don’t always get the same results on all four of the functions or preferences.

One thing is clear, however. I am an introvert.

You might be, too. According to the instructor, while the general population (U.S.) is 49% Extroverts, 51% Introverts, among lawyers it is 43.6% Extroverts and 56.4% Introverts.

What does this mean? It means we process information differently from Extroverts. According to Wikipedia,

“People who prefer extraversion draw energy from action: they tend to act, then reflect, then act further. If they are inactive, their motivation tends to decline. To rebuild their energy, extraverts need breaks from time spent in reflection. Conversely, those who prefer introversion “expend” energy through action: they prefer to reflect, then act, then reflect again. To rebuild their energy, introverts need quiet time alone, away from activity.”

I started thinking about this in the context of social media. I know many people draw energy from sharing and conversing on Facebook and the like, but I do not.

In a physical social setting, you will usually find me off to the side of the room, speaking to one or two people I know, rather than meeting new ones. I’ll be thinking, observing, and soaking it all in. I’m not shy. I do a lot of public speaking. But for me, social media isn’t energizing, it’s enervating.

If I understand it correctly, Extroversion and Introversion aren’t about personality. Introverts and extroverts are often very much alike in many respects, it’s just that we have a different process for digesting and utilizing information and relating to the world around us. So perhaps it is an oversimplification to say that Extroverts like social media and Introverts don’t. It’s entirely possible that the way I feel about social media has more to do with my being a private person (or overly cautious) than anything else.

But the question remains, how can people like (you and) me, utilize social media in our work, specifically, in marketing our services?

I don’t think there is a simple answer. Some of us are more open to sharing and engaging than others. We may not love it but neither do we hate it. So we do it, because we think it has to be done or because we want to learn and grow.

I use social media to share content. I use it for research and to find people I want to meet. I visit Facebook regularly, to see what others are up to, and to get ideas. I share quotes and links to stories. I comment occasionally and “like” cautiously. But mostly, I lurk. There I am, on the side of the room, observing, thinking, taking it all in.

If you enjoy social media, God bless you. Your challenge will be to not let it take up too much of your time.

If you don’t love social media, but want to make the effort to use it, you can get some help. No, you can’t delegate “relationship building,” meaning using social media to locate people in our niche and build relationships with them, and while that is arguably one of the best uses of social media, it’s certainly not the only one. You can have someone manage your firm’s Facebook page. You can automate posts and tweets.

Social media can be an excellent tool for marketing legal services, but it’s not the only tool. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. People did business, found clients, networked, made money, and had a life, long before social media, the Internet, and smartphones.

Social media marketing for introverts is very much possible. Even the most private of persons can find ways to utilize it in their work. But nobody should feel like it’s something we must do or that we’re missing out on if we don’t.

Now, if you’re an Extrovert, please share this with everyone you know. Like, Tweet, Post, and Pin. And leave a comment on the blog. I’d like you to do the same thing if you’re an Introvert, but if you don’t, I’ll certainly understand.

Internet marketing for attorneys made simple. With or without social media.

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Social media, Social media marketing Tagged With: , , ,

Content marketing for lawyers made even simpler

December 13, 2013 by
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In Make the Phone Ring, my Internet marketing course for attorneys, I provide a comprehensive list of ideas attorneys can use to create content for their blog or newsletter. They can also be used to produce reports, presentations, articles, videos, and other kinds of content.

Whether you have my course or not, today I want to give you a homework assignment that will help you create ideas for content almost automatically. You see, it’s one thing to go looking for ideas when you need them. It’s something else to have those ideas coming to your in-box every day, filling your mind with raw material and providing you with a starting point for creating rich, timely and interesting content.

Your assignment is to subscribe to three types of newsletters (blogs, RSS feeds, ezines, etc.):

  1. Other lawyers. Find lawyers both in your field and also in other fields and subscribe to their newsletters or blogs. You may start out with seven or eight and then cut back to the best three or four. You’ll get ideas for your own articles, which may include commenting directly on theirs. You’ll also see how often they publish, how long their posts are, and what types of posts they write (case histories, news, commentary, etc.)
  2. Your target market. Read what your target market is reading–news about their industry or local community, for example. Also read the content produced by those who sell to or advise your target market–vendors, consultants, businesses, and other professionals. You’ll learn about the news, issues, causes, and trends that affect your clients, prospective clients, and referral sources. You may also identify new marketing opportunities as you learn about those trends and the people associated with them.
  3. Something different. Subscribe to content that interests you and has nothing to do with the law or your client’s industry. It could be hobby related or any kind of outside interest–tech, travel, food, sports, news. I get lots of ideas by reading outside my main areas of focus, and so will you. You’ll be able to create richer, more interesting content. And it doesn’t matter if your readers don’t share your interest. Not everyone follows sports, for example, but on some level, everyone can relate to sports analogies.

Content marketing for lawyers is relatively simple. Subscribing to other people’s content makes it even simpler.

Get Make the Phone Ring and get more clients on the Internet. Click here.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Online Marketing, Presentations, Public Speaking, Web traffic, Writing Tagged With: , , , ,

Ron Burgundy promoting your law practice?

December 11, 2013 by
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Advertising works. Even silly campaigns like the one Dodge is running featuring fictional newscaster Ron Burgundy, played by actor Will Farrell, as spokesman. Sales of the Dodge Durango were up 36% in November versus last year, thanks to these ads and the tie-in with the upcoming sequel to the 2004 hit movie, Anchorman.

Why do these ads work? There’s nothing new being said about the Durango. And the Ron Burgundy character isn’t a car expert, fictional or otherwise. It works because people recognize the character, talk about the ads, and think about the Durango when they are in the market for a new vehicle.

Most lawyers don’t use celebrity endorsements in their advertising, but they could. It’s not as expensive as you might think to hire a former sports figure or B-list actor. In fact, there are agents who specialize in booking their clients for just this purpose. I recall seeing former Los Angeles Dodger’s stars Steve Garvey and Ron Cey doing local TV ads long after they were retired from playing.

Also, you don’t need someone whom “everyone” would recognize. You can hire someone who is well known in your niche market. The former head of a trade association, for example.

But let’s say you don’t want to hire anyone. Hell, let’s say you don’t want to do any paid advertising, (or aren’t allowed to). What then? You can still leverage the celebrity of famous people.

My friend, attorney Mitch Jackson, regularly interviews famous people for his video podcast. These videos bring traffic to his website and bolster his reputation as someone who is successful enough to have famous people willing to “take his call”. In essence, their appearance on his “show” provides an implied endorsement for his practice.

How did he get some of these folks to agree to an interview? I’m sure he’ll tell you he just asked them. Celebrities, speakers, authors, professionals, and entrepreneurs need exposure. I love being interviewed. It free advertising, easy to do, and lots of fun.

If you don’t have a podcast, video or otherwise, you could interview well known people for your blog or newsletter. Who do you know who is famous, if not to the world, within your target market? Do you have a famous client or friend? If not, do you know someone who does?

If nobody comes to mind, ask yourself, “Who would I like to know? Who might my market like to hear me interview? What semi-famous person has a list of followers or fans who would be good candidates for my services?’

Another thing you can do is piggyback on a charitable cause. Invite celebrities to come to an event you are involved with, lend their name to it, or promote it to their social media channels. Celebrities love to be seen associated with causes they believe in.

You don’t need a direct endorsement for your services to benefit from a celebrity’s name recognition. Even mentioning that you met a well known person at an event you attended has value. Hey, you don’t even need to talk to them. Just take selfies with famous people and post them online.

Do you have a marketing plan for next year? Start with this.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Blogging, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Publicity, Web traffic Tagged With: , , , , , ,

How to handle negative reviews and comments

November 18, 2013 by
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I just read a post on the subject of dealing with negative comments on sites like Yelp and social media. The author says, in a nutshell, that if the statement is factually untrue, and you can prove it, you can ask the site to remove it. If it is an opinion, the author says to, “add a comment to the post explaining your rational [sic] in a non-hostile way and how you plan on addressing the situation.”

I disagree. I would not respond to negative reviews in a public forum. Doing so only invites more negative comments, from the original poster or from others who side with him or see the need to defend him.

An opinion is an opinion. If they didn’t like something, they didn’t like it. Right or wrong, it’s their opinion. Any efforts to defend or explain yourself will only make you look bad. As much as it might hurt, it’s almost always best to ignore these comments, at least publicly.

If you can identify the client who made the post, reach out to them privately. See if you can resolve the issue. Apologize, make amends, offer satisfaction. Do what you can to win back the client, or at least make them see that their public comment was too harsh and retract or amend it.

The author recommends encouraging visitors to the site or thread to contact you privately by email, so you can respond to questions or comments. I’m not sure that’s a good idea. You want people to communicate with you, of course, and that includes negative comments. But if you “make an appearance” on the forum or in the thread to extend this invitation, you leave readers wondering why you didn’t respond to the negative comment(s).

The better way to handle this is before it occurs. Make sure your clients and others who engage with you and your staff are openly and repeatedly encouraged to contact you if they have any questions or concerns. Let them know that if they are unhappy about anything, you want to hear about it. Set up mechanisms that make it easy for people to contact you, even anonymously. And remind them to do so. When people know they can blow off steam directly to you, they may be a little less likely to do it publicly.

One thing the author of this post and I agree on, if you do have negative comments, ask some of your happy clients to post positive comments. If you have enough positive comments, you can effectively bury the negative ones. People are smart. If you have twenty positive comments and one that is critical, most people will put things in context.

I know many attorneys resist getting involved with social media and review sites like Yelp because they don’t want to invite negative comments. But these will occur, if they occur, regardless of your involvement. The better course of action is to be proactive. Set up accounts and invite your clients to share their views. I suspect most will be positive. If an unhappy individual comes along, perhaps even the losing party in an acrimonious case, there will be no need for you to defend yourself, your other clients will do it for you.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on how to handle negative reviews. What do you do, or plan to do, about negative comments?

Make the Phone Ring is my course on Internet marketing for attorneys. Check it out here.

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Filed Under: Communication, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Social media, Social media marketing Tagged With: , ,

Marketing legal services: minimal effort for maximum return

November 14, 2013 by
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Would you do any marketing if you didn’t have to?

I’m not talking about “internal” marketing–treating clients well, staying in touch with them, creating an environment that is conducive to referrals–I’m talking about external marketing–ads, social media, speaking, writing, videos, networking, and all the other things everyone says you need to do to bring in new clients.

I wouldn’t.

Why spend the time or money if you don’t have to?

If you didn’t have to do any external marketing, imagine how that would feel. No guilt about what you’re not doing, no forcing yourself to do things you don’t want to do.

If you don’t like social media, guess what? You’re off the hook. Go spend the time cranking out more billable work. Or take up a hobby. If you do like social media, you can do it for fun, not because you need to bring in business.

The same goes for speaking and networking. Do them if you enjoy them, stay home if you don’t.

If your internal marketing is working, you’re getting repeat business and referrals without any additional effort.

The phone rings and people want to hire you. You don’t have to find them, convince them, or cross your fingers and hope they have the money. When they call, they’re pretty much ready to go.

Nice.

On the other hand. . . (yeah, the fine print). . . I can’t promise you that internal marketing will always bring you enough new business. Your clients may want to send you referrals, for example, but not know anyone who needs you right now.

And. . . even if your internal marketing bring you plenty of new business, there’s nothing wrong with bringing in more.

So. . . in order to hedge your bets, you might want to do some external marketing.

What do I suggest? What is the best use of your limited time? What has the biggest potential return for your effort?

A content-rich website.

Because when someone is referred to you, the first thing they do is go online to check you out. No website and you scare them off. And, if your website is nothing more than a listing of your practice areas and contact information, it’s not enough to show anyone why they should choose you instead of any other attorney.

“Content” means information, not about you but about the prospective client. He’s searching for answers. He’s looking for proof. Your content provides those answers and that proof.

And it’s so easy to do.

Start by writing down ten or twenty questions clients and prospects typically ask you about your area of expertise. Then, answer those questions. Talk about the law and procedure. Describe the risks and the options. Point them towards the available solutions. Include some stories of cases or clients you’ve had, to illustrate your points. Post these online on a website or blog.

Now, when someone goes online to check you out, they will see that you know what you are talking about and that you have helped other clients to solve these problems. You haven’t just told them what you do, you’ve shown them.

In addition, when people go to a search engine, looking for information about their legal issue, your content brings them to your website. The same thing happens when people share your content with their social media contacts.

Marketing legal services (externally) really can be this simple.

If you have a website, add content. A single article you post today could bring you new business three years from now. If you don’t have a website, start one. Add some content to get it started and once a week or so, add more.

While it’s not quite “set it and forget it” marketing, it’s about as close as you can get.

If you need help starting or growing a website or blog, this is what I recommend.

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Filed Under: Leverage, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Online Marketing, Productivity, Web traffic Tagged With: , ,

How to get better clients

November 13, 2013 by
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A lawyer emailed wanting to know how  to get better clients. He said he is in a slump. “People come see me but they don’t have the money to retain our services. It’s been a tough month. What can I do?”

Are there any lawyers in your market who do what you do and have clients who can afford to pay their fees? If not, you need to change practice areas or move. If the business isn’t there, it isn’t there.

On the other hand, if other lawyers in your field are getting paying clients, then it’s not the market. The work is there. You just have to get those better paying clients to come to you instead of those other lawyers.

Start by looking at what those other lawyers are doing. Study them, as I mentioned yesterday. What are they doing that you’re not doing? What are they doing better than you are doing? What are you doing that they don’t?

Do they specialize? Specialists generally earn more than general practitioners. One reason is that clients prefer to hire specialists. They are also willing to pay higher fees to a specialist. If these other lawyers specialize and you don’t, you have to consider doing so, or at least disguising the fact that you don’t. One way to do that is to have separate websites for each practice area.

How much do they charge? More than you, less, about the same? Most attorneys compete for the bottom eighty percent of the marketplace. The most successful attorneys target the upper ten or twenty percent, which obviously includes people with money.

How do they bill? Hourly? Flat fees? Blended? How big of a retainer do they get? What do they do to make it easier for their clients to pay?

Look at their website. What elements do they have that you don’t? Can you do something similar? How can you improve on what they have done? What are you doing on your website that they don’t do that might be hurting instead of helping you?

Valuable information, yes?

Also look at what you are doing. Look at the better clients you have attracted over the last year or two (the ones who have money). Where did they come from? If they came from referrals from your other clients, for example, figure out what you did that precipitated those referrals and do more of it.

In addition, look at what your better clients have in common. Industry, occupation, ethnicity? Where can you find more like them?

Also look at the people who are contacting you who can’t afford you. Where are they coming from? Whatever it is that you are doing to attract them, stop doing that. And screen them out before they come to see you. For example, you might quote your minimum fee package on the phone or on your website. This way, if they can’t afford this, they won’t call or come to see you.

I don’t know what you’re doing now to market your services but whatever it is, there are always other things you can try. It might be helpful to get out a piece of paper, draw a line down the middle, and on the left side of the page, write down everything you are doing that could be considered marketing. On the right side, write down things you aren’t doing, including things you used to do but abandoned. Keep adding to the list on the right and try some new things. Create a simple marketing plan.

In addition, look for ways to improve what you are doing. If you are networking, for example, consider finding a different group and/or working on your follow-up.

Finally, seek some perspective on your current situation. You say you’re having a bad month but everyone has bad months. Next month could be great. If it is, don’t rest on your laurels. The best time to ramp up your marketing is when you’re busy, not when you’re in a slump.

If things continue to be bad, don’t panic. It’s nothing five new (paying) clients can’t fix. You can turn things around quickly. Cut overhead to give yourself some breathing room and get busy with marketing. You have the time for it, right? That’s one of the advantages of a slump–less work means more time for marketing.

Think about getting some help. Get a workout partner. Hire someone to point you in the right direction and/or coach you.

Whatever you do, don’t dwell on the bad. Think about where you are going, not where you have been.

If you need help with your marketing, contact me and let’s talk. 

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Mentors & Coaches, Online Marketing, Specializing Tagged With: ,

Why lawyers should start a SECOND blog

November 8, 2013 by
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“Blog” is a scary word for some lawyers. They think it takes too much time relative to the rewards, and/or that they don’t have anything to write about that anybody (i.e., prospective clients) would want to read.

This isn’t true. But let’s put that aside for now and talk about why you should start your second blog. (If you don’t have your first blog, you can come back and start that later.)

And by the way, don’t call it a blog if that word makes you nervous. Call it a “website with mostly non-promotional content,” because that’s what it is.

Anyway, why should lawyers start a second blog? To attract prospective clients, of course. And the people who can refer them.

Here’s the idea: you choose a subject that is of interest to your target market (or the people who can refer them) and that also interests you. You write about that subject and post it on a blog, er, website. Interested people find your content and read it. They sign up for your list to get more of your awesomeness. They promote your content to their friends and followers, colleagues and business associates. Your list grows and grows.

You briefly mention your day job to everyone who visits the site and signs up for your list. You tell them what you do and provide a link to your legal website. Every so often, you remind them about what you do.

So, now you have a list of people who share an interest with you. They know, like, and trust you, and while their trust is not directly related to your legal services, when they need a lawyer who does what you do, it won’t be difficult for them to make that leap.

You create this website, promote it, and have fun with it. You write about things that interest your visitors and subscribers and yourself. Or, if “writing” is a scary word for you, think of it as “curating” other people’s content that you append with your brief comments.

Do you see how this could be easy and how it could also bring you a lot of business? Basically, you are expanding your “warm market” (people who know you). When those people need a lawyer, or when someone they know needs a lawyer, you’ll be at or near the top of their list.

What do you write about (or curate)? Well, what interests you?

If you love sports and lots of your prospective clients do too, bada bing, there’s your subject.

You could write about classic cars, photography, food, exercise, or travel. Whatever floats your boat. Hey, how about boating?

What about referral sources? Well, for other lawyers, you could write trial tips, law office management, or marketing (!) Tell them how you do what you do.

You could write about personal development, productivity, or your favorite technology.

In other words, you could write about anything, so long as there are enough people in your target market who share your interest. And if there aren’t, you could always start your third blog.

For help in creating and growing your second blog (or your first), click here.

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Filed Under: Blogging, List building, Marketing legal services, Networking, Online Marketing, Referral sources, Writing Tagged With: , ,

The wave of the future for attorney marketing

October 24, 2013 by
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In the 1967 film, The Graduate, Dustin Hoffman’s character was at a party, wondering about his future career, when he was taken aside and offered some advice. “Plastics. There’s a great future in plastics,” he was told.

Plastics were the next big thing in 1967. Today? Who knows.

The thing is, when it comes to attorney marketing, there is no next big thing. It’s still all about information and people. Always was. Always will be.

Technology changes. Fundamentals don’t.

Educate your market place about the law, about problems and solutions, and about the process. Stay in touch with your clients and prospects. Treat people the way you would like to be treated. That’s all attorneys have ever had to do to build a successful practice and it still is.

Don’t get hung up on what “everyone” else is doing or feel left behind if you aren’t following the latest trend. But don’t stick your head in the sand, either. Technology does make things easier, quicker, and cheaper.

Put content on a website or blog because it makes it easier to educate your market and communicate with clients and prospects, not because someone said you must. Use social media to find and engage people because it expands your reach (and you enjoy it), not because all the cool lawyers do it.

The wave of the future for attorney marketing is information and people, same as always. Slicker and more fun with an iPad, but still the same.

Starting or expanding your website or blog? Start here.

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Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Client relations, Communication, Legal industry, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Social media, Technology
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