10 Ways for Lawyers to Share and Re-purpose Firm News on Social Media

June 11, 2014 by
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DW: I invite you to read and study this comprehensive guest post by my friend, Mitch Jackson. Mitch is a successful trial lawyer who has used social media extensively to build his practice.
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Social media is all about sharing good content and helping others. Results come from engaging, caring and providing value. My general rule is that only 20% of my posts on the various platforms are about me or my firm. The other 80% are focused on sharing tips and curating good third party content that helps others.

This article is about the 20%.

Overview

You’ve just settled an interesting case or obtained a favorable verdict. Maybe you’ve even made new case law. Here are 10 ways to share this news or update with your tribe (current and past clients, family, friends, and other followers on social media).

Before we get started, remember that in today’s digital world, we’re all media companies. Producing and sharing good content is now, in my humble opinion, mandatory. It’s also important to understand and appreciate the fact that while content is king, context is everything. Each platform is different (some more than others) so care must be taken to post to your tribe the right way on each platform.

Also make sure to start with a good profile on each social media platform. On the internet, you only have about the average attention span of a goldfish (9 seconds) to capture someone’s attention. Make sure to complete each profile with your picture (not a firm logo) and short interesting bio (not a boring lawyer bio).

Step #1: Website and Blog

Share your good news or update in a properly written blog post. Use effective headings and appropriate keywords. Use a story format and write in your own voice and in a non-legal way. Make the post interesting and easy to read. Increase interaction by always including a picture, graphic or video in your post.

If you’re writing your blog posts like all the other lawyers out there, then you’re probably doing things wrong. Be yourself and unique. Share your art.

If you don’t have a website or blog, this is your first high priority step. Everything is going mobile (smartphones and tablets) so make sure your site is mobile responsive (no exceptions). I’m a big fan of WordPress with Studio Press hosted on WPEngine.

Click here to see how we’ve setup our firm website and communication tips blog.

Step #2: Twitter

Share the catchy heading of your blog post, together with a short description sentence on Twitter. Include the link back to your post. Use a hashtag. Although Twitter allows for 140 characters, try and keep your post to about 120 characters to leave room for people to retweet with comments.

Because pictures attract more attention, add the picture you used in your post to your tweet. If you don’t have a picture, use one of the free or paid online services to grab an image that relates to your story (I like Fotolia). One of my favorite techniques is to download and use the free screenshot service called “Jing” by TechSmith to capture a picture of the top portion of my blog post to use later for posting on the other social platforms.

While you’re thinking of Twitter, take your blog post and break it down into 5-10 snapshots addressing key points and topics contained within your blog. Each snapshot or tweet is worded in its own unique and eye catching way. I use a Word or Google document and keep a list of these mini snapshot tweets for future use.

Sit down at night or early in the morning and use Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule these additional tweets once or twice a day, over the next 5-10 days. Each tweet links back to your original blog post.

Click here to see how I’m using Twitter.

Step #3: Linkedin

Take one or more of the tweets that you have listed in your Word document and share it on Linkedin, linking back to your blog post. Normally I do this in the above step by telling Hootsuite to send out the tweets I schedule to both Twitter and Linkedin.

Click here to see how I’m using Linkedin.

Step #4: Facebook

Again, I take one or more of the tweets I’ve listed in my Word or Google document and re-purpose the language for Facebook. Unlike Twitter, Facebook posts can be longer so I usually add a bit more information in Word before posting with the link back to my blog post.

Images are powerful attention grabbing magnets on Facebook and will result in more interaction, shares and comments. Because of this, make sure to include an image with your post. Rather than allowing the link to my blog post to automatically pull an image back into my Facebook feed, I prefer to upload my own image from the blog post. Doing this will display a larger image in your Facebook post.

I have a personal and business Facebook profile and depending on the nature of the content, I post to each once or twice a day.Click here to see how we’re using Facebook for the firm or here for my personal page.

Step #5: Pinterest

If you’re not using this platform then you’re missing out. Upload the picture or screen shot relating to your blog post and add it to one or more of your Pinterest Boards. Several boards you may want to set up include current news, verdicts and settlements, legal tips, testimonials, videos, photos, podcasts, newsletter, and community service, just to name a few.

After using the content in your Word document to complete the description in Pinterest, make sure to add 3-4 relevant hashtags at the end and also include your blog post link in the source link box. This way, when someone clicks on the picture they will be taken to your linked blog post.

I have both personal and law firm Pinterest sites. Feel free to click on the links to see how I’m using them.

Step #6: Youtube

Video is huge on social media. Within a year of posting our first video (it wasn’t very good but it was a start), we received hundreds of new client inquires and dozens of new cases. I was also featured in various high profile websites, blogs, and even the ABA Journal. Talk about good publicity!

If you haven’t already done so, setup your Youtube channel and start making and posting short 1-3 minute long videos. Also share other interesting videos about your activities and events on your channel. People will relate to you when they learn more about your interests, passions, and even your family.

You don’t need a fancy camera and the process is pretty simple. There are plenty of “how to” resources out there but I think you’ll figure things out once you complete and upload your first couple of videos. Using a lapel mic is key to getting good audio.

By far, the best videos we’ve shared are the ones that do not look like they are professionally shot. For example, one involved me stopping while riding my mountain bike and using my smartphone to shoot a selfie video about why staying healthy will help you be a better trial lawyer. It received a great deal of favorable traction and feedback once shared on all the platforms.

Putting the camera up on a tripod at the office and sharing my take on a breaking news event (called newsjacking) has also resulted in articles on Lawyers.com, national interviews, speaking engagements, and even being mentioned or profiled in more than one book. One bit of advice is to remember to pay attention to your background and how you look, and keep your video short and sweet.

Tip: Here’s a secret most people overlook. There are many services and programs that will allow you get the audio of your video transcribed so that you can use it for a future blog post. Others will allow you to rip the audio from the video which you can then use as a podcast more fully described below.

The key is to keep things interesting and snappy. Don’t be a boring lawyer. Don’t sit behind your desk and sound like bla, bla, bla. When I look back, I’m embarrassed to watch my first dozen videos. But guess what, it was a learning process and in the long run, it’s all good.

Here’s our Youtube channel if you’d like to see the bad and the good.

Step #7: SlideShare

This often overlooked platform is well respected and used successfully by marking pros around the globe. I’ve been neglecting this platform for far too long. This past weekend, I uploaded a new SlideShare about negotiation and within the first 24 hours it had more than 900 views and trended on Twitter and SlideShare. The response was so good that this presentation was then profiled on the SlideShare home page. Two days later, we’re over 2,000 views. The exposure for my firm was huge!

You can and should do the same thing. Think about this for a moment. Everything you do as a lawyer is based upon steps and checklists. Take the material you already have that can help consumers (“10 Things to Know and Do If You’re Arrested” or “6 Steps to a Successful Patent”), create compelling and easy to read PowerPoint slides and then upload them to SlideShare. Take the blog post we’ve been talking about and break it down to a 15-20 slide presentation. Link back to your original blog post.

Here’s how we’re using SlideShare.

Step #8: Podcasts

Podcasts are very popular because mobile technology now allows us to easily listen to podcasts anytime and anyplace. Take your blog post and turn the content into a short 10-20 minute podcast. Start with a snappy and attention grabbing intro and then share your information using your own voice. Use your post as an outline and just share your message from your heart. Close with a call to action referring back to your website or blog.

Interviews are also a great way to expand your sphere of influence. Once you’re up and running, reach out and interview other people who your listeners might find interesting. When you’re done, share the link with your interviewee and he or she will almost always share the interview with their audience. This is a great way to expand your sphere of influence and increase the number of eyeballs to your website, blog and podcasts platforms.

There are plenty of resources our there to help get you started but my one stop “how to” podcast site is Cliff Ravenscraft’s Podcast Answer Man.

Once we add and upload a podcast to our host (we use Libsysn), we share the podcast link back at our original post. We also upload and link to Stitcher, iTunes, and Soundcloud.

Note, once my podcasts are completed and uploaded, I share the unique links of these three platforms to most of the above-mentioned social platforms. The heading and short description is changed from the earlier descriptions and posts. Links are also shared on the original blog post or website page, just in case a visitor would rather listen to the material.

Step #9: Spreecast and Google Hangouts

These live video platforms allow you to have your own internet television station. For me, Spreecast has been an awesome platform that has connected me with interesting and well known people from all around the world. I even had the chance to chat with Katie Couric and later that day, we both made TMZ. How cool is that!

Some of the people I’ve interviewed are New York Times best selling authors and celebrities with 250,000 to 1,000,000 Twitter followers. What do you think happens when they tweet out that they’re going to be on my Spreecast?

You can use these platforms to interview guests about legal topics or approaches. I’d also recommend that you do what I do and, depending on your passion, reach out and interview people associated with your unique interest. Your show may not have anything to do with the law but it will highlight the real you to your audience. This allows people to connect with you and that’s a good thing!

Promote your show on all the platforms well before the event and also afterwards (they’re recorded). Share the event links and embed the video of your interview at your blog and platforms. Many of my Spreecasts will have 1,000 unique views within the first hour or so and several thousand in the first 24 hours. Lifelong friends have been made simply from using this single platform.

As I mentioned in the Youtube section, you may also want to have your interviews transcribed or audio ripped for future use on blogs and podcast. Rarely is there a need to duplicate your efforts!

Here’s my Spreecast page to give you an idea about what I’m talking about.

Step #10: Vine, Instagram and Snapchat

Whether you “get it” or not, young adults are using these platforms and they’re becoming more and more relevant in the business world. Several high profile marketing experts are very keen on the future of these platforms. This in and of itself is good reason to get involved on these channels. Setup accounts and start using these platforms to share legal tips in a fun way.

Take the screenshot image of the blog post and share it on Instagram with a link or reference back to your website or blog. Instagram will not allow you to hyperlink, so that’s why we setup a fun and easy to remember domain we direct viewers to. We tell viewers to visit MyLawyerRocks.com for more informaton 🙂

As an example, here is our Vine account  and you can view our Instagram here.  As of this post, Snapchat does not have a web based browser, so connect with me on the platform to see how we’re using it.

Final Thoughts

The above approach is working very well for me. A single blog post can be shared using the above method over several days or weeks. Whatever works for you is fine. Just take action and get started.

Keep in mind that what’s important on social is the 80% part of the equation. That is, engaging and helping others. However, when I do jump over to the 20% side of things, this is exactly how I do it.

Without a doubt, the best increase in influence and engagement I’ve experienced on the digital platforms have come from my efforts relating to other interests that complement the practice of law. When I blog about a legal theory or explain new statutes or case law, all I usually hear are digital crickets. But when I share a blog or social media post about my passions, family, youth sports, or family trips, the interaction and feedback explodes.

For example, I have a communication tips blog where I share a weekly communication tip. This blog is my passion and I enjoy providing useful ideas to help everyday people communicate more effectively. Over time, trust and rapport is established with people (my tribe) who share a common interest. When my tribe has a legal question or someone needs a lawyer, who do you think they call? Here’s my communication tips blog if you’d like to see what I’m talking about.

Along the same lines, I enjoy trying cases and sharing trial tips. My Google Plus Trial Lawyer Tips Community is one of the platforms I use to expand this interest. Over the past year, the community has grown to over 1,500 members (mostly lawyers) sharing hundreds of outstanding trial tips. Click here to visit or join this community.

Conclusion

Today, smart lawyers use social media to inspire, inform, educate and build new relationships. Hopefully you will use some or all of these ideas to do the same thing. I encourage you to use the different approaches in this article and start incorporating social media into your daily activity to expand your sphere of influence.

But remember one thing. Social is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. Be patient and consistent in your efforts. Be transparent, share your unique art, and good things will happen.

I hope you found this article useful and I look forward to seeing you on the digital platforms!

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Mitch Jackson has been a trial lawyer for 28 years and is the 2013 California Litigation Lawyer of the Year (CLAY Award) and 2009 Orange County Trial Lawyer of the Year. When he’s not trying cases, Mitch uses social media to help good attorneys become great trial lawyers and to show everyone (not just lawyers) how to communicate more effectively. His law firm website is JacksonandWilson.com and his communication tips blog is MitchJackson.com

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Filed Under: Blogging, Communication, Guest Posts, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Online Marketing, Presentations, Social media, Social media marketing, Web traffic Tagged With:

Remember presentations better by structuring your content

April 22, 2014 by
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Matt Abrams is an expert on public speaking and a lecturer at Stanford. In a recent article, he says you will be better able to remember presentations by “structuring your content,” rather than presenting it randomly.

He explains:

“Having a structure helps you remember what to say because even if you forget the specifics, you can use the general framework to stay on track. For example, when using the Problem-Solution-Benefit structure–which is good for persuading and motivating people–you first lay out a specific problem (or opportunity), then detail a solution to address the problem, defining its benefits. If you are in the middle of the Solution portion of your talk and blank out, recalling your structure will tell you that the Benefits portion comes next.”

Not only does the structure give you a framework for recalling how the information fits together, I can see how it helps your audience better understand and remember your message.

Abrams says his favorite structure is, “What?-So What?-Now What?, which can help you not only in planned presentations but also in spontaneous speaking situations such as job interviews.”

What: Your message or claim

So What: Why it matters; the benefits if it is accepted

Now What: What to do next; the call to action.

I like this, too. It can be used for formal presentations, papers, briefs, articles, letters, oral arguments, and blog posts. You can also use it to help a client understand where things are in a case and why they should follow your recommendation.

The article has additional tips on public speaking, including how to practice a presentation.

For more ideas for structuring reports and other content, see my 30 Day Referral Blitz

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Filed Under: Communication, Copywriting, Presentations, Public Speaking, Writing

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: , , , ,

Using a script in a presentation

December 10, 2013 by
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Last night, I did a twenty minute presentation on a conference call. It’s one I’ve done many times before. I know the material well enough to deliver it without notes.

This time, I did something different. I wanted the presentation to be more succinct, so I wrote a script. After all, it’s not a live presentation. Nobody would know that I’m reading.

But now, I don’t think that’s true. Using a script in a presentation affected my delivery. I thought I sounded stiff, yes, like I was reading. A few times, when I went off script to embellish a point, I could hear the difference. I felt relaxed and just talked, and that sounds different.

After any presentation, most people don’t remember what you said, they remember how you made them feel. And you make them feel something not so much by the words you use but by your delivery. If you sound unnatural, as you do when you read, (unless you are a professional actor), it loses something. When you speak from the heart, your audience can feel your passion and be affected by it.

Afterwards, I received calls and texts praising the presentation, and this from people who have heard me deliver it before (sans script). They asked if I would do it again, so others could hear it, so I know I covered the right material–not too much, not too little, and for that, I give credit to the script. But next time I do it, I’m not going to use a script. I’m not going to wing it, either. I’m going to take my script and create a series of bullet points and work off of that.

I realize the presentation will probably be a bit longer than I’d like. I’m sure I’ll wander off on a tangent or two. But this way, I’ll cover everything I want to cover, in the right order, and be able to talk to the audience, not read to them.

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Filed Under: Presentations, Public Speaking, Writing Tagged With: ,

How to deliver a great presentation

November 7, 2013 by
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If you’ve never seen Simon Sinek’s TED Talk on inspiring action you’re in for a treat. In it, Sinek explains why companies like Apple captivate and dominate their market when legions of other companies sell boxes that do essentially the same thing. He tells us why the Wright Brothers were first to flight with no funding or credentials that would have predicted their success.

Sinek also helps us to understand the difference between a leader and those who lead, and why great ideas and great products often languish while smaller ideas catch fire.

His talk is filled with wisdom. In a few minutes, he will help you understand the key to success in marketing your services and building a firm that sustains and grows. I heartily recommend that you take the time to watch his presentation and learn why it is the second most popular TED Talk with more than 12 million views.

But there’s another reason to watch it. Not only will you learn great insights about marketing and business, you’ll also see a great presentation. As you know, a presentation isn’t just what you say, it’s how you say it. It’s how the information you deliver is packaged and staged. A great presentation connects with the minds and emotions of the audience, and this is a great presentation.

If you want to know how to deliver a great presentation, study this one. See how he packages and presents his information. Learn how you can make your next presentation more effective.

This post makes it easier. It analyzes the structure, style, and delivery of Sinek’s talk, helping us to understand why in a world of presentations, this is one of the greats.

Do you know The Attorney Marketing Formula? Check it out here.

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Filed Under: Communication, Law office management, Marketing legal services, Personal development, Presentations, Writing Tagged With: ,

How to qualify prospective clients in four seconds or less

September 19, 2013 by
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Would you like to know if someone is a candidate for your services within four seconds of meeting them?

I just read about a financial advisor who built a very successful business doing that. He cold called investors, introduced himself, and asked a simple question: “Are you looking for a new financial advisor?”

He didn’t ask if they were interested in getting information about a hot stock. He didn’t invite them to a seminar. He was looking for people who wanted a new advisor and that’s what he asked.

They either were or they were not. If they said yes or maybe, he moved forward. If not, he moved on.

Hold the phone, I’m not suggesting you cold call. Or that you ask people you just met a qualifying question. “Hi, I’m Joe. Are you looking for a divorce lawyer?”

But I am asking you to put on your thinking cap and come up a good qualifying question for your services.

There are many ways to phrase the question:

  • Are you looking for. . .?
  • Do you need. . .?
  • Which of these works best for you. . .?
  • Do you have this problem?
  • Have you ever. . .?
  • Why are you. . .?
  • Are you ready to. . .?

You might put the question on the home page of your website, front and center, to let visitors know they’ve come to the right place. You might not ask until someone has had a chance to read something, get their questions answered, and get a sense for who you are.

You might ask in conversation. Or hand over a brochure or report that asks for you.

On the other hand, you may never vocalize the question or put it in writing. The question may be no more than sub-text. But there it will be, guiding you and qualifying your reader or listener.

Crafting this question will help you define your “ideal client”. What is their problem? Where are they in the process? What other solutions have they considered or tried? It will help you qualify prospective clients, possibly in four seconds or less.

So, what would you ask someone to find out if they are a prospect for your services?

Do you want help describing your ideal client? Get this.

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Filed Under: Copywriting, Marketing legal services, Networking, Online Marketing, Presentations, Public Speaking, SEO Tagged With: , ,

WTF: Cussing in email, blogs

August 16, 2013 by
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Last week I got an email from a subscriber who disapproved of my use of the word “bastard” in a blog post. He referred to it as a “strong cuss word” and thought I should refrain from using such terms.

That surprised me. I don’t consider that a strong cuss word. I’m not even sure it’s a cuss word anymore, at least in most circles.

I think I monitor my language pretty well. I don’t use four letter words in my posts and emails. But coarse language does have its place in communication. If used appropriately and not overdone, it can add color and contour to our writing and speech.

So, at the risk of pissing off some of my subscribers (oops), I don’t plan to change anything.

On the other hand. . .

If most of my subscribers told me they didn’t approve of my language, I would be foolish not to listen. If you want to stay in business, you have to pay attention to your market.

But you can’t listen to everyone who is unhappy with something you said.

At the end of the day, you have to be yourself. You will attract people who like you “as is”. They may not like everything you say, but if they read something that bothers their sense of propriety, you have to assume they will let it go. If they don’t, it’s their loss, not yours.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Communication, Image, Presentations, Public Speaking, Writing Tagged With: , ,

10 tips on public speaking for lawyers

August 14, 2013 by
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Admit it. You’re a ham. You like the limelight. You love to be in front of the room.

Okay, even if you don’t, you know that public speaking is an excellent way to market legal services.

Here are 10 tips on public speaking for lawyers:

TIP #1: Write your own introduction. Your audience will hear everything you want them to hear and nothing you don’t. It’s better to let the host say nice things about you than it is to say them about yourself.

TIP #2: If you use handouts, pass them out at the END of the talk. Otherwise, everyone will read and not listen. (The exception would be handouts that track on screen bullet points.)

TIP #3: Don’t read. You should know your material well enough that you don’t need to read anything. It’s okay to have notes with you but only as reminders of points you want to cover.

TIP #4: If you use slides, aim for no more than three bullet points on each slide. Keep it short, simple, and easy to read. No animation or fancy graphics. Also, try to use no more than a dozen slides. The audience is there to listen, not read.

TIP #5: Tell stories. All facts make Jack a dull boy. Stories show people what is important and why. People relate to the people in your stories on an emotional level.

TIP #6: Engage the audience. Make eye contact. Speak to individuals in the room, not to “the crowd”. Mention people by name. Ask rhetorical questions (e.g., “What would you do if that happened?”) and questions that call for an audible response.

TIP #7: Mix it up. Vary your speed, tone, and voice level. Pause for effect. Gesture. Walk from one side of the room to the other. Point to something.

TIP #8: Aim for one main take-away. One main point, one memorable line, one evocative story. If they are asked about your talk two weeks later, what’s the one thing you want them to remember?

TIP #9: Keep it short. Twenty minutes is ideal. After twenty minutes, people get restless. If you have a bigger topic, break it up into twenty minute segments.

TIP #10: Close with a “call to action”. Tell them what to do next: visit a website, fill out paperwork, call to make an appointment. If you tell them what to do, more people will do it.

Do you have any tips to add to this list? Please share in the comments.

Start your marketing library with The Attorney Marketing Formula.

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Filed Under: Communication, Marketing legal services, Presentations, Public Speaking

How to “trick” people into staying for your entire presentation

July 29, 2013 by
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As a speaker, there’s nothing worse than seeing someone walk out of the room before the end of your presentation. It is distracting. It hurts your ego. And it means there is one less person in the room to buy whatever it is you’re selling.

Not that it’s ever happened to me.

Your presentation might need work. More interesting content. Better stories. A more energetic delivery.

Keep the audience glued to your every word and they’ll stay glued to their seats.

Or, you can trick them into staying in their seats.

Here’s what you do.

At the beginning of the presentation, you or the host tells the audience that you have a gift for them at the end of the presentation. It’s a surprise. It’s something they will want. It’s valuable. “. . so at the end of the presentation, make sure you are in your seats so you can get your free gift.”

You can have fun with it, too. “Confess” that it is a bribe to keep them in their seats because the last time you gave this talk, “we had to lock the doors”. Or whatever.

Now, the gift can be anything. A copy of your book, a CD with several reports or checklists or forms, a DVD with a video of another presentation. Something your audience will like and appreciate. Something that will make them glad they stayed in their seats to get. And something you probably want them to have anyway because it validates you and the services you offer.

Years ago, I was in a business where I did a lot of presentations to the public who were invited off of newspaper ads. At the beginning of the presentation, we told them we had a surprise for them at the end of the presentation, it was really cool, and they should stay in their seats.

They stayed in their seats.

When the presentation ended, we revealed the surprise. We said that before they came into the room, we had randomly taped lottery tickets to the bottom of ten chairs and they should look under their chair to see if they had one. This was shortly after the lottery had been legalized in California and getting a ticket was new and exciting.

For ten bucks, we made sure we had a full house from start to finish. Of course my presentation was brilliant and they would have stayed anyway, but hey, a little insurance never hurts.

People love gifts and they love surprises. If you want them to stay seated (or stay on your webinar or teleconference) until the end of your presentation, promise them a gift at the end. Or, you could just tell better jokes.

Marketing is simple. Lawyers are complicated. If you want to make the phone ring, here’s help.

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Presentations

3 ways to turn boring legal topics into interesting articles and posts

July 26, 2013 by
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If you write a newsletter or blog (and if you don’t, make sure you see me after class), you may struggle with finding interesting topics to write about. The law can be incredibly dry and arcane. Why would clients and prospective clients ever want to read about boring legal topics?

It’s a fair question. After all, if people don’t read your articles, they won’t act on them and, well, what’s the point?

Here are three ways to turn boring legal topics into something people want to read:

1. Write something else.

You don’t always have to write about legal issues and, frankly, you shouldn’t. In my posts, I often write about topics that aren’t overtly about marketing legal services. I’ll write about my wife’s dealings with various vendors, our cat, or anything else that catches my attention. It makes things interesting and provides a never-ending source of topics.

I do tie things together with some reference to marketing legal services, however, because that’s what you pay me for.

You can either start with a legal issue and look for something in your everyday life or outside interests to illustrate or contrast that issue. Or, you can do the opposite, that is, write about your dry cleaner, a movie, or something in the news, and relate it to a legal issue. Or neither. You don’t always have to write about the law.

2. Write about people.

Talk about your clients or other lawyers or judges. Talk about people in the news or in history. Tell stories about how people and the law intersect, how their lives were affected, or will be.

People are always more interesting than a code section or appellate decision. Stories are interesting because they have conflict in them and people want to know “what happened?”

Write about people. Tell their stories. Put most of the “legal stuff” in another article and link to it for those who want to know.

3. Write it anyway.

Boring legal topics are not boring to someone who is facing those issues. Write for those people.

When someone goes to a search engine, they are seeking information about their problem or objective. They want to read about the law, procedure, options, and risks. They want the details, even if most of your other readers (currently) do not.

Write for the person who wants to know.

Your other readers may skip over those articles, waiting for your next post about your cat’s antics or your crazy next door neighbor. They’ll stick around while you help someone with a pressing legal issue. They probably won’t read your posts that are pure legal content, but they’ll be glad to know that if and when they need that kind of information, they know where to find it.

Now, if you can just figure out a way to write a legal analysis post and illustrate it with a story about your cat using your Twitter account to send naked selfies to your neighbor’s puppy. . .

For hundreds of ideas for articles and posts, see Make the Phone Ring.

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Filed Under: Communication, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Online Marketing, Presentations, Web traffic, Writing
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