What?

November 1, 2016 by
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In college, I had a professor who mumbled. I sat in the front row and could usually figure out what he was saying but sometimes he also spoke at a low level and I couldn’t understand him at all.

One time, I raised my hand and said, “Could you mumble a little louder?” Everyone laughed, including my professor. (All was okay. He later wrote me a recommendation letter to law school).

Now, as you probably know, I get a lot of emails from lawyers. To my chagrin, many of these professional communicators (that’s who we are, after all), are just as difficult to understand as my mumbling professor.

Frankly, they can’t write their way out of a paper bag.

It’s one thing to send an informal email to someone you know. You don’t always have to format properly or use the King’s English. But you can’t send emails that make people think, “What the hell did they just say?”

Clarity is right up there at the top of the effective communication mountain. If people don’t understand you, you can’t expect to persuade them of anything. They’re not going to learn what you want them to learn. They’re not going to get your jokes.

If your legal documents are muddled, if your closing arguments are a mishmash of thoughts, if your marketing documents and presentations are as mushy and boring as a bowl of oatmeal, you’ve got some work to do.

How do you improve? Read more. Find models of clear writing and study them. Write more. Write something every day and re-write it as often as necessary. You can ask someone to read and critique your writing, and maybe edit it. You might take classes or read books about writing.

You don’t ever want someone to wonder what you just said. As Robert Louis Stevenson put it, “Don’t Write merely to be understood. Write so that you cannot possibly be misunderstood.”

Clear instructions on marketing your practice

 

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Filed Under: Communication, Writing Tagged With:

Stop it, you’re putting me to sleep

October 14, 2016 by
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It’s nice hearing from readers who say nice things about my emails. It’s even nicer when they tell me I’m full of it.

If your readers don’t at least occasionally tell you that you missed something or you said something they strongly disagree with, you’re missing the boat.

You’ve want to be edgy. Controversial. Provocative. You want your readers to feel something, even if that something makes them want to take a swing at you. If you never lose subscribers over something you said that offended them, you may be guilty of the cardinal sin of being boring.

If you’re boring, readers won’t read you. If they don’t read you, they may forget you. If they forget you, they’re not going to hire or recommend you.

Now, someone is reading this and thinking they would never go that far. They cherish their subscribers and would never do anything that might get a complaint or, hell-to-the-no, cause someone to unsubscribe.

Too bad. So sad.

If you never take risks with your writing or marketing, if you don’t do anything to stand out and be remembered, you run the even greater risk of living a life of mediocrity.

Because boring is one step away from irrelevance.

Besides, do you really want subscribers who can’t stand a little heat and never get the joke? Who are easily triggered and need to hide in their safe space?

I don’t. I want them to go away and make room for people who get me and support me and buy from me.

You should, too.

You want fans. You want champions. You want people who look forward to reading you, and who might sometimes disagree with you, or get perturbed with you, stick with you, no matter what. Because they love you and know you love them.

<Group hug>

One of the best tools for building your practice: email

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Filed Under: Email, List building, Writing Tagged With:

Reviews are starting to come in

August 19, 2016 by
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The first review for my new book, The Easy Way to Write a Book is in and it’s a humdinger.

It points out the value of the “real world examples” in the book and says, “Anyone should be able to use this guide to whip out a book in a week or two. Delivers exactly what it promises.”

Nice.

And very much appreciated. Not just by me but by book buyers who are looking for a way to write a book quickly, but aren’t sure if my book delivers.

Reviews help sell books, just as testimonials help sell legal services. I’m not shy about asking for reviews and you shouldn’t be shy about asking your clients to provide a few words about their experience with you.

How do you ask? You just do. You tell them you would appreciate them for leaving a review on XYZ website, or filling out a survey form you provide. Or you wait until they say something nice about you and you ask them if you can post their kind words on your website.

But ask.

Your clients are willing to tell the world what they think about you, but they are busy and need a little prompting.

So prompt.

Anyway, here’s my prompt:

If you picked up a copy of “The Easy Way to Write a Book,” and you liked it, please leave a review. Even one sentence can help someone who is on the fence make a decision.

Here’s the link.

Okay, maybe you don’t want to write a book. No problem. Remember, you can use the ideas in the book to interview professionals you know (or want to know) for your blog or newsletter or podcast. Interviews aren’t just a great way to create content, they are the consummate networking tool.

Maybe you want to write a book but you don’t want to interview anyone, you want to tell your own story. Okay. I heard from a lawyer who is using the ideas in the book to do exactly that. He tells me his book is coming along nicely and he will post a review as soon as he’s done.

So there.

The Easy Way to Write a Book is still just .99 cents, but I will bump up the price soon. (You can read it free if you have Kindle Unlimited).

And if you’re still not sure, you can read the first chapter online here.

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Writing Tagged With: ,

How to never run out of ideas to write about

August 18, 2016 by
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Think about your target market and answer me a few questions:

  • What is the market’s biggest problem right now? The one that keeps people up at night?
  • What’s the latest news in that market? What are people talking about?
  • Name three websites, podcasts, or newsletters that focus on this market.
  • Who is the top lawyer, CPA, insurance or real estate professional in that market?
  • Name two organizations dedicated to that market that have networking functions in your area.
  • Name three profitable keywords for blog posts, books, or ads for that market.

Okay, that’s enough to make my point, which is that if you can’t answer these questions, you probably don’t know your target market well enough.

Or you don’t have one.

Which is why, when you set out to write an email or article, you “don’t know what to write about”. Which is why you aren’t writing, or if you are, your writing is too general and doesn’t stand out.

If your last blog post or article or email is written to appeal to “anyone,” there’s a good chance it appeals to “no one”.

When you know your target market well, which you must if you want to dominate it, you won’t have that problem. You’ll have plenty of things to write about, specific to that market. In fact, you’ll have so many ideas, your biggest problem will be deciding which one to write about.

Which is a nice problem to have, don’t you think?

Need help choosing a target market? Use this

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Filed Under: Blogging, Email, Newsletters, Writing Tagged With: ,

The paper is due a week from Friday and is worth one-third of your grade

August 17, 2016 by
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Remember in school when you were assigned a paper to write that had to be turned in by a specific date? You were given a topic, a word or page count, and a deadline, and somehow you managed to turn in the paper on time.

You may not have known anything about the topic. You may have hated the topic and wished you could write about something (anything) else. You might have put it off until the night before it was due. But you got it done.

Because you had to. Your grade depended on it.

Today, you want to write something for your newsletter or blog, but if I’m right, too often you don’t do it. You don’t because you don’t have to.

No due date. No grade. If you don’t do it, nobody will notice.

The solution? Give yourself a due date. Decide in advance a posting schedule and put it on your calendar. Even better, announce it to your subscribers: “I post a new article every Tuesday”. If you don’t post as promised, they’ll notice.

You can also assign yourself a topic to write about.

In 30 minutes, you can brainstorm enough topics to keep you busy for a year. Start with the ten or twenty “frequently asked questions” posed to you by prospects and new clients.

You can also set up a notebook and collect articles and notes and ideas as you go about your business day. I have more than 1000 “blog post ideas” I’ve collected and stored in Evernote.

You could work with a writing partner and give each other assignments. “Okay, this week, I want you to write about that client you told me about. . .”

Another way to get ideas is to use “writing prompts”. A search on that keyword will reveal a plethora of books and websites that can provide you with an almost endless supply of writing ideas.

I went to a website this morning and was given the prompt, “Why I love to. . .” I thought I could easily write a post about why I love marketing. I would talk about how gratifying it is to be able to use my skills to help people get solutions and benefits they otherwise might not get, and make a nice living doing it.

You could use the same writing prompt. Write about why you love helping your clients.

In school, writing assignments trained us to write “on demand,” a valuable skill to be sure. If you’re struggling to do that in your practice, a writing schedule and writing prompts can help you get there.

You can get lots of ideas for article and posts with this

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Filed Under: Newsletters, Writing Tagged With: ,

Print books are no longer king but they’re still royalty

August 9, 2016 by
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I started converting some of my Kindle books into print and they’re selling well. When you publish your book, you should also publish a paperback version, not just to serve buyers who prefer print but so you will have copies to hand out.

Keep a stack in the office to give to new clients. Keep a copy or two in your briefcase, and more in your car, so that when you meet someone who wants to know what you do you can let your book show them.

When a prospective client is considering whether to hire you or another lawyer, you don’t need to do anything to convince them to choose you. Give them a copy of your book and let your book show them why you are the best choice.

Books based on expert interviews are easy to write but they are only a first step. You also need a book that encapsulates your knowledge and wisdom and tells your story. Fortunately, this kind of book is also easy to write.

In The Easy Way to Write a Book, I said that one way to do this is to ask a friend to interview you. You could also interview yourself. Make a list of topics and record yourself speaking about them. In an hour or two, you could have the first draft of your book done.

If you want to agonize over it and take months to write the perfect book you can do that, but we both know that you probably won’t. Better to knock out something this weekend and start using it.

In fact, that’s my challenge to you. Write the first draft of your book this weekend. In an hour, you can dictate 10,000 words or so, which is enough for a short Kindle book. If you want more, go for another hour. But get the thing done.

The Easy Way to Write a Book

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Writing Tagged With: ,

I’d like to interview you for a book I’m writing

August 8, 2016 by
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Imagine getting an email from someone who says they want to interview you. They’re writing a book and want to feature you in it–your ideas, your words, your story.

Interested?

I know I would be. So would lots of professionals and business owners and successful people. The kind of people you would like to meet and network with. The kind of people who can send you referrals and introduce you to other centers of influence in your niche market or community.

I just released a new Kindle book that can help.

It’s called, The Easy Way to Write a Book: How to Use Expert Interviews to Quickly Write a Non-Fiction Book–Even if You’ve Never Written Anything Before.

It tells the story of how I wrote and published a book based on an interview I did with appellate attorney Steve Emmert which I told you about last week. It shows you how you can use the same method to write your own book.

Your book can be a great marketing tool for you. If nothing else, it can bring traffic to your website from prospective clients and the people who can refer them.

By the way, not only is this an easy way to write a book, it’s also one of the quickest. I was able to do the interview, write and publish the book, in less than 8 hours.

But you don’t have to write a book if you don’t want to. You can use the approach in the book to interview professionals and business owners for blog posts, articles, or a podcast.

The book is only .99 cents right now. Here’s the link.

(If you’re outside the US, search for the title in your Kindle store ).

Let me know if you have any questions.

The Easy Way to Write a Book

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Writing Tagged With:

How to become a better and faster writer (and why you must)

July 20, 2016 by
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Lawyers write, usually every day. But the writing we do for our work usually leans towards the boring and mundane. We use formulaic language, if not actual templates, and while our writing usually gets the job done, in terms of quality, it’s nothing to write home about (pun intended).

You may be able to get away with boring writing in much of your work, but you won’t get away with it in writing that is intended to bring in that work.

Articles, blog posts, presentations, letters to prospective clients and to other professionals we’d like to know must hew to a different standard. It needs to be interesting and compelling and anything but boring.

Because if someone isn’t required to read something we wrote as part of their work, or because it will otherwise benefit them, they either won’t read it or if they do, they won’t act on it.

Your dull and poorly written article won’t inspire anyone to call you. Your dry as kindling presentation won’t inspire anyone to make an appointment.

If your marketing-oriented writing doesn’t engage readers and draw them to you, you might as well not bother.

You can hire copywriters or ghostwriters, or you can learn how to do it yourself.

Writing every day will help. So will writing first drafts quickly and not editing until they’re done. There are other ways to become a better writer but there is perhaps no easier way than to write about topics that interest you.

Write about subjects you are passionate about. Write about things that inspire you. Write about what turns you on, or what pisses you off.

When you do, you’ll be able to write quickly and easily. You’ll become a better writer. And you will attract more clients who like what you say and how you say it.

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Filed Under: Writing

What makes content shareable?

July 13, 2016 by
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You’re ready to write a blog post, article, or social media post and you want your subscribers and followers to share it. What should you write that will make that more likely to occur?

We know that sex and scandal and other tabloid-esq topics sell, but that’s off the table. Humor and human interest (kittens, babies, sports, games) are highly shareable, and you can write about those things occasionally, but only occasionally.

What then? News? Opinion? World events?

Sometimes. But your best bet is also the simplest. Write about your area of expertise.

Write about legal problems and solutions. Write about the law and procedure, the timeline and processes, the benefits of taking action and the risks of waiting too long. Describe your services and the pros and cons of each.

Answer the questions prospective clients and new clients frequently ask you. And write about the questions they should ask you but often don’t.

Show people what it’s like to work with you by describing what you do and how you do it.

Write about your clients and how you have helped them. Write about people you know who didn’t get help and are now paying the price.

Educate people about what they can do themselves. Teach them when they should talk to a lawyer and what questions they should ask them.

Write about solving problems, preventing problems and mitigating consequences when problems occur.

If you have a consumer-oriented practice, you can also write consumer-related topics such as buying the right insurance, saving money, retirement, taxes, etc. You can also write about issues and developments in your local community.

For a business-oriented practice, write about marketing, management, productivity, and issues and developments in your target market’s industry or niche.

No matter what type of practice you have, you can also write about personal development because everyone reading what you write is, unarguably, a person.

This is the kind of content that people will share with friends and colleagues and co-workers and family, because they know they need it or they know they would benefit from it.

And that’s all any of us could ask.

More ideas for creating shareable content that will make your phone ring

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Filed Under: Blogging, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Social media marketing, Writing Tagged With: , ,

Where to find inspiration when you need it

May 4, 2016 by
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In Evernote, I have a tag for “quotes”. As I browse websites, read books, and hear presentations, I look for statements or quotations that resonate with me and record them, and then use them in my writing and presentations. They give color and contour to my words and help readers or listeners understand and remember my message.

I also use quotations as an idea starter for creating new content.

When I’m scheduled to write something but I don’t have a subject, or I know what I want to say but I need an inspiring way to say it, I skim through my collection of quotes or visit websites that curate quotes, and find something that grabs my attention.

Sometimes, I use a quote as the basis for an entire post. Let me give you an example.

Yesterday I read an ebook that contained a quote from Erma Bombeck. She was best known for her humor but she was also an incisive observer of the world condition. The author of the book sought to inspire readers to go “all in” in our chosen work and he used Bombeck’s words to make his point. She said:

“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me’.”

That spoke to me, as I hope it speaks to you. It prompted me to remind you, and myself, that we owe it to ourselves, our family, our employees, and our clients, to use our God-given talents to their fullest. To do less than we are capable dishonors our maker.

Whatever you do, do it with gusto. Don’t hold back, don’t phone it in. Give it everything you’ve got.

If you can’t do that, or you can no longer do that, go do something else.

Many successful people in the world once practiced law. When they lost their passion for the job, or they discovered a different calling, they pivoted and began a new chapter in their life.

If being a lawyer makes you happy, use every ounce of talent God gave you to be the best lawyer you can be. If you’re not happy, if you find the job enervating instead of energizing, the best thing you can do for yourself and those who depend on you is to begin a new chapter in your life.

How I use tags and notebooks in Evernote

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Filed Under: Inspiration, Writing Tagged With:
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