I used to talk about how clients use the yellow pages to choose an attorney. I said it was often a matter of chance because the client would open the book and see page after page of listings, most of which looked and said the same thing.
In fact, most of the ads were interchangeable. Take the name and contact information from one attorney’s page and swap it for another attorney’s page and nobody would be the wiser.
And that’s true today when it comes to websites. Or TV ads, brochures, articles and blog posts, and everything else most attorneys put out into the world.
It’s all the same. Most attorneys in a given practice area offer the same services and make the same promises and nobody stands out. Clients might as well close their eyes and point to the first page or listing or article they see. At least that’s how they feel about it because there are scant reasons provided for choosing one attorney over the others.
You need to give people those reasons.
Tell them why you’re different and better and why they should choose you instead of your competition.
But there’s something else you should do. If you want to stand out you need to show people not just what you do but who you are.
People want to know if you’re someone they will like and trust. They want to know what it would be like to work with you.
Because people buy YOU before they buy your services.
So talk about yourself. On your website, blog, newsletter, in interviews and ads, talk about your background, family, and hobbies. Show them what you look like and sound like. Mention your favorite sports team, and your favorite type of restaurant.
Share your views on popular topics in your niche market or community. Tell them your philosophies for building your practice, your exercise habits, or your favorite productivity apps.
Talk about what you did for a living before law school, or what you studied in school. Do you play a sport? Are you a big Star Wars fan or do you prefer Star Trek?
Don’t firehose them. A photo or two, a paragraph or three, is all you need.
Show them who you are because who you are is unique, even if what you do is not.
More on how to stand out–here and here
