The other day I wrote down an idea for a blog post: “The day I decided to get serious about marketing.” I was going to talk about how I came to realize that a law practice is a business and that if I wanted to be successful, I needed to put marketing first.
The truth is, that day never occurred.
I don’t remember waking up, slapping my forehead, and saying, “of course!” No light bulb appeared over my head. The realization that marketing must come first didn’t occur at any particular moment, it was a process, over time.
At first, I didn’t want to believe that marketing was important. I was young and idealistic and I wanted to believe that if I did great work, I would be noticed and rewarded. I knew other attorneys who didn’t seem to do any marketing and they were doing just fine. Why not me?
What I didn’t realize is that the attorneys who seemed to be completely disengaged from marketing, were actually very good at marketing, so good in fact, you couldn’t tell by looking at them.
And it’s true. If marketing is defined as, “everything you do to get and keep clients,” (and it is), then marketing must include all of the little things we do for our clients to keep them happy and sticking with us and sending us referrals. The little things that maintain loyalty and create positive word of mouth aren’t readily apparent to the outside world.
Most marketing, certainly the most valuable marketing, isn’t public, it’s private. It’s done through letters and phone calls and newsletters to our clients. It occurs one-on-one, networking with key people. It’s done by leveraging the relationships you already have with clients and professional contacts, to meet the people they know and show them why they should hire you instead of anyone else.
Advertising, public relations, public speaking, blogging, and other public marketing activities are important when you’re starting out and need to build momentum, or when you are already successful and want to generate additional income. But they are never more important than what you do privately.
As I came to realize these difference, and accept the importance of marketing in building my practice, I went through three stages:
Stage One: Indifference
At first, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I had an opinion about marketing and that was that. Many attorneys are at this stage, although fewer and fewer today, due to (a) the economy and increased competition, and (b) The Internet.
Obviously, if you are reading this post, you aren’t at this stage. You know that marketing is important. But there are attorneys who still don’t care about marketing. Generally, they fall into two categories:
- Successful, and don’t realize that they are engaged in marketing (the private kind) or how much more successful they could be if they paid attention to marketing, or
- Arrogant, stubborn, and destined to struggle.
I’m sure you know lawyers in both categories.
Stage Two: Acceptance
After months of struggle, I still didn’t get it. I did busy work and told myself things would change. Eventually, I realized that nothing would change unless I did. Necessity (paying rent, eating) became the mother of invention. Once I accepted that what I was doing wasn’t working, I opened the door to change.
Most attorneys in private practice today, at least those who aren’t newly minted, well- financed, or well-connected, understand why marketing is important, and most of them do something that could be called marketing. They want to do more and get better results, but don’t know how. There are two reasons:
- They dabble. They don’t do anything long enough to get meaningful results. Or they do things they think they’re supposed to do but their heart isn’t it so they do them poorly and get poor results, and/or
- The focus on “public” marketing and ignore “private” marketing. They bring clients in through the front door and lose them through the back door because they don’t take care of them.
Does this describe you? Do you feel like you are spinning your wheels and not getting great results? Are you getting clients on the front end but they don’t come back or you’re not getting enough referrals on the back end? The good news is that you can change your results by making a commitment to marketing.
Stage Three: Commitment.
Once I accepted the importance of marketing, I began studying it and trying different things. I didn’t get good results, however,because I was dabbling. It was a start and it allowed me to see which direction I might eventually go, but it wasn’t until I committed to marketing that things really began to change.
How did I make that commitment? I found something that worked and I got excited.
“More, please!”
I did more and worked harder and eventually, I fell in love with marketing and what it could do.
And that’s when my practice really took off.
I think a lot of attorneys are afraid to commit to marketing because they are afraid of what it means. Being committed to marketing doesn’t mean compromising your values or spending time or money doing things you don’t want to do.
Commitment to marketing means two things:
- Mindset. You must believe that a law practice is a business and that you (the professional) work for that business (practice), and that without clients, you are out of business. You must believe that marketing isn’t beneath you and that it is benevolent because the more successful you become, the more people you can help. You must believe in the primacy of “private” marketing and understand that if you can’t start there (because you don’t yet have enough clients), that this is where you can eventually go. And you need to get excited about marketing and what it can do.
- Consistency. You don’t have to spend a lot of time on marketing. You can make a lot of progress in just 15 minutes a day. The key is to do something every day. If you don’t, you are a dabbler. If you do, your efforts compound and your results accelerate.
So, what stage are you in? Are you a dabbler or are you committed to marketing? Do you have the right mindset and are you prepared to do something every day?
If you are committed to marketing, The Attorney Marketing Formula is required reading.
How to use someone else’s blog post to get traffic to your website
You read lots of blogs, right? For work, for news, for fun. You might think most of it isn’t something of interest to your clients and prospects. But you might be surprised at how much of it is.
Your clients and prospects are interested in lots of things that can make their lives better. They want to make more money, cut expenses, protect their credit, and get a better return on their investments. They want to get their kids into college and plan for retirement. They want to know how to be safe when they travel.
No matter what your clients are, they are also consumers.
So when you see an article entitled, 6 Things You Should Never Say to a Police Officer, and share it with your list, you’re providing them with value. The next time they see something from you, they’ll be more inclined to read it. And the next time they need a lawyer, they’ll be more inclined to think of you.
When you come across a post that’s interesting or useful, you probably do share it via social media. But when you share a link to a story and someone clicks on that link, it will take them to the website with the original story. Wouldn’t you prefer to have them go to your website?
Why not write your own article on the subject and share that link?
People will come to your website to read your article (and then onto the original), but by coming to your website first, they may see something else you wrote and be reminded that they need to hire you. When they share your link with their friends and followers, those folks will also come to your site first and hire you, sign up for your newsletter, or see something else they want to share with their friends and followers.
If you are a criminal defense lawyer, an article on what not to say to a police officer is a natural. You can add your comments, agree or disagree, and tell stories about your clients who messed up. What you have to say could be even more interesting than the original post.
If you are not a criminal defense lawyer, you can still comment on an article like this. You might have a personal experience you can share or know someone who has. You can ask a criminal defense lawyer for his take on the subject and add his comments or stories. A quick search may lead to a another article or two you can link to.
A blog post doesn’t have to be authoritative. It doesn’t have to be long. A few short paragraphs are fine. Tell your readers you found something you want to share, and why you like it (or don’t).
If there is a connection with what you do, yes, that is better. Your post will be longer and readers will stay on your page longer to read it. Your post will also be more valuable. That can only lead to more sharing and more appreciation.