Copywriting Archives - Page 11 of 15 - The Attorney Marketing Center

How much selling should a lawyer do?

January 14, 2015 by David M. Ward

How much selling should you do in your letters and emails and blog posts?

More than you think.

The people on your list, your readers and subscribers, your friends and followers, need your help. If they’re not getting that help, if they don’t hire you, they will continue to have those problems and needs.

Your job isn’t to wait until someone taps you on the shoulder and asks you to get to work. It is to reach out to them and persuade them to hire you, or at least take the next step in that direction. If you don’t do that, you’re doing them a disservice.

Educate your prospects about the law and procedure and their options, but don’t merely deliver information. Sell them on why they need to hire you to get the solutions and benefits they want.

Pound your drum with warnings about what could happen if they don’t hire you, or if they wait too long. Share horror stories about people with the same issues whoÂ failed to act. Make your prospects feel what it was like for those people, and imagine what it will be like if they follow the same course.

Do everything in your power to convince people to hire you. Pull out the big guns. Don’t leave them to suffer their problems and pain when you can help them get relief.

Don’t be all thunder and brimstone, however. They’ll tune out. Mix things up. Share success stories. Back off the main message and talk about something else. But never stop reminding people about their problems and how you can help them.

And don’t leave it up to them to figure out what to do next. Tell them to hire you, or tell them to call with questions, schedule a consultation, fill out a form, or read more about the issue.

How much selling should you do? More than you think.

If you want to get more clients and increase your income, get this.

Filed Under: Blogging, Communication, Copywriting, Email, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Salesmanship

My formula for persuasive writing

November 12, 2014 by David M. Ward

When I write sales copy, presentations, books, or blog posts, I often use a formula that makes it more likely the reader or listener will do what I want them to do.

I may want them to buy something, do something, or remember something. The formula works the same way.

The persuasive writing formula I use (no, I didn’t invent it) has five parts:

State the PROBLEM (here’s what’s wrong, what you don’t have, what will happen if you don’t do anything about it.)
AGITATE the problem (dramatize the pain, here’s more about how bad it could get, here’s other ways this will affect you)
Present the SOLUTION (what can be done to stop the problem)
Describe the BENEFITS (relieve your pain, other good things you get with this solution)
CALL TO ACTION (what to do to get the solution and benefits)

Try this formula the next time you write something. You may find it helpful to start with the call to action. What do you want them to do? What’s the key takeaway?

Then, either work backwards through the other partsÂ (ie., the benefits they will get when they do what you want them to do, the solution that delivers those benefits, etc.) or go to the beginning, describe the problem, and work forwards.

Anyway, an article in the Harvard Business Journal presents a similar formula based on classical story structure. In “Structure your presentation like a story,” author Nancy Duarte says:

After studying hundreds of speeches, Iâ€™ve found that the most effective presenters use the same techniques as great storytellers: By reminding people of the status quo and then revealing the path to a better way, they set up a conflict that needs to be resolved.

That tension helps them persuade the audience to adopt a new mindset or behave differently â€” to move from what is to what could be. And by following Aristotleâ€™s three-part story structure (beginning, middle, end), they create a message thatâ€™s easy to digest, remember, and retell.

Persuasive writing is about creating tension (or identifying it) and then relieving it. If you want someone to hire you, show them the status quo and the path to a better way: “You’ve got this problem that’s only going to get worse; if you hire me, I will solve that problem (or help you take the first step towards solving it); here’s how you’ll be better off; here’s what to do to get started.”

Tell them a dramatic story that makes them angry or afraid. Just make sure it has a happy ending.

Do you know the formula for earning more in your practice? GoÂ here.

Filed Under: Communication, Copywriting, Presentations, Public Speaking, Writing Tagged With: persuasion, persuasive-writing

Marketing a law firm like a strip club

October 3, 2014 by David M. Ward

One of the biggest challenges in marketing a law firmÂ is getting prospective clients to see how you are different or better than other lawyers who do what you do.

It takes a lot of thought and wordsmithery to come up with the right benefit statement. I don’t have any shortcuts to offer, but I can give you a place to start.

Imagine that instead of an office you work from a retail store in a big shopping mall. All of the other attorneys in town also have stores at the mall. The lawyer next door? He offer the same services you do. The lawyer across the hall? The same.

In fact, the entire mall is filled with your competitors. The shoppers in the mall are your prospective clients. They came to the mall looking for a lawyer to hire and they walk through the mall trying to decide which one to choose.

Will it be you? Or the guy down the hall?

You don’t want to leave it to chance, do you? You want to get them into your store.

What will you do? What will you put in your store window? What signs will you put up to entice them to stop?

Hold on. We know it’s only a matter of time before one of the other lawyers starts standing at the entrance to his store calling out things to passing shoppers. Yeah, like those guys who stand on the street in front of strip clubs encouraging passers-by to come to see their show.

You’re not going to let them get all the business, are you? Hell no. You’re going to stand outside your store, too. Whatcha going to say?

Before you know it, all of the lawyers in the mall will beÂ standing outside their store hawking their wares. It’s going to get extremely noisy in that mall. You’ll need to be really clever if you want clients to choose you.

Yes, this is a picture of a nightmare. But it’s also a decent analogy for the real world. You don’t stand outside a store shouting at passing clients, (at least I hope you don’t) but you do something similar on the Internet, in ads, and at networking events.

Use this exercise to brainstorm ideas for headlines you can use to get the attention of prospective clients who are scanning lawyers’ ads, web pages, or listings in a directory.

What couldÂ you say to get their attention? What could you offer? How can you stand out from the crowd?

Here’s a hint: Your name or your firm’s name is not a good headline. It’s not going to get anyone to come into your store. Nobody but your mama cares about your name.

The good news is that all of those ads and web pages your competitors use with their firm name as the headline make things much easier for you. You can say almost anything else and get more clients than they do.

Write a headline that promises benefits. What do you do for your clients that other lawyers don’t do (or don’t say they do)? What makes you unique or better? Why should they come into your store?

The Attorney Marketing Formula helps you choose a benefit statement for your practice. Go here.

Filed Under: Copywriting, Marketing legal services Tagged With: benefit statement, differentiation, headlines, Unique Selling Proposition, USP

The best way to end an email

August 26, 2014 by David M. Ward

What’s the best way to end an email?

The same thing you do at the end of anyÂ closing argument, presentation, meeting, pleading, report, blog post, or other persuasive communication.

Tell the readerÂ what to do.

Tell themÂ to buy. Sign up. Click here. Remember these three things. Go here. Do this.

When you tell people what to do, more people do it.

Can’t they decide for themselves? Sure. And they will. You’re not forcing them to do anything, you’re just pointing the way. Instead of leaving things up in the air and asking the reader to figure out what you want, you’re telling them.

And guess what? People want you to tell them. The judge wants to know what you want. The audience wants to know what you’re selling. The client wants to know what you advise. When you tell people what to do, you’re making things easier for them.

Of course somewhere in your opus you should tell them why. You have to back up your call to action with some substance. Tell them how they benefit, why it’s the right decision, what will happen if they don’t.

The call to action doesn’t literally have to be the last thing you say. You could tell them what to do and follow that with a memorable quote, a short story,Â or additional bullet points in support of your request. But don’t walk off the stage or sign your letter until you’ve told them what to do next.

You’re not in the entertainment business, you’re in the persuasion business. Do your job. Tell people what to do, and why.

Like this:

If you want to get more clients and increase your income, go to this page and buy everything.

Filed Under: Closing the sale, Communication, Copywriting, Writing Tagged With: call to action

Is your marketing message like a horror movie? I hope so.

August 13, 2014 by David M. Ward

Suppose you went to a horror movie and it was 90 minutes of non-stop slashing and killing. No plot, no character development, no suspense. You see the bad guy in action from start to finish. You know what’s going to happen next (more blood and guts) and you don’t care.

Bad script.

A good script plays with your emotions. It makes you think something might happen to someone you care about, but you’re not sure what it is or when it will happen. It tells a story, so that you can feel what the characters feel and get scared right along with them. There is a rhythm to the film, with highs and lows and twists and turns which keeps the story moving towards a satisfying ending.

You need to tell a similar story in your marketing.

Let’s say you handle divorce and you have an email list. Prospective clients subscribe because they are interested in learning more about divorce and haven’t made up their mind about what to do. So, you start emailing. What do you say?

Many lawyers send their list an endless message depicting the client’s pain (bad marriage) and the ultimate solution (divorce). Every email is basically the same.

PAIN. PROBLEM. (HIRE ME). PAIN. MORE PAIN. MORE PROBLEMS. ONGOING PAIN. (WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?) PAIN. PAIN. PAIN. . .

Bad movie. Your audience is more than likely to walk out (un-subscribe).

Nobody wants to listen to a non stop recitation of painful thoughts, any more than they want to watch 90 minutes of evisceration. Give your readers a dose of pain and problems, but then give them some relief before you go at it again.

Tell them about the problem and the solution you offer. Then, talk about something else. Tell them about one of your clients–what they went through and how they came out okay. After that, tell them another client story with a happy ending. Ah, just when they are feeling good and forgetting about their pain, boom, you remind them again about what might happen if they don’t take action.

The problems is still there. It’s not going away. They need to do something.

Next message, you might talk about alternative solutions. Mediation, counseling, marriage encounter.

Options. Relief. Something else that might work. Give them information, ideas, links.

Then, maybe something completely off topic. Talk about the wind chimes on your patio and how relaxing it is to watch the sunset and listen to the chimes after a hard day at work. Your list sees that you are a real person with problems and stress in your life, just like them.

Then you might talk about wills and trusts. This might not be one of your practice areas but everyone needs to know something about this, including people thinking about divorce. Give them a few tips. Refer them to a good estate planning lawyer you know.

Next up, more pain. They thought you had forgotten about that. They were trying to forget about it, but there you are, reminding them again. And you’re right. The problem isn’t going to go away by itself. They have to do something.

You mention that you have a questionnaire on your website that might help them put their situation into perspective. They fill it out. They see that you offer to speak with them, no charge or obligation, to answer their questions and tell them more about their options. They’ve been hearing from you for awhile. They trust you. They call.

Marketing is like dating. You don’t clobber the girl with a club and drag her to your cave. You court her. You let her know something about you and what you have to offer. You give her time to get to know you. You back off and let things develop naturally.

When she’s ready, she’ll let you know.

Learn how to build an email list and use it to get clients. Get this.

Filed Under: Closing the sale, Copywriting, Email, Marketing legal services, Newsletters

5 critical skills to teach yourself before opening your own law office

June 27, 2014 by David M. Ward

Reasonable minds may differ, but rarely do they differ so completely.

Exhibit A is this article: 5 critical skills to teach yourself before starting your first business. The skills, along with my comments:

1. Daily routine

I wouldn’t classify this as a skill. More like a habit. Quibbling aside, should this really be number one on the list of “critical” skills to teach yourself “before” starting your first business? Valuable? Yes. Critical? Not really. Could you develop this habit after you start your business? Um, yes you could. But then, reasonable minds may differ.

2. Email management (etiquette, productivity, security)

Okay, you haven’t opened your business, so you’ve got no emails to worry about. Are these skills going to bring in business? Help you get financing? Or do anything else a new business owner needs to survive and thrive? And couldn’t you just read an article or two to learn what you need to know and do?

3. HTML and CSS

Seriously?

I run a business. I know basic HTML (very basic) and nothing about CSS. I certainly didn’t need to learn anything before opening shop. I could make the case that this knowledge is even less important today, in view of WYSIWYG options like WordPress.

4. Marketing and Promotion

Finally, something we can agree on. Sort of. Marketing is a critical skill (a set of critical skills, actually), but you learn marketing mostly by doing it. Reading about it (or taking classes) doesn’t provide real world context.

In the real world, you learn an idea, you try it and see how it works. You adjust, make changes or try something different. You develop your skills by taking to real people. You learn by making mistakes.

In my humble (but accurate) opinion, you will learn more about marketing in a month of running yourÂ business than you willÂ Â in four years of college.

5. DataÂ AnalyticsÂ (Google, social media metrics)

Seriously?

Again, helpful, but not critical. And something you can learn as you grow. By the way, I can’t remember the last time I checked my stats. Just sayin.

Okay, what do you think about the author’s choices of critical skills?

What’s that? You want to see my list? Well, I have a different take on the whole subject.

I think that what’s needed before opening a business or a law office aren’t skills so much as values and attributes. Things like guts and persistence, the desire to change the world, a love of problem solving, and a passion for what you’re doing. That, and a big pile of cash, so you have time to learn and make mistakes.

I don’t think there any critical skills needed before opening your ownÂ law office. But if you want to be successful, hereÂ are 5Â critical skills you should develop as soon as you can:

1. Salesmanship

Lawyers sell clients on hiring us, judges and juries on finding for us, and opposing parties on settling with us. There’s probably no more valuable skill for a professional or business owner than the ability to communicate ideas and persuade people to act on them. But like marketing, this isÂ best learned in the act of doing.

2. Writing

If you’re not a good writer, you need to become one. You can read and take classes, (hint: study copy writing) but you have to apply what you learn. Write every day. In a year, you can become a good writer.

3. Networking

Arguably the most valuable marketing skill for professionals.

4. Leadership

Leadership is a skill and it can be learned. And it should be. If you have employees, or intend to, if you want to become a leader in your community or organization, study leadership, and start applying what you learn.

5. Touch typing

In terms of every day productivity, this is theÂ skill that that I would put at the top of the list. And hey, it is something you can learn before opening your ownÂ law office.

That’s my list and I’m sticking to it. So there.

The formula for marketing legal services.

Filed Under: Copywriting, Law office management, Marketing legal services, Networking, Productivity

Remember presentations better by structuring your content

April 22, 2014 by David M. Ward

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 additionalÂ tips on public speaking, including how to practice a presentation.

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

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

Attorney advertising: don’t let this happen to you

September 25, 2013 by David M. Ward

The other night I heard a radio commercial for a tax attorney. Not a “tax resolution” firm that does offers in compromise, a regular tax firm. At least that’s the way it was presented.

This was during “drive time” on a station that probably has many hundreds of thousands of listeners.Â Drive time radio is expensive, especially on a show with a big audience. How many listenersÂ have a tax problem and can afford to hire an attorney?

I’m sure the attorney doesn’t need many clients to pay for the ads and turn a profit. But why not advertise on a Sunday “investor” show? Small audience, but much more likely to need a tax attorney. And the cost of that kind of show is a fraction of the cost of a “drive time” ad buy.

Anyway, I’m listening to the ad, waiting for the call to action. Now if you were running expensive ads on drive time radio, what would you want as the call to action?

You would want to offer a free report, wouldn’t you? So you could build a list of people who aren’t sure they need an attorney and need more information. A list of people who don’t have a tax problem right now but think they might soon.

Yep, that’s what you’d want. You are an attorney advertising genius.

But not this attorney.

This attorney made the same mistake most attorneys do in their ads. The call to action was to have listeners call the attorney’s office to make an appointment. (I don’t remember if he was offering a free consultation.)

The ad never mentioned the attorney’s web site. No “free report”. No way for the attorney to generate leads of prospective clients so he could stay in touch with them.

Call or don’t call. Those were the options.

Of course there’s nothing wrong with telling people to call for an appointment. But don’t make that the only option. Reach out to the “maybes” and get them into your marketing funnel. Build a list of prospective clients. Some of them are going to need your services at some point and you want to be “in their minds and their mailboxes” when they do.

One more thing. If you’re driving home from work and hear a radio commercial, what’s easier to remember a phone number or a website?

Exactly.

Anyone who advertises today and doesn’t include a website is really missing the boat.

You don’t have to advertise, but you do need a website. Find out what to do here.

Filed Under: Advertising, Copywriting, List building, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Web traffic Tagged With: call to action, free report, media buy, offer, radio advertising

How to qualify prospective clients in four seconds or less

September 19, 2013 by David M. Ward

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.Â 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.

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