Email Archives - The Attorney Marketing Center

Email marketing (isn’t) dead

March 13, 2025 by David M. Ward

In fact, it’s better than ever. And better than just about any other type of marketing an attorney can do.

It’s better because it lets you communicate directly with past clients, prospective clients, and people who can refer, endorse and recommend you.

You can’t beat the price, the ease of use, or the speed with which email can produce results. A simple click and in a few minutes or a few hours, a new client could sit across from you, filling out paperwork and writing a check.

Why do some people say email marketing doesn’t work? Because they haven’t done it right, or done it at all.

Email doesn’t work when the emails are poorly written, uninteresting, or fail to tell readers what to do next.

Email doesn’t work when sent to people who haven’t heard from the sender in a long time and don’t remember them or never knew them, e.g., spam, and people who don’t need or want legal services or know people who might.

Email doesn’t work if the emails don’t get opened because they lack a compelling subject line.

Email doesn’t work when they don’t give readers a reason to respond or don’t carry a sense of urgency.

Email doesn’t work when emails are sent too frequently, or, more likely, not frequently enough.

And, for a lawyer, email doesn’t work when it lacks professionalism and trustworthiness, e.g., they make the lawyer look silly or desperate.

On the other hand, when done right, email marketing is one of the best kinds of marketing a lawyer can use.

Done right means building an opt-in list, staying in touch with the list, and providing value to your readers.

That’s good news because you can do that without breaking a sweat (or your bank account).

Your email may be brief. You don’t need to write every day. You just need to say enough, and often enough, to stay in the minds and mailboxes of people who can hire or refer you, and give them reasons to do that.

Here’s how to get started:

How to make your phone ring

Filed Under: Email, Marketing legal services, Newsletters

A simple way to start using email marketing

November 12, 2024 by David M. Ward

You know a lot of people who could hire you (or hire you again), share your content, or send you referrals. You have their email address and would like to stay in touch with them, but you don’t want to look like you’re hungry for business. Or you don’t know what to say.

What can you do? Send them a “thank you” email.

Thank them for being your client, colleague, or friend. Don’t ask for anything, just say thanks.

Thanking your clients and contacts can:

Build trust and foster loyalty
Make them feel important
Reduce “buyer remorse”
Remind them you are still available to help them (or someone they know)
Encourage them to think about you and perhaps visit your website or call to ask a question

In other words, saying “thank you” is good for business.

And what could be simpler than thanking people for their patronage or friendship?

Your email should be short, informal, and from you, not your firm.

You can make it more effective by mentioning something about them, their case, their business or family, your last meeting or conversation, or by simply addressing them by their first name.

NB: Mention their first name in the subject line and you should get more “opens”.

If you want, you can do more. You can encourage them to connect with you on social media, for example, ask them about their new product or project, or tell them about your latest article or upcoming event. Or invite them to sign up for your newsletter or subscribe to your blog.

Or you can save these for your next email, and yes, there should be a next email, but you don’t have to think about that right now—for now, sending a thank you email is enough.

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Email

It’s easy to mess this up (and easy to fix)

July 18, 2024 by David M. Ward

Look at the multitude of emails in your inbox. Without opening each email, can you tell who sent it?

If you recognize the name of the sender, or other identifying information appears in the “subject,” you probably do. If you don’t, what do you do?

Do you open the email and read it to find out who sent it? Do you delete it? Or mark it as SPAM and then delete it?

Ah, but if you delete it, you might miss something important. If you mark it as spam, this will hurt the sender’s “reputation” in the eyes of email service providers, and affect their email deliverability rate.

Why should you care? Because the same thing can happen to you if you do the same things they do.

Recently, I signed up for a newsletter from a reputable company I wanted to hear from. I got their welcome email, followed by several follow-ups.

So far, so good.

Then I got an email from the same company, but the “sender” was a different person. I didn’t recognize their name and deleted it.

A few days later, I got another email from someone else at the company whose name I also didn’t recognize.

And this continues.

It’s annoying and I’m “this close” to unsubscribing, in which case, everyone loses.

Don’t let this happen to you.

Send your email to clients, prospects, subscribers, and colleagues with your name as the sender. Not your firm’s name, not the name of someone else in the firm.

You.

Recipients see your name, recognize it, and let you into their inner sanctum (if they deem you worthy).

Problem solved.

Email is a personal medium. A sender and a recipient. And through that process, a relationship begins. As you nurture that relationship, it gets stronger, providing your recipient with additional value and information, eventually leading to new business for you.

If you send your email from different names, people get confused about who’s contacting them and that relationship often never develops.

Make it easier on yourself and your recipients by sticking with one sender’s name. Ideally, yours.

Email marketing for attorneys

Filed Under: Communication, Email, Newsletters

When should you publish (and how often)?

June 19, 2024 by David M. Ward

What are the best days for you to publish blog posts or other content? Which days get the most “opens,” sign ups, forms filled out, clicks and engagement?

Check your stats.

You might find that Tuesday gets far more opens than other days of the week, in which case you should consider making Tuesday your publication day.

But, there’s a problem. You typically need enough subscribers to see enough of a statistical variation to matter, and most lawyers don’t.

If your list is relatively small, other factors besides the day(s) of the week can affect opens and other metrics. So which day(s) you publish might not be important.

How often you publish is another story.

Publishing once a week will bring better results than publishing once a month. The more often you show up in their inbox, the more your subscribers will get to know you. If they like what you write, they will read most of your messages, look forward to them, and act on them.

So, publish as often as possible.

Once a week is good. Depending on your market and practice area, two or three times a week, or even every weekday as I do, is (usually) better.

It allows you to build a relationship with your readers, and that can make all the difference. It’s better to have 100 subscribers who like and trust you than 10,000 who aren’t sure who you are.

Won’t you get more opt-outs if you publish more often? Probably. But you’re not writing a newsletter for everyone who happens to be on your list. You’re writing for the ones who love you and can’t get enough of you.

The ones who read you because you teach them things they need or want to know. Because you inspire them, give them ideas, make them laugh, and otherwise lighten their burdens and make their life better.

You don’t have to write brilliant or lengthy articles or posts, or give away the store. You simply need to provide value and publish often enough to stay in your subscribers minds and hearts.

How to write an email newsletter that builds relationships

Filed Under: Email, Newsletters, Relationship marketing

Common sense email marketing

June 18, 2024 by David M. Ward

Everyone gets unsolicited email and I’m no exception. It’s usually from complete strangers but sometimes it’s from people I know (or knew), who apparently believe that because I know them, or subscribed to their list at some point or bought something from them in the past, it’s okay to continue to send me offers even though I opted out or never opted in.

It’s not okay. It’s annoying, and doesn’t make me want to do business with them. No matter how attractive their offers might be.

Why do they go to the bother? Because they get enough response to their offers to be profitable and not enough complaints to deter them.

Word to the wise. Don’t be that guy. Don’t send unsolicited commercial email, even if it works.

For one thing, it may violate the rules of professional conduct and anti-spam laws in some countries.

It’s okay to send a personal email to someone you don’t know, inquiring about or inviting them to something you have reason to believe might interest them, but don’t sign them up for your newsletter or put them on an email list.

But also don’t be that guy who refuses to offer free information (or services) because you don’t want to be tarnished with the same brush as those spammers. Offering free information or services to people who ask for it is not only a respectable way to market your services, it’s a great way to market your services.

It can help you get more inquires or leads, more sign-ups for your seminar or followers for your channel, help you build a bigger and more responsive mailing list, and bring you a lot of new clients.

Just use a little common sense. And treat people the way you’d like to be treated.

Always tell people what you will do with their email when they sign up, e.g., subscribe them to your newsletter or send them your report, and also what you won’t do, e.g., spam them or sell their email address to third parties. Tell them you respect their privacy and they can opt out at any time.

Your prospects and clients will respect you for respecting them, and reward you for it.

Email marketing for attorneys

Filed Under: Email, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing

How often should you email your newsletter list?

April 22, 2024 by David M. Ward

More often than you think. Because you (probably) think that if you email “too often,” you’ll annoy them and they’ll unsubscribe.

That’s true for some people. But not all.

In fact, the people who need your help the most, and are arguably more likely to hire you, typically want to hear from you more often, not less.

On the other hand, people who signed up to get your free report and aren’t really interested in your newsletter (or your services) might not like it if you email often and may leave.

That’s okay. They weren’t a prospective client. Just a subscriber. And subscribers come and go.

But things aren’t always black and white.

Many subscribers are interested in your services, but aren’t ready to hire you and may not be for a very long time. You don’t want to push them away; you want them to stay on your list until they eventually hire you or refer you.

But I wouldn’t worry about it. If you provide valuable and interesting information in your newsletter, things usually take care of themselves.

So, choose the frequency that feels right to you.

Consider your market (business or consumer) and the length and complexity of your newsletter. Does it require research or are you having a chat with the folks?

Most of all, consider how often you can comfortably publish so you can keep doing it.

For most attorneys, a short email once a week is about right.

Email Marketing for Attorneys

Filed Under: Email, Newsletters

How can I increase my email open rates?

March 8, 2024 by David M. Ward

We’re not talking about emails sent to clients who (one hopes) open everything from you because it might be important. We’re talking about your newsletter or promotional emails, because, let’s face it, a significant percentage of your subscribers don’t open these.

Guess what? It’s okay if they don’t. What’s important is that they regularly see your name in their email inbox because each time they do, it reminds them you’re still available to help them if they need help (or know someone who does).

When they do need help, they’ll go find an email from you, get your contact information, and call or write (or pass it along to someone who needs help).

Sure, it’s better if they do open and read your email. That’s how you build value with readers, engage with them, and get them to learn more about what you do and how you can help them. But seeing your name regularly, consistently, is most important.

Unfortunately, many of your subscribers won’t see your name in their inbox. And that’s a problem.

If you send your newsletter from your computer’s email software, your IP address can get blacklisted for sending too many identical emails. If you use a commercial email provider (with a good reputation), however, you shouldn’t have that problem.

But, even if you do use a trusted email provider, your messages can still wind up in SPAM (or, in some cases, never delivered) if you use certain words in the email subject line typically used by spammers, or include too many images or links in the body of your messages, which can also trigger spam filters.

Note to self: use a commercial email provider to deliver my newsletter. Don’t include too many images or links.

Hold on. Even if your message doesn’t land in your subscribers spam folder, if they use Gmail, it might wind up in their “promotions” folder, which they might rarely open. It’s a common problem. Make sure you tell your new subscribers to add your email address to their contact list and this will minimize that problem.

Okay, a few best practices (and some common sense) should help you get more subscribers to see your message. And while that should be your top priority, you also want them to open and read your messages. That’s how you deliver value, show them what you do and how you can help them, engage with them, and present a call to action (e.g., contact you, fill out a form, share your content, etc.) which they probably won’t do unless you ask.

Okay, you’ve got those emails delivered. How do you get them opened and read?

The simplest way to is to use better subject lines. Motivate recipients to open your message by offering a benefit for doing that. Promise (or imply) they will learn something interesting or useful—how to solve a problem (or avoid it), for example.

Or make them curious about what’s inside your message.

You can also get more opens by keeping your promises. Deliver the information or other benefits mentioned in the subject line in this week’s email and your subscribers will be more likely to open next week’s.

For more about getting your emails open and read, check out my course on email marketing for attorneys

Filed Under: Email, Newsletters

Make it personal (even if it’s not)

February 29, 2024 by David M. Ward

Thousands of people are reading these words right now, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s just you. When I say something or ask a question, I’m not asking or speaking to everyone.

Just you.

If you want to get more people listening and reading, more people responding, sharing, and liking what you write (and ultimately hiring or referring you), you should do the same.

When you write, write to one person. Not “everyone”.

Even if you’re writing a blog post or newsletter article, or speaking from the stage—even on social media. Write or talk to one person. Don’t call for a show of hands, don’t address everyone in the aggregate, don’t say, “I’m wondering what y’all think about this?” And whatever you do, don’t say “Hey gang!” (my personal pet peeve).

As far as your listener is concerned, there’s nobody else there. Don’t bust that bubble, however fictive it might be.

They’re sitting in their office chair or propped up in bed, reading your words or listening to your voice, and for a moment, hearing a personal message from a friend. When you speak in the collective, it puts distance between you and the reader. Communication is most effective when it is personal.

So, make it personal.

That also means writing from your perspective, not “for the firm”. Tell the reader what you think about the subject, what you did yesterday, what you plan to do later today. Tell them to call you, not “the office”.

“Talk” to them as though you were sitting together, having a chat. Because, virtually speaking, you are.

How to write an effective blog

Filed Under: Communication, Content creation, Email, Newsletters

Be brief

December 21, 2023 by David M. Ward

At a time of diminished attention spans and lists of things to do as long as their arm, most people don’t have time to watch your lengthy presentation or read your lengthy article, blog post, or email. If you want more people reading more of your content (and you do), keep it brief.

As short as necessary and no longer.

In your core work as advocate, advisor, or draftsman, say as much as you need to say to do your job. For marketing and client relations, say less.

This doesn’t mean writing less often. Actually, if you’re trying to build and strengthen relationships with clients and prospects and professional contacts, you should write more often.

Once or twice a year or “once in a while” isn’t enough to keep your name in front of people.

Good news. Shorter content is quicker to write so you can write more often.

Yes, SEO favors longer articles and posts, and longer sales letters and pages tend to pull higher response, but for a busy lawyer, your top priority should be to get something out the door and into the hands of readers and followers.

As often as possible.

You can also write longer articles and reports, do longer videos and presentation, but make those extra.

Shorter content, published more often, should be your thing.

If you’re using email (and you should), here’s everything you need to know

Filed Under: Blogging, Content creation, Email