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Looking for ideas for your newsletter or blog? Here are 3 places to find them

January 13, 2021 by David M. Ward

Where do you find ideas for writing interesting and relevant posts your clients and prospects look forward to reading?

Here are 3 “can’t fail” places:

1) Books

I know, you already read plenty. But if you only read about the law, or you only read short articles you find online, you’re missing out on an opportunity to create superlative content.

Read more books and talk about the ideas you learn.

Read history, philosophy, and books about business (even if you target consumers). Read books about important subjects, written by smart and accomplished people with interesting information and stories.

If it interests you, it will interest many of your readers.

Entrepreneur Patrick Collison said, “You could try to pound your head against the wall and think of original ideas or you can cheat by reading them in books.”

2) Posts written by your colleagues

Other lawyers are writing about subjects that interest their clients and prospects. There’s a good chance those same subjects will interest yours.

Read the blogs and newsletters written by professionals in your niche. Read what lawyers, accountants, consultants, and other experts are writing about and use their ideas to create your own content.

If you handle estate planning, read blogs written by other estate planners, even in other jurisdictions. Read tax experts, divorce lawyers, financial planners and others who sell to or advise the people you target.

Agree or disagree with them, amplify their article with examples from your own experience, quote them and link to them if you want, or simply use their idea as a starting point to share your own thoughts on the subject.

3) News about your target market

What’s going on in your target market and with the people in it? What are people talking about, complaining about or celebrating?

Report on trends in the market, predictions, and news. Which company or industry is in an upswing, which one is having trouble? What’s expected to happen next month or next year?

Share information and ideas on consumer issues, e.g., taxes, insurance, credit, debt, etc. If you target business clients, talk about avoiding lawsuits, protecting assets, increasing productivity and profits, and bringing in more business.

Identify prominent people in the market and write about them, interview them, review their books and profile their companies, products and services.

Share news and helpful and interesting information people want to know.

3 simple ways to get ideas for content your readers want to read.

Want more ideas? Get my email marketing course

Filed Under: Blogging, Email, Newsletters, Writing

Is your email inbox other people’s to-do list?

December 2, 2020 by David M. Ward

Many people use their email as a task list. Email comes in, they do what is requested or needed, and issue a reply. If the “ask” requires a simple reply, they do it, using the so-called “2-minute rule” (anything that can be done in 2 minutes or less should be done immediately).

But what if the email is informational and doesn’t need a reply? What do they do with the information so they can find it when they need it?

Where do they record what was requested or done? Where do they keep notes about the case or a list of what to do next? And what do they do with email that can’t be handled with a quick reply?

Clearly, email is not a good task manager or a good place to store notes. Use apps that are designed for those purposes.

Keeping a to-do list and notes separate from your email (and postal mail) allows you to record a transactional time-line you can review, along with your thoughts and ideas and a list of what to do next.

Keeping those functions separate also provides you with a buffer of time to consider the request or information, and your response or next action.

Keeping to-dos separate from email helps you to be proactive instead of reactive. You decide what’s best and most important to you at any given time and do that, not necessarily what was asked of you in the morning mail.

Check out my ebook: Evernote for Lawyers

Filed Under: Email, Productivity

My desk was clean and now it’s cleaner

November 20, 2020 by David M. Ward

I like a clean desk (and computer desktop). I find it easier to focus when the only thing in front of me is whatever I’m working on. I also like the aesthetic of a clean workspace. The lack of clutter has a calming affect on me and I work better that way.

Up until recently, the only things on my desk were the monitor (attached to an arm so it can be moved out of the way), 2 small speakers, a microphone (attached to an arm clamped to the side of the desk), my keyboard and mouse, and a large pad under the keyboard and mouse. I have a pair of headphones hanging from from the side of the desk.

A few days ago, I was looking at the green power light on one of the speakers when I realized that I rarely use those puppies. I almost always use headphones, for a more immerse experience. Well, as quickly as you can say, “Objection, your honor,” I unplugged the speakers and removed them.

Better.

Everyone has their own thang. That’s (one of) mine.

What’s my point? I have two, actually.

The first point is to suggest you unclutter your desktop if it isn’t already. Try going Spartan for a week or so and see how it feels.

You may prefer a modicum of clutter (or a mountain, thereof) and that’s okay, too. But at least give “lean and clean” a try.

But that’s not my main point.

My main point is to prove to you that when it’s time to write your newsletter or blog and you don’t know what to write about, don’t worry–you can write about anything.

Like I just did.

What to write about in your newsletter or blog

Filed Under: Blogging, Email, Productivity

Don’t know what to write about? Here’s what to do

October 23, 2020 by David M. Ward

When you’re out of ideas to write about in your blog or newsletter, there’s no need to panic.

You can write about almost anything.

Let’s say you’re in the market for a new computer. You’ve looked at the options, compared brands, found answers to lots of questions, and made some decisions. You may have ruled out certain brands or operating systems or options. You may have chosen your next machine.

Why not write about that?

Share the story of your quest–what you went through, what you discovered, what you decided and why. And. . .

. . .use that story as an analogy for hiring an attorney.

Tell readers what to look for in an attorney, the questions to ask and the answers they should hear.

Tell them the pros and cons of different types of attorneys or different services; explain the must-haves and the nice-to-haves.

Tell them what they need to know and do to make a good “purchase” and the problems they may have if they don’t.

Show readers you understand what they want and guide them to taking the next step.

You might end your post by telling them you’re happy with your choice of computer and relieved the hunt is over and you can get back to work, because that’s what readers want in their hunt for an attorney.

Look at what’s happening in your practice or personal life. The odds are there’s something you can use in your next post.

I’ve written posts about my cats, shopping with my wife, hiring service people for our home, stories about cases and clients, things I see online, things I see on my walk, and much more.

You can, too.

You don’t need to write more than a few sentences about your experience, a question someone asked you, a video you saw, or a thought that crossed your mind.

You can write about almost anything.

How to write emails that bring in repeat business and referrals

Filed Under: Blogging, Communication, Email, Writing

How to write an effective follow-up email

October 20, 2020 by David M. Ward

“Follow-up to our call,” is not the most effective subject line in a follow-up email to someone you just met or spoke to. You want them to open the email immediately, if not sooner as my grandfather used to say.

The subject line should make them curious and/or promise a benefit, or otherwise get their attention.

Depending on the circumstances, you might use something akin to one of these:

“You asked for a copy of my xyz report–here it is”
“This [form, app, site, idea, etc.] has saved my bacon more times than I can count”
“I won’t be able to sleep tonight unless you do this”
“I was surprised when you told me this. . .”

Use humor if appropriate. And funny. (If you’re not sure, talk to my wife.)

For the body of the email, reference your conversation, thank them, and be yourself. Not your lawyer self if you can help it, your real person self.

More.

Keep it simple–one thought or question.
Keep it brief. The longer the email, the less likely they’ll be to read it.
Lots of white space. Short paragraphs and sentences, bullet points, and a smattering of bold and ALL CAPS, so they can skim or read it quickly.
Informal. You know them, now, so write like a friend or colleague.
Tell them what you want them to do. Ask for the sale, invite them to take the next step. Or tell them what you’re going to do next.
Consider using a P.S., to remind them what to do or to add something personal, eg., “Say hello to Jack from me,” or to say thank you (again).

Save your best messages as templates. Make sure to change the name of the recipient before you hit send, however. [Smiley-face goes here.]

How to market your practice with email

Filed Under: Email, Networking, Relationship marketing

Super simple way to create your next article or post

October 13, 2020 by David M. Ward

I see you. You’re sitting in front of your computer trying to come up with something to write for your blog or newsletter.

And you’re stumped.

The well is dry, you’ve got other things to do, and you don’t want to spend all day staring at the ceiling.

No, I’m not going to lecture you about keeping a running list of ideas. Instead, I’m going to come to your rescue and give you your next idea.

All you need to do is identify a book or article you read, or video you watched recently, and tell your subscribers or readers about it.

What it was about, what you agreed with or liked, or what you found lacking.

You could write about the article about taxes or retirement or insurance you just read. Tell them what you think, what you agree with and recommend, and what you plan to do with the information yourself.

If you read an article about a productivity app, you could tell them about your experiences with that app, or why you like something else better.

If you just read a bar journal article or watched a CLE video, you could mention a few salient points and tell them how you will use this in your practice.

What is your local paper writing about your community? Crime, fires, store closings? You can write about those, too.

You could write about anything. Even the post you’re reading right now.

If you represent business clients or anyone who writes a blog or newsletter or posts on social media, you could pass along your thoughts about the idea in this very article. It’s something they can use when they’re fresh out of ideas.

So, what will you write about next?

Want more article ideas? Here

Filed Under: Blogging, Email, Newsletters, Online Marketing

Ten tips for writing faster

October 6, 2020 by David M. Ward

I’ll keep this short (which is my first tip for writing faster).

Most of my posts are a few hundred words. You don’t need more than that to get my point, and I don’t want to write more than that to make it.

So there.

Lower your standards. You’re not writing literature. Tell people what you want to tell them, do a quick edit, and get on with your day.
Keep a well-stocked supply of ideas. For me, deciding what I want to say takes a lot longer than actually saying it.
Avoid (most) research. Write what you know.
Write (something) every day. You’ll get faster and better.
Schedule it. Decide when you want to write and put the time on your calendar. You’ll train your brain to accept that it’s time to write, making it more likely that the words will start flowing.
Time it. Give yourself 15 minutes to write a first draft. (30 minutes if you must.)
Learn to type faster. You can practice here
Dictate. You speak several times faster than you can type and you can do it anywhere. Editing takes longer, though.
Re-cycle. Most of your readers haven’t read or don’t remember what you wrote on the subject last year so write about it again this year.

Still think you can’t write a weekly newsletter or blog post?

Think again.

How to (quickly) write an email newsletter clients want to read

Filed Under: Email, Newsletters, Productivity, Writing

Why I email every day

August 14, 2020 by David M. Ward

Comes this question from a subscriber: “Do you notice you sell more courses by emailing every day? Just curious how effective it is.”

The answer is, “Yes, of course. That’s the point.”

It’s why I do it and why I suggest you do it, too.

You don’t have to mail every day, but the more often you do, the more products or services you will sell.

Provided you write something your subscribers want to read, meaning something they can use or something they find interesting.

I write for attorneys who want to earn more and work less. So, I write about that. If you’re interested in those subjects, and you like the way I write, you read my emails–because you want to.

The more people read your emails, the more they come to know, like and trust you. They see that you understand them and know what they want, and you develop a relationship with them, which leads to more clients or sales.

Those clients or sales come from your subscribers, from the people they refer, and from the traffic they send to your website. Because, when you write something helpful or interesting, people share it. The more you write, the more they share.

Start with once a week. Do more, if and when you want to, but don’t do less. Your competition writes once or twice a month, or once in awhile, and are soon forgotten.

When you write infrequently, people forget who you are or that they subscribed to your newsletter, and off you go to their spam file.

When they see your name in their inbox on a regular basis, however, they know who you are. Even if they don’t read everything you write, if and when they need your services, or have a referral, they know where to find you.

Okay, I have time for one more question. . yes, the guy in the back row who desperately needs a haircut . .

“If you write too often, don’t people un-subscribe?”

Sure. For a lot of reasons. But they un-subscribe for a lot of reasons even when you don’t write often.

Don’t worry about the ones who don’t stick or don’t hire you. Write for the ones who do.

I don’t have a massive email list. And a lot of my subscribers come and go. It doesn’t matter, because the ones who come and stay are the ones who buy and refer.

I get most of my business through email. You could, too.If you want to know how, sign up for my Email Marketing for Attorneys course.

Filed Under: Email, Newsletters