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It just takes one

February 14, 2023 by David M. Ward

Public speaking at industry events and conferences has long been an effective way for lawyers to build their authority and reputation.

But there are some challenges.

You can’t just waltz in and expect to be selected to speak. You have to build your authority and reputation outside of those events before you are recognized and invited (or accepted) to speak.
Being a good lawyer doesn’t mean you’re a good speaker.
You can build your reputation and authority, and an email list, through less demanding forms of content creation. Articles, a blog, a newsletter, interviews, podcasts, and the like, provide much greater exposure and many more leads. And your content will live online forever, continuing to do so.

On the other hand, speaking at a convention or industry event offers a big benefit. It allows you to put on your bio that you spoke at said event.

They invited you to speak, so you must be good at your job.

So, do it once or twice. Get yourself invited to a panel discussion or to the center stage. You’ll forever be able to say that you did this, as I shamelessly do when I mention speaking at an ABA convention.

But there is one additional benefit for speaking at these events. You get to meet influential people, which can lead to referrals, introductions, and other marketing and business opportunities.

And this should be your primary goal when you attend any event, even if you’re not one of the speakers.

It just takes one. Because if they are the right one, it can lead to massive growth in your practice and career.

How to take a quantum leap in your practice

Filed Under: Content creation, Image, Increase your income, Networking, Public Speaking

How to appear more successful than you really are

February 1, 2023 by David M. Ward

We could call this ‘Fake it till you make it 2.0.’ but you can also use this if you’re already a top gun.

You might not want to, however, because it can seem cheesy, especially if you overdo it.

I used to share an office in Beverly Hills with an attorney who represented some celebrities. I know that because I used to see them in the waiting room. Sunglasses and all.

I also know that because he had photos of some of his well-known clients on his desk and on the walls of his office, autographed to him by name. Many of these photos were “two-shots” of him with the celebrity.

The message was, “I’m good at what I do; just look at some of my famous clients.”

The thing is, not all the celebrities he posed with were his clients. Many he met at an event and made sure photos captured those moments.

And from what I could tell, his strategy worked.

Let’s face it, people judge you by the company you keep. If you represent successful people, especially the rich and famous, or even appear to know them (by being seen with them), people think you’re also successful.

Those photos are a kind of implied endorsement and mean something to many people.

But you don’t have to get photos or autographs of celebrities to achieve this effect.

When you’re at a networking event, being seen speaking to someone well-known to and well-regarded by the attendees can get you some attention, even if your conversation is just in passing. So can being seen speaking on the same panel or on the same slate of presenters.

So can some well-placed name-dropping. In person or in your content.

Mentioning the CEO of a well-known company, a famous author, or a big shot politician, by name if appropriate, or by category if it’s not, perhaps quoting something they said to you (or even something they said or wrote that resonates with you), imbues you with some of their magic dust.

The trick is to not be too obvious. Or overdo it. Because if you do, you risk appearing to be a wannabe, not a player.

Filed Under: Image, Publicity

Teach and grow rich(er)

December 15, 2022 by David M. Ward

You know the value of educating prospective clients in your target market about the law in your practice area(s), the risks, the options, and the benefits to be had working with a lawyer who does what you do.

And why that lawyer should be you.

You’re also hip to the value of educating other lawyers who don’t do what you do, because they have clients with problems they don’t handle, but you do. Those lawyers don’t always have someone to refer their client to, which is where you come in.

The easiest way to get on their radar is to provide them with information about your field of expertise. Teach them everything they need to know to spot issues and explain the risks and options. Educate them about the law and procedure and ethics, the way you would if you were teaching a continuing education class.

The more you teach other lawyers about your field, the more you will be seen as the expert they want to refer their clients to when those clients need help.

But you don’t have to create continuing education classes to do that. Create some reports and articles, forms and checklists, and other resources that speak specifically to lawyers.

What do they need to know? What do they need to ask their clients, and tell them? And make sure you tell them that you’re available to answer their questions and to speak to their clients.

Okay, I can see you nodding your head. This makes perfect sense. But there’s something else.

Wait for it. . .

You should also educate other lawyers who do exactly what you do.

What?! Teach my competition what I know? Why would I do that?

Because they can (and will) get this information somewhere and it might as well be from you.

When your competitors have a case they can’t handle, because it’s too big for them or they have a conflict or they’re too busy to take on more work, they will think about the lawyers they know and respect and refer that business to you.

As the go-to expert in your field, you’ll not only get more referrals, you’ll build your reputation and get invited to speak and publish and network with the stars.

Build a bigger practice by helping other lawyers with theirs.

Here’s how

Filed Under: Image, Referral sources, Referrals

Color or black and white?

October 10, 2022 by David M. Ward

Color helps convey mood, graphics direct the eye and explain the message, and other visual elements also have important jobs to do, which is why every website, PowerPoint slide, and email are infused with them.

And that’s part of the reason I stick primarily with black and white.

In a world of color, it’s easier to stand out when your message is black and white. The same is true of layout and other visual elements. Our minds tend to lump together things that look alike, and notice things that don’t.

If you want prospects and email subscribers to think of your email as a commercial message, “more of the same advertising and promotions” they see from every attorney, use lots of color and graphics and make things big and bold.

If you want people to open and read your email, however, make it look like an email.

The old-fashioned kind—plain text (or html that disguises urls but otherwise simulates plan text).

When we get email, the first thing all of us do is look for a reason to delete it. If it looks like an ad or promotion, there’s a good chance it’s going in the bin.

But we don’t delete personal email, at least not without reading it first.

Make your email look like an email. Personal and important. Solemn and professional. And more people will read it and pay attention to your words.

Other benefits of plain text email are that it makes your messages easier to read and less likely to go into a spam folder. It also saves time because we don’t have to find graphics, get permission to use them, and crop and position them.

Many of these benefits apply equally to a website, which is why mine is also primarily black and white.

I’m not suggesting everything you do adhere to a plain text model. It shouldn’t. But think about this idea the next time you create something to send or show folks who can hire or refer you.

How to use email to build your practice

Filed Under: Content creation, Email, Image, Newsletters

Don’t be weird

April 6, 2022 by David M. Ward

You want to be different. Stand out from the crowd. Get noticed and remembered.

That’s fine. But don’t overdo it.

Clients want their lawyer to be normal. To look and act like they expect a lawyer to look and act. If you’re too different, you might scare them off.

Nobody wants a weirdo to represent them.

Besides, while being different can help you stand out, if that difference doesn’t convey a benefit to the client, what’s the point?

People may remember you as the lawyer who always wears polka-dot bow ties or red scarves, but nobody will hire you for that reason.

You don’t have to be different to be successful. You have to be good.

Be famous for your work, your trial record, the results you get for your clients—not your sartorial choices.

Filed Under: Image

Only you

March 15, 2022 by David M. Ward

You want to stand out. Get people to notice you and choose you to represent them. But that’s not easy to do when every other lawyer in town offers the same services you do.

They also “look” like you.

They have a website with the same pages and elements as your website. They do presentations, write articles, blog posts, and a newsletter, just like you. They write and speak about the same subjects you write and speak about.

They even dress like you.

So, how do you differentiate yourself?

There’s a long answer (with a lot of things you can do) and a short answer. The short answer is, don’t worry about it, because while you may appear to do the same things other lawyers do, you aren’t the same person.

You have your own style. Your own examples and stories. Your own personality. And this will show in everything you do.

Go ahead, write the same article. Give the same talk. Because even if you make identical points, your article or presentation will be different—because your voice is different.

And, while it’s true that clients hire you and pay you for your services and the outcomes you deliver, they “buy” you before they buy your services.

In a crowded field with so many lawyers to choose from, the simplest way to stand out is to be yourself.

But it’s not the only way. Which leads me back to the long answer—how to differentiate yourself, your services, and your practice.

You’ll learn everything you need to know about how to do that in The Attorney Marketing Formula

Filed Under: Image, Marketing legal services

Show ’em

December 9, 2021 by David M. Ward

Actors carry a portfolio of headshots to show casting agents what they look like in different roles. Wedding photographers, home improvement companies, real estate agents, and other businesses keep photos of the houses they’ve sold, the kitchens they’ve remodeled, and the weddings they’ve shot.

If they can do this, why can’t you?

But how?

The practice of law is abstract. Intangible. You can’t show people photos of you doing your work?

But you can do the next best thing.

You can show photos of you on stage, giving a presentation. You can show photos of yourself on the courthouse steps, copies of articles you’ve published, and certificates or awards you’ve received.

You can create a “brag book” or section of your website dedicated to displaying third party validation of your capabilities. A place to publish screen shots of reviews, testimonials, letters of praise, success stories, and positive press coverage you’ve received.

Do you have any famous cases or clients (and permission to so mention)? So, mention them.

Do you sponsor a Little League team? Photos, please.

Have you written a book? Where’s the cover?

Do you teach CLE or serve as an arbitrator, mediator, or judge pro tem? We’d like to see you in action.

And hey, what about your personal side?

Do you like to cook? Paint? Build? Do you restore classic cars? Help out at your kid’s school?

They have nothing to do with your practice but everything to do with you, and people want to know about you.

So show ’em.

Filed Under: Image, Online Marketing

I don’t need you

December 6, 2021 by David M. Ward

I want you to hire me, sign up for my list, and tell others about me.

But I don’t need you to do any of that.

I’m doing very well, thank you, and while I work hard to keep my clients happy and coming back to me, I’ll be just fine if they don’t.

That, my friend, is the attitude you should adopt with your clients and prospects and professional contacts. That is the attitude of a successful lawyer and it will attract a lot of new business.

Now, don’t say any of this. You’ll come off as an asshat. This is about your attitude, the attitude of someone who is good at their job and knows it. A lawyer who doesn’t chase business but has business chase them.

Success breeds success, because success is attractive.

What if you’re not quite there? How do you adopt that attitude?

Use your imagination. Literally. See yourself as the person you want to be. Feel what you would feel so you can “act as if”.

And keep doing that until you are that, and more.

The success you seek, the image you want to portray, is first a state a mind, then a state of reality.

When a prospective client meets you, they want to feel like they’ve found the right lawyer for the job. Your confidence and countenance will go a long way to doing that.

But be careful. Don’t overdo it. There’s a fine line between confidence and cockiness.

More than confidence, clients want a lawyer who appreciates them, so don’t forget to take your humility pills and thank your maker for your good fortune.

And thank your clients for choosing you.

Because no matter how good you are, or how successful you are, you couldn’t do it without your clients. And they didn’t have to choose you.

The Attorney Marketing Formula

Filed Under: Client relations, Image

You’re so vain, you probably think this post is about you

November 12, 2021 by David M. Ward

You want people to know you’re good at what you do. That you’ll work hard for them, advise them, protect them, and help them get what they want, and you know how to do this because you’ve done it for many others.

But it’s hard to talk about yourself without sounding self-centered.

So, what do you do?

For one thing, whenever possible, you let others do the talking.

You share client testimonials and reviews. You share letters of endorsement from other professionals. You share articles written about you, your awards and your victories.

You let others talk about why they hired (or referred) you or wrote about you, and why they would do it again.

Let them tell the world how good you are.

Yes?

What else can you do?

You also share your own writing and recordings, which demonstrate your knowledge and experience. To illustrate your points, you cite examples from your work, showing yourself “in action,” helping people, solving problems, delivering results.

And when you do that, you talk about the client or case or other person in the story, not about yourself.

You’re still in the story. But as the narrator, not the protagonist.

Your reader will understand that you were the driving force in solving the problem and delivering the results. But the story is about your client, so let them have center stage.

You don’t have to avoid using the word “I” or hide behind the stage curtain. Your readers want to know what you think and what you did. And you should tell them.

Just don’t make the story all about you.

The Attorney Marketing Formula

Filed Under: Image, Marketing legal services, Writing

Being different without being weird

September 23, 2021 by David M. Ward

You want to stand out. Show people you’re different. Help people remember you and talk about you on social media or to their friends. You’re looking for something you can do that’s different but coming up empty.

Relax. Stop trying so hard.

You don’t have to create your own practice area or provide free pizza in your waiting room. You don’t have to do anything radically different. And you shouldn’t. You’re a lawyer, and people don’t want their lawyer to be weird.

You can be different in little ways.

I just saw a video blogger who ends his videos by telling viewers to like and subscribe, as everyone else does, but then does something I’ve never seen anyone else do. He says not to bother hitting the bell for notifications, “because honestly, you have better things to do than to look out for a notification that I’ve posted a new video”.

Small, but different.

Technically, this is bad marketing. You want your viewers/subscribers/followers to know when there’s new content for them to consume. If they don’t get notified, they may never see that new content, and that’s a lost opportunity for you to connect with them and for them to share your content with others.

On the other hand, this is great marketing.

He shows his followers that he doesn’t slavishly follow the “script” everyone else follows, and that he cares about his viewers and puts himself in their shoes.

A small difference, tiny even, but you can get a lot of mileage out of small differences.

When everyone else looks and sounds and smells the same, you don’t need to do much to stand out.

And hey, if you do serve pizza in your waiting room, don’t put pineapple on it. That’s just weird.

Get more referrals by being more referrable

Filed Under: Communication, Content creation, Image, Online Marketing