Marketing legal services Archives - Page 21 of 131

Your better-than-ideal client

January 19, 2022 by David M. Ward

If you’re writing or updating the description of your ideal client, you might want to add an additional factor that might make your ideal client even better.

That factor: they’ve hired or worked with attorneys in the past.

People who have hired attorneys usually understand the need and the cost, as well as the process that ensues after they hire them. You don’t have to work hard to persuade them to hire an attorney, you only need to persuade them to choose you.

Okay, but:

How do you find them?
How do you persuade them to choose you?

I’ve covered the second question before and will do so again. Right now, a few thoughts about the first question.

One way to find people who have likely hired attorneys before is to network and speak to groups whose members or clients typically use attorneys. Rental property owners, retailers with collection accounts, homeowners associations, hospital boards, to name a tiny few.

Look at the groups your (ideal) clients belong to. Do they have local events you can attend? Are they looking for speakers? Do they have publications or blogs you can write for or advertise in?

You could also do PPC ads with keywords (and copy) slanted to appeal to members of those types of groups. If you do direct mail, you can rent lists of people who belong to those groups.

You could also rent lists of litigants, gleaned from public records. People who have sued or been sued are statistically more likely to sue or be sued again.

A great way to find prospective clients who have experience working with attorneys is via referrals.

Attorneys who don’t do what you do, or do but have a conflict, can be an excellent source. They can identify clients who are “between” firms and actively looking for a new one, and clients who have legal issues that are a good match for you. When they introduce and recommend them to you, those clients are more likely to trust you and less likely to keep looking.

Accountants, business consultants, and financial professionals have clients and contacts who have worked with attorneys and are also a good source of referrals.

Start by identifying attorneys by practice area who are likely to have clients or contacts who have worked with attorneys (or otherwise quality as “ideal clients” for you). Find out what you can about them and approach them to see if you can work together.

What’s the best way to find these attorneys and other professionals? What’s the best way to approach them? And, most importantly, how do you get them to send you referrals?

I’ve laid out the entire process in my course, Lawyer-to-Lawyer Referrals.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Referrals

The most powerful word in marketing

January 14, 2022 by David M. Ward

In the app store is a relatively new productivity app for iPad that’s that’s getting rave reviews. Judging by their comments, people love what it can do, especially compared to the competition, but what they really love is that it’s free.

They gush. They praise. They can’t believe their good fortune in finding an app that does everything the competition does, arguably better, and doesn’t cost a cent.

By the way, the competition cost less than $10.

Some people said they don’t want to pay for an app. Some said the competition is too expensive. Some said they were broke and can’t afford it.

I don’t care how broke you are, you can afford $10.

Let me put it this way, if you can afford an iPad, you can afford to buy a $10 app. Especially one you just said is ‘perfect’ for you.

Alas, people get hypnotized by the word ‘free”. It’s almost irresistible, as in, “I have to have it.”

I’ll bet someone reading this right now wants me to identify this app so they can get it post haste; some of them don’t even own an iPad. (The app is CollaNote. Check it out if you like to take handwritten notes).

The lesson is that “free” is a powerful word (and concept) and you should use it in your marketing. Find or create something your target market wants and give it away. And use the word liberally in your content.

You’ll get more traffic, more subscribers and followers, more leads, and more clients.

But a word of warning.

There are people who won’t hire you or do anything that’s not free, no matter how much they need your help.

Don’t worry about them. They don’t take up a lot of space. And who knows, maybe things will change for them someday, or maybe they’ll tell people about you and they’ll hire you.

But there are also those who can pay you but have been conditioned to wait for the free (or discounted) offer.

You can’t play that game. You can’t give away too much, or do it too often, and expect people to pay full retail.

A good rule of thumb is to give away content (unless you sell this) but not your time. (If you offer free consultations, or entry level free services, put limits on them).

Yeah, that’s free advice. Don’t get used to it.

The Attorney Marketing Formula isn’t free, but it’s worth it

Filed Under: Copywriting, Marketing legal services

Making friends isn’t required

January 13, 2022 by David M. Ward

You can be massively successful in your practice without “getting to know” more people or “building stronger relationships” with the people you already know.

I’m not saying relationships aren’t valuable. They are incredibly valuable and if you are so inclined, you should regularly meet more people and strengthen your existing relationships.

But you don’t have to. You can bring in all the business you can handle, and then some, without it.

You don’t need to “do” social media. You don’t need to network or blog or podcast. You don’t need to create content or do any of the other things the cool kids are doing. You can get new clients and increase your income by simply doing a good job for your clients and treating them well.

The old fashioned ways still work.

However, if you go that route, I suggest you also employ two additional strategies. They are easy to do, don’t take a lot of time, and could multiply your results dramatically.

First on the list: stay in touch with the people you know.

You don’t have to see them in person or do anything other than contact them regularly. Email is the easiest way to do that but you could also use regular mail.

Each time they hear from you, they’ll think about you and what you do and be prompted to talk to you about new legal issues, and/or refer people to you who might need your help.

Of all the marketing strategies in existence, staying touch with people who already know, like, and trust you is about as simple (and effective) as it gets.

The second strategy is also simple, and also likely to pay huge dividends.

No matter how much you avoid seeking out new relationships, they will occur naturally. A client or contact will give you a lot of work or send you a lot of referrals, tell people about you, send traffic to your website, and otherwise do you a solid.

Give these folks more attention.

Contract them more often. Send them an article or link you think might interest them. If you have good chemistry with them, invite them to coffee or to do something with you off the clock.

They could help your practice not just grow but multiply.

Yes, I know I said you don’t have to do anything like this. You don’t need to make new friends. You don’t, but with friends like that, you might want to make an exception.

How to use email to stay in touch with people who can hire or refer you

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Newsletters, success

I don’t need the practice

January 11, 2022 by David M. Ward

I’ve done a lot of interviews and I’m looking forward to doing more. They are easy to do, bring high quality traffic to my site, and I enjoy doing them. If you’re looking for a simple and effective marketing method, interviews with bloggers and podcasters, authors and other influencers, gets my highest recommendation.

Anyway, I recently received an invitation to a one hour interview about “marketing strategies in the legal profession.”

Right up my alley, right? So why haven’t I replied to this invitation, or to the follow-up email seeking to schedule a date?

Because the person conducting the interview said she is “working with a client outside the legal profession. . . to increase our clients’ understanding of the often complex legal industry.”

That’s nice and everything, but. . . what’s in it for me?

Seriously. Why should I help you with this research project?

Will the interview be published anywhere lawyers might see it? Will I be quoted and get a link to my site? Will you compensate me in any way for my time and expertise?

Anything? Bueller?

Alrighty then. Imma need to sit this one out.

Actually, I did get something out of this. I got the opportunity to remind you that in your marketing, always tell people what’s in it for them.

Tell people why they should hire you (or let you interview them). Tell them the benefits. Tell them how will they be better off.

Even if it’s obvious.

Because what’s obvious to you may not be obvious to them. And because if you don’t tell them, or you aren’t persuasive enough, your message (like the one I just told you about) will probably wind up in the digital dumpster.

Why should anyone hire you?

Filed Under: Copywriting, Marketing legal services

Do you need more than one website?

January 6, 2022 by David M. Ward

Do you need more than one website? Most lawyers and law firms don’t. But there are several reasons to at least consider the benefits of having additional sites.

If you do PPC ads or SEO and target highly competitive keywords, having a site that’s “tuned” for those keywords could give you an advantage. If you do broadcast or display advertising for major tort cases or consumer class actions, having sites dedicated to those matters also makes sense.

If you target very different markets, financial professionals on the one hand and first responders on the other, for example, or businesses and consumers, having separate sites that provide content, testimonials, use cases and offers appropriate for those markets may also be a good idea.

The same goes for your practice areas. Your business clients might not be interested in your criminal defense work and might actually see you in a different light if those practice areas are promoted on the same site. And remember, clients prefer to hire lawyers who specialize, so keeping what you do separate from what else you do might be a sound practice.

Do you have different locations or practice in different jurisdictions? Do you target clients who speak different languages? You might want to “localize” your marketing with separate sites for each location or language.

If you want to test special offers for new clients, without alienating your existing clients, maintaining separate sites is a good way to insulate yourself.

Finally, if you have more than one or two lawyers, especially in different practice areas, you might want each lawyer to have their own site in addition to the firm’s site.

That way, each lawyer can build their individual brand, post their own practice-area specific content, maintain their own blog, promote their own newsletter and social media channels, and otherwise do their own marketing, without getting in the way of anything being done by the other lawyers, or the firm.

So yeah, different websites might be just what the doctor ordered.

How to create a website that makes the phone ring

Filed Under: Increase your income, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing

Reframe and grow rich

January 5, 2022 by David M. Ward

Many attorneys are uncomfortable with marketing. Or at least certain aspects of it. They don’t like networking, writing, or talking to people about referrals. They don’t like doing interviews or presentations. They don’t like advertising, generating traffic, or buying leads.

It’s out of their comfort zone and they resist doing it.

The old saying, “Do the uncomfortable until it becomes comfortable” comes to mind, but if you can’t or won’t start, you’re never going to get there.

There are two solutions.

The first solution, instead of trying to “jump” out of your comfort zone, ease out of it. Take baby steps until you learn to walk.

Make a list of options, different types of marketing and different ways of doing them, choose one, learn all you can about it, get some help if you need it, and do it on a very small scale, until you “get used to it”.

You don’t like networking? Take a friend to lunch or ask to accompany them when they go to their next meeting. Get your feet wet in a non-threatening situation where nothing is expected of you other than showing up.

You might find you don’t hate it as much as you thought and can eventually take the next step.

You don’t like talking to people about referrals? Try writing a letter to your clients about the subject and how it helps both them and the people they refer. Don’t send the letter, just write it for now. Maybe you’ll send it later. Or maybe you’ll read one of my books or courses and find better ways to ask or ways to get referrals without asking for them.

Baby steps, baby cakes.

The other solution? Sit yourself down and have a talk with yourself.

Talk to yourself about the activity you’re resisting and why you’re resisting it. Pretend you’re talking to a parent or teacher, and tell them all the reasons you don’t want to do it. Don’t forget to pout and say, “and you can’t make me!”

And then, talk to yourself as that parent or teacher and convince yourself that you can and should.

One way to do that is to reframe the activity by changing how you think about it, or contrasting it with the alternatives.

You did that somewhat if you looked at networking as just going to lunch with a friend.

You could explain to yourself that writing a weekly email may not be something you’re excited about doing, “but it’s a lot better than going to a weekly meeting” (if that works for you).

If you don’t advertise because you see it as an unnecessary expense, think about it as a investment which could have a very profitable return. Talk to someone who advertises, see what they do, play with some numbers, and you may find a way to eliminate your resistance and get excited about the possibilities.

Maybe you hate social media. You might remind yourself that, “It’s a lot better than cold calling or sending spam emails”.

You don’t want to do any marketing, it’s all horrible? Reframe this by telling yourself it’s a lot less horrible than having no clients and being one month away from getting evicted from your office, which is where I was early in my career, before I “got religion” and saw marketing as a better alternative to losing everything.

Baby steps and/or reframing. Two ways you can do what’s uncomfortable until it becomes comfortable.

How to get referrals without asking for referrals

Filed Under: Inspiration, Marketing legal services

Spying on clients and competitors

December 22, 2021 by David M. Ward

Do you know what’s going on in your clients’ businesses? The latest good news? The latest dirt?

You should. And you can. Just set up google alerts for the business and their key people and you’ll get an email whenever something happens.

When someone gets sued, investigated, or arrested, when someone wins an award, gets married, or dies, you won’t have to wait for someone to tell you, you’ll know. You can contact your client and congratulate them or express condolences.

Do the same thing for their industries and major competitors. When you learn something your client may need to know, they’ll appreciate your telling them, even if they already know.

If you represent consumers, set up alerts for their employers, their employer’s industries, their places of worship, and their local markets.

While you’re at it, set up alerts for your major competitors, your practice area, your referral sources, and yourself. You need to know when someone is talking about you or doing something that interests you or may concern you, things that present an opportunity or a threat.

And yes, you can also get a lot of ideas for your newsletter or blog this way.

Go here and set up an alert or two. You can always remove it, modify it, or add more.

Automate your market (and marketing) intelligence. Let technology bring the information to you so you don’t have to go looking for it.

The Attorney Marketing Formula

Filed Under: Client relations, Law office management, Marketing legal services

Know thy client

December 21, 2021 by David M. Ward

I read an article in the Wisconsin Lawyer that provided “tips for writing in ways that attract the attention of search engines, readers, and new clients.”

It’s good information. And a good reminder about the importance and value of writing in building a law practice.

But that’s not why I’m telling you about it.

At the end of the article, in her “bio,” the author tells a story about one of her consulting clients who was unhappy with her advice:

A few years ago, an attorney I was working with called me to complain because one of their former clients gave them a bad online review. I had encouraged them to follow up with clients to thank them for their business and ask for reviews, so the bad review they received was, in their mind, my fault. It didn’t occur to me that I needed to tell attorneys that they should only ask for reviews from clients they suspected had a positive opinion of them. I now emphasize that you should never ask for a review you don’t want. It’s the legal marketing equivalent of the age-old advice that you should never ask a question you don’t want to know the answer to!

It seems so simple. Ask for reviews; don’t ask for reviews from clients who might not love ya.

You want reviews. You need reviews. Good reviews can bring in a boatload of clients.

Seriously.

So you should ask for reviews.

But how do you avoid bad reviews?

Simple.

Ask for reviews, but do it in stages:

Routinely send every client a form to fill out to provide feedback about you, your services, your office, etc. Include a question asking if they would recommend you to others, and why or why not.
When the client provides positive feedback and says they would recommend/refer you, ask them to post this in a review (and give them a link to the site you prefer).

Keep your enemies close. Keep your friends (and clients) closer, because you never know what they might say about you.

The Quantum Leap Marketing System

Filed Under: Client relations, Law office management, Marketing legal services, Writing Tagged With: reviews

A simple way to sell more legal services

December 17, 2021 by David M. Ward

Prospective clients need your help but may hesitate to take the next step. There are things you can do to nudge them in the right direction.

Start by prompting them to take action of any kind. Ask them to do something easy—like your post, share your link, or forward your email. Easy to do and when they do it, they’re more likely to do it again.

You might ask a question. What do they want you to write about in your next post? What did they like best about your last one? Which do they prefer, X or Y?

Maybe you ask them to subscribe to your podcast or watch your video and leave a comment. Sign up for your webinar and tell their friends, or reply and tell you if they have any questions.

You ask for little things and they do them. They get used to responding and interacting with you, which helps build familiarity and trust, and prepares them to take a bigger step.

When you ask them to call to ask questions or schedule a free consultation, or to fill out a questionnaire and tell you about their legal situation, they’ll be that more likely to do that.

But here’s the thing. When you ask, not everyone will respond.

People do what they do.

So, you need to ask again. And again. And again.

Never stop asking.

Be nice about it. Ask in different ways and at different times. But keep asking—until they buy or die.

If you keep asking, eventually they’ll take the next step.

And then you can ask them to do something else.

Email Marketing for Attorneys

Filed Under: Email, Marketing legal services

Would you hire you?

December 10, 2021 by David M. Ward

Here’s an interesting exercise. . .

Pretend you are someone else. A prospective client who’s never heard of you or what you offer.

You come across your website, presentation or other content. You read or listen. Examine the services, benefits, and offer.

Would you respond? Make an appointment? Call and ask questions?

Would you send referrals? Forward the link? Recommend the content?

If so, why? What persuaded you? If not, what stopped you?

You may not be your prospective client and you may have different standards than they do, but you can put yourself in their shoes and give yourself an objective once over.

Do you make a good impression? Are you the kind of lawyer you would want to work with?

Do you appear honest, caring, and thorough? Are you tough enough? Smart enough? Successful enough?

Do you answer frequently asked questions, show the visitor you understand their situation, and persuade them to take the next step?

Does something need to be fixed, added, or removed?

Give it a shot. Take a look and ask yourself: Would you hire you?

The Quantum Leap Marketing System for Lawyers

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Online Marketing