Marketing legal services Archives - Page 33 of 128

Maybe you should teach a class

June 17, 2020 by David M. Ward

CLE presenters don’t teach classes for the money. Why do they do it? Why should you?

Here are 6 reasons you should consider teaching a continuing education course:

It will make you a better lawyer. You’ll necessarily stay current with the cutting edge aspects of your subject.
It will make you a better presenter. You’ll learn how to craft an interesting and persuasive presentation.
It will expose you to other lawyers who take your class. This can lead to referrals, associating on cases, and other networking opportunities.
It looks great on your bio. Just being able to say you teach other lawyers in your field gives you an edge over other lawyers who don’t.
You’ll have more content for your blog, newsletter, guest posts, videos, podcasts, and seminars.
It can lead to book deals, invitations to speak on panels or sit on committees, and other opportunities to get more exposure and elevate your reputation.

So, what are you waiting for? Sharpen your pencil, and your tongue, and outline your first CLE class.

Marketing is easier when you know The Formula

Filed Under: Content creation, Continuing Legal Education, Marketing legal services, Public Speaking

Is it time to get outside help with your marketing?

June 16, 2020 by David M. Ward

The National Law Forum article, 13 Signs It Is Time to Hire an Outside Marketing Professional, offers a variety of reasons why a lawyer or firm might consider getting outside help with their marketing.

Basically, when you recognize the need, but lack the time or expertise to do the job in-house, go outside for help.

There’s some good advice here, but I’d like to differ with one of the “reasons” offered:

Marketing Takes Up More Than 15 Minutes of Your Billable Time
As an attorney, you should spend most of your time doing what you do best. If you spend more than 15 minutes per day writing and scheduling tweets, checking marketing metrics, or optimizing your blog posts, you are wasting time that should be spent researching, meeting with clients, or preparing for court. Outsource these tasks to a professional.

Of course you should have someone else handle marketing-related tasks like editing, checking stats, and the like. But that’s admin, not marketing.

Marketing means building relationships with prospective clients and referral sources, something you can’t (shouldn’t) delegate.

Marketing means strengthening relationships with existing clients, to foster repeat business and referrals. You can have your staff help you with this but you need to be at the helm.

Marketing means investing time with personal development, to improve your communication, sales and interpersonal relationship skills.

And marketing means familiarizing yourself with the elements of technical strategies, e.g., Internet, PPC ads, etc., so that if you hire someone, in-house or outside, you’ll know what you want from them and you can make sure they’re giving you what you want.

And, all of this takes time.

So, although I suggest dedicating 15 minutes a day to marketing, please understand this is just a start.

Many lawyers won’t do more more than that. But some lawyers, the ones who are good at marketing and are getting lots of new business as a result, may find it more profitable to continue doing what they’re doing and delegate more legal work.

Which is what I did in my practice. It allowed me to multiply my income and reduce my work to three days per week.

Learn more here

Filed Under: Marketing legal services

One new client

June 12, 2020 by David M. Ward

If marketing is on your mind, you’re probably thinking about ways to quickly bring in a metric ton of new clients.

We all do that. We want to go big and go fast, because we’re busy and we like to maximize our time and money.

But that kind of thinking can lead to frustration and poor results.

Because it’s not easy to do what you want to do, and it forces you to compete against some tough hombres who will show you no mercy.

I propose a different approach.

Instead of searching for the Holy Grail of marketing ideas, get quiet and think about what you can do to get just one.

Because one new client is all you really need.

How so?

If you find a way to bring in one new client, you can use that tactic over and over again, in different ways and in different markets, and get a steady stream of new clients.

If you write a blog post that brings in a new client, for example, you can re-use that post to bring in more.

You can update it and publish it again. You can re-write it and optimize the keywords for different markets. You can re-purpose it by turning it into a ebook or other lead magnet.

If you find a new client via a networking event or social media group, your own or someone else’s, you can put more effort into that event or group and get more clients.

Fish where there are fish and you’ll get more fish.

Of course, the other reason one new client is all you need is that the new client can lead you to others.

The new client can refer others. They can introduce you to professionals they know who might work with you and send you business. They can promote your event, share your content, and help you build your list by sending traffic to your site.

One new client can lead you to 100 new clients.

To get big, think small. Try lots of ideas and pay attention. When you find something that works, do it again.

You can build a big practice this way.

I built my business with email. You can, too.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services

I have the answer to your problem but you can’t have it

June 10, 2020 by David M. Ward

It’s better to have people ask you to send them information than you for you to ask them if they want it.

It’s better because when they ask, they’re raising their hand and telling you they want it and will probably consume it.

It’s also better posture for you. “Be the pursued, not the pursuer.”

So, how do you get people to ask?

My favorite way is to use a “takeaway”. Let them know what you have but don’t offer it to them.

To wit:

YOU: “I just wrote a report that shows how to [solve a painful problem]. Do you know anyone who might like a copy?”

You have something that, ostensibly, a prospective client wants but you’re not sending it to them or offering it to them. If they want it, they have to ask for it.

And they will. “Could I get a copy?”

YOU (Surprised): “Oh, well, sure. . . I can send you a link. What’s your best email address?”

If they don’t ask, they’re either not a prospect or your report title/description needs improvement.

How well does this work? Brilliantly. I’ve used a takeaway successfully more times than I can count.

It’s a beautiful thing hearing the other person (prospect or professional) ask if THEY can have a copy.

Sometimes, they’re not interested but they know someone who might be. That’s fine. They help their friend or client get information that could help them, and they do some “advertising” for you.

Sometimes, they’re not interested and they don’t know anyone.

That’s fine, too.

At least they know what you have and if their situation changes or they run into someone with a problem your report addresses, they know where to turn.

Who do you know that’s ready to take their law practice to the next level?

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Salesmanship

How to get people to remember you

May 29, 2020 by David M. Ward

You have an impressive background. You’re proud of what you’ve accomplished and when you meet people, you want them to hear all about it.

You want them to know about your practice areas. You want them to know about your big-name clients and major verdicts. You want them to hear about the benefits you offer and the reasons they should hire you or refer to you.

The problem is, they don’t care about you and if you give them a laundry list of your bona fides, they’ll remember none of them.

A better strategy is to choose one thing you want people to know and remember.

Just one.

Lead with that and leave them with that. Because it doesn’t matter what you tell people, what matters is what they remember.

Take some time to think about the one thing you want people to remember. One practice area or one story that illustrates what you do or one interesting or humorous nugget of information about yourself.

When you meet someone new, tell them the one thing you want them to remember. If they want to know more, they’ll ask.

Of course, you should do most of the asking. Find out what they do, what they need or want, how you can help them or the people they know.

Give them your card, so they can visit your website if they want to know more. Which they may do if they remember you.

In case they don’t, make sure you get their card so you can stay in touch with them.

Learn more:

How to Sell Your Legal Services in 15 Seconds or Less

Filed Under: Communication, Marketing legal services, Networking

How to use clickbait to instantly get dozens of new clients

May 27, 2020 by David M. Ward

If you’re reading this, my evil plan is working. I wrote something that made you curious and you wanted to know more.

Despite the obvious clickbait-y headline.

But my point isn’t to use trickery to fool people into reading your message. It is to illustrate the power of curiosity for getting attention.

When it comes to marketing, copywriting legend Gary Halbert said curiosity is even more powerful than self-interest.

Done right, your reader or audience “has to” know more.

How do you arouse curiosity? How do you compel the reader to open your email, play your video, or read your article?

You do it, ironically, by hinting at something that plays to their self-interest.

Mention something they care about, need or want. Give them a taste of something that will help them avoid pain or achieve gain. Add a touch of specificity that let’s them know “this is for them”.

For extra oomph, hint at something that sounds impossible or too good to be true. Make the reader “torture” themselves trying to figure out how this is done.

Example? Sure. Let’s say you’re a personal injury attorney writing a post or ad that offers a free report about increasing the settlement value of a case. You could make prospective clients curious with a headline like this:

“Injured? Free report reveals 5 easy ways to increase the value of your case (and ONE common mistake that can destroy it)”

What are those 5 easy ways? What is the one common mistake? Yep, they have to read the report to find out.

Of course, when they read the report, you make them curious to know if they have a good case (and how much it’s worth).

Yep, they have to hire you to find out.

Want to get more referrals without asking for referrals? Here’s how

Filed Under: Advertising, Copywriting, Marketing legal services, Writing

5 ways to build trust

May 26, 2020 by David M. Ward

Marketing isn’t just telling people what you do and how you can help them. Marketing requires targeting the right people with the right problems and providing them with the right message and offer.

One of the biggest hurdles is building trust.

People are scared about their legal situation and skeptical about your ability to help them. They don’t know if you’re competent, honest, or charge reasonable fees.

They may like what you say but if they don’t trust you, they often keep looking.

It usually takes time to build trust, but here are 5 ways to speed up the process:

Referrals. Prospective clients “borrow” trust from the people who refer them, thus making them more likely to hire you. Referral marketing shortens the sales process, saves time and money, and usually brings in better clients.
Content marketing. Blog posts, articles, presentations, etc., allow you to show people what you know, what you do, and how you work with your clients. This works even better when you are published by or interviewed on authority sites or podcasts or speak at industry events.
Social proof. Ask people to share your content with their friends and neighbors, colleagues, clients and customers. Get testimonials and reviews from clients and endorsements from influential people.
Free consultations. Let people sample your advice and demeanor, hear more about what you can do to help them, and get their questions answered straight from the horse’s mouth.
Build a list and stay in touch. A simple email newsletter allows you to build trust over time. It helps you get more clients, more referrals, more people sharing your content, book more free consultations, and get more testimonials and reviews.

If you want to see how to use a newsletter to build your practice, go here

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Referrals, Relationship marketing Tagged With: building trust, content marketing, Social proof

Questions are the answer

May 22, 2020 by David M. Ward

When we have a problem, we’re told not to focus on that problem but to focus on possible solutions. But we can’t do that without spending time thinking about the problem.

More specifically, asking ourself questions.

Questions like, What happened, Why did it happen, Who caused it, Who can help fix it, and especially, What can I do about it?

If the problem is a drop in business and you ask why it happened, right now your answer would no doubt include the shutdown. Many people aren’t doing anything about their legal problems now because they don’t have the money or the presence of mind to deal with them.

Is that a problem you can do something about? I don’t know, but asking THAT question might lead you to some ideas.

Asking the right questions helps us to focus on what we can do, instead of what we can’t do.

Questions like, What can I do to bring in new clients right now? What can I do to lower my expenses or increase my revenue? What can I do to set the stage for the future once things return to a semblance of normalcy?

More.

What can I do or offer that other lawyers can’t or won’t? How can I position myself as the better solution? What can I do beyond my core services to attract and engage my ideal client? How can I become better known to my target market? How can I get more traffic and build my list? Where can I get more marketing ideas?

What if you don’t like the answers? Ask more questions.

Because questions are the answer. And because asking questions is better than stewing in negative thoughts.

Where do you go to find “next level” marketing strategies? Here

Filed Under: Dealing with stress, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan

4 reasons you should read what other lawyers write

May 14, 2020 by David M. Ward

Lawyers are writers and you should make time to read them.

Read their blogs, subscribe to their newsletters, follow them on social.

See what they’re saying and what they’re doing. Here are four good reasons:

Law/legal news. Keep up with the law in your field and allied fields. Cases you need to read, proposed legislation, rules you need to know, emerging trends, etc.
Content ideas. Get ideas for your own articles and posts. Agree or disagree with them, offer your own examples, slant, predictions, etc.
Marketing and practice management ideas. Learn what your colleagues are doing to get clients and manage their practice. What marketing methods do they use? Which productivity methods do they use? Which vendors do they use?
Networking opportunities. Find lawyers with whom you can conduct strategic alliances, e.g., cross-referring, writing for each other’s blogs, interviewing each other, creating an event together, promoting each other’s content.

My challenge: Before the end of the day, find one lawyer in your field and one lawyer in an allied field; spend 30 minutes reading their blog (and taking notes), (b) follow them on social, and (c) sign up for their newsletter.

You’ll thank me later.

Build your practice with an email newsletter

Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing legal services