How long does it take to write a newsletter? Not long. A few minutes or even a few seconds.

A few seconds? How is that possible?

It’s possible if you re-define the meaning and purpose of a newsletter.

Your newsletter doesn’t need to be all about news or about the law. It can be a few sentences you think might prove interesting or of value to your readers.

A thought, a tip, a link to a helpful resource, a quick story, or a few words about what’s going on in your life. That’s all you need because your newsletter is merely a mechanism for staying in touch, reminding people that you’re still around and still care about them.

If your readers need more information, direct them to your website or tell them to contact you. Like I do every time you hear from me.

If you want to see examples of ten-second newsletters, and a lot more, head on over to my email marketing course so you can start using email to build your practice.

You say you’ve tried a newsletter but it didn’t work. It didn’t bring in business, it took too much time, or you ran out of things to write.

Or, you’ve thought about starting a newsletter but are worried about the aforesaid.

I see a lot of lawyer’s newsletters and there are three primary reasons why they don’t work:

(1) Too much information.

If your inbox is like my inbox, you have no shortage of things to read. Your clients and prospects are no different. So, if you send them a newsletter filled to the brim with information and articles, most people won’t read it.

And, let’s face it, you don’t the time to write a newsletter like that so you procrastinate and before long, your newsletter is “out of business”.

What if your newsletter consisted of just a few paragraphs? Something you could write in a few minutes and your clients could read in a few minutes?

Kinda like what you’re reading right now.

(2) Too infrequent/too irregular.

A monthly newsletter isn’t often enough to gain traction with your readers. By the time your next issue arrives, they’ve forgotten what you said last time. Or worse, they’ve forgotten who you are and send your message to spam.

This is a simple fix. Rather than sending a big newsletter infrequently, break it up into smaller messages and send more often. And on a regular schedule.

When you stick to a regular schedule and people only need a few minutes to read your latest message, you get more people reading your messages. Which means more people hire you (again) and send you referrals.

Which is the point.

(3) Uninteresting.

Most lawyers’ newsletters are boring. And I’m a lawyer. If I’m not interested in what you say, you can bet most of your clients and prospects aren’t either.

You have to give people something interesting to read. To do that, you have to understand your clients and prospects beyond their legal problems.

Who are they? What do they do? What are their problems? What do they want in their business or personal life?

When you understand them, you can write about them, and they’ll read every word.

When I write to you, I talk about issues that are familiar and interesting to you. I use examples from my life or practice or from other lawyers I work with or have known.

I write about things you care about and present them in an interesting way.

I can do that because I understand you. Hell, I am you. But if I wasn’t, I’d make sure I studied you.

Which is what you need to do if you want to make your newsletter interesting for your clients and prospects.

It’s not difficult. You can learn a lot about your clients by reading what they read.

When you do, you’ll never run out of things to write about.

My email marketing course shows you everything you need to know. For all the details, go to

Email Marketing for Attorneys

I’ve been yapping about how email is more effective than social media and this study proves it. If email isn’t at least a part of your marketing mix, you’re missing out.

I know, it seems too complicated. So much to learn, so much to do.

But it isn’t. Unless you make it that way.

In case you have your doubts, let me give you a very simple way to start.

You have a database of clients, right? You have their email addresses on file?

Okay, fire up whatever you use to send emails and send your clients an email that says something like this:

“I’m updating my records and I want to make sure I have your current (and best) email address. Please hit reply and let me know you got this. Thank you.”

Simple, right? What’s next?

Send them one of the following:

• Information: a link to an article you found online (or wrote): “I thought you might find this interesting.”
• News: something your firm has done recently or is about to do
• A legal tip: how to do something or avoid something
• A consumer tip: how to save money or time or get better results
• A reminder: to contact you to update their [document], to file their [document], or to call you if they have a question about [whatever]
• A story: tell them a success story about one of your clients
• An invitation: to your event, to watch your new video or read your new blog post, or to contact you for a free consultation
• A thank you: thanks for being my client, thank you for all the comments on my last post, thank you for all the kind words when I broke my leg. . .

Before you know it, the holidays will be here. Not too difficult to send an email wishing them well.

Want to know the one email that gets the highest open rate (according to other studies)? Happy birthday, emails, of course. So add this to your list.

Here’s the key: send anything. It doesn’t really matter what. What matters is that you’re staying in touch with the people who put food on your table.

When you’re ready to take things to the next level, get my Email Marketing for Attorneys course.

I found this question posted on a forum: “What’s the wrong way to write an email?”

The answer, according to someone with a sense of humor as warped as my own: “With paper and a pen.”

Actually, writing an email with paper and a pen isn’t a bad idea. It might result in a more authentic, thoughtful message since writing by hand accesses a different part of the brain.

Recent research concludes that taking notes by hand increases comprehension and memory, so there’s probably something to it.

Years ago, I wrote in a spiral notebook every morning for 15 or 20 minutes. I wrote non-stop, to suppress my “inner editor”. I became a better writer as a result.

Anyway, I thought I’d take a crack at a serious answer to the question, “What’s the wrong way to write an email?”

My first thought is that there isn’t a wrong way, there are 100 ways.

Too much information, lack of clarity or specificity, talking endlessly about yourself instead of writing about the person you’re writing to, not telling the reader what you want them to know or do, poor grammar and spelling, and the list goes on.

The answer would fill a book (or a course).

For now, I’ll limit my answer to two of the biggest mistakes I see with respect to email.

First up:

(1) Not writing one.

Whether we’re talking about a personal email or a newsletter, email is the easiest way to keep people informed, connect with them, and remind them that you’re (still) available to help them and the people they know.

If you’re not regularly using email to stay in touch with clients and prospects, you’re missing out on a simple and effective way to build relationships, provide value to clients and prospects, and grow your practice.

(2) Writing instead of calling.

Yes, email is quick and easy but there are times when it’s better to call.

When you have bad news to deliver, it’s usually better to speak to the client. The same goes for delivering good news.

And, email (or a printed letter) can never take the place of a conversation for building a relationship.

Call your best clients and professional contacts from time to time, to say hello, ask how they’re doing, and find out how you can help them.

Call and connect with on a personal level with the most important people in your life.

What’s the wrong way to make a phone call? Yep, not making it.

If you want to know the right way to write an email, go here