Whether expressly forbidden by ethical rules or just inappropriate for a professional practice, attorneys can’t do many of the things a retailer can do to bring in business.

Like have a sale or special promotion. Or an army of affiliates.

But don’t you sometimes wish you could?

Actually, there is a way. All you need to do is create a product you can sell to the people in your target market.

A book or audio course. A set of forms or checklists. A do-it-yourself kit.

Take your expertise and turn it into a product. Not only can it bring you more clients, it can become an additional source of income.

You have a body of knowledge that people are willing to pay for, don’t you? Your expertise is valuable. Take a portion of that knowledge and “product-ize” it.

It could be a $5 ebook or a $5,000 8-week seminar. It doesn’t matter. Anything you can offer to the market place will do. Promote that, not your services, and watch your traffic and leads grow.

Now before you say, “it won’t work for my practice,” (you were going to say that, weren’t you?) go to your closet, get out your thinking cap, and put it on your head.

What’s that? You don’t have a thinking cap? No problem. I can get you one wholesale. Just need to find my affiliate link. . .

If you have trouble creating something your prospective clients would buy, find something that’s already available and sell that. Someone else’s book perhaps (e.g., an expert in a related field, a consumer advocate), or even a product.

You could even sell t-shirts if you wanted to. The trick is to tie it to a cause. Find something you’re passionate about (literacy, rain forests, cure for cancer) and donate the proceeds to an appropriate charity. They get the money, you get the customer list.

Anyway, don’t be so quick to dismiss the idea. If you can make it work, it would open up all kinds of marketing possibilities.

Yes, check with your bar association to make sure. We know how fussy they can be. They may claim that because the purpose of selling your book or widget is to bring in clients, the same ethical restrictions apply. Argue it, if you can. Find a way around it.

And stay tuned. Next week, I’m having a sale on thinking caps. You’ll want to stock up.