Maybe you need a new box

October 15, 2019 by
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“Think different,” Apple used to say in their ads. Today, everybody tells you to “think outside the box”.

Maybe you’ve tried that. You’ve tried coming up with different ways to promote your services but you’ve run out of ideas.

Maybe you need a new box.

Instead of promoting yourself or your services, aka your box, how about promoting something else. Something you don’t promote now. Something that’s not you.

Like a book.

Write and promote a book and let the book promote your services.

With your book in hand, you can do things you may never have considered regarding your services.

Like cold calling someone to tell them about your new book and offering to send them a review copy.

Like advertising your book, maybe even at a discount (egads!)

Like setting up a table at a trade show and selling your book.

Like conducting a contest and giving away copies and cash prizes.

And other things you wouldn’t be caught dead doing as a lawyer.

As an author, you can do these things (or hire someone to do them), because these things are normal in the world of books.

It’s a different box.

So, when people hear about your book, they want to hear more about you.

Bloggers hear about your book and want to interview you.

Event planners hear that you’re an author and want you to speak at their event.

Your book gets reviewed or mentioned and people visit your website to learn more.

People read your book and want to talk to you about their case or issue.

So, there’s your new box. Write a book (it’s a lot easier than you think) and self-publish it (also easier than you think), and start promoting that sucker.

If you want some help, let me know.

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan Tagged With:

Are you an authority? You could be.

July 25, 2019 by
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Are you better than other attorneys in your practice area or market?

Better than some? Better than most? Does it matter?

Yes, it matters. Better clients prefer to hire better attorneys and they’re generally willing to pay more to get them.

But how do they know you’re better?

If you have 20 years experience, clients usually see you as better than attorneys with only two years experience. If you’ve won some big verdicts or have an office on “attorney row,” clients tend to see you as the better choice.

When you look successful, people see you as an expert, an authority in your field. They tend to trust you and value you more.

Brain scans confirm that people process information coming from authorities differently than from other sources. That’s why success breeds success.

What if you don’t have a long track record or a big office? What can you do to get prospective clients (and the people who refer them) to see you as an authority?

Positive reviews help. So do testimonials and endorsements from influential people in your niche.

Get ’em and feature them on your website and your marketing materials.

Public speaking helps, probably because so many people fear it. Do what you can to get in front of a room a few times and add this to your bio.

Finally, one of the best ways to be perceived as an authority is to publish a book. Authors are author-ites, so get to scribbling.

Give people reasons to see you as an authority and more people will see you as the better choice.

Want help writing and publishing a book? Contact me

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A book is just a bunch of words

February 26, 2019 by
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You need to write a book. It’s one of the best things you can do to market your practice.

The odds are, you already know this. The odds are you don’t think you have enough to say to fill a book, or you don’t have the time or talent to write it.  

But you do. Because a book is just a bunch of words and you wrangle words for a living.

One way to write a book is to take things you’ve already written and stitch them together.

Blog posts, articles, white papers, reports–they’re all fodder for a book.

Five or ten chapters, exploring themes related to your work, illustrated with stories and examples from your practice, and congratulations, you have a book. 

Another way to write a book is to sit down and write it. Or record it.

Could you speak about your practice area for an hour? Do it. Speak, record, transcribe, and you’ll have the makings of a book.

Or, have someone interview you for an hour or two. I was interviewed by an attorney and turned that into a book. I interviewed an appellate attorney and turned that into a book.

You can, too.

Your book doesn’t need to be a tome. Your book could be as little as ten or twenty-thousand words. You could crank that out in a few weekends.

You don’t need to be a brilliant writer. You don’t need to have a publisher. And you don’t need to spend months or years turning out a bestseller.

But you do need a book.

How I turn interviews into books

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Writing Tagged With: ,

Print books are no longer king but they’re still royalty

August 9, 2016 by
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I started converting some of my Kindle books into print and they’re selling well. When you publish your book, you should also publish a paperback version, not just to serve buyers who prefer print but so you will have copies to hand out.

Keep a stack in the office to give to new clients. Keep a copy or two in your briefcase, and more in your car, so that when you meet someone who wants to know what you do you can let your book show them.

When a prospective client is considering whether to hire you or another lawyer, you don’t need to do anything to convince them to choose you. Give them a copy of your book and let your book show them why you are the best choice.

Books based on expert interviews are easy to write but they are only a first step. You also need a book that encapsulates your knowledge and wisdom and tells your story. Fortunately, this kind of book is also easy to write.

In The Easy Way to Write a Book, I said that one way to do this is to ask a friend to interview you. You could also interview yourself. Make a list of topics and record yourself speaking about them. In an hour or two, you could have the first draft of your book done.

If you want to agonize over it and take months to write the perfect book you can do that, but we both know that you probably won’t. Better to knock out something this weekend and start using it.

In fact, that’s my challenge to you. Write the first draft of your book this weekend. In an hour, you can dictate 10,000 words or so, which is enough for a short Kindle book. If you want more, go for another hour. But get the thing done.

The Easy Way to Write a Book

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Writing Tagged With: ,

I’d like to interview you for a book I’m writing

August 8, 2016 by
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Imagine getting an email from someone who says they want to interview you. They’re writing a book and want to feature you in it–your ideas, your words, your story.

Interested?

I know I would be. So would lots of professionals and business owners and successful people. The kind of people you would like to meet and network with. The kind of people who can send you referrals and introduce you to other centers of influence in your niche market or community.

I just released a new Kindle book that can help.

It’s called, The Easy Way to Write a Book: How to Use Expert Interviews to Quickly Write a Non-Fiction Book–Even if You’ve Never Written Anything Before.

It tells the story of how I wrote and published a book based on an interview I did with appellate attorney Steve Emmert which I told you about last week. It shows you how you can use the same method to write your own book.

Your book can be a great marketing tool for you. If nothing else, it can bring traffic to your website from prospective clients and the people who can refer them.

By the way, not only is this an easy way to write a book, it’s also one of the quickest. I was able to do the interview, write and publish the book, in less than 8 hours.

But you don’t have to write a book if you don’t want to. You can use the approach in the book to interview professionals and business owners for blog posts, articles, or a podcast.

The book is only .99 cents right now. Here’s the link.

(If you’re outside the US, search for the title in your Kindle store ).

Let me know if you have any questions.

The Easy Way to Write a Book

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Get my book free on Kindle

August 4, 2016 by
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You may recall that I interviewed appellate attorney Steve Emmert and published that interview as a Kindle book. In the interview, we talked about how he built his “appellate only” practice at a time when other attorneys told him that was not impossible.

He explained what he did to defy the odds and become the top appellate attorney in his market. He offered advice for attorneys who want to start an appellate practice or take theirs to the next level.

Of course, we also talked about marketing and much of what he does is applicable to marketing any practice area.

If you haven’t read “How to Build a Successful Appellate Practice,” for the next few days you can get a free copy here (Note, you don’t need a Kindle device to read Kindle books.)

I’m giving the book away because I have another book coming out about how I conducted the interview and turned it into a book. It shows you how to use “expert interviews” to quickly write and publish a book and use it to promote your practice.

I’ll let you know when the new book is available. In the meantime, get your copy of How to Build a Successful Appellate Practice.

 

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services Tagged With: , , ,

How to write your first book (or your next book)

October 22, 2015 by
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Admit it, you know you’d love to write a book.

You’re smart. You know that being an author will look great on your bio. You know that a book can bring traffic to your website and prospects for your practice. You know that having a book can help you acquire new business contacts and referral sources and open doors to many other marketing opportunities.

But you haven’t written a book because you don’t know what to do and you don’t think you have the time.

So it’s on your “someday” list.

Forget that. Let’s get your book done in the next few days.

How? I gave you the answer yesterday, when I announced my latest book, “How to Build a Successful Appellate Practice.” If you read the book, you know that the quickest and easiest way to write a book is to not write one at all.

I “wrote” this book in a few hours by interviewing an expert. I asked questions, he answered, and 90% of the book was done. I added an introduction and summary, which were taken from the interview, and my bio with links to my website.

Done and done. Bada bing, bada boom.

It’s a short book, but a good book. Solid information presented in an interesting way.

And you can do the same thing. You can use the interview method to write your first book, or your next book.

Then, promote the book and let the book promote you. Tell everyone you know about your book. Post it as a pdf on your website. Give it away to clients and prospects. Your book provides them with helpful information and shows them that you know important people, reinforcing the notion that you too are important.

And, in case you haven’t figured it out, the person you interview will also promote the book. Proudly. They’ll tell everyone about it, and thus, tell everyone about you.

In “The 30 Day Referral Blitz” I told you about the many ways you can use a report to grow your practice. If you haven’t read that, you owe it to yourself to do so immediately. But as good as a report is, a book is even better.

So here’s your homework.

Call an attorney you know in another practice area, one that complements yours. If you handle personal injury, for example, call someone who does workers compensation or Social Security disability.

Then, interview each other, and turn the interviews into books. You’ll thank me later.

Get “The 30 Day Referral Blitz” here

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Writing Tagged With: ,

How to build a successful appellate practice

October 21, 2015 by
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When I was a brand-new, wet-behind-the-ears attorney, I had a case that went up on appeal. I wrote the brief and argued it before the state appellate court. I lost, but I thoroughly enjoy the experience and remember thinking it would cool to have an appellate-only practice.

I never achieved that, but I recently interviewed an attorney who did.

Steve Emmert is a Virginia attorney who built an appellate-only practice when other lawyers told him he couldn’t. He went on to become one of the most successful appellate attorneys in the Virginia.

This morning, I published a short Kindle ebook with the complete transcript of that interview. You can download it for just .99 cents, or free if you have Kindle Unlimited.

And you should download it, even if you don’t do appeals or have no interest in doing so.

In the interview, Mr. Emmert shares advice for building a successful law practice that applies to any practice area. Go look at the sales page and you’ll see what I mean.

Please let me know that you downloaded the book, and please leave a review. And if you know any appellate lawyers or lawyers who would like to have an appellate practice, please tell them about the book.

But there’s another reason why you should grab this book. You will see how easy it is to turn an interview into an ebook, something every attorney should do.

A book like this can bring traffic to your website. It can bring you new clients and new referral sources. It can lead to new speaking and networking opportunities, and it can help you build your list.

In fact, I’m writing a book on how to that. (Stay tuned).

Get How to Build a Successful Appellate Practice

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