Attorney Blog

Legal Marketing Consultant Shares How to Write Good Pay Per Click Ad

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:00:00 EST

You know who want as a client. You and your legal marketing consultant have determined where your prospective client lives. You know enough about your client to know what search terms he or she is likely to enter when looking for you. You are ready to set up your pay per click law firm advertisement … or you will be, as soon as that ad is written. Below are some tips for writing a pay per click ad that will convert searchers who have found your ad into clients who will pay you for your services.
Three Tips for a Successful Pay Per Click Law Firm Marketing Ad
When you write your ad, it is important to:

Think like your client and answer a client’s questions. People who need your services are already engaged in a conversation. They have questions that need answering. If you answer them in your ad then you will be useful and remembered.
Make your practice stand out from the others. Explain why you are different and why you should be the law firm your reader calls.
Include a call to action. Consider offering something for free. Whether you offer a book, a report, a video, or other service, you will gain enough information to follow up with the searcher later. The searcher will remember you for the product you offered.

As with everything else you do to market your law firm, it is important to continually assess the success of your pay per click ads and to modify any ads that are underperforming. A legal marketing consultant can help you do that and help you design a comprehensive and successful lawyer marketing strategy. For more information, please call an experienced attorney marketing consultant at 703.591.9829.

Where to Place Pay Per Click Ads for Great Legal Marketing Results

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:00:00 EST

Where would you turn if you needed to hire someone? Many of us ask our friends and family, and most of us also turn to the Internet. A simple Internet search can help locate qualified professionals who are located close to home. We can often learn quite a deal about that professional and his or her business from the search results.
As an attorney, you can achieve great legal marketing results by thinking like a consumer and creating an Internet presence that helps prospective clients find you — and ultimately hire you.
How to Use Pay Per Click as Part of Your Internet Presence
Pay per click advertising systems allow you to advertise on search result pages when a user types in keywords that you have identified. Most of the major search engines currently have some form of pay per click advertising that you can use. However, as you get started with your pay per click lawyer advertising campaign you might consider concentrating on Google. Google is the highest-volume search engine. Once you see pay per click advertising working for your practice, you can consider adding in other major search engines such as Yahoo and Bing/MSN.
There’s More to Legal Advertising Than Pay Per Click
Pay per click legal advertising is an important part of your law firm Internet marketing strategy — but it’s not the only part. To learn more great legal marketing strategies, we encourage you to read a FREE chapter of our Great Legal Marketing book which is available on our website, and to call a law firm marketing consultant directly at 703.591.9829.

For Great Legal Marketing, Beware of Negative Keywords in your Groups

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:00:00 EST

Think there is no such thing as negative keywords? Think again!

Certain keywords can truly damage a legal marketing campaign. Unfortunately, attorneys new to law firm web marketing may not realize the importance of negative keywords. Controlling negative keywords prevents ads from showing where the lawyer does not want them, potentially saving the law firm money.

Specifying negative keywords helps your attorney marketing because Google and other search engines prevent your legal advertisements from showing when those words are searched. What are some examples of negative keywords to have in your accounts?

Joke
Job description
Bad
Pictures
Salary

These are negative keywords because they may show your advertisements when an individual conducts a search such as “attorney jokes” or “legal salary.” Clearly, if someone conducting a search including these words were to find your ad and contact your firm, this would be a very poor-quality lead. Therefore, negative keywords save the attorney both time and money by producing more targeted visits to your website and to other online content.

Despite the benefits of negative keywords, they should be used with some caution. Creating too broad of a list of negative keywords can greatly limit your advertising audience. Therefore, the words should be chosen carefully. The AdWords Keyword Tool is a free resource for helping to find potential negative keywords.

Clearly, negative keywords are a useful aspect to a pay per click legal advertising campaign. For more information, contact the experts at Great Legal Marketing by filling out our online form or calling 703-591-9829.

Legal Marketing Consultant: Geo-Targeting and Pay Per Click Plans

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:00:00 EST

Pay per click advertising is an excellent supplement to other forms of attorney web marketing. The strategy works by purchasing specific keywords, which then allows your advertisement to appear at the top of a search result list. In order to maximize the return on your investment, consider utilizing geo-targeting as part of your pay per click campaign.

What is geo-targeting and how does it work with legal advertising? The following is a brief overview:

Geo-targeting controls where in the United States the advertisements will appear.
The plan usually gives you a choice between several different advertising options. This includes focusing on an entire city or targeting a zip code.
Consider how far from your office you want to take on new cases, and choose your geo-targeting options accordingly.
Take the maximum location you are willing to consider and extend it by approximately 30 miles, since your target potential clients may conduct a search from outside of their home.
Choosing too broad of an area is a mistake since it will attract clients from areas outside of the range where you are seeking to work.
Selective geo-targeting is a more efficient legal advertising strategy, since it is less expensive to bid on words that are local rather than national in scope.

Utilizing geo-location techniques as part of a pay per click advertising plan will help you to attract your law firm’s ideal clients. The geo-specific pay per click ads that result can supplement other forms of law firm advertising as well. For more information, contact a legal marketing consultant atGreat Legal Marketing at 703-591-9829.

Law Firm Marketing: Understanding Conversion and Click Through Rates

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

Attorney web marketing relies heavily on the power of the written word. Maximizing the effectiveness of legal websites, blog posts, library articles, and advertisements depends on how they are written. One way of evaluating the success of these legal web marketing materials is to monitor the conversion rates and click through rates.

What do these terms mean? The following is an overview of facts about conversion rates:

Conversion rates measure the number of potential clients that go on to contact you after reading your advertisement or website description.
To achieve a higher conversion rate, make the website easily accessible, easy to navigate, and with clear instructions on how to contact you.
Wasting time writing about anything other than what the client is looking for when he finds your website will lower the conversion rate.
To have a better conversion rate, earn the clients trust by offering no obligation resources and materials.
Maximize search engine optimization for a better conversation rate. A higher Google ranking increases the odds that web users click through to your website.
Understanding your audience and writing memorable content will also improve the conversion rate.

In contrast to the conversion rate, the click through rate reports the average number of click-throughs from your web materials, expressed as a percentage. Click through rates:

Measure the immediate response of the legal advertisement.
Do not take into account the overall response, because the user could arrive at the site in another way.
Do not assure a good conversion rate.
Can be increased through a higher search engine ranking. The higher your ranking, the higher the chances your website will be clicked on.

For more information, contact the law firm marketing experts at Great Legal Marketing at 703-591-9829.

Lawyer Marketing: Committing Fully to Maximize Results

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

Committing fully to a lawyer marketing campaign is essential to the success of the firm and the overall job satisfaction of the attorney. How is this achieved? It is not as difficult as many lawyers believe.

Slowly, legal professionals are starting to recognize the importance of setting up social media accounts to interact with the law firm’s database. However, setting up the account is just the beginning of law firm marketing. The lawyer must commit fully to this strategy, and:

Post frequent updates on Facebook, including photos, links to articles, and posts about news happenings
Post regular tweets on Twitter, linking to interesting articles that would appeal to potential clients
Upload educational videos to YouTube on a regular basis that bring value to potential clients
Consistently inform the law firm’s database of the existence of these accounts, send friend requests, and ask that contacts “like” or “follow” the firm’s page

With the proliferation of the Internet, more attorneys understand the importance of maintaining a professional website. However, this site cannot simply be created and then forgotten about in order to be a successful attorney marketing tool. Too many lawyers make this mistake. What should be done?

Update the website on a regular basis with contact and law firm information
Post news articles, library articles, and answers to frequently asked questions that address the legal questions of potential clients
Create and frequently update a blog that links to the website
Include links on the website to free education materials, books, and social media accounts

These are just a few examples of how attorneys can fully commit to their lawyer marketing strategies. To learn more, contact the legal marketing experts at Great Legal Marketing. For more information, fill out our online form or call our office at 703-591-9829.

Legal Marketing: Secrets of the Successful

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

An excellent way to improve your lawyer marketing campaign is to observe others who have achieved the success that you desire to have. Often, these individuals are happy to meet with you or engage in a conversation about what it is that makes them so successful. This is a valuable resource that can be used to improve the success of your law firm.
Even where talking with other successful individuals is impossible, researching their habits is often possible using the Internet.
What are the habits and characteristics of successful entrepreneurs that can be used in your legal marketing? The following is an example of some of these traits:

They surround themselves with other successful people who love their jobs and believe in education-based marketing.
They interact with other successful people who understand the importance of social media and the Internet.
They are willing to think outside the box and be the first to try a new technique.
They are willing to break away from traditional, outdated, and boring attorney marketing techniques, such as yellow page advertisements.
They never make excuses and instead focus on how to improve.
They do not dwell on their real or perceived shortcomings or failures.
They believe that they can be successful regardless of their educational or socio-economic background.
They are not afraid to step away from the crowd and choose to be different.
They treat a law firm for what it is: a business, just like any other business in any industry. If techniques work well for other such businesses, they are willing to explore whether those strategies can be applied to a law firm.

To learn more about legal marketing, contact the legal marketing experts at Great Legal Marketing. For more information, fill out our online form or call our office at 703-591-9829.

Attorney Marketing: How to Work Smarter

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

Finding the time to devote to law firm marketing is essential to the success of a growing law firm. Unfortunately, too many lawyers fail to recognize the time that is wasted on unproductive activities throughout each day. If these incidents can be identified and eliminated, countless minutes and hours are instantly freed up for lawyer marketing.
The following are helpful tips for attorneys looking for ways to find more time for marketing without having to spend longer hours at the office.

Schedule specific times on the daily calendar devoted specifically to the law firm marketing campaign
Refrain from utilizing personal social media accounts until after the work day is over
Limit personal emails and phone calls to the extent possible
Carefully plan each day, prioritizing client tasks accordingly
Delegate tasks as much as possible, and where appropriate, to support staff
Take breaks at scheduled times and for a planned allotment of minutes
Spend time at the end of each week or month analyzing how time was used efficiently and areas that need improvement
Treat personal time as off limits for legal work, and reserve personal activities for those hours

By following these tips, the lawyer will learn to work smarter and more efficiently without requiring additional work hours. The benefit to the attorney is more time for billable work, a steady commitment to marketing and increased enjoyment of personal time outside of the office.
Successful attorney marketing strategies understand the value of time and maximize efficient use of attorney time. To learn more, contact the legal marketing experts at Great Legal Marketing. For more information, fill out our online form or call our office at 703-591-9829.

Are Law Firms Unique? Does Law Firm Marketing Matter?

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

Lawyers are not always good business people. We like to see ourselves as skilled in the practice of law, and we like to imagine that being capable attorneys is all that matters. That is just not so. Practicing law is not that different from other types of business.

A successful law firm must also pay attention to the business side of its practice, and the business side is similar to all other types of industry.
What is the Business Side of a Law Practice?
While education about the business side of a law practice is glaringly absent in most law school curricula, it is essential. Think about a few businesses that you believe to be well run, and think about whether you can incorporate those principles into your:

Client communication.
Office policies.
Law firm marketing.

How Can I Market My Law Firm Effectively?
Any good small business needs an effective marketing plan. Your law firm is no different. You need a good law firm marketing plan in place that attracts new clients and makes it clear why they should contact you. Your legal marketing campaign should set you apart from your competition and showcase your unique attributes.

The business side of a small law firm and small law firm marketing strategies are often overlooked. Yet both are critically important to the success of your firm. If you are a small law firm with five or fewer attorneys and an existing website, we invite you to contact us at 703.591.9829 to discuss the future of your business.

What Kind of Promotional Items Should I Use for Lawyer Marketing?

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

You pick up a pen from your dentist or an ice scraper from your mechanic and you may wonder whether your lawyer marketing could benefit from the use of promotional materials. Many law firm marketing campaigns could benefit from the use of promotional materials if they use the right promotional materials.

You Can Pick the Right Promotional Items for Your Target Audience

Your target audience is the type of clients you want to attract with your attorney marketing strategies. Once you identify your target audience, consider:

What types of items they use.
Whether they will use the items in public or share them with friends.
How often they will use the item.

For example, if you are a car accident lawyer, consider a promotional item that will be used in the car, such as keychain. If you practice medical malpractice law then perhaps you could provide a memo board with space for doctors’ numbers and emergency contacts that can be put up in the kitchen. The key to picking the right item is to make it useful so people don’t throw it out or forget about it.

Find Out More About Promotional Marketing and Other Forms of Lawyer Advertising

To learn more tips about marketing your small law firm, please download a FREE chapter of our book, Great Legal Marketing, and please contact us directly at 703.591.9829 to see if we can help you meet your lawyer marketing goals.

Attorney Marketing with Goods: 3 Tips for Promotional Advertising

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

Promotional advertising, like all forms of attorney marketing, is only as successful as you make it. If you give little thought to it and do not take the steps necessary to find the right promotional item and distribute it correctly, then you are not likely to be successful with your promotional advertising legal marketing efforts.

The following are three tips for effective promotional advertising that we encourage all small law firms to consider when creating their own promotional advertising campaigns.
3 Tips for Effective Promotional Advertising

Identify your target audience. Decide whom you want to provide your promotional items to and what kind of items that group might want. For example, are you providing items to a networking or referral group or directly to prospective clients?
Identify how the target audience will use the item. Where are they likely to use it? Will the item be used often and/or in a location that will make them think of you if they need a lawyer in your field?
Set the tone. What message do you want to get across and how do you want to do it? Are you trying to emphasize a specific and unique aspect of your experience, are you emphasizing your compassion, or something else?

How to Learn More About Promotional Advertising
Lawyer marketing through promotional advertising can help you get the clients you want for your law firm. If you are interested in learning more about using promotional advertising effectively for your attorney marketing purposes, then we encourage you to browse the resources available on our website and call us directly at 703.591.9829.

Tips for Turning Lawyer Marketing Blog Readers Into Law Firm Clients

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

What good is a lawyer marketing blog if your readers don’t become clients? Your blog is a critical part of your law firm marketing strategy and should be used to turn readers into paying clients. Tips for doing just that are found in this post.

To Make Blog Readers Pick Up the Phone and Call Your Law Firm, Consider:

Writing Targeted Posts. Write about what matters to your audience and your targeted demographic. Make sure your posts are short, focused, and contain appropriate keywords.
Provide Specific Actions or Tips for Your Readers.Give your readers specific steps they can take to help themselves or find out more information.
Share Useful Information. You can even provide useful legal tips. Don’t worry, you can describe how to set up a trust or file a personal injury case and many of your readers will still contact you as the expert rather than try to do it themselves.
Allow Comments. Create an online community by allowing questions and discussion.

Need More Help with Your Attorney Marketing Plan?

A lawyer marketing blog is an important part of your lawyer marketing strategy, but it should not be the only part of your marketing plan. If you are a small law firm with an existing website and are serious about improving your legal marketing strategy, please contact us at 703.591.9829. We also invite you to read a FREE chapter of our Great Legal Marketing book, available on our website.

Setting Expectations Through Law Firm Marketing

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

Setting the expectations for the services of your law firm is as simple as being clear with clients up front. They should understand how the legal process will work and when and how they can expect to communicate with their attorney. When the expectations are set in the early stages of client representation, such as through attorney marketing materials, there is far less opportunity for misunderstanding that leads to client dissatisfaction.

What are the advantages that a law firm will receive from setting expectations through lawyer marketing? The following is an overview:

Reduced likelihood of client’s feeling as though the attorney is not doing enough for their case during waiting periods when there is little or no action to be taken.
Less chance that the client complains if he or she receives calls or other communications from support staff rather than the assigned attorney.
Less stress for the attorney tied to having to return repeated client calls and messages requesting case status updates.
Increased job satisfaction for the lawyer, who can enjoy personal time without feeling pressured to return client messages after hours.
Increased satisfaction with the service provided to the client when fees are discussed up front and billing policies are clearly defined.

Setting clear expectations up front through attorney advertising helps potential clients anticipate the type of experience they will have working with your firm before even officially coming on board. The clearer the expectations, the higher the likelihood that the client will feel happy and satisfied. To learn more about law firm marketing, contact the experts at Great Legal Marketing. For more information, fill out our online form or call our office at 703-591-9829.

3 Reasons You Need a Personal Website for Law Firm Marketing Purposes

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

As you read our blog posts or watch our videos, you will see many ideas for law firm marketing. The vast majority have to do with promoting your law firm by providing useful information to potential clients. While providing useful legal information and being seen as an expert in your field is an important part of your lawyer marketing, so too is making potential clients trust you and feel comfortable enough to call your law firm.
A Personal Website Can Help You Accomplish Your Law Firm Marketing Goals
A personal website can help you establish yourself as:

Real. Many potential clients will like seeing you as a real person with a family and interests beyond the practice of law. They may feel that they connect with you because of similarities.
Trustworthy. When you promote yourself as a real person and not just a lawyer then prospective clients may trust you more.
Easy to Talk To. Potential clients may have an easier time picking up the phone to call you when they see that you are a real, compassionate, and trustworthy person as opposed to just a lawyer they know nothing about.

Find Out More Legal Marketing Tips
Creating a personal website may not be the most obvious attorney marketing strategy, but it is an important one. To learn more important outside-the-box lawyer marketing ideas, please read a FREE chapter of our Great Legal Marketing book and call us directly at 703.591.9829.

Legal Marketing: Converting Contacts into Paying Clients

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

Despite utilizing an effective legal marketing strategy targeted towards the law firm’s perfect client, there will be instances where potential clients who contact the firm are not a good fit at that time. However, that does not mean that the potential client will not be a good fit in the future. As a result, maintaining contact with these individuals is a valuable attorney marketing tool.

How are your law firm’s contacts converted into paying clients? The following are three helpful law firm marketing tips.

Maintain regular, consistent contact so that your law firm remains fresh in the minds of your contacts.
Provide free, educational resources that pertain to the legal needs of your law firm’s target client. When the contact develops a need for your law firm’s legal services, he or she will consider your firm the go-to source for information.
Remain easily accessible to contacts of your firm. Maintain an easy to navigate website that appears at the top of a Google search. Create social media accounts and interact with your contact list, this includes Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. When the thought arises to the client that legal services are needed for himself or a friend, it will be easy for them to contact you.
Educate contacts on the need for legal representation. Often, potential clients are not ready to hire an attorney because they do not fully understand how important it is to have adequate legal counsel in their corner.

Understanding how to convert contacts into paying clients is an important aspect of legal marketing. To learn more, contact the experts at Great Legal Marketing. For more information, fill out our online form or call our office at 703-591-9829.

10 Reasons Why Dilution Campaigns Can Benefit Attorney Marketing

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

Choosing how to react to negative content posted online is as important as maintaining an effective law firm web marketing campaign. Unfortunately for law firms who are harmed by false or misleading statements made public on the Internet, reacting aggressively and with anger can often cause more harm than good. Instead, attorneys should consider engaging in a dilution campaign.
Why choose this strategy?

Improves the goodwill of the law firm
Having many positive reviews will overshadow one negative review
Most potential clients will put less weight on a bad review when it is accompanied by many more positive reviews
Many potential clients will only read a handful of the reviews for any particular product or service. Therefore, the more reviews, the more likely the negative review will not be read
Less stressful for the attorney than engaging in a lawsuit
Less hassle for the law firm than attempting to negotiate with the website owner to have the content removed
Dilution campaigns cost nothing for the law firm
Posting additional relevant content with appropriate key words will further the legal marketing strategy of becoming the go-to source for information on the Internet
Posting additional, informative content will increase the law firm’s web presence
Responding to a negative review or content with positivity is more likely to earn the respect of potential clients than engaging in an argument

A dilution campaign can be a very useful tool as part of a lawyer web marketing campaign. For more information, contact the attorney marketing experts at Great Legal Marketing at 703-591-9829.

Law Firm Marketing: Making Monthly Contact a Priority

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

Maintaining regular and consistent contact with the individuals in your law firm’s database through law firm marketing is the only way to remain relevant in the minds of potential clients. With so many qualified attorneys ready and willing to snap up new business, it is more important than ever to stay at the forefront of the minds of these individuals.
However, life in a law firm is busy and time is precious. How can attorneys make monthly contact a priority?
The following is a list of tips for ensuring this contact occurs, improving the efficiency of your legal marketing strategy:

Diary a calendar entry to ensure that contact takes place every month.
Vary the form of contact. Some means of contact are more time consuming than others. Consider using the more lengthy forms of contact, such as newsletters, less frequently than once a month. During other months use a quicker form, such as Facebook updates.
Set aside specific blocks of time to devote to attorney marketing. Make these blocks a priority that cannot be changed.
Utilize forms of contact that maximize effectiveness while minimizing the amount of time required, such as social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Making consistent contact with your law firm’s database of potential, prior, and existing clients is essential to law firm marketing. To learn more about effective ways of communicating with contacts and lawyer marketing, contact the legal marketing experts at Great Legal Marketing. For more information, fill out our online form or call our office at 703-591-9829.

How to Maximize Lawyer Marketing on TV

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

There’s no way around it. Lawyer marketing on TV is expensive, but it can also be effective. However, in order to make a good return on your attorney marketing investment you need to know how to maximize your TV marketing results.
3 Tips for Effective TV Advertising
In order to maximize the effectiveness of your TV marketing, you should consider crafting a commercial that is:

Different. Think about the commercials of your competitors. Now think about how you can create something unique so people do not change the channel at the start of yet another lawyer commercial.
Helpful. People are more likely to stick around and watch the commercial if it is helpful to them and answers some of their questions or gives them resources to find out more about their problem.
Not About You. Potential clients don’t care about you. They are not calling you because of your years of experience or bar committee memberships. Make the commercial about meeting their needs, not about you.

Want to Learn More TV Lawyer Marketing Strategies?
Advertising on TV may be an important part of your legal marketing strategy, but only if it is done the right way. To learn more about how to make the most of your law firm marketing budget, please browse the resources on our website and read a FREE chapter of our Great Legal Marketing book.
Then, if you are serious about making changes and have five or fewer lawyers in your firm, we invite you to call us directly at 703.591.9829.

How to Know if Your Radio Legal Marketing Campaign is Working

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

You’ve spent good money on your legal marketing campaign. Radio ads do not come cheaply and you, understandably, want to know whether they are worth the money you are spending. In order to determine if your radio law firm marketing is working, it is important to track your marketing results.
What Kind of Information You Should Track
Most small law firms can depend on the staff who answer the phones to track the effectiveness of the radio law firm marketing campaign. Generally, whoever answers the phone should ask basic questions of first-time callers to the law firm, including:

How the caller heard about your law firm.
Location of caller’s residence.
Caller’s three favorite radio stations (for possible future marketing purposes).

All of this information, together with the date and time of the call, should be entered into a database that your firm can access and even cross reference with when radio ads were played, to determine if interested clients whom you want to represent are calling your law firm because of your radio advertisement.
Learn More About Effective Radio Advertising for Law Firms
To learn more about effective lawyer marketing on the radio, we invite you to browse our extensive website. You can also learn more about developing a comprehensive legal marketing strategy by downloading a FREE chapter of our book, Great Legal Marketing, or by calling us directly at 703.591.9829.

3 Types of News Stories to Share Online as Part of Law Firm Marketing

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

What kind of news do clients and prospective clients want to hear about your law firm? Can news be used as part of your law firm marketing strategy? Learn the answers to these important questions in this blog post.
News to Share With Your Online Readers
The following types of news stories can play an important part in your attorney marketing strategy:

News of Big Settlements or Important Verdicts. Your clients will enjoy reading about your successes on behalf of other clients.
News of Changes in Management, Location, or Services Provided. Maybe someone didn’t come to see you because your location was inconvenient or you didn’t provide a service they needed. News of expansion and positive changes may be well received.
News of Involvement in Charitable Projects or Community Events. Clients like to see lawyers giving back and especially like to see lawyers involved in events or projects important to them.

Remember, people are not going to know what is going on with your law firm unless you tell them. Therefore, if you have interesting news to share, don’t be shy about writing your own press release.
Need More Law Firm Marketing Tips?
If you are a small law firm looking for additional information about how to market your legal services, please contact us directly at 703.591.9829 and look through the extensive resources on our website, including Great Legal Marketing TV.

What to Do When You're Lawyer Marketing is Damaged by Online Reviews

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

After spending countless hours creating an attractive website, setting up Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook accounts, and creating profiles on online legal websites, you may feel as though you have done everything you can to maximize your law firm web marketing. Unfortunately, all of that hard work can be undone with just one negative posting placed on the Internet. Perhaps you had a dispute with a former client over a bill. Regardless of the cause, when people write negative reviews or posts and make them public, the result can be devastating for your law firm.
What can you do if this happens to your firm? Unfortunately, existing laws are not very effective at combatting this type of behavior. Further, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act usually does not allow law firms to hold Internet service providers responsible for the actions of its users.
Fortunately, there are other steps that can be taken outside of criminal prosecution. However, it is also important to remember that retaliation may not always be the best policy for lawyers. The following is a list of options available to attorneys whose legal marketing campaign has been damaged:

File and prosecute a defamation or libel lawsuit
Engage in negotiations with the website on which the defamatory content appears
Utilize forensic computer techniques to track and locate the offenders
Send a letter notifying the individual that his or her postings constitute libel, and request that they stop
Engage in a dilution campaign
Ignore the content and hope that it fades from Google search results

Online content can both help and hurt lawyer marketing. The better the content on the blog, the more success the blog will bring. For more information, contact the legal marketing experts at Great Legal Marketing at 703-591-9829.

How to Make an Effective Change to Your Radio Legal Marketing Campaign

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

Before you can decide whether it is time to change your radio attorney marketing campaign, you have to know how your current radio legal marketing campaign is working. Assuming that you have been monitoring your radio marketing ads, it is advisable to make changes to your marketing efforts over time.

What Specific Changes Can I Make to My Radio Lawyer Marketing Efforts?
The answer, of course, depends on what parts of your radio law firm marketing strategies are currently working well. For example, you might consider:

Changing the frequency of your ads.
Changing the wording of your ads.
Running your ads during different types of radio programs.

How Should Changes to My Attorney Marketing Radio Strategy be Made?
Generally, it is important to only make one change at a time so you can accurately determine how well that change is working. Additionally, it is important to carefully consider which change to make. For example, if you are happy with the return on your radio marketing investment, then you might consider simply running your ad on additional days or on similar types of programs. However, if you are not getting the return that you had hoped for from your radio legal marketing campaign then you might consider changing the content of your ad.
Radio advertising is not an exact science. However, there are proven methods to maximize the effectiveness of your law firm marketing efforts. To learn more about effective radio marketing, please browse our website and call us at 703.591.9829 to learn more.

Finding Your Niche and Applying it to Your Lawyer Marketing Strategy

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

When starting or growing a law practice, it sounds counterintuitive to suggest turning down work. However, by finding a legal niche and adhering to it, your practice may run more efficiently and generate more income over time. Applying this strategy to a legal marketing campaign can make your attorney advertising more effective.

If you are wondering how focusing on a legal niche can improve your practice, consider the following points:

In most law practices, 80% of the firm’s revenue can be directly attributed to 20% of its clients. Why continue wasting time and resources elsewhere?
Becoming an expert in your field earns trust and respect. As a result, clients seek you out rather than you seeking clients. It is nearly impossible to become an expert in one niche area of the law while simultaneously balancing casework in a variety of other areas.
Focusing on one legal niche allows you to provide superior service to your clients. This focus allows you to stay on top of recent case law, changes in the law, and trends in the area.
Focusing on the legal niche that you enjoy servicing the most will bring a greater sense of overall job satisfaction. Remove the stressful cases and the clients who argue about fees, and focus on the cases and the clients that you truly enjoy.

Once you have chosen your legal niche, it is important to adjust your legal marketing strategy accordingly. Focus your educational and information materials on the niche area of the law that you practice in. Target your marketing to the exact client group that you wish to attract.

For more information about finding a legal niche, contact the lawyer marketing experts at Great Legal Marketing. Fill out our online form or call our office at 703-591-9829.

Unique Legal Marketing: What's Stopping You from Making the Change?

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

Despite the years of school and high cost of a law school education, the legal profession continues to be one of the most competitive industries in America. As a result, it is vital that lawyers do more with their attorney marketing than merely relying on their resume and legal license to win them business. Most competitors will choose the same techniques, listing the same generic information about their law firm as every other firm in the geographic area. It is essential to the success of a firm that they break away from this old fashioned mold.

Unfortunately, many attorneys view the process of venturing into a new, unfamiliar way of law firm marketing as being difficult, often due to the following factors:

Fear of the unknown
Difficulty breaking away from old habits
Fear of the financial investment
Uncertainty as to where to begin
Other attorneys criticizing the break from tradition
Fear of failure

While all of these fears are valid, they are also easily overcome if the lawyer recognizes the value of a unique, creative legal marketing plan. Once the change has begun, the attorney’s confidence will build as he or she sees the amazing results that stem from not being afraid to stand out in a crowd. In a sea of other attorney advertisements, if a law firm fails to stand out, it may never get noticed.

To learn more about finding the confidence to take the plunge and invest in a unique legal marketing strategy, contact the experts at Great Legal Marketing. Fill out our online form or call our office at 703-591-9829.

Make Sure Staff Furthers Law Firm Marketing with Good Customer Service

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

Customer service is as important to your law firm marketing campaign as your website and other marketing activities. Clients or prospective clients who call your firm are your customers and expect to be treated as such. If they are not treated well, then they may seek another attorney.

You Can be Confident in Your Staff’s Customer Service and Legal Marketing

Since you likely don’t answer the phones and you cannot be there every time someone else answers the phone, it is important to know how to make sure that your staff is providing the customer experience that you need. Specifically, you can:

Use video, audio, or web-based surveillance. Of course, if you do this, you should inform your staff and check out the laws in your jurisdiction.
Have mystery shoppers call your law firm pretending to be clients and report back to you about their customer service experience.
Train and Coach your staff and provide ongoing education about how you want the phones answered and how you expect staff to interact with clients who come to the office.
Tell your staff the purpose of your actions. Let them know how important customer service is to your law firm marketing campaign and the integral role they play in the success of your firm.

Learn More Tips for Good Customer Service and Effective Attorney Marketing

If you are interested in learning more about lawyer marketing and providing good customer service, please read our FREE Great Legal Marketing book, and call us directly at 703.591.9829.

Writing a Book? How to Maximize its Law Firm Marketing Potential

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

Writing a legal book is an excellent attorney marketing tool for lawyers. By providing potential clients with this guide, the lawyer can effectively educate the client on the need for an attorney. The book or guide will also teach the client how to choose among the sea of attorneys available by highlighting the important characteristics necessary for effective representation.
In order to improve the legal marketing effectiveness of your book, incorporate the following four tips:

Make the book available electronically to potential clients for quick and easy access.
Make the book readable by writing in clear, easy to understand language. Avoid legalese wherever possible.
Make the book accessible to potential clients before they talk or meet with you. The idea is to educate the client on the need for legal representation before ever meeting to discuss your services.
Understand that oftentimes when potential clients are researching the legal issue that they are facing, they are feeling overwhelmed, scared, and confused. Write the book with a sympathetic and compassionate tone to earn the trust of potential clients.

Utilizing these four steps will maximize the law firm advertising potential of your book. Writing this book or guide involves a large commitment of time and finances. Therefore, taking appropriate steps to increase its effectiveness is a wise investment.
For more information about writing a legal book, contact the law firm marketing experts at Great Legal Marketing. Fill out our online form, or call our office at 703-591-9829.

3 Reasons Why You Need a Lawyer Marketing Book Now

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

You’ve bitten the bullet and created your own lawyer marketing blog. You are seeing returns on your investment of time and you are ready to go further and reach new heights with your attorney marketing strategies. It is time you considered writing a book to supplement the success of your blog.

Here’s Why Your Law Firm Marketing Strategy Should Include a Book

There are three primary reasons why your legal marketing strategy should include a book that you author. Those reasons include:

Establishing Credibility or Trust. Authoring a book makes people believe that you know what you are talking about you. They think that you are a credible source and lawyer they can trust.
Proving Your Skill or Expertise. Only people with something to say (should) write books. It is a good way for you, as a lawyer, to showcase your skills and expertise.
Leaving Them Something to Remember You By. Prospective clients who may not be ready to hire an attorney yet will have your book. When they do decide that they need a lawyer, they may pick up your book and contact you for more information. Likewise, former clients who have your book may pick it up the next time they have a legal issue in your area of specialty and call you.

Learn More about Writing an Effective Book

To learn more about effective small law firm marketing strategies and more specifically about how to write a book and a lawyer marketing blog we encourage you to read our Great Legal Marketing book and to call us directly at 703.591.9829.

How Many Phone Numbers Does One Lawyer Need for Attorney Marketing?

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

You have a main office number that is working and perfectly able to receive incoming phone calls. Why then should you add additional phone numbers on different attorney marketing materials? After all, who cares what number your new client reaches you on, so long as the new client reaches you?

You should care. Having multiple phone numbers may help you with your legal marketing efforts.

When you use different phone numbers on different websites and other promotional materials, you have a better idea of how the caller found you. This method is important not just so you can give yourself a pat on the back for a successful lawyer marketing campaign, but also so you can hone in on the types of activities that are bringing in clients.

Once you notice a trend of valuable calls coming from a particular website, for example, you can go back to that website and think about what is getting people’s attention. Is there something about the layout, content or tone that you can emulate in other marketing activities? Is there a way that you can better promote that website to encourage even more quality calls?

And the specific number of phone numbers you need is…

Dependent on your marketing activities. If you have one website, then one number may be all you need. However, if you have a complex law firm marketing strategy that includes different domain names then it may be important to have a number for each site.

Now, if you’ve read this content on GreatLegalMarketing.com, and you are interested in learning more about successful attorney marketing strategies, we invite you to call us directly at 703.591.9829 for more information.

Successfully Managing Comments on Your Law Firm Marketing Blog

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

You’ve worked hard to create a good law firm marketing blog post and it is having the intended effect. People are engaged. They are leaving comments on your blog. Now what?

Social Media, and Blogging, is About Having a Conversation

Blogs can be an effective means of social media when a topic leads to a conversation via blog comments. However, it is important that you manage your legal blog comments effectively. Specifically, you should consider:

Allowing Comments. Allowing comments is simply smart legal marketing for several reasons. First, it allows readers to respond to your post and engage in a conversation with you easily. Second, comments are typically filled with content that helps your search engine results that you didn’t have to write. Finally, comments show other readers that other people find you interesting.
Responding to Comments. Engage with your readers. When appropriate, comment on your own blog post in response to comments that you’ve already received. You can also use the email addresses you gather through comments to contact readers individually or to send them more information.
Dealing Appropriately with Negative Comments. If a comment is obviously obscene or offensive and adds nothing to the conversation then delete it. However, if the negative comment simply disagrees with your opinion consider responding and having a polite debate.

Make the Blog Conversation Productive for Attorney Marketing

It is important to keep up to date on blog comments so that you know when you should respond. For more information about effective lawyer marketing blog strategies, please browse our website and call us directly at 703.591.9829.

Law Firm Marketing Strategies Must Prepare for Google Changes

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

In addition to understanding the way that internet searches are conducted with the growing popularity of social networking, law firm marketing plans must also consider how these networks will impact search rankings. Websites like Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, and Google+ will now be even more important for law firms wishing to attract new clients. The following is an overview of the changes to prepare for:

Google is allocating a percentage of search results to social media. Therefore, if your law firm does not have a social media presence, your rankings will fall.
Google is indexing Facebook comments into its algorithm.
The more active the “conversations” about your law firm that take place on the various social networks, the higher your website will rank in Google search results
Links to your page, likes of your page, and comments on your page on Facebook and Twitter will also improve your ranking
Google is aiming to use more of a human factor in determining its rankings, and incorporating social networking trends is one way of doing so
Google theorizes that the pages people link to and share with their friends are more likely to be authentic sites with quality content and practices, therefore deserving of a higher page ranking
Google is acknowledging that social networking has become an important and integral part of society, and therefore is aiming to incorporate these practices into real time search results
How law firms interact with potential and existing clients will show on search results. As such, they should show the personality of the firm, be informative, and conversational.

To learn more about the effects of social networking on law firm marketing, contact the experts at Great Legal Marketing. Fill out our online form, or call our office at 703-591-9829.

How to Create Good Content for Your Lawyer Marketing Blog

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

You’ve created a small law firm blog and found an idea for your next post. Now what? How do you turn that idea into a good blog post that will further your lawyer marketing efforts?

Turning Your Idea into an Effective Blog Post

Of course, your post must be well written and free of spelling and grammatical errors. Prospective clients expect no less from the law firm they entrust with their legal needs. However, there is more that you can do to create an effective attorney marketing blog post.

Specifically, you should:

Consider Your Blog Tags. Your blog tags or keywords should include your geographic location. For example, you might have a blog tag that reads “Virginia medical malpractice attorney” or “Dallas car accident lawyer.”
Link to an Appropriate Page on Your Website. Linking serves two important purposes. First, it leads readers who want more information to your website. Second, it may help boost the Google ranking of your website.
Watch Your Tone. Blogs are more informal than websites. Keep your tone conversational and light, and avoid sounding like a legal casebook or condescending lawyer.

Do You Have More Questions about Small Law Firm Marketing Blogs?

Creating good blog content is an art. There are many creative steps involved that can lead to many law firm marketing payoffs, including new clients. If you are interested in learning more about effective legal blogging, please call us directly at 703.591.9829, and please search for “blog” on the greatlegalmarketing.com website.

5 Benefits to Word-of-Mouth Legal Marketing

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

Viral marketing, where information is passed between individuals spontaneously, has long been recognized as a valuable legal marketing tool. Companies in many industries have attempted to capitalize on this natural phenomenon. Little analysis is required, however, to understand how word-of-mouth advertising passes between individuals on social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter. It occurs simply as a result of a client receiving good service or learning something valuable from a law firm, and then naturally choosing to share that information with friends, colleagues, and family. Marketing professional Mischelle Davis refers to this form of advertising as “viReal”. The following is a list of five benefits of this valuable form of legal advertising:

People promote the law firm’s materials or services in their own language, without the influence of marketing experts or copyrighters.
When others read the postings about your law firm, they are hearing it from an already trusted source.
Exchanges between people on social networking sites are perceived as more honest than those drafted by a company or other party with an outside interest.
Research has proven that candid feedback from an individual within a potential client’s social network is more trusted than online reviews posted by people who do not know each other.
More and more people opt to post messages on Facebook or Twitter looking for recommendations rather than conducting and online search.

For more information about how online word-of-mouth legal marketing is a valuable resource for your firm, contact the attorney advertising experts at Great Legal Marketing. Fill out our online form or call our office at 703-591-9829.

How a Personal Injury Attorney Can Use Social Media Effectively

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

You’re a busy person. You understandably don’t want to get involved in a law firm marketing activity that will take too much of your time without a significant payoff. Therefore, you may be hesitant when you hear that part of your legal marketing strategy should include social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Do you really have the time to participate on those sites and will your participation pay off?

We Think Social Media Does Pay off for Personal Injury Attorneys, and Here’s Why

Personal injury lawyers may benefit from attorney marketing on social media websites because:

Word of Mouth is So Important and So Easily Achieved on Social Media. You have a lot of competition as a personal injury attorney. Social media can help set you apart and spread the word about your character, your ability, and your services.
You Can Provide Useful Information for Prospective Clients at No Cost to You and Great Benefit to Them. For example, you might share links about new treatments for accident injuries or support groups for survivors of accidents.
You Can Show Yourself as Knowledgeable and Compassionate. Not only can you offer words of support but you can showcase various charitable organizations that you support. Additionally, you can give your take on the latest legal developments in personal injury law.

Want to Learn More About Effective Law Firm Marketing?

If you are interested in learning more about effective personal injury attorney marketing techniques, please browse the free resources on our website and contact us directly at 703.591.9829 for more information.

How a Bankruptcy Lawyer May Use Social Media Marketing Effectively

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

While many people use social media to catch up with friends, connect with family, and hear the latest news from the entertainment world, there is a more serious role for social media that it is important to know about as a bankruptcy lawyer.

Social Media Can be Used for Bankruptcy Lawyer Marketing

As a bankruptcy lawyer you can use Twitter, Facebook, and the like to market your services for FREE. Each time you post, your friends and followers will see your post and may share it with their friends and followers. It is an easy way to get your name out there and an effective law firm marketing tool.

Here’s How to Maximize Social Media’s Attorney Marketing Effectiveness

Quite simply, you want to let people feel like they know you and that you have established yourself as an expert in your field. Accordingly, we recommend that you post or tweet in some of the following ways:

Lessen People’s Fears. Make sure they know that you are not judging them for filing bankruptcy and that bankruptcy may ultimately be the best solution for them.
Update on Laws. This not only shows that you are up to date in your area of the law but may address concerns of potential clients.
Answer Questions. If someone asks you a question that can be generalized and answered publicly then do so because others may have similar questions and be impressed that you answered before being asked.

Contact Great Legal Marketing to Learn More

If you are ready to give a complex lawyer marketing plan that includes social media a try, then please contact us directly at 703.591.9829 for more information and please look at the free resources available on our website to learn more.

How to Find Topic Ideas for Your Law Firm Marketing Books

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

An often challenging aspect to writing a law firm marketing book is deciding on a topic to write about. The topic is important because potential clients will not read your book if it does not pertain to their situation. Therefore, you must determine the issues that are relevant to your target client group. The following are helpful tips on choosing book topics:

Research the questions that potential clients in your geographic area are asking by using websites such as Avvo.com
Evaluate the questions that potential or existing clients consistently and repeatedly ask in meetings or during phone calls
Research the relevant keywords that are frequently typed into Google pertaining to your field of practice
Consider writing a how-to guide
Review the questions that are most often typed into the online form on your law firm website
Think about the topics that you are particularly passionate about
Conduct an informal survey of existing or prior clients on the topic areas that they would be most interested in reading about

Sometimes, ideas will come to mind unexpectedly. For this reason, it is a good idea to keep a note pad on hand to record these thoughts.

Attorney books are an effective law firm marketing tool that remains permanently in the hands of potential clients, serving as a reminder of your expertise every time the book is consulted. The more relevant the topic to the issues faced by your target audience, the more likely it will earn you potential clients. For more information on writing attorney marketing material, contact the legal marketing experts at Great Legal Marketing. Fill out our online form, or call our office at 703-591-9829.

Attorney Marketing Blogs: Don't Be Afraid to Take a Stand

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

Utilizing a blog in addition to a law firm website is an excellent way to increase the online presence of the firm, increase traffic to the main site, and interact with potential clients. As with any other form of legal marketing material, however, content is king. Relevant, informative, compelling content will capture the attention of potential clients. Coming up with topic ideas can sometimes be difficult.

Unfortunately, many attorneys make the mistake of shying away from hot issues that involve controversy. Instead, when lawyers come across these issues, they should consider:

Can I take a stand on one side of this issue?
Is there a non-obvious stance that I can take?
Can I take a stand in opposition to the opinion of the majority?

If the answer is “yes” to any of the above, writing a blog post about the hot topic could be beneficial for the following reasons:

Attracts attention in web search results by standing out from the crowd
Taking on a controversial topic encourages interaction in the comment section of the blog
It may be more compelling to potential readers than a basic, unexciting article, increasing the chances that the reader frequents the blog

Clearly, maintaining a law firm blog is an effective attorney marketing tool, useful for reaching a new audience of potential clients. The better the content on the blog, the more success the blog will bring. For more information on how to create exciting, relevant web content, contact the legal marketing experts at Great Legal Marketing. Fill out our online form or call our office at 703-591-9829.

3 Reasons Video is Necessary to Your Attorney Marketing Plan

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

Are you on the fence about whether or not to include video on your attorney marketing website? If so, then this blog post is a must-read. It explains why video is essential to a successful and complex lawyer marketing plan.

Whether you have an established law firm website or are starting a new one, video is important to your law firm marketing because:

Clients Want It. People who are thinking of hiring you want video. They want to hear your voice, judge your demeanor, and evaluate your expertise before calling to set up a consultation with you. They want to feel like they know you and that they will be comfortable before they meet with you so that they do not waste their time.
It is Cost Effective. You pay once for the cost of making your video regardless of how many people watch it. Your potential viewing audience is unlimited.
It May Improve Your Google Ranking. A video may not only get your name included in Google’s video search result, but it is likely to improve the overall ranking of your page. Of course, that first page of Google remains important because searchers (also known as prospective clients) are likely to click on the first websites they find for their search terms.

For more, including information about video on your website, please browse the FREE resources available on our website and contact us at 703.591.9829 when you are serious about developing a strong legal marketing plan.

Read More about Legal Marketing with Videos in our FREE Library Article: "Why Potential Clients Want Video Included in Your Legal Marketing Website"

What NOT To Do in Your Legal Marketing Video

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

Video is a critically important legal marketing strategy. It is a useful and cost-effective tool that can increase the likelihood that your website will be seen and that a website visitor will become a paying client of your small law firm.

However, not all videos are the same. In order to maximize the benefit of your lawyer marketing video it is important to know what not to do.

While each video is unique, it is generally recommended that your attorney marketing video avoid being all about you. In other words, it is advisable to avoid talking at length about where you went to college or law school, the awards you achieved in school, and your bar association memberships and committees.

Quite simply, clients don’t care about you. They want to know how you can help them. They want answers to their questions and they want to feel that they can trust you to provide them with valuable legal assistance.

It is about them, not you!

If you can remember that and provide useful information in a relaxed and comfortable way that makes you seem approachable and confident, then your video may turn your website visitors into potential clients who eventually become paying clients of your firm.

For more information about how video may be able to help you achieve your law firm marketing goals, we encourage you to browse the various FREE videos, books, articles and other resources on our website and to call us for more information at 703.591.9829.

Read More about Legal Marketing with Videos in our FREE Library Article: “Why Potential Clients Want Video Included in Your Legal Marketing Website”

Lawyer Marketing: Evoke a Positive Response from Visitors to Your Website

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

Driving traffic to your attorney marketing website is an important first step to building a larger client base. However, once the potential client visits the site, the content must evoke a positive response in order to increase the likelihood that the client will contact the firm. Gaining this positive reaction is not difficult if you abide by the following guidelines:

Remember that the window of time before a client navigates away from the law firm website is very small.
The goal is to immediately show the potential client that the firm can help them.
Relate to the potential client on a personal, not professional, level.
Avoid using legal jargon.
Avoid wordy, drawn-out paragraphs in favor of straight-forward, to-the-point information.
Demonstrate how much information and knowledge your firm has to offer.
Convey how the firm can help the potential client.
Maintain a compassionate and understanding tone.
Offer information that inspires potential clients to contact the firm or seek more information within the website.

Properly constructed legal websites are an effective lawyer marketing tool useful for reaching a new audience of potential clients. These websites also help to build trust and respect within the community when they observe the above guidelines. For more information on how to create a legal website that maximizes effectiveness, contact the legal marketing experts at Great Legal Marketing. Fill out our online form, or call our office at 703-591-9829.

Highlighting the Use of Technology in Your Attorney Marketing Plan

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

Differentiation is a very important aspect to any successful attorney marketing strategy. Clients need to be made aware of what sets your law firm apart from the hundreds of other attorneys that offer the same services. Most firms will highlight all of the wrong factors, such as educational background, the fact that the law firm “cares” about its clients, and offers “valuable services.”

One way that an attorney advertising plan can differentiate a law firm from others is to highlight its use of technology and the benefits that technology extends to clients. Examples include:

Using the cloud to host client files that are then accessible by the client at any time they wish to look and see what is happening with their case.
Using electronic billing practices rather than using traditional paper invoices.
Offering online resource materials such as news articles and blogs, accessible to clients easily and quickly.
Providing electronic case management that makes documents searchable in just a few seconds and allows them to be edited much more quickly.
Utilizing e-filing with the federal and state courts. This process is much quicker and more cost-effective.
Offering video conferencing to save clients a trip to the office for meetings, which may be especially helpful for injured, disabled, and elderly clients.
Highlighting the use of blackberries and other mobile phones that make attorneys accessible even when they are outside of the office.
Using e-discovery tools that allow lawyers to image, code, analyze, and review emails, text messages, and voice mails. This saves valuable time, thereby reducing the client’s expenses.

For more information about technology and differentiation in attorney marketing, contact the experts at Great Legal Marketing. Fill out our online form or call our office at 703-591-9829.

Lawyer Marketing: Evoke a Positive Response from Visitors to Your Site

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

Remember that the window of time before a client navigates away from the law firm website is very small.
The goal is to immediately show the potential client that the firm can help them.
Relate to the potential client on a personal, not professional, level.
Avoid using legal jargon.
Avoid wordy, drawn-out paragraphs in favor of straight forward, to-the-point information.
Demonstrate how much information and knowledge your firm has to offer.
Portray how the firm can help the potential client.
Maintain a compassionate and understanding tone.
Offer information that inspires potential clients to contact the firm or seek more information within the website.

Properly-constructed legal websites are an effective lawyer marketing tool useful for reaching a new audience of potential clients. These websites also help to build trust and respect within the community when they observe the above-outlined guidelines. For more information on how to create a legal website that maximizes effectiveness, contact the legal marketing experts at Great Legal Marketing. Fill out our online form, or call our office at 703-591-9829.

BBB Endorsements: Should You Seek One?

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

Many attorneys ask if it is worth the time and effort to seek a Better Business Bureau endorsement. The short answer is, yes. A BBB endorsement can enhance your attorney marketing by promoting your law firm as trustworthy.

For many Americans a BBB endorsement is synonymous with trustworthiness. In fact, consumer groups advise the public to check for BBB accreditation before doing business online.

When a law firm has been accredited by the BBB, it means that the firm meets the BBB standards for trust. While the general public may not be familiar with the standards and may not know the criteria for accreditation, they do realize that not all businesses qualify. People believe that a BBB accreditation sets a law firm apart from other firms and makes it more trustworthy. Because the BBB is a symbol of trustworthiness, it is worthwhile to display a BBB seal on your legal website.

You can apply for BBB accreditation with the Better Business Bureau in the city where your business is located. If the local BBB determines that you meet accreditation standards, you will be permitted to sign a license agreement with BBB. The license will allow you to identify your law firm as a BBB Accredited Business and to use the BBB seal on your website, business cards, print ads and other forms of law firm marketing.

Of course, a BBB endorsement is not enough. You must build trust through your website and other advertising. Learn how to build trust in your law firm through lawyer marketing. Contact Great Legal Marketing at 703-591-9829.

What Will You Do With Your Extra Time Each Week?

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

Do you dream of having some extra time each week? Do you long to get off the phone, shut down the computer and get up from your desk? Even the most passionate attorneys who enjoy their jobs crave a balanced life.

You Can Achieve a Balanced Life as an Attorney with Effective Law Firm Marketing and Time Management Strategies!

When you learn how to use legal marketing techniques to get the cases that you want and the time management tips that will focus your efforts and maximize your time, then you will be able to enjoy your time at the office and time away from the office.

Many of the attorneys who use our time management tips and attorney marketing strategies find that they have more time to:

Relax and spend time doing what they enjoy, such as golfing, cooking, reading or traveling.
Spend time with their families. Your spouse and children will appreciate seeing you at the dinner table and at activities more often.
Volunteer in their communities. It is possible to be an attorney and a little league coach or other volunteer.
Build the law practice they want. Many attorneys spend a portion of their extra time continuing to develop lawyer marketing plans that attract more of the cases they want to handle.

If This Sounds Good to You, Then it's Time to Make a Change

Please browse the diverse resources on our website and call us directly at 703-591-9829 if you are ready to be a successful attorney who leads a balanced lifestyle!

Read More About Time Management Tips for Attorneys in our FREE Library

How to Generate Buzz With Your Law Firm Marketing Video

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

Using a video is an excellent law firm marketing tool that can increase your firm’s exposure to potential clients. The key to a successful video is to generate a buzz that gets people talking about the video and referring it to others. There are several strategies that can increase the likelihood that your legal video goes “viral”:

Talk about an issue that directly affects potential clients, such as the lack of adequate insurance coverage.
Offer information that truly benefits potential clients, such as how to prevent the problem that you are discussing.
Post the video on YouTube and let your marketing herd know of its existence in a manner that gets their attention.
Forward the video to non-clients who may also be interested, such as insurance agents, real estate agents, doctors, or other lawyers.
Do not try to sell your services – simply educate, raise awareness, and offer helpful information.

By using these tips, your law firm video should create a buzz. The more useful the information and problematic the video topic, the more likely viewers will spread the word to others of its existence. The end result will be increased traffic to your website as interested persons click through in search of more information. The increased traffic will improve your Google search rankings while also gaining you new potential clients.

For more information on how law firm marketing videos can benefit your firm, contact the law firm marketing experts at Great Legal Marketing. Fill out our online form or call our office at 703-591-9829.

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Mind Your Manners: Managing Client Expectations with Lawyer Marketing

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

Many attorneys complain about clients who call multiple times per day, expect immediate responses to all communications, and who are generally rude. What these lawyers do not realize is that clients sometimes need to be taught how to act like great clients. Below are 5 examples of principals that can be incorporated into lawyer marketing materials to help clients understand what is expected of them.

Instruct clients not to stop by without an appointment, and explain that you are happy to meet at a previously scheduled time and place.
State that all phone calls will be answered in the order in which they are received, with preference given due to high priority situations. Explain that keeping this policy allows you to focus on doing what you do best: lawyering!
Inform potential clients of the days and times when you can be reached. This will encourage clients to refrain from contacting you (or expecting a response) during your personal time.
Offer clients access to support staff, and explain how experienced, knowledgeable, and valuable these members of the firm truly are. This will teach clients to be respectful and appreciative when they reach a paralegal or other employee, rather than frustrated or irritated.
Clearly state the most efficient form of communication. Offer a time period in which you will respond. This will teach clients to be patient and not call repeatedly while waiting for a response.

The above examples can be modified to fit any law firm policy and incorporated directly into the legal marketing strategy employed by the firm. For more information on how teaching clients proper “manners” can help manage expectations, contact the lawyer marketing experts at Great Legal Marketing. Fill out our online form or call our office at 703-591-9829.

Maximizing the Effectiveness of Avvo.com in Your Lawyer Marketing

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

Websites like Avvo.com are excellent tools for lawyer marketing strategies. They allow attorneys to interact with potential clients, earn trust, and increase the name recognition of the law firm. Currently, Avvo.com averages more than 160,000 lawyer contacts per month. Like any other legal marketing tool, however, there are ways to utilize Avvo.com to maximize its potential for bringing in new clients. The following is a list of 3 tips for increasing the site’s effectiveness.

Create a profile that is unique and enticing to potential clients.

Simply stating where you went school and how many years you have practiced is not distinct enough to set your profile apart from others. Be creative and appealing to your target audience.

Offer thoughtful, informative answers to the legal questions posted by visitors to the site.

Do not simply respond with generic answers that say “contact an attorney.” Offering educational, valuable information is more likely to earn the trust and respect of potential clients, prompting them to reach out for more.

Respond to questions in your practice area.

While Avvo does offer the option of searching by geographic area, it is not necessarily better to only answer questions posted by individuals in your region. Those same individuals may read your responses to questions posted by others and find value in your answers. Stick to your niche practice area, with a secondary focus on geographic location.

Publish a legal guide.

Avvo.com allows attorneys to publish legal guides on any topic. Become the go-to expert on your choice of legal topic by offering a valuable guide to potential clients.

To learn more about using Avvo as part of your lawyer marketing, contact the experts at Great Legal Marketing. For more information, fill out our online form or call our office at 703-591-9829.

How To Create An Effective Yellow Pages Ad

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

Whether you are advertising through your website or using a Yellow Pages ad, it is important that your legal advertising stands out from the crowd. If your ad gets lost on the page, you are wasting your attorney marketing money. It's better to have no ad at all.

An effective legal advertisement starts with a good headline. Many Yellow Pages ads feature the name of the law firm in big letters. Nothing about this makes a potential client want to keep reading. Instead, choose an interesting headline that answers the question going through the reader's mind.

Focus the ad on the potential client. People seek lawyers because they need help. Let the client know that you can help them find a solution to their problem. Offer more information when they make the call or go to your website. Finish with a call to action that leaves the client with no doubts about what he should do. For example, "Before you schedule a free consultation, download our free guide, which will inform you of your rights."

Do you have questions about your lawyer ad? Attorney Ben Glass is willing to review the Yellow Pages ads of Mastermind members and Coaching members before they are printed. To learn more about the law firm marketing services provided by Great Legal Marketing, fill out our online form or call our office at 703-591-9829.

3 Reasons Your Clients Want You to Be More Efficient

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

Let's face it. Many lawyers aren't quick to change. Whether you are new to the profession or nearing retirement, you've been taught to conduct business in a certain way, and you're afraid that if you change your policies your clients may not be happy.

Do Not Be Afraid

Above all, your clients want you to be successful and efficient. While they may have to wait a little longer for a return phone call, they will understand that when you manage your time well and focus on one case at one time it improves your efficiency. For clients, your efficiency may mean:

They Spend Less Money. If you bill by the hour, more efficiency means you may spend less time on a case (and be able to take more cases).
They Recover More Money. You may achieve better results and make more money on your contingency fee cases.
They Are Confident That You Did Your Best. Your clients will understand that they are important to you and that they had your undivided and uncompromised attention while you were working on their matter.

Learn How to Be More Efficient by Managing Your Time and Lawyer Marketing Efforts

The way you market a law firm may be critical to your ultimate efficiency. Successful attorney marketing campaigns will attract the kind of cases you want. If those cases are lucrative, then you may be able to take fewer cases overall and devote more time to each individual case and client.

For more information about how law firm marketing together with effective time management practices can change your life, please browse our website and call us today at 703-591-9829 for more information.

Read More About Time Management Tips for Attorneys in our FREE Library

Everyone Loves a Contest! Using Facebook in Your Legal Marketing

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

Facebook is not only an effective legal marketing tool, useful for reaching a broad audience of potential clients, it can also be fun and interactive. Each time someone likes your Facebook page or interacts with the content on the page, a news item will appear in that individual’s newsfeed. As a result, hundreds of potential new clients may see the news item and click over to your page for more information. An excellent way to encourage this interaction is by running a contest. After all, everyone loves a chance to win something!

What kinds of contests can be run using Facebook as part of your law firm marketing strategy?

The goal is to encourage interaction, and the options are endless. Examples include offering some form of “prize” to visitors of the page for:

“Liking” the law firm Facebook page
Commenting on a photo or video
Leaving a post on the wall
Sending a message to the page

The contest could ask former clients to post a review of the service they received from the firm, ask potential clients to list the top quality they are looking for when hiring an attorney, or ask potential clients to state the top reasons they seek an attorney. Taking a more playful approach, the contest could ask potential clients to post pictures from the community to the wall, or provide a funny caption to a photo or video already on the page. The options are limitless because the point is merely to encourage interaction within your page.

Take advantage of this unique attorney marketing platform, contact the legal marketing experts at Great Legal Marketing for more information. Fill out our online form or call our office at 703-591-9829.

Turn The Questions Clients Ask Into An Attorney Marketing Tool

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

Information is essential to attorney marketing. In many of our articles, we talk about the importance of providing relevant information on your website. Many attorneys tell us that coming up with content is difficult, but you already know what information potential clients are seeking. Think of the questions that new clients ask when they come to your office. These are the same questions that they have when they visit your website. Clients want to know if there is a solution to their problem and if you can help.

Fill your website with content that answers these questions. One easy way to do this is with a "Frequently Asked Questions" section. You can easily create an FAQ section on your website by answering the questions that you often hear from clients. This provides good information and good Google juice.

People use Google to look for answers. When a potential client goes to Google and types in their question, Google looks for the words closest to those in the search box. If a client types in "Should I plead guilty to my Virginia DUI?" and your legal website has an FAQ with the same question, you have a good chance of coming up at the top of their search.

You can create video, articles, and blog posts that answer these questions in more detail. So, the next time a new client asked a question, don't just answer it. Write the question down and use it in your law firm marketing.

Great Legal Marketing helps attorneys build their practices through effective legal marketing. Contact us at 703-591-9829.

Facebook Lawyer Marketing: Increasing the Visibility of Status Updates

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

While Facebook is an excellent tool for a lawyer marketing plan, the effectiveness of the page is directly tied to its visibility. Currently, the average Facebook user has approximately 130 friends. The goal for increasing visibility of your page is to encourage fans to interact with your posts, which then creates an update on the newsfeeds of the fan’s friends. Ideally, this exposure will result in more fans of the page.

Your law firm’s Facebook activity appears on a user’s newsfeed when they become a fan by “liking” your page. If your page appears frequently and at the top of that user’s newsfeeds, the likelihood of their interacting with your page increases. Facebook utilizes a system called Edgerank to determine the visibility of your page’s status updates on newsfeeds. Factors that Edgerank considers when calculating the priority of items appearing on a newsfeed include:

How often the user likes your page;
How often the user comments on your page;
How often the user posts on your page; and
How recently you updated your status or posted on the page.

If your updates are unique and enticing and appear at the top of the newsfeed, fans may comment or suggest that other friends “like” your page as well. This increases the potential clients that are now in your marketing herd.

For more information on the importance of status updates to legal marketing strategies involving Facebook, contact the lawyer marketing experts at Great Legal Marketing. Fill out our online form or call our office at 703-591-9829.

Can One Legal Web Site Do It All?

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

You've taken our lawyer marketing advice and created a nice looking legal website with video and book offers. It lists all your practice areas: workplace accidents, motor vehicle accidents, defective consumer products, medical malpractice, dog bites, slip and falls, family law, wills, and real estate. Each section is full of relevant information. How could your website do anything but bring in new clients?

Consider this. If you have a medical problem, you may go to a general practitioner for a referral, but wouldn't you prefer to have a specialist treat you? People with legal problems feel the same way. They want to get the best legal expertise for their dollar. When an attorney lists too many practice areas, he sounds like a jack-of-all trades desperate for any case that is headed his way. Would you go to a doctor that listed heart surgery, dermatology, orthopedics, and obstetrics as specialties?

A satellite site that focuses on one aspect of your practice is a good way to build a niche and sell yourself as an expert. All content on the site should be focused on one practice area. There are two advantages to creating satellite sites:

Your firm is set up as experts: When a client is looking for an expert, he is likely to choose the law firm with a fully loaded web site dedicated to the topic.
You can dominate Google searches: If both your main site and satellite site show up on page one of Google, you are pushing your competitors to page two.

Remember, to stay on page one of Google, all web sites require fresh and unique content on a regular basis. Copying articles from your main site will cause Google to mark your site as a duplicate. This will hurt your Google ratings.

Great Legal Marketing gives you the straight scoop on lawyer marketing. Learn how we can help you develop an attorney marketing plan that works for you. Contact Great Legal Marketing at 703-591-9829.

How To Write The Perfect Law Firm Holiday Card

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

With Christmas approaching, your law firm may be considering sending out holiday cards. In fact, the cards may be ordered and sitting on your desk. But, what is your goal with the holiday card?

Law firm holiday cards are a great way to enhance your lawyer marketing effort by showing that you remember your clients and are willing to make an effort on their behalf. They are fairly inexpensive and can create a lasting impression.

An effective card is one that won't be thrown out. You want to send a card that will be kept on the refrigerator, desk or mantle during the holiday and remembered beyond the holiday season. How can you do this?

Mail the card about two weeks before the holiday.
Don't send a signature-only card. It is better to send no card at all.
Avoid cards with pre-printed verses or stock quotes.
Don't send religious cards.
Make sure each card is addressed to the recipient. Never send a card addressed as "Dear Client."
Make the card personal, rather than business-oriented. Focus on the recipient, not on your law firm.
Try to handwrite a personal message in each card.
If other people in your firm have worked with the client, ask them to add their signatures.

The first few cards may be difficult, but with a little practice, you'll be on your way to a memorable and personal card that creates a positive client experience.

Creating a positive client experience is an effective lawyer marketing tool. For lawyer marketing tips tailored to your own law firm, contact Great Legal Marketing at 703-591-9829.

5 Sample Messages For Law Firm Holiday Cards

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

In the article "‘Tis The Season...for Law Firm Marketing," I discussed the importance of personalized holiday cards. Now, it is late November and the cards are sitting on your desk. You had good intentions, but with the cards in front of you, writing personal messages seems like a daunting task. Remember, a personal message doesn't have to be long, but it should be unique and handwritten.

Here are five law firm Christmas card ideas to get you started. Feel free to modify them so they work for you.

As we celebrate the joy of the holidays, we are grateful for the opportunity to work with you. We wish you, your family, and the new dog peace, prosperity, and happiness in the coming year. Happy holidays!
I wish you and your family a holiday season filled with joy and celebration.
Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to work with you this year. I wish you a merry Christmas and a new year filled with joy.
Merry Christmas! May the New Year be joyful and prosperous.
While the circumstances that brought you to our office were tragic, I am thankful for the opportunity to work with you. I wish you a merry Christmas and hope the New Year brings comfort and joy.

A personal, handwritten message makes great impact. Without mentioning your services or qualifications, you build trust and show you care.

Get law firm marketing tips year round from Great Legal Marketing. To learn how you can tailor our attorney marketing tips to fit your firm, contact us at 703-591-9829.

Should I Consider A Mobile Website For My Law Firm?

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

Yes!

More than 27 million Americans own a smartphone. There are two important reasons why you should consider a mobile web site as part of your law firm marketing plan.

Twenty-five percent of Americans use mobile phones as their only source of internet access. This percentage is expected to grow. Many people look at smartphones as an affordable alternative to a personal computer. If your website is difficult to use on a mobile phone, you could be losing clients.
Mobile internet allows clients to reach you from anywhere. The client who has just crashed his car doesn't have his laptop in front of him, but he can easily pull his mobile phone out of his pocket and search for a personal injury attorney. The client stopped on suspicion of DWI can search for a lawyer and make a quick phone call. The mother considering divorce can browse your site during a Little League game. Smartphones allow clients to reach you as soon as they need you.

Your website may be very effective - on a computer screen. This doesn't mean it will work well on a mobile phone. Few things are as frustrating as navigating a complex web site on a four-inch screen. A website that is specifically designed for mobile users will reduce frustration and keep clients on your site. You can learn more about the advantages of a mobile website in our article, "Mobile Websites: The Next Step In Lawyer Marketing."

Is a mobile website right for you? Ask the law firm marketing experts at Great Legal Marketing. Contact us at 703-591-9829.

Attention Attorneys: It's Time to Learn to Be Interesting

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

In order to be interesting you have to first identify whom you are trying to interest. Think about it. What would make you interesting on a first date is very different from what would make you interesting in a job interview.

In both those situations you are marketing yourself to a specific audience and your tactics change for that audience. The same principle should be true of your law firm marketing techniques.

Identify whom you are trying to attract and tailor your legal marketing campaign to appeal to that person.

Let's assume, for example, that you are trying to appeal to people who have been seriously injured in an accident. What would interest them? That population of potential legal clients may be interested in whether you are compassionate, aggressive, knowledgeable and successful. Accordingly, your attorney marketing strategy should answer their potential questions about a personal injury case in a way that showcases your compassion, determination, experience and past results.

There are some common qualities among interesting attorneys.

While your lawyer marketing plan should cater to the interests of your target audience, it is important that you first attract that target audience. Generally, your legal marketing content should be exciting and welcoming. Leave out the dry, boring, legalese, and write in an approachable manner that your clients want to read.

For more information about effective legal marketing techniques, please browse our website and read our FREE publications. Additionally, we invite you to contact us at 703.591.9829 to learn more.

What to do When Your Law Firm Marketing Takes a Wrong Turn

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

Think about what happens when you're trying to find a new restaurant. You have a general idea where it is, but you're not exactly sure how to get there. Suddenly, you become aware that you took a wrong turn. You know what to do next - even though you might not always do it. You should pull over, reassess the situation, figure out the correct driving directions, and continue on your way to the restaurant. You should not continue driving and hope you end up in the right place. When you continue driving, you risk wasting a lot of time and energy. More importantly, you risk missing your destination entirely.

The same principles are true for your law firm marketing campaign.

When your legal marketing campaign takes a wrong turn and does not deliver the results that you expect, it's time to stop and address the situation. Do not continue moving in the wrong marketing direction without correcting course.

Instead, stop. Reevaluate what is happening, and make plans to change it. Meet with your mastermind group or your attorney marketing specialists. Brainstorm ideas about how your lawyer marketing strategies could be improved to deliver the results you desire.

Then get to work on the right course. Move toward your goal. Hopefully, the drive will be smooth and you will soon reach your destination of attracting the right clients. If not, continue to stop, readjust your course and proceed until you find what works for you.

For more information about effective lawyer marketing strategies, please browse the FREE resources available on our website and call us today at 703.591.9829.

How to Make Your Small Law Firm Marketing Stand Out

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

How many law firms in your area can you think of that are competing for the same clients? What is going to make one of those prospective clients call your law firm instead of the dozens of other competent law firms?

You will get the call if your law firm stands out from the pack.

Of course, the next logical question is how do I make my law firm stand out from the rest in an ethical manner? Our law firm marketing specialists suggest that you focus on two things.

First, concentrate on how you are different or unique. Every firm offers a free consultation. Most attorneys list their degrees and bar association memberships. Clients don't care. They expect a free consultation and they are not often influenced by your bar association committee work. Instead, spend some time brainstorming with your mastermind group and come up with the qualities, experience or qualifications that truly make you unique.

Second, answer the questions of your prospective clients. Sure, prospective clients want to know that you are qualified, but more than that, they want to know what you can do for them. They want to know you anticipate their questions and their needs, and they want to hear your answers. Your attorney marketing campaign will stand out if you think about it from a potential client's point of view rather than your own.

For more information about effective legal marketing strategies, please view our segments on Great Legal Marketing TV and contact us today at 703.591.9829.

Identifying the Perfect Client for Your Lawyer Marketing Strategy

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

Are you tired of accepting cases that you do not enjoy working on, working with clients who are not a good match for your firm, or investing large amounts of time into poorly paying legal matters? The answer is simple: stop settling! Change your lawyer marketing mindset and target only the perfect clients for your practice.

What is the perfect client? Generally, perfect clients are well paying and have legal issues which fall into your firm's legal niche. The niche should consist of matters that you are interested in handling and apply to your particular strengths.

Contrary to popular belief, casting a wide net with regard to who the firm considers a perfect client is actually counter-productive. For example, describing your ideal client as "all car accident victims" is too broad. Defining this target group more narrowly allows you to focus time and money on only the best clients. Consider the legal matters you enjoy handling and identify the unique traits of those cases as compared to the matters which are less ideal.

Once you have an idea of what the perfect client looks like, identify the characteristics of this target group and gear your law firm marketing strategy accordingly. The following factors should be considered:

What is the age, gender, employment history, and geographic location of your perfect client?
What information is the perfect client looking for?

Where does the perfect client go to find answers for his or her legal questions?
What forms of advertising are most effective to this particular demographic?

Gathering all of this information should result in a clear, narrowly defined picture of your perfect client. To learn how to use the idea of your perfect client to improve your law firm's success, contact the legal marketing experts at Great Legal Marketing. For more information, fill out our online form or call our office at 703-591-9829.

Finding Relevant Topic Ideas for Your Lawyer Marketing Materials

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

Successful lawyer marketing strategies utilize informative, educational content as the cornerstone of the advertising plan. This content may include:

online materials, such as blogs, articles and websites
print materials, such as newsletters and other legal advertisements

By focusing on educating potential clients through this content rather than selling, the attorney builds a reputation as a trusted source for information within the community. When potential clients face legal issues, they are likely to contact that trusted source.

Updating legal content takes time and effort to ensure that the materials maximize effectiveness. To be effective, the content must address issues that concern potential clients. It can be difficult to constantly create unique, relevant material that will appeal to the target demographic. Fortunately for savvy lawyers, there are many options for seeking out topic ideas.

Great resources for potential law firm marketing topics are legal websites which allow consumers to post questions which are then answered by licensed attorneys. One such website is Avvo.com. By searching the questions posted, the attorney gets a glimpse into the mind of his potential clients. Some websites even allow a search based upon geographic location. The lawyer can then create legal content that answers those specific questions.

By using websites like Avvo.com, the attorney can ensure that the information he is offering to potential clients directly relates to the questions that matter to them. To learn more about unique places for obtaining topic ideas, contact the legal marketing experts at Great Legal Marketing. For more information, fill out our online form or call our office at 703-591-9829.

Holidays: How Holiday Giving Can Make A Positive Impression

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

During the Holiday season, local newspapers feature photos of business owners and managers presenting checks to charitable organizations. Holiday giving helps the community, but it is also great publicity. Many businesses include their charitable work in their newsletters and advertisements.

How can attorneys use charitable giving as a law firm marketing tool?

The Your Honor Awards recognize excellence in attorney marketing. In 2010, the second place winner in the Christmas card category created an electronic card to send to the law firm's clients. When the card was opened, the recipient was asked to choose from a list of charities. Once the charity was chosen and clicked on, the reader was taken to the card and told that a donation would be made to that charity.

Cards are one way to involve your clients. Your newsletter is another. Consider featuring a local charity. Write about the good that the charity does and why it needs help. Offer to match any donations (up to a specific limit) that are made by your clients.

Not all law firms can afford to give a monetary donation. If giving money is not an option, consider giving your time. Perhaps members of your law firm could donate hours to a soup kitchen, women's shelter, or local school.

The holidays offer law firms a unique opportunity to show good will to the community and create a positive impression. However, giving is a good legal marketing strategy all year round. Send out the good will; you may be surprised when it comes back to you.

Is your law firm marketing getting stale? Contact Great Legal marketing at 703-591-9829.

Can Grandma Sue If She Is Run Over By A Reindeer? Let Your Law Firm Newsletter Reflect The Holiday Season

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

Traditionally, the holiday season is a slow time of year for law firms. However, legal problems don't go away during the holiday season. In fact, the holiday season can create its own legal problems. Here are some examples:

Personal Injury: Drunk driving accidents peak during the holiday season. Shopping mall accidents also increase as shoppers crowd in to take advantage of sales and bargains.
Family Law: Divorced parents may disagree about holiday custody and visitation arrangements.
Criminal/DUI Defense: Drunk driving rates go up during the holiday season.
Bankruptcy Law: Consumers struggle with post-holiday bills.

You can be proactive by addressing these immediate legal issues on your law firm website and in your newsletter. Possible topics include:

Injured in the mall on Black Friday: do you have a premises liability claim?
Five things you should do if you are stopped for DWI after your company's Christmas party.
Who has custody during the holidays?
Can't pay your holiday bills? Here are some options.

In-depth articles about these topics can provide valuable information at a time when many people assume no lawyer is available to help them. Make sure you mention your availability. This is effective attorney marketing for the holidays.

For more law firm marketing tips that really work, contact Great Legal Marketing at 703-591-9829.

How to Make Law Firm Marketing Emails More Effective

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

You've heard us say before, and we'll probably say again, that emails alone are not an effective way to communicate with prospective clients. That said, emails used in conjunction with other types of communications can be a very effective way to communicate with prospective clients.

3 Tips for Effective Email Law Firm Marketing

You can help make the legal marketing emails you send more effective by:

Creating Exciting Subject Lines. If the recipient is not interested in the subject line, then the email is unlikely to be read.
Sending Easy to Read, Easy to Understand, and Pertinent Information. This is not the time to write a legal brief. Make your sentences short and have lots of attention grabbing subheadings.
Providing Easy Ways for the Potential Client to Stay in Touch With Your Firm. Invite the email recipient to click on something for more free offers, to be added to your newsletter mailing list, or to schedule an appointment, for example.

Are Your Emails Working the Way You Want Them To?

In order to determine if your emails are an effective part of your attorney marketing strategy, you need to analyze how often they are used the way you want them to be used. Are readers clicking on the links provided in the email, requesting free information from you, or calling your office and making appointments?

If not, it is time to rethink your email legal marketing strategy. We invite you to browse through the FREE resources available on our website and to call us at 703.591.9829 if you are interested in learning more about great legal marketing strategies.

Read More About The Use of Email in Law Firm Marketing in our FREE article: The Role of Email in a Good Legal Marketing Campaign

Email Alone Won't Make You Rich

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

When was the last time you checked your email? For most people, the answer to that question would imply that email is an effective way to communicate.

However, I want you to consider another question.

When you last checked your email, how many emails did you actually open and read, and how many emails did you delete without even reading? The answer to that question should give you reason to reconsider relying on email as your only direct communication strategy with potential clients.

Email Can Be Effective When it is Used as Part of a Law Firm Marketing Campaign

We are not telling you to abandon all email communication with your prospective clients. Email is undeniably an easy and inexpensive way to communicate. It likely has a place in your attorney marketing strategy. For example, you might consider emailing free materials immediately when a client requests information. You might also consider emailing breaking news or timely information with an exciting subject line that will get your email noticed.

It is repetitive and boring communications that are made exclusively by email that may not be as effective as you want. Think of email as one tool, one way of reaching clients, not the only way.

Learn More About Effective Electronic Legal Marketing Techniques

To learn more about the effective use of email and other lawyer marketing strategies, please review our free articles, videos and other materials. You can also reach us directly at 703.591.9829 if you are interested in learning more great legal marketing techniques.

Read More About The Use of Email in Law Firm Marketing in our FREE article: The Role of Email in a Good Legal Marketing Campaign

Why You Should Ask Clients to Submit Online Reviews About Your Law Firm

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

When it comes to online reviews, many attorneys are nervous about the whole process. They aren't sure how best to approach their client about the process, and they aren't sure when is the best time to ask.

Well, it's time to set aside those fears and to jump in feet-first to the process. And here's why:

Another way to reach out - These online reviews are like free-floating referrals and testimonials that help consumers make better informed decisions about the attorney in question.
Google power! - More and more, being found online means taking advantage of every area that is available, not just writing content for your own site. Use the backlinks from sites such as AVVO and SuperLawyers to beef up your search engine optimization strategies.
Stand out in a sea of negativity - The view that most people have of attorneys isn't exactly a friendly one. Taking control of the review process by asking for them from satisfied clients means that you will be the only law practice on the block that has raving fans! People are used to seeing a look of negative comments online, which means that your positive reviews will truly stand out and potentially make someone actually excited to contact an attorney knowing the great experiences others have had with you.
Build up the need for great client experiences - If more attorneys were to take part in the soliciting of online reviews from clients, it would go a long way in building up the reputation of the profession since other attorneys would be forced to take notice of these things and improve their own service.

So how do you actually go about getting these reviews? Well, you should ask the client for one at the peak point in their happiness with your service - probably when you've finally settled the case and the long process is coming to end. Make it easy for them to submit the review and direct them to the places to go online to do so.

Use their enthusiasm over the excellent service you have provided to build a strong online reputation that is good for your law practice and those in need of legal help out there. Don't be afraid of the process - use it to your advantage!

Three Tips For A Successful Law Firm Newsletter

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

You read our article, "Building A Successful Legal Website: The Importance Of A Follow-up Campaign" and were convinced that an attorney newsletter should be an important part of your law firm marketing campaign. You sat down to work on the newsletter, and...you drew a blank. How do you get started?

Great Legal Marketing can help. Here are three ideas for newsletter articles:

1. Write the answers to the questions that your clients are most likely to ask. Think of questions your clients often ask during the initial consultation. You should also ask your secretary or paralegal if they get questions. Answer these questions or use them as starting points for longer articles.

2. Introduce your staff through your newsletter. Your secretary or receptionist is the first person a new client will meet. In fact, a client will probably interact with your whole team. Build trust by letting potential clients get to know your staff.

3. Give practical tips. Most people rarely deal with attorneys or step foot inside a courthouse. A potential client may wonder what to bring to the initial consultation. A client with a court date may wonder where to park, and whether they get breaks for lunch. People appreciate knowing what to expect.

Learn more about newsletters in our Free Webinar, "Getting the Cases You Want Using Your Practice Newsletter." No time to write a newsletter? We can write your newsletter for you. Contact Nicole at Great Legal Marketing at 717-824-6553.

How to Know if You Are Ready for an Innovative Law Firm Marketing Plan

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

Innovative legal marketing is effective and can be life changing, but it is not for everyone. Many lawyers are either not ready or not willing to try interesting, out-of-the-box attorney marketing techniques.

How to Know if YOU are Ready

To find out if you are ready for an effective and inventive lawyer marketing strategy, we suggest asking yourself the following three questions:

1. Do I Care What Others Think of Me? Other lawyers may not like your marketing plan. Although it meets the requirements of your state ethics board, many attorneys are slow to change and critical of others who make changes. Are you ready to stand out from the crowd?
2. Am I Committed to Making a Change? Think about whether you have a vision for your law firm and your life and whether you are ready to pursue it.
3. Am I Willing to Take the Time to Work on Marketing? Good small law firm marketing strategies can, quite literally, change your life, but they don't just happen. You need to work with the right people and take the time to develop your message and ideas in order to be effective.

If you answered no to the first question and yes to the second and third questions then you may be ready to take the next step. Please review the free resources available on our website to learn more about effective marketing techniques and how to implement change.

Panda Loves Good Content

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

You may have heard talk about Google Panda, and you may be wondering if you should change your attorney website to adapt to Panda. We have good news for you, if you have followed Great Legal Marketing's advice and have an original, interesting and informative law firm website, then you have nothing to fear.

Panda is Google's latest search algorithm. The reason Panda has made news is that it weeds out sites with bad content and rewards sites with unique, interesting and relevant content. Because of this change, about 20 percent of all website were negatively affected by Panda. Some businesses failed because their websites were no longer being found.

What does Panda mean to your law firm?

If your law firm is reposting content from sites like AVVO, your website is at risk. However, if your legal website includes original, informative articles that answer your clients' questions, Panda will love you. Just make sure your articles are well-written; Google's Panda penalizes poor quality, so watch out for poor grammar and misspelled words.

Great Legal Marketing can help you create an internet marketing strategy that works for your law firm. To learn more about effective attorney marketing, contact Great Legal Marketing at 703-591-7829.

Use Your Lawyer Marketing Blog to Get Business

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

You've heard that you should start a blog and you have, but now what? How is your blog going to help you attract the business you want for your law firm?

A blog can be a powerful tool in your legal marketing campaign.

A lawyer marketing blog can help you:

Direct clients to your main site. Your main site should contain more information than your blog and be critical to your law firm marketing plan. Your blog should drive traffic to that site and encourage visitors to explore your main site.
Encourage clients to contact you because of your knowledge or personality. You can use your blog to showcase your personality or highlight interesting news stories that grab the reader's attention and make him want to learn more about you.

In order to accomplish these goals, your attorney marketing blog should be:

Quick to read and easy to navigate. Readers won't spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to use your blog. They will simply move on if they are dissatisfied. Thus, it is important to make your blog easily accessible.
Entertaining and informative. The longer you keep your reader's interest, the more likely your reader will be to stick around, read what else you have to say and contact you.

Have you read any law firm blogs that you thought stood out from the rest and were particularly effective? Is so, please leave a comment and share your thoughts on what makes a good attorney blog that converts readers into clients.

Follow Up with Potential Personal Injury Clients Without Annoying Them

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

Our approach to personal injury law firm marketing is twofold. We believe that you first need to attract visitors to your website and other advertisements with useful and interesting information. Then we believe it is essential to follow up with interested people who have contacted your firm.

Consider the following 3 ways to follow up with potential clients without driving them away:

•1. Send them useful information. Don' t follow up with prospective clients only with general emails that say things like, "Thanks for visiting my website," or, "Call me if you want to follow up on your visit to my website." Instead, if you are interested in representing a client, send out useful information such as a free book, free CD, or link to specific materials on your website.

•2. Be persistent at the beginning. Try a variety of lawyer marketing methods for getting in touch in the days following an initial contact. You might reach out by mail, phone and e-mail, for example. Don't worry about annoying your contacts. They reached out to you for a reason and need answers to their questions.

•3. Stay on the radar after the first month. It often takes clients a while to decide to hire an attorney. Stay on a person's radar by including them on your law firm newsletter distribution list or periodically reaching out with new information or to answer questions.

For more ideas about how to make your law firm marketing relevant for your website visitors and on how to convert visitors into clients, please look at the free resources available on our website and call us today at 703.591.9829 to discuss your legal marketing strategies.

Twelve Steps To A Facebook Profile

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

Would you like use Facebook for law firm marketing? Not sure how to get started? Just follow these 12 easy steps to create a Facebook law firm page.

Before you start, you will need a file with your firm logo and a Facebook account. If you don't have a Facebook account, you will be able to create one.

To get started, go to Facebook.com and follow these easy steps:

If you are a Facebook user and you are logged in, log out.
Click on "Create A Page." This is just below the "Sign Up" button.
Click on "Local Business or Place."
Add your contact information, then read and agree to Facebook terms.
Click on "Get Started."
If you don't have a current Facebook account, you will be asked to create one. If you have an account, log in.
Load your logo.
You will be asked to invite friends or import contacts. Skip this step until you have some content on your page. Once you've added some posts, you can send a notification to your email contact list to let clients and potential clients know that you now have a Facebook page.
Add your website and write a brief summary describing your firm.
You are now ready to post updates. See our article, "Finding Balance: How To Use Social Media In Your Lawyer Marketing" for tips.
Promote your page by adding a "like" button.
Go back to step 8. Ask your own Facebook friends to "like" your page.

Great Legal Marketing helps attorneys get an edge over the competition with legal marketing that really works. Contact Great Legal Marketing at 703-591-9289.

Law Firm Taglines – What Does Your Tagline Say About You?

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

Before you can decide whether your law firm tagline says what you want it to say about you, you must identify what you want it to say about you.

You want your law firm tagline to accomplish the same goal as your overall law firm marketing strategy. Specifically, you want it to say who you are and what you can do for a client.

How Can You Do This in a One-Line Tagline?

You have only one sentence to help prospective clients remember you and encourage them to call you. Overall, it is important to think about your message and craft your tagline accordingly. Be interesting and avoid being too general. Don't just string together keywords or buzzwords. You don't need to include all of your practice areas in one single sentence. Instead, you want people to remember you and, more importantly, remember to call you if they have a legal problem.

How To Develop a Good Tagline

You can use the same strategies that you use to develop other parts of your attorney marketing campaign to develop a good tagline. Brainstorm with your staff or mastermind group to figure out the message you want to send. Then you, your staff, your mastermind group, your family and your friends can play with the words to find the unique tagline that works for your firm.

Remember, a tagline is different than a slogan. While you want your tagline to be memorable, you also want it to work with your overall legal marketing strategy.

Lawyer Marketing Offering a Free Consultation: Everyone's Doing It

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

Is the most inspiring part of your lawyer marketing campaign the offer for a free consultation? If so, you are missing a valuable opportunity to earn the business of potential clients. While there is nothing wrong with offering free consultations, your legal advertisements need to go further to call potential clients to action. Nearly every attorney advertisement that potential clients will come across will offer a free consultation. It is, therefore, essential that your ads offer something more, enticing potential clients to pick up the phone and call you rather than any other lawyer.

How can you create a call to action that goes beyond merely offering a free consultation? Here are some examples:

Tell them why it is a mistake not to contact an attorney, using specific examples.
Offer access to free, relevant, and valuable information about their legal issue.
Instruct the potential client on specific steps that should be taken to address their legal issue.
Convey a sense of urgency for the need to seek legal counsel.

The call to action is very important because it can mean the difference between potential clients picking up the phone and reaching out or reviewing your lawyer marketing materials and moving on to another law firm. Including the fact that your firm offers free consultation is not by itself a mistake. Failing to go further, however, will do nothing to set your advertisement apart from the sea of other advertisements flooding the media.

The law firm marketing experts at Great Legal Marketing are here to help your firm create and implement effective marketing strategies. For more information, contact us by filling out our online form or calling our office at 703-591-9829.

How to Get New Personal Injury Clients Without Chasing Ambulances

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

You hold the legal profession and your clients in high esteem. You want to attract new personal injury clients, but you in no way want to be the infamous ambulance chaser. Is it possible to get new cases through effective and ethical law firm marketing?

It is not only possible, but also probable that you will get new cases through a good, complex legal marketing campaign.

The Key is to Have the Clients Come to You

Sounds good, right? Instead of pursuing individual clients, the clients you want to represent will call you and ask for a consultation. A well designed attorney marketing plan can help attract potential clients and get them to contact you when they need a personal injury attorney.

Your lawyer marketing campaign can help you achieve this goal if it:

Answers the questions of potential clients. People are searching for a personal injury lawyer because they have questions. Answering their questions, rather than talking about yourself, will help distinguish you from your competition.
Makes it easy for a potential client to contact you. Your marketing materials should provide an online contact form and phone number so that a client can contact you at any time.
Positions you as a knowledgeable and reliable resource. The more content you have on your website or publications you offer, the more potential clients will see you as a reliable authority whom they should hire.

For more information about how to make your small law firm marketing campaign work for you, please review the FREE resources available on our website and contact us at 703.591.9829.

Don't Be an Idiot: Use Direct Response Law Firm Marketing

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

Traditional law firm marketing techniques often have outdated goals for attracting new clients. These strategies focus too much on the lawyer and not enough on the issues that are important to the potential client. Direct response marketing is the modern day front end strategy that can lead to more clients and more revenue for your law firm.

Many traditional attorney marketing materials talk about the following:

The attorney's contact information
The attorney's background
The attorney's daily schedule

These materials fail to stand out among other legal advertisements. As a result, whether the potential client decides to contact your firm becomes a matter of random chance. Direct response marketing, however, inspires potential clients to choose your firm because they feel a sense of urgency to do so. Direct response marketing materials present an intriguing message directly geared towards the legal issues facing potential clients. After seeing these materials, potential clients are inspired to respond directly to the attorney because the message:

Provokes a response
Shows a need and importance for hiring an attorney immediately
Conveys the sense of urgency for speaking with a lawyer

Put simply, direct response marketing puts into the minds of potential clients that they would be an idiot to take any further action without first reaching out to the law firm. Similarly, attorneys should understand that failing to incorporate direct response marketing would be just as much of a mistake.

Direct response should be the goal of your law firm's front end marketing strategy. For more information, contact Great Legal Marketing by filling out our online form or calling our office at 703-591-9829.

Making an Offer They Can't Refuse in Your Lawyer Marketing Ads

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

Most lawyers incorporate some form of legal advertising into their overall lawyer marketing campaign. This may include print, television, or online ads. In order to maximize the effectiveness of these materials, the advertisements should present an irresistible offer to the potential client. This offer can take many forms, including:

A free book of interest to the potential client
Free articles containing information about the legal needs of the potential client
Free online videos offering insight into the issues facing the potential client
Free monthly, semi-monthly, or quarterly newsletter
Free initial consultation

Including an enticing offer as part of the legal marketing plan will encourage the potential client to reach out and connect directly with the law firm. If the client is wrestling with an issue and comes in contact with a legal advertisement offering free and valuable information directly relating to his or her problem, that client will realize the need to take action. The offer helps to send the message that taking action without consulting an attorney is a potentially hazardous mistake.

Understanding how to properly craft lawyer marketing advertisements to help your law firm stand out in the crowd can be difficult for attorneys accustomed to traditional forms of legal advertising. Fortunately, the legal advertising experts at Great Legal Marketing are here to help. For more information, contact us by filling out our online form or calling our office at 703-591-9829.

How to Choose Social Media Buttons for Law Firm Marketing

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

A complex legal marketing campaign requires a lot of decisions. As you are deciding on website layout, content, free offers and other law firm marketing techniques, it is important to consider social media buttons. At first glance, it may seem like social media buttons are a small detail undeserving of your attention. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

3 Reasons Social Media Buttons are Important

If you have any doubt about using social media buttons in your legal marketing campaign, consider:

1. They send the message that you are proud of your work and more than willing to help others who need your expertise.
2. They can enhance your reputation. A quick Facebook like or tweet on someone's page can instantly brand you as an authority and someone that their hundreds of friends and followers should call if they need a local lawyer in your specialty.
3. Your website viewers may expect the buttons and hold it against you if they aren't there. These days people want to share things instantly and as easily as possible. It is important to recognize that and have the social media buttons available for visitors to do just that.

Deciding on the Best Social Media Buttons for Your Attorney Website Marketing Initiative

You may decide to have a few social media buttons available, or you may decide to have all the social media buttons available. You can base your decision on your personal preference or look at how often your links are shared on each site and use that analytical information to decide how to use social media buttons for law firm marketing.

For more information about lawyer marketing techniques, please call us today at 703.591.9829.

For more information about social media and legal marketing please read our FREE library article: Do Social Media Buttons Help Your Law Firm Marketing?

Five Reasons To Use Social Media In Your Law Firm Marketing

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

How can social marketing help your law firm reach potential clients?

Social media increases your visibility: By participating in Facebook conversations, following a client's tweets, or congratulating an acquaintance on a new position on LinkedIn, you become part of that person's day. When someone they know needs an attorney, your name will come to mind.
Build trust: When you wish someone a happy birthday or comment on their new dog, you show that you are someone who cares.
Promote your website: When you post an interesting article from your blog, you bring new viewers to your website. If your website is interesting and informative, visitors will stay and remember the information when someone they know is looking for an attorney.
Show yourself as an expert: When you post links to your videos, books and library articles, you establish your expertise.
Increase conversion: Like video, social media makes potential clients feel that they "know" you.

Learn more about using social media for law firm marketing. Contact Great Legal Marketing at 703-591-9829.

Finding Balance: How To Use Social Media In Your Lawyer Marketing

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

Many attorneys who are new to using social media in their lawyer marketing wonder what they should post. Should posts be professional or fun? Should they offer legal advice or give a glimpse into the daily workings of the law firm? Should they avoid being personal or is it ok to show off pictures of the new grandbaby?

The answer may be all of the above. The key to successful legal marketing through social media is to find a balance between sharing your expertise and showing your personal side. Potential clients want a lawyer who is experienced and knowledgeable, but they also want someone they can connect with, especially if they are going through a difficult time. By providing a bit of personal touch, you can show that you are someone who has the expertise and that you can be trusted.

Make your posts a mixture of professional and personal, but don't confuse personal with private. Don't grumble about your workload or your aching back. No matter what your credentials, negativity and too much information are seen as unprofessional.

Would you like to learn more about using social media for attorney marketing? Fill out our online form or call Great Legal Marketing at 703-591-9829.

Can Your Law Firm Marketing be Everything to Everyone?

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

It's hard to be everything to everyone. In fact, you may be using legal marketing techniques so that you no longer have to be everything to everyone. A good attorney marketing campaign will allow you to attract the clients you want and have more time to do what you want.

However, in order to reach that goal, you need a complex lawyer marketing strategy that will attract all of your potential clients who may be at different points in their attorney hiring decision-making process. For example, your website and other materials must attract, interest and persuade:

People who have recently had a legal issue, but aren't sure they need a lawyer yet.
People who know they need a lawyer, but aren't sure whom to hire.
People who have put off hiring a lawyer for so long that it is now an emergency.

It is important to recognize that when a person contacts you for legal representation, that person is making an important commitment. A big commitment like marriage, making an expensive purchase, deciding on a surgeon or hiring a lawyer often requires thought. People want to make sure they are making the best decision possible. One of the goals of your law firm marketing campaign should be to persuade people that you are the attorney they can't live without. You are the attorney worth hiring.

For more information about legal marketing and how it can help your firm, please browse the videos on our website and call us today at 703.591.9829.

Smart Lawyer Marketing Takes The Fear Out Of Bankruptcy

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

In today's tough economy, many families are struggling and failing to make ends meet. One would think that bankruptcy lawyers would have their hands full. But, if you are a bankruptcy lawyer who is struggling to find clients, you know it is not so easy. How do you get the people who need help to come to your door?

The secret is in how you market your law firm. There are many myths attached to bankruptcy. People believe they will lose everything they own. They believe their bankruptcy will be made public. They believe that bankruptcy will permanently affect their credit or prevent them from getting a job in the future. With smart lawyer marketing, you can calm those fears and bring clients to your door.

For just a minute, put yourself in the place of your potential client. Imagine that there are creditors calling at all hours, you are unable to pay the mortgage and feed your children, and you don't know what to do. What would you want to know?

You would probably want to know what your options are. You might type something like, "Help, I can't pay my mortgage," into Google. And, wouldn't you find it helpful if you just happened to find a book or a video with that title?

That's what smart lawyer marketing is about. It is about being found and providing the help that a potential client needs.

Great Legal Marketing has put together a legal marketing program for bankruptcy lawyers. To learn more and request three free CDs and a special report, contact Great Legal Marketing at 703-591-9829.

Dominate YouTube with Your Legal Marketing Videos

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

Legal marketing videos posted on YouTube are an excellent way to engage potential clients and grow your practice. In order to do so, however, the videos must be easily accessible. Appearing on the first page of YouTube search results is essential to the overall success of your video.

How can you improve the page ranking of your attorney marketing videos? Several factors influence search results. These factors include:

Text describing your video, which provides clues to its content and its relevancy to the search questions
Number of times your legal marketing video has been viewed
Ratings received by viewers of your video
Number of comments posted about your video
How recently your video was posted
Number of times your YouTube Channel was visited
Number of subscribers to your YouTube Channel
Number of inbound links to your video

To attract viewers, your attorney marketing video should offer interesting and exciting content. It should address the questions that your target clients are asking. Additionally, videos should be posted frequently and regularly. The more videos that turn up on a YouTube search, the more likely that a potential client will decide to view one. Multiple videos also gives the appearance that the law firm is a knowledgeable and useful resource. Finally, consider targeting your YouTube videos to address tangible areas with less competition. For example, target an ancillary practice area or less competitive geographic region that your law firm services.

To improve YouTube ranking, offer creative content, share it, and link to it as much as possible. For more information about law firm videos, contact the experts at Great Legal Marketing by filling out our online form or calling our office at 703-591-9829.

3 Ways That Lawyer Marketing Can Reduce Law Firm Stress Levels

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

A high level of negative stress is a surefire way to sabotage the success and productivity of your law firm. Fortunately, there are many effective measures for reducing attorney stress levels. Perhaps surprisingly, a solid lawyer marketing plan is one such strategy that goes a long way in preventing or lessening the negative impacts of stress. The following is a list of the top three examples:

1. Increase clients and caseload.

The biggest goal of lawyer marketing is to increase the number of clients of the law firm. By doing so, the stress associated with finances is greatly reduced. This can include meeting payroll, paying overhead costs, and the overall financial stability of the firm.

2. Improve efficiency of time and money spent on marketing.

Traditional marketing strategies involve attending countless after-hours networking events and paying for expensive television and print advertisements. New strategies, which focus on client education and utilizing the internet and social media, allow for a greater return on the law firm's investment. This reduces stress by limiting costs and freeing up hours in the day for the attorney to participate in stress-relieving activities.

3. Increase time available for completing billable work.

With improved attorney marketing, more time is available for the lawyer to work on actual cases. Since most lawyers are paid per billable hour, this translates to increased revenue for the law firm. As a result, stress related to lack of time and lack of resources is reduced.

For more information about lawyer marketing strategies, contact Great Legal Marketing by filling out our online form or calling our office at 703-591-9829.

How does a potential client choose a lawyer?

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

A person looking for a lawyer is inundated with law firm marketing. They see yellow page ads, billboards, TV commercials and websites. How do they sort through this information and make a choice?

In general, the public doesn't know what to look for in a lawyer. Ask a potential client what they are looking for in an attorney. They probably want someone who is skillful, someone who has experience, and someone who will get results. But, most of all, they want someone they can trust.

The truth is that most potential clients are pretty skeptical. They believe that claims of expertise and experience are half-truths. And, when looking for truth, they will look beyond your website.

A potential client who likes your website will research you on AVVO, on NOLO, on Super Lawyers, even on Facebook. They will Google your name and look for client reviews. They want to feel that they have researched you and validated you before they make that call.

Make it easy by providing links to your lawyer ratings from your law firm website. Add client testimonials. And don't forget to show your expertise with a book or other publication.

Great Legal Marketing offers time-tested legal marketing strategies. To learn more, contact us at 703-591-9829.

Virginia State Bar violates First Amendment in Attacking Lawyer Blog

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

So says a brief filed on behalf of Horace Hunter, a Virginia Attorney who blogs on a variety of criminal law cases, including his own. The Virginia State Bar filed a formal ethics complaint against Hunter regarding his criminal law blog.

Rod Smolla, Virginia's top expert on the First Amendment on this matter, has filed a brief with the Virginia State Bar in which he attacks the "paternalistic" attitude of the bar, pointing out that Virginia's consumers are not so ill-informed as to be misled by anything that Hunter writes at his blog. Smolla also points out the the Surpreme Court requires a very high standard when a governmental agency seeks to restrict free speech, even if that speach comes from a lawyer who is also looking for new cases.

We applaud the Smolla brief on lawyer blogging and the First Amendment and we wonder how far the Virginia State Bar will go in expending resources to defend its position. Certainly, to the extent that mandatory bar dues are being used, attorney across the Commonwealth should be screaming about this waste of money.

Bottom line, attorneys should be absolutely free to write whateve they want at their blogs until the Bar had objective proof that something is misleading or deceptive. Long gone, according to the Supreme Court of the United States, are the days when a state can impose restrictions on a lawyers writings/talks/whatever on the chance that something is potentially misleading. Virginia consumers aren't stupid and the state bar should not be spending bar resources in a argument for paternalism.

You can read and download Rod Smolla's brief on lawyer blogging and the First Amendment here.

Web Marketing for Lawyers: Why Incorporate Social Media?

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

Developing a presence on the internet is an essential aspect of lawyer marketing. In today's social media crazed society, incorporating the use of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn is a vital part of web marketing. Many lawyers, however, mistakenly view these platforms as exclusively for social and personal uses. Below is an overview of how Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have professional attorney marketing uses as well.

Facebook

Facebook currently has over 800 million users. Law firms should set up a fan account to show a different, more personal side of the law firm that is not shown on the firm's website. Attorneys can post photographs and videos of law firm functions and events. By encouraging clients and potential clients to "like" the page, it shows the public that the law firm is supported in the community.

Twitter

Twitter currently has approximately 175 million registered account holders. Users post brief messages of 140 characters or less. A law firm can use Twitter to talk about and link to things that matter to its target group of potential clients. The firm should also follow its clients and potential clients as a means of staying in contact and showing support.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn currently has approximately 100 million users. This site allows law firms to create a company profile. The individual employees of the firms can also create their own pages and link back to the firm. This allows friends and colleagues of each of your employees to click through and learn a little more about your law firm.

For more information about how social media can work as part of your lawyer marketing plan, contact the experts at Great Legal Marketing. Fill out our online form or call our office at 703-591-9829 for more information.

Stand Out From The Crowd: Is A Pretty Legal Website Enough?

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

You've spent quite a bit of money on your legal website, but you don't seem to be getting visitors. What's happening?

To understand what makes a potential client choose a website, try a quick Google search. If you are a personal injury attorney in Wichita, type "personal injury attorney Wichita" into the search box. If you are a divorce lawyer in Akron, type "divorce lawyer Akron." Chances are that Google pulls up pages of results. Who gets the click?

Most people ignore the paid listings at the top of the page and in the sidebar. They scroll down below the geographical results and start looking at listings.

Look at the black writing under the blue heading. This is the meta description. This is the only way to differentiate your law firm from thousands of other attorneys out there. Look at the meta descriptions that you pulled up. Do they all talk about experience? Does anything seem unique?

It is important to remember that most people aren't really thinking about hiring an attorney when they make that first click. They are looking for information about their situation. Offer them information they can use right away. That will bring them to your site.

This is easy to do: answer a question, mention resources, or offer a free book. It's that simple.

Would you like more law firm marketing tips? Contact Great Legal Marketing at 703-591-9829 and learn the legal marketing strategies that really work.

Finding a Professional Ghost Writer for Your Lawyer Marketing Content

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

Hiring a professional ghost writer is an efficient way to update your legal website with quality content while freeing you to focus on practicing law. While many attorneys are able to see the merits of hiring a ghost writer to assist with their legal articles, blogs, and practice area pages, not everyone realizes how to go about hiring the right individual. The following is a list of tips to guide you in your search:

Look for companies or freelancers specializing in legal writing. There are many companies and individuals who write content exclusively for law firms.
Review samples of the writer's previous work. This is especially important because hiring a ghost writer is an investment in lawyer marketing.
Consider whether the writer has experience writing for your practice area. You may be able to find a ghost writer who has written articles specifically relating to your target clientele.
Interview the writer so that he or she can get an idea of who you are and the messages that you want to deliver. Keep in mind that while you are hiring the individual to do the work behind writing the content, it is your name which will be associated with the content. It is important to help the writer understand your law firm values and goals.
Always remember that the job of the ghost writer is to write quality, professional content, ready for you to insert your own personal touches before publishing.

To learn more about finding a ghost writer to assist in your lawyer marketing campaign, contact the experts at Great Legal Marketing by calling our office at 703-591-9829.

A Different View Of Legal Marketing: Who Is Your Audience?

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

When I ask personal injury lawyers who they hope to target with their law firm marketing, they often give a non-committal shrug and say, "Well...I guess anyone who has been injured."

I'm going to suggest a new approach. I'm going to suggest that you choose your ideal client and market to that client.

Not everyone likes the idea of niche marketing. But, targeted marketing is a good way to set yourself up as a legal expert rather than a desperate lawyer who is chasing down any and every case.

Think about it. Are you happy with your legal practice? Are there cases you wish you were getting? Target your marketing to those cases. For instance, you could set up a separate web site targeted just to the clients you'd like to have.

Niche marketing has helped hundreds of lawyers to build their businesses. Yet, many attorneys worry that turning down clients will hurt their business. Don't be afraid to take a different view of legal marketing. Thinking outside the box is the only way to stand out from the crowd.

If you are ready to take the next step towards building a successful law firm, contact Great Legal Marketing at 703-591-9829.

Protect Yourself from the White Noise

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

As a busy and successful attorney, you come into contact with many people who have many different personalities. Some of them probably like and respect you. Others may not and may be quite vocal about it.

When you implement a successful legal marketing strategy and revamp your time management policies for an effective legal practice, you may find that more people, such as opposing counsel, are complaining about you. If you are running an ethical lawyer marketing campaign and following our guidelines for effective time management for lawyers, then most of the complaints that you are hearing are what we term "white noise."

White noise should not distract you from your goals. While nobody likes to hear criticism, most of the complaints you will hear are simply distractions and not valid complaints. You don't need to waste time thinking about how a defense attorney is upset that you didn't take his call immediately, for example.

Instead, you should protect yourself, and your time, from white noise. Train your staff to screen phone messages and emails, only forwarding the ones to you that are truly important. This way, you don't even have to think about some of the pointless white noise.

For the white noise that does get through to you and stick with you, you might consider running it by your master mind group or think tank to get opinions on how to handle the situation.

Remember - you, and only you, control your time, and it is important to guard your time to the best of your ability. Don't waste your valuable time on the white noise.

Freebies: How Free Offers Build Trust In Legal Marketing

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

Have you noticed that some legal websites offer free information, free books, free DVDs, even free seminars? These freebies are a great lawyer marketing tool, and not just because everyone loves a free offer. Providing free information is a great way to build trust.

What do we mean by information? We don't mean information about you. Your qualifications are great, but that's not the information that potential clients are looking for. Potential clients are looking for information about their problems. A stay-at-home mom considering divorce may not immediately Google divorce attorneys; instead she will ask, "Can I afford to get divorced?" If she finds an article with the same title, she'll read it. Then she'll browse around your site and if there's more relevant information, she'll read that, or she'll bookmark it and come back.

Using an educational model for your legal marketing shows your expertise and your interest in helping clients solve their problems. You can provide information with:

A web library
A blog
A web video
Informational pamphlets
Books
DVDs
Newsletters
Seminars

Once you've created this information, take it beyond your website. Post your video on YouTube. Give copies of your book to local therapists, chiropractors, counselors, and anyone who might be providing a service to your client base. Call them and ask if you can use them as resources. Then offer to give your book to potential clients.

To learn more about building trust with lawyer marketing, read our article, "Building Trust Through Legal Marketing: Why Trust Is Important"

How can I find time for legal marketing?

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

Ben Glass has nine kids, a successful legal practice, and runs Great Legal Marketing as well as two other businesses. How does he do it all?

Ben's secret is time management.

While in college, I was taught a time management system that involved having several calendars in which I blocked in my time commitments. I was told it would help me see how much free time I really had. Now that I'm a working adult balancing a family, a job, and volunteering in my community, I find those empty spaces are getting smaller. Fitting everything into those spaces is a challenge.

Ben suggests that you guard your time as you would your valuables. Don't let people take it away from you. Have you ever sat down to do some paperwork and been interrupted by a phone call? Not only have you lost time to that that phone call, but also your train of thought was interrupted. Now you must spend an extra five or ten minutes getting back to where you were.

You can save time by scheduling your phone calls in blocks. This allows you to be prepared for a phone call and give the conversation and client your undivided attention. In fact, if you say, "I have you scheduled for twenty minutes and I'm all yours for that time, but I have a meeting afterwards," you can be assured that the phone call time will be spent focusing on what is important.

Want more of Ben's secrets of time management for lawyers? Read our article "Three Things You Can Do to Get a Grip On Your Time."

Don't Create Pointless Legal Marketing Videos – Create Effective Ones!

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

While many attorneys understand that lawyer videos can be a successful part of a good legal marketing strategy, they often utilize the wrong approach. Instead of reaching out to clients through education and interesting content, poor attorney videos focus only on the attorneys themselves. This is an expensive misstep on the part of the law firm. When crafted correctly, lawyer videos can be an effective means for connecting with potential clients.

Some of the biggest mistakes made by law firms when attempting to create an attorney video include the following:

Spending too much talking about why you became a lawyer
Shooting the video as a day-in-the-life of the attorney
Stressing how much the lawyer cares about potential clients

These mistakes all fail for the same reason: they focus only on the attorney and not the information that the client is looking for. Potential clients do not care that the attorney went to law school because three of his family members did before him. Nor do they hire a lawyer because they observed the attorney's day to day activities or because the attorney made a general statement about how much he cares about his clients.

Instead, effective lawyer videos seek to educate the client by using interesting content as their first priority. By doing so, they earn the trust of potential clients. When those individuals find themselves in need of legal representation, it is the law firm that they trust and respect that earns their business.

To learn more about successful legal marketing and lawyer videos, contact Great Legal Marketing at 703-591-9829.

Legal Marketing For Traffic Attorneys: What Are Other Lawyers Doing?

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

Virginia DUI/traffic attorney Bob Battle doesn't promise low prices and he doesn't chase down clients. Instead clients drive hours and pay a $400 consultation fee in the hope that he'll be willing to defend them. How does he do this?

Bob Battle's secret is effective legal marketing.

When Bob started his DUI defense practice, he didn't have a legal marketing strategy. His phone didn't ring; clients only came to him through random chance. He soon realized that some form of lawyer marketing was necessary. Bob did what other lawyers do; he took out an ad in the Yellow Pages. It wasn't enough.

Then Bob attended a marketing seminar from Great Legal Marketing. That meeting was geared towards personal injury lawyers; Bob wondered, "How can I apply this to what I do?"

Over time, Bob has refined his legal marketing strategy. Bob Battle currently uses his book, The Shocking Truth About Reckless Driving/Speeding In Virginia, as part of a multi-faceted advertising campaign that includes a web site, web video, and extensive follow-up.

Bob Battle has joined Great Legal Marketing as a DUI/traffic lawyer coach. He now shares his experiences with members of Great Legal Marketing's DUI/traffic legal marketing and coaching program. Members of the program meet with Bob and get tips specifically targeted to their practice area, and they are held accountable for implementing those tips in their practice.

Are you ready to make a change? Contact Great Legal Marketing at 703-591-9829.

Legal Marketing For Probate Attorneys: What Are Other Lawyers Doing?

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

Dave Frees is an estate planning and probate attorney with three offices in Pennsylvania. It takes about eight weeks to get an appointment with Dave, but clients are more than willing to wait. Why?

Dave attributes his success to effective legal marketing. He says he's taken strategies that work for other businesses and tailored them to fit his own legal practice. He's given us three lawyer marketing tips:

Be unique.
Know who your perfect client is and target that client.
Follow up.

Dave has a system which turns the eight weeks from phone call to appointment into an advantage rather than a disadvantage. During those eight weeks, clients are contacted 23 times in a way that keeps them interested.

Dave teaches this system as a coach in Great Legal Marketing and David Frees' Probate, Trust, and Estate Niche Marketing and Management Group. Each month, members of the group participate in a coaching call with Dave and receive marketing strategies and tactics that are tailored for their probate, trust, and estate planning law practice. Together the group shares their experiences as they learn which strategies work and don't work.

Would you like to learn more? Contact Great Legal Marketing at 703-591-9829.

The Secret of Keywords: Making Sure Your Video Is Seen

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

You've created a web video to market your legal practice. It's not just any video; it is creative, unique, artistic - it is the greatest legal marketing video ever. It should be a YouTube hit. But, no one is watching.

Think about your audience. What are potential clients looking for? Are they looking for a lawyer with umpteen years of practice, or are they looking for answers to their problems? I'm willing to bet that no matter what your practice area, your potential clients are looking for answers to their questions.

How will I pay my car crash medical bills?
Will I be able to keep custody of my children after a divorce?
Can I fight my DWI charges?
How can I make sure my son doesn't lose my estate if his marriage ends?
Is bankruptcy my only option?

Instead of focusing on your qualifications, answer the questions that your potential client has. Use these questions to create your keywords.

What are keywords? The keywords are the words that a potential client would type into a web browser in order to get the answer to their question. Keywords should include a geographic term. For example:

Injured in a Fairfax VA car crash
Custody in Pennsylvania divorce
Fighting Texas DWI charges

Include the keywords in the description of your video.

Want to learn more legal marketing strategies that really work? Contact Great legal Marketing today - 703-591-9829.

It's Time to Try Something New with Your Marketing

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

Legal marketing can, quite simply, change your life. It can transform your practice into the one that you want and not the one that you have to maintain to pay the bills. A good lawyer marketing plan can help you achieve that often elusive balance between work and family.

Who Wouldn't Want This?

While we can't think of any attorneys who would rather take cases to pay the bills than take the cases they truly want, and while we don't know anyone who would say that they prefer to work all the time at the expense of their family and other interests, we can still say with certainty that there are people who are not ready for a new attorney marketing strategy.

Often, these people look at effective legal marketing campaigns and complain that they appear to have taken too much time, effort, or money to implement. These lawyers are not ready for great legal marketing. These attorneys do not have the drive to learn effective marketing techniques. Quite simply, they are lazy, complacent, or simply not ready to take the next step.

We Hope That You are Ready to Try Something New With Your Marketing

If you have the desire to learn more about effective law firm marketing techniques, we encourage you to contact us today via our website or at 703.591.9829. We won't chase you. We only want to work with lawyers who are committed to making positive changes for their practices. If this describes you, then please contact us today.

Legal Marketing With Web Video: Come Up With Twenty Topics In Twenty Minutes

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

In the article "Yes, You Can Use Web Video In Your Legal Marketing Campaign; We'll Tell You How," we discussed how web video can be an effective way to show your legal expertise. Now that you've been convinced that web video should be an important component of your lawyer marketing campaign, you may be wondering, "How do I come up with topics for my web videos?"

Video doesn't have to be fancy to be effective. All you need to do is give pertinent information in a professional, but approachable tone. I am challenging you to come up with twenty video ideas in the next twenty minutes. How?

Think of the ten questions that you are asked in your practice. What do people want to know? These questions make great video topics, because these are the questions that potential clients are already typing into Google.

Then think of the ten questions clients should ask. Often clients don't have the information to know what makes a good question. You know, so share this knowledge.

There you go - twenty topics. And all you have to do is say, "Hi, I'm Ben, a personal injury attorney in Fairfax, Virginia. One of the questions I get asked is..."

Don't forget to end with your contact information. "If you want to know more, visit my website."

If you'd like to know more, contact Great Legal Marketing at 703-591-9829.

Legal Marketing For Bankruptcy Lawyers: What Are Other Successful Lawyers Doing?

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

Jim Brown is the founder of Castle Law, a consumer bankruptcy law firm with offices in Missouri and Illinois. He has helped over 30,000 people with their financial struggles. He is also Great Legal Marketing's bankruptcy legal marketing coach. We asked Jim what to tell us what is unique about his lawyer marketing strategy and how this strategy helped him bring in more than a million dollars in increased business.

Jim says he tries to think about what the client is going through. People hire bankruptcy lawyers because they are facing a tough financial situation. They are worried that they will lose their homes and perhaps even end up in the street and unable to care for their families. He uses these worries as the focus of his legal marketing.

This concern is behind Jim's book about the bankruptcy process. His website is full of information about the bankruptcy process, foreclosure, car repossession and other problems his clients are facing.

Interested in learning more of Jim's secrets? Join Great Legal Marketing's bankruptcy marketing and practice coaching program, meet with Jim, and get tips targeted to your practice area. Contact Great Legal Marketing at 703-591-9829.

Legal Marketing: To Be Successful, Do What Successful Lawyers Do

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

An excellent way for attorneys to learn about new legal marketing plans is to study the techniques employed by successful law firms. Attorney Charlie Hoffheimer, a divorce attorney in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is a perfect example of a lawyer who took the Great Legal Marketing methodology and turned it into continuous success for his firm. Despite the recession and the competitive field of family law, he has seen steady growth within his firm year after year.

Lawyer marketing success tips that attorneys can draw from Charlie's example include the following:

Run a niche within a niche
Center legal marketing around an authored book
Utilize education oriented advertising
Offer seminars
Write interesting blogs
Utilize email for consistent follow up

Attorney Hoffheimer's niche within a niche is his female only divorce practice. Following the "better informed client is a better client" motto, he targets a specific demographic and provides them with valuable, interesting information relevant to their legal problems. As a result of following these and other Great Legal Marketing strategies, his firm now obtains nearly half of all new clients through referrals and another 50% find him through his internet marketing. He also now is part of the Great Legal Marketing mastermind group and runs a new specialty program for family law attorneys to share his keys to success and help others grow their practices as quickly as he has.

To learn more about the techniques Attorney Hoffheimer uses for successful legal marketing, contact Great Legal Marketing at our office at 703-591-9829.

Time Management for Attorneys – Learn What's Possible

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

As an attorney, you have a lot of demands on your time. Learning effective time management techniques can revolutionize your law practice and give you the time that you want to focus on your family and other endeavors, such as a successful lawyer marketing campaign.

Time Management for Lawyer: Is it Really Possible?

Yes, I am here to tell you that after seven years of effectively implementing time management techniques, I am able to have enough time to comfortably run a full-time law practice, operate two other successful businesses, and spend the time that I want with my nine children.

Here's how you can effectively manage your time too:

First, value and protect your time. Your time is one of your greatest assets, and it is irreplaceable. Guard it, protect it, and put barriers up so that your time is not wasted.

Next, block and schedule your time. Set appointments with yourself, and schedule your highest income-producing activities first. If you block an hour off for preparing an opening statement or creating a new legal marketing campaign, that is all that you should be concentrating on for those 60 minutes. When those 60 minutes are up, you leave that activity behind and move all of your concentration to the next appointment on your list.

Finally, no interruptions! Do not allow unscheduled phone calls, visits, or questions. It distracts you from the task at hand and is not productive for you or beneficial to your clients.

You may fail when you first try to implement these strategies - I did. It takes some time to learn new attorney time management techniques, but you will do it. Your clients, your family, and you will all be happier for it.

4 Reasons Why it's Essential for Lawyers to Follow Up Legal Marketing

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

In today's competitive economy, the importance of an active follow up campaign in a law firm's overall legal marketing strategy is higher than ever. For the prudent attorney, follow up is essential, not optional. Below is a list of four reasons why following up can mean the difference in whether a lawyer marketing campaign is successful.

1. Clients do not always make immediate decisions about hiring an attorney. It can take several weeks or months before a client makes a decision as to who to hire. Proactive follow up keeps the law firm fresh in the mind of the potential client during that crucial period.

2. Clients in need of legal services often have outside issues on their mind. The potential client may be distracted by medical care, expenses, and insurance claims at the same time as he is interviewing law firms. Stress and other emotions may be high. Consistent follow up helps ensure that the attorney is not forgotten about.

3. There are numerous options for clients when choosing a law firm to handle their case. Today's consumer has its choice among countless intelligent and successful attorneys to represent them. Following up regularly not only helps the lawyer stand out, it also is a form of good customer service.

4. Staying on the radar screen of a potential client may lead to work in the future that the client is not aware of needing in the present. Even if the client does not hire the law firm for a particular matter, consistent follow up may lead to future opportunities down the road.

Just as the law and internet go hand in hand, consistent follow up is essential to a successful legal marketing strategy. For more information, contact Great Legal Marketing at our office at 703-591-9829.

Basics of Legal Marketing

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

At the heart of any good legal marketing campaign lies the answer to a simple question - how am I going to get the right potential clients to contact me?

The first step is to attract the right clients with lawyer marketing strategies that are interesting. In other words, you've got to get your potential clients to notice you, and you have to hold their interest long enough to get your point across.

Once you do that, you have to get those prospective clients to take the next step and contact your law firm. Marketing materials should make clear that you are a center of influence and local celebrity. It is you that this person needs to resolve his or her legal issues.

How Can Your Attorney Marketing Prove That You Are the One?

In order to establish yourself as the attorney the prospective client can't live without, you could:

Answer the clients questions in an easy-to-understand and professional manner.
Have lots of information available in different formats.
Include any clips of TV or radio spots on your website.
Write a book, make a video, and/or create a DVD and provide it FREE to qualified people.

To learn more about legal marketing, we encourage you to reed our free book: Read What Other Lawyers Who Have Taken Action are Saying About Ben Glass and The Great Legal Marketing Ultimate Personal Injury Practice Building Toolkit (And They Aren't All Personal Injury Lawyers!), and to take advantage of our other free offers.

Print Newsletters Continue to Thrive as Effective Legal Marketing Tool

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

While electronic mail is a fast, easy, and environmentally-friendly method for delivering information to clients, the value of the traditional print newsletter to an effective legal marketing campaign cannot be underestimated. The use of email is on the decline. Studies have shown that rather than use email, more people utilize websites such as Facebook or YouTube. If your law firm relies exclusively on email, you may be missing an opportunity to make contact with potential clients through a method that physically puts your legal newsletter into their hands.

Aside from existing clients, the print legal newsletter should be sent to everyone inside the law firm's marketing sphere to reach the maximum number of contacts. In addition, the newsletter should be sent frequently, such as on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. It takes time, effort, and money to put together a quality legal periodical that is sent to so many people so regularly. It is well worth the investment, however, because it keeps the lawyer fresh in the minds of potential future clients.

Further, printed newsletters are a valuable part of lawyer marketing when they are centered on the following principles:

Deliver the legal news in an interesting and exciting way.
Target the specific demographic of clients that the law firm services.
Include information, such as court decisions or recent legislative changes, which address the common problems that the law firm's target demographic faces.

When crafted effectively according to these principles, the legal newsletter is an opportunity for the law firm to stand out from the crowd. Even if a potential client is not in need of legal services right now, in the future that individual or his or her contacts may have a case and need representation. Remembering an interesting article written by the lawyer may be the incentive the potential client needs to refer the law firm's services or contact the attorney directly.

To learn more about how a printed legal newsletter is an important part of a successful legal marketing strategy, contact Great Legal Marketing at our office at 703-591-9829.

Major Legal Marketing Mistake Made by Attorneys in Media Advertising

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

The seemingly most simple and yet most often occurring mistake that lawyers make in their legal advertising could be the most costly. Many lawyers simply try to make their advertisements accomplish too much. For example, they provide too much information on their educational background, what their specialty is, and years of experience. Unfortunately, this approach does not stand out in a crowd of other legal advertisements. It is also expensive, taking up a large portion of the law firm budget for many solo practitioners and small firms. Not only is attorney advertising expensive, it is also inefficient when not done properly.

In sharp contrast, the best lawyer advertising is attention grabbing and thought provoking. Legal marketing strategies should use advertising to accomplish one goal. That goal is to interest the client enough that they are willing to speak with the attorney on a one on one, more personal basis. It is at that point that the lawyer can provide more information and educate the client on their background and services. The legal advertisement itself, however, does not have to list all relevant information about the law firm or the attorney profiles. It simply must be memorable enough that it provokes the client to reach out and interact.

Lawyer marketing is an essential tool to growing and running a law practice. For small firms on a budget, choosing effective law firm advertising strategies is especially important. Great Legal Marketing can assist your firm in setting up an attraction system based upon education and trust. Contact our office at 703-591-9829.

How to Use Education as an Effective Legal Marketing Tool

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

Education and trust are the cornerstones of legal marketing for today's clients. Information is available with the click of a mouse. By providing clients with access to quality online information, they feel empowered and confident in their choice of attorney. How exactly is this carried out in an attorney marketing strategy?

Build a solid online attorney reputation. Lawyer marketing is about more than just the information that the law firm is providing. Today's clients utilize the internet to read attorney backgrounds, research lawyer reputations, and conduct comparisons between similar law firms in the area. Presenting a poor online reputation will foster distrust from the client.
Understand the questions that clients will ask. In order to educate potential clients, legal marketing strategies must be geared towards answering the specific questions that target audiences will be researching.
Anticipate related follow up questions. In order to hold the client's attention once they have found the law firm's website, it must anticipate additional related questions. The website should either answer those questions effectively or provide a clear, easy way to reach out to the attorney for more answers.
Continuously update the law firm website with relevant information. Education is today's best form of legal advertising.
Educate the client sufficiently so that they know to hire you without having to sell yourself or your services. Today's clients should not have to be convinced that they need legal services. They should be educated so that they understand the need without having to be sold.

The law and internet are commingled factors in effective legal marketing strategies. Great Legal Marketing can assist your firm in setting up an attraction system based on education and trust. Contact our office at 703-591-9829.

Trust is Dead – So How Do Lawyers Earn it Back?

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

Attorneys engaging in legal marketing face a major obstacle: how do they earn the trust of clients when there is so much public distrust for the legal profession? Unfortunately, we have all heard the stories of over billing and fraudulent practices in the legal field. Now more than ever, clients try to educate themselves rather than consult an attorney. Access to information is readily available and many want quick answers. When public perception of attorneys is so poor, how can a law firm earn the trust of clients?

Focus on educating the client rather than selling. Clients are leery of traditional attorney marketing strategies that are built around sales. Trust follows naturally when the client sees value in the information they are learning from the lawyer.
Build personal relationships with clients. Trust forms when a client feels that the lawyer truly cares about them on a personal, not just professional, level.
Avoid legalese. Communicating in easily understandable language helps the client understand the value in the information that you are sharing, building trust.
Stress solutions and strategies rather than burdens and potential hurdles. Focusing on the negative may intimidate clients rather than build trust.
Offer practical, efficient advice with clearly outlined potential outcomes, setting expectations up front.
Set up easy to access, easy to navigate internet marketing tools that provide thoughtful information and inspire clients to interact. The law and internet go hand in hand.
Keep accurate and up to date records of clients and prospects and continuously follow up with new and relevant educational materials.

Contact Great Legal Marketing to learn more about lawyer marketing and the attraction system based on education and trust. Contact our office at 703-591-9829.

Using Your Website To Create A Positive Client Experience

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

Of course you are good lawyer; you have years of experience and you've helped countless clients get the results they wanted. Your list of qualifications can fill a computer screen, but who cares? From your website to your office, it is not your experience, but the client experience that matters.

Do you have a law firm website? If you use smart lawyer marketing techniques to provide a positive client experience on your website, you can turn first-time visitors into return visitors and actual clients. How do you this?

Clients are looking for attorneys who are both knowledgeable and trustworthy. They want to feel that their problems are important. Listing your credentials shows that you have experience, but it doesn't show that you are trustworthy or that you care about the client. There are better ways to show your expertise.

Instead of emphasizing your qualifications, show that you understand what your client is going through and that you can empathize. Identify the client's problem and then discuss how you can help.

One way to do this is by providing free information. Offer your visitors a special report, eBook or newsletter. Post relevant articles on a regular basis. Keep the information interesting, informative, and free of errors. Go for a friendly, compassionate tone and avoid using legal jargon.

Remember, legal marketing is about more than turning web visitors into clients. If you treat current clients with the same care and consideration you offer to potential clients, they will be happy to refer their friends. For tips on how to do this, see our article, "Six Ways To Create A Positive Client Experience."

Should You Use You Tube? Yes!

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

If you are a lawyer, you should definitely use YouTube as a legal marketing tool. When web video is done well, it increases your internet visibility and allows potential clients to get to know your firm in a no pressure environment.

Why is YouTube so effective?

You can introduce yourself to thousands of potential new clients at once.
Many people would rather watch a video than read.
People are looking for quick information. Educational and instructional videos are gaining popularity and replacing how-to articles.
When you talk or give tips about a legal problem, you show potential clients that you are knowledgeable. Making a series of informative videos establishes you as an expert.
Videos can help build trust. In a video, clients can see your confidence and expertise; viewers may even feel like they "know" you.

You can either purchase video equipment and software and make your videos yourself or hire a company to do it for you. There are several video production companies that specialize in web video for lawyers.

Creating a web video for lawyer marketing is not complicated, but you want to do it right. A poorly made web video can hurt your credibility and drive clients away. For tips about making your own web video, read our article, "Yes, You Can Use Web Video In Your Legal Marketing Campaign; We'll Tell You How."

Make Your Legal Marketing Campaign Complex

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

A good legal marketing plan is both essential and complex. In this fast-paced media age, a simple change to your yellow pages advertisement is not going to yield the kind of results that you want or expect.

To create a good marketing plan for your law firm, you must be creative and consider many different angles. The cookie cutter approach of explaining your credentials and offering a free consultation is not going to set you apart from your competition. If your marketing plan is average, your clients and your practice are also likely to be average.

In order to create the dynamic and complex marketing campaign that you want, you need to have a different message and a different way of sending your message. For example, instead of creating just a website, you could write books and make videos that establish you as the expert. You can then provide the materials to prospective clients for free.

If you need help coming up with ideas about how, where, or even why to change your legal marketing strategy, we encourage you to join a mastermind group where you get together with like-minded small business owners and share your ideas. We also encourage you to read our free report: Read What Other Lawyers Who Have Taken Action are Saying About Ben Glass and The Great Legal Marketing Ultimate Personal Injury Practice Building Toolkit (And They Aren't All Personal Injury Lawyers!)

While there is no magic button you can press to create your law firm marketing strategy, you may feel like you've done a little magic when you start only taking the cases you really want to take, working fewer hours, and making more money.

Basics of Legal Marketing (Part 1)

Sat, 17 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

The business of practicing law has changed. While the ethical standards and the actual legal work that you do remain fairly constant, the business side of your law firm is changing. A few decades ago, it may have been sufficient to hang out a shingle and put your name in the yellow pages, but those marketing strategies are no longer enough.

In order to compete effectively with the other lawyers in your market, you need to change your business marketing strategies. You need to understand the basic principles of legal marketing and be willing to implement them.

For many lawyers, the first step is to understand what you are really trying to do. You are trying to attract the clients whom you want to represent and you are competing against aggressive and both ethical and unethical lawyers to get that business.

This will require a complex lawyer marketing strategy. Everything from the way that you answer your phone to your website, from your printed ads to your monthly client newsletters, will be important in developing your strategy and attracting clients.

The investment of time, energy and money that you make in developing a complex and ethical small law firm marketing strategy will help you stand out from your competition, compete in today's marketplace, and lead the lifestyle that you want.

For more information about how to think outside the box and market your law firm successfully, please fill out our form and get a special report and free CDs that can help you get started.

Have the Right Attitude About Success

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST

It is easy to say that you want to be successful. However, the desire to be successful is unlikely to result in success unless you have the right attitude.

What Is the Right Attitude About Success?

In order to really believe in your own success, it is not enough to believe that you are an excellent lawyer. While your lawyering skills are certainly critical to your success, your entrepreneurial skills are also critical. Thus, the right attitude about success includes:

Recognizing Yourself as an Entrepreneur.
Setting Goals.
Believing that Hard Work Can Result in Unlimited Opportunities and Success.
Understanding That You are Responsible for Your Own Success.

How Do I Get the Right Attitude for Legal Marketing Success?

For many lawyers, developing the right attitude for successful lawyer marketing is a process. First, you should do some soul searching in order to understand if you are really committed to succeeding. Next, you need to do some sharing. Joining a mastermind group or think tank of like-minded small business owners can be critical to your success.

For more information about the steps you can take to develop the right attitude toward law firm marketing success, please fill out the form to request our FREE audio CDs and video DVD. Also, please read our FREE report: Read What Other Lawyers Who Have Taken Action are Saying About Ben Glass and The Great Legal Marketing Ultimate Personal Injury Practice Building Toolkit (And They Aren't All Personal Injury Lawyers!)

A Few Legal Marketing Tricks You Might Not Have Considered

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST

Do you ever feel like your legal marketing ideas have gone stagnant?

It is all too easy to get stuck in a rut when it comes to marketing, especially if you are a one-man operation or small law firm. You just don’t have the time or manpower to devote a whole lot of energy into your legal marketing campaign. So, you just give up.

Here’s the truth: there are always new ideas to try and it is definitely worth the time to explore some of them.

Want to continue to get new cases?

If you want to continue to get new cases, or better yet, to get greater cases, you need to pay attention to your marketing campaign. Below are some ideas you might not have explored yet:

Avvo.com: Whether you want one or not, you are going to end up with an Avvo profile. This website rates lawyers and is meant to be a resource for consumers. You might as well take advantage of this website by getting involved. Create guides, answer questions and encourage people to review or rate your firm.
Google Places: People do a lot of local searches either on their computer, tablet or smartphone. Google Places plays a major role in these searches. You can improve your ranking by filling out as much information as possible in your profile. Even be sure to include your YouTube videos.
Mobile websites/apps: One of the latest trends in marketing has to do with mobile devices. Since so many people own smartphones nowadays, you need to be sure that your website is compatible. If you want to take it a step further, create an application for your clients to use on their mobile devices.

If you want to learn more about Great Legal Marketing and how other lawyers are creating successful marketing campaigns, fill out the form below to receive a FREE CD.

Think About Sending Something Other Than a Law Firm Newsletter

Fri, 13 May 2011 08:00:00 EST

If you have read any of our other articles or listened to our seminars, you were probably shocked by this headline. Would Ben Glass really say that you should re-consider mailing a law firm newsletter to your database?

Before answering this question, let’s take a step back and examine the goals of a mailed newsletter. Number one, you need to ensure that it is actually opened and read. Second, you want the reader to become involved (go to your website, etc.) and remember you. Then, you want the newsletter to be passed on to another person who might be interested in what you have to say.

Your objective should be to use your newsletter to position you as the expert in your field. You want to be “top of mind,” anytime someone in your newsletter database needs legal help or knows someone who does.

The Problem with Law Firm Newsletters

In theory, a law firm newsletter is great because it gets your name out there. The problem, though, is that law firm newsletters are often too slick. Instead of telling stories and writing about something “bigger,” they look too professional and use a lot of legalese.

Instead of sending a law firm newsletter, I would challenge you to do something different. Send a newsletter that is about a greater issue, like the “Success” newsletter or “Tips for Great Living.” Now, remember that these are just ideas and you should ensure that someone else isn’t already using them.

You will probably have a greater likelihood of accomplishing your goals, if you focus on creating a publication that is bigger than a law firm newsletter.

Don’t worry if you missed the last sold-out Great Legal Marketing Summit. There is still time to order the CD/DVD set that includes about 16 hours of interesing legal marketing tips. Order your copy today!

The Nuts and Bolts of Effective Lawyer Marketing

Wed, 11 May 2011 08:00:00 EST

Sometimes it is all too easy to become “wowed” with the latest and greatest lawyer marketing tools and neglect the basics. And believe me, there are basics when it comes to effective marketing.

While you might be experimenting with new avenues to market your law firm, make sure that you do not forget about the core fundamentals of any successful campaign.

Always, always remember that you are building your herd. Your herd, or database of past, present and future clients, is one of the most valuable business assets you will own. These are your raving fans who might not hire you right away, but will do so later or refer business your way. If you set up your marketing in such a way that you are building and cultivating your herd, you become the “wise man/woman” at the top of the mountain.
Communicate frequently with your raving fans. Don’t let them forget about you. You should be in the habit of mailing newsletters, postcards and other materials on a regular basis. Sending frequent emails is not going to cut it. To increase the success of your lawyer marketing campaign, you have to mail them information. It might be expensive, but what’s the alternative? Radio, television or billboard advertising? How cheap is that?
Never give up on the clients who don’t hire you right away. Some of the good cases we have represented didn’t sign up with us until 2 to 12 months after they initially contacted our firm. If someone expresses any interest in your firm, such as requesting your book, add that person to your database and start following up.

If you missed our latest Great Legal Marketing Summit, it’s not too late to order the CD/DVD set. It has about 16 hours of great information. Order your copy today!

Don't be a Cheapskate with Your Legal Marketing Campaign

Mon, 09 May 2011 08:00:00 EST

Okay, I get it. We’re in an economy where businesses are trying to cut back. They’re examining their expenses and looking for where they can slash costs. That’s fine and that makes sense. However, when it comes to your legal marketing campaign, there is one area in which you should not become a cheapskate – your “marketing bait.”

What exactly is marketing bait? It is a book, report, DVD, CD or other offer that you use to get people to raise their hands and ask for more information. For my law firm, the marketing bait is our massive package of information that contains all sorts of helpful information for potential clients. What this package tells our clients is that:

We are serious about our business.
We are the experts in our field.
We actually do care about our prospects (and we didn’t have to put it in an ad: “We Care for You!”).

When I tell other lawyers about our marketing bait, I often hear some resistance to the idea. They are worried about the cost of sending a printed book, report or other resource. So, instead they make the unfortunate decision to email prospects information or only mail a letter. What a big mistake.

Don’t be cheap with your marketing bait. Your potential clients will know the difference and it will not be a good reflection on your firm.

For more helpful lawyer marketing tips, order a copy of the CD/DVD set from our latest Great Legal Marketing Summit. This valuable set contains about 16 hours of information. Order your copy today!

Attorney Time Management Tip: Draw the Line Between Home & Work

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 08:00:00 EST

A recent article the New York Times, "Who’s the Boss, You or Your Gadget," shed light on the fact that many of us are becoming glued to our smartphones and other electronic devices, which is ultimately blurring the line between work and home life. The article begins, “given the widespread adoption of smartphones, text messaging, video calling and social media, today’s professionals mean it when they brag about staying connected to work 24/7.”

That’s nothing to brag about.

In law school, we are taught that “the law is a jealous mistress.” You better be available to your clients all day, every day. This is the life you chose, or is it?

There is a better way.
You do not have to be available to your clients 24/7. After all, you are not just a lawyer. You may be a spouse, parent, child, sibling or friend. Work shouldn’t define your entire life.

Here is a challenge for every lawyer – choose when you are going to be available to your clients and when you are not. Don’t sleep with the cell phone beside your bed “just in case” someone needs to talk with you. Believe it or not, your clients will adapt to your schedule.

In the New York Times article, Lee Rainie of the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project said, “home has invaded work and work has invaded home and the boundary is likely never to be restored.”

It’s time you took control of your business and personal life. That is how you will find the right balance and restore the boundary between home and work. You can learn more attorney time management tips by ordering Militant Time Management for Lawyers.

Don’t miss this conference!
For effective and innovative legal marketing tips, sign up for our national 2-day legal marketing conference scheduled for April 2011. You won’t want to miss this one!

Legal Marketing That Works – Become an Effective Blogger

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 08:00:00 EST

Sitting down to create a blog entry may not be at the top of your priority list. You may have a stack of files sitting on your desk and a long list of people you need to call back. Who has time to blog?

Blogging is essential to an effective legal marketing campaign.

The world of lawyer marketing has evolved. No longer is it a static process. You must interact and engage with your potential clients, if you want to be the lawyer they choose for legal help. Therefore, you must show that you are the expert who has the solutions to their problems. While there are many ways to accomplish this marketing goal, one of the easiest and most effective methods is through blogging.

Below are some strategies for blogging:

Review current headlines for topics of interest. Take a stand on a hot issue and don’t be afraid of a little controversy.
Write an article about the topic you found. This article should be anywhere from 300 to 500 words in length.
Create a blog entry that acts as the “doorway” to your article. It should have a compelling headline and interesting copy that directs people back to your main website.
Encourage comments. Most blog platforms allow comments from readers. These comments will act as extra content, which search engines love. Get the conversation going by posing a question at the end of your blog entry.
Get help looking for blog topics. If you have a virtual assistant or copywriter on your team, ask them to be on the lookout for great topics.

Don’t miss this conference!
For effective and innovative lawyer marketing tips, sign up for our national 2-day legal marketing conference scheduled for April 2011. You won’t want to miss this one!

Consumers are Changing, So Should Your Legal Marketing Tactics

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 08:00:00 EST

Last Sunday marked the close of the NFL season. Countless football fans watched as the Pittsburg Steelers and Green Bay Packers vied for the title of Super Bowl XLV champs. Not only was this Sunday highly anticipated because of the game, many people couldn’t wait to watch the Super Bowl ads.

We wrote extensively about Super Bowl marketing last week as the game approached. What we didn’t touch on was the response of consumers. As commercials were played on the television, people were tweeting their opinions on Twitter and posting comments on Facebook. Many more were looking to YouTube for a replay of their favorite commercials.

Social Media Must Be Incorporated Into Your Legal Marketing Campaign
The fact that social media became such a major element in last Sunday’s event, should tell you something as a legal marketer. People are using social media more and more to find information and express their opinions. They are also using social media to get advice from friends regarding products, services and more.

To stay competitive, you have to incorporate social media into your legal marketing campaign. That means you need to create accounts on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other social media sites. But that’s not all. You also have to be an active participant by posting content, making comments and monitoring conversations of your potential clients.

You can learn more about social media marketing in our articles:

Focus Your Legal Marketing on the "Experience"

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 08:00:00 EST

Today’s society is all about the “experience.” Why do you think establishments, such as Starbucks, have been so successful? In years past, it was hard to imagine spending nearly $5.00 on coffee when you could drop by the gas station and pick up a cheap cup of Joe. Consumers these days want the experience and that is what Starbucks and other companies have been able to provide.

A recent article appeared in the New York Times that was all about Denny’s. The article, “Yes, the Diners Open. How About a Seat at the Counter,” discussed Denny’s transition from marketing itself as a family restaurant to the “good ol’ diner.”

Denny’s has been around for 58 years. The restaurant chain spent most of that time referring to the establishments as family restaurants. Things have changed. In a recent series of commercials, Denny’s has ditched that tactic and is now representing their restaurants as diners.

According to Frances Allen, chief marketing officer of Denny’s, “people think of the brand as a diner, with great comfort food at a great price, and they feel that incredible warmth and incredible connection to the servers. There’s a soul to a diner that is very authentic, very warm, very accepting.”

Focus Your Legal Marketing on the Experience

Your potential clients need to know what type of experience they will have when working with your law firm. Therefore, every legal marketing piece that you create should be focused on them, not you. You can learn more about how to implement this marketing concept by reading the blog entry, How You Approach Legal Marketing Makes All the Difference.

Don’t miss this conference!

For effective and innovative lawyer marketing tips, sign up for our national 2-day legal marketing conference scheduled for April 2011. You won’t want to miss this one!

You Never Know When You Will Get Your Next Legal Marketing Idea

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 08:00:00 EST

You could be sitting in the waiting room at the dentist office, or you might be in line at the local fast food chain, when the next great marketing idea pops into your mind. If you don’t have a notepad handy, that groundbreaking, earth-shattering idea might disappear.

As a lawyer, note taking is something that has become second nature. You took notes when you were in high school, college and of course, law school. We are trained to take notes at meetings, depositions and trials. Why is it that we don’t transfer this same note taking behavior into other areas of our business? This skill will most certainly help you when you are working on your legal marketing campaign.

Below are some simple tips to get you in the habit of taking notes wherever you go:

Carry a notepad with you. Several years ago, I met a millionaire entrepreneur who carried a small, leather-covered notepad in his coat pocket. He would take the notepad out at various times during conversation to write things down. This habit definitely worked for him. After all, he did make millions.
Pay attention to what’s going on around you. Look for ways to apply what you hear and see to your business.
Use the notes you write. Writing notes is one thing, implementing what you have written down is another. Take the ideas you have placed in your notebook and find a way to use them in your legal marketing.

If you truly want to succeed in business, make sure your note taking skills are put to good use.

Don’t miss this conference!
For effective and innovative lawyer marketing tips, sign up for our national 2-day legal marketing conference scheduled for April 2011. You won’t want to miss this one!

Another Legal Marketing Lesson from the Super Bowl: Interact with Your Prospects

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 08:00:00 EST

We’re on the countdown to the Super Bowl, but advertisers have been preparing for months. There are many lessons you can learn from these companies that are willing to spend millions on a 30-second spot. One of these lessons includes interacting with your prospects.

It has already been rumored that BMW of North America will be among the many advertisers attempting to engage their target audience. The high-end auto manufacturer has created an interactive game termed, "The X3 Matchup." The game will supposedly be linked to one of its ads during Super Bowl. One of the game prizes will be a chance to drive a new X3 for two years.

According to Trudy Hardy, manager of BMW marketing communications and consumer events, the Matchup game came about because they wanted to reward their loyal Facebook friends and give them an opportunity to engage with BMW.

How can you implement this strategy into your legal marketing campaign?
You might not have millions of dollars to spend on advertising, but that doesn’t mean your legal marketing campaign can’t be a success. Follow the footsteps of BMW and other mega companies, by engaging your potential clients. With Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media sites, it is easy to connect with your target market. All you need is a little time and creativity.

Learn more about social media marketing in our blog post, Appropriate Interaction With Social Networking.

Don’t miss this conference!
For effective and innovative lawyer marketing tips, sign up for our national 2-day legal marketing conference scheduled for April 2011. You won’t want to miss this one!

Legal Marketing Lesson from the Super Bowl: Know Your Target Audience

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 08:00:00 EST

Super Bowl XLV is quickly approaching. While the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburg Steelers prepare to duke it out this Sunday, marketers are preparing for one of the biggest advertising days of the year. The Super Bowl is the top-rated telecast in history, with a reported 106 million viewers in 2010. Advertisers are estimated to be spending upwards of $3 million for one commercial spot.

While you sit on your couch watching the football game unfold, pay careful attention to the commercials. Since these advertisers are spending millions of dollars for their opportunity to grab America’s attention, you better believe they are going to prepare and plan for this massive event. Part of that planning involves getting to know their target audience.

This lesson is one that every lawyer needs to hear. If you want a successful legal marketing campaign, you must get to know your target audience. Below are some questions you need to be able to answer about your prospects:

Who is my ideal client?
Where can I find my potential clients?
What are the concerns of my target audience?
How can I develop a marketing message that speaks to these concerns?

If you can answer these pertinent questions, you are a step ahead of most lawyers out there. The majority of attorneys fail to recognize the significance of not only identifying their target audience, but also creating marketing messages that speak to them.

Don’t miss this conference!
For effective and innovative lawyer marketing tips, sign up for our national 2-day legal marketing conference scheduled for April 2011. You won’t want to miss this one!

How You Approach Legal Marketing Makes All the Difference

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

Any fool can make soap. It takes a genius to sell it. –Gamble of Proctor & Gamble.

There are certain things that separate the winners and the losers in business, including how they view their line of work. Only a select few truly “get it” and have the right outlook of their business and what it is that they are really selling.

Dan Kennedy teaches that merchants of concepts and connections are the ones who are making the big dollars. They are selling unusual experiences. How does that translate to you, as a lawyer and marketer? It’s simple, really. To make big money and expand your law practice you need to:

Create marketing messages that revolve around potential clients (not you).
Put thought into how you are going to increase the value that you offer clients.
Find a way to enter the conversation that is already going through your prospects’ minds.

Think about your business on a broader scale, starting with the fact that you are not just a lawyer. There are enough of those out there. You are someone who is providing an experience, something of value to your clients. If this concept is still unclear to you, ask yourself these questions:

What should my business be about?
How can I connect with my prospects?
Who are my clients and what are they all about?

Focus on your clients, including their needs, concerns and desires. Most importantly, remember what it is you are truly selling, because it is a lot more than just legal services.

Don’t miss this conference!
For effective and innovative legal marketing tips, sign up for our national 2-day legal marketing conference scheduled for April 2011. You won’t want to miss this one!

3 Ways to Make your Legal Marketing Campaign a Success

Sat, 29 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

At Great Legal Marketing, we regularly hold conferences that draw hundreds of lawyers from across the country. The meeting sessions are packed with valuable lawyer marketing tips presented by interesting speakers.

What happens time and time again is that attorneys leave the conferences and don’t know where to start. They have many legal marketing tools in their arsenals, but they become paralyzed and overwhelmed.

As with anything in life, if you want to succeed, you have to take appropriate action. Implementing an effective legal marketing campaign doesn’t have to be complicated. Here is what we tell our conference attendees:

Create a plan. Do you know where you want to go? Having ideas is one thing, knowing where you are heading is entirely different.
Take the first step. This tip might sound a little simplistic, but it really is a matter of starting. You need to take the first step, even if it is a small one.
Make adjustments. When it comes to legal marketing, nothing is set in stone. Don’t be afraid to make adjustments along the way.

Whenever you have ideas or concepts you want to test in your lawyer marketing campaign, repeat steps #1, 2 and 3 above.

Don’t miss this conference!
For effective and innovative lawyer marketing tips, sign up for our national 2-day legal marketing conference scheduled for April 2011. You won’t want to miss this one!

4 Reasons I Would Never Give Up My Legal Marketing Mastermind Group

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

Mastermind – someone who creates new things. (wordnetweb.princeton.edu)

Legal marketing is continuously changing, which means you have to evolve with it. Our potential clients are becoming more sophisticated in how they search information and choose legal counsel. You can bury your head in the sand and hope that these changes don’t affect your practice. However, if you don’t take action, you are going to witness your competitors taking your prospective clients.

As a legal professional, you need to surround yourself with others who truly “get it” and understand that to stay competitive, you have to search out new legal marketing avenues. One of the most ideal ways to stay on the cutting edge of marketing is to join a mastermind group. I firmly believe in the power of mastermind groups and have learned a lot from mine over the years. Here are some amazing lessons I have learned from other mastermind members:

Stay focused. Create a plan and religiously stick to it. Question every action that takes up your time.
Think big. Don’t set weak goals. Go for the big ones.
Don’t wait to be finished with one project before you start the next. When it comes to legal marketing campaigns, work simultaneously.
Perfection shouldn’t be your goal. If it is, you are going to fail every time.

If you are not part of a mastermind group, it’s time to join one. Imagine how much you can learn when you spend time with people who are focused on creating new opportunities and following their dreams.

Don’t miss this conference!
For effective and innovative lawyer marketing tips, sign up for our national 2-day legal marketing conference scheduled for April 2011. You won’t want to miss this one!

One Way to Ensure Your Legal Marketing Campaign Bombs

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

We have all heard of those law firms – the ones that spend thousands, even millions, on legal marketing, but have no systems in place. They manage to get the phone to ring and clients to contact them through their websites, but they have no effective way of managing their leads.

Systems = Success
Maybe you aren’t a systems guy or gal, but the hard truth is that you will need to figure out how to change your outlook or approach to business. You can’t run a successful law practice without having systems in place, including a system to handle your legal marketing efforts. If you try to manage your business without the use of systems, you are heading down an unstable path. Eventually, things are going to become out of control and valuable leads will start to slip through your fingers.

You need a legal marketing system.
There are many systems that are required to run a profitable practice, but I want to focus on one specifically, and that is your legal marketing system. You need to have an established method for not only attracting new prospects, but also following up with them. At my law firm, we have a back-end marketing campaign that sends regular marketing touches to our potential clients. We have found that some of the big cases we have signed occurred months after the initial contact by the clients.

We have written extensively on marketing systems. To learn more, check out the following:

Three Reasons Why an Automated Follow Up Campaign REALLY Works
How much staff do you use to send out materials and follow up?

Don’t miss this conference!
For effective and innovative lawyer marketing tips, sign up for our national 2-day legal marketing conference scheduled for April 2011. You won’t want to miss this one!

Legal Marketers Know How to Use the Media to Promote Their Practices

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

People are obsessed with celebrities or those individuals who they perceive as famous. They think that anyone who winds up on television, in the newspaper or on the radio must be someone of importance. If you don’t believe me, consider reality television. Ordinary people who somehow grab a spot on one of these shows instantly catapult from a “no one” to a star. How does that happen? Again, it comes down to perception.

Attorneys can, and should, use publicity to promote their practices.
Criminal defense attorneys get this concept. They are often out in front of the courthouse talking about the victory or conviction that has just occurred in some legal battle involving their clients. While victories don’t happen often for these people, the fact that they got any publicity at all is a major triumph. The reasoning is that people typically do not remember what they read or heard about you. They simply remember that they read or heard about you. The conclusion is that you must be famous, and therefore important.

Whether publicity is good or bad, there is always an opportunity to use it to your advantage. You have to think like a marketer and continuously search out ways to promote your practice.

Don’t miss this conference!
For effective and innovative lawyer marketing tips, sign up for our national 2-day legal marketing conference scheduled for April 2011. You won’t want to miss this one!

Train Your Associates to Help You Grow Your Law Practice

Sun, 23 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

The time may eventually come when you need to hire associates. After all, it’s no secret that you can only take your law practice so far when you are completely on your own. However, your mindset regarding your associates can make all the difference in the success of your law firm. Instead of viewing your associates as additional overhead, think about how they can help you increase your business.

Your associates can be key players in taking your law practice to the next level. To foster an environment that will build your business, you need to create a system that:

Helps your associates determine what part of their job gives them the greatest satisfaction.
Encourages your associates to take ownership of their careers. You want to teach them how to become independent and stand on their own two feet.

Persuades them to build relationships, including those with former classmates, associates and other staff members.
Opens the line of communication. Your associates should feel like they have your support and can communicate with you. That will create loyalty.

You are not just a lawyer, you are also an entrepreneur. That means you need to focus on the business aspect of your law practice. Only then will you be able to build a successful law firm.

Don’t miss this conference!
For effective and innovative lawyer marketing tips, sign up for our national 2-day legal marketing conference scheduled for April 2011. You won’t want to miss this one!

You're a Talented Attorney, So What?

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

There are a lot of talented lawyers. Some are more talented than me and I hate to break it to you, but some are also more talented than you. Simply being talented or intelligent does not mean that your business will always thrive. It certainly doesn’t guarantee that your lights will still be on when Monday arrives or that your staff will all get paid.

“Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There’s plenty of movement, but you never know if it’s going to be forward, backward or sideways.” - H. Jackson Brown Jr., the best selling writer and author of Life's Little Instruction Book

It takes discipline.
You don’t have to be the smartest lawyer in your town to have the type of practice and life that you want. Here’s how you make it happen:

Create goals. You need to decide what you want to accomplish with your business and your personal life.
Believe in yourself. You have to believe that you can achieve the goals you have created.
Guard your time. Time is one of the few things that you will never get back. Don’t hesitate to limit the access people have to you.

Keep in mind that you need to be disciplined, in order to mold your life into what you want it to be. That last thing you want to become is an “octopus on roller skates.”

Don’t miss this conference!
For additional lawyer marketing tips, sign up for our national 2-day legal marketing conference scheduled for April 2011. You won’t want to miss this one!

Talk to Your Market: A Marketing Tip That Applies to Every Lawyer

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

Effective legal marketing doesn’t have to be difficult. It’s not rocket science. All you need to do is identify how you should talk to your market and understand what exactly it is that you are selling.

Take MontBlanc for example. A while back this company ran an ad in The Washington Post that featured a picture of a pendant on a chain. Nowhere in the ad did it mention price. It simply described the pendant using such words as “pureness” and “unpretentious elegance.” MontBlanc knows its customers and it recognizes that they are not concerned about price. Their customers want the experience of owning a MontBlanc product.

What do your potential clients care about?
When your prospects are looking for legal counsel, they do not want to read a dissertation on how great you are or where you went to school. What they care about is if you have the answers to their questions. They also want to know how you can help them.

It doesn’t matter if you are advertising on TV, in the Yellow Pages or on the Internet, you should not focus on selling yourself. You should concentrate on selling the overall experience a potential client will have when working with your law firm and the feeling they will have being represented by you.

Don’t miss this conference!
For additional lawyer marketing tips, sign up for our national 2-day legal marketing conference scheduled for April 2011. You won’t want to miss this one!

The Only Sure Way to Make Something Happen

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

How many times have you told someone, “let’s do lunch”? You say it in passing when you see people at the office, gym or church. While you may have the best intentions to actually get together for that afternoon meal, without setting a firm date, the meeting will most likely not take place.

The only sure way to make something happen is to mark your calendar.

If you are like most attorneys, your days fly by. You may find yourself sitting at your desk in the evening, after everyone else has gone home, wondering where the hours went. Instead of getting frustrated that “there just aren’t enough hours in the day,” you need to take control of your time. Because really, there are enough hours, it’s how you are spending them that is the problem.

You are the only one who can decide how you are going to spend your next minute, hour or day.

Mark your calendar with the events that you want to make happen. For example, block off time in your schedule to exercise or study. Set aside a couple of hours to focus on your marketing strategy and business goals each week. Most importantly, you should time each and every day so that you have plenty of hours available for your family.

You may picture in your mind what you want your life to look like, but if you don’t schedule your time appropriately, it is never going to become a reality.

Don’t miss this conference!
For effective and innovative lawyer marketing tips, sign up for our national 2-day legal marketing conference scheduled for April 2011. You won’t want to miss this one!

Every Lawyer Should Know What Motivates Their Potential Clients

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

An effective legal marketing campaign begins once you understand your potential clients. You have to put yourself in their shoes and consider the thoughts and concerns going through their minds. This task shouldn’t be overly difficult. You know what worries your clients have after an accident, when facing divorce or following a criminal accusation. Are these people really going to be motivated by a free legal consultation? Or is there something else you can provide them with that will help you stand out from the crowd of lawyers in your marketplace.

A USP should be incorporated into your lawyer marketing campaign.
A unique selling proposition (USP) is that factor that makes you stand apart from your competition. It tells your prospects why they should contact you versus the law firm down the street. While the USP might not be a new concept for you, what you might not have heard is that a USP can actually be a “thing.” A free consumer guide or report is a great USP. It grabs the attention of your prospects and encourages them to contact you. Isn’t that the whole point of marketing?

Most attorneys try to do too much with their ads in the Yellow Pages and their TV commercials. They attempt to convince their prospects that they need to choose them that very instant. When you market with a USP, you can avoid this common marketing mistake.

Don’t miss this conference!
For additional lawyer marketing tips, sign up for our national 2-day legal marketing conference scheduled for April 2011. You won’t want to miss this one!

There's No Excuse – It's Time You Asked Your Clients to Give Testimonials

Sat, 15 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

There is a reason why testimonials are used in TV commercials, newspaper ads and more. People trust what other consumers have to say.

One commercial comes to mind that reflects this concept – a group of women are sitting around at a baby shower. All the women have purchased the same brand diaper cream for the mom-to-be, because you know why? All the “pretend” female customers are raving fans of the product.

Now, we’re not talking about pretend client testimonials for your lawyer marketing plan. You need to have real, and powerful, testimonials from your actual clients.

Saying you are great is one thing, but hearing it from someone else is quite another. Your prospects will put more weight on the opinion of one of your clients, than what you have to say about your law firm. However, despite the effectiveness of client testimonials, there will always be those lawyers who put up resistance. They have every excuse imaginable to not ask their clients for testimonials.

Here are some of the common objections regarding testimonials:

I will be imposing. Not true. Your clients might even be flattered that you asked them for this favor.
I don’t know if I deserve a testimonial. Your clients will be better judges on this one. Even if the case didn’t produce the results they wanted, the level of service you provided might still have impressed them.
I will do it later. Don’t procrastinate. There isn’t going to be a better time than now to ask for those testimonials.

You can read more about client testimonials in our article, What’s the Most Valuable Lawyer Marketing Tool That Won’t Cost You a Dime?

For additional marketing tips, sign up for our national 2-day legal marketing conference scheduled for April 2011!

3 Things to Consider About Your Client Testimonials

Sat, 15 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

Getting a glowing recommendation about your law firm and how great of a lawyer you are goes a long way in boosting your ego. It also goes a long way with building trust among potential clients.

Client testimonials are powerful legal marketing tools that help your prospects make that final decision to hire your law firm. There are very few things as effective as raving reviews from past clients.

As you prepare to ask your clients to provide testimonials, you need to consider a few things:

The testimonials need to be detailed. A generic testimonial is better than none at all, but it won’t be as beneficial as one that is more detailed. When you ask your clients to provide their opinions of your firm or their experience, make sure they provide as much information as possible. A testimonial that simply reads: “This law firm is awesome,” doesn’t provide a lot of insight for potential clients. Plus, it looks made up.
Don’t fake it. People can generally spot “pretend” testimonials. Not only are they unethical, but also they can work against you.
Get more than one or two testimonials. If you claim to have represented hundreds of clients over the years, but only have two testimonials on your website, what type of impression are you giving? Think about it. If you were in your prospect’s shoes, wouldn’t you question the capability of the law firm, as well as its customer service skills? Make sure you get multiple testimonials.

For additional marketing tips, sign up for our national 2-day legal marketing conference scheduled for April 2011!

Read our other articles about client testimonials:

It's Easier to Become a Legal Expert When You Market to a Niche

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

You don’t need to be everything to everybody. You just need to choose who you want as your client and go after that person. That’s what niche marketing is all about.

Niche marketing has many advantages ranging from its cost effectiveness to the ability to stand out from the crowd. Another huge benefit of marketing to a niche is the opportunity to position yourself as the expert to call.

I constantly preach the importance of becoming the guru at the top of the mountain, the legal expert in your field. You want to be the first person your prospects think of when they need legal help. Positioning yourself as the guru can be easy, if you decide to go after a niche.

It worked for me.
How do I know niche marketing helps you become the legal expert to turn to? I know because it worked for me. I have become the ERISA guru. Years ago, I represented a case that involved this complicated federal statute. When no one could teach me about ERISA, I had to learn on my own. After gaining valuable knowledge on the subject, I decided to use all of the time I had invested by marketing myself in that area of law. You know what happened? People began to recognize me as the ERISA expert. It didn’t take long for this to happen.

You can learn more legal marketing tips.
If you want to learn more valuable lawyer marketing tips, sign up for our national 2-day legal marketing conference scheduled for April 2011. Seats will fill up quickly, so be sure to sign up today!

KISS Your Competition Goodbye By Following These Legal Marketing Tips

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

How do you create a successful legal marketing campaign? You keep it simply simple (KISS).

This concept is relatively easy to grasp, yet many lawyers still don’t seem to get it. The Yellow Pages is proof of that. You can’t take a look at all of the massive ads crammed with practice areas and call them “simple.” They are the opposite. If you focused on five different practice areas, it is impossible to create one ad or an entire marketing campaign that included all of these areas. The message would quickly become complex. Potential clients would only be confused and move on to the next ad.

Choose your niche.
Does choosing a niche mean you need to give up one of your practice areas? Not necessarily. What it does mean is that you develop a lawyer marketing campaign for each niche. It also means that you must do the following:

Create separate ads for each niche.
Use different lists to which you will market.
Find the media that is appropriate for each of your niches.

Keep it simply simple and get more cases.
When you decide on your niche (or niches) you can put yourself in the right place at the right time. You will be able to reach your ideal clients with a powerful message that is directed towards them.

For additional marketing tips, sign up for our national 2-day legal marketing conference scheduled for April 2011!

Choose Your Specific Market and Watch Your Competition Fade Away

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

If you found out you had a rare illness, would you want to be treated by a doctor who has helped patients just like you and has a specialized treatment plan? Or would you want a doctor who has a broad practice, treats any ailment imaginable and takes more of a “one-size-fits-all” approach to medicine? I know which doctor I would choose.

It’s no secret that specialized products generate more sales than generic products. People want what is made just for them. As a lawyer and marketer, you need to understand this legal marketing concept and take appropriate action. That means you need to decide to which specific group (niche) you are going to target your marketing.

Attorneys who have chosen to focus on a niche have created successful practices and here’s why:

It is cost effective. When you have a narrow focus, you can allocate your marketing dollars to the right group. You are not up against the masses, who are trying to reach a large target market.
The marketing message is much clearer. People who need legal help often get overwhelmed when looking for a lawyer. That’s no surprise. Just take a look at the Yellow Pages and billboards lining the freeways. Law firms include a laundry list of practice areas in their ads. When you focus on a niche, you can make your marketing message stand out.
Competition begins to disappear. Decide which clients you are going after and you will see your competition fade away. For example, be the lawyer who helps the Spanish speaking community or mainly handles traumatic brain injury cases. You’ll quickly position yourself as the law firm to call for that niche market.

For additional marketing tips, sign up for our national 2-day legal marketing conference scheduled for April 2011.

Another Reason You Need to Have a Raving Fan Base

Fri, 26 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

The Internet has given a platform for people to share their opinions and to provide their thoughts. It has given a “voice” to people who otherwise wouldn’t be heard. On the same hand, it has allowed individuals to post defamatory messages about lawyers. You need to have a group of raving fans who are ready to step in if someone posts something negative about you online. They will be your first line of defense, if needed.

In the past, lawyers’ mentality was to sue people who talked bad about them. “We’ll send them a cease and desist letter and file a defamation claim!” Things have changed.

If you find out that someone was unhappy with your services and has written a negative remark about you, you can put your raving fan base to work. The people who appreciate you will step in on your behalf. Don’t be afraid to ask them, “if you have a different opinion than this person, can you post it?” This technique is a powerful one.

How do you get this group of raving fans? Read our other articles for more information:

Don’t Miss This Conference!
We’ll be talking about more attorney marketing tips at our "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

Stay in Contact in an Interesting Way

Thu, 25 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

There’s a lot that goes into obtaining the names and contact information of your prospects. You have to create ads that attract their attention. You need a lawyer marketing message that is compelling and prompts your prospects to contact you. Then, you need a way to capture their information. The next step in the process is where many attorneys go wrong – you have to follow up.

What happens to the names of people who have contacted your office either to ask a question or order your free offer?

You need to stay in contact and you need to do so in an interesting way. Here are some ideas:

Send a package of information. We’re not talking about a boring package filled with brochures about your law firm. We are talking about an envelope or box stuffed with books, reports, articles, CDs, DVDs and anything else that will impress your leads.
Mail newsletters. Many lawyers have stopped sending out newsletters because they feel that it is an outdated form of advertising. Not so! People love reading mailed newsletters, as long as the information is relevant.
Send postcards and seasonal cards. These marketing touches will keep you in front of your prospects. You should also mail birthday cards too.

The goal with your follow up campaign is to show your prospects that you are the wise man or woman on top of the mountain. When they are ready to hire a lawyer, you are at the forefront of their minds.

Don’t Miss This Conference!
We’ll be talking about more attorney marketing tips at our "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

Lawyer Marketing Serves Two Purposes – Attract Today's Client and Tomorrow's Case

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

It would be great if you threw together an attorney advertisement, paid the Yellow Pages representative and started receiving calls from people who were ready to hire you then and there. That doesn’t happen often and if it does, you’re lucky.

Your Marketing Goals Should Be Twofold
You have two purposes when it comes to marketing your law firm – to attract today’s clients and tomorrow’s cases. How do you get tomorrow’s cases? You do so by getting the names and addresses of people who find your marketing message interesting. Then, you follow up on a regular basis.

Create Your Database
Not everyone researching lawyers is ready to hire someone right away. However, they might need an attorney in the future or might know someone who does. You have to put these people into your database, as they will probably have some value to you later on down the road.

Follow Up Regularly
It is important that you create a sequenced follow up. For example, after someone contacts you to ask a question or order a free book, start sending out marketing touches. You might mail monthly newsletters, postcards, reports, birthday cards and so forth. The key is to stay in front of the people in your database. Most law firms are not following up after prospects call them, so this definitely gives you an advantage.

Don’t Miss This Conference!
We’ll be talking about more lawyer marketing strategies at our "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

Want To Advertise Where There Are No Competitors?

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

The freeways are lined with billboards for attorneys. These massive outdoor signs scream lawyer marketing messages, such as “Injured?” “Need an Attorney?” or “We Will Fight For You!” Open the Yellow Pages and you will see pages and pages of lawyer ads. Are TV commercials any different? No. They all basically have the same message and even the same background (can’t we come up with something different than bookshelves as a backdrop?).

All of these ads pose a problem for you, as a lawyer. How do you stand out from the sea of advertisements?

Here is the way I look at it. You really have two options when it comes to attorney marketing. Let’s examine these options and then you decide what works best for you.

Option #1: Put thousands of dollars toward your marketing and create an ad that says you care for your clients and offer free consultations. Put this ad in the Yellow Pages with the other hundreds of ads that say the exact same thing. You can also make this ad into a television commercial, and throw away even more money. Then, sit back, cross your fingers and hope that the phone will ring.

Option #2: Decide to operate in the “competition free zone.” Design ads that have the single purpose of getting someone to take you up on your free offer of a book or report. When you focus your ads, so that they are about your book, not you, you immediately stand out from the crowd. You will be able to provoke people to initiate a conversation with your law firm.

Don’t Miss This Conference!

We’ll be talking about more lawyer marketing strategies at our "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

Too Many Lawyers Miss This One Important Piece of the Marketing Puzzle

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

Attorneys spend thousands of dollars on advertising every year. Heck, some law firms spend millions of dollars. However, many of these lawyers fail to include one important element in their ads – the call to action. They put a lot of money towards the creation of lawyer ads that are meant to draw the attention of their prospects, yet they still fall short.

Make sure your ads have a better call to action than “call us for a free consultation!”

Start the Conversation

A call to action is crucial, because it tells your prospects what you want them to do after reading your ad or watching your commercial. Simply saying that they should call you for a free case evaluation is not very convincing. Why call you when they can call the other dozens of law firms in your area?

Don’t Make Another Boring Offer

Your call to action has to be compelling. It has to get someone to the place where he or she feels like it is imperative to contact you, right away. How can you create such a call to action? Make an irresistible offer, such as a book or report. You need to have an information resource that you can freely give to your prospects. Not only will that prompt them to contact you, it will also show that you truly are the expert in your field.

Don’t Miss This Conference!

Get an Endless Flow of Cases

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

For years, savvy business owners have recognized that the way to get new business is to have multiple avenues for prospects to contact them. They know that once they have these valuable contacts, that they must initiate their multi-step multimedia marketing campaigns.

Some attorneys are also starting to get it. These are the lawyers who have taken control of their practice and are getting an endless flow of cases.

“Contact Us” Doesn’t Cut It

Many lawyers believe that if they have a website with a “contact us” button or an ad that says to call for a free consultation, that they have done enough. Their job as marketers is done. They have put together an ad and have told prospects to contact them. What else could there be?

You need to create more than one way for prospects to contact you. While there will be those who do fill out your contact form or pick up the phone and call, there is also a large group who will hesitate. You need to market to this group too.

A free book or report can be used as an incentive for someone to initiate the conversation with your law firm. It is another method where a prospect can get into your marketing system. Once someone takes you up on your free offer, guess what? You put this person into your marketing funnel and follow up with consistent communication. When the time comes for your prospect to hire a lawyer, you will be at the forefront of his or her mind.

Don’t Miss This Conference!

We’ll be talking about more attorney marketing strategies at our "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

A Surefire Way to Get People to Skip Over Your Website

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

Attorneys love to talk about where they went to school and the awards that they have received. We enjoy telling people how many years we have been practicing law and our success rate. However, there is a time and place for that type of discussion and let me tell you – it isn’t in the first few paragraphs of your website content.

Many law firms make the major mistake of talking too much about themselves. They mention their combined years of experience (“we have 1,000 years of combined experience!”), but people don’t really care. Your prospects can care less that you went to Harvard or Yale or whatever school. All they want to know is that you can help them.

What is great about lawyer marketing on the Internet is that it doesn’t take a lot to be different. All you have to do is create content that addresses the concerns that your prospects have.

You know what people are thinking about after an accident. You are aware of the common concerns of an impending divorce. This is the type of thing you need to focus on with your website content. Create headlines, compelling text and free offers that are wrapped around the problems that your potential clients are facing.

On the other hand, if you want people to skip over your website – only write about you.

Don’t Miss This Conference!

We’ll be talking about more attorney marketing tips at our "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

Are You a Starbucks Latte or a Gas Station Cup of Coffee?

Sat, 13 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

Consumers will drive out of their way to the gourmet coffeehouse, wait in a long line, pay nearly $5.00 for coffee and then wait another five minutes for their drink. Have you ever wondered what prompts these people to not only pay such a high fee for coffee, but to go through all of the hassle, when they can easily grab a cup of coffee at the local gas station?

People go to Starbucks for the experience and will plan their route accordingly. Those who are only looking for coffee will pull into the nearest gas station or fast food restaurant to get what they need. The second group is comprised of consumers who view coffee as a commodity. In your opinion, which group of customers would be better to work with?

Many attorneys act in such a way that they become perceived as a commodity. Don’t let yourself be one of them.

Here’s What Not to Do

You do not need to be available 24 hours a day to your clients. They do not need your personal cell phone number. You also don’t have to accept every case that ends up in your office. If you are afraid that you will miss the big job, because you don’t make yourself accessible and don’t take on every new client, here is some news for you - you are already missing opportunities.

It is time that you took control of your practice. Create a complex lawyer marketing system and use it to find your ideal clients. Follow up with your database on a regular basis and educate them on the type of cases you want.

We’ll be talking about attorney marketing strategies and more at the "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

Four Reasons Why You Need to Become Complex with Your Lawyer Marketing

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

Who said being complicated is a bad thing?

When it comes to good, effective lawyer marketing, it is all about being complex. If successful marketing were easy, lawyers wouldn’t be wasting thousands of advertising dollars each year!

Getting the ideal client to walk through your door is not a simple problem. That means you have to come up with a complex solution. Many attorneys throughout the country have recognized that in order to get the type of cases that they want, they have to implement a multistep, multimedia marketing system. This is a system that not only attracts prospects, but also continues to follow up on a regular basis.

Here are four reasons to use such a system:

Reason #1: It can help you stand out from the other attorneys who are using the same old marketing approach.

Reason #2: Complex marketing will establish you as the wise man or woman on top of the mountain.

Reason #3: This type of marketing system will help you weed out the clients you would put in the “C” or “D” categories.

Reason #4: It will increase the transaction value of each client. That means you can actually reduce your workload and spend more time with your family.

We’ll be talking about attorney marketing strategies and more at the "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

You Have One Hour to Spend On Lawyer Marketing - Choose Wisely

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

When I teach about lawyer marketing, it is not uncommon for people to get overwhelmed. They are bombarded with so many ideas that they don't know what to do first. After spending two days at our conferences listening to me, and all of the other great speakers, they have no clue how to implement the knowledge they have been given.

What is my response? You have to step back and look at the components of effective marketing. You need to get the 30,000 foot view to see how all the pieces work together.

Marketing is Complex

You have to understand that good marketing is not as simple as throwing your name on a plain ad and getting bombarded with new cases. Successful marketing, the kind that draws in the clients you want to represent, is complex. That means there is no quick and easy solution.

One Hour to Spend

If you only had one hour to devote to marketing, you would need to put it towards creating and cultivating a group of prospects, current clients and past clients. These are people who will become your raving fans.

You would need to do the following to accomplish this goal:

Utilize an automatic follow up system (which will automate your marketing for you)
Communicate with your group 12 to 26 times per year
Develop a website that educates your prospects and update it regularly

We’ll be talking about attorney marketing strategies and more at the "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

Reset Your Brain by Masterminding with Successful Lawyers

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

Who do you spend your time with? Are you surrounded by a group of people who are smart, positive and successful? Or, do you associate with lawyers who continuously complain about the economy, insurance companies, clients and any other supposed cause of their hard times?

If you want to win, then you need to hang out with winners. If you want to lose, well...you get the idea. It’s really not a complicated concept.

It is imperative that you spend time with other people who will, in essence, reset your brain. Napoleon Hill defines this practice as masterminding.

A mastermind group is where you can interact with people who think “big” and are not afraid to apply new ideas to their practices. They are always learning and looking for new opportunities. These are individuals who can “reset your brain.”

Learn More

We discussed masterminding extensively in the blog entry, A Mastermind Group Isn’t a Social Club, including all of the many benefits. When you are a member of a mastermind group, you are surrounded by others who will hold you accountable to reaching your goals and will encourage you to succeed.

Join Us in December!

We’ll be talking about lawyer marketing strategies and more at the "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

Are You on the Path to "Average?"

Tue, 09 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

Merriam-Webster.com defines the word average as “not out of the ordinary.” That is the mentality that many attorneys take when marketing their law practices. They choose advertising methods that are not out of the ordinary. They create and pay for ads that are just like everyone else.

Be Different

According to Earl Nightingale, if you went into the legal profession without a mentor and you were unsure how to find success, you should look around you. Watch what everyone else is doing and do the opposite. Wait – does that mean you should simply ignore the fact that other law firms (some of the biggest in your area) are dropping thousands of dollars on a particular form of lawyer advertising? They wouldn’t be spending their money if those marketing methods weren’t proven to be successful, right? Wrong.

Think Like a Marketer

Many lawyers don’t want to spend the time thinking like marketers. So, they simply follow the masses with their Yellow Pages ads and TV commercials. They don’t step back and question whether these forms of advertising are really working and if their marketing messages are effective.

If you are following the other attorneys in your area when it comes to marketing, you are on the path to becoming average. What the masses are doing is nothing “out of the ordinary,” and is the very definition of average.

Challenge Industry Norms

To stand out from your crowded marketplace, you can’t be afraid to challenge industry norms. Think creatively about your marketing campaign and come up with a marketing message that is different from all the hundreds of lawyers in your area.

We’ll be talking about lawyer marketing strategies and more at the "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

Breaking News Can Mean Groundbreaking Opportunity

Sun, 07 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

You have to expand your way of thinking about marketing, if you want to find new opportunities. No matter what size law firm you have, no one wants to waste money on ineffective attorney advertising. Instead, you want to search out avenues to make your law firm known, without spending a fortune. One such avenue has to do with current news.

Breaking News Will Happen
Whatever type of law you practice, at some point in time, there will be some breaking news that relates to you. When it happens, it is your chance to offer your expertise and guidance. That could mean you offer your book for free as a public service, or create articles with helpful tips. At the very least, you could blog about the news and give your opinion or advice.

Be Ready to Provide Your Expertise
In the book, 6 Steps to Free Publicity, the author, Marcia Yudkin, gives an example of a career counselor looking for clients. According to Yudkin, “if more people were finding jobs, the up-to-the-minute hook would be ‘How Not to Be Left Behind in the Current Rehiring,’ whereas if joblessness stayed the same or worsened, the timely pitch might be ‘Micro-Targeted Resumes Win Jobs Despite Hiring Lull.’”

Marketing doesn’t have to be confined to the traditional methods – Yellow Pages, TV commercials and outdoor billboards. Think outside of the box and don’t be afraid to try new ideas.

Don’t Miss This Conference!
We’ll be talking about more attorney marketing strategies at our "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

"Twitter Doesn't Work" – Why This Mentality is Wrong

Sat, 06 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

It is hard to view Twitter as an effective lawyer marketing method. Twitter can be confusing and overwhelming, if you don’t have the right tools. So, what often ends up happening is that lawyers dismiss Twitter as a waste of time with no real value.

That is the wrong mentality.

Attorneys have been using Twitter to grow and cultivate a following. This following is a group of people who are interested in what these lawyers have to say. By using Twitter, a lawyer can stay in front of people, so that when the time comes that someone needs legal help, this particular lawyer is the first person that comes to mind.

Why Lawyers Give Up Too Quickly
The results of using Twitter aren’t always seen right away, which is the major reason why attorneys give up too early. You have to view Twitter as a component of your marketing strategy. It is one piece to the entire marketing puzzle. If you have the right tools, it is worth the small investment of your time.

How to Use Twitter Effectively
There are programs available that make using Twitter easy, such as HootSuite.com. With this type of website, you can schedule messages on Twitter (known as tweets) ahead of time. You can also track the results of your messages, which allows you to see what people find interesting.

Whenever you write a blog or article, tweet about it. You can tweet about a recent case or a news event. If someone in your group wrote an interesting message, you can retweet it. The point is that you focus on posting relevant and interesting messages.

We’ll be talking about more attorney marketing strategies at our "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

Small Firm Legal Marketing Made Simple

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

Just because you are operating on a small law firm budget, doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice results. The key is to be strategic and creative with your marketing efforts.

No One Said You Have to Advertise in the Yellow Pages
Let’s pretend you have been experiencing back pain and want to find a chiropractor. Would you grab the Yellow Pages and choose a chiropractor based solely on an ad you found? If you are like most consumers, the answer is “no”. What you would most likely do is get on the Internet and start searching for a chiropractor in your area. You might also ask your friends and family members if they know a good chiropractor who can help you.

Reach Your Market
You need to focus your advertising on where your clients are looking, which is the Internet. That means you need to create and maintain an informative and helpful website that will help you attract potential clients. However, you still need to take an additional step to help you stand out from all of the other attorneys in your area. You can make yourself different by offering a free book or report to your prospects. How many lawyers in your market are doing that?

When you have a small marketing budget, you need to be creative too. Always be on the lookout for opportunities to get the word out about your law firm.

For more marketing ideas, read our other articles:

We’ll be talking about additional small firm legal marketing strategies at our "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

How Will Your Clients Remember You?

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 08:00:00 EST

You did a good job for your client, so he or she should remember you. This client should be sending you referrals too. But, this person has forgotten your name and the thought of sending you referrals hasn’t crossed his or her mind once.

Too often, people forget about the help you provided. They have moved on with their lives and your name soon slips away from their memory. That leads to a dilemma for most attorneys – how do you get your clients to remember you?

The answer is simple. You must have a story and it has to be different from all of the other thousands of lawyers out there.

My story is “I’m a guy with nine kids, who runs marathons, has a solo practice and teaches time management, but still gets home in time for dinner every night.” People in my community know this story and it makes me memorable. In their eyes, I have become more than a local personal injury attorney.

What is your story? All of us have one. We are unique individuals with unique lives. Don’t hesitate to share your story with your clients. They should never forget who you are or the great representation you have provided them.

We’ll be talking about lawyer marketing strategies and more at the "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

The Transformation from Web Visitor Into Client

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 08:00:00 EST

Wouldn’t it be nice if someone went to your website, loved what you had to say and decided to hire you right then and there? While that would make life a lot easier, it generally doesn’t work that way. There are steps that have to be taken to convert that Web visitor into an actual client (a client you want to represent).

The biggest key to the whole conversion process is having an automated follow up campaign. Without one, all of the steps I am about to describe will be incredibly time consuming and near impossible.

Step One: Create an interesting website. There is a difference between successful websites and ineffective websites. A successful website offers interesting information and speaks to the conversation going through the Web visitors’ mind. An ineffective website talks on and on about how great the law firm is and does little to address the concerns of potential clients.

Step Two: Offer something for free. Develop a report, book or CD that you can offer for free on your website or in your marketing materials. You should give this offer in exchange for your prospect’s contact information.

Step Three: Stay in constant communication. Once you have someone’s contact information, your automated marketing campaign should kick in. You should be sending letters, emails, postcards, newsletters and other marketing touches on a regular basis.

Step Four: Get the case. Once the prospect is ready to hire a lawyer, guess whom he or she will think of first? You!

We’ll be talking about this topic and more at our "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

A Mastermind Group Isn't a Social Club

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 08:00:00 EST

Effective lawyer marketing doesn’t begin with a headline, interesting ad or compelling call-to-action. It starts with your mindset. You have to think like a winner, someone who truly wants to find success and is willing to take the steps to get there. One of the best ways to keep this mindset is to surround yourself with other likeminded professionals.

That is where a mastermind group comes into play.

What is a mastermind group?
A mastermind group consists of business professionals who come together to share ideas, expertise and more. Mastermind group members are able to build synergy and excitement. They are able to challenge each other to generate ideas and create goals. You can foster great mindset thinking through a mastermind group. View it as a “think tank.”

What are the benefits of joining a mastermind group?
Great things happen when you get a group of people together who are success-driven and open to new ideas and possibilities. Some of the benefits of a mastermind group include:

Ability to brainstorm with educated and skilled professionals
Opportunity to learn from other people’s successes
Accountability to implement your goals
Support from other group members

If you are not part of a mastermind group, you should strongly consider joining one. You will find it to be invaluable.

We’ll be talking about this topic and more at our "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

Follow Up Consistently & Effectively

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 08:00:00 EST

Law firms spend thousands of dollars, sometimes millions, on TV, Yellow Pages and radio advertising. Yet they do little to follow up with the leads that call their offices. They might call or send a letter right after the initial conversation, but that is about as far as it goes.

At our law firm, we closely monitor all of our leads.
Through our experience, we have found that it takes several months from the time someone calls our office to the time we sign a fee agreement. How many lawyers do you think are still following up with these people after several months? Not many!

One of the secrets to getting the types of cases you want is follow up marketing.
Within a six-month period, our law firm will initiate contact with a prospect not once, not twice, but 14 times. This number is an average – sometimes we contact the prospect even more.

What exactly should you be sending to these prospects to stay in front of them?
Send postcards, newsletters, cards and letters. Send books, reports, CDs and articles. The important thing is that you stay at the forefront of their mind, so that when they are ready to hire a lawyer, they think of you first.

The key to effective follow up marketing is to have a system in place that will do everything automatically for you. Otherwise, you will become quickly overwhelmed and may not have the manpower to handle your marketing campaign.

We’ll be talking about these lawyer marketing ideas and more at our "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

The Best Way to Market a Personal Injury Law Firm

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 08:00:00 EST

There are many avenues you can take to market your personal injury law firm. You can pay for a full-page ad in the Yellow Pages. You can spend thousands of dollars on a TV commercial or you can put together a nice radio spot. However, if you follow any of these marketing paths, you are going to be trailing behind all the other law firms in your area. Instead of standing out from the crowd, you will be emerging yourself in a congested marketplace. You will have to keep your fingers crossed that a potential client will even notice you.

The good news is that there is a much better approach to lawyer marketing.

The attorneys who are succeeding in today’s economy have discovered what it takes to not only position themselves to get cases, but to actually build the type of law practices they have always wanted. What’s their secret? It is all about follow up marketing.

When someone contacts your law firm, whether to inquire about your services or to take you up on your free offer, you need to add him or her to your database.

Your work doesn’t stop there. You need to send this person information packages and regular marketing touches to stay at the forefront of his or her mind. Some of the materials you might want to send include books, reports, newsletters and postcards. What does all of this accomplish? When it comes time to hire a lawyer, you are the first person that your prospects think of.

We’ll be talking about these marketing ideas and more at our "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

Marketing Ideas for Personal Injury and More

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 08:00:00 EST

Attorney commercials almost all look the same. The camera focuses on a lawyer sitting at a desk or table in front of a bookshelf with a plant or tree in the background. The lawyer is dressed in a nice suit and has his hands clasped in front of him. During the 30 to 60 second commercial, the attorney explains that his law firm has the experience and resources to fight for their clients.

There are a lot of problems with these commercials. For example, you can pretty much swap out the name of the law firm and the lawyer and not much would change. You would still have the bookshelf in the background and the same message. Another issue with this type of ad is that it often doesn’t speak to the specific questions going through the consumer’s mind. The consumer already assumes that the lawyer will fight for him or her, so why spend the time explaining that?

If you are a personal injury lawyer, here are some marketing ideas for you that will help you stand out in the minds of your prospects:

Develop a free, enticing offer. Write a book, shoot a video or put a report together that provides helpful information to your potential clients.
Create ads and/or a website that promotes your free offer. The goal is to get someone to contact you for your free offer.
Implement a systematic follow up marketing campaign. Stay in constant contact with your database (your database should consist of people who responded to your free offer, as well as past and current clients).

We’ll be talking about these marketing ideas and more at our "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

The "Real" Reason You Should Have a Website

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 08:00:00 EST

You don’t spend the time and money on a website to simply show nice pictures of your office and your staff. An effective website will not talk endlessly about how great you are and where you went to law school. If that is what you think a successful website is, you are sadly mistaken. There is a specific reason why you should have a website, do you know what it is?

The main reason you should create a website is to get people to contact you.

If done right, your website will give someone just enough information to be prompted to call your office or fill out your contact form. You don’t need to write lengthy articles, which discuss topics in “legalese” that no one can understand. Instead, fill your website with content that answers the questions that are on your prospects’ minds. You can even throw in some great online videos to emphasize your points.

Your website should also promote your free offer (read, Everything Should Be About Your Free Offer). It should be easy for people to initiate a conversation with you. Once someone reaches out to your law firm, the real work begins. You need to add that person to your database and start your follow-up marketing campaign.

We’ll be discussing this topic and more at our "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

Grabbing Attention with Fear

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 08:00:00 EST

Your clients may have many fears if they're seeking legal services. As a personal injury attorney the most common ones are how my clients are going to pay their medical bills, provide for their family while they're out of work, and so on. Another big concern I see is how to determine who's at fault for their injuries, because if it's them, they don't have a case.

Anyway, my clients have a lot of fears to deal with, and I hate seeing anyone in distress, so I offer them a lot of free advice. Through my website articles, eZine contributions, blogs, and free eBooks I offer a ton of general advice on common personal injury topics, and my clients love me for it. The trick is to catch their attention by getting into their head and identifying their current fears.

Once you know what they've got on their mind, you need to be diligent in offering them your legal services for those fears. Don't just grab their attention by saying "hey, I know this concerns you" and then leave them hanging, offer that free advice. Show them you know your stuff, and you're willing to help by offering your legal services. Clients that see you know what they're going through and are confident in answering their needs will have much more faith in your legal prowess and integrity.

When you target your clients' needs through your legal marketing you're showing them that you have experience with cases similar to theirs. Experience is important when establishing trust with your clients and by associating with their fears you can show you've seen cases like theirs before and can help with your legal services.

Boosting Your Legal Marketing Strategy

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional legal marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a FREE report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

Potentially Derogatory Lawyer Advertising Causes Stir in South Florida

Sat, 02 Oct 2010 08:00:00 EST

Broward County, FL - Many lawyers use personal hobbies and affiliations to market themselves to potential, like-minded clients. But one association in South Florida has taken that marketing strategy a bit too far.

The Sun-Sentinel newspaper of South Florida ran a story on a controversial bus bench ad that was placed near the Broward County Courthouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale, FL. Although lawyer advertising in this area is quite common, the message it conveyed grabbed the attention of many, including fellow attorneys, who were taken aback by the advertisement:

"Prefer a Jewish lawyer!"

Jewish Lawyer Referral Service

Jewish American Bar Association

Yes, it is a real organization, established by social worker Lisa Spitzer, which aims to connect people with legal needs to Jewish lawyers. The Jewish American Bar Association was incorporated last year and has its own website and a P.O. box (located in Boca Raton, FL) as its main office address.

Spitzer acknowledges that the group, which costs $325 in annual dues to join, has only 3 members in South Florida. She stated that she would allow non-Jewish members to sign up for the referral service "if their heart was in accordance with our goals and purposes."

Those goals? Apparently to promote the use of a Jewish attorney over non-Jewish attorneys, which many find troubling. Critics of the organization fear that this advertising will be looked at as Jewish lawyers playing on stereotypes to gain more business.

Litigator Richard Sachs, president of the B'nai B'rith Justice Unit of Broward County, fears the advertising implies that Jewish lawyers believe themselves to be better than non-Jewish lawyers.

"[JABA] implies a Jewish attorney is better than a non-Jewish attorney, and that can't help the legal community at large."

The fears are well founded, especially for Broward County where recent judicial elections were the scene for some ethnic controversy. Many of those who challenged incumbents were accused of trying to use their Jewish-sounding last names to garner more votes.

One of the most important questions raised about the Jewish American Bar Association is whether the organization is misleading about its true existence. Some attorneys are claiming that by calling itself a "bar organization" it gives a false credibility that it is a national organization of lawyers, not just a Jewish lawyer referral service.

The Florida Bar does not appear to have any rules against an organization calling itself a "bar organization" but if any problems arise with this sort of advertising, the 3 Florida lawyers registered with the service would be held responsible.

The bus bench ad was taken down when the outcry began and has been submitted to the Florida Bar's advertising committee for review. The organization has also registered with the Florida Bar as a lawyer referral service.

Throughout the controversy, Spitzer remains optimistic that her endeavor will survive and grow.

Ethical and Effective Legal Marketing

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a FREE report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

Connect to Your Clients' Concerns

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 08:00:00 EST

One thing that nearly every client of any business loves is when advertising speaks directly to them. Your legal marketing can do the same, and be even more effective, when it targets their legal concerns.

When a client is searching for an attorney they've obviously got legal concerns on the mind. So what would grab their attention quicker than a website or a postcard mailer that had their exact question printed on it? Legal marketing materials that utilize questions that mirror common legal concerns are great attention grabbers.

"What do I do after I was rear-ended in a car accident?"

"Who is responsible for paying my medical bills after a jobsite injury?"

You probably hear these questions quite often in your office (that is, if you're a personal injury attorney). In fact, your current clients are a great place to learn about what exactly the common legal concerns of your clients are. Once you figure this out, you need to put it to work in your legal marketing strategy.

By placing these kinds of legal concerns as questions on your legal marketing materials you catch your clients' attention because suddenly the advertisement is associating directly with them. As they look further, give them a little more to chew on. A general answer to these questions may be enough to satisfy their initial itch for information, and then you can offer them more (eBook, free consultation, etc.). Either way, give them a little, and offer more if they contact you.

When you target your clients' needs through your legal marketing you're creating a more personal outreach to them rather than just an advertising shout. We get shouted at by advertisements all day, and by offering a connection rather than a demand, you can be a different kind of advertisement to your clients.

Boosting Your Legal Marketing

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a FREE report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

Don't Waste Your Legal Marketing Dollars: Create Your Own Tagline!

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

I hear all the time about these marketing vultures who offer their services to "research, develop and promote" a great tagline for your law firm. Lawyers out there are seriously paying cold hard cash to these people to develop a single sentence about their practice.

Probably the biggest outrage with this phenomenon is the trash that these so-called legal marketing professionals come up with. I'm convinced that their methods are posting a bunch of buzzwords on a bulletin board and throwing darts. "Integrity" must be posted on their board a few times (either that or they have good aim for it) because that's one of the most overused phrases I see in law firm taglines.

Your tagline should NOT be a jumble of buzzwords, and it should NOT be vague either. It needs to say who you are and what you're going to do for your clients, even if it's not bluntly stated. When we decided on the "You May Not Need a Lawyer" tagline for BenGlassLaw, I gathered a few of my office staff and had a brainstorming session.

What are we about? What do we do that other law firms don't? We determined our focus is to create educated clients who can decide if they need to hire me or not, then I know those who do contact me are well informed and definitely need a lawyer. We had our idea, and after playing with words for a bit, running ideas by friends and family, we had our tagline.

Developing a law firm tagline can be tricky. As you develop yours, try to get input and opinions from a few different sources, especially those outside of the legal profession. The more input you get from non-lawyers who could be potential clients, the better. Remember, your clients are usually not lawyers; therefore they're attracted to different advertising methods. Play to your audience, or risk losing those leads.

Getting Started with Great Legal Marketing

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a FREE report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

Make Your Law Firm Tagline Do the Work for You

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

So here's the tagline for BenGlassLaw:

Benjamin W. Glass, III & Assoc., P.C.
"You May Not Need a Lawyer"

Wait, did my tagline just tell people they MAY NOT need me? It sure did. That's part of my niche, I try to help my potential clients NOT need to hire me. I want to help educate them first by providing all my free books and consumer guides. I love it when a client is well informed about their situation and what legal actions they need to take, because it saves me time explaining it.

My stance is, if I can give 100 clients the means to decide if they need a lawyer or not, even if 90 of them decide not to hire me, that's still 10 that realize they do need an attorney. I just saved myself the time and effort of having to consult with (and turn away) 90 small or non-cases.

When you're developing a tagline for your legal practice you need to first decide on what message you want to send. You should be using your tagline to tell your clients what kind of lawyer you are and what you'll do for them. I'm not saying be blunt and just say "I'm a personal injury lawyer who will fight for your rights" - that's not only boring, that's obvious.

My tagline tells clients that I'm not your typical "give me all your cases" lawyer - I'm different. Your tagline works in conjunction with the rest of your legal marketing, so it's usually not even necessary to promote your practice areas with it, since the rest of your advertising most likely does that for you. Instead, identifying what kind of lawyer you are should be done to make you stand out. How many lawyers do you see telling their clients they may not need them?

Developing a law firm tagline can be tricky. I recommend you pick the brains of a few of your trusted sources of inspiration like your office staff, fellow attorneys, friends and family. You never know who's a clever wordsmith who can help you develop your great law firm tagline.

Getting Started with Great Legal Marketing

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a FREE report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

"Stealing" Legal Marketing Ideas

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

Maybe using the word ‘steal' is a bit harsh, but it's true. Look at every other competing business type out there and take a look at the top businesses in that category. All of their marketing is somewhat similar, because when one company comes out with an idea, the others follow suit. They're all "stealing" from each other's marketing systems.

Take for example McDonalds, Wendy's and Burger King. It seems that every time one comes out with a new, innovative menu idea, the others follow suit. McDonalds came out with the McFlurry blended ice cream; a few years later Wendy's came out with the Twisted Frosty. Burger King started offering premium XL Steakhouse burgers, McDonalds popped up with their Angus beef 1/3 lb burger line.

Inventors have hundreds of failures before their single success, but these failures aren't failures if business lessons are learned. In business, many companies choose to let their competition fail with a new idea before they attempt a new venture. This is in hopes that business lessons can be learned from failure, leaving others to gain on that single success.

If both McDonalds and Burger King had launched their premium burger lines at the same time, they may not have been as successful. But allowing one to test the waters first let Burger King prove the success, and McDonalds steal the idea. McDonalds knew that the Burger King loyalists would be the experiment to see if premium burgers would sell, and if they did, the McDonald loyalists would still come to try their version.

I recently read an article about the Under Armour company CEO Kevin Plank who had some pretty great business lessons to give. Stealing ideas from his competition was one of them. He recognized early that the big athletic apparel companies all used celebrities to endorse their products, and he followed suit.

If you're still squeamish about the word ‘steal' just remember that Nike doesn't own a patent on celebrity endorsement, so it's not stealing, it's a tribute to their marketing genius (imitation is the sincerest form of flattery).

Business lessons are everywhere - whether you find legal marketing ideas from other law firms, or from completely separate industries - don't be afraid to capitalize on great ideas and change them to fit your legal marketing needs.

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a complimentary report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

When You're Ahead, Keep Building That Lead

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

There's an old football saying that the best defense is a good offence. It's similar to the fable The Tortoise and the Hare, and just one of many business lessons all around us. Just because you're winning doesn't mean you can slack off.

I say when you're enjoying running your successful law firm, don't just sit back and reap the benefits, keep finding ways to make it better and continue that success.

The future is unpredictable and only those who are adaptable to change and prepared for the unexpected are going to survive when a crisis strikes. Things may be going great for you now, but with unknowns like the economy and law changes, you can't always guarantee that what's working well now will continue to work a few months from now.

The business lessons here include the concept of building on your success. Prepare for that rainy day, that unexpected illness, or the sudden financial crisis. While everyone else is flailing about, you'll be secure with a buffer you built during the good times. You'll be able to focus on adapting to changes and rebuilding that success. Meanwhile, everyone who got too lofty in their success during the good times will be trying to keep afloat.

I recently read an article about the Under Armour company CEO Kevin Plank who had some pretty great business lessons to give. To continue the sports trend, a famous football coach once said "the best defense is to score another touchdown." When you're ahead, don't take it for granted. Keep going and make sure you're REALLY ahead; that way there's no fear of that rainy day shutting your law firm's doors.

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional legal marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a complimentary report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

Get Geographic with Your Legal Marketing

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

Who doesn't love it when something feels like it was made specifically for them? Customized items are everywhere, and the personalization of goods and services is a growing trend. Internet use is becoming more about customizing your browsing experience for your preferences because consumers like it when websites feel like they were designed just for them.

Amazon does this quite well. When you're logged in, they use your wish lists, past purchases, and recent browsing history to suggest similar products you might be interested in. This isn't just a lesson in selling similar products to consumers, this is a lesson in relevant advertising to your clients.

Some of the automated customization programs on these websites are so advanced that they use your IP address to determine where you live. Then the ads you see are targeted toward your local trends. Florida viewers see ads about hurricane-proof windows and sunscreen, while Alaskans get discounted down jacket sales and snow tire deals.

Local customization for the Internet, also known as geo-targeting or geo-specific marketing, is getting to be quite popular nowadays. You don't need a fancy program to track and decipher IP addresses; all you need to know is where you want your legal marketing to reach. If you're a lawyer in Fairfax, VA like me, you can start plugging in those local keywords like George Mason University, Van Dyck Park, and Fair Oaks Mall to generate leads to your website.

Playing to the interests of your local market helps drive up your web traffic and establish your ties to the local community. Learn the hot topics around your area and develop your legal marketing to include them.

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a FREE report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

Using Local Interests to Generate Lawyer Advertising

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

The lesson I'm about to impart to you came to me while I was watching the inches of snow pile up outside my window during one of our typical northeastern blizzards last year. I was sitting at home, snowbound as with most Virginians, when I received an email advertising VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services.

Normally this is junk email that I delete after a single glance, but something drew my attention. The advertisement was talking about the very snowstorm that was currently keeping me away from my office! The ad talked about how bad weather can cancel your commute, and VoIP technology can help you work from home when you're snowbound.

I wasn't in the market for VoIP service for my home or office, but I still read through their whole advertisement just to see what they were talking about. They did something great with this ad campaign: they took an unrelated hot topic (the snowstorm) and related it to their business (VoIP service). During the winter, weather is usually the discussion topic of choice, and most Virginians are much more apt to read a story about a snowstorm than they are about VoIP service.

When developing your lawyer advertising it's important to focus on playing to the interests of your local market. Know the hot topics around your area and develop your legal marketing around them. Part of your niche marketing strategy is that you connect to the local community and show you're the right lawyer in the right place that understands the needs of your local clients.

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a FREE report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

How to Organize Too Many Great Ideas

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

I say that having too many great ideas is a burden, and before you scoff at me just consider for a moment. When you are overwhelmed with good ideas, it's hard to find a good place to start putting them to use. This often leads to nothing getting done, because you're spending too much time trying to decide on what to do.

To remedy this, I organize my ideas before I even start to consider which one I'm going to attempt first. When I come back from a Great Legal Marketing conference I've got all sorts of ideas about legal marketing and improving my legal business. So I commit all my ideas to paper, consolidate my notebooks and scraps into a nice list, and then I skim it all over.

As you glance at your ideas, you'll form categories:

Improving Internet marketing;
New social media marketing tactics;
Blogging strategies;
Reaching out to clients;
Promoting in public.

...and so on.

Those are just random examples, the tip of the ice burg of legal marketing categories I get ideas about when talking and listening at my Great Legal Marketing conferences. Anyway, I classify all my ideas into categories and then suddenly things seem much easier to filter.

Classifying and organizing my legal marketing ideas is just one part of my process for dealing with being overwhelmed with great ideas. You also need to look at the priorities you want to place on these ideas for how they'll help your legal business. Then once you've got it all neat and tidy, it's time to set a real plan of action.

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a FREE report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

Gathering and Developing Your Ideas

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

Just how legal marketing inspiration can come from anywhere, you can get ideas for improving your legal business and legal marketing from anywhere. When I'm at Great Legal Marketing conferences, Jumpstart Conferences, and mastermind groups, I'm normally the one speaking. But as any teacher will tell you, we never stop learning, and even they learn a thing or two from their students.

One of the great features of most of these kinds of legal marketing gatherings is the roundtable discussions. In these meetings the information flows freely, and even a seasoned legal marketing guru such as myself comes out with a dozen or so new ideas to implement that I learned from other professionals.

The ideas don't stop when we step outside of the meeting room, either. Many of my favorite ideas were developed during chats in the break rooms, over dinners, and during travel downtime. It's actually my travel time where I really look over and develop a lot of my ideas. My flight to China last year to pick up my new daughter and son was right after a Great Legal Marketing conference. Instead of indulging in the in-flight movie, I grabbed my notes and started absorbing all the great ideas.

Absorbing the information from your notes and ideas is just one step of my process for dealing with being overwhelmed with great ideas. You also need to look at the priorities you want to place on these ideas for how they'll help your legal business. Then once you've got it all neat and tidy, it's time to set a real plan of action.

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a FREE report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

Effective Video Marketing Isn't As Hard As You Think

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

Lawyer marketing is not stagnant. It changes constantly and if you want to remain competitive, you have to stay on top of the trends.

Online video is changing the way that lawyers market. Web video is now one of the greatest and most effective ways to capture the attention of your target market. Need proof? YouTube, the largest video website, averages about 2 billion views a day. It is estimated that about 24 hours of video are uploaded every minute. People are looking for quick answers, which is why they are turning to Web video.

The Benefits of Video Are Endless
Online video is working for many reasons. When you create a video that talks about an important topic to your potential clients, you are able to build trust and establish yourself as an expert. Those aren’t the only benefits, though. Web video allows people to feel like they know you and in a way, pushes you to a celebrity status in their eyes.

Don’t Sit Back and Watch Your Competitors Take Your Business
As a lawyer, you have to jump on this opportunity. If you don’t, you will be left in the dust as your competitors grab the cases that you want. The good news is that online video is not that costly or difficult. You can do it yourself by purchasing the correct equipment and software. Another option is to hire a company to do it for you. There are many great video production companies that specialize in Web video.

Learn More At Our One-Day Event
We will be discussing this topic and a whole lot more at the upcoming “No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

Turning Tragedy into Action

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

One of the blogging strategies I see many personal injury attorneys use is reporting on local traffic accidents that they see in the newspaper and on TV. This is a great strategy for boosting your Internet presence by increasing your search engine ranking, but it's also a whole new world of legal marketing opportunity.

At face value, using the tragedy of others to generate search engine rankings sounds cold-hearted. But a good lawyer-entrepreneur will take this idea a step further. You should have a good idea of your local area and know the roads well enough to spot those trouble areas. Honestly, anyone who watches your local news stories for a few weeks could do that.

Once you identify a trouble area, such as a particular intersection that has a high volume of pedestrian accidents because there are no sidewalks, you should be the lawyer that takes action. You'll generate some great press for yourself when you start a campaign for pedestrian safety.

Your new legal marketing strategy can focus on your advocacy for sidewalks to help increase pedestrian safety. At first, you might think that this is just going to reduce the amount of potential cases you have, but in reality, it's getting your name out there as a concerned member of the community who just happens to be a compassionate, dedicated personal injury attorney.

Generating press and dealing with negative press are two things that most lawyers will have to deal with at one point in their legal career. You need to be prepared to turn any sort of press into good press, and it's all in your attitude toward the news piece. Don't let negative press intimidate you, and take every opportunity you can to generate press of your own and boost your legal marketing.

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a complimentary report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

Need Proof that Innovative Marketing is Crucial for Attorneys? Here You Go!

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

There will always be the group of attorneys who sit back and whine that business is slow because of the economy, insurance companies, clients and so on. They are able to come up with every possible reason why they are not getting the cases they want, but these reasons never seem to involve their own actions. If you want to succeed in today’s competitive legal market, you need to be proactive and learn from the lawyers who are not only surviving, but are thriving.

Here are two real-life examples of lawyers who have recognized the importance of continuous, innovative marketing and have chosen to take action:

Chris and Mischelle Davis: Chris is a personal injury lawyer in Seattle, Washington. He was once one of the typical injury lawyers in Seattle with an average office and boring Yellow Pages ad. Both he and Mischelle attended a Great Legal Marketing conference in 2007. They quickly realized the significance of “outside the box” marketing and created a huge action marketing campaign. The results of their marketing efforts were nothing short of amazing. Chris is frequently interviewed by the media as a legal expert, including CNN, and the law firm now has the pick of high-value cases.
Brian Beckcom: Brian is a maritime lawyer based in Houston, Texas. He has never been afraid to work hard and would frequently put 80 hours in per week at the office, getting home at 9:00 PM every night. After implementing new marketing strategies, Brian now has the type of business and personal life he wants. He is no longer tied to the office at all hours. He is able to take vacations with his family and do the activities he enjoys. Brian feels that he has become a better lawyer for his clients.

At the upcoming “No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010, we will provide you with the roadmap you need to succeed. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

There Are Attorneys Who "Get It" and Their Businesses are Striving

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

We hear so much bad news everyday that it is easy to get a tainted view on the economy, on business and really, your life. There have been recent headlines of giant law firms collapsing, 800 jobs lost in the legal industry and lawyers being sent to prison. What about all the thousands of small law firms that have imploded all across the nation? They’re out there, but don’t make national news.

With all that being said, there are still the attorneys who seem to “get it” and don’t let bad news discourage them. They know that there is business out there and they are implementing proven strategies to grow their practices. Which side of the camp are you on?

The lawyers who are doing well are not afraid to get creative with their marketing. They recognize that if they want to continue to get the cases they want, they have to focus on marketing. That doesn’t mean they throw thousands of dollars into Yellow Pages advertising or create a website with pretty pictures and useless information. Instead, they focus on being different and offering prospects something of value.

You can learn a lot more about what highly successful lawyers are doing in our articles:

Your Lawyer Marketing Should be Complex
Everything Should Be About Your Free Offer
Successful Lawyer Marketing Requires Relentless Follow-Up
How to Create a Killer Client Database

If you really want to learn what it takes to strive in any economy, you need to attend our “No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

Northern Virginia legal news website is launched.

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

In an effort to expand the "Ben Glass" Internet footprint we have recently launched a new website devoted to covering the news of the Northern Virginia courts. Please bookmark this site.

Northern Virginia Legal News

Ben Glass

How to Handle Bad Press

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

It's something we all may have to deal with at one point in our legal career - bad press. It may be something as simple as a slap on the wrist from your state bar for an "illegal sound effect" in your TV ad. Of course, there is also the danger of more serious bad press, but no matter the degree of "bad" you are facing, there's a way to work with it.

Most people give credit to those who have been in the wrong and admit to it. You shouldn't pretend like the bad press didn't happen. Instead, you should combat it with your own say on the matter. Your website and blog are the best places to address the issues and give your side of the story.

One of the neat side effects of blogging about your own negative press is that it can actually work in your favor in the long run. The more certain phrases come up in searches and new Web content, the higher they rank on Internet searches. So if your page was struggling to come up when people searched for "Virginia personal injury lawyer" but you were recently on the losing side of a case that had an article in the paper, your name may suddenly start turning up more.

As with most negative things in life, it's all about attitude. If you have a less-than-positive article written about you in the local paper, you shouldn't treat that like a career ender. Be creative with it; write an editorial blog right back, which addresses the issues brought forth and gives the public your opinion on the article. By spinning the press to your favor you can turn bad press into great legal marketing opportunities.

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a complimentary report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

Be More than Just "a Lawyer"

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

Don't think of yourself as a lawyer, because that's just boring. Great legal marketing seeks to expand beyond the black and white definition of "lawyer" and market your law firm as a legal experience to be had. Who wants to have a lawsuit when you can have a "legal experience?"

Right there, that proves that the way you sell something is critical to your legal marketing. Saying "I had a successful lawsuit settlement" is boring compared to "I had an amazing legal experience" - the word "experience" is just so much more enticing to the client's ears.

When someone asks you what business you're in, if you answer that you're a lawyer you're not doing yourself any favors. That's a generic, plain answer and it just won't do when you're looking to market yourself as the best choice they could make when it comes to legal representation.

The next time someone asks you what business you're in, try to sell them on the experience of your business, not just the dictionary definition. You may be an advocate for families who suffered losses from a recent defective product recall on baby formula. Or you may be in the business of helping wrongfully charged DUI suspects prove their innocence. Both of these descriptions sound much better than "I'm a class action lawsuit attorney" or "I handle DUI defense claims."

When your legal marketing message sells your law firm as more than just a source of legal help, you're putting yourself on a step above the competition. Learning to expand your thinking beyond the traditional definition of lawyers and law firms will allow your legal marketing to show your specialties and how you are unique among your clients' other options.

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a FREE report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

Dedication Pays Off in the End

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

It's a lesson we hear all the time in life: hard work and dedication pays off in the end. It's a good lesson to pay attention to, because it's true for pretty much everything I teach about legal marketing. Besides, if everything about legal marketing came easily, we'd all be successful lawyers and I'd be out of a profession (well, my Great Legal Marketing profession, at least)!

I'm never reluctant to admit that niche marketing takes serious dedication to make it work in the long run of your legal marketing. This idea isn't for everyone, especially if you're the nervous type who needs big volumes of clients and cases to feel that your law firm is successful.

It comes down to quality versus quantity. You can have 100 clients with small cases and tons of issues to deal with, or 10 clients with big value cases that don't eat up your free time. The choice is up to you, and some lawyers are perfectly happy with a huge caseload because it makes them feel important.

Then there are the lawyers like myself, who love my profession, but also love my family. I want to spend time on both parts of my life: Ben the lawyer and Ben the family man. So I dedicate myself to structuring my lawyer advertising into niche marketing, I only look for the clients that will allow me to afford to keep my legal business afloat, provide for my family, and not eat up my free time.

There was no magic 24-DVD set I had to order and watch, no marketing scheme I had to buy into to get someone to design ads for The Yellow Pages and radio. It didn't take someone with a degree in marketing to figure this out ... all it took was dedication to the legal marketing systems I decided to implement.

Being stubborn paid off in my case, because I was determined to make my plans work and reach the lifestyle I wanted. I can spend time with my kids, I can run marathons and I can run my law firm.

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a complimentary report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

Stubborn Legal Marketing Success Stories

Sat, 11 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

I love sharing success stories because they show that anyone with enough determination and entrepreneurial spirit can achieve great legal marketing status. Especially when I'm talking niche marketing, the more success stories I can share, the better.

This is a quick tale of success from a Virginia divorce lawyer who only handles women's claims. That's right, Charlie Hofheimer decided to ignore about 50% of his potential client market. I'm fairly certain when he announced this decision that his colleagues laughed at him. Why would you ignore half your market?

Let me tell you: it worked. Clients love to see that a business is catering specifically to THEM. Personalization is a big draw in today's world. Everyone wants to have a customized skin for their iPhone, and those novelty mugs and key chains with your child's name on them are still selling in tourist trap shops across the United States.

Commercials on TV target their audience by showing "people just like you" enjoying whatever product they're pitching. Think about the products you use; many of us use a specific brand because they're designed for people like us. Razors are a good example for this story; there are men's and women's razors. Each type is customized to work best for each gender. Men's razors work best for facial hair, and women's are designed for bikini and underarm curves.

Makes sense, doesn't it?

So Charlie did something similar, and he decided to focus on only one gender for divorce cases. He was smart, because there are tons of studies and statistics that show that - surprise, men and women handle divorce differently! Most of us can figure this out without a scientific study, and Charlie's clients know that because he only works with women, he'll have a better understanding of their needs.

Being stubborn does pay off in the long run when you're working out your niche marketing area and legal marketing plans. If you keep at it like Charlie did, you'll create a secure niche of clients that are going to know that you're the go-to lawyer for their needs, because they're the kind of client you've targeted.

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a complimentary report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

Everything Should Be About Your Free Offer

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

People get excited about free offers. It doesn’t matter if it is a free taste testing of a new beverage or a DVD. The excitement and draw is still there.

Recently, there was a vendor at Sam’s Club who was selling a line of knives. On the store’s loudspeaker he announced that he would be giving a free paring knife to anyone who watched his presentation. People, who seemed completely occupied filling their shopping carts, stopped what they were doing and rushed to watch the demonstration. They took time out of their day, so that they could get a free paring knife that probably only cost a couple of dollars.

Free offers are hard to resist, which is why you need one to promote to your potential clients. A free offer could be a book, report, CD or DVD. The main thing is that it is interesting and has some type of value attached to it.

Once you have your free offer, you need to mention it as often as you can. It should be prominently displayed on your website, Yellow Pages advertisement and anywhere else you market. This free offer is what is going to get people to stop their search and contact you. That means that just about everything you do in terms of marketing should be centered on the offer.

We are going to be discussing more lawyer marketing tips at our "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

What is your law firm's experience?

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

Hiring a lawyer isn't something most people look forward to. Truth be told, most of your potential clients are going through a stressful time when they realize they need legal counsel, whether it's because of a personal injury, wrongful death, criminal charges, or divorce. Chances are your potential client will be reluctant to the idea of hiring an attorney so, you need to further entice them that you're the one they want.

You can do this by not selling your legal services, but by selling the great experience they'll have when they choose you as an attorney. Clients love to hear more about what you'll do for them rather than who you are. They know you're a lawyer, and you obviously specialize in their practice area or else they wouldn't be looking at your website or sitting in your office.

When consulting or marketing to a client you should explain the benefits of your legal services. Explain how they'll feel once they have the trustworthy service of a competent lawyer on their side. Tell them all you will do for them to make sure their legal needs are met and handled with the best of care. Make them feel confident that hiring your firm is the best decision they can make.

Consumer goods have been taking this approach with their advertising for years. Rather than just tell consumers they need to buy their products, the company will show consumers how they will feel when they have their product in their lives. If you can expand your thinking and apply this to your legal marketing, you can share in the success of this advertising strategy.

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a FREE report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

Don't Have an Unlimited Advertising Budget? Here is What You Should Do

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

If you are like the majority of solo and small law firms, you have a very limited budget. You can’t afford to throw money at “experimental” advertising that may or may not drive clients to your door. You need to spend your legal marketing budget wisely and maximize your advertising dollars.

In my opinion, one of the most beneficial, and cost effective, marketing avenues out there is Internet marketing. Keep in mind that Internet marketing is more than just throwing together a 2 to 3 page website that has nice pictures of your office. Internet marketing is a dynamic and continuous process. It encompasses a content-rich website and Web video, to name a few of the elements.

Crucial Element #1: Content
The first step to creating a powerful Web marketing campaign that will attract your prospects is to develop an informative website. Content is one of the most crucial factors of any website, as it is what major search engines use to find you. Plus, quality content will show your prospects that you know what you are talking about and that you are the expert to turn to. However, adding content is not a one-time event. You have to continuously update your website with relevant articles, blogs and so on.

Crucial Element #2: Web Video
Online video has become very popular and people now expect to see it on businesses’ websites. By incorporating video into your site, you have a better chance of converting Web visitors into actual contacts. You also give people a chance to get to know you, when using video.

There is more that goes into a successful Internet marketing campaign, which we will be discussing at our "No Smart Lawyer Left Behind" One-Day Rescue Mission in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2010. For more information, visit GLMRescueMission.com. Space is very limited.

Why You Should Be a Legal Marketing Rock Star

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

Rock stars are like lawyers, and before you start laughing at me for this absurd statement, consider both professions as businesses first. A rock star is in the business of making music to please their fans. A lawyer is in the business of winning legal cases to please their clients. Not so much difference now, is there?

Both rock stars and lawyers provide their fans/clients with a service, rock stars just tend to have a bit more fun with their services. However, even though the practice of law may seem humdrum compared to the glamour and fame of the rock star life, you can still learn a thing or two from rock gods like Gene Simmons.

Successful rock stars have the luxury of knowing that as long as they keep performing, the fans will follow and their business will be sustained. The practice of law is much the same - if you can continue to provide the best legal council you can, your clients will continue to use your services. Think about word of mouth too - friends tell friends about their favorite bands, your clients will tell their friends about their favorite lawyer, too!

Becoming a legal marketing rock star isn't as complicated as it sounds. While rock stars take years to make it big, you can become a celebrity in your own town by employing creative and effective legal marketing in your local area. Show your client-fans that you're there to provide them with what they want, and you'll gain a loyal following.

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a FREE report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

Draw Legal Marketing Connections From Everywhere

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST

I was thinking the other day about the connections I've been drawing between fundraising and legal marketing. In my article on what fundraising can teach you about legal marketing, I talk about a MADD campaign to help remind drunk drivers of the dangers of their actions. It got me to thinking about how they could run more with this idea and turn it into a fundraiser.

The campaign was a simple series of posters placed in bathroom stalls in bars. The posters showed the families of victims whose lives were claimed by a drunk driver, along with their story and a message about the dangers of DUI. This hopefully convinced tipsy patrons to sober up, call a cab, or some other alternative to driving home while drunk.

While this was a great method to get their message out-because it appeared where their target audience was most likely to be-there's more that could be done to expand on this concept. Instead of just warning bar patrons about the dangers of DUI, they could give them the opportunity to do something about it.

After seeing the message (which could be further enhanced by playing video clips of the families' stories) they could be given the opportunity to donate loose change to DUI education and prevention programs in a box outside the bathroom.

It's an idea like this that creates new marketing methods! Remember that nearly any marketing strategy can be applied to your own legal marketing methods if you think about it the right way. Don't close your mind off to an idea just because it comes from an unrelated field; you can learn lessons about legal marketing from anywhere!

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a FREE report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

Tips Every Legal Marketing Rock Star Should Know

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST

You can learn a lot from other professions when you stop thinking of them as "not a lawyer" and more as "another successful business". I draw parallels between my law firm and other professionals all the time when it comes to how we market ourselves and run our law firms.

Recently, I've been thinking about rock stars and how their business of providing entertainment to their fans is very similar to how we operate as lawyers. They perform, their fans enjoy, their fans buy their album and merchandise and both the band and the fans benefit. As lawyers, we do much the same; we market our services, litigate a case effectively, our client gets compensation (and promotes us to their fans, family, etc.), and we all benefit.

There are a few other areas that rock stars and lawyers have in common when running a successful business. A few tips to capitalize on these commonalities include:

Tip 1 - Hook your client-fans with clever advertising and legal marketing strategies designed to appeal to their interests and needs. If you're not marketing to your potential clients, who are you marketing to?

Tip 2 - Remember your client-fans are your livelihood. Just like rock stars can't make more albums and afford to tour without fan support, no law firm ever survived without a good base of clients to generate income and more public notoriety.

Tip 3 - Give your ideal client-fans the time they deserve. Don't waste your time on cases that won't bring in the kind of revenue they should, or with clients that are more headache than they're worth. If you employ good legal marketing strategies, you'll be able to hand pick the clients and cases that will put your time and resources to the best use for the amount of return you receive.

Tip 4 - Everything must serve a purpose. Don't just try some new form of legal marketing because everyone else is doing it. Make sure all you do to promote your law firm is done appropriate to your style. If you're not the Twitter type, don't try it just because it's the new hot trend. Stick to what's good for your law firm and avoid unnecessary legal marketing.

It may sound sort of far-fetched at first when I compare lawyers to rock stars, but in the world of lawyer advertising, inspiration comes from everywhere. Becoming a legal marketing rock star isn't so absurd when you think about how both professions gain success all based on their clients.

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a FREE report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

Disguising Your Lawyer Advertising

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST

The stereotypical "Accident? Call 555-PAIN" lawyer advertising is an annoyance to many consumers, and that's why it's ineffective as a legal marketing strategy. One of your goals for your legal marketing should be to make it so your clients don't even realize they're being advertised to. Your clients may not realize it, but your consumer guides, newsletters, and giveaways are all forms of lawyer advertising cleverly disguised as gifts.

Those are examples that have already been discovered and used by smart attorneys across the country. You're more than welcome to use these ideas in your own legal marketing; in fact, I encourage it. Those links above take you to my articles that explain each method in more detail so you can get started.

What I'd like to inspire you to do is come up with the next idea. Identify something that acts as a gift to your client but also nudges them toward requesting further information about your services and how they can hire you. Make your client think they're getting something for free and wrap your lawyer advertising into it.

One of the best examples of how other organizations persuade their target audience without them realizing it is the world of fundraising. You can learn a lot about legal marketing from fundraising methods if you are good at thinking outside of the box. My article talks a lot about that process and it's definitely worth a read if you're willing to take my challenge.

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a FREE report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

Blog About Celebrities to Boost Your Legal Marketing

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST

One of the best ways to get a celebrity endorsement for your legal services without violating Bar rules or paying a ton of money is by just commenting on what everyone else is discussing.

Celebrities are people too, and in the course of their fame, many of them end up becoming involved in high-profile legal issues such as divorce, criminal charges, and financial troubles. The truth is, no matter how famous you are, you may end up in court with the same problems everyday people face.

So what does this mean for your legal marketing? By blogging about the latest celebrity divorce trial, or giving your two-cents on how Celebrity X's attorney is handling their tax evasion case, you can capitalize on some of the notoriety of the story.

Your clients may love to read up on celebrity gossip, and if they're searching for "Lindsay Lohan court battle" and you're a criminal defense attorney who happens to have blogged about her multiple attorney changes, your blog entry is going to be popping up along with all the Lindsay Lohan stories.

This is a great way to get exposure for your own blog while also being able to spread your legal knowledge and opinion. There's more to ethically using celebrities in your legal marketing, and my article goes into further detail about how to accomplish this and still stay on the good side of your state Bar.

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a FREE report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

Don't Be Afraid to Turn Down Business

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST

We'd never get any sleep if we took every case that came knocking at our office door. That's why I stress to only devote your precious work time to those big cases that matter, and leave the smaller stuff to new lawyers who need the experience.

One hassle that you may run in to as your legal marketing methods result in tons of new client leads, is that you may find yourself having to sift through the referrals to find those ideal clients you want to work with. There's a way to remedy this, and it's as simple as targeting your ideal client and creating a marketing campaign that appeals specifically to them.

You need to actively market to your ideal client, not all clients, because you're not willing to represent everyone, are you? Of course not. You want the big cases that bring in the large settlements and the good case results that keep you in business. I know, this sounds greedy and borders on that "money-grubbing lawyer" stereotype, but remember that no one should be in the legal profession if they're not in it to grow a business.

Legal work, as rewarding and charitable as it can be, is still a profession and you need to still run your cases as accounts rather than services. Your clients are your customers, and to keep a business afloat, you need good quality customers who bring in the revenue to run your office.

Don't be afraid to be selective when looking for new clients. As a business owner you should be focusing only on the clients that grow your business, and not having to worry about turning away clients that aren't worth the hassle.

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a FREE report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

Blog about Current Events to Boost Your Legal Marketing

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST

Great fodder for your blog posts often comes from your opinions on news events that are relevant to your practice. One of the content strategies I've seen on some lawyers' websites is to blog about current events going on in their area that clients are likely to be searching for.

When your lawyer blog contains those keywords like "DUI accident on I-75 Kentucky" or "New York Social Security law changed" your blog is going to pop up along with the actual news stories because you're talking about the same incident. This is a fun trick to use when trying to boost your presence on Google, and it's completely ethical to do.*

* a word of caution, you may want to include instructions for allowing friends or family to request you remove a blog if the news story is sensitive such as a wrongful death.

I personally blog on news topics that interest me, and may interest my clients, on my Great Legal Marketing news blog. When I hear about state Bar changes or issues with legal marketing and lawyer advertising, or if a friend gets their own name in the news, I pop up an entry with my 2 cents and enjoy a nice little boost of traffic from clients searching for that same information.

You can piggyback on the celebrity status of local news stories and events, as well as the success of your colleagues, by utilizing their news in your blogs. There's more to ethically using celebrities in your legal marketing, and my article goes into further detail about how to accomplish this and still stay on the good side of your state Bar.

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a FREE report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

Hunting Your Ideal Clients

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST

When attracting new clients you must first understand the type of client you want. Once you've got that figured out, you need to study your ideal client and find out what makes them tick. It's almost like a hunter and his prey, you need to study the animal's habits, where they live, and what attracts them if you want to catch them.

Do your clients travel on public transportation where there are tons of opportunities for billboard and poster advertising? Are they readers of local newspapers? Do they research everything on the Internet? These are perfect questions to find the answers to when you're targeting your ideal client.

The more you know about what attracts your clients to requesting your legal services, the better you'll get at attracting only the clients you want to represent. This saves you time and effort on legal marketing, because you know the right formula to get only quality clients. No more having to refer cases out or turn down clients.

There are some more things to consider when looking for new clients, and my article on the subject lets you in on some of my tactics that I share with the Great Legal Marketing groups. You should be focusing only on the clients that grow your business, and not having to worry about turning away clients that will take up too much time without enough compensation for your efforts.

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a FREE report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.

The Yellow Pages Still Trying to Hang On

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST

August 2, 2010 - Geolocation company Avantar has been focused on local search on the iPhone since 2008. Since then, they've got their hooks in SuperMedia, Citysearch and Google Local. The goal is clearly to bring geographically specific search results right to people's smartphones.

Their current improvements have focused on smartphone applications that basically act as a miniature Yellow Pages right in your pocket. No more heavy phone books, these are searchable, expandable directories of all the local businesses that choose to make a listing.

So what does this mean to your law firm? You should already be capitalizing on local searches with your Google Local listing, and hey, grabbing a free listing in The Yellow Pages' online directory doesn't hurt either. What this does is allows users to find law firms based on their geographic location.

You can even use this to your legal marketing advantage - play up the fact that you're searchable through these kinds of methods. Especially for personal injury attorneys, wouldn't it be great to say "while you're recovering from injuries, getting around can be a hassle. Instead of having to drive to a lawyer across the state, why not locate one that's right down the road?"

You'd be amazed how much your online presence can benefit from a good dose of geographically specific content. Your clients are looking for a lawyer in their area who specializes in their legal needs. When you make that local connection, you're not only convenient, you're keeping with the trend of local pride.

There's a lot more to learn if you want to build your practice full of happy clients, reasonable hours and a 6-figure salary. Start by requesting a FREE copy of my marketing CD and report. Consider a step toward transforming your law firm into a successful and highly profitable business - (703) 591-9829.