Law Firm Marketing: The 5 Major Mistakes Lawyers Make on Their Websites
Marketing for lawyers is an essential part of a law firm business. If you do not market your law firm, few will know you exist. Your law firm relies on finding quality prospects – and there is no better tool for this than the Internet (remember that referrals will likely check out your website prior to calling you to see if you might be a good fit for their needs).
Here are five law firm marketing mistakes many lawyers make on their websites:
1. Using legal jargon - Although your website is for a law firm, you will want to stay away from the legal terminology. You must remember that your potential clients are average citizens who do not have a law degree. Reading legal terminology is way too difficult for someone who does not have experience in this field.
More than likely, if you do create a website that is too hard to read, people will quit without getting too far. You actually only have about thirty seconds before they decide to either keep reading or move onto the next website.
2. Not targeting your Ideal Target Market (ITM) - Many times lawyers will not take the time to evaluate their ITM. This mistake can very well cost you quality prospects. Once you clearly define your target market you need to clearly communicate it on your website. Otherwise, you end up wasting time and energy on low quality prospects.
3. Using a legal directory website - This is not a good idea for your first website. They will set you up with a sub domain on their website. You must have your own domain. You should not lease, rent or license your website domain from anyone. Don't leave the chances of your success online in some else's hands.
4. Not incorporating a blog into your website – Google loves fresh content, and the best way to keep adding fresh content to your website is by incorporating a blog. Attorneys who consistently rank high in search add content to their site 3-5 times a week through blogging.
5. Not using the right keywords - This can be a very serious website mistake. Your goal is to have qualified prospects visit your law firm's website. Those people will be searching by typing in familiar words or phrases for what they need information on. These words or phrases are known as keywords. You want to include these keywords in your content, so that your website will be one that pulls you up on the ranking page.
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Phoenix Legal Networking Group: Learn about Advanced Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Strategies for Law Firms at our February 10 Meeting
At the February 10 Phoenix Legal Networking Group meeting, Stephen Fairley will make a presentation on Advanced Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Strategies for Law Firms.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the art and science of artificially boosting your website and blog to the top of the major search engines (Google, Yahoo, and Bing). Join us at the Phoenix Legal Networking Group and learn advanced SEO strategies to help you achieve first page rankings.
Whether you are working on a new website, launching your first site, or want to take your current website to the front page of Google, you absolutely need to hear about these strategies.
You will discover:
- 7 critical components of Google's search engine ranking algorithm
- How Google views your website
- Why “long tail” search is better and how to apply this secret strategy
- Does social media matter when it comes to search engine ranking
- Why Google loves blogs and how to leverage this powerful technology!
The networking event and marketing seminar will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 10 at Monti’s, 100 S. Mill Ave. in Tempe.
Cost is $20 per person if you register by February 8, $30 if you register by February 9 and $35 on the day of the event. This covers drinks, hors d’oeurves, the networking event and the workshop.
To register for our February 10 networking and legal marketing event, co-hosted by FindLaw, Attorney at Law Magazine, Coash & Coash Court Reporting and The Rainmaker Institute, visit www.therainmakerretreat.com/network or call 888-816-8935.
Why SEO is Critical to Your Law Firm Marketing Success
If gaining new clients is important to your business, then making sure your site is optimized is vitally important. If your site doesn’t come up on top when people are searching for keywords related to your services, you are missing out on getting new clients – and your competitors are likely picking them up.
Here is some important information that explains why Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is important to attorneys:
Validation: Potential clients may have already decided that they are likely to hire your firm or possibly a specific lawyer at your firm due to your existing reputation or based on a referral. However statistics and Internet studies show that now, more than ever, people are searching online to help establish trust and comfort before engaging someone’s services. They want to see pictures, read credentials and they also try to get a glimpse of your vibe and style from your website. They may search by an attorney’s name or the firm name, but they are also likely to search by keyword phrases like “family law attorney in Los Angeles”.
Searching is a habit: It has been noted that a lot of people (probably more than you think) use Google instead of typing in a URL. They often have Google set as their home page and find it easier to just search for a keyword phrase or your name or firm name, rather than type in a URL. Even though it is usually pretty easy to get ranked on your name or firm name, that isn’t always the case and they may not find you unless you have good search engine presence.
Hitting the net before the pavement: Before going to physical office locations, consumers are using search engines to find service providers and doing research before calling or going for a consultation.
Local Search and Geo-targeting: An increasingly popular vertical of the search industry is local search, especially with the advent of smart phones and mobile Internet access. People are more often searching for region-specific products and services. We see more and more searches like “Los Angeles criminal attorney” and with geo-targeting people no longer even need to type in the regional parameter. The engines can pinpoint your location to within 7 miles of where you are from your IP address (the exception to that is AOL, where it appears that everyone is in Virginia). So a search for “criminal attorney” by someone in Los Angeles would turn up different results than the same search done by someone in San Francisco. Making sure you are optimized is important so your site comes up on top – especially if someone is searching on their Blackberry and looking specifically for a local office.
Phone books are big, heavy and not as convenient as Google: A majority of consumers now use Google instead of the phone book if they want to find a service provider. A survey earlier this month by Harris Interactive showed that nearly 7 out of 10 American adults rarely or never use the white pages phone book for looking up phone numbers and addresses for people or businesses, 87 percent support opt-in initiatives where they would receive the phone book only if requested, and 60 percent of online adults find the contact information they need through online channels (online directories -- 29 percent, search engines -- 28 percent or social networks -- 3 percent).
Our January e-newsletter talks about SEO for Attorneys: What It Is and How to Leverage It. To access the newsletter, click here.
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Now is the time to create your Lifestyle Law Firm!
The Rainmaker Retreat is where we teach lawyers how they can have it all; increase the number of clients they have, double their income, and yet work less. Build and create a 'lifestyle' law firm that is professionally satisfying, but allows you the time to do what is important to you.
Here are the dates for upcoming Rainmaker Retreats:
- February 25-26, 2011 - Orlando, Florida
- March 11-12, 2011 - New Brunswick, New Jersey
- April 8-9, 2011 - San Diego, CA
If you take advantage of the Early Bird Special (only available when you register at least 2 weeks in advance of the event), you receive $300 worth of extra benefits!
Discount Pricing is available for multiple attendees from the same firm.
For more information please call: 888-588-5891 or visit www.RainmakerRetreat.com.
How to Measure the Effectiveness of Your Legal Marketing Strategies
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Perhaps you’ve heard of that old marketing adage: what gets measured gets done? Here are some tips on how to measure the effectiveness of your legal marketing strategies:
Develop reports for tracking effectiveness of marketing efforts. When you are starting out, take the time to determine what you want to know. What kind of information do you need to give effective feedback and measurement of your legal marketing strategies? When you are developing your reports, don’t just look at what data you think you will generate. Instead, design your system and your reports to generate the data you want.
Create metrics for quantifying ROI of all major marketing initiatives. This may sound complicated, but it really isn’t. What you want to do is create a system of measurement that allows you to track the Return on Investment on all of your major initiatives. If an initiative costs $10,000 per year, and yields $50,000 in new business, you have a 500% ROI. But you have to be able to track both the costs and the new business that flows from that initiative.
Take the time to train your staff. The best-laid plans are useless if they are not executed well. Training your staff allows two beneficial things to happen. First, you get the data you want. Second, it frees up your time so that you can focus on the tasks that have the highest value within your law firm. You don’t want the high-dollar billing staff doing things that should be handled by junior or clerical staff. That is an inefficient use of your human resources.
There are a number of ways to measure your data, but you first have to decide what you want to know. Once you have that answered, you can design a measurement system that will give you the data on your law firm marketing activities that you desire.
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Free CD: Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices
Get your free CD on Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices by #1 Best-Selling Author And Nationally Recognized Law Firm Marketing Expert Stephen Fairley, and listen as he reveals A Proven System To Generate More and Better Referrals, Find New Clients Fast, and Fill Your Law Practice!
Discover:
- How 1 piece of simple technology in your practice will drastically increase your communication with prospects, clients and referral sources – resulting in a major revenue boost
- 5 ways to market and position yourself as a recognized expert
- How 2 Attorneys promoted their law firms to over 100,000 people for less than $100 in 2 hours
- The 1 item you must absolutely have to create a Million Dollar Law Practice (hint: Not having this will almost guarantee your failure!)
- 6 BIGGEST secrets to generating more and better referrals
- How to create a proven network of 30 new Strategic Referral Partners in the next 90 days
To obtain your free CD, click here now.
How to Increase the Effectiveness of Your Law Firm Marketing Plan
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As you review the systems your law firm must have to be successful, pay particular attention to your law firm marketing plan and the systems that support it. A well-designed plan is practically useless if you do not have strong systems to support the legal marketing strategies in your plan.
Here are some tips on how you can develop systems that will make your law firm marketing efforts more effective:
- Create a written 12-month marketing plan for the law firm. Put down in writing all of the goals and steps necessary to achieve those goals.
- Develop processes and procedures to capture major marketing metrics and data. You have to know the “lay of the land” if you are to be effective.
- Identify major lead sources and create tracking mechanisms to measure results. Know where your referrals and leads come from and chart the volume of those leads and referrals.
- Develop reports for tracking the effectiveness of your law firm marketing efforts. You have to know what is working and what is not. Don’t waste time and money on techniques that are not effective for you.
- Create metrics for quantifying ROI of all major marketing initiatives. If technique A has a ROI of 10 and Technique B has a ROI of 5, which one should receive the bulk of your attention?
- Develop an online marketing system to generate leads and prospects from the Internet. Use your website, blogs, news releases and YouTube videos to help generate leads for your firm.
- Build a system to develop relationships with potential referral sources and generate consistent referrals from them. Take people to lunch. Meet face-to-face and ask how you can help them with their business.
- Create a system for connecting with prospects, clients and referral sources on a regular, consistent basis. This include monthly newsletters, annual client satisfaction surveys, keep-in-touch letters, referral education system, etc.
- Train your staff on how to use the systems you have put in place. The best plans in the world are useless if they are not implemented.
Following these guidelines will help you design a legal marketing system that will generate leads and referrals, allow you to convert those leads into clients, who will then generate more leads and referrals. But remember: it does take time, and some money, to make it work.
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Stop Wasting Precious Time and Money!
Feel like you don’t have time for marketing? Let us show you how to make a plan that runs on “autopilot” – one that attracts new and lucrative clients while you focus on your practice.
Learn how easy it can be to create an effective law firm marketing plan that performs by getting our Free Guide: 5 Easy Steps to Create Your Law Firm Marketing Plan.
After working with many ultra-successful lawyers we found five common threads in their marketing plans. This guide outlines these shared elements to provide insight into strategies that work and how to make them work for you.
There are two versions: one for Attorneys in Solo Practice and one for Attorneys in a Small Firm. You can download them now free! Go here to download, and start using these proven strategies today!
Law Firm Marketing: How to Successfully Brand Your Law Practice
Usually when most attorneys think of their legal practice, the word “brand” doesn’t readily come to mind. But it should. And here’s why.
Developing your unique brand is essential for effective law firm marketing because prospective clients:
- Have many, many attorneys in your practice area and geographic area to choose from.
- Believe all attorneys are equal.
- Want to know why they should select you for their attorney.
Developed correctly, your brand can help differentiate your practice from the competition. It should:
- Deliver your message clearly
- Confirm your credibility
- Connect with your target prospects emotionally
- Motivate your prospects to become clients
- Create client loyalty
To help you begin branding your legal practice, here are 8 questions for you to answer: (If you find these difficult to answer, ask them of the people you trust. Often they’ll see aspects you’ll take for granted, because these aspects come so naturally to you.)
- Who are you? (Think in terms of roles, values, personal qualities and who you are in relation to others.)
- What are your natural gifts and strengths?
- What have you experienced in your life and career?
- What specialized training have you received?
- In what areas are you already well connected?
- In what areas do you feel uniquely qualified to serve your clients?
- Where are you perceived as an expert?
- How do you bring out the best in others?
Although these questions may seem rather simple on the surface, they are designed to help you dig deeply into what makes you and your practice unique. Once you have a clearer idea of what makes you and your practice unique, then the next step -- identifying clients – will come even easier.
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Becoming a Rainmaker: Business Building Strategies for Lawyers
Based on Stephen’s highly successful seminar series by the same name, this 3-audio CD program covers dozens of practical recommendations and step-by-step sales and marketing techniques for solo practitioners and small law firms.
More than 7,000 attorneys from law firms all over the country have experienced powerful results from attending the Becoming A Rainmaker seminar. It has been sponsored by more than 22 of the largest state and local bar associations.
In this information-packed audio program, you will discover:
- How to generate more leads by using education-based marketing
- The relationship between credibility, visibility, tangibility, and consistency
- How to position your small firm as an industry leader
- The importance of being perceived as a specialist
- Why most advertising is a waste of your money
- What to expect from a Yellow Pages ad
- The 3 marketing strategies that will produce 80% of your results
- How to influence the Know, Like and Trust factors
- Common marketing mistakes lawyers make and how to avoid them
- How to answer the question, "Why should I buy from you?"
- Specific ways you can set yourself apart from low-cost lawyers
- What to do with the 15% of the population that always buys on price
- Ways to attract your Ideal Target Market
- The 6 stage sales process you must follow for maximum success
To order yours now, click here.
Law Firm Marketing: 10 Tips for Staying in Touch with Referral Sources
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The best way to stay in touch with your referral sources is to automate the process as much as possible, utilizing Internet technologies to help you keep in touch.
First, rank your referral sources based on specific criteria so you know how to allocate your time keeping in touch:
A = Referral sources who have the exact same target market as you and have already sent you at least 1 great referral. Spend most of your time cultivating these relationships.
B = Referral sources who have a very similar target market and have great potential to send you great referrals.
C = Referral sources that have some potential, but may serve a different market and have not referred anyone to you yet.
Here are 10 tips for staying in touch with your referral sources:
- Send them an email immediately after each meeting with them. Send it the same day whenever possible. In the email express thanks for meeting with you, add any points you discussed, remind them of what makes a good referral for you: “I help (who your clients are) to (what your solution is or how you solve their problems”) and close with any action items or next steps.
- Send them a handwritten thank you card or form letter two to three days after your initial meeting.
- After your initial meeting, put a “to do” or task item in your Outlook for approximately 6 to 8 weeks later. Have your staff contact them to set-up another time to get together face-to-face. Make your next meeting more about the relationship than business. Perhaps meet at the golf course, over drinks or in another casual environment.
- Use your press releases. Each time you write and submit a press release, send them a copy. It’s easier if you use PRWeb (www.prweb.com) because they will automatically convert your release into a PDF file, which you can email, or print and mail.
- Send them a copy of your published articles. As attendees to the Rainmaker Retreat learn, there are dozens of online article directories that will publish your articles for free. When one of your articles is published, print off several copies and send them out with a note.
- Send them a holiday card, but not on the major holidays like Christmas. Instead, visit www.holidayinsights.com, which lists a lot of minor and just plain fun holidays. For example, today is Compliment Day...a perfect time to drop your sources an email complimenting them on something.
- Set-up a Google alert for a topic of interest to your referral sources. For example, “tax law changes” for CPAs or “Los Angeles commercial real estate market update” for a commercial real estate broker. (www.google.com/alerts)
- Ask them if they would like to receive your monthly newsletter or e-newsletter. Use www.ConstantContact.com to manage and send out your monthly electronic newsletter (e-newsletter). Send a copy to your referral sources (with their permission, of course.)
- Invite them to connect with you on LinkedIn. This powerful social media tool is a great way to stay connected to referral sources. Be sure to set-up a free account, fill in your profile information, and update your status. You can connect with me at www.LinkedIn.com/in/StephenFairley. Just click the button “Add this person to your network” and I will accept your request. Also, be sure to check out the various groups for attorneys you can join. Use the “status update” to keep in front of people.
- Invite them to connect with you on Facebook. What started out as a college phenomenon has quickly grown into a marketing tool for small business owners. Set up a profile (it should be more personal and a little less professional than your LinkedIn profile) and start to add friends. “Friend” me at www.facebook.com/fairley.
For more information on building your referral network, visit www.therainmakerinstitute.com/referrals/.
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Are you looking for specific marketing strategies you can use in your law firm?
Then order the Rainmaker in a Box 5-DVD set!
Some of the information and strategies you will learn include:
The 5 Immutable Secrets to Building a 7 Figure Law Practice:
How to create an automated marketing system to transform your law firm from a practice into a business. Stephen has studied best practices in law firm marketing and shares with you the 5 unchanging secrets they use to build a multi-million dollar law firm.
Secrets of Building a Referral-based Law Practice for Busy Practitioners:
Every lawyer wants more referrals, yet for many the steps to get there remain an elusive secret. Listen in and watch as Stephen lays out his 8-step proven system to triple your referral sources in 90 days or less!
The Top 6 Most Powerful Online Marketing Strategies for Attorneys:
Internet marketing is one of today's fastest growing and most powerful marketing tools for lawyers. Yet much of how to generate more business and attract more clients online is still a mystery. Watch as Stephen pulls back the veil and walks you through the core concepts and key principles every attorney must understand in order to dominate their competition online and build a powerful Internet presence on a shoestring budget.
Action, Accountability and Next Steps:
Knowledge is power. The most difficult part for most attorneys is putting that knowledge into action. In this DVD you will discover an 8-step system for creating your law firm marketing plan and how to take action immediately.
This program includes a data DVD, which includes the PowerPoint slides for all 4 presentations.
To order this information-packed set click here.
A Risk-Free Way to Preview the Rainmaker Retreat 2-Day Law Firm Marketing Boot Camp
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There are thousands of law firm marketing programs, plans, seminars, workshops and other activities out there clamoring for your time, your attention, and your money. We know that, which is why we offer you a free preview of our Rainmaker Retreat for those who are unsure about committing their time and money to our 2-day legal marketing boot camp.
During the one-hour teleseminar, you will learn:
- How to Avoid the Most Deadly Marketing Mistakes Attorneys make
- 3 powerful strategies you must put into action in your practice immediately
- How to set yourself apart from your major competitors
- Secrets top attorneys are using to generate more referrals right now
- How attorneys are winning even in this economy by implementing this proven 8-step system
I will be your host during the call, providing you this -- and so much more -- law firm marketing information. The teleseminar is designed to help you make a decision that can revolutionize your legal marketing strategy.
Attorneys who attend our teleseminars quickly learn that the information presented at the Rainmaker Retreat is something that they have not been taught in law school, and can change their lives.
I encourage you to take an hour out of your life and attend our complimentary teleseminars that are scheduled for the following dates and times:
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
1-2pm Pacific | 2-3pm Mountain | 3-4pm Central | 4-5pm EasternWednesday, February 2, 2011
11am-12pm Pacific | 12-1pm Mountain | 1-2pm Central | 2-3pm EasternThursday, February 10, 2011
12-1pm Pacific | 1-2pm Mountain | 2-3pm Central | 3-4pm Eastern
Just click here to register for this complimentary teleseminar. You'll be glad you did.
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Can’t Make It to a Rainmaker Retreat? Then Have One Delivered to You!
Over 7,000 attorneys from hundreds of law firms across the country have discovered how to generate more referrals and find new clients by simply applying our Rainmaker Marketing System.
Here's just a sample of what you will discover in our Rainmaker Retreat Live! 6 CD set audio program:
- Over 22 proven strategies for attracting more and better clients
- How to create powerful relationships with over 30 new Referral Sources in the next 90 days
- 7 ways to find more clients fast and how to select the best ones for you
- 2 ways to promote your firm to 100,000 people for only $100
- 5 ways to automate your marketing using technology and the Internet
- 6 secrets top Rainmakers use to dominate their competition
- 8 steps to creating a 6-month comprehensive marketing plan for your firm
- Much, much more!
This live recording of our highly successful 2 day law firm marketing boot camp will inspire you with practical examples, motivate you with sample case studies, walk you through best marketing strategies used by top Rainmakers, and provide a guide for you to quickly implement proven tactics in the next 30 days. You will also get the same 70-page marketing manual used at all our Rainmaker Retreats.
Click here to order your copy of Rainmaker Retreat Live!
Law Firm Marketing: Win Big in Vegas by Learning The Law of 7
If you’re playing craps, rolling a 7 makes you a winner.
In law firm marketing, the Law of 7 makes you a winner, too.
What is the Law of 7? Legal marketing statistics show that it takes an average of 7 contacts to land a new client.
Consider the following statistics regarding contact with prospective clients:
- 48% of lawyers give up after the first contact.
- 25% give up after the second contact.
- 12% give-up after the third contact.
- 5% give-up after the fourth contact.
In other words, 9 out of 10 prospective clients are never followed-up with more than 4 times.
This amounts to leaving money on the table. Why? Because of “The Law of 7.”
If you want your law firm marketing to be successful, you must obey “The Law of 7.”
You’re probably thinking, “I know I should connect frequently and consistently with my prospective clients, but don’t have the time.”
True. That’s why you should learn how to connect automatically with those clients. It’s essential you leverage the power of technology to build relationships with your prospects.
What you need is a strategy and a process that leverages the most recent advancements in technology (autoresponders, social media, blogs, for example) to simplify and automate your marketing efforts, building rock solid, long-term relationships and helping you earn more, work less and spend time doing what you love to do.
I’ll be teaching this – and many, many more law firm marketing strategies – at the Las Vegas Rainmaker Retreat on January 28-29. So don’t crap out – sign up now at www.rainmakerretreat.com or call 888-588-5891.
We’ve extended our Early Bird Special discount until this Sunday, Jan. 23 – save $200 on each registration!
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FREE "Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" E-book
In a newly revised e-book, legal marketing expert Stephen Fairley outlines 10 of the most common marketing mistakes attorneys make that can lead to the failure of their business, and provides specific strategies and proven principles for avoiding these deadly errors.
Get your complimentary copy online here.
Regardless of your specific situation, this free e-book will help you examine how you are currently finding new clients and recommend specific steps you can immediately start using to grow your practice.
We have helped thousands of attorneys achieve their goals of creating a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice. In this e-book you will discover specific principles and tools you can use to grow your practice, too.
Law Firm Marketing: How to Find Referrals Through Formal Networking
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One law firm marketing tactic that consistently helps most law firms get new clients is referrals. There are several different ways to get those referrals: initiating a strategic referral development program, informal networking and formal networking.
“Formal networking” involves attending an organized group event such as industry trade shows, bar meetings, rotary clubs, special interest groups, political groups, etc.
Here are 7 tips for finding new clients through formal networking:
Join the right groups: Not legal groups or groups where a lot of attorneys gather (unless you get a lot of your business from other attorneys). You need to go where the decision makers meet, not the gatekeepers.
Join elite groups: Groups that cost several hundred dollars a year are better than cheap groups; groups that require a member to sponsor you are even better.
Use an “audio logo”: An audio logo is an idea or statement that clearly and succinctly tells who your intended audience is and what you can do for them.
Most people want to talk about what interests them. They don’t want to talk to someone who’s only interested in how to get their business. So you can use an audio logo to attract attention. Be prepared to give case examples of how you have helped others.
Here is an example of an audio logo: “I help (who your clients are) to (what your solution is or how you solve their problems.)”
Remember your primary purpose: Remember your primary purpose in going to networking events is NOT to get new clients. Your primary purpose is to BUILD A RELATIONSHIP with potential referral sources and to offer yourself as a referral source to them. If you’re going to networking events to get new clients you are not only wasting your time, but you are also coming across as either pushy or desperate to the people you’re meeting.
When you understand the real reason for going to networking events, it takes all the pressure to perform off and keeps you focused on a more productive purpose—building relationships with people you could help and who may also be of help to you.
Ask open-ended questions: Use the 80/20 Rainmaker Rule when you meet them. Ask open ended questions like:
- What do you like best about the work you do?
- What are the biggest challenges your industry/company/profession is facing?
- Where do you find most of your clients?
- Who is your target market?
- If one of your prospects asks what makes you different from your competitors, what do you say?
- How would I know if the person I’m talking to would be a good referral for you?
Be intentional in your follow-up: It does absolutely no good to go to a bunch of networking events, talk to people, collect business cards, and not follow-up. You must have a plan and reasons for following up with people you meet. Your primary reason is to learn more about their business and see if you would be a good referral source for them.
Track your efforts:
- Contact’s name and full information.
- Follow-up method used—phone, email letter.
- Date of 1st follow-up.
- Dates of each additional follow-up.
- Date of first face-to-face meeting.
- Follow-up efforts.
- Results of efforts.
- Notes.
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Free CD: Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices
Get your free CD on Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices by #1 Best-Selling Author And Nationally Recognized Law Firm Marketing Expert Stephen Fairley, and listen as he reveals A Proven System To Generate More and Better Referrals, Find New Clients Fast, and Fill Your Law Practice!
Discover:
- How 1 piece of simple technology in your practice will drastically increase your communication with prospects, clients and referral sources – resulting in a major revenue boost
- 5 ways to market and position yourself as a recognized expert
- How 2 Attorneys promoted their law firms to over 100,000 people for less than $100 in 2 hours
- The 1 item you must absolutely have to create a Million Dollar Law Practice (hint: Not having this will almost guarantee your failure!)
- 6 BIGGEST secrets to generating more and better referrals
- How to create a proven network of 30 new Strategic Referral Partners in the next 90 days
To obtain your free CD, click here now.
Kick Off Your 2011 Law Firm Marketing Program at Las Vegas Retreat Jan. 28-29
There are a couple of topics that everyone is hungry to learn more about – social media and creating systems that will lead to business success. Social media has been a hot topic for the past couple of years. The growth of sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook has fueled a revolution in how legal marketers ply their trade.
Everyone wants to know how they can leverage these new technologies to multiply their existing marketing programs and gain greater access to their target markets. One of the exciting aspects of social media is the ability to receive real-time feedback and have two-way conversations with prospective clients.
Systems is another hot topic, and attending a Rainmaker Retreat will help you learn how to create and implement marketing and business operation systems that allow you to build your firm to the level that you dreamed of when you started out on this venture.
The Rainmaker Retreat will expand your belief in what is possible for your law firm—the ideas and highly actionable step-by-step approaches you'll learn will give you concrete materials that you can implement the day you get back to your office!
"I am extremely thankful I met Stephen Fairley and that I attended his Rainmaker Retreat. I more than doubled my law firm's annual revenue in the year since attending the Rainmaker Retreat and implementing Stephen's marketing program. If you are willing to do the work, Stephen definitely has a proven method of driving new business into your firm. I endorse his program, it clearly worked for me." – Gordon R. Levinson, Esq.
Here’s a few of the actionable methods you'll learn at The Rainmaker Retreat:
- Ways to reduce the cost of your marketing campaigns…while increasing your ROI by thousands of dollars!
- Specific strategies 7-figure attorneys are using on the Internet and with Social Media to attract thousands of qualified people to their websites and blogs every month, convert them to paying clients, keep them coming back and sending you a steady stream of referrals!
- Cost-effective ways to streamline your business—which saves you money and gives you back time to live your life by rapidly implementing low cost marketing tools and putting systems in place that let you control your practice—instead of letting your practice control you!
The first Rainmaker Retreat of 2011 is January 28 & 29 in Las Vegas. Sign up by this Friday, Jan. 21, to receive your Early Bird discount of $200 off the regular price! Go to www.rainmakerretreat.com or call 888-588-5891.
It is a weekend that will change your life, and law firm, forever.
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Check Out Your Peers As They Share Their Rainmaker Retreat Experiences
We would like to send you a DVD of your colleagues (and even your competitors) describing their experiences at our 2-day law firm marketing boot camp, the Rainmaker Retreat. Yes, we know you are skeptical. So instead of us telling you how these 2 days will transform your business, we let attorneys who have attended do the telling.
Click here to order your complimentary DVD right now.
Law Firm Marketing: Achieve Your Dreams by Becoming a Rainmaker
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Today is Martin Luther King Day, a day set aside to honor and remember the lasting legacy of an inspirational American leader. His “I Have a Dream” speech continues to echo down the generations.
Today is also a good day to reflect upon our own dreams and goals for our lives.
There are many things that can distract you from your goals, and you need a laser-like focus on your mission if you are to achieve the business and personal goals you have set.
Every week I speak to attorneys who have bought into the myth that their primary roles and responsibilities are, in order:
- To be a “billing machine” for their law firm.
- To be the administrator in the firm.
- If they have any time left over, to meet with prospects.
This is completely reversed!
As a partner or owner of your law firm, your primary role and responsibility is to be the Rainmaker for the firm—not the technician billing clients and certainly not handling the administrative minutia.
Technicians (lawyers who can bill clients) are easily found, but true Rainmakers are difficult to replace. (For those of you who are not partners in your law firm, here's the one key you need to become “irreplaceable”: learn the skills of being a powerful Rainmaker.)
Take time today reflect on your legal marketing strategies and ask yourself if you have taken your eyes off your goals (or if you have let others distract you from your goals). If you have, make it your task this week to refocus on your law firm marketing plan and avoid the distractions that can move your focus onto things that will not move you toward your goals and dreams.
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Becoming a Rainmaker: Business Building Strategies for Lawyers
Based on Stephen’s highly successful seminar series by the same name, this 3-audio CD program covers dozens of practical recommendations and step-by-step sales and marketing techniques for solo practitioners and small law firms.
More than 7,000 attorneys from law firms all over the country have experienced powerful results from attending the Becoming A Rainmaker seminar. It has been sponsored by more than 22 of the largest state and local bar associations.
In this information-packed audio program, you will discover:
- How to generate more leads by using education-based marketing
- The relationship between credibility, visibility, tangibility, and consistency
- How to position your small firm as an industry leader
- The importance of being perceived as a specialist
- Why most advertising is a waste of your money
- What to expect from a Yellow Pages ad
- The 3 marketing strategies that will produce 80% of your results
- How to influence the Know, Like and Trust factors
- Common marketing mistakes lawyers make and how to avoid them
- How to answer the question, "Why should I buy from you?"
- Specific ways you can set yourself apart from low-cost lawyers
- What to do with the 15% of the population that always buys on price
- Ways to attract your Ideal Target Market
- The 6 stage sales process you must follow for maximum success
To order yours now, click here.
Law Firm Marketing: Focus on Benefits, Value and Results
When searching for an attorney, prospective clients only care about 3
things:
- The Benefits they will receive because of your services
- The Value they perceive during the relationship
- The Results they will achieve from your service
Fundamentally, the reason why people or businesses seek out your law firm is because they have a problem and they are asking you, “Do you have a solution?”
When developing your law firm marketing plan, remember:
- People don’t buy features. They buy benefits.
- They buy solutions not service, because they expect everyone to have great service.
- They buy other people’s experiences of your service.
- They buy your credibility as presented by your marketing image.
- They buy based on their emotions, but they want logical reasons to justify their decision.
- And they buy guarantees and promises, so don’t make them if you can't keep them.
That’s why your law firm marketing plan must focus on more than just the features of your product or service. This principle is often overlooked.
Take a look at your website. Does it answer these 3 all-important questions:
- Why should I retain you for my legal need?
- Specifically, how do you benefit me, the client?
- Why should I retain your services now?
It is amazing how often attorney websites fail to adequately answer even these most basic questions.
To differentiate yourself and get more qualified leads, make sure your law firm marketing materials are answering the questions that prospective clients are asking, not just presenting a laundry list of everything you do.
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Are you looking for specific marketing strategies you can use in your law firm?
Then order the Rainmaker in a Box 5-DVD set!
Some of the information and strategies you will learn include:
The 5 Immutable Secrets to Building a 7 Figure Law Practice
How to create an automated marketing system to transform your law firm from a practice into a business. Stephen has studied best practices in law firm marketing and shares with you the 5 unchanging secrets they use to build a multi-million dollar law firm.
Secrets of Building a Referral-based Law Practice for Busy Practitioners
Every lawyer wants more referrals, yet for many the steps to get there remain an elusive secret. Listen in and watch as Stephen lays out his 8 step proven system to triple your referral sources in 90 days or less!
The Top 6 Most Powerful Online Marketing Strategies for Attorneys
Internet marketing is one of today's fastest growing and most powerful marketing tools for lawyers. Yet much of how to generate more business and attract more clients online is still a mystery. Watch as Stephen pulls back the veil and walks you through the core concepts and key principles every attorney must understand in order to dominate their competition online and build a powerful Internet presence on a shoe string budget.
Action, Accountability and Next Steps
Knowledge is power. The most difficult part for most attorneys is putting that knowledge into action. In this DVD you will discover an 8 step system for creating your law firm marketing plan and how to take action immediately.
This program includes a data DVD which includes the PowerPoint slides for all 4 presentations.
To order this information-packed set click here.
The 10 Deadly Mistakes Attorneys Make When Using Social Media
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The ABA Journal recently posted a marketing article on social media asking if social media measures up to the hype. The article – rightly, I think – says that the conundrum is that those on both sides of the argument may be right.
Is social media overhyped? Perhaps. But you can’t ignore the fact that it is the way consumers are communicating these days. And that big pool of consumers is where the vast majority of attorneys get their clients.
One comment I found spot-on was by Terrance Barkan, who has a couple of websites dedicated to research and discussion about how professionals use social media. His comments got me thinking about my own observations on why some attorneys succeed and many more fail at social media.
The fact is that social media is like any other marketing tool – if you don’t use it right, with forethought and follow-up, it is not going to work. And how you do it right can be gleaned from how so many do it wrong, in what I call:
The 10 Deadly Mistakes Attorneys Make When Using Social Media
- No clear objectives and specific goals.
- Too short of a time frame: social media is a long-term play of building relationships it's not a get rich quick scheme.
- No budget allocated: most social networks are free, but you either have to do it yourself or you have to pay. someone else to do it for you.
- No responsibility or accountability.
- No tracking of results.
- No blueprint of what works and what doesn't so you end up reinventing the wheel by trying to do it yourself.
- Only using 1 network: most attorneys are attracted to LinkedIn but more consumers are on Facebook. Don’t try to just use one -- you need to experiment with all of them to see where you get the best ROI.
- Not using social media to build your database: s/he who has the biggest list wins!
- Not taking your social media contacts “offline”.
- Hiring a company to handle your social media that doesn't work with attorneys.
While #10 may be a bit self-serving (see below), it is important for attorneys who outsource their social media programs to ensure those executing the programs understand and abide by the rules and regulations attorneys must adhere to in their marketing.
The bottom line with social media is that – like most things in life – your return on investment is directly related to the effort expended. Or, as most of us heard from our parents growing up: you get out of it what you put into it.
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NEW!! Introducing the Rainmaker Automated Blogging & Social Media Program
Now you can get new leads for your law firm through blogging and social media--all done for you for one simple and affordable monthly investment!
The Rainmaker Institute has helped over 7,000 attorneys from hundreds of law firms generate more and better referrals and fill their practice through cutting edge legal marketing programs. Now, nationally recognized law firm marketing expert Stephen Fairley has designed a turnkey blogging and social media program for attorneys that includes:
Rainmaker Automated Blogging Program
- We will meet with you each month to determine targeted topics.
- We will do the research and write 5 unique blog posts every week.
- You edit and approve the posts and then we will post them on your blog.
- Every blog post is keyword optimized and specifically written to attract your target market and encourage them to pick up the phone and call you.
- We will push your blog content out to Google and to all of your social media networks.
Rainmaker Social Media Program
- We will set up and manage a professional presence for your law firm on the 6 major social media networks: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, JDSupra.com, Avvo.com and YouTube.
- We will build your online platform giving you direct access to hundreds of potential leads and referral sources.
- We will manage your social media inboxes, track incoming leads and pass them on to your law firm.
- We will build inbound links from other websites to your weblog and social media sites.
- We will show you how to track the incoming leads.
- We will set up and manage specific tracking tools to measure all incoming leads.
- We will teach you how to effectively follow up with every lead, every prospect, and every referral source consistently, frequently and automatically.
- Don't currently have a blog? Don't worry, we can design a custom WordPress blog for you.
- Plus much, much more!
To learn more about the Rainmaker Automated Blogging & Social Media Program and to sign up, click here or call 480-553-8398.
NOTE: Right now, we only have room for 10 new clients in this program at the low introductory price. We apologize, but we cannot take on more than 10 people at this time. If you delay, you may be placed on a waiting list. We will then notify you when we reopen the program at a later date.
Law Firm Marketing: Make 2011 The Year of the Referral
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When it comes to the different kind of leads that attorneys can generate for new business, referrals are the gold standard. They come to you pre-qualified and ready to “buy” from a source they trust – and with a trust transference to you that is built-in.
If you do nothing else with your law firm marketing this year, make 2011 the year of the referral. Cultivating referrals is low-cost and high-reward, and should be at the top of your list when it comes to new business development for your law firm.
Consider the following as you build your base of referrals this year:
Categorize – there are two categories of referrals for attorneys: current clients and strategic partners. Comb through your client list and identify those clients who already refer, those most likely to refer (happy with your services) and those that will need some special attention to become a good referral source. To develop a list of potential strategic partners, examine that client list again and see if you can find some commonality among other professional service providers that your clients also utilize – other attorneys, accountants, CPAs, business coaches, etc.
Educate – your referral sources will likely need to be educated about the kind of referrals you are seeking. Teach them about who your ideal client is so they won’t waste their time and yours referring potential clients that are not a good fit for you.
Motivate – look for ways to incentivize and reward your referral sources for sending you potential clients. Maybe it’s a free consultation or a gift card to a favored store. Be creative about it.
Follow Through – one of the worst things you can do is not follow through with potential clients who are referred to you. This will dry up your referral pipeline faster than anything. Let your referral sources know how you plan to follow up with the people they are referring, then do it. Keep your sources up to date periodically on the new relationship and be sure to thank them again.
For more information on building your referral network in 2011, visit www.therainmakerinstitute.com/referrals/.
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FREE "Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" E-book
In a newly revised e-book, legal marketing expert Stephen Fairley outlines 10 of the most common marketing mistakes attorneys make that can lead to the failure of their business, and provides specific strategies and proven principles for avoiding these deadly errors.
Get your complimentary copy online here.
Regardless of your specific situation, this free e-book will help you examine how you are currently finding new clients and recommend specific steps you can immediately start using to grow your practice.
We have helped thousands of attorneys achieve their goals of creating a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice. In this e-book you will discover specific principles and tools you can use to grow your practice, too.
Law Firm Marketing: Attorneys Reveal What They've Gained by Attending a Rainmaker Retreat
More than 7,000 attorneys have learned how to build a robust referral network, attract and retain new clients by applying our proven Rainmaker System to their law firm marketing practices. Many of these have done so by attending our two-day law firm marketing boot camp, the Rainmaker Retreat.
Here’s what a few of them had to say about their Rainmaker Retreat experience:
“This program is absolutely crucial to any attorney who is not a marketing expert, and would be very helpful to any attorney who is.” - L. Christopher Rose, Partner
“This seminar taught me to think outside the box and gave specific tools and action plans to attract clients and build my practice. I will start with referrals and automated follow-ups. There is a real 30-day and 90-day action plan.” - Leonard Schneider, Partner
“I thought I knew this stuff. But after attending a Rainmaker Retreat, I realized I did not. Now I know how it all fits together as a strategy.” - Elliot Stone, Partner
“And so, Stephen Fairley, you are my teacher, you are the master of marketing, and I have learned from the Rainmaker Institute that there is no royal road to knowledge -- but you have given me the best roadmap available to market my practice. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” - W.B. Smith, Solo Practitioner
Here’s what you will gain by attending our two-day law firm marketing boot camp:
- You will learn how to focus your time, energy, and money on the most effective marketing strategies
- You will learn how to better select, train and motivate your other partners and associates to do Rainmaking activities
- You will learn where you can ‘cut the fat’ and reduce your costs by eliminating ineffective marketing strategies
- You will create a master plan that will guide your firm’s efforts and provide specific goals for your team to achieve in the next 6 and 12 months
- You will have a realistic idea of how much money it will take to effectively market your firm
- You will see how to use your staff people to delegate parts of the marketing plan to so you can focus on generating more clients for the firm
- You will discover dozens of low cost marketing strategies to help you stretch your budget
- You will learn how to automate your marketing system to decrease the amount of time you have to spend running it
- You will leave with a practical, easy to implement marketing plan for the next 6-12 months
- You will see how other attorneys leverage technology to beat much bigger firms
- You will hear about best practices in legal marketing and gain new insight into what has and has not worked for other attorneys all across the country
- You will master the art of marketing on a small budget
Learn how to build and create a 'lifestyle' law firm that is professionally satisfying, but allows you the time to do what is important to you, by attending an upcoming Rainmaker Retreat:
Friday, January 28 and Saturday, January 29 - Las Vegas, Nevada
Friday, February 25 and Saturday, February 26 - Orlando, Florida
For more information please call: 888-588-5891 or visit www.RainmakerRetreat.com.
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Exclusive Rainmaker Retreat Preview Call – Learn Before You Go!
If you want to learn more about the Rainmaker Retreat and why it is a proven legal marketing system that has helped over 6,000 attorneys find more and better clients, then register now for our one-hour complimentary teleseminar.
Hosted by Rainmaker Institute CEO Stephen Fairley, this teleseminar will give you a preview of the valuable material that is taught at our 2-day Rainmaker Retreat as well as teach you:
- How to Avoid the Most Deadly Marketing Mistakes Attorneys make
- 3 powerful strategies you must put into action in your practice immediately
- How to set yourself apart from your major competitors
- Secrets top attorneys are using to generate more referrals right now…
- How attorneys are winning even in this economy by implementing this proven 8-step system
Sign up now for one of these upcoming one-hour teleseminars:
Thursday, January 13, 2011
11am-12pm Pacific | 12-1pm Mountain | 1-2pm Central | 2-3pm Eastern
Thursday, January 20, 2011
12-1pm Pacific | 1-2pm Mountain | 2-3pm Central | 3-4pm Eastern
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
1-2pm Pacific | 2-3pm Mountain | 3-4pm Central | 4-5pm Eastern
Join us and learn why the Rainmaker Retreat is the one law firm marketing boot camp you cannot afford to miss!
Build Your Law Firm Marketing Plan Around These 5 Principles
One problem many small law firms and solo practitioners face is how to develop a cost effective marketing plan that will help generate leads without wasting precious time and resources on strategies that don’t work.
One of the best things that attorneys in these circumstances can do is to benchmark off the experience of others. The Rainmaker Institute – through this blog, our Rainmaker Retreat and other marketing programs for small law firms and solo practitioners – routinely provides good advice based on a proven track record of law firm marketing success.
Here are 5 principles of law firm marketing that will get you started on developing an effective law firm marketing plan:
People: Identify your target market. Analyze the characteristics of your best and worst clients and determine why they need your services. Look for a niche you can serve.
Product: Pinpoint what services you provide and how you can best present these to your prospects. Put yourself in their shoes. Ensure they know exactly what services they will receive.
Positioning: Study the competition. Learn why you are different from your competition and educate your prospects about why they should hire you and no one else. This convinces clients to do business with you and no one else.
Packaging: This is an important marketing strategy. Project an image that makes people want to work with you. Think about the image that best represent you and creates interest in prospects.
Place: Make sure that a prospective client can find you when they need your services. Build an online presence. Network with other professionals. Give presentations or seminars. Determine which methods work for you when finding new clients. Make your marketing plan an efficient machine.
These 5 principals lay a firm foundation on which to build your law firm marketing plan. Your next step is to develop a Marketing Action Plan that will lay the foundation for generating leads and converting those leads into paying clients. Need to learn how? See below.
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One-Hour Webinar Tomorrow: Learn How to Create a Law Firm Marketing Action Plan
On Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2011, join Stephen Fairley for a one-hour webinar on the 5 Steps to Create Your Law Firm Marketing Action Plan. Beginning at 3 p.m. ET, he will lead you through the 5 critical steps of developing a 90-day game plan for marketing your law firm and give you viable options to help you implement the MAP.
In this 60-minute interactive webinar, you will learn:
- The 5 Critical Components of a Marketing Action Plan (MAP)
- How to Select the Right Marketing Tools that will work for your Practice and Personality
- View Examples of Marketing Action Plans for Various Practice Areas
- How to Create a Roadmap to make 2011 your Best Year Ever!
This event will be presented live by phone with a web connection available for those wishing to view the presentation on their personal computers. Internet access is not required for phone-only participants. A copy of the presentation and downloadable materials will be provided after the event.
Click here to register now.
Law Firm Marketing: Internet Marketing for Rainmakers/Part 5 of 5
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Final strategies for becoming a Rainmaker on the Internet:
Submit your articles online. Submitting short educational articles on the Internet is one of the easiest, fastest, and cheapest ways to increase your visibility and the traffic to your website. There are literally thousands of directories on the Internet that will republish your article on their websites at no cost. Simply Google “article directories” for a list.
Key Action Points: • Keep your articles short—between 400 and 700 words. Remember, people don’t read online, they scan. Use plenty of bullet points, clearly differentiate sections, and keep your paragraphs short. • Write for a specific audience. Keep in mind your ideal clients, and write the article for them—not for other lawyers. Tell a case study. Use an example. Make it practical, interesting, and personal, as if you were speaking directly to the reader. Never use legal jargon unless you explain it. • Grab their attention with the title. Make sure your title is less than ten words, has a number in it when possible, and tells them how to solve a problem. The title must grab the reader’s attention from the start. For example: “5 Mistakes,” “7 Pitfalls,” “3 Steps,” etc. • Tell, don’t sell. Focus your article on informing and educating your reader about a specific topic. Don’t focus on “selling” your services. The goal is to get readers to visit your website. • Don’t be generic. Give your opinion or state your perspective. People are looking for answers, not just questions. • Determine if your article is a good fit for the site. Some sites target business professionals, others target individual consumers. Some have sections for each group. If they give you the choice, make sure you select the category that is most appropriate for your article and that best represents your target market. • Only submit to websites that allow you to include your contact information with a live link back to your website. If they are not willing to give you a live link back to your website, go somewhere else. • Give people a reason to contact you. Offer them a special report at your website or something else that will give them an incentive to contact you. • Create a Google Alert at www.google.com/alerts to help you track where your articles are posted to and when they come out (set either your name or the title of your article as the Alert). • Manage your expectations. Writing and submitting articles to various websites will rarely result in a new client. There are three major reasons why you should use this technique: (1) It will increase your visibility on the Internet. The search engines love free information (which is what your article is). (2) It will increase the number of visitors to your website through the direct links at the bottom of each article and by increasing the position of your website on the search engines. (3) It will increase your credibility. When an important prospect searches for your name on the Internet and comes up blank, that doesn’t look good. Having several websites with your articles posted on them immediately increases your credibility to prospects investigating which lawyer they want to hire.
Take action fast. One of the hallmarks of a top rainmaker is the ability to take action fast. It’s easy to put things off. It’s easier still to stay a cynic. The real challenge is acting on what you have learned.
Here’s my challenge to you: Write down three to five specific strategies you will start implementing in the next 30 days. Give yourself realistic time frames and find someone to hold you accountable. Then go out and take action.
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Becoming a Rainmaker: Business Building Strategies for Lawyers
Based on Stephen’s highly successful seminar series by the same name, this 3-audio CD program covers dozens of practical recommendations and step-by-step sales and marketing techniques for solo practitioners and small law firms.
More than 7,000 attorneys from law firms all over the country have experienced powerful results from attending the Becoming A Rainmaker seminar. It has been sponsored by more than 22 of the largest state and local bar associations.
In this information-packed audio program, you will discover:
- How to generate more leads by using education-based marketing
- The relationship between credibility, visibility, tangibility, and consistency
- How to position your small firm as an industry leader
- The importance of being perceived as a specialist
- Why most advertising is a waste of your money
- What to expect from a Yellow Pages ad
- The 3 marketing strategies that will produce 80% of your results
- How to influence the Know, Like and Trust factors
- Common marketing mistakes lawyers make and how to avoid them
- How to answer the question, "Why should I buy from you?"
- Specific ways you can set yourself apart from low-cost lawyers
- What to do with the 15% of the population that always buys on price
- Ways to attract your Ideal Target Market
- The 6 stage sales process you must follow for maximum success
To order yours now, click here.
Law Firm Marketing: Internet Marketing for Rainmakers/Part 4 of 5
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More strategies that can help make you a Rainmaker on the Internet:
Develop educational tools and promote them on your website. Education-based marketing is one of the most powerful tools at the disposal of lawyers. There is a great amount of basic information you know about your practice area that prospects want and need to know. Think about some of the questions your clients have about child custody and divorce or how to avoid getting sued by employees or ways to protect their intellectual property. Identify their frequently asked questions or biggest challenges and put together a short report (three to six pages long), a PowerPoint presentation, or even an audio CD, and offer a free copy to website visitors who give you their contact information. (Remember, if you cannot get visitors to call you directly, the second-best alternative is to persuade them to give you their contact information with permission to contact them.)
Be sure to give your education material an attention-grabbing creative title like, “7 Questions You Must Ask before You Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer,” or “The 10 Deadly Mistakes People Make with Their Estate Plan,” or even “5 Strategies Inventors Can Use to Protect and Monetize Their Inventions.”
This kind of free educational information is a great tool you can use to start building relationships with many people who need your help but aren’t ready to walk in your door. It is not enough simply to offer people a free consultation. Almost every lawyer does that. Take it one step further and give them some great information that will help them think through the issues and challenges they are facing.
Once you have created these educational tools, find every way you can to give them away to as many people as possible.
Key Action Points: • Use an educational report, white paper, or audio CD to inform prospects, clients, and referral sources. • Every prospect has questions and challenges. Identify them and give them some information that indicates you can resolve their challenges and answer their questions.
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Free CD: Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices
Get your free CD on Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices by #1 Best-Selling Author And Nationally Recognized Law Firm Marketing Expert Stephen Fairley, and listen as he reveals A Proven System To Generate More and Better Referrals, Find New Clients Fast, and Fill Your Law Practice!
Discover:
- How 1 piece of simple technology in your practice will drastically increase your communication with prospects, clients and referral sources – resulting in a major revenue boost
- 5 ways to market and position yourself as a recognized expert
- How 2 Attorneys promoted their law firms to over 100,000 people for less than $100 in 2 hours
- The 1 item you must absolutely have to create a Million Dollar Law Practice (hint: Not having this will almost guarantee your failure!)
- 6 BIGGEST secrets to generating more and better referrals
- How to create a proven network of 30 new Strategic Referral Partners in the next 90 days
To obtain your free CD, click here now.
Law Firm Marketing: Internet Marketing for Rainmakers/Part 3 of 5
Even more strategies for becoming a Rainmaker on the Internet:
Use video to keep visitors’ attention. Now here’s a truly depressing statistic: On average, 85 percent of your website’s visitors will stay for less than 30 seconds and will never return. Seriously? Yes. If you don’t believe me, check for yourself. Look at your website’s statistics log and see how many unique visitors you have and how long they stay on average. (Virtually every website has at least a basic statistics package; just ask your website tech or hosting company how to access it. If you are not already using Google Analytics, have your tech install it. It’s much better than most. And it’s free.)
The bottom line is that you literally have less than 30 seconds to impress your website visitors. I believe all of us would agree that the longer visitors stay on your website, the more likely they are to connect with you.
One of the best ways to increase the length of time a visitor stays is by using videos. Anecdotally, our clients have seen a four- to fivefold increase in length of stay after implementing videos on their websites. These videos should be one to three minutes long and focus on educating prospects and website visitors about who you are, who you help, and why you are different. These videos do not need to be professionally produced, but you may want to have someone add a short introduction including your website and phone number. Once you have your video ready, upload it to your website—and to www.youtube.com for additional exposure. Visitors are more concerned with content than production quality. If allowed in your jurisdiction, use video testimonials from your clients as well.
Key Action Points: • The longer someone stays on your website, the greater likelihood they will connect with you. • Use videos to quickly capture their attention. • Your videos should educate prospects about who you are, who you help, and why you are different.
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FREE "Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" E-book
In a newly revised e-book, legal marketing expert Stephen Fairley outlines 10 of the most common marketing mistakes attorneys make that can lead to the failure of their business, and provides specific strategies and proven principles for avoiding these deadly errors.
Get your complimentary copy online here.
Regardless of your specific situation, this free e-book will help you examine how you are currently finding new clients and recommend specific steps you can immediately start using to grow your practice.
We have helped thousands of attorneys achieve their goals of creating a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice. In this e-book you will discover specific principles and tools you can use to grow your practice, too.
Law Firm Marketing: Internet Marketing for Rainmakers/Part 2 of 5
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Here are more strategies for becoming a Rainmaker on the Internet:
Create compelling copy. I strongly recommend you consider hiring a professional copywriter to write the copy on your website. Yes, I know, every lawyer out there writes for a living. However, the gulf between writing a great legal brief and creating compelling copy can be like the Grand Canyon. The number-one purpose of your website is to compel visitors to pick up the phone and call you. A great copywriter can create credible copy that will get your phone ringing.
Another purpose of your website copy is to help you rank well in the search engines. One way to do this is by using the exact same words and phrases you researched in step one in the copy of your website. Each page should focus on four to six phrases. For example, one page may focus on four phrases such as “Orange County California personal injury lawyers,” “Orange County California personal injury attorneys,” “Los Angeles California personal injury lawyers,” and “Los Angeles County California personal injury attorneys.”
Key Action Points: • Consider hiring a professional copywriter to write your website copy. • Be sure to include on each page the keywords for which you want to rank high. • Include a call to action on every page. Tell people what you want them to do: call you, register, sign up, etc.
Add fresh content regularly. Perhaps the top strategy used by high-ranking lawyers today is to add new, relevant content to their websites on a consistent basis. This is one of the major reasons for the explosion in blogs in recent years. A blog is a type of website that is regularly updated, and the entries are often displayed in reverse-chronological order with the newest entry at the top. Although some law firms are selecting blogs instead of websites, I believe there is a place for each in online legal marketing. If, for economic reasons, you are forced to select between one or the other, I recommend starting out with a blog. Why? Because they are very low cost (or free) as compared to websites and, if done properly, will help you rank faster than a traditional website.
Anyone can start a blog at no cost using sites such as www.wordpress.com and www.blogger.com. At a minimum, we recommend updating your blog weekly. For any serious traffic, you need to be updating three to five times per week. Lawyers who want to be at the top of the search engines update their blog three to five times per day. Google loves fresh content. The more relevant content your blog gives Google, the more it will love your blog by ranking it higher.
Key Action Points: • Search engines love fresh content. • The more fresh, relevant content you post on your website or blog, the higher you will rank on the search engines. • Blogs are a great place to get started, but in order to be effective they must be updated frequently. • Update your blog at least three to five times per week.
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Sign Up for Jan. 28-29 Las Vegas Rainmaker Retreat by Jan. 14 to Receive Discounted Room Rates
Over 7,000 attorneys from hundreds of law firms across the country have discovered how to generate more referrals and find new clients fast by applying our proven Rainmaker System.
If you're struggling to build your legal practice or want to learn a proven law firm marketing system for landing more and better clients and creating a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice then you owe it to yourself to discover our Rainmaker System. Just listen:
Our next Rainmaker Retreat will be held Jan. 28 and 29 at The Platinum Hotel in Las Vegas. Register by Friday, Jan. 14 to receive your discounted room rates. Go to www.rainmakerretreat.com to register online or call 888-588-5891.
Law Firm Marketing: Internet Marketing for Rainmakers/Part 1 of 5
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Nothing has transformed the marketing of law firms in the last ten years more than the Internet. I was speaking at a bar association event recently when a gentleman asked, “Do people really look for lawyers online? I’m not sure people look for my kind of practice area on the Internet.”
Although there’s no guarantee that someone Googles your exact practice area every day, there are more than 11 million Internet searches for the words “lawyer” or “attorney” every month.
A growing number of law firms are turning to the Internet with hopes of boosting their revenues and increasing their leads. For some this has become a reality, but most are still in the experimental stage. This week, we’ll examine several of the best practices in becoming a rainmaker on the Internet.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the ongoing process of optimizing your website to be found on the search engines (Google, Yahoo!, and Bing are the big three) for the keywords and phrases people use to find you. The goal of SEO is to drive qualified traffic to your website. It does not include pay-per-click (PPC) or paid search. There are more than 30 different components commonly used by SEO experts to help your website rank well. Each of my posts this week will provide you with strategies to get you started.
Know the keywords people use to search for your services. There are many tools you can use to find out exactly which keywords and phrases people use. I recommend you start with www.wordtracker.com and Google’s Keyword Tool, which can be found at https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal. In most searches, there are three parts used: geographical location, practice area, and the word “lawyer” or “attorney.” For example, someone looking for a personal injury lawyer in southern California may use “Los Angeles personal injury lawyer,” whereas someone in Chicago looking to file for bankruptcy may search for “Chicago bankruptcy attorney.” However, people are starting to use more and more words to describe what they are looking for: “I was injured in a car accident in Miami and need an attorney.” This is known as long tail search.
Key Action Points: • Talk to your prospects and clients and find out what words and phrases they use to look for a lawyer in your practice area. • Research those keywords and find out how many other people use them. • Make a list of 20 to 30 words and phrases to use in your website.
Use keywords in your domain name. When possible, use the actual words that prospects likely use to find you. For example, Kevin Von Tungeln is a board-certified estate planning specialist in the state of California. His website address is www.estateplanningspecialists.com. Many law firms are still using the traditional method of naming their website the same as their law firm name, which can make it difficult to spell, harder to find, and does not assist their SEO efforts. However, be sure to check your state’s ethical requirements before settling on a new website name; some states do not allow lawyers to use any other domain name than their law firm’s name.
Key Action Points: • It’s okay to have multiple domain names. • Register your own name first, then register domain names with your keywords in it. • Use www.godaddy.com to register multiple variations. Even if you are not going to use them now, you may want them later.
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Phoenix Legal Networking Group: Learn the 5 Steps to Create Your Law Firm Marketing Action Plan (MAP) at our January 11 Meeting
At the January 11 Phoenix Legal Networking Group meeting, Stephen Fairley will make a presentation on How to Make This Year Your Best Year Ever! 5 Steps to Create Your Law Firm Marketing Action Plan (MAP). Join us next Tuesday to discover:
- The 5 critical components of a Marketing Action Plan (MAP)
- How to select the right marketing tools that will work for your practice and personality
- How to create a roadmap to make 2011 your Best Year Ever!
The networking event and marketing seminar will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 11 at Monti’s, 100 S. Mill Ave. in Tempe.
Cost is $20 per person if you register by January 7, $30 if you register by January 10 and $35 on the day of the event. This covers drinks, hors d’oeurves, the networking event and the workshop.
To register for our January 11 networking and legal marketing event, co-hosted by FindLaw, Attorney at Law Magazine, Coash & Coash Court Reporting and The Rainmaker Institute, visit www.therainmakerretreat.com/network/ or call 888-816-8935.
