The Rainmaker Blog : Law Firm Marketing and Business Development : The Rainmaker Institute : Stephen Fairley : Professional Legal Marketing

At our Phoenix Legal Marketing Group meeting last week, we had over 40 attendees! A great turnout for August.  Referrals are starting to become a staple for the attorneys who attend. Several members reported receiving referrals from other attendees.

My presentation was on Finding Your Perfect Client: How To Find More Clients 
Who Need, Want And Can Afford Your Services.  The handout each attendee received featured some great information, including the 4 factors in determining your ideal target market:

Want to connect with other attorneys at small firms? Want to tap into local resources? Looking for ideas to jumpstart your marketing efforts? Then join us each month for the Phoenix Legal Networking Group!

Our next meeting will be on Thursday, Sept. 16, when I will make a presentation on how you can Double Your Referrals in 6 Months or Less.  Come and discover:

• The proven 8-step system used by hundreds of top attorneys to generate more and better referrals fast
• How to identify who the best referral sources are for you (and they usually aren't other attorneys)
• The #1 reason why you're not getting more referrals
• The best ways to meet potential referral sources
• 5 effective ways to follow up with referral sources

The event will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, September 16 at Monti’s, 100 S. Mill Ave. in Tempe.  Cost is only $20 per person. 



To register for this September 16 networking and legal marketing event, co-hosted by FindLaw, Attorney at Law Magazine and The Rainmaker Institute, click here. 


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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 7,000 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:

Wednesday, August 25, 2010
11am-12pm Pacific | 12-1pm Mountain | 1-2pm Central | 2-3pm Eastern

Tuesday, August 31, 2010
1-2pm Pacific | 2-3pm Mountain | 3-4pm Central | 4-5pm Eastern

Wednesday, September 8, 2010
11am-12pm Pacific | 12-1pm Mountain | 1-2pm Central | 2-3pm Eastern

Join us and learn why the Rainmaker Retreat is the one law firm marketing boot camp you cannot afford to miss!

 

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Last month I talked about Florida Bar’s proposed new and “improved” legal ethics in advertising rules. Well, time for an update.

The Daily Business Review just reported the new proposed advertising rules for attorneys has caused quite a stir and has resulted in a lawsuit by the “Florida 8”—a group of 8 courageous law firms that decided they finally had enough (no, I'm not going to try and fake objectivity about this).

Basically, the new rules would require all law firms to go back and either remove all testimonials, case summaries and “deceptive, misleading, manipulative or confusing audio or visual content.”

The alternative would be to hide them behind an onerous pop-up box filled with legal disclaimers. Seriously? This is getting to the point of being ludicrous and is just one more sign of how out of touch the Florida Bar rule makers are.

The article interviews several of the plaintiffs. One firm estimated it would take around 3,000 man-hours to make these changes. Another estimated the cost to all law firms, based on which have offices in Florida, to be in the millions of dollars. Apart from the obvious reasons of: it will take too much time and cost too much money, there are other major problems with these rules:

1.  The rules the Florida Supreme Court and Bar proposed are unreasonable and unfairly hurt small and solo firms that are much more dependent on their websites and blogs to generate leads and business.

Even during great economic times, small firms and solo practitioners simply do not have the million-dollar advertising budgets of the Am200 law firms to compete on mass media like TV, radio, newspaper and billboards.

They have to rely on guerrilla marketing strategies, which often means low-cost marketing budgets like blogs, social media, and websites.

Many of these small law firms have been using blogs and websites for years to generate new leads and new clients (I know our clients have) and frankly do not have an extra staff member or two around who can spend the next 3,000 hours or so to go through all of their past website pages and blog posts to ensure every page is in compliance.
 
2.  What the Florida Bar hides under the guise of a “public service” is quickly becoming a public nuisance. Here's your sign: When the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen sues you because they believe your rules will be a detriment to the general public, that may be a good indication that your proposed rules are too Neanderthal.  And here's another sign: When you have to give a special dispensation that specifically exempts the ACLU and other nonprofit legal groups from these onerous regulations, it may be a sign your rules are too broad.

3.  We're America; we believe in free enterprise.  Personally, I'm glad someone is finally taking a public stand against this level of unnecessary intrusion into the way law firms market. Yes, I know there are bad apples in the legal industry. Yes, I recognize there are some law firms using offensive advertisements, but I also believe in the strength of the marketplace to “police” what works and what does not.

The ads or marketing efforts that don’t work because they are offensive or for whatever reason, will not consistently attract high quality clients and the law firms will stop using them.

The ads that do work will continue to be used.

While this may sound overly simplistic, I see a lot of value in letting the marketplace police law firm advertising and marketing.

4.  Where is the proof of harm? Everyone who is involved with law firm marketing knows Florida already has the MOST restrictive laws in the country.  Do they really need to turn it up a notch? Where is the proof that testimonials and case summaries on legal websites have caused harm to prospective clients?

Most Internet marketers can clearly show you plenty of evidence that putting pop-up boxes will drive website visitors away, not to mention consumers hate them. Why else would you have so many “pop-up blockers”?

Also, most pop-ups will not even work on smart phones. Where's the proof that pop-up disclaimers will prevent naïve consumers from falling prey to the bad apples in the industry?

If Florida succeeds in enforcing these backwards rules, will other state bars follow?

Where is the voice of the solo practitioner who is just scraping by and barely has time to focus on doing any marketing, must less redo all their past efforts because of the whim of some out-of-touch rule setter?

I strongly recommend every single law firm in Florida either (a) join the lawsuit, (b) file their own or (c) at least send an amicus brief in support of these courageous “Florida 8” law firms!

• Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod
• Carlton Fields
• Foley & Lardner
• Jorden Burt
• Holland & Knight
• Hunton & Williams
• Weil Gotshal & Manges
• White & Case

There is a great deal of competition in the legal industry, but this is one issue where I think most attorneys in Florida can agree on and unite under. And while no one is talking about hanging anyone, I'll close with this quote from Benjamin Franklin, “If we do not hang together, surely we will all hang separately.” 

Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now. Who’s next?

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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!

 

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Email marketing is a great way to keep current clients informed about your practice as well as a great way to introduce your legal services to prospects. 

The first step in a successful email marketing campaign is to build a good list.  Here are some tips on building an email list for marketing your practice:

Home Page Sign-up
Have an area on the home page of your website dedicated solely to enticing people to sign up for something.  Having a regular newsletter to send is always a good idea, but you can also ask people to sign up for information on legal developments or offer a monthly free consultation.  Whatever it is, it needs to be of value to your customers, not just to you.

Ask to Add
When you attend networking events, meetings or trade shows – wherever you are likely to meet potential new clients or are gathering business cards – ask those you meet if you can add them to your mailing list, to send them a newsletter or special offers. 

Association Lists
If you are a member of any trade or community organizations, ask if you can have access to their membership list.  Many offer membership lists to members for free; some are available for a fee.

Reciprocal plugs
Find other newsletters that you think your customers would enjoy and ask if they’ll promote your newsletter if you do the same for them. 

Buy a List
There are quite a few online resources that offer lists for sale sorted by zip code, demographics, income, lifestyle interests, buying behavior, etc.   You can purchase a really targeted list based on your ideal client profile and use it to test a variety of promotions or special offers.

Building an email list that will help you drive traffic to your website is an integral part of a well-rounded online law firm marketing program, and one of the many helpful tools you’ll learn about at any of our Rainmaker Retreats.

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Want more actionable legal marketing strategies? 

We took all of our legal marketing expertise and boxed it up, just for you!  The Rainmaker in a Box five DVD set includes:

• The 5 Immutable Secrets to Building a 7 Figure Law Practice
• Secrets of Building a Referral-based Law Practice for Busy Practitioners
• The Top 6 Most Powerful Online Marketing Strategies for Attorneys
• Action, Accountability and Next Steps

Get yourself an early Father's Day gift that will keep giving for years to come!  Order this information-packed set here.

 
 

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Unless you have had your head under the proverbial rock the last two years, you have probably heard of Avvo.com. Plain and simple, they are a ranking system for lawyers.

Now before you get all upset and pester me with nasty emails telling me about “it's not right for Avvo to post my profile on their site without my permission,” let me state clearly for the record: I don’t want to hear about your complaints. I AM NOT Avvo. I'm not here to defend Avvo. They have not in any way asked me to write this post. Avvo has plenty of sharp people on their team and can mount a more than adequate defense without my help.

As a legal marketer, I am “platform agnostic.” I only look at tools from an effectiveness standpoint—Does this work? How much does it cost? What's the Return On Investment (ROI)? I am constantly on the lookout for ways my law firm clients can leverage both online and offline tools to build their online platform and attract more clients.

Recently, the ABA Journal wrote an article about the fact that Avvo is now ranking lawyers from all 50 states. There was a lot of vitriolic commentary about the article, so I know feelings run hot and cold about them. As I said, it's not my place to defend them, their “ethics,” or whether you like the fact that your personal “profile” is on their site. By the way, I believe the majority of the information they put on your “profile” comes directly from your state bar so if they have something wrong on your profile, it's a good guess that maybe your state bar also has that information wrong.

I get it—one of the major reasons why a lot of attorneys don’t like social media sites like Avvo, is that they CANNOT CONTROL IT.

Just like someone can go to Yelp.com or Ripoffreport.com and write a positive or negative review of your business, so they can go to Avvo and do the same. At least Avvo has a clear mechanism whereby you can dispute a false or misleading review and they will even remove it if proven false (which most other sites don’t do). These types of consumer review sites are becoming more and more popular and influential with the search engines.

If you're thinking about ignoring your profile on Avvo, here's something to consider: Avvo is very good at search engine optimization. So in all likelihood, when you type your name into Google, your Avvo profile will often come up on the first page of results. I believe they are quickly becoming a major force in Internet marketing for attorneys.
 
Here's my advice: You don’t have to like Avvo to benefit from Avvo. They are here to stay and are becoming a force to be reckoned with so...learn how to use them to build and influence your law firm’s Internet presence and generate more business!

How to Use Avvo.com for Law Firm Marketing

Avvo is one of the 6 major social media sites that attorneys should pay attention to. In future posts, I'll talk about the other 5. When you are ready to get started with Avvo, here's the steps you should take:

1. Claim your profile. This process is free and allows you to update your contact information and add information about you and your law firm.
2. Put your ENTIRE resume into Avvo. This can go a long way to improving your rating.
3. Add all the seminars you have given, awards you have received, and articles you have written. These items can also improve your rating. 
4. Add your photo! I have heard reports that profiles with a photo are clicked on up to 10 times more than profiles without photos.
5. Add videos. If you have videos put them into your Avvo profile. While they won't improve your rating, it will give potential clients who are checking you out online an opportunity to see who you are, how you articulate your answers, and will position you as more of an “expert.” The production quality of your videos does not matter nearly as much as the information you include in them. It's all about education-based marketing—educating your prospects.
6. Answer user’s questions. Over 5,000 consumers every week ask legally related questions on Avvo. Please be sure to put a standard disclaimer on each response, i.e., that your reply does not constitute legal advice or the establishment of an attorney-client relationship, etc.
7. Create Avvo “Legal Guides” for your top 10 questions. If you're like most attorneys, you constantly get asked a common set of questions. Write down these FAQs and write a short (1-3 pages) response to each one. Make each question a legal guide. Keep the questions and answers highly focused on a specific topic. Be sure to add a disclaimer on each guide.
8. Ask all your attorney friends to endorse you. This can make a big difference in your rating. Just like a referral from another attorney in the real world makes a big impression on a prospect, so having a reference from another attorney or a judge on your Avvo profile can improve your rating.
9. Ask your clients to write a testimonial for you on Avvo. Client testimonials do NOT have a positive or negative impact on your rating. However, I assure you, potential clients read them! I can't remember the last time I bought a book or other product off Amazon.com without reading a few of the user reviews. Yes, I know several states, like Florida, do not allow the usage of testimonials by lawyers. However, the Florida bar association has “agreed to exempt online directories like Avvo from most of its ad rules” because attorneys cannot control endorsements posted on 3rd party websites like Avvo.
10. Put your Avvo badge on your website or blog. Avvo allows you to create a “badge” with your profile score on it that links directly to your Avvo profile.
11. Consider signing up for Avvo Pro. There is a small monthly fee for this, but it provides you with all sorts of statistics like, how many people clicked on your profile, etc. Avvo has also recently launched an ad campaign (I wondered how they were going to start making money). If you read my blog frequently or have attended our law firm marketing boot camp, you know I'm not a big fan of advertising. However, I've heard anecdotally from two attorneys now who are finding some success with an Avvo ad campaign in their local area. In fact, one of my criminal defense clients signed up his first client within 6 hours of his Avvo ad going live. Please note, I'm not saying those results are typical because I'm sure they aren't. However, if you have the budget, I think it's worth testing it out.

So there you have it. You can either ignore Avvo and hope they will just go away or you can learn how to leverage them to your benefit.

Now, before you think about sending me one your nasty emails, please reread my second paragraph.

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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 your guide now for free!  Click here to download, and start using these proven strategies today!
 

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Okay, so this is a little self-promotional (even for me)...

But I just can't contain my excitement!

I'm very excited to announce I will be giving a keynote presentation at the upcoming 82^nd Annual Conference of the State Bar of California and they are promoting my presentation on their event’s homepage!

Here's the link to check it out: http://www.calbar.ca.gov/annualmeeting

How cool is that!?

I will be giving a 3 hour presentation on Thursday from 2-5pm on The Top 10 “Secret” Strategies Used by Rainmakers: How to Build a 7 Figure Law Firm During Difficult Times

If you are an attorney in California I invite you to join me and discover why some attorneys struggle to build a financially successful practice, while others grow even in trying economic times.

In this information packed session, I will discuss in detail 7 strategies small firms must use to “recession proof” their law firm while generating more and better referrals.

Attendees will learn practical tips to:

• Rapidly increase their referrals in 90 days
• How to stay connected with current and former clients
• Recession proof their law firm
• Reduce their overhead
• Improve productivity and moral among their office staff
• Ways to market their law firm on a shoe string budget

Looking forward to seeing you there!

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One law firm marketing tactic that consistently helps most law firms get new clients is through referrals. Now there are several different ways to get those referrals: initiating a strategic referral partner mail & meet campaign; 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 and lead groups like Business Network International (BNI).

In today’s post, I would like to share 7 tips on finding clients through formal networking.

#1. 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.

#2. 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.

#3. 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 are basically narcissistic – they 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 outline of an audio logo: “I help (who your clients are) to (what your solution is or how you solve their problems.)”

#4. Remember your primary purpose: Remember your primary purpose is 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 you 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 how may also be of help to you.

#5. Ask open-ended questions: Use the 8/20 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?

#6. 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.

#7. Track your efforts:

Contact’s name and full information.

Follow-up method used—phone, email letter.

Date of 1^st 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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Are you trapped into working more and more, while enjoying your life less and less? There is a way out.  It’s called the Rainmaker Retreat. In this two-day marketing boot camp for small and solo law firms, you’ll learn valuable information and practical steps to take so you can better market your small or solo law practice. For more information or to sign-up for the next one, go to: www.RainmakerRetreat.com or call 1-888-588-5891.

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A Unique Competitive Advantage (UCA) answers the questions: Why should we hire you versus your competition? What’s unique about your firm and your services?

Here are 10 ways you can begin answering those questions:

1. Benefits. What are the benefits of working with your firm as compared to working with others? What do you do that other firms refuse to do to better serve their clients?
   
2. Value. Compare your costs versus how much money you save clients. How have you helped other clients take better advantage of opportunities or avoid legal liability? What are some specific ways you are constantly looking out for their best interests? What are the core values of your firm and how do you demonstrate these values?
   
3. Results. What are some specific results you have obtained for clients in the past? What is your win/loss record? What do you do to achieve better results than your competitors?
   
4. Solutions. Give an example of a creative solution you found to a client’s problem. How did you come up with it? What happened because of your creative solution?
   
5. Individual Partners. Remember, people don’t buy legal services from law firms; they buy legal services from attorneys. People don’t say, “Go talk to my law firm,” they say, “Go talk to my attorney.” What is different about your partners than in other firms?
   
6. Service. How do your clients describe the way you treat them? What’s an example of how you went out of your way to better serve a client? How do you demonstrate exceptional client service on a regular basis?
   
7. Industry-specific Specialty. Position your partners as leading experts in a specific industry, not as generalists. To be a generalist for most attorneys is the “kiss of death.” Go deeper, not broader. Have industry specific marketing materials.
   
8. Clients’ Feedback. What do your best clients say about you? What would they tell someone else about your services and how you’ve helped them? Do you have a long list of very satisfied clients that prospects can speak with? Do your clients refer other clients to you on a regular basis?
   
9. Credibility. What is your firm known for in the industry? Talk about how your partners are profiled in the media or are industry experts. What are 3 reasons why your prospects should perceive you as a credible expert?
   
10. Visibility. How visible are your partners within an industry? Do they regularly speak at top industry events? Are they a nationally-recognized expert? A published author? What happens when prospects type their names into Google?

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Where can you read articles like: “9 Proven Keys to Recession-proof your Law Practice”;  

“4 Secret Strategies of Law Firm Marketing” or “Supercharging Your Law Firm’s Referrals?”

In The Rainmaker Advisor Journal. To get your free trial copy, go to www.therainmakeradvisor.com

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I just flew back from San Francisco. This last Friday & Saturday we had a fantastic group of attorneys for the first ever Rainmaker Retreat sponsored by the State Bar of California.

The staff at the Bar was fantastic. I was very impressed with their level of attentiveness and kindness. We look forward to working with them on many future projects and events.

Later this week on this blog I will let you in on a little secret the CA Stat Bar just shared with me on Friday morning. It blew me away! I'm very excited about this.

The group of attorneys who attended the law firm marketing workshop were incredible. While most were from California, we had lawyers who flew in from the states of Washington, Florida, Nevada, Utah, and Texas to join us. 

The level of sharing, learning, and eye-opening discoveries was non-stop. I also must say that this was probably the most fun I've ever had at a Rainmaker Retreat.

I especially want to thank:

• Conrad Saam of Avvo.com was there to show attendees how to claim their free attorney profile and how to leverage it to drive great traffic to their website and attract more clients—all for free! What you may not know about Avvo.com is that it is the fastest growing online legal directory in the country. It already has 3 times more traffic than Martindale and will soon surpass lawyers.com to become the #1 largest legal directory. And did I mention it's FREE...
• Ron Kramer, a personal injury attorney in Utah and a member our Rainmaker Mastermind Group who flew in at the last moment to attend. Thanks for joining us Ron!
• Adrian Lurssen and Aviva Cuyler from JDSupra.com who gave a great presentation on how to rapidly increase your internet platform by posting articles on their site. Attorneys are using JDSupra to rapidly boost traffic to their websites. This is a very powerful tool we will be using more frequently in the days to come. You can check out my articles and JDSupra profile at: http://www.jdsupra.com/profile/stephenfairley/
• The Team at Sagaria Law. Scott Sagaria is owner of one of the fastest growing bankruptcy law firms in California. In addition to being a very sharp business owner, he has a great vision for his law firm. He brought several of his team along including: Eddy Hsu (a true work horse!), Tina Phan (Are you still there?), Dominique Sopko (the shy one--not), Heather Cassidy (Hey, is that Stephen Fairley?), Erin Coyle (aka Bubbles), Brittany Klein (Where’s my Starbucks?), and Business Operations Director Extraordinaire Carrie Ramirez (Are you still working? It's 10pm). My thanks go out to Scott and his team for a great dinner on Thursday and for attending the Rainmaker Retreat. Looking forward to seeing you all again in 2 weeks for a 2 day in house law firm marketing audit.

Here are just a few of the comments attendees wrote down at the end of the conference:

“This was a great seminar that went through the very basics to more advanced techniques to bring in high quality cases. The sheer amount of information has left my head spinning! I'm looking forward to the flight home so I can put together a plan to implement the ideas I learned.” Ron Kramer, Esq. (Personal Injury, Draper, UT)

“The Rainmaker Retreat is the most insightful strategic planning I have every experienced! The ideas were simple yet genius and cost-effective. They could be implemented by firms of any size.” Heather Cassidy, Esq. (Bankruptcy & Family Law, Sacramento, CA)

“I am the world’s biggest cynic when it comes to direct marketing...but I decided to come despite my cynicism. I AM NOW A VIP MEMBER—that’s how great and practical this is!” Delphine Adams, Esq. (Real Estate, Santa Rose, CA)

“This legal marketing seminar provides a ‘nuts and bolts,’ systematized approach to traditional Rainmaking, then provides strategies for 21st century marketing. I thought the promotional materials over-promised before I came. As I left, it was clear that Stephen over-delivered, by a wide margin!” Michael Atter, Esq. (Personal Injury, Jacksonville, FL)

“The Rainmaker Retreat has been simply amazing. Stephen Fairley is an outstanding speaker who I find very motivating and inspiring. The content, ideas and advice of this retreat has exceeded my expectations 110%!” Carrie Ramirez (San Jose, CA)

“The Rainmaker Retreat will not sell you useless books, CDs and tapes. It WILL teach you real, practical, useful methods for you to sell yourself, over and over again. If you are a small firm or a new Rainmaker, you NEED to attend the Rainmaker Retreat!” Jeff Nunes, Esq. (Estate Planning & Employment Law, Morgan Hill, CA)

“This seminar was an amazing experience! The advice is insightful and practical. We were provided with strategies and procedures that will deliver significant benefits almost immediately.” Dominique Sopko, Esq. (Family law & Bankruptcy, San Jose, CA)

“Stephen Fairley has a fast paced program that motivates, explains and organizes your marketing efforts. I highly recommend this to all attorneys.” Robert Rolnik, Esq. (Patent Law, Kingwood, TX)

“This was very thought provoking. I have not had such a clear plan for marketing presented like this before. I really appreciated the many different marketing options and internet possibilities that were presented.” Clark Vellis, Esq. (Commercial Litigation, Reno, NV)

If you couldn’t make, you really missed a great event! But you can catch a replay in Las Vegas in about 3 weeks at the Mirage.

Here's the link for more information: www.RainmakerRetreat.com

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Anouncing Never Before at the Las Vegas Rainmaker Retreat!
We will have a special, brand new break out session on how attorneys can leverage social media to drive more traffic and land more clients. Think Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, and more—on steroids!

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Law firm marketing is a complex and competitive business. And there are many reasons why certain law firms fail to grow or even fail to survive.

However, in my working with more than 6,000 attorneys over the years, I’ve come to find out that there are essentially 3 main reasons why attorneys fail to grow their practices:

1. Lack of Time
   This is the single biggest complaint we hear. You’re stressed for time. You barely have time to serve your clients, much less market your practice. Not to mention spend time with your family.
   

2. Lack of Systems
   There are several simple systems attorneys can use to create a “lifestyle practice”—a practice that supports the lifestyle you want to lead, rather than one that dominates your life.
   

3. Lack of Strategy
   From a marketing perspective, a comprehensive strategy to grow your law firm is essential to your long-term success. Otherwise you and your team lack direction.

These “lacks” can be overcome so that you can create that lifestyle law practice you desire.

Many of our clients are proof of that. When you use a proven legal marketing strategy that consistently produces results, you can then set up legal marketing systems that, in turn, both free-up your time while increasing your client roster, increasing your revenue.

Although this sounds simple (and, at the 100,000-foot level, it is), there are numerous options that are equally good and effective, forcing numerous choices to be made with resources.

When law firms engage a law firm marketing expert or attend law firm marketing seminars, bootcamps and conferences, law firm marketing becomes so much clearer and so much easier.

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If you think . . . you can’t make more money and have the time to enjoy your life . . . you’ve never been to a Rainmaker Retreat. If you’re a partner in a small law firm or are on your own and want to grow your practice while enjoying the lifestyle you deserve, you owe it to yourself to attend a Rainmaker Retreat. In this two-day marketing boot camp for small and solo law firms, you’ll learn valuable information and practical steps to take to better market your practice. For more information or to sign-up for the next one, go to: www.RainmakerRetreat.com or call 1-888-588-5891.

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In this blog post, I’m letting you peek behind the curtain. I will give you the steps involved in this law firm marketing system that has helped many a client increase business.

• Identify several professions or industries that already have trusted relationships with your target market.
  
  
• Build or buy a database of potential referral sources (www.infoUSA.com and www.superpages.com are two great list-building resources.).
  
  
• Focus on refining your Unique Competitive Advantage by answering this question: “Why should, someone hire me versus any of my competitors?”

• Create a form letter that includes who you work with, how you are different and a personal invitation to get together to determine if/how you could work together.
  
  
• Send out 10 to 20 letters per week.
  
  
• Have your assistant call the people you sent letters to and determine their level of interest in connecting with you.
  
  
• Have your assistant set-up appointments for you over lunch or coffee.
  
  
• When you meet with prospective SRP’s (Strategic Referral Partners), find out more about their businesses and how you can help their clients.
  
  
• Ask compelling questions to let them know you are interested in building a mutually-beneficial referral relationship, and remember to ask the best question: “How would I know if the person I’m talking to would be a great referral for you?”
  
  
• Ask them if they would be willing to send you referrals.
  
  
• When possible, try to send them a referral in the next 30 days.
  
  
• Follow-up every 4 to 6 weeks to stay connected with them (Send them a letter, article of interest or one of your press releases.)

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Do you want to double your law practice, increase client referrals and make more money in these challenging economics times? Then subscribe to The Rainmaker Advisor Journal. To get your free trial copy, go to: www.therainmakeradvisor.com

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I’ve been talking to quite a few attorneys over the past several months who are increasingly concerned about how the tough economy is affecting their practice and their ability to focus on marketing their law firm.

Let’s have a little perspective on this. As a business owner, you can either focus on the fear and scarcity mentality that is being promoted by the media today or you can focus on taking action and abundance. Which choice you make has immediate and long-term implications. If you allow yourself to be controlled by fear or make your decisions based on scarcity, you will miss the opportunities that come your way. Your challenge is to stay focused on taking action, look for opportunity in the midst of crisis and find a way to leverage it!

Here are 5 Tips to Keep You Focused:

Focus on the positive. I recommend making a list of all the good things that happen to you each day and keep it posted near your computer as a constant reminder that not everything is bad.

Focus on what you can control, instead of what you cannot control. You cannot control the global markets, the investment banks, or the economy. You can only control your actions so create an action plan of what steps you are going to take to keep moving forward. Have a heart to heart talk with every attorney in your firm and require them to submit 3 specific steps they will take in the next 90 days to generate more business for your firm.

Focus on improving client satisfaction and retention. Send out a client satisfaction survey, call up your top 10 clients and take them to lunch, stay connected with your current and former clients—ask them what challenges they are facing and how you can assist them. Perhaps you can introduce them to a banking colleague for a much-needed business line of credit or a real estate broker who can help them sublease some office space.

Focus on implementing your marketing plan. When this economic crisis is over, you will

find some firms have just barely managed to survive, while others have grown significantly. The difference is when everyone else was pulling back, some firms see this as the perfect opportunity to expand their marketing and increase their efforts. Which path will you follow?

Focus on connecting with referral sources. Go through your rolodex and reconnect with every single person who sent you a referral in the last 24 months and start meeting with them in person.

As you go through your week, working hard on growing your practice, remember these tips. And stay focused.

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Don’t get caught playing the law firm marketing game under the old rules. Get a new playbook by attending an Avvo seminar. Three times bigger than Martinale.com, lawyer directory Avvo is holding three free seminars on Wednesday, June 17^th in San Diego and Thursday, June 18^th in Irvine in the morning and Los Angeles at night. Hear law firm marketing expert Stephen Fairley and others tell you what you need to know to market your law firm in the New Normal.   

Click here to register for San Diego, Irvine or to register for Los Angeles

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Today in our look at the new rules of legal marketing, we’ll be taking a look at Rule #5, both the old and new.

Old Rule #5: Look to your competitors to succeed. In the race to be perceived as equals, small law firms have done their level best to erase the lines between them and their larger brethren. The result is an inability to self-differentiate Ask two partners, one at a small firm and one at a large firm, what makes each of them unique, and they’ll both likely give you the exact same response.

New Rule #5: Only the specialists will survive. In this new economy, you must clearly stake out your ground: who you are, who you serve, and how you specialize is increasingly vital to your survival. Identify your uniqueness and emphasize it everywhere. Train every person from your partners to the receptionist how to answer the Big Question: “Why should I hire you?”

Agree or disagree, the rules have certainly changed. The new rules are here and they may be here to stay. How will you respond? What actions did you need to take yesterday to make the most of the opportunities tomorrow?

Welcome to the New Normal!

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Learn the new rules of law firm marketing by attending an Avvo seminar. Three times bigger than Martinale.com, lawyer directory Avvo is holding three free seminars on Wednesday, June 17^t in San Diego and Thursday, June 18^th in Irvine in the morning and Los Angeles at night. Hear law firm marketing expert Stephen Fairley and others tell you what you need to know to market your law firm in the New Normal.

Click here to register for San Diego, Irvine or to register for Los Angeles

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Shortly after the Total Attorney’s Get a Life Conference in Chicago, a firestorm started in the legal blogosphere around the question: “Is Twitter the legal marketing tool it’s cracked up to be?”

This firestorm was ignited by legal marketing consultant Larry Bodine when he contended during a Get a Life panel discussion that Twitter is not what it’s cracked up to be that sparked brushfires among scores of legal marketing Twitter Defenders/Twitter Detractors.

Most recently LinkedIn Lawyer David Barrett jumped into the fire with a very thorough and thought provoking discussion of Larry’s contention in Barrett’s blogpost: “Twitter for Law Firm Business Development: A Conversation Among Legal Marketing Brands.”

Such healthy, robust debate is what social media was meant to promulgate. And it is what is very much needed, as we in the legal marketing community try to find a place in our law firm marketing plans (or not) for these new media tools.

Keep in mind: social media is a only tool, not a final solution.

Like any tool it can be wielded with strength and power in the hands of an expert craftsman or it can be ineffectual in the hand of a novice. It's all in how you use it.

Can Twitter be a distraction? Of course it can be. And so can email and the telephone and endless meetings....

Bottom Line: Anything can become a distraction if you don’t harness it properly.

Many businesses and lawyers are still trying to figure out if social media is a fad or a trend.

The true test as to it's long term viability as a legal marketing tool is NOT how many people register on Twitter or how many drop off after 30 days (about 40% according to recent stats quoted in the above blog posts).

The real test will be found in the answer to this question: “If I effectively use social media platforms, will it generate new business, new clients, new referrals and/or new relationships for my business?”

To some people that question has already been asnwered in the affirmative. I spent some time with Kevin OKeefe of LexBlog fame. When I posed this question to him, he immediately responded, “All I know is that since I started using Twitter our business has increased by 20-25%.”

Wow!

Bottom Line: In the right hands, almost anything can be an effective tool that can drive new business.

Clearly, we can’t forget the tried-and-true techniques of building relationships with referral sources, giving seminars and presentations, building an online presence, and the like. But I don’t hear the Twitter defenders saying that at all. I do hear some of the Twitter detractors saying the reverse. 

Bottom Line: A powerful law firm marketing plan does not rely on one “magic bullet” to solve every problem and overcome every challenge.

Top Rainmakers use a variety of online and offline marketing strategies. They test the results and fine tune their marketing tool.

The exact legal marketing tools they use depends on:

• Their target market
• Their geographical location
• Their practice area
• Their personality
• Their level of comfort

It is this bigger picture discussion that both David Barrett and I embarked upon shortly after the Get a Life Conference. We are exploring how legal marketing in 2009 needs to bring together proven techniques from both traditional and new social media marketing in creative, intelligent ways. (Toward the end of Barrett’s post he mentions our discussion.)

From this discussion will spring new educational products and legal marketing services. Stay tuned . . .

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Do you want to double your law practice, increase client referrals and make more money in these challenging economics times? Then subscribe to The Rainmaker Advisor Journal. To get your free trial copy, go to: www.therainmakeradvisor.com

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Our legal marketing strategy for all this week is discussing 15 ideas you can use to keep in touch with your referrals. Today we’ll cover Ideas 11-15

#11. If you’re really into social media, try www.Twitter.com, a microblogging site. You can post updates on your status, but it limits you to only 140 characters. You can see how I use it and follow me on Twitter at: www.twittter.com/stephenfairley.

#12. Send them a gift. It doesn’t have to be something large, but once a quarter or every six months (not necessarily around the holidays) send them a good book you just red, a bottle of wine or a gift basket. Ask their assistant for some ideas on what they like.

#13. Bring a group of them together for a luncheon. Ask three or four of them who are non-competitors to join you for lunch and introduce them to each other. This is a great way to be known as a connector. Have lunch at a local restaurant or in your conference room.

#14. Offer them a seminar at your office or their office. If you have a service you could provide them or their staff, set up a complimentary seminar for them, perhaps over lunch.

#15. Rank your referral sources based on specific criteria so you know who you should spend more time with.

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. Consider holding a joint marketing event or seminar to assist them in making the referral to you.

C – Referral sources have some potential, but may serve a different market and have not referred anyone to you yet.

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If you think . . . you can’t make more money and have the time to enjoy your life . . . you’ve never been to a Rainmaker Retreat. If you’re a partner in a small law firm or are on your own and want to grow your practice while enjoying the lifestyle you deserve, you owe it to yourself to attend a Rainmaker Retreat. In this two-day marketing boot camp for small and solo law firms, you’ll learn valuable information and practical steps to take to better market your practice. For more information or to sign-up for the next one, go to: www.RainmakerRetreat.com or call 1-888-588-5891.

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Our legal marketing strategy for all this week is discussing 15 ideas you can use to keep in touch with your referrals. Today we’ll cover Ideas 1-5.

#1. 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 and close with any action items or next steps.

#2. Send them a handwritten thank you card or form letter two to three days after your initial meeting.

#3. 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.

#4. 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 print off and mail.

#5. 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.

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Tough times call for tough action. This is especially true today in small law firm marketing, when the competition is fierce, the client dollars tight and your bottom line precious. Get battle-ready now with a two-day marketing boot camp called the Rainmaker Retreat. For more information or to sign-up for the next one, go to: www.RainmakerRetreat.com or call 1-888-588-5891.

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Of the many legal marketing strategies, one of the most powerful is leveraging relationships to boost referrals. In today’s and Friday’s post, I’m going to be talking about 2 keys to reaping the rewards of your relationships.

Key #1: When it comes to Referral Relationships, Take an Active Role.

There is a Jewish saying “A man who has friends must show himself to be friendly.” Don’t wait for someone to take the initiative and contact you—be the first to reach out. In the last few years, we have coached and trained thousands of attorneys and the ones who are the best rainmakers are the ones who make at least 3-4 contacts with potential referral sources every week.

Law firm marketing action step: Take 2 minutes and scan your contact list. Select 15 to 20 names of potential or current referral sources and send them an email or, better yet, pick up the phone and call them with an invitation for lunch or coffee. Set a goal of having three face-to-face meetings per week for the next month.

Here’s a sample script: “It’s been a while since we’ve connected. I was wondering what your schedule looks like for the next week. I’d like to get together with you for lunch or coffee, just to catch up—my treat. Let me know what dates would work better for you.”

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To find out more ways technology can be harnessed to free your life, attend the “Get a Life” conference in Chicago May 27^th and 28^th. Sponsored by Total Attorneys Practice Management Association, this conference is designed to help attorneys in small or solo law practices grow their businesses while achieving a balanced lifestyle. Register today at: www.totalpma.org and click on the banner to your right to access more information!

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These days, nothing is sacred, especially as it relates to law firm marketing in tough economic times. As an attorney who wants to grow your legal practice, you need to be willing to sacrifice those sacred cows. Here are just few questions that will help you prepare them for the pyre:

• Can you provide the same level of services at a lower cost?
• How price-sensitive is your target market?
• How can you structure payments to better fit the new financial realities?
• What parts of your practice make the most profits?
• Should you expand your practice areas or get rid of one?
• Should you really hire another associate or paralegal or could you outsource that need to a part-time contractor for half the price?

By no means is this an exhaustive list; I’m sure you could come up with many other ideas in the same vein. My point, however, is this: Business – and our economic climate – have changed so dramatically that it is far past the time, as Tom Peters has said, to “think outside the box.” Now, we must be willing to “destroy that box” if we want to survive, let alone thrive, today.

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To find out more ways to grow your practice while still having a life, attend the “Get a Life” conference in Chicago May 27^th and 28^th. Sponsored by Total Attorneys Practice Management Association, this conference is designed to help attorneys in small or solo law practices grow their businesses while achieving a balanced lifestyle. Register today at: www.totalpma.org and click on the banner to your right to access more information!

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Helping attorneys to improve their law firm marketing while achieving the lifestyles they deserve has been my passion for more than 6 years now. On May 27 and 28^th, I’ll be taking that message to Chicago at the “Get a Life” conference presented by Total Attorneys Practice Management Association. To register, click here! To access more information about the event, click on the banner to your left!

If you’re a partner at a small law firm, a solo practitioner or an attorney who just wants to lead a more balanced life, you should attend this conference.

In addition to myself, there are many other well-known names in law firm marketing, including Gerry Riskin, Larry Bodine and Allison Shields.

On Wednesday I’ll be speaking on The Five Immutable Secrets to Building a Seven Figure Law Practice While Staying Sane and on Thursday I’ll be speaking on Technology Enabled Services to Improve Your Life.

So plan to attend. Just go to Total Attorneys to register.

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Do you want to double your law practice, increase client referrals and make more money in these challenging economics times? Then subscribe to The Rainmaker Advisor Journal. To get your free trial copy, go to: www.therainmakeradvisor.com

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One vital component of effective law firm Internet marketing is the press release. Today I will answer three key questions regarding press releases and Friday I’ll discuss the top 10 reasons for sending press releases.

What Can a Press Release Do?

A press release is a great public relations tool that can do many things. For example, it can: help you improve your ranking on search engines; get added traffic to your website; provide information to your target market and inform the community of your accomplishments and charitable work.

Is a Press Release Considered “Marketing?”

In and of itself, it is not marketing; however, it can assist you in your marketing, provided that you are very strategic about the press releases you send out. For press releases to be the most effective for you, they must meet at least one of your marketing objectives.

Where Can I Send My Press Releases?

You can send your press release the traditional way: directly to members of the media. There are many media listing resources (like Bacon’s) that will list members of a wide variety of media (print, radio, TV, etc.) with their address and contact information, such as an email address or fax number.

But doing this manually – or even using a software version of Bacon’s – still takes a lot of time.

A better way to send out your press release is through an online service such as PRWeb or Business Wire. Journalists, bloggers, and others read press releases online sent through these and many other online services. This is a great advantage over manually finding the contact information for each and every journalist.

Another advantage of this approach is that journalists and others do read releases online that are sent through the Internet by these services.

Lastly, properly writing a press release for online submission by using keywords to “search optimize” the release helps boost the rankings of your website, blog and other aspects of your online presence. That means that people – your potential clients – can find you when they’re ready to hire an attorney.

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If you think . . . you can’t make more money and have the time to enjoy your life . . . you’ve never been to a Rainmaker Retreat. If you’re a partner in a small law firm or are on your own and want to grow your practice while enjoying the lifestyle you deserve, you owe it to yourself to attend a Rainmaker Retreat. In this two-day marketing boot camp for small and solo law firms, you’ll learn valuable information and practical steps to take to better market your practice. For more information or to sign-up for the next one, go to: www.RainmakerRetreat.com or call 1-888-588-5891.

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Today I’ll discuss Tip # 3: Get Attendees Contact Information

Have a plan for obtaining the attendees; contact information both before and after your presentation. You want to get it before so that you can get ready to follow-up with them, but also after your presentation just in case somebody shows up at the door. If you can’t get the contact information from the conference organizer, do a giveaway for a prize and have them pass their business cards to the front or have them email you their contact information to get a free copy of the handout or PowerPoint slides.

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Where can get practical, proven and results-producing law firm marketing help in one place? In the Rainmaker Advisor Journal. To get your free trial copy, go to: www.therainmakeradvisor.com

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A very powerful law firm marketing strategy to generate more clients is to hold educational seminars or speak at events. Throughout this week, and into Monday of the next, I’ll be discussing 4 tips to help you effectively use this strategy.

Today I’ll discuss Tip #1: Always Speak to Decision Makers

The first important tip is to always speak to the right group. Make sure you get in front of the right group (people who either can refer you clients or who are highly likely to need, want and be able to afford your services) by asking about:

• What is the average attendance?
• What is your average attendee like? Their job title? Description? Age? Decision maker?
• What percent of your usual attendees are decision makers?
• What kinds of topics have had the best turnout?
• Who has recently spoken to your group and what did they speak about?

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Do you want to double your law practice, increase client referrals and make more money in these challenging economics times? Then subscribe to The Rainmaker Advisor Journal. To get your free trial copy, go to: www.therainmakeradvisor.com

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Having your own blog is vital to effective law firm Internet marketing. To have a successful blog, there are 5 components you must keep in mind:

1. Highly-targeted, well-branded.
2. Provides quality content that solves your prospects’ challenges.
3. Publish your blog constantly and consistently: 2 to 4 times per week.
4. Write in relation to the most popular current events.
5. Register your blog in directories and promote actively. (A top blog directory: www.masternewesmedia.org/rss/top55)

To start creating your own blog, here are some resources: www.blogger.com; www.typepad.com; and www.wordpress.com

For a professionally-designed blog, we highly recommend the firm: www.LawFirmMediaGroup.com. They specialize in working with law firms to create, design and optimize websites and blogs that will not only get highly-ranked but also attract qualified clients.

Here’s to your law firm marketing success!

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Would you like to know more about getting increasing your referrals? Then come to Los Angeles April 24 & 25^th to attend The Rainmaker Referral Intensive. For more information and to register, please call 888-588-5891.

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In Monday’s post, I outlined 3 law firm Internet marketing strategies to build your million dollar list:

Strategy #1: Build.

Strategy #2: Borrow.

Strategy #3: Buy.

The law firm Internet marketing strategies we’ve covered so far are Strategy #1: Build and Strategy #2: Borrow. Today we’ll discuss Strategy #3: Buy

In law firm Internet marketing, a very effective tool to build your million dollar list is buying “Pay Per Click” Internet advertising.

Here’s how it works:

1. Open an account with $5, $10, or $20.
2. Select your keywords.
3. Write your ad.
4. Prospective clients start coming to your website.

When done correctly, you get to Step # 4 very quickly. And compared to banner ads, link exchanges, buying space in e-zines, waiting weeks or months for your search engine listings to show up, Google AdWords is certainly much faster. It’s an attorney’s dream come true.

When using GoogleAdWords, it’s critical to the success of your law firm marketing efforts to select the right keywords and to write the ad using only 2 or 3 lines. So to help get you started, I suggest two online video courses:

How to use GoogleAdwords in your law firm marketing:

            Virtualpracticebuilder.com/googleadwords

How to select the right keywords:

            Virtualpracticebuilder.com

You’ll get a lot of information to better understand GoogleAdwords and how to use them with the most effect and greatest law firm marketing results. Plus, both resources are free.

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Do you want a step-by-step system to get more referrals? Then come to Los Angeles April 24 & 25^th to attend The Rainmaker Referral Intensive. For more information and to register, please call 888-588-5891.

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This week I’ll be discussing using three law firm Internet marketing strategies to build your million dollar list:

Strategy #1: Build.

Strategy #2: Borrow.

Strategy #3: Buy.

The law firm Internet marketing strategy today is Strategy #1: Build.

When it comes to Internet marketing for lawyers, one of the easiest ways to build your list is through article marketing.

This is how it works:

• You write an article in your area of expertise, solving a problem your prospective client has.
• People find your article on the Internet because it’s “search engine optimized” (SEO’d).
• They read your article.
• They respond by signing up for your newsletter, contacting you for a consult or sending you their contact information – whatever it is you want them to do.
• You are now building your million dollar list.

That’s article marketing in a nutshell. Here are the steps you should take:

• Write 2-4 articles each month. (Remember, frequency and consistency is key.)
• Focus your article on a theme. Edgy, controversial, already being tossed about in the media.
• To make it search engine optimized, add your keywords (wordtracker.com).
• Write like a marketer:

Clearly identify your target market.
Describe a primary challenge or problem they are experiencing.
Provide a realistic and simple solution to their challenge.
Write a “call to action.” Tell them what you want them to do: sign-up for a newsletter, contact you for a consult, give you their contact information, etc.

• Use an automated submission service to publish your articles to thousands of hungry editors. (articlemarketer.com; isnare.com; submityourarticle.com)
• Test and track your success. (google.com/alerts)

In my next post, I’ll discuss law firm Internet marketing Strategy #2: Borrow.

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Do you want a step-by-step system to get more referrals? Then come to Los Angeles April 24 & 25^th to attend The Rainmaker Referral Intensive. For more information and to register, please call 888-588-5891.

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Now that you have a better understanding of what it is that you, as an attorney, uniquely do, it’s time for the next step in legal marketing strategies: identifying your ideal client.

Not all clients are created equal, especially when it comes to law firm marketing. Neither you nor your firm can be all things to all people. Nor should you ever try.

There are clients whom you’re uniquely qualified to help, clients who can afford your fees and clients who can bring you repeat business. If you’re to effectively conduct law firm marketing, you need to know who your ideal client is.

Below I’ve listed 9 keys to help you determine your ideal client. Now I suggest that you should answer these questions as specifically as you can. Ask yourself, “If I had my druthers, what would I most like to focus on with my clients and what kinds of clients seem like a perfect match for me?”

Here are the 9 keys:

1. Who’s your ideal client? (Think in terms of age, profession, gender, education, interests, marital status, family size, hobbies, and lifestyle.)
2. Who can afford your fees? How much can they afford? What’s your value to them?
3. Who could be a good long-term, repeat client?
4. What qualities, characteristics and values do they have?
5. What are you helping them accomplish?
6. What are their issues, challenges or pain?
7. What is it like working with them?
8. Who could be a good source of referrals for these ideal clients?
9. Who is NOT your ideal client?

I strongly suggest that you spend some time thinking about these questions and answering them as carefully, as specifically, as you can. When you do take the time, you’ll have laid a strong foundation for all your legal marketing strategies.

In my next post, I’ll discuss niching your practice.

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Where can get practical, proven and results-producing law firm marketing help in one place? In the The Rainmaker Advisor Journal. To get your free trial copy, go to: www.therainmakeradvisor.com

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As you’re actively considering using speaking venues in your law firm marketing, there are strategies you need to apply before, during and after the event if you want your legal marketing to produce results. Here are these strategies:

Legal Marketing Strategy:  Before Your Presentation

• Get attendees’ contact information.

Legal Marketing Strategy:  During Your Presentation

• Have a drawing for a “giveaway.” Then have attendees submit their business cards to participate. (This is especially effective If the organizers won’t give you attendees contact information.)
• Announce that you’ll be giving away a special report to anyone who emails you after the event.
• Give away something at the end of your presentation (like a CD) to anyone who gives you their business card.

Legal Marketing Strategy:  After Your Presentation
Create and implement a follow-up strategy. Here’s an example:

• Email #1:  (Within 24 hours) Thanks for attending and give a free offer.
• Phone call:  (Within 48 hours) Thanks for attending and giving a free offer.
• Letter 1:  (Within 48 hours) Repeat of Email #1
• Email #2:  (3 days later) Invite for a consultation and sign-up for your newsletter.
• Email #3:  (within 7 days after event) Offer brief tip about the topic.
• Phone call #2: Reiterate free offer (special report or tip sheet) and ask if they are interested in an individual consultation.
• Email #4:  Ask some questions to help them determine next steps, how they will take action based on your talk.
• Email #5:  Invite for a consultation or promote next upcoming event.
• Email #6:  Monthly newsletter/ezine.

Before you give your presentation, make sure to outline these law firm marketing strategies and to implement them at the appropriate stage. Do that, and you increase your chances for successfully adding new clients to your law firm’s roster.

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Where can you read articles like:  “9 Proven Keys to Recession-proof your Law Practice”; 
“4 Secret Strategies of Law Firm Marketing” or “Supercharging Your Law Firm’s Referrals?”
In The Rainmaker Advisor Journal. To get your free trial copy, go to www.therainmakeradvisor.com

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One very effective law firm marketing technique to find new clients is using speaking venues. There are many different speaking venues to consider, depending upon your experience, skills and abilities. Here are 7 to consider:

1) Be the moderator of a panel (either a panel of 3-5 of the partners in your firm or of 3-5 different professionals.)

2) Be the expert on a panel discussion.

3) Give a teleseminar (over a conference or bridge line.)

4) Create small, private, client-only seminars.

5) Participate in a joint venture with an organization or company who serves a similar market. These organizations or companies can include small community banks, groups of financial planners, chambers of commerce, networking groups, accounting firms, business consultants, psychologists, chiropractic groups, employee benefits companies.

6) Give a presentation or keynote to a trade association. (Fact to consider:  there are 135,000 trade associations in the United States, according to the Encyclopedia of Associations.)

7) Give a public seminar. (These are usually free; however, you may be able to charge since you’re a business.)

As you are creating your legal marketing program, consider using speaking venues to attract new clients.

In my next post, you’ll learn 13 factors that affect the law firm marketing success of speaking venues.

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Do you want to double your law practice, increase client referrals and make more money in these challenging economics times? Then subscribe to The Rainmaker Advisor Journal. To get your free trial copy, go to:  www.therainmakeradvisor.com

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Advertising is critical to the survival of your law firm, but not all advertising is equally effective. In these competitive times you cannot afford to waste your precious time and money making any advertising mistakes, so I’m going to share with you “The 5 Biggest Marketing Mistakes Attorneys Make in Advertising” so you can avoid them – and prosper.

1. Most ads are not meaningful. In a day your prospective client sees more than 5,000 ads, so your ad must be unique enough to catch attention.

2. Mass advertising is expensive. When you advertise, you need to obey the Law of 7 Touches. It takes exposing your ad to your prospective client 7 times before he or she is willing to do business with you. So you have a tremendous up-front cost. Added to that, you should expect to receive, in revenue, a minimum of 5 times of what you spend.

3. Ads are not effective in encouraging people to “take action.” And that’s what counts: the action your prospect takes to do business with you. Without that, your money and time is wasted.

4. Most law firms lack follow-up systems. You may have designed a great ad, it’s precisely-targeted and people respond. But then, nothing happens. Nothing happens because you lack a system to follow-up with the leads that come from your ad campaign. And the money is in the follow-up.

5. No tracking of real results. This is just as bad as not having a follow-up system. Without tracking real results, you have no idea what works and what doesn’t. And that means you’re likely burning through cash without much to show for it.

To learn more about this law firm marketing topic, and others, I encourage you to attend my 2-day law firm marketing boot camp called The Rainmaker Retreat. (See details below.)

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Are you trapped into working more and more, while enjoying your life less and less? There is a way out.  It’s called the Rainmaker Retreat. In this two-day marketing boot camp for small and solo law firms, you’ll learn valuable information and practical steps to take so you can better market your small or solo law practice. The next Rainmaker Retreat is scheduled for Friday, March 27^th and Saturday, March 28^th in Las Vegas. Register early and receive $200.00 off your registration fee and $800.00 worth of bonuses. To register or for more information, go to: www.RainmakerRetreat.com or call .

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As in anything you do to market your law firm, you need to be strategic and deliberate about it. For example, you can’t just throw up a website – no matter how good a website it is – and expect potential clients to come flocking to your home page.

You need to do things to increase your online visibility, improving your chances of having those potential clients find you. 

Here are some steps to improve your online presence using articles, ezines, press releases and blogs.

Step #1: Define a topic area germane to your practice and your target market.

Step #2: Write a 400- 750 word article about that topic.

Step #3: Submit that article online.

Step #4: Create a press release from that article, discussing that topic.

Step #5: Submit that press release online.

Step #6: Use a part of that article in your ezine and link to it online. (100 to 300 words)

Step #7: Then take that article and develop a blog post from it. (100 to 300 words)

Step #8: Submit a second press release announcing the article you just published based on the original topic in Step #1.

(This law firm marketing tip – and many others – I present at The Rainmaker Retreat. See below for details on the next one.)

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If you think . . . you can’t make more money and have the time to enjoy your life . . . you’ve never been to a Rainmaker Retreat. If you’re a partner in a small law firm or are on your own and want to grow your practice while enjoying the lifestyle you deserve, you owe it to yourself to attend a Rainmaker Retreat. In this two-day marketing boot camp for small and solo law firms, you’ll learn valuable information and practical steps to take to better market your practice. The next Rainmaker Retreat is scheduled for Friday, March 27^th and Saturday, March 28^th in Las Vegas. Register early and receive $200.00 off your registration fee and $800.00 worth of bonuses. To register or for more information, go to: www.RainmakerRetreat.com or call 1-888-588-5891.

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These days in the legal profession, it’s especially true you can’t be all things to all people. Not only do you have incredible competition but you’re also facing very savvy legal consumers.

So what’s a small law practice or solo practitioner to do?

Niche your practice. And here are 4 ways to do it:

1. Service Niche: labor/employment, complex litigation, immigration, healthcare, IP, etc.
   
   
2. Industry Niche: transportation, construction, energy, real estate development.
   
   
3. Geographic Niche: LA-based, Southern California, region around Chicago, Mexico.
   
   
4. Specialty-Market Niche: privately held companies, Fortune 500, physicians, white collar executives, blue collar construction workers, Spanish-only speaking, developers, commercial lenders.

I encourage you to take some time to seriously consider how you can niche your practice. It’s the way to stand above the competition and to attract more of your ideal client, helping make your practice more lucrative and your life more enjoyable.

(This law firm marketing tip – and many others – I present at the 2-day law firm marketing boot camp called “The Rainmaker Retreat.” To attend my next one, see below.)

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Tough times call for tough action. This is especially true today in small law firm marketing, when the competition is fierce, the client dollars tight and your bottom line precious. Get battle-ready now with a two-day marketing boot camp called the Rainmaker Retreat. You’ll learn valuable information and practical steps to take to better market your small or solo law practice. The next Rainmaker Retreat is scheduled for Friday, March 27^th and Saturday, March 28^th in Las Vegas. Register early and receive $200.00 off your registration fee and $800.00 worth of bonuses. To register or for more information, go to: www.RainmakerRetreat.com or call 1-888-588-5891.

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In these challenging times, it’s very tempting to want to serve everyone, everywhere, never turning down any client, frantically trying to build your client base with whoever walks through your door.

But that is counterproductive. To make more, you must do less.

Do less? Sounds counterintuitive, doesn’t it? But I ask you to stop and think, just for a moment.

When you’re trying to be everything to everyone you end up being nothing to no one. And in your prospective clients’ minds, you become one of the many, many lawyers out there, a big legal blur. And if that’s the case, how are you going to attract any attention, much less attract clients you can serve?

The answer: specialize. Now I’m talking more than focusing on an area of law, more than earning a specialist certification through your bar association, although both of these are important.

What I’m talking about serving a specific niche (woman’s divorce attorney) or even a niche within a niche (woman’s divorce attorney emphasizing child custody).

The 8 Benefits to Positioning Yourself as a Specialist:

1. Significantly higher rate of referrals.
2. Can charge higher rates.
3. More opportunities to offer them more expensive services.
4. Better client retention.
5. Not perceived as a commodity.
6. Value is based primarily on credibility and expertise.
7. Better positioned to get positive media coverage.
8. Easier to dominate your niche.

With all of these benefits, it pays to spend time carefully defining what “specialization” means to you. Certainly, it must make sense from your experience, training and if there’s a need out there. For example, I know of some law firms that do real estate law are now adding “loan modification” to their offerings. That’s the specialization I’m talking about.

So the next time you’re tempted to take the next client who walks through your door because he has a pulse and is breathing, think: I must specialize.

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Are you trapped into working more and more, while enjoying your life less and less? There is a way out.  It’s called the Rainmaker Retreat. In this two-day marketing boot camp for small and solo law firms, you’ll learn valuable information and practical steps to take so you can better market your small or solo law practice. The next Rainmaker Retreat is scheduled for Friday, March 27^th and Saturday, March 28^th in Las Vegas. Register early and receive $200.00 off your registration fee and $800.00 worth of bonuses. To register or for more information, go to: www.RainmakerRetreat.com or call 1-888-588-5891.

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I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had attorneys come in and say, “I just gave this great presentation to my target market, and it was just fantastic. I talked to dozens of people afterwards and it was great. I got a bunch of business cards and a bunch of contact information.”

But the attorney never follows up on those people Many attorneys would say they don’t want to seem ‘pushy,’ or they don’t want to “bother” the other person.

The truth is, those excited people you spoke to are probably wondering why they haven’t heard form you. They expect to hear from you. And you can believe if they don’t want to be bothered, they’ll let you know.

To succeed in marketing your small or solo law firm, you must be persistent. It’s a numbers’ game, where you have to get in front of X number of people in order to get X number of prospects, then follow-up with these prospects X number of times to get a client. This goes against the grain of traditional legal advertising, but remember that traditional advertising no longer works.

And don’t give up and take a passive approach to building your practice. A passive approach is like waiting for the phone to ring, waiting for a knock on the door or waiting for a referral to come in.

Like it or not, to survive, attorneys have to get in the game. On average, it requires 6 to 8 follow-up attempts to get in front of a prospect, even a prospect who is interested in what you are offering. So in building your practice, you must take an active approach to marketing.

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If you think . . . you can’t make more money and have the time to enjoy your life . . . you’ve never been to a Rainmaker Retreat. If you’re a partner in a small law firm or are on your own and want to grow your practice while enjoying the lifestyle you deserve, you owe it to yourself to attend a Rainmaker Retreat. In this two-day marketing boot camp for small and solo law firms, you’ll learn valuable information and practical steps to take to better market your practice. The next Rainmaker Retreat is scheduled for Friday, March 27^th and Saturday, March 28^th in Las Vegas. Register early and receive $200.00 off your registration fee and $800.00 worth of bonuses. To register or for more information, go to: www.RainmakerRetreat.com or call 1-888-588-5891.

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You’ve worked hard in writing the best marketing copy out. You made sure you had a strong headline. You were careful to stress benefits potential clients would receive when they hired you. You even added some key facts to buttress your claims.

Congratulations, counselor. You’ve just made a very compelling case in the court of marketing. But you forgot to do one little thing. You forgot to tell the reader of your copy what you want her or him to do.

You forgot the “call to action.”

You see, it isn’t enough to lay out a compelling case, as important as such is. You’ve also got to tell your prospective client what you want him or her to do with this information. How you want that prospective client to act.

A “call to action” falls into two main categories, the “statement” and the “offer.”

The statement is something like: “Please contact XYZ Law Firm to find out more about pursuing your personal injury case.” This invites your prospective client to contact you for information.

The offer is something like: “For your FREE report on the “5 Deadly Mistakes Accident Victims Make in Reporting a Claim,” contact XYZ Law Firm.” This invites your prospective client to contact you to receive something.

For either of these two categories, there are three tips to help you make that call to action strong:

1. You can replace the word “free” with the word “complimentary.” No matter which way you say it, you must make clear that this is a no-obligation offer.

2. Clearly telling your prospective client what you want her or him to do lessens that person’s confusion and makes it more likely that he or she will act on your information.

3. Not only must you clearly state what you want, but you must be specific in what you want. The sentence “XYZ Law Firm offers free consultations to discuss your personal injury case” leaves the reader saying “That’s nice. But so what? What’s in it for me?” That’s because this sentence is a statement, not a call to action. It doesn’t ask anyone to do anything. To turn that sentence into a call for action, you would write something like” If you’ve been injured, take advantage of our free consultation to find out more about how XYZ Law Firm works to protect your rights.”

So the next time you write some exceptional marketing prose, whether it’s for your website, a brochure or an ad, don’t forget your “call to action.”

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Tough times call for tough action. This is especially true today in small law firm marketing, when the competition is fierce, the client dollars tight and your bottom line precious. Get battle-ready now with a two-day marketing boot camp called the Rainmaker Retreat. You’ll learn valuable information and practical steps to take to better market your small or solo law practice. The next Rainmaker Retreat is scheduled for Friday, March 27^th and Saturday, March 28^th in Las Vegas. Register early and receive $200.00 off your registration fee and $800.00 worth of bonuses. To register or for more information, go to: www.RainmakerRetreat.com or call 1-888-588-5891.

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Here’s an easy follow-up system for something we all collect—and often do nothing with—other people’s business cards:

Create an Excel spreadsheet. In the first column, place the event name. Follow in the other columns with:

• The name of the individual.
• Their email address.
• Their telephone number.
• Why you want to follow-up.
• When you should follow up.

Then every single time after attending a networking event, the first time you’re back in the office, go directly to your Excel sheet. Complete the fields with your new information. Do not read your email, make a phone call, or begin any other task until you have filled out your Excel spreadsheet.

Keep the business cards as well, and make little notes on the back to refresh your memory. For example, say, “hot prospect,” “call after January,” “put on my newsletter list,” or “follow-up with name of referral.”

And then, the hard part—follow-up. Once you’ve followed-up, note the date and time of the follow-up and some brief notes on your conversation in the Excel spreadsheet. 

This is so easy to do and helps you keep track of every individual you meet. Every day, or once a week, open up your spreadsheet and start filling in the list. Before you know it, you will have an effective and useful system that you soon will discover you cannot live without. 

Keeping track of all this information helps you to avoid excuses, like “I can’t find their business card” and offers extremely easy access and organization. You might also consider purchasing a business card file case to hold all the cards in the same place, too.

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You’ll learn valuable information and practical steps to take to better market your small or solo law practice when you attend a Rainmaker Retreat, a two-day marketing boot camp for small and solo law firms. So if you’re a partner in a small law firm or are on your own and want to grow your practice while enjoying the lifestyle you deserve, you owe it to yourself to attend a Rainmaker Retreat. The next Rainmaker Retreat is scheduled for Friday, March 27^th and Saturday, March 28^th in Las Vegas. Register early and receive $200.00 off your registration fee and $800.00 worth of bonuses. To register or for more information, go to: www.RainmakerRetreat.com or call .

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Why do so many attorneys fail at marketing their practices? It all comes down to one simple truth: with a product, the customer can see it, touch it, taste it or feel it. The senses combine to help the customer decide to make the purchase.

But what does the customer have to go on when purchasing a service? Generally speaking, only your words in various forms of advertising, and the words of your satisfied clients.

Specifically speaking, a service purchase cannot be fully evaluated until after the service has been performed. Unfortunately for the consumer, there are no money-back guarantees on legal representation.

Once you understand these differences, you are in a better position to develop the kinds of marketing strategies that work.

Do not falsely assume the client will use rational parameters to evaluate your services before purchasing. The client is as likely to pick you because of your office décor as any other rational reason.

The average client is ill-equipped to use your credentials, education and experience to evaluate your suitability, mostly because the average client does not see a difference from one lawyer to the next.

Statistics show there are more than a million practicing attorneys in the U.S. alone with 30,000 or 40,000 new law school graduates every single year. The field is becoming intensely competitive and will continue on that path, and consumers are likely to carry on as they always have, choosing attorneys for all sorts of reasons that have nothing to do with skill.

Therefore, it is very important to effectively market your services in ways that are actually related to the way your typical prospect buys your services. The way a typical client arrives at the decision to hand over a retainer is probably far different than you think.

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You’ll learn valuable information and practical steps to truly market your law practice – and more -- when you attend a Rainmaker Retreat, a two-day marketing boot camp for small and solo law firms. So if you’re a partner in a small law firm or are on your own and want to grow your practice while enjoying the lifestyle you deserve, you owe it to yourself to attend a Rainmaker Retreat. The next Rainmaker Retreats are scheduled for Friday, February 20^th through Saturday, February 21^st, in Los Angeles and Friday, March 27^th and Saturday, March 28^th in Las Vegas. Register early and receive $200.00 off your registration fee and $800.00 worth of bonuses. To register or for more information, go to: www.RainmakerRetreat.com or call 1-888-588-5891.

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 Because local and state bar associations play such vital roles in the advancement of the legal profession, we of The Rainmaker Institute have a unique opportunity for these organizations:

Become a sponsor of The Rainmaker Institute 2009 National Survey of Best Practices in Small Law Firm Marketing.

Already, a dozen or more state and local bar associations have taken advantage of this opportunity, organizations including the Indiana and Minnesota State Bar Associations and some local bar associations in Arizona and New York.

For their sponsorship, state and local bar associations receive some added benefits, including special access to survey information not available to anyone else.

What does sponsorship cost?

Sponsorship costs nothing – absolutely nothing. All we ask is that participating state and local bar associations promote this survey among their members.

To find out more about the added benefits of sponsorship or to become a sponsor, please email Beth Mitchell at: beth@therainmakerinstitute.com

P.S. – Attorneys: Have you taken The Rainmaker Institute 2009 National Survey of Best Practices in Small Law Firm Marketing? If you haven’t, please do. It will only take about 7-10 minutes of your time. Go to: www.rainmakersurvey.com

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You’ll learn valuable information and practical steps to take to better market your small or solo law practice when you attend a Rainmaker Retreat, a two-day marketing boot camp for small and solo law firms. So if you’re a partner in a small law firm or are on your own and want to grow your practice while enjoying the lifestyle you deserve, you owe it to yourself to attend a Rainmaker Retreat. The next Rainmaker Retreats are scheduled for Friday, February 20^th through Saturday, February 21^st, in Los Angeles and Friday, March 27^th and Saturday, March 28^th in Las Vegas. Register early and receive $200.00 off your registration fee and $800.00 worth of bonuses. To register or for more information, go to: www.RainmakerRetreat.com or call 1-888-588-5891.

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When it comes to law firm marketing, have you ever wondered:

• What your competition is doing?
• If you could be employing better, faster, more cost-effective legal marketing strategies?
• What combination of law firm marketing strategies will help you increase your client base?

If you ever asked these—and other—questions about law firm marketing, now’s the time to get answers.

How? By participating in the largest legal marketing survey ever conducted. We of The Rainmaker Institute have partnered with more than a dozen state and local bar associations and other trade organizations to bring you this professionally-designed, statistically-valid survey.

Through it, we hope to answer questions such as:

• Current challenges and obstacles to growth faced by small law firms.
• Specific strategies used by top attorneys to build their practices.
• Statistically-valid data on what variables are most critical in determining a law firm’s success.

But to do that, we need you. So please take the survey by going to www.rainmakersurvey.com

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You’ll learn valuable information and practical steps to take to better market your small or solo law practice when you attend a Rainmaker Retreat, a two-day marketing boot camp for small and solo law firms. So if you’re a partner in a small law firm or are on your own and want to grow your practice while enjoying the lifestyle you deserve, you owe it to yourself to attend a Rainmaker Retreat. The next Rainmaker Retreats are scheduled for Friday, February 20^th through Saturday, February 21^st, in Los Angeles and Friday, March 27^th and Saturday, March 28^th in Las Vegas. Register early and receive $200.00 off your registration fee and $800.00 worth of bonuses. To register or for more information, go to: www.RainmakerRetreat.com or call .

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With your ezine going well, it’s time to turn your attention to using the power of the media to highlight your accomplishments and to create a more visible platform for your firm.

Here are 3 benefits of using the power of the media as part of your marketing strategy:

1. It imparts credibility. When a reporter writes an article on you, this is known as “third party endorsement” and is perceived by potential clients as more credible than an ad placed by you with the same information.
   
   
2. Positions you as the expert.  This goes along with point #1, imparting credibility. So your goal is to seek out journalists covering stories related to corporate America or events where you have the opportunity to leverage and establish yourself as the authority. Journalists often cite three experts. Regardless of the topic, one expert is on the left, another is on the right and one offers a general answer to the effect that “more research is needed before an opinion can be formed.”
   
   
3. Adds another “touch.” Marketing research has shown that it takes an average of 7 times (or 7 “touches) until a potential client does business with you. By using the media, this can be on of your “touches” with the added benefit of it not costing you a dime, unlike advertising.
   

Using media as part of your marketing mix plays a huge role in your success. Remember, it’s crucial to “touch” your clients and prospects consistently to ensure they think of you when the need for legal representation arises.

In my next blog post, I’ll give you specific ways you can get media attention.

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You’ll learn valuable information and practical steps to take on creating your own ezine – and more -- when you attend a Rainmaker Retreat, a two-day marketing boot camp for small and solo law firms. So if you’re a partner in a small law firm or are on your own and want to grow your practice while enjoying the lifestyle you deserve, you owe it to yourself to attend a Rainmaker Retreat. The next Rainmaker Retreats are scheduled for Friday, February 20^th through Saturday, February 21^st, in Los Angeles and Friday, March 27^th and Saturday, March 28^th in Las Vegas. Register early and receive $200.00 off your registration fee and $800.00 worth of bonuses. To register or for more information, go to:  www.RainmakerRetreat.com or call 1-888-588-5891.

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Before you begin creating your newsletter, think carefully about who is going to be reading it. What are their needs? What are their problems? What are their challenges? How can you make their lives easier and more enjoyable?

Where do you find the answers to these key questions? Well, if you have a website, are generating traffic (visitors) to your website, and capturing their names and email addresses via an opt-in or another conversion method, you have already begun to build your list.

Every single website visitor must be accounted for, because every visitor to your website is a potential customer. It’s very important that your website provides several different means for visitors to provide basic contact information so you can add their names to your list and grow the list over time.

After all, if you do not have much of a list, why produce an ezine? Your ezine is designed to connect with your clients and prospects via your list, so building your list is actually your first step.

And don’t worry about snapping your already stretched budget, either. With so many terrific newsletter management programs available, you can reach a list of thousands every month for under $50.00.

The one we recommend is www.constantcontact.com. It’s an excellent resource, allowing you to produce professional-looking newsletters at an affordable price.

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You’ll learn valuable information and practical steps to take on creating your own ezine – and more, when you attend a Rainmaker Retreat, a two-day marketing boot camp for small and solo law firms. So if you’re a partner in a small law firm or are on your own and want to grow your practice while enjoying the lifestyle you deserve, you owe it to yourself to attend a Rainmaker Retreat. The next Rainmaker Retreats are scheduled for Friday, February 20^th through Saturday, February 21^st, in Los Angeles and Friday, March 27^th and Saturday, March 28^th in Las Vegas. Register early and receive $200.00 off your registration fee and $800.00 worth of bonuses. To register or for more information, go to: www.RainmakerRetreat.com or call 1-888-588-5891.

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Thinking about creating an ezine? You should. And the sooner you do it, the sooner you can build better relationships with your current clients and help invigorate your referral process, for starters.

But if thinking about creating your own ezine has got you thinking about writing the next War and Peace, stop! Ezines are most effective when they are brief.

For an effective ezine, all you need is: 

• No more than 1,000 words, total.
• Several interesting, timely topics.
• Killer headlines. 

That’s it. And that’s the anatomy of the ezine.

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If there is one thing law firm Internet marketing can do for virtually any quality law firm, it is to give you access to more of the cases you prefer and more clients of the caliber you desire.

The reason why goes beyond the vast reach law firm Internet marketing provides.

Certainly, by marketing your law firm nationally rather than locally, you reach a large pool of potential clients.

But logic would say that, the competition for clients several states away would be tighter than the competition in your locale.

However, if you execute this law firm Internet marketing strategy correctly, you may just find media opportunities are easier to get, competition is smaller than you thought, and new clients are easier to attract.

The reason this is so is due to several factors.

Greater opportunity for niche services: If you choose your area of specialization carefully, you can define a corner of the legal market that clients are searching for but cannot find locally.

The Mystery of Distance: In essence this strategy leverages the perception in clients’ minds that the further they have to travel (even it is only via the Internet) to get the service they need, the more valuable it is.

You can see this principle in mind when you order French wine instead of California wine, or a Swiss watch over an American-made watch.

National, trade and Internet media have less law firm competition: Consider that there may hundreds of other law firms trying to get articles and ads listed in visible places in your local media.

Interestingly, there are less law firms operating at the national level. So opportunities to get an article placed in national newspapers, client trade publications and Internet article directories as part of your law firm Internet marketing approach are much easier to do.

Five Steps to Take to Develop National Presence and a Winning Law Firm Internet Marketing Approach

To take advantage of those forces and opportunities, there are five steps you should take:

1. Identify the niche you would like to serve – What particular legal services will you provide. What expertise do you have that makes you unique?  
2. Identify your target clientele – What business are they in? What is the size of the business? What portion of the country are they in (this may be the entire country or you may realize that your area of specialization demands that you focus in a geographic region)?
3. Create a list of mediums where you promote your firm – Gather lists of trade associations and publications your target clients use, and referral sources in various areas of the country. Identify national media to advertise in or contribute articles to. Collect law firm Internet marketing article directories and law firm Internet marketing social media sites.
4. Develop marketing messages and materials that clearly define your unique value proposition.
5. Build a web site as a base camp for all other law firm Internet marketing activity. This is where clients will go to find out more about your firm after reading about you in the newspaper or hearing about you from a trusted source.

Do these things, and you will be on your way to building a strong national resence and law firm Internet marketing brand.

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There has been a lot written about blogging and how it relates to your law firm Internet marketing efforts. Some of it focused the importance of “backlinks” and Search Engine Optimizaton. Some of it about creating a consistent, visible voice for your law firm Internet marketing brand.

But there are two things you may not know that are very, very important when it comes to creating a successful, law firm Internet marketing blog – that gets read!

The first is that consistency is key.

If one of the most (if not “the most”) valuable roles of blogs is to create links back to your law firm’s web site, the action that makes that happen is writing regularly. When you post regularly, you train your audience – both readers and search engines – to come visit your blog site habitually.

And both generate traffic and a pool of potential clients for your law firm.  

The second thing you should know, but probably haven’t heard, is that the focus of your blog should be on something you feel passionate about (and that may or may not be your area of practice). This may sound silly, but the point is actually quite logical.

If you must write regularly about a topic (and by “regularly”, I mean 2-3 times per week), it had better be a topic that you really care about. Because if you don’t really care, the process of writing 2-3 times a week will become a chore. Not only will you be tempted to quit within a month or two, your readers will be tempted to quit too.

Your blog simply will not get read.

In the end, 50% of your objective will go unmet.

If you are considering adding a blog to your existing law firm Internet marketing plan, remember these simple principles. Write regularly. Write about something you feel passionate about.

You will stand the greatest chance of meeting two of your top law firm Internet marketing objectives – attracting search engines and creating loyal readers.

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When you hear the words law firm Internet marketing, you are almost certain to hear the term “search engine optimization”. But what does it mean? 

More importantly, how does it affect your law firm Internet marketing efforts?

Put simply search engine optimization is the most basic tool used by law firm Internet marketers and web masters to increase the amount of traffic to your web site.

The first thing you should know about SEO is that your Web site must appeal to both people and search engines. If you remember to keep these two in balance, not only will potential clients come to your site, they are more likely to spend time there learning about why your firm is the best choice to meet their legal needs.

Below you will find the basic, working information you need in order to choose a law firm Internet marketing provider who can really help you.

Search Engine Spiders: A well-designed web site will appeal to search engine “spiders”. Search engine spiders (also known as web crawlers, web robots, and more) are the part of the search engine (such as Google or Yahoo!) that crawls the Internet in search of Web sites that match the “search words and phrases” that someone has typed into the search box.

If your site is a good match for the viewers search terms, your site will appear in that person’s search results.

What Search Engines Look for: Different search engines look for different things. Some things they all have in common is that they like popular, well-organized sites that make it easy to find the search words and phrases. Search engines like:

• To find several instances of the exact keyword phrase it is looking for – optimally, the exact keyword phrase should appear 2 to 5 times per 100 words.
• Bulleted lists
• Bolded headings
• Links from outside source into your site
• Links from your site to outside sources
• Very often, they like “metatags” and “alt tags” (key words in the “code” of your site)

Those are the basics regarding how search engine optimization works with your law firm Internet marketing approach.

To learn more about optimization and law firm Internet marketing where I will share the top three questions you should ask a law firm Internet marketing provider before making your selection.

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In the last blog, we discussed the value of video to your law firm Internet marketing plan and how it enables you to stand out from the competition.  

There is more to online video than simply adding it to your law firm Internet marketing efforts.

Like many things, if video is done well, it can have a significant, positive impact on your law firm Internet marketing – by attracting clients and increasing visibility.

Done poorly, however, and online video can hurt your credibility, sidetrack your law firm Internet marketing goals, and even detour clients from choosing you.

With that in mind, below are five simple tips to help you make a highly-effective online video for use in your law firm Internet marketing efforts.

1. Use real people, using real words. One of the biggest mistakes attorneys make is using video the way they use PowerPoint. Stringing together static images accompanied by a faceless voice on audio is not an effective use of online video. While this may get seen by some potential clients, it is not nearly as valuable as giving them a chance to see your face and hear your sincere words.
2. Create a well-thought out script designed to persuade potential client to call you. To accomplish that, ask yourself what makes your law firm different from, and better than, your competition – and then build your script around those key points.
3. Focus on the viewer, not yourself. It is easy to get caught in the trap of thinking potential clients want to hear about all of your qualifications. The real truth is they want a law firm that understands their problems, and knows how to solve them. Your script should describe some of the problems clearly, and then explain how  you can solve them.  
4. Use side bars to emphasize key points. The time to use still images in your online video is in a sidebar comes in the form of clear, concise messages that emphasize your most important points – such as key statistics related to your area of law. You can see a very good example of excellent use of sidebars in the Law Offices of Fern Trevino video. 
5. Include your contact information 2-3 times within your video. The objective of your online video (as part of your law firm Internet marketing) is to persuade potential clients to call you. Yet no matter how well-crafted your video is, if those clients do not know how to reach you, it goes for naught.

With that in mind, “say” it once within the video, usually at the end, and “write” it at least  once in full screen, at the beginning and the end, like the Laura Margulies & Associates LLC, Maryland Bankruptcy Lawyer video.

By including it at the beginning, return viewers can quickly get your contact information without wading through the entire video again.

In Sum: Apply these proven methods to your online video, and you will be certain to enhance your visibility, your credibility and your law firm Internet marketing effectiveness.

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What is the role of law firm Internet marketing in a down economy?

We’ve all felt the tremor cast around the world by the current downturn in the financial markets. Who can help but wonder how these events will affect our own lives and practices?

More to the point, many attorneys and whole law firms are concerned about how they will weather the prospect of less work (as clients slow legal action in order to conserve cash), loss of clients through mergers and acquisitions, etc.

The real question is, can law firm Internet marketing be the answer, or is it a cost we cannot afford?

According to Dale Carnegie, in his best selling book How to Win Friends and Influence People, 15% of financial success comes from technical (or legal) knowledge and 85% comes from effective human relationships. In essence, nothing gets done, nothing gets purchased, no business gets transacted without human beings connecting with one another.

In strained financial times, clients, referring attorneys and thought leaders are even more selective about what law firms and which individual attorneys they choose to do business with. Trust, respect and friendly connection all play a role in why people choose one lawyer over another.

Law firm Internet marketing can help forge those connections. Blogs, social media, Web sites and article marketing are all components of law firm Internet marketing that work together to touch, connect with and cajole your target audience to choose your firm.

What’s more, because of the pervasive nature of the Internet itself, you reach a larger audience than any other form of marketing aimed at building relationships can. And in so doing, you multiply your potential for gaining new clients and getting referrals.

In sum, law firm Internet Marketing should be a key component of your strategy during these economic times.

Those practices that commit to build and maintain customer relationships by leveraging the pervasive power of law firm Internet marketing will continue to grow while others merely hope to survive.

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