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

Getting prospects to hire you begins with establishing trust. Since recent research has shown that most people use online searches to look for an attorney, having a website that helps you build that trust is crucial.

Here are some tips on how to use your law firm website to build trust with prospects:

Third-party support. Use testimonials, articles and links to publications and news sites that mention your firm to build credibility.

Show your office. Add photos of your office or building and be sure to include your physical address on your home page.

Highlight personnel. Include photos and bios of your attorneys and support personnel to show prospects who they’ll be dealing with.

Easy to contact. Make it easy to contact you by including a contact form on each page of your website.

Professional design. With so many low-cost web hosting sites with professional design templates available today, there is no reason you cannot have a professional-looking website.

Easy to use. Make it easy to navigate your website rather than trying to impress with lots of flash design.

Update content. Keep your content fresh and relevant. This is especially important for your blog, which includes posting dates. An out-of-date blog says “We’re out of business.”

Avoid errors. Make sure all the content on your blog is error-free and that you don’t have any broken links.

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Secrets to Building a 7-Figure Lifestyle Law Firm: Proven Strategies from the Front Line

At The Rainmaker Institute, we define a “7 figure lifestyle law firm” as one that allows you to have the lifestyle that you want to live!

It’s more than just money or achieving a million dollars in revenue.

It’s about creating a lifestyle where you do what you love and building a business around your core values and interests.

In this recording of an interview between Stephen Fairley, CEO of The Rainmaker Institute, and nationally recognized attorney John Bisnar, Stephen asks John to share with us some of the secrets he has used to create a law firm that allows him to go into the office only one day a week and take, on average, 3 to 4 months of vacation every year - all the while managing a very successful, multi-million dollar law firm!

You will receive either a CD or MP3 recording, plus we will email you a pdf transcript of the interview.

This interview will help you discover:

• The difference between a law practice and a business
• How to identify superstar employees to help you run your business
• The difference between an Office Manager and a Business Manager
• The 7 essential systems your firm must have & how to implement them
• How to micromanage the client experience
• Critical keys to success
• And much more!

Click this link now to order Secrets to Building a 7-Figure Lifestyle Law Firm: Proven Strategies from the Front Line.

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Last week, I was interviewed by Cindy Greenway, editor of LawMarketing.com, about how law firms can build a network of strategic referral sources.  

Obviously, attorneys everywhere want to build a referral-based practice, but most don't how. In this video, I shared the nuts and bolts as well as steps that attorneys can take to implement these strategies into their legal marketing plan:

Here’s another bonus from LawMarketing.com: click on this link for a great free report on 15 Strategies for Attorneys to Increase Google Rank, Control Online Reputations and Maximize Content.

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Millions of people purchase products every day because they were enticed to do so through a strong call to action – a Buy It Now, a Limited Time Offer, a Click Here, a Sign-Up Now – whatever the incentive, it moved them to a purchase decision.

Calls to action work for several reasons, chief among them is that it’s human nature to follow instruction. A great call to action is one that creates a sense of urgency in a prospect’s mind, offers a solution to a problem or stimulates a desire. 

A great call to action works when it:

• Triggers an emotional reaction;
• Shows exactly how to make a purchase;
• Creates a sense of urgency to make the purchase;
• Provides incentives or an offer that is too good to ignore.

There are many ways to integrate a great call to action into your law firm marketing efforts, including:

On your website. Even when you’re selling a service, you should create calls to action on every page of your website. Have a sign-up for a free report, a webinar or e-newsletter on every page.

In your newsletter. If you have a monthly newsletter, you should be featuring a new incentive every month to entice prospects to get in touch with you.

On your blog. Use your blog to connect on an emotional level with prospects. Tell a story about how your legal service has solved a problem. Include calls to action in your sidebars where they are easily visible.

On your social networking sites. Facebook and Twitter are great vehicles for reaching prospects in real-time and testing a variety of calls to action to see what works best for your legal service. These venues are an inexpensive and effective way to test what works best for your target market.

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Practice Made Perfect for Lawyers CD Set

The Practice Made Perfect CD set and manual applies Stephen Fairley’s unique High Impact Marketing System to the practice-building challenges faced by solo practitioners and partners at small law firms.  

It includes dozens of specific marketing and sales recommendations that can be easily and quickly applied to your firm, including:

• The only 7 sure-fire ways to get clients in your door NOW
• Why advertising doesn’t work for most small law firms
• The 7 reasons why people don’t buy from you           
• How to market and sell with USP’s (Unique Selling Proposition)           
• Using audio logos to attract immediate attention for your business
• Using low-cost, high impact marketing strategies           
• Strategies for achieving maximum results from all of your marketing efforts           
• How to discover your Ideal Target Market
• 3 critical factors to remember when looking for new clients
• The NEW sales cycle for professional services
• How to retain your best clients

Click here to order your Practice Made Perfect for Lawyers CD set and manual now.

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I'm convinced one of the biggest reasons that attorneys don't receive more referrals is because they don't take the time to inform and remind their clients of the various services they offer.  Most clients immediately put their attorney in a box and believe the only service the lawyer offers is the one they used.

I remember a conversation I had with an attorney who practices business law. He was upset because a former client, whom he'd helped set up an LLC three months earlier, referred a competing law firm to a friend looking for representation in a multi-million dollar lawsuit.

When the lawyer explained that this was precisely his specialty, the client was shocked and said, "I'm sorry, but you really need to do a better job informing me of what you do and what kind of cases you want because I don't know."

How much business have you lost because your clients simply aren't aware of the various services your firm can provide?

Another way to increase client referrals is to make certain that your clients can accurately explain your ideal target market:

Your ideal target market is the person or company most likely to hire you initially, repeatedly and at the highest profit margin. With so many attorneys struggling to define their ideal client, it's no wonder if your clients don't know whom they should refer to you.

Remember that memory is elusive and just because you wowed them once and they sent you a referral - doesn't mean they will ALWAYS remember.  So don't take referral relationships for granted.  Finding a high-quality lawyer is easy and it takes more than quality to make an impression - it takes a relationship.  

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FREE "Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" E-book

In a newly revised e-book, legal marketing expert Stephen Fairley outlines 10 of the most common marketing mistakes attorneys make that can lead to the failure of their business, and provides specific strategies and proven principles for avoiding these deadly errors. 

To get your complimentary copy online, click here.

Regardless of your specific situation, this free e-book will help you examine how you are currently finding new clients and recommend specific steps you can immediately start using to grow your practice. 

We have helped thousands of attorneys achieve their goals of creating a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice. In this e-book you will discover specific principles and tools you can use to grow your practice, too.  

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Those of us old enough to recall the Dick Tracy comic strip may wonder why, in 2013, we don’t have any mobile communication devices on our wrists. The fact is, we are already doing most of our communicating on a mobile device; it’s just tucked into a pocket or purse. 

Two years ago, the purchase of smartphones surpassed that of PCs, and that gap has only been widening. In 2013, almost twice as many smartphones as PCs will be sold worldwide. The infographic below shows why optimizing your law firm website and blog is a must. 

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FREE REPORT: How to Use Blogs as a Secret Weapon in Your Online Arsenal

One of the secret tools of Internet marketing for attorneys is the power of having a targeted blog. According to HubSpot, B2B marketers with a blog generate 67% more leads per month and B2C marketers generate 88% more leads per month than those without a blog.

Here’s what you’ll discover when you read this report:

• Why you must have a blog in order to stay relevant
• 3 keys to successful blogging
• 7 Guidelines for achieving ROI
• Your 3 choices for managing your blog and social media efforts
• And much more!

Click now for your FREE REPORT: How to Use Blogs as a Secret Weapon in Your Online Arsenal.

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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.

Avvo is now 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 so learn how to use them to build and influence your law firm’s Internet presence and generate more business!

Here are the 10 steps you should take to get started or to optimize your current listing:

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. Thousands of 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 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 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 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.

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FREE "Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" E-book

In a newly revised e-book, legal marketing expert Stephen Fairley outlines 10 of the most common marketing mistakes attorneys make that can lead to the failure of their business, and provides specific strategies and proven principles for avoiding these deadly errors. 

To get your complimentary copy online, click here.

Regardless of your specific situation, this free e-book will help you examine how you are currently finding new clients and recommend specific steps you can immediately start using to grow your practice. 

We have helped thousands of attorneys achieve their goals of creating a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice. In this e-book you will discover specific principles and tools you can use to grow your practice, too.  

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In March, I participated in a featured panel on social media marketing for attorneys at LegalTech New York 2013, the top annual legal technology event on the planet.

Joining me for that session was Larry Bodine, editor-in-chief of Lawyers.com and martindale.com, as well as LexisNexis chief marketing officer Steve Mann.

One of the topics we explored was how social media can work as a lead generation source for law firms and move leads through the sales funnel from “interest” to client. Here is a video outtake of our comments on that subject:

According to the 2012 Attorney Selection Research Study by The Research Intelligence Group (TRiG), 26 percent of American consumers used one of the major social media sites when gathering information about a legal issue and more than one in five (22 percent) said they turned to a social media site to actually find a lawyer they felt might be able to help them with their legal need.

The bottom line is that law firms can no longer turn a blind eye to social media as a source for generating leads. If you’re not there, your competitors surely are.

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Free Report: 4 Myths That Keep Attorneys From Building A Referral-Based Practice

Referrals are the lifeblood of many law practices, and building a good referral program takes a proven process.  Stephen Fairley unveils the 4 Myths That Keep Attorneys from Building a Referral-Based Practice in his new free report.  Read and discover:

• How to determine the best source for your referrals
• How to explain your ideal target market to a referral source
• How to get referrals from other attorneys
• Whether online directories are a good referral source
• How to network effectively
• And much, much more!

Click now for your free report on 4 Myths That Keep Attorneys from Building a Referral-Based Practice.

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The 2013 Search Marketer Survey just released from global Enterprise SEO company BrightEdge shows that social sharing and local search will be even more important this year than last year for page rank.

The study found that Facebook shares had the greatest impact on Google results, and also found that Facebook comments were also a highly ranked factor. This data correlates with a Searchmetrics study last year that found social signals accounted for 5 of the top 6 highest Google ranking factors.

The types of content leading search marketers are focused on in 2013 are reflected in this chart from the report:

And these are the top 10 key takeaways for SEO practices in 2013:

1. Mobile and tablet search is the next frontier
2. Local search is bigger than ever
3. Video offers search and social opportunities
4. It’s time to quantify and communicate SEO value
5. ROI across multiple channels like search and social is what truly matters
6. The C-level is paying more attention to SEO
7. SEO metrics need to keep up with SERP changes as they happen
8. Social for SEO is big; so is SEO for Social
9. Content Marketing is back, and in a big way
10. Page-centric SEO makes its mark

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FREE REPORT: How to Use Blogs as a Secret Weapon in Your Online Arsenal

One of the secret tools of Internet marketing for attorneys is the power of having a targeted blog. According to HubSpot, B2B marketers with a blog generate 67% more leads per month and B2C marketers generate 88% more leads per month than those without a blog.

Here’s what you’ll discover when you read this report:

• Why you must have a blog in order to stay relevant
• 3 keys to successful blogging
• 7 Guidelines for achieving ROI
• Your 3 choices for managing your blog and social media efforts
• And much more!

Click now for your FREE REPORT: How to Use Blogs as a Secret Weapon in Your Online Arsenal.

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A recent post at LawMarketing.com shares an interview by Bloomberg Law on a new survey I blogged about two days ago (Social Media Usage Now Mainstream for In-House Counsel) :

In a recent video interview, John Corey, founding partner at Greentarget, a public relations firm, tells Bloomberg Law’s, Lee Pacchia, that in-house lawyers prefer to visit blogs to read content, rather than contribute. And they use Linkedin to build connections, not to initiate discussions or contribute to group discussions.

If you haven’t checked out the “How Companies Use Social Media to Hire Law Firms” video, take a few minutes to watch it now:

NOTE: Be sure to sign up for a great free report on LawMarketing.com’s home page: 15 Strategies for Attorneys to Increase Google Rank, Control Online Reputations and Maximize Content.

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I am in our nation’s capital today presenting at the ATLAS Lawyers Group Legal Marketing Conference on strategies to double your lead conversion in 90 days or less.

The key to increasing your conversion rate is to fix your follow up!

The key point is that even small increases in conversion rates can make a significant difference in your revenues.

Understand that when someone doesn't retain you at the first meeting, they are not saying "no," they are usually saying, "not yet" or "I'm not ready." If you have a system that helps you stay connected with them via email or periodic phone calls, then they will more than likely retain you when they are ready versus going to one of your competitors.

Let me give you a simple illustration. When an attorney calls me to get some ideas on how to market their law firm, I often end up inviting them to attend one of our Rainmaker legal marketing seminars, but often the dates of our seminar conflict with their schedules. It's not that they don't want to go, it's "not yet" or perhaps they are not mentally ready to make the jump to the next level. Either way, if I depended on my memory to follow up with them some time in the future, we would be in serious trouble!

Instead, we have implemented a comprehensive follow up system that includes multiple keep in touch emails and automated reminders that help us remember to call that person weeks or even months after the initial call. In addition, we are committed to sending out a newsletter every single month and have been doing so for years.

I regularly hear from new clients how they have been receiving my newsletter for 5 to 10 years and were finally ready to sign up and start working with us. Talk about a long sales cycle!

The point here is, if you have a comprehensive system that follows up with potential clients for long periods of time, you will reap the benefits.

If you are interested in how a lead conversion system can help your firm fix your follow up and convert more browsers into buyers I invite you to call our office at 888-588-5891 and set up time for us to talk or fill out this form for a no-obligation demonstration of the customized lead conversion systems that we build for attorneys.

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I have found there are really three major areas that tell most of the story about how you generate business for your firm:

1. Lead Generation - This is the system of attracting new potential clients to your law firm.  

2. Lead Conversion - This is your ability to turn leads into paying clients and is what I will focus on in this article.

3. Client Retention - How to keep your paying clients coming back for more and/or referring your firm to everyone they know with a similar problem to theirs.  

The first step in lead conversion is to develop a "universal lead definition" (ULD)- what precisely is counted as a lead, who counts the leads, how you track the leads, and what does not constitute a legitimate lead. We teach our clients that a lead must meet all three of these criteria:

1. Someone who has never done business with you before (versus a repeat client).

2. Everyone who contacts the firm via email, phone, social media, personal referral, Internet, networking event, seminar, etc.

3. They express an interest in your services.

In order to build a financially successful law firm you must be committed to tracking every single lead and following up with them religiously!

Here are the Five Stages of Lead Conversion for Law Firms:

1. Number of leads into the top of the funnel

2. Number of leads that turn into appointments

3. Number of appointments who show up

4. Number of appointments who sign up at the initial consultation

5. Number of appointments who sign up later

No lead conversion system is complete without tracking all five stages. Each of these numbers are critical because if you know what your conversion rates are at each stage then you can determine where your biggest challenges are and develop a plan to improve.

The greatest value of a true lead conversion system is that it gives you direct insight into the actual state of your company and allows you to efficiently automate the follow up process with dozens and even hundreds of leads.

Lead generation too often comes down to a firm's financial ability to "throw money at the problem," but a lead conversion system can level the playing field and give small firms a true unique competitive advantage.

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FREE REPORT: How to Use Blogs as a Secret Weapon in Your Online Arsenal

One of the secret tools of Internet marketing for attorneys is the power of having a targeted blog. According to HubSpot, B2B marketers with a blog generate 67% more leads per month and B2C marketers generate 88% more leads per month than those without a blog.

Here’s what you’ll discover when you read this report:

• Why you must have a blog in order to stay relevant
• 3 keys to successful blogging
• 7 Guidelines for achieving ROI
• Your 3 choices for managing your blog and social media efforts
• And much more!

Click now for your FREE REPORT: How to Use Blogs as a Secret Weapon in Your Online Arsenal.

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If a prospect connects with you or downloads your free special report online, they have a reason for doing so...and it's likely because they have a legal problem and they are hoping you can help them solve it.

However, most of them are not ready to sign on the dotted line...at least not yet. You must be persistent in your follow-up with them.

I subscribe to a number of blogs and e-newsletters and learn so much from being on the receiving end. Some come like clockwork – a few have been sending me follow-up emails about once a week or so for years.

How is that possible you ask—well, quite simply it's because they have a “follow-up system” in place that does most of the work for them.

Do these constant emails ever bother me? Nope. Do I read them all? Nope. But they have enough good information that I want to stay on the list; otherwise, I might miss something useful.

You shouldn’t worry about upsetting people by following up with them too frequently. Please! As the saying goes, if you try to please everyone, you will end up pleasing no one. There's always a nice little button at the bottom of each email that I can use to easily opt-out at any time I want.

While I have never met many of the people I follow, I feel like I kind of know them....which is precisely the reason why you should keep in touch with prospects on a consistent basis. When you consistently communicate with prospects and give them practical, relevant information, you build the “know, like and trust” factors that can lead to business for you down the road when they are ready to buy.

Many attorneys make the mistake of being “faceless” to their prospects and clients. Most people don’t want to work with, and will never fully trust, a stuffed shirt hiding behind a fancy suit.

Don’t be afraid to show prospects a little bit of your personality. It can be a great attraction to the kinds of clients you want to work with and a tool for repulsing the kind of prospects you don’t enjoy working with.  

And never stop following up with prospects! As attorneys who attend our 2-day law firm marketing seminar know, you follow up with prospects until they DIE, BUY or UNSUBSCRIBE!

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On-Demand Seminar: The 5 Best Strategies to Beat Your Competition in 2013

Are you tired of seeing other attorneys land all the good clients?

Have you noticed how tough it’s become to market your law firm?

Are you ready to do something to make this a bigger & better year?

Knowing which legal marketing strategies are working in today’s economy gives you a huge advantage. Implementing the correct business development strategies allows you to spend less money and get better results faster!

Access this one-hour seminar on The 5 Best Strategies to Beat Your Competition in 2013 to discover:

• Why you can’t afford to dismiss social media any longer (Google is forcing you to use it)
• 3 major ways to triple your website traffic in the next 90 days
• How to use online tools to generate more offline referrals
• 3 keys all the best law firms are using to turn more website browsers into buyers
• 2 critical numbers you must track every month to measure your success
• Specific ways to jump-start your marketing efforts fast…even if you’ve stumbled before

Last year many of our clients experienced their best year ever! How is that possible when we are in the midst of the biggest recession our generation has ever faced?

It’s simple, they developed a game plan based on best practices and proven strategies and then they consistently took massive action! Notice I said it was “simple” not “easy.” The only “easy button” I have is sitting right beside my magic wand (I’ve found both of them work about the same).

There is no “easy” way to build a million dollar book of business, but if you’re willing to do the work we can show you the right path to take.

Click on this link now to access The 5 Best Strategies to Beat Your Competition in 2013 seminar.

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At our Rainmaker Retreat, we spend lots of time talking about the three key areas that every law firm needs to focus on:

Lead Generation: more people in the pipeline, more prospects, more leads.

Lead Conversion: turning more browsers into buyers.

Client Retention: creating a long-time and meaningful relationship with your clients so you get repeat referrals and repeat clients.

Of course, the one question I always seem to get is: Which is the most important?

The answer is, they are all important, but the one thing I hear most from attorneys is “I need more leads.”

In some cases, this is 100% true. But often, a law firm really has a conversion issue or a retention issue that is preventing the firm from growing or being successful. So growing and strengthening all three of these areas is ideal.

While most law firm marketers are focused on lead generation, overlooking conversion and retention is a costly mistake.  Lead generation is the most expensive of the three, so it makes sense that if you can convert a higher percentage of your prospects, you can improve revenue without having to pay to get more leads. 

And if you can enhance client retention, additional revenue will come in through repeat business from happy clients or a steady stream of referrals from past clients who were satisfied with the work you performed.

So, in essence, what we are talking about here is the proverbial three-legged stool. Take away one leg, and you’re on the floor.

If you’d like to learn more about lead generation, lead conversion and client retention, attend a Rainmaker Retreat.  

We have several upcoming sessions:

May 3-4, 2013 – Scottsdale, AZ

May 31-June 1, 2013 – New York City

July 19-20, 2013 – San Diego, CA

August 16-17, 2013 – Las Vegas, NV

September 20-21, 2013 – San Francisco, CA

Go to www.rainmakerretreat.com or call 888-588-5891 to register now.

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Secrets to Building a 7-Figure Lifestyle Law Firm: Proven Strategies from the Front Line

At The Rainmaker Institute, we define a “7 figure lifestyle law firm” as one that allows you to have the lifestyle that you want to live!

It’s more than just money or achieving a million dollars in revenue.

It’s about creating a lifestyle where you do what you love and building a business around your core values and interests.

In this recording of an interview between Stephen Fairley, CEO of The Rainmaker Institute, and nationally recognized attorney John Bisnar, Stephen asks John to share with us some of the secrets he has used to create a law firm that allows him to go into the office only one day a week and take, on average, 3 to 4 months of vacation every year - all the while managing a very successful, multi-million dollar law firm!

You will receive either a CD or MP3 recording, plus we will email you a pdf transcript of the interview.

This interview will help you discover:

• The difference between a law practice and a business
• How to identify superstar employees to help you run your business
• The difference between an Office Manager and a Business Manager
• The 7 essential systems your firm must have & how to implement them
• How to micromanage the client experience
• Critical keys to success
• And much more!

Click this link now to order Secrets to Building a 7-Figure Lifestyle Law Firm: Proven Strategies from the Front Line.

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Inbound marketing software company HubSpot recently did a study of lead generation best practices from 1,400 small and mid-sized businesses and their findings are totally applicable to law firms as well.

The study found that there were four major factors that have a significant positive impact on lead generation when marketing online:

Indexed Pages in Google. The growth in leads accelerates substantially – 236 percent – once a website has more than 300 pages indexed in Google. Also, the size of your firm is not a critical factor in achieving a significant number of Google indexed pages. You can build page volume very quickly with a blog.

Rank in Google’s Top 100 Results for Many Keywords. Sites that ranked in Google’s Top 100 for 26-51 keywords generated twice as many leads as those that ranked for less than 13 keywords. The takeaway: unique, interesting content with as many distinct keywords as possible helps you generate leads.

Blogs. Firms with blogs generated 68 percent more leads. Those that had blogs of more than 52 articles generated 77 percent more leads. Enough said. Blog and do it often.

Twitter for B2C. B2C Twitter users generate twice as many leads as those without a Twitter account. The biggest jump in leads take place once a company has over 100 followers.

If you are wondering how to generate more leads for your legal services, then you should consider integrating these four strategies into your marketing program.

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FREE REPORT: 8 Reasons Small Firms & Solos Should Publish an E-newsletter PLUS 3 Steps to Get Started

In less than a few hours a month, you can produce an effective electronic newsletter, also known as an “E-newsletter.”

An E-newsletter is a customized electronic newsletter that is commonly used in business, but rarely in the field of law. If you are truly interested in the long-term success and sustainability of your practice, you need to learn how to leverage technology and the Internet to build it.

Here’s what you’ll discover when you read this report:

• The cost benefits of an e-newsletter
• How to incorporate your e-newsletter with your social networking
• How an e-newsletter supports your marketing efforts
• How to get started right away with your e-newsletter
• And much, much more!

To get your free report now, click here.

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I understand making the decision to attend our 2-day legal marketing intensive is a tough decision. Not only do you have to take a day off work (all Rainmaker Retreats are offered only on a Friday-Saturday), but in many cases you have to travel to the event. As a business owner, you want to be sure this is a worthwhile investment of your time and money.

So you can gauge for yourself, here is just a partial list of what you will learn when you attend a Rainmaker Retreat:

Over 65 different marketing techniques that are proven to work in the real world environment of a fast moving law firm. Only practical techniques are discussed here.

The 5 critical numbers you need to be tracking in your law firm and how to measure your Return On Investment (ROI) for all your marketing efforts.

The core concepts of search engine optimization (SEO) and Internet marketing for attorneys and how to create a dominant position on the Internet.

Specific tools to automate your marketing system and “fix your follow up” to increase your conversion rates from prospects to paying clients.

How to fully leverage social media networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Avvo and JDSupra to drive new leads to your law firm.

How to focus your money on the most effective marketing strategies based on your specific practice area.

How to better select, train and motivate your partners and staff to do Rainmaking activities.

How to reduce your costs by eliminating ineffective marketing strategies.

How to utilize the 7 Rainmaker tools for generating more referrals and repeat business from current and former clients.

Over 30 low cost (starting at $20/mo.) and no cost marketing strategies to help you stretch your budget.

Software tools that will help you automate your marketing system.

Easy to use system for tracking all your incoming leads.

Specific tools to help you and your staff convert more prospects into paying clients.

Learn how other solo attorneys have leveraged Internet marketing and social media networks to beat much bigger firms.

These are the upcoming Rainmaker Retreats currently scheduled:

May 3-4, 2013 – Scottsdale, AZ

May 31-June 1, 2013 – New York City

July 19-20, 2013 – San Diego, CA

August 16-17, 2013 – Las Vegas, NV

September 20-21, 2013 – San Francisco, CA

To learn more about the Rainmaker Retreat and to register online, go to www.rainmakerretreat.com or call 888-588-5891.

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FREE "Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" E-book

In a newly revised e-book, legal marketing expert Stephen Fairley outlines 10 of the most common marketing mistakes attorneys make that can lead to the failure of their business, and provides specific strategies and proven principles for avoiding these deadly errors. 

To get your complimentary copy online, click here.

Regardless of your specific situation, this free e-book will help you examine how you are currently finding new clients and recommend specific steps you can immediately start using to grow your practice. 

We have helped thousands of attorneys achieve their goals of creating a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice. In this e-book you will discover specific principles and tools you can use to grow your practice, too.  

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Many attorneys I’ve worked with have heard that free reports are an important component of a law firm marketing strategy.

But most are not sure how or why they are important.

The real value of a free report in law firm Internet marketing is in its role as a quid pro quo.  Potential clients give you some information about themselves in exchange for some valuable legal information on a topic of interest to them.

The information you’re asking for is their contact information. And that is a key first step in beginning a trust-building relationship with them.

But first, you need to make sure your report is worth the valuable information the prospective client has just given you. 

Here are four proven elements of a well-crafted free report:

Addresses issues that people really care about – Remember, clients may not care about legal precedents, but they are very likely to care about how to save money during a divorce.

Uses laymen’s language – If they are being completely honest, most people would tell you they prefer reading USA TODAY to the New York Times. While the NYT is a serious paper for serious people, USA today is interesting at the individual level, and it’s written in an easy-to-read format.

Builds credibility for your law firm – Don’t miss this opportunity to share client quotes or real life results you’ve gained for your clients.

Includes a call to action – By the end of the report, the prospective client should be interested enough to take the next step, whether that is going to your website for more information, or signing up for your newsletter.

This kind of free educational information is a great tool to start building relationships with many people who need your help but aren’t ready to walk in your door. It is not enough simply to offer people a free consultation. Almost every lawyer does that. Take it one step further and give them some great information that will help them think through the issues and challenges they are facing.

Once you have created these educational tools, find every way you can to give them away to as many people as possible. 

For an example, see below.

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FREE "Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" E-book

In a newly revised e-book, legal marketing expert Stephen Fairley outlines 10 of the most common marketing mistakes attorneys make that can lead to the failure of their business, and provides specific strategies and proven principles for avoiding these deadly errors. 

To get your complimentary copy online, click here.

Regardless of your specific situation, this free e-book will help you examine how you are currently finding new clients and recommend specific steps you can immediately start using to grow your practice. 

We have helped thousands of attorneys achieve their goals of creating a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice. In this e-book you will discover specific principles and tools you can use to grow your practice, too.  

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The LexBlog Network has released its fifth annual State of the AmLaw 200 Blogosphere report, which finds that blogs are now the norm rather than the exception among AmLaw 200 firms.

Among the findings for 2012:

78% of AmLaw 200 firms have one or more blogs, an increase of 297% since 2007.

The 156 AmLaw 200 firms that blog produce an average of four blogs per firm.

Firms with blogs improved their gross revenues at a greater rate than firms without blogs.

Blogs on employment law dominate among AmLaw 200 blogs.

Firms without blogs slipped almost a full spot in revenue rankings on average.

This graphic from the report illustrates the dramatic increase in AmLaw 200 firm blogs:

As the report notes, law firms appear to have caught up with other professions in using blogs and social media for marketing purposes and law firms that blog “are no longer perceived as being ahead of the curve; instead, those without blogs are now the outliers.”

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FREE REPORT: How to Use Blogs as a Secret Weapon in Your Online Arsenal

One of the secret tools of Internet marketing for attorneys is the power of having a targeted blog. According to HubSpot, B2B marketers with a blog generate 67% more leads per month and B2C marketers generate 88% more leads per month than those without a blog.

Here’s what you’ll discover when you read this report:

• Why you must have a blog in order to stay relevant
• 3 keys to successful blogging
• 7 Guidelines for achieving ROI
• Your 3 choices for managing your blog and social media efforts
• And much more!

Click now for your FREE REPORT: How to Use Blogs as a Secret Weapon in Your Online Arsenal.

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When it comes to marketing your law firm on Facebook, sharing is not just a good thing, it’s the key to making this social media network work for your practice.

So how do you get more shares? This infographic does a good job of aggregating the latest tips on how to get your followers on Facebook to pass your wisdom around:

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FREE REPORT: How to Use Blogs as a Secret Weapon in Your Online Arsenal

One of the secret tools of Internet marketing for attorneys is the power of having a targeted blog. According to HubSpot, B2B marketers with a blog generate 67% more leads per month and B2C marketers generate 88% more leads per month than those without a blog.

Here’s what you’ll discover when you read this report:

• Why you must have a blog in order to stay relevant
• 3 keys to successful blogging
• 7 Guidelines for achieving ROI
• Your 3 choices for managing your blog and social media efforts
• And much more!

Click now for your FREE REPORT: How to Use Blogs as a Secret Weapon in Your Online Arsenal.

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I’m in Dallas today at our Rainmaker Retreat law firm marketing seminar, where a lot of our discussions center on the use of social media by law firms.

Last month, I participated in the LegalTech New York 2013 panel — "Taming the Wild West of Social Media: The Secrets of Social Media Success in the Legal Profession".

During the discussion, my fellow panelist, Larry Bodine (editor-in-chief of Lawyers.com and martindale.com), and I were asked to identify the primary barriers to social media adoption in law firms.

Here’s a video outtake of our answers:

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FREE Seminar: How to Attract Clients in Today’s Marketing Jungle

When it comes to law firm marketing, it is truly a jungle out there! Mastering social media, SEO and Internet marketing strategies – and making sure your efforts align with legal marketing rules – can give even the most eager attorney pause.

In his new one-hour seminar, Stephen Fairley will lead you through the step-by-step actions you should take throughout the course of the next 12 months to substantially increase your revenues. You will learn:

• How to target market to get your ideal client
• Why your firm is not getting more referrals and how to change it
• How to select the right marketing tools that will work for your practice and personality
• Effective online and offline marketing strategies
• How to create a financial plan to fund your marketing budget
• The 5 critical components of a Marketing Action Plan (MAP)
• 4 ways to create a unique competitive advantage
• What is critical to have in place today’s hyper-competitive online focused marketplace

This FREE seminar will also give you a preview of the 65 different marketing techniques and strategies taught at our 2-day legal marketing boot camp.

Click on this link to register now for the FREE How to Attract Clients in Today’s Marketing Jungleseminar.

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A new study from GetResponse shows that emails including social share buttons have a click-through rate (CTR) that is 158% higher than those that do not. 

This infographic illustrates the results from the new GetResponse survey:

While the evidence clearly shows a propensity for email recipients to share on social networks, the GetResponse study says that only 29% of email marketers include social share buttons in their emails.

As Mom always said, it’s good to share!

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Secrets to Building a 7-Figure Lifestyle Law Firm: Proven Strategies from the Front Line

At The Rainmaker Institute, we define a “7 figure lifestyle law firm” as one that allows you to have the lifestyle that you want to live!

It’s more than just money or achieving a million dollars in revenue.

It’s about creating a lifestyle where you do what you love and building a business around your core values and interests.

In this recording of an interview between Stephen Fairley, CEO of The Rainmaker Institute, and nationally recognized attorney John Bisnar, Stephen asks John to share with us some of the secrets he has used to create a law firm that allows him to go into the office only one day a week and take, on average, 3 to 4 months of vacation every year - all the while managing a very successful, multi-million dollar law firm!

You will receive either a CD or MP3 recording, plus we will email you a pdf transcript of the interview.

This interview will help you discover:

• The difference between a law practice and a business
• How to identify superstar employees to help you run your business
• The difference between an Office Manager and a Business Manager
• The 7 essential systems your firm must have & how to implement them
• How to micromanage the client experience
• Critical keys to success
• And much more!

Click this link now to order Secrets to Building a 7-Figure Lifestyle Law Firm: Proven Strategies from the Front Line.

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Although today is April Fool’s Day, the latest ruling on lawyer advertising handed down by the Florida Supreme Court is no joke.

Well, actually, it kinda is. But not in the way you’re thinking.

Florida has long held the crown for some of the most convoluted and outdated advertising regulations for attorneys. So convoluted and outdated that even the FTC – hardly a bastion of liberal thinking – has stated that Florida’s attorney advertising regulations work against consumers getting good information about available legal services and don’t necessarily comply with the constitutional sniff test when it comes to free speech.

In a divided opinion, the Florida Supreme Court issued its own marching orders last week to the Florida Bar concerning lawyer advertising rules. In its order, the Court says that all advertising (including websites) that contains information about past results or testimonials must be “objectively verifiable.” 

Which means if you want to tout your successes, I suppose you will need to cite each case you won (but you’ll have to get the client’s permission first). Oh, and then there is this clear-as-mud instruction from the Court:

“...general statements such as, "I have successfully represented clients," or "I have won numerous appellate cases," may or may not be sufficiently objectively verifiable. For example, a lawyer may interpret the words "successful" or "won" in a manner different from the average prospective client. In a criminal law context, the lawyer may interpret the word "successful" to mean a conviction to a lesser charge or a lower sentence than recommended by the prosecutor, while the average prospective client likely would interpret the words "successful" or "won" to mean an acquittal.”

If this makes you emotional, then you need to simmer down, because emotion by attorneys engaged in marketing their practices will not be tolerated in Florida:

“A lawyer may not engage in unduly manipulative or intrusive advertisements. An advertisement is unduly manipulative if it: (a) uses an image, sound, video or dramatization in a manner that is designed to solicit legal employment by appealing to a prospective client's emotions rather than to a rational evaluation of a lawyer's suitability to represent the prospective client.”

And, as if to prove it is ruling via rear-view mirror, the Court even precludes lawyers from soliciting clients via telegraph...yet says nothing about social media.

So there goes all those job opportunities for telegraph operators in Florida!

If you’d like another take on this, read Josh King’s weekend post on Avvo:  Florida Whiffs (Again) on Attorney Advertising Regulation.

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FREE "Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" E-book

In a newly revised e-book, legal marketing expert Stephen Fairley outlines 10 of the most common marketing mistakes attorneys make that can lead to the failure of their business, and provides specific strategies and proven principles for avoiding these deadly errors. 

To get your complimentary copy online, click here.

Regardless of your specific situation, this free e-book will help you examine how you are currently finding new clients and recommend specific steps you can immediately start using to grow your practice. 

We have helped thousands of attorneys achieve their goals of creating a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice. In this e-book you will discover specific principles and tools you can use to grow your practice, too.  

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Content marketing is an especially effective way for attorneys to demonstrate expertise and gain trust from prospects in a cost-effective manner – it’s the sweet spot for solos and small firms who can’t compete on budget alone.

Doing a good job of optimizing your online content to make it easier to find when prospects search for your services on the Internet is a critical component of a successful content marketing strategy. 

This infographic provides information on how to do this in 7 simple steps:

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On-Demand Seminar: The 5 Best Strategies to Beat Your Competition in 2013

Are you tired of seeing other attorneys land all the good clients?

Have you noticed how tough it’s become to market your law firm?

Are you ready to do something to make this a bigger & better year?

Knowing which legal marketing strategies are working in today’s economy gives you a huge advantage. Implementing the correct business development strategies allows you to spend less money and get better results faster!

Access this one-hour seminar on The 5 Best Strategies to Beat Your Competition in 2013 to discover:

• Why you can’t afford to dismiss social media any longer (Google is forcing you to use it)
• 3 major ways to triple your website traffic in the next 90 days
• How to use online tools to generate more offline referrals
• 3 keys all the best law firms are using to turn more website browsers into buyers
• 2 critical numbers you must track every month to measure your success
• Specific ways to jump-start your marketing efforts fast…even if you’ve stumbled before

Last year many of our clients experienced their best year ever! How is that possible when we are in the midst of the biggest recession our generation has ever faced?

It’s simple, they developed a game plan based on best practices and proven strategies and then they consistently took massive action! Notice I said it was “simple” not “easy.” The only “easy button” I have is sitting right beside my magic wand (I’ve found both of them work about the same).

There is no “easy” way to build a million dollar book of business, but if you’re willing to do the work we can show you the right path to take.

Click on this link now to access The 5 Best Strategies to Beat Your Competition in 2013 seminar.

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A client dropped me a note the other day asking how they could expand the reach of their law firm blog. Since this is a question I hear often, I thought I would share my response to a greater universe:

1.     Use social media. Posting snippets and links to your blog posts on Facebook and LinkedIn are great ways to increase the number of people who see your posts. You can have individual attorneys go into their profiles and post snippets with a link back to your blog. On LinkedIn you can post this information into individual groups to drive a lot of traffic back to your blog.

2.     Send out a monthly newsletter. In your newsletter, include links to a few of your recent blog posts. At The Rainmaker Institute, we send out a fully custom newsletter at the beginning of each month to all our current and former clients as well as referral sources. A couple of weeks later, we send out a second newsletter with links to 3-4 of our top blog posts.

3.     Press releases. If you have a really good topic or a major industry story/scoop, consider doing a press release about it. A press release can drive thousands of visitors to your blog in a matter of days.

4.     Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO can assist your blog in ranking higher for relevant key terms. Most people start their online experience with a search engine like Google. Getting to the first page of Google for your firm’s relevant key terms (like “Irvine estate planning attorney” or “Boston trademark attorney”) can increase your traffic by thousands of visitors per month. Listing your blog URL on all major legal directories can be a great source of traffic as well.

5.     Post on other major legal websites. The four major sites we recommend are: JDSupra.com, Lawyers.com, LawMarketing.com, and NatLawReview.com. These sites use content marketing and SEO to drive traffic to their websites that then feature your articles, thus driving traffic to your blog and increasing your online profile.

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Becoming a Rainmaker: Business Building Strategies for Lawyers

Based on Stephen’s highly successful seminar series by the same name, this 3-audio CD program covers dozens of practical recommendations and step-by-step sales and marketing techniques for solo practitioners and small law firms.

More than 8,000 attorneys from law firms all over the country have experienced powerful results from attending the Becoming A Rainmaker seminar. It has been sponsored by more than 22 of the largest state and local bar associations.

In this information-packed audio program, you will discover:

• How to generate more leads by using education-based marketing
• The relationship between credibility, visibility, tangibility, and consistency
• How to position your small firm as an industry leader
• The importance of being perceived as a specialist
• Why most advertising is a waste of your money
• What to expect from a Yellow Pages ad
• The 3 marketing strategies that will produce 80% of your results
• How to influence the Know, Like and Trust factors
• Common marketing mistakes lawyers make and how to avoid them
• How to answer the question, "Why should I buy from you?"
• Specific ways you can set yourself apart from low-cost lawyers
• What to do with the 15% of the population that always buys on price
• Ways to attract your Ideal Target Market
• The 6 stage sales process you must follow for maximum success

Click to order Becoming a Rainmaker: Business Building Strategies for Lawyers.

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Have you checked out LawMarketing.com yet? If not, you’re missing out on some great information that can help you put your legal marketing efforts into hyper-drive.

Here’s a sample of the latest articles and videos from their home page:

Law Firm Marketing Tips to Leveraging Web Content – Video

Attorneys Are Falling Victim To These Common SEO Mistakes

Is Mobile in Your Briefcase?

How To Create A LinkedIn Profile To Get Clients

Ethics for Online Legal Marketing – Free Webinar Recording

LawMarketing.com is an online marketing resource for attorneys and legal marketers that was originally launched in 1997, and has now relaunched with a wider focus on the business side of legal practice management and an expanded editorial team. I am proud to be a part of that new editorial team, along with the site’s founder, Larry Bodine, editor-in-chief of Lawyers.com.

LawMarketing.com is being curated by a former Rainmaker Institute associate, Cindy Greenway. She has recruited some of the top minds in legal marketing and practice management to help lawyers create and manage a highly profitable lifestyle law firm. 

Check it out, bookmark it and visit often: www.LawMarketing.com. 

And don’t forget to sign up for the great free report on the home page: 15 Strategies for Attorneys to Increase Google Rank, Control Online Reputations and Maximize Content.

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As a member of a small or solo law firm, you are certainly faced with many challenges daily. If your firm is not growing as you had envisioned, it may be largely due to the fact that you are not utilizing effective law firm marketing strategies to get more. By not using proven legal marketing techniques, many attorneys remain stuck in the same old rut; doing the same old thing and getting the same miserable results.

If you have been looking for clients, using the same old advertising techniques and are getting nowhere, it is definitely time to make a change in your legal marketing strategy.

One of the primary reasons that a company or person hires an attorney is to alleviate some type of "pain". They may use words like "challenges", "problems", or "obstacles", but all of the words amount to the same thing; they are experiencing discomfort; they are experiencing pain. Their "pain" is whatever they are asking your assistance with. Successful marketing for lawyers relies upon your ability to identify their pain and effectively communicate how you will help them resolve it.

You can use this knowledge to increase your law firm marketing effectiveness by following these 7 guidelines to uncovering your prospect’s "point of pain":

1. You must know how your prospects define and describe their "pain".

2. You must talk about the problem using their language. (Using language they don't understand will lead to the failure of your legal marketing efforts)

3. Ask a lot of questions about their pain; they will feel listened to and that you truly care about their problems.

4. Do not waste precious time describing the process you will employ to resolve their pain; focus on helping them visualize your solution and the results.

5. You must give the client a sense of hope; let them know that things will get better and you know how to make that happen.

6. Project confidence in your ability to help them. Share a case study or an example of a success story.

7. You must listen to them and make them feel understood before they will listen to you.

Law firm marketing starts with successfully identifying the prospect's "point of pain,"  listening to them carefully and showing that you truly care.

Alleviate your law firm marketing point of pain by attending an upcoming session of the Rainmaker Retreat, our two-day legal marketing boot camp. Go to www.RainmakerRetreat.com to learn more and register online – early bird discounts available!

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FREE Rainmaker Retreat Preview DVD – 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 click here to receive a free DVD of your colleagues (and even your competitors) describing their experiences at our 2-day law firm marketing boot camp, the Rainmaker Retreat.

Yes, we know you are skeptical.   So instead of us telling you how these 2 days will transform your business, you can listen to your peers describe their experiences in their own words.

Click here to order your complimentary DVD right now. 

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Before you can effectively employ the strategies of law firm marketing, you will need to clearly understand precisely what "legal marketing" is. Many attorneys confuse "marketing" with "advertising"; in fact, the two terms are often used interchangeably. That is a mistake because they don't mean the same thing at all.

Marketing for lawyers is like any other form of marketing and simply consists of building relationships with people and sharing with them how you can help them.
 You need to be able to present clear, compelling reasons why your clients need you and your firm. That will take a little bit of homework on your part. Know exactly how the client will best benefit from your services and tell them about it. Tell them about it over and over and over again.

The failure to find and retain more clients is fundamentally a marketing failure. To be an effective form of legal marketing, the message and image you present must meet the following four criteria:

1. Consistency.  Once identified, continue to reinforce the same reasons why your clients need you. If you do not stay on point, you run the risk of confusing them. Repetition of your core message is essential to successful marketing for lawyers.

2. Brevity.  Keep your message short and to the point. Choose your words carefully when engaged in legal marketing; people do not have the time or interest in reading dense paragraphs. Keep it clear of legal terms and focus on presenting solutions, not a litany of your legal services.

3. Enthusiasm. Your belief in your law firm marketing is contagious; share the wealth! Without implementing this key component, you run the risk of getting lost in the crowd. Once lost in a crowd, it is very difficult to re-establish why you are better than the rest. Too many attorneys make the mistake of trying to appear so professional that they end up being boring. This is the most deadly marketing mistake a attorney can make.

4. Connection.  If you are not telling them exactly what it is they need from you (what they absolutely must have that only you can provide), you will be wasting your time and energy. Marketing your law firm is different than marketing other kinds of professional services, but to build a bridge to your prospective client, you must come down out of your "ivory tower" and meet them at their point of need. Strive to connect with them emotionally as well as cognitively.

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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.  Click here to download, and start using these proven strategies today!
 

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

However, in my working with more than 7,000 attorneys over the years, I’ve discovered that there are essentially 3 main reasons why attorneys succeed in growing their practices:

Time
Attorneys who succeed in marketing and growing their firms dedicate time to law firm marketing.  It may not always be their time, but they have someone who tends to the knitting day in and day out.  They know that the world is full of lawyers who don’t take the time to market themselves – and they use this to their advantage consistently. 

Systems
Firms that excel in legal marketing have systems in place to run, monitor and measure their law firm marketing programs.  leveraging technology, 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.

Strategy
Legal marketing gurus know that a comprehensive strategy to grow your law firm is essential to your long-term success. Otherwise you and your team lack direction.

When you use a proven legal marketing strategy that consistently produces results, you can then set up legal marketing systems that, in turn, free up your time while increasing your client base, thereby increasing your revenue.

And you can learn how to do it all by attending a Rainmaker Retreat, our two-day law firm marketing boot camp.  In just two days, you will learn:

• Step-by-step guidance in finding the best, most strategic referral partners
• How to cut costs by eliminating ineffective law firm marketing strategies
• Create a ‘Master Plan’ to guide your firm’s growth through marketing for lawyers
• How to focus your time, energy and dollars on the most effective law firm marketing techniques designed specifically for small and solo law firms
• Five proven strategies to get more attention, command more respect and charge higher fees
• How to leverage the Internet to create the most “buzz” for your firm
• How to create a steady stream of new referrals using law firm marketing techniques
• How to set your firm apart from your competitors

The Rainmaker Retreat dates for Fall are:

• October 8-9, 2010        New Brunswick, NJ
• October 22-23, 2010    Scottsdale, AZ
• November 5-6, 2010    San Francisco, CA

Early-bird registration for the Rainmaker Retreat is still available for a limited time. A special VIP registration is also available for attorneys looking for more personalized attention. We also offer special discounts for two or more people attending from the same firm.

Registration information is available by visiting the Rainmaker Retreat website, www.RainmakerRetreat.com or by calling 888-588-5891.

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Learn Before You Go: Rainmaker Retreat Preview Call

If you are still unsure about attending a Rainmaker Retreat, I encourage you to join one of our FREE Preview Calls on:

Wednesday, October 6, 2010
1-2pm Pacific | 2-3pm Mountain | 3-4pm Central | 4-5pm Eastern

Tuesday, October 12, 2010
11am-12pm Pacific | 12-1pm Mountain | 1-2pm Central | 2-3pm Eastern

Wednesday, October 20, 2010
1-2pm Pacific | 2-3pm Mountain | 3-4pm Central | 4-5pm Eastern

The call will give you a preview of the valuable material that is taught at our 2-day Rainmaker Retreat.

Click here to register for a Preview Call.
 

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Last week I pulled up the Yahoo! home page and one of their promotional boxes was urging me to click on a video of a dancing dog.  For some reason, it just caught my eye and so I clicked and – I have to admit – it was a pretty amazing performance.  (You can catch it here.)

Monday night I turned on Letterman and noted his guests were Bill Clinton and...the Dancing Merengue Dog, from that same video.  I just checked it again and it has over 5.5 million views on YouTube and a movement is afoot to get the dog a spot on Dancing With The Stars!

So how does a dancing dog fit into your law firm marketing plan?  Look at the video.  It was shot in a parking lot.  Production value is pretty poor, but that didn't matter -- the video has turned that dog into a worldwide sensation.

Whenever I talk to lawyers about adding video to their websites or blogs, the first thing I usually hear is, “I don’t want to spend money on a film crew and make it a big production.”  The lesson from the Dancing Merengue Dog is you don’t have to. All you need is a $200 video camera (they're all pretty high quality these days) and something interesting to say (to your potential clients, not other lawyers!).

Online video is a highly underused form of law firm Internet marketing that promises a big return. Whether you place your video on the homepage of your web site, or upload it to YouTube, the benefits are undeniable.

Video adds value to your law firm Internet marketing approach in three ways:

1. It engages the viewer immediately and convinces them to stay awhile and listen to your message;
2. It provides the viewer (aka potential client) with a chance to hear the authority in your voice, to see the sincerity in your face, and ultimately to get to know you, trust you and choose you;
3. It enables you to tell the client precisely what makes you the better choice in legal support over your competitors.

If you are looking for a way to connect with clients and prospects, make online video a part of your law firm Internet marketing strategy.

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Are you looking for specific marketing strategies you can use in your law firm?

Then order the Rainmaker in a Box 5-DVD set!

Some of the information and strategies you will learn include:

• The 5 Immutable Secrets to Building a 7 Figure Law Practice
• 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

This program also includes a data DVD, which includes all 4 PowerPoint, slides for all 4 presentations.

To order this information-packed set click here.

 

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If you frequent this blog, then you know that I am a huge Facebook fan.  The latest statistic I’ve quoted to encourage attorneys to get on board is that this social media juggernaut has 500 million users.  And for most of us, that’s a number we have a problem wrapping our heads around.

So let me break it down for you.  Here are the top 5 Facebook user states and the penetration level – in other words, the percentage of the entire state’s population that is on Facebook:

1. California:  16.6 million users; 45% penetration
2. Texas:  10.7 million users; 43% penetration
3. New York: 8.5 million users; 44% penetration
4. Florida:  7.8 million users; 42% penetration
5. Illinois: 7.1 million users; 55% penetration

You can get the user numbers and penetration rates for the rest of the states here.

According to the ABA, the five states with the greatest population of attorneys are:  well, just see above.  That’s right.   California.  Texas.  New York.  Florida.  Illinois.

As an angling enthusiast, I know one thing:  you gotta fish where the fish are.  For a helluva lot of attorneys, your fish are on Facebook.  All you need to do is bait the hook. 

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Social Media Marketing for Attorneys: Live Webinar

Attorneys have lots of questions about social media and in this 2-part webinar series I will give you all the answers. Get what you need to know while avoiding common pitfalls and time wasters. By the end of this series you will know if social media is right for your law firm and if so, precisely how to use it to market your law firm, build your online platform, connect with prospects, clients and potential referral sources.

Part 1: Wednesday, September 15th at 3:00 pm ET

Part 2: Tuesday, September 21st at 3:00 pm ET


Each session runs one hour.  I really encourage you to register for both sessions, but if you can attend only one, rest assured that each one-hour session is a great standalone presentation on social media strategies for law firms. 

Here’s the online registration information:

Register online here for Both Sessions on Wed., Sept. 15 and Tues., Sept. 21, 2010.

Register online here for Part One on Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010.

Register online here for Part Two on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010.


 

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This venn diagram at Matt Homann’s the [non]billable hour blog got me thinking again about perception and reality when it comes to law firm marketing:


If you ask most attorneys whom they are marketing to with their websites, they’ll tell you potential clients.  That’s their perception.  But the sad reality is, most attorneys are marketing to other attorneys and, yes, themselves. 

How profitable is that?

Maybe it’s time to take a good long look at that Ideal Target Market and be sure your website – and all your marketing efforts – are speaking directly to them.

Your Ideal Target Market (ITM) is the person or company who is most likely to retain you initially, repeatedly, and at the highest profit margin. There are 3 key parts here:

Initially—your ITM will retain your services faster than others and present fewer obstacles for you to overcome.

Repeatedly—the most expensive thing a law firm can have is a 1-time client. On average, it will cost your firm 10 times as much to obtain a new client as it does to service an existing one.

At the highest profit margin—your ITM is not the price-conscious consumer. Research tells us that 15% of any market, regardless of what product or service you are selling, will always and only buy on price. Your responsibility as a law firm marketing professional is to quickly identify those “15 percenters” and move them out of your pipeline so you can focus on selling to the other 85%.

Identifying and targeting the right market is absolutely critical to the success of your law firm marketing plan. If you don’t target the right market, nothing else you do will matter. To be successful as a legal marketer and attorney, you have to start with a clear picture of your ITM.

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BALIF Rainmaker Institute Event on October 14 in San Francisco

Founded in 1980, Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF) is the nation’s oldest and largest bar association of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgendered persons in the field of law.

On Thursday, Oct. 14, BALIF will present a 1-day workshop designed for busy Attorneys, Partners, Associates, and their Staff who want to discover how to apply proven marketing strategies and top tips used by some of today’s biggest Rainmakers to create a 7-figure lifestyle law firm. 

Rainmaker Institute CEO Stephen Fairley will be speaking on Proven Strategies for Today’s Rainmaker: Increasing Revenues and Referrals Using Networking, Internet Marketing and Social Media In the New Age.  This one-day seminar includes 1 hour of MCLE Ethics Credit for California attorneys.

For more information and to register online, click here.

 

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Fall is almost here and so is the next group of Rainmaker Retreats!  These information-packed law firm marketing seminars are designed to give small firm and solo attorneys the guidance you need to go back and develop legal marketing strategies that will allow you to build the type of practice you have always wanted.  The information presented ranges from legal marketing systems and techniques to Internet marketing for attorneys.

The Rainmaker Retreat schedule includes the following dates and locations:

• October 8-9, 2010        New Brunswick, NJ
• October 22-23, 2010    Scottsdale, AZ
• November 5-6, 2010    San Francisco, CA

The Rainmaker Retreat is different from other marketing seminars in several ways:

First, it is specifically designed for Attorneys at small law firms and solo practitioners.  While attorneys at larger firms can benefit from the information presented, it is presented with the Small law firm and solo attorney in mind.

Second, it is a working retreat.  You will be creating many of your plans during the retreat.

Third, it is NOT an introductory course. We work very hard to make the material easy to understand and simple to apply, but please understand this is an advanced, in-depth, hard-hitting course.

Fourth, it is designed to maximize the your Return on Investment. Everything about this workshop is focused on one goal—helping you achieve the best results by finding more and better clients in the least amount of time using the least amount of money possible.

Fifth, it offers a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. We are so confident you will benefit from the Rainmaker Retreat that we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied at the end of the first day, just let us know, turn your materials in and we will refund your money.

If you are looking to revolutionize your law firm marketing, register now for one of the Rainmaker Retreats. 

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Complimentary Rainmaker Retreat Preview DVD is Available

We would like to send you a DVD of your colleagues (and even your competitors) describing their experiences at the 2 day Rainmaker Retreat. Yes, we know you are skeptical (we wouldn't have it any other way).   So instead of us telling you how these 2 days will transform your business, we will let our clients do the telling.  Like this:

Click here to order your complimentary DVD right now.

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The information-packed Becoming a Rainmaker presentation is coming to New Jersey, October 5, 6 & 7, 2010 in a series of presentations sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Association, the Bergen County Bar Association, Burlington County Bar Association, and the Morris County Bar Association.

These 2-hour seminars show small and solo practice attorneys how they can take charge of their practice and begin to build the business they have always wanted.  The Becoming a Rainmaker seminar has been sponsored by 22 of the largest state and local bar associations in the country, and teaches the proven Rainmaker Marketing System, which has helped more than 7,000 attorneys find more and better clients and establish a law firm marketing system for generating more referrals.

The Becoming a Rainmaker seminar teaches simple techniques attorneys can take back to their offices and implement immediately.  Some of the tools and techniques that will be covered during these three informative two-hour sessions include:

• The 7 Ways to Find More Clients and How to Pick the Best Ones for Your Firm
• How to Build a Network of over 30 new Referral Sources in the next 6 months
• Change Your Website from just an Online Brochure to a Money-making Machine
• Passive Versus Active Marketing and why you need both
• Creating Client-generating Surveys: When to Use them and How to Leverage them
• Automating Your Marketing System
• How to Ethically Position Yourself as a Specialist in Your Area
• How to Promote Your Firm to 150,000 people for $140
• Avoid the Most Deadly Marketing Mistakes Attorneys make
• Why Advertising Doesn't Work and what to do instead
• Where to Find and How to Create Positive Media Coverage for your firm and your clients
• The #1 Reason why Attorneys Don’t Receive More Referrals and how to overcome it
• Using Visibility Events to Attract Highly Qualified Prospects to Your Firm

The Becoming a Rainmaker seminars are scheduled as follows:

Tuesday, October 5, 2010, 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
Burlington County Bar Association
Burlington County Court House, 49 Rancocas Rd., Mount Holly, NJ
Click here to register.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010, 4 p.m.-6 p.m.
Morris County Bar Association
Old Court House, Washington and Court Streets, Morristown, NJ
Click here to register.

Thursday, October 7, 2010, 4 p.m.-6 p.m.
Bergen County Bar Association
George W. Newman Law Building, 15 Bergen St., Hackensack, NJ
Click here to register.

Admission to each presentation is $77 for Bar Association members and $97 for nonmembers. 

For more information, call 888-816-8935 or email info@therainmakerinstitute.com.

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LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook dominate the social media marketing landscape for both B2B and B2C marketers, according to a new study just out from KingFish Media, HubSpot and Junta42:

The online survey of corporate managers and marketing/sales managers conducted two months ago found that nearly 75 percent of all companies surveyed have a social media marketing strategy in place, and will be increasing their spend on social media over the next year.

The most prevalent ways these companies are using social media include:

• Generating leads
• Enhancing customer relationships
• Increasing sales
• Increasing customer retention
• Brand promotion
• Customer feedback
• New product introduction
• Entering new markets

To get a pdf of the full report, go here.

And if you need help getting your social media marketing program off the ground, go here.

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Becoming a Rainmaker: Business Building Strategies for Lawyers

Based on Stephen’s highly successful seminar series by the same name, this 3-audio CD program covers dozens of practical recommendations and step-by-step sales and marketing techniques for solo practitioners and small law firms.

More than 7,000 attorneys from law firms all over the country have experienced powerful results from attending the Becoming A Rainmaker seminar. It has been sponsored by more than 22 of the largest state and local bar associations.

In this information-packed audio program, you will discover:

• How to generate more leads by using education-based marketing
• The relationship between credibility, visibility, tangibility, and consistency
• How to position your small firm as an industry leader
• The importance of being perceived as a specialist
• Why most advertising is a waste of your money
• What to expect from a Yellow Pages ad
• The 3 marketing strategies that will produce 80% of your results
• How to influence the Know, Like and Trust factors
• Common marketing mistakes lawyers make and how to avoid them
• How to answer the question, "Why should I buy from you?"
• Specific ways you can set yourself apart from low-cost lawyers
• What to do with the 15% of the population that always buys on price
• Ways to attract your Ideal Target Market
• The 6 stage sales process you must follow for maximum success

To order yours now, click here.

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Here is the second in a series of three posts this week outlining the best practices in becoming a rainmaker on the Internet. 


To read the first in the series, go here.  I’ll list the first three from yesterday to refresh memories and then continue with the next three strategies for driving targeted traffic to your website through good SEO practices:

1. Know the keywords people use to search for your services.
2. Use keywords in your domain name.
3. Create compelling copy.

4. Add fresh content regularly. Perhaps the top strategy used by high-ranking lawyers today is to add new, relevant content to their websites on a consistent basis. This is one of the major reasons for the explosion in blogs in recent years. Although some law firms are selecting blogs instead of websites, I believe there is a place for each in online legal marketing. If, for economic reasons, you are forced to select between one or the other, I recommend starting out with a blog. Why? Because they are very low cost (or free) as compared to websites and, if done properly, will help you rank faster than a traditional website.

Anyone can start a blog at no cost using sites such as www.wordpress.com and www.blogger.com. For any serious traffic, you need to be updating three to five times per week. Lawyers who want to be at the top of the search engines update their blog three to five times per day. The more relevant content your blog gives Google, the more it will love your blog by ranking it higher. 


Key Action Steps: 


• The more fresh, relevant content you post on your website or blog, the higher you will rank on the search engines. 

• Blogs are a great place to get started, but in order to be effective they must be updated frequently. Update your blog at least three to five times per week.

5. Use video to keep visitors’ attention. Now here’s a truly depressing statistic: On average, 85 percent of your website’s visitors will stay for less than 30 seconds and will never return. Seriously? Yes. If you don’t believe me, check for yourself. Look at your website’s statistics log and see how many unique visitors you have and how long they stay on average. (Virtually every website has at least a basic statistics package; just ask your website tech or hosting company how to access it. If you are not already using Google Analytics, have your tech install it. It’s much better than most. And it’s free.)

The bottom line is that you literally have less than 30 seconds to impress your website visitors. I believe all of us would agree that the longer visitors stay on your website, the more likely they are to connect with you.

One of the best ways to increase the length of time a visitor stays is by using videos. Anecdotally, our clients have seen a four- to fivefold increase in length of stay after implementing videos on their websites. These videos should be one to three minutes long and focus on educating prospects and website visitors about who you are, who you help, and why you are different. These videos do not need to be professionally produced, but you may want to have someone add a short introduction including your website and phone number. Once you have your video ready, upload it to your website—and to www.youtube.com for additional exposure. Visitors are more concerned with content than production quality. If allowed in your jurisdiction, use video testimonials from your clients as well. 


Key Action Steps:


• The longer someone stays on your website, the greater likelihood they will connect with you.  Use videos to quickly capture their attention. 

• Your videos should educate prospects about who you are, who you help, and why you are different.

6. Develop educational tools and promote them on your website. Education-based marketing is one of the most powerful tools at the disposal of lawyers. There is a great amount of basic information you know about your practice area that prospects want and need to know. Think about some of the questions your clients have about child custody and divorce or how to avoid getting sued by employees or ways to protect their intellectual property. Identify their frequently asked questions or biggest challenges and put together a short report (three to six pages long), a PowerPoint presentation, or even an audio CD, and offer a free copy to website visitors who give you their contact information.

Remember, if you cannot get visitors to call you directly, the second-best alternative is to persuade them to give you their contact information with permission to contact them. Give your education material a creative title such as “7 Questions You Must Ask before You Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer,” or “The 10 Deadly Mistakes People Make with Their Estate Plan,” or even “5 Strategies Inventors Can Use to Protect and Monetize Their Inventions.”

This kind of free educational information is a great tool to start building relationships with many people who need your help but aren’t ready to walk in your door. It is not enough simply to offer people a free consultation. Almost every lawyer does that. Take it one step further and give them some great information that will help them think through the issues and challenges they are facing. Once you have created these educational tools, find every way you can to give them away to as many people as possible. 


Key Action Steps: 


• Use an educational report, white paper, or audio CD to inform prospects, clients, and referral sources. 

• Every prospect has questions and challenges. Identify them and give them some information that indicates you can resolve their challenges and answer their questions.

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You Should Not Miss This Law Firm Marketing Webinar Tomorrow!

Live Webinar:  8 Proven Tools to Double Your Referrals in 6 Months... Or Less.
Hosted by #1 best-selling author and nationally recognized law firm marketing expert Stephen Fairley

Wednesday, August 18 at 2:00pm ET
(1:00pm CT, 12:00pm MT, 11:00am PT)

Duration: 60 minutes

This event will be presented live via phone with an Internet connection available for those who want to view the presentation on their computers as well. Internet access is not required for phone-only participants. A copy of the presentation and downloadable materials will be provided after the event.

Register online: http://www.avantresources.com/store/events/8-proven-tools-to-double-your-law-firm-referrals-in-6-monthsor-less

 

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Social media is trending upwards faster than ever. Facebook just announced they now have 500 million registered users!  By way of comparison, the estimated population of the USA is 309 million.  And Twitter usage has more than doubled in the past year, from 44 million to 92 million worldwide.

Attorneys and law firms should consider using social media, but keep it in its place. In other words, be sure you are focusing on the major parts of your marketing first like generating referrals from current and former clients, seeking referrals from other professionals (attorneys and non-legal professionals), networking, getting your website up, blogging, THEN using social media.

Social media is the #1 fastest way to build your platform (how many people know who you are, who you help and how you are different).

The Rainmaker Institute has close to 60,000 people following us on Twitter and several thousand ‘fans’ and friends on Facebook (also www.Facebook.com/LawFirmMarketing).

Are all of them attorneys? No, but since we usually only post topics that attorneys or other small business owners would care about (most of our clients are also small business owners), the people who are not interested in these topics will generally self-select and stop following us after a while.

Social media can be the most cost effective way to build your list!  The key to social media is to build your platform and then entice them to visit your blog or website to opt-in to your list using a free special report or free CD or DVD or newsletter. 

The golden rule here is: he/she who has the biggest list wins! Yes, I know it's about the quality of your list as well, but when it comes to building your law firm database of interested prospects, size does matter!

Get started by focusing on the big 6 social media sites for attorneys:

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Avvo
• JDSupra
• YouTube
• Twitter

Let us know if you want some help in figuring out how to get started or how to leverage social media to build your list and generate leads for your law firm.

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Becoming a Rainmaker: Business Building Strategies for Lawyers

Based on Stephen’s highly successful seminar series by the same name, this 3-audio CD program covers dozens of practical recommendations and step-by-step sales and marketing techniques for solo practitioners and small law firms.

More than 7,000 attorneys from law firms all over the country have experienced powerful results from attending the Becoming A Rainmaker seminar. It has been sponsored by more than 22 of the largest state and local bar associations.

In this information-packed audio program, you will discover:

• How to generate more leads by using education-based marketing
• The relationship between credibility, visibility, tangibility, and consistency
• How to position your small firm as an industry leader
• The importance of being perceived as a specialist
• Why most advertising is a waste of your money
• What to expect from a Yellow Pages ad
• The 3 marketing strategies that will produce 80% of your results
• How to influence the Know, Like and Trust factors
• Common marketing mistakes lawyers make and how to avoid them
• How to answer the question, "Why should I buy from you?"
• Specific ways you can set yourself apart from low-cost lawyers
• What to do with the 15% of the population that always buys on price
• Ways to attract your Ideal Target Market
• The 6 stage sales process you must follow for maximum success

To order yours now, click here.

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

However, in my work with more than 7,000 attorneys over the years, I’ve come to find out that there are essentially 3 main reasons why lawyers fail to grow their practices:

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.

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.

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, frees up your time, increases your client roster and boosts your revenue.

And where might you find proven legal marketing strategies?  Check out the free offer below.

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Free CD:  Law Firm Marketing Strategies

Get your free CD on Law Firm Marketing Strategies by #1 best-selling author and nationally recognized law firm marketing expert Stephen Fairley, and listen as he reveals a proven system to generate more and better referrals, find new clients fast, and fill your law practice! 

Discover:

• How 1 piece of simple technology in your practice will drastically increase your communication with prospects, clients and referral sources – resulting in a major revenue boost
• 5 ways to market and position yourself as a recognized expert
• How 2 Attorneys promoted their law firms to over 100,000 people for less than $100 in 2 hours
• The 1 item you must absolutely have to create a Million Dollar Law Practice (hint: Not having this will almost guarantee your failure!)
• 6 BIGGEST secrets to generating more and better referrals
• How to create a proven network of 30 new Strategic Referral Partners in the next 90 days

To obtain your free CD, click here now.
 

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If you are like many attorneys, you have tried many things to market your law firm. Marketing for lawyers often includes giving seminars and presentations, going to networking events, writing articles, talking to old law school buddies, meeting with potential referral sources, building law firm websites, and sending out holiday cards to remind clients of who you are.

When marketing your law firm, there are four different groups of people you come into contact with, and which group they fall into will usually tell you how you should follow up with them. It is important to understand the differences between each group:

Leads are people or companies who are unqualified and may or may not need your services or even be able to afford your services. Leads come from a presentation you make to a local trade group, by visiting your law firm website, or perhaps sending you a question in an email.

Prospects are people who have some level of qualification. They have either expressed a need for your services or they fall into a category that you believe has a high likelihood of needing your services. The major differences between leads and prospects are two-fold: you know who they are and you have a good reason to believe they need your services.

Clients are the third group you need to follow up with. A client is someone who has paid you money. Do not confuse prospects with clients. If someone hasn’t signed an agreement and paid you money yet, they are not your client.

Referrals are the last group you need to follow up with as part of your law firm marketing plan. They may be current referral sources, former referral sources (they haven't sent you any new leads or prospects in the last 12 months), or prospective referral sources.

I have coached and trained over 7,000 lawyers in virtually every practice area. The difference between financially successful attorneys and struggling attorneys is often found in their follow-up.

Top attorneys clearly understand “the fortune is in the follow up”. They plan ahead and lay out a clear game plan for following up with every person they connect with.

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Are you looking for specific marketing strategies you can use in your law firm?

Then order the Rainmaker in a Box 5-DVD set!

Some of the information and strategies you will learn include:

• The 5 Immutable Secrets to Building a 7 Figure Law Practice
• 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

This program also includes a data DVD which includes all 4 PowerPoint slides for all 4 presentations.
To order this information-packed set, click here.
 

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I am in Las Vegas today with the Bisnar Rainmaker Mastermind Group at the Trump Hotel – I mean, where else would a group of entrepreneurial legal marketing gurus meet to plot industry-leading growth strategies?

The Bisnar Rainmaker Mastermind Group is an exclusive group of non-competing attorneys and law firm marketing experts, who:

• Share proven methods about how to multiply their practice
• Have a passion to play a bigger game
• Are dedicated to increasing the profits, not just the revenues, of their law firms
• Desire to create an automated legal marketing system
• Desire to systematize our law firms so they can have a lifestyle law firm
• Know one of the secrets to success is to build a team of superstars
• Are committed to investing 3-5 hours every week to working on their business
• Want to move fast and see dynamic results in their business and their life
• Dedicate themselves to growing their law firm at least 30% every year

The group is led by me and nationally recognized personal injury and auto defect liability attorney John Bisnar, founder and managing partner of Bisnar | Chase in Orange County, CA.  He is nationally recognized as an expert in Internet marketing for law firms and each year his law firm generates hundreds of qualified clients from his 40+ websites.  John’s Internet marketing efforts have resulted in building a multi-million dollar law firm, which is one of the fastest growing firms in the country.

The Bisnar Rainmaker Mastermind Group is a success oriented, team-minded retreat where attorneys have the opportunity to learn in the company of other top attorneys where to find the necessary resources, tap into creative ideas and apply the skills they need to transform their current practice. 

We meet three times a year, usually in L.A., Phoenix and Vegas, for an intense, all-day strategy session.  Membership in our group is by invitation only; prospective members fill out an application and are interviewed by John and me.  The group is geographically and practice-specific as well as non-competitive.

Members have unrestricted access to both of us, as well as all the group members for brainstorming, high-level networking, business development techniques, goal setting, and refocusing on creating a lifestyle law firm.

There are a ton of other benefits as well – too many to list here – so you can read more about us here.

If you are interested in being considered for membership in the Bisnar Rainmaker Mastermind Group, email me: Stephen@therainmakerinstitute.com.

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FREE "Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" E-book

In a newly revised e-book, legal marketing expert Stephen Fairley outlines 10 of the most common marketing mistakes attorneys make that can lead to the failure of their business, and provides specific strategies and proven principles for avoiding these deadly errors.

Get your complimentary copy online here.

Regardless of your specific situation, this free e-book will help you examine how you are currently finding new clients and recommend specific steps you can immediately start using to grow your practice.

We have helped thousands of attorneys achieve their goals of creating a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice. In this e-book you will discover specific principles and tools you can use to grow your practice, too. 
 

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The term res ipsa loquitur – “the thing speaks for itself” – is commonly used in negligence cases, but in the case of our Rainmaker Retreats, I think the results speak for themselves, so here are the verdicts from recent attendees of our 2-day legal marketing boot camp:

“If you are not doing this stuff, thanks! Because I am scooping your client prospects!”
- Peter Brewer, Esq. (CA)

“This course should be part of the law school curriculum for every school in the nation!”
- Andrew Cho, Esq. (CA)

“I flew across country to get here. I would have walked. This is an utterly fabulous program.”- Tom Hartmann, Esq. (NJ)

“You will get a hundred great ideas and a system to make it rain without end at your law office if you attend The Rainmaker Institute Rainmaker Retreat.” – Joseph C. McDaniel, Esq. (AZ)

“The program was fast paced, loaded with content and, unlike many seminars, commanded constant and undivided attention. I now feel I have specific steps to take besides waiting for the phone to ring.”- Michael Hickman, Partner

“This course exceeded my expectations, doubly exceeded my cynicism, and made me feel I was wasting big bucks taking a restroom break.”- William Bachrach, Partner

“Worth every minute and every dollar. A new world for business development.”- Joseph George, Jr., Partner

The Rainmaker Retreat is different from other marketing seminars in several ways:

First, it is specifically designed for Attorneys at small law firms and solo practitioners.  While attorneys at larger firms can benefit from the information presented, it is presented with the small law firm and solo attorney in mind.

Second, it is a working retreat.  You will be creating many of your plans during the retreat.

Third, it is NOT an introductory course. We work very hard to make the material easy to understand and simple to apply, but please understand this is an advanced, in-depth, hard-hitting course.

Fourth, it is designed to maximize your Return on Investment. Everything about this workshop is focused on one goal—helping you achieve the best results by finding more and better clients in the least amount of time using the least amount of money possible.

Fifth, it offers a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. We are so confident you will benefit from the Rainmaker Retreat that we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied at the end of the first day, just let us know, turn your materials in and we will refund your money.

We have one last summer session and it’s this coming weekend, Aug. 6-7, at The Mirage in Las Vegas.  It’s not too late to register now for this practice-changing event.

Check back here for more Fall Rainmaker Retreat dates to be announced soon.

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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 4, 2010
11am-12pm Pacific | 12-1pm Mountain | 1-2pm Central | 2-3pm Eastern

Wednesday, August 11, 2010
1-2pm Pacific | 2-3pm Mountain | 3-4pm Central | 4-5pm Eastern

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

 

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Today I’m in Los Angeles at our Rainmaker Retreat – one of two back-to-back legal marketing boot camps that I’ll be conducting this weekend in L.A. and next weekend in Las Vegas.   Then I’ll be relaxing the rest of August after hosting four very successful retreats over the past two months!

If you want to get in on our final legal marketing boot camp of the summer at the Mirage in Las Vegas next weekend (Aug. 6-7), there is still time, and you can register online.

If you are unable to join us in Las Vegas, there is no reason to miss out on the invaluable legal marketing information we will be sharing with attorneys from around the country.   Such information will consist of valuable legal marketing tips to expand on your law firm marketing campaign. If you can’t come to us and learn all there is to know about legal marketing, then we will bring the Rainmaker Retreat to you.

You can own “Rainmaker Retreat Live” when you purchase the 6 audio compact disk set, which is accompanied by a downloadable PDF 70-page Legal Marketing Manual. Experience the Rainmaker Retreat on your schedule, at your own pace. You will be inspired, motivated and provided information on legal marketing with the guidance to make your practice all that you know it can be.

This live recording of our highly successful two-day legal marketing seminar features:

• More than 22 proven legal marketing strategies to attract more and better clients
• How to create powerful relationships with over 30 new Referral Sources in the next 90 days
• 5 Ways to automate your legal marketing using technology and the internet
• 7 ways to find more clients fast and how to select the best ones for you
• 2 ways to promote your firm to 100,000 people for only $100
• 6 secrets top Rainmakers use to dominate their competition

Many of the most successful attorneys we know pop a CD into their CD-drive and listen to “Rainmaker Retreat Live” during their daily commute. Discover how you can build a successful law firm practice using the legal marketing strategies that you will learn on your drive!

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Free CD:  Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices

Get your free CD on Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices by #1 Best-Selling Author And Nationally Recognized Law Firm Marketing Expert Stephen Fairley, and listen as he reveals A Proven System To Generate More and Better Referrals, Find New Clients Fast, and Fill Your Law Practice!  Discover:

• How 1 piece of simple technology in your practice will drastically increase your communication with prospects, clients and referral sources – resulting in a major revenue boost
• 5 ways to market and position yourself as a recognized expert
• How 2 Attorneys promoted their law firms to over 100,000 people for less than $100 in 2 hours
• The 1 item you must absolutely have to create a Million Dollar Law Practice (hint: Not having this will almost guarantee your failure!)
• The 6 BIGGEST secrets to generating more and better referrals
• How to create a proven network of 30 new Strategic Referral Partners in the next 90 days

To obtain your free CD, click here now.
 

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When it comes to finding new clients, there are really only 7 legal marketing tools you should use to find them. Most successful attorneys don’t use all of them -- they experiment and find the ones that consistently produce the most results.  Then they focus all of their time, energy, and resources on those proven strategies.

Which strategies will work for you depends on your target market and what’s allowable where you practice. Some of the strategies and techniques covered in this section will not work or may only work if you are targeting a particular population.

Before I get to the 7 tools that will help you find new clients, I must add this caveat:

Every state has different rules and regulations regarding marketing, advertising, and what is and is not allowed. Depending upon your practice area and state code of professional ethics, some of the strategies discussed in this post may not be allowed in your area.  You are personally responsible for seeking specific legal advice regarding your local and state regulations and ethics codes.

Here are the 7 legal marketing tools for finding new clients :

1. Referrals: from strategic partners, existing and former clients, friends, family members, other lawyers, legal referral sources, and business association.
2. Speaking and Seminars: formal presentations, workshops, seminars, speaking for associations and organizations.
3. Formal/Informal Networking: connecting with centers of influence, professional associations, chambers of commerce, clubs, trade association meetings, or formal lead groups.
4. An Online Presence: websites, article marketing, blogs, pay-per-click, ezines, auto responders, newsletters, and opt-in lists.
5. Press Releases & Media Placement: online press releases, writing articles or columns for local newspapers, trade magazines, professional journals, offering an advice column, being a content expert for the media, television, radio, trade association magazines, or newspaper interviews.
6. Promotional Events: participating in trade shows, sponsoring a public event like a marathon, participating in a charity event, sending out partnership announcements, or having an “open house” to publicize your new offices.
7. Advertising: in the Yellow Pages, newspapers, magazines, or trade journals, email campaigns, ads in business directories, or on radio or TV, and Internet–based ads.

After you’ve considered your state’s regulations and ethics code, consider how you can use some of these legal marketing tools to find new clients.

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FREE "Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" E-book

In a newly revised e-book, legal marketing expert Stephen Fairley outlines 10 of the most common marketing mistakes attorneys make that can lead to the failure of their business, and provides specific strategies and proven principles for avoiding these deadly errors.

Get your complimentary copy online here.

Regardless of your specific situation, this free e-book will help you examine how you are currently finding new clients and recommend specific steps you can immediately start using to grow your practice.

We have helped thousands of attorneys achieve their goals of creating a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice. In this e-book you will discover specific principles and tools you can use to grow your practice, too. 
 
 

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If you have not registered yet for our two upcoming attorney marketing boot camps, there is still time to do so. Join law firm marketing experts and your fellow attorneys for our Rainmaker Retreat – in Los Angeles on July 30-31 or at The Mirage in Las Vegas the following weekend, Aug. 6-7, 2010.

This is what attendees of the Rainmaker Retreat have had to say about our attorney marketing boot camp:

Among the many things you will take away from this event:

• Step-by-step guidance in finding the best, most strategic referral partners
• How to cut costs by eliminating ineffective law firm marketing strategies
• Create a ‘Master Plan’ to guide your firm’s growth through marketing for lawyers
• How to focus your time, energy and dollars on the most effective law firm marketing techniques designed specifically for small and solo law firms
• Five proven strategies to get more attention, command more respect and charge higher fees
• Leveraging the Internet to create the most “buzz” for your firm
• How to create a steady stream of new referrals using law firm marketing techniques
• Learn to set your firm apart from your competitors

Each day is filled with sessions (with built-in Action Steps and Action Groups) to guide you in putting these law firm marketing strategies into practice immediately. You will leave with a specific plan – uniquely suited to you and your firm – that will help you to create a successful and highly-satisfying legal practice!

You can still qualify for the Early Bird Discount for our Las Vegas Rainmaker Retreat – to register, go 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:

Tuesday, July 27, 2010
1-2pm Pacific | 2-3pm Mountain | 3-4pm Central | 4-5pm Eastern

Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010
11am-12pm Pacific | 12-1pm Mountain | 1-2pm Central | 2-3pm Eastern

Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2010
1-2pm Pacific | 2-3pm Mountain | 3-4pm Central | 4-5pm Eastern

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

 

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A very powerful law firm marketing strategy to generate more clients is to hold educational seminars or speak at events.  Here are some tips to help ensure that the time you commit to this endeavor pays off for you in terms of new clients and/or referrals.

Tip #1: Always Speak to Decision Makers
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 percentage 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?

Tip #2: Educate Your Audience
Make your talk educational. Don’t stand up there and spout legal jargon and legal theory or sections and codes because that’s not what people want. They want practical, useful information.

You may say, “Well, I don’t want to give away the store. I don’t want to give them so much information that they can do it themselves.” Please understand, if you could give them enough information where they could do it themselves, the people who actually would do it for themselves are not your clients.

You want to target the people who have the money to hire an attorney and don’t want to do it for themselves. You don’t want to hire tire kickers or “do it yourselfers” because all they’re going to do is try to get your lowest price. I actually follow the opposite principle. I purposefully try to overwhelm my audience with practical, useful information when I give a seminar on law firm marketing. Why? Because I want them to walk out of the room with so many great ideas that they don’t know where to start so they will turn to me and hire my company to implement the law firm marketing plan for them.

You must recognize that not everyone in the audience is in your target market and you need to qualify them as much as they qualify you. You need to ensure that they need you, they want you and they can afford you. If you don’t want to attract “Yellow Page Clients” then don’t charge Yellow Page prices.

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.

Tip # 4: The Fortune is in the Follow-up
The number one reason why lawyers don’t get results is because they don’t have a written follow-up system. You must develop a follow up strategy before the talk.

Let me give you an example. Let’s say your follow-up strategy is a series of emails, phone calls and maybe a letter or postcard. Your follow-up system would include 4 emails, 3 phone calls and 1 letter.

Email #1 would be sent within 24 hours post-seminar. It would be a thank you email with an offer for a free consultation, special report or audio CD.  Phone Call #1 would be made by your staff and would be made within 24 hours post-seminar. The call would be to thank them for attending and make the same free offer that’s made in the email. Your letter would be sent out the next day (they should receive it within 3 days if they are local.) and the letter would repeat what you have written in the email. All of this would happen in the first 24 hours after the seminar.

Some of you will question if that’s too aggressive. It’s not. It demonstrates a high level of professionalism and commitment to your attendees. We give dozens of law firm marketing seminars every year and this works.

Email #2 is sent 3 to 5 days after the event. Remind them about the seminar they attended and invite them to sign-up for a consultation for your newsletter. Email #3 might offer a brief tip about the topic you spoke about: top 10 tips or recommended resources, etc. Every person should be contacted by at least three phone calls before you stop trying to reach them. Every attendee should receive at least 5-7 emails and 1-2 letters from your law firm.

If you follow this script, you will attract both new clients and referrals from an audience that has been impressed by your knowledge, how you articulate it and the thoroughness of your follow-through.  You’ll be the attorney they want to do business with, I promise.

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Phoenix Attorneys:  Learn About Social Media at July 21 Legal Networking Group

Join us on Wednesday, July 21, when Stephen will address a meeting of the Phoenix Legal Networking Group on Unlocking the Secrets of Social Media for Lawyers: Facebook and Twitter. 
You will learn:

• Why Facebook is the 800 pound gorilla on the Internet
• Who is using Facebook (this will surprise you)
• What kind of practice areas are getting clients from Facebook
• How to get started fast
• Why Twitter is growing so fast
• How to leverage Twitter to drive traffic to your blog or website
• Top tips for using social media in your legal marketing strategy

The event will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 21 at Monti’s, 100 S. Mill Ave. in Tempe.  Cost is only $20 per person.

To register for this seminar, co-hosted by FindLaw, Attorney at Law Magazine and The Rainmaker Institute, click here.

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Woke up this morning to some great news from my friends at JD Supra – great for them, great for those of us who believe in the power of social media when it comes to legal marketing.

Last night LinkedIn launched its Legal Updates application powered by JD Supra content, calling it the “World's Largest Legal Content Distribution Network.”

The Legal Updates application distributes a feed of expert commentary and guidance as well as legal news tailored to the professional interests of LinkedIn members.  Currently, Legal Updates is the only application for distribution of professional legal content and information available on LinkedIn. 

It is free to LinkedIn members (which currently number 70 million) and is available now at http://bit.ly/c8JRjh.

As you may know, LinkedIn is the dominant social networking site for professionals, and has been extremely selective in making outside applications available on its network.  For instance, the iPhone has more than 200,000 apps available, while LinkedIn has only 16 that come from trusted names like Google, Amazon and Twitter. 

JD Supra's Legal Updates application is widely seen as a game-changer for how lawyers will use LinkedIn to market their expertise (the current installation rate for the application is about one every minute since it went live overnight).

JD Supra's Legal Updates application gives legal professionals a compelling platform to communicate their expertise not only to their own list of LinkedIn contacts but beyond to LinkedIn's entire network of 70 million professionals across a range of fields, including Insurance, Banking, Tech, Real Estate, HR, and more.

LinkedIn's 70 million members can receive custom-tailored, fully editable content feeds based on their industry and areas of interest.  Real estate professionals get updates on real estate law; HR professionals get updates on HR law, etc.

To read more about this exciting legal marketing opportunity, click here for the announcement press release.

You can also learn more by signing up for an online demo of the new app on Wednesday, July 22 at 1 p.m. ET.  To register, visit http://bit.ly/9NOeuL. 

Can’t wait?  To watch an instructional how-to video, visit http://bit.ly/bDvX2x.  That’s where I’ll be with my morning coffee.

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Learn All About the Latest Legal Marketing Trends & Tools at a Rainmaker Retreat

If you are interested in building a lifestyle law practice through effective law firm marketing, then come to one of our upcoming Rainmaker Retreats:

• July 30-31, 2010        Los Angeles, CA
• August 6-7, 2010       Las Vegas, NV
• October 8-9, 2010     New Brunswick, NJ

We would like to send you a DVD of your colleagues (and even your competitors) describing their experiences at our 2-day law firm marketing boot camp, the Rainmaker Retreat. Click here to order your complimentary DVD right now.

 

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According to the newly released Altman Weil Flash Survey, Law Firms in Transition 2010, over 75% of the large law firms surveyed indicate that they think more price competition, more non-hourly billing and the use of project management to improve efficiency of service delivery will be permanent changes in the legal landscape.

Conducted in April and May of 2010, the survey polled managing partners at 787 American law firms with 50 or more lawyers.  The full survey is available online to download here.

We’re pretty sure that what is affecting the larger firms is also affecting smaller and solo practices – more pressures on price and, overall, more competition as consumers become more savvy about “shopping” for their legal services on sites like Avvo.

So how do you distinguish yourself from your competition and stand out in the vast legal landscape?  It will take you two days to find out:  attend a Rainmaker Retreat. 

These attorneys just attended our last Rainmaker Retreat in San Francisco in late June:

“If you are not doing this stuff, thanks! Because I am scooping your client prospects!”- Peter Brewer, Esq. (CA)

“This course should be part of the law school curriculum for every school in the nation!”- Andrew Cho, Esq. (CA)

“I flew across country to get here. I would have walked. This is an utterly fabulous program.”- Tom Hartmann, Esq. (NJ)

In fact, more than 7,000 attorneys are already employing our law firm marketing techniques and reaping the benefits.

Among the many things you will take away from this event:

• Step-by-step guidance in finding the best, most strategic referral partners
• How to cut costs by eliminating ineffective law firm marketing strategies
• Create a ‘Master Plan’ to guide your firm’s growth through marketing for lawyers
• How to focus your time, energy and dollars on the most effective law firm marketing techniques designed specifically for small and solo law firms
• Five proven strategies to get more attention, command more respect and charge higher fees
• Leveraging the Internet to create the most “buzz” for your firm
• How to create a steady stream of new referrals using law firm marketing techniques
• Learn to set your firm apart from your competitors

Each day is filled with sessions (with built-in Action Steps and Action Groups) to guide you in putting these law firm marketing strategies into practice immediately. You will leave with a specific plan – uniquely suited to you and your firm – that will help you to create a successful and highly satisfying legal practice!

Register now for our Los Angeles Rainmaker Retreat on July 30-31 or our Las Vegas Rainmaker Retreat on August 6-7 and take advantage of the Early Bird special pricing -- a $200 discount!

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Exclusive Rainmaker Retreat Preview Call – Learn Before You Go!

If you want to learn more about the Rainmaker Retreat and why it is a proven legal marketing system that has helped over 6,000 attorneys find more and better clients, then register now for our one-hour complimentary teleseminar.

Hosted by Rainmaker Institute CEO Stephen Fairley, this teleseminar will give you a preview of the valuable material that is taught at our 2-day Rainmaker Retreat.

Sign up now for one of these upcoming one-hour teleseminars:

Tuesday, July 13, 2010
1-2pm Pacific | 2-3pm Mountain | 3-4pm Central | 5-6pm Eastern

Wednesday, July 21, 2010
11am-12pm Pacific | 12-1pm Mountain | 1-2pm Central | 2-3pm Eastern

Tuesday, July 27, 2010
1-2pm Pacific | 2-3pm Mountain | 3-4pm Central | 5-6pm 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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The Law of 7 Touches is based on research that found it takes an average of 7 to 10 meaningful touches EVERY YEAR to move someone through the cycle from not knowing anything about you to being ready to buy from you. 

This is just the average, not a guarantee, because in hyper-competitive markets, like legal services, it often takes many more touches than that -- and to drive customer buying habits, it takes consistency. 

Consider the following statistics regarding the legal profession’s contact with prospective clients:

• 48% of lawyers give up after the first contact.
• 25% give up after the second contact.
• 12% give up after the third contact.
• 5% give up after the fourth contact.

In other words, 9 out of 10 prospective clients are never followed-up with more than 4 times.

If you want your law firm marketing to be successful, you must obey “The Law of 7.”

You’re probably thinking, “I know I should connect frequently and consistently with my prospective clients, but I just don’t have the time.”

True.  Which is why you should leverage the power of technology to build relationships with your prospects.

What you need is a strategy and a process that leverages the most recent advancements in technology (autoresponders, social media, blogs, for example) to simplify and automate your marketing efforts, building rock solid, long-term relationships and helping you earn more, work less and spend time doing what you love to do.

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Looking for more Rainmaker Institute Wisdom?

Then sign up for a complimentary Law Firm Marketing Strategy CD.  It contains information that will enable you to Generate More and Better Referrals, Find New Clients Fast, and Fill Your Law Practice.  The CD is free, so sign up now!

Take our Twitter Poll:  If you’re an attorney, we want your feedback!  Click here (or go to http://twitter.polldaddy.com/done/3364850) to let us know what business development topics you’re most interested in right now.

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There is no denying the value of blogging when it comes to law firm marketing.

When used properly, it becomes a clear, consistent voice for your practice. It entices prospects, referral sources, colleagues, clients and thought leaders to engage you in dialogue.

It keeps you top of mind. It builds visibility among your target clients. Ultimately, it earns you more of the kind of client you most desire.

Technorati, the top blog search engine, was indexing over 126 million blogs as of December 2009.  Two years ago, there were only about 1,800 to 2,200 blogs written by lawyers.  Law.com now indexes over 23,000 legal blogs.

Have you seen the huge opportunity here?  Or are you still on the sidelines waiting to see if blogging is a fad?

The problem arises when you begin blogging without a clear law firm marketing strategy behind you.

Blogging should be a part of, but not your entire law firm marketing strategy. It is your forum to connect with the community at large and to make it clear that you are an expert in your field.

But to make it the highly effective medium you need it to be, your law firm marketing and promotion strategy should include:

• A topic list designed to engage your target audience
• A list of social media (such as Facebook and Twitter) to promote it
• A list and schedule for article marketing services to add visibility and to feed it to reporters and thought leaders
• An up to date blog that you write articles for at least 2 to 4 times per week
• A search engine optimization formula to increase your page rank

When you have all these things in place, you will be well on your way to creating a blog that will enhance your overall law firm marketing efforts.

Take our Twitter Poll:  If you’re an attorney, we want your feedback!  Click here (or go to http://twitter.polldaddy.com/done/3364850) to let us know what business development topics you’re most interested in right now.

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Are you looking for specific marketing strategies you can use in your law firm?

Then order the Rainmaker in a Box 5-DVD set!

Some of the information and strategies you will learn include:

• The 5 Immutable Secrets to Building a 7 Figure Law Practice

• 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

This program also includes a data DVD which includes all 4 PowerPoint presentations.

To order this information-packed set click here.
 

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Even though it has 70 million members and is the planet’s largest business networking website, LinkedIn sometimes gets lost in the social media cacophony.  Maybe because it’s not as fun as Facebook.  Or doesn’t have a cute alias for communicating like “tweet”. 

But for lawyers, it’s hard to beat LinkedIn as a vital social media tool for building referral sources.  Some more stats for LinkedIn:

• All Fortune 500 companies are represented
• 46% of users describe themselves as Decision Makers
• Average household income is $109,000
• Average age is 41
• Over 1 million senior executives use LinkedIn

The best uses of LinkedIn for attorneys:

Connect.  Use LinkedIn to connect with referral sources and joint venture partners.  One of the most compelling reasons to join LinkedIn is for the professional groups.  Do you practice real estate law?  There are 3,418 real estate groups on LinkedIn.  Does your practice target tech?  There are 6,270 technology groups.  Need to boost your visibility with finance professionals?  Join a few of the 1,852 finance professional groups on LinkedIn.

Boost Expertise Profile.  Joining and contributing to the discussion within the LinkedIn professional groups helps you build your profile as an expert in your area of law practice. 

Boost Search Engine Ranking.  LinkedIn profiles rank high in Google and the other search engines.

Here are 8 steps to get you started on LinkedIn:

• Create a comprehensive profile
• Start by connect with people you know (tip: use LinkedIn toolbar for Outlook)
• Recommend others and be recommended
• Join groups for attorneys, referral sources and prospects
• Start a group for your target market
• Answer questions
• Update your status at least three times every week
• List all your events on LinkedIn

I invite you to connect with me on LinkedIn at www.LinkedIn.com/in/StephenFairley.

Take our Twitter Poll:  If you’re an attorney, we want your feedback!  Click here (or go to http://twitter.polldaddy.com/done/3364850) to let us know what business development topics you’re most interested in right now.

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Looking for more Rainmaker Institute Wisdom?

Then sign up for a complimentary Law Firm Marketing Strategy CD.  It contains information that will enable you to Generate More and Better Referrals, Find New Clients Fast, and Fill Your Law Practice. 

The CD is free, so sign up now!
 

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It’s not enough to simply generate lots of traffic for your law firm website; if they’re not the right kind of visitors – the kind who are interested in what you’re selling – simply driving traffic for the sake of numbers is a fool’s errand.

So how to attract the right sort to your site?  It takes some discipline and a methodical approach.

Audience identification
Identifying exactly who your top prospects are for your practice is critical to online success. One of the biggest mistakes attorneys routinely make is targeting the wrong market – typically, a market that is too big for them to adequately reach.  Remember, it takes an average of 7 to 10 meaningful “touches” to move someone from knowing nothing about you to being ready to buy from you.  Your Ideal Target Market is one you can affordably reach at least 7-10 times before expecting them to utilize your services.

Keyword research
Those prospects for your services will use certain words to search for what they want.  Knowing what those words are – and using them throughout your site in content and meta tags as well as in PPC campaigns and social media marketing -- is the key to driving targeted traffic to your site.   There are several helpful keyword research tools to help you, including Google Adwords, Wordtracker and Wordstream.

Relevant content
Your keyword-rich content should not only attract and engage your site visitors, it should also lead them to an action -- sign up for a newsletter, call for an appointment, etc.  Serving up the right information at the right time adds value to the user experience, helps with the decision-making process and leads to sales.  Keeping your content fresh – and this is where a business blog on your site can be most useful – not only keeps visitors engaged and returning, but also boosts your search engine rankings.

Social media
Engaging prospects in other online venues, in groups or discussion forums, also provides assistance in attracting targeted web traffic.  Establishing yourself as an expert presence in these online venues adds professional credibility and provides you with link building opportunities that help your search engine ranking as well.

Remember that the goal of your legal practice website is to generate interest that leads to engagement, which can only come from attracting the right target audience.  It’s not just all about the numbers – it’s about the numbers that translate into dollars.

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Practice Made Perfect for Lawyers CD Set

The Practice Made Perfect CD set and manual applies Stephen Fairley’s unique High Impact Marketing System to the practice-building challenges faced by solo practitioners and partners at small law firms. 

It includes dozens of specific marketing and sales recommendations that can be easily and quickly applied to your firm, including:

• The only 7 sure-fire ways to get clients in your door NOW
• Why advertising doesn’t work for most small law firms
• The 7 reasons why people don’t buy from you   
• How to market and sell with USP’s (Unique Selling Proposition)   
• Using audio logos to attract immediate attention for your business
• Using low-cost, high impact marketing strategies   
• Strategies for achieving maximum results from all of your marketing efforts   
• How to discover your Ideal Target Market
• 3 critical factors to remember when looking for new clients
• The NEW sales cycle for professional services
• How to retain your best clients

Click here to order your Practice Made Perfect for Lawyers CD set and manual now.

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