Archive for March, 2010

Marketing Tips for Lawyers , Attorneys and Legal Professionals

Monday, March 15th, 2010

As times have gotten tougher and income is more difficult to come by, more and more businesses are returning to direct marketing skills to bring in more (and better) business. The concepts of direct marketing are tried and true- they have specific methods of measurement so that the results of marketing efforts are evident.

No guessing. The facts are right there in front of you.

For whatever reason, direct marketing tends to cause squeamishness in the business world. Maybe because of the lack of glamour, luster and ego involved in it.

Direct marketers are not concerned with any of that. They are driven by one thing: RESULTS.

Selling. Getting a customer. Delivering a product or service. Making the customer happy. Collecting money. Repeat. Again.

See how boring this can be? (especially if you do not like money!)

This is how you need to direct your law practice if you want to not only survive as a lawyer but thrive!

Run your law practice like a business and you will never lack for satisfied customers.

A Three Step Process

James Greenier, marketing maverick, employs basic direct marketing to every business he works with. He produces stellar results every time. One of his most effective tested theories is:

Right Message to the Right Audience with the Right Media.

If you mess up just one of those variables, you run the risk of missing out on profit and clients.

Marketing is the lifeline of your business. If you are not putting yourself out there in front of prospective clients, you won’t have any. However, there is no need to advertise to every person. You don’t want every person to call you for business.

Now that we have established the right message-right audience-right media concept, let’s make sure that you can do it.

What is your right message? In direct marketing terms, what is your unique selling proposition, the skill set, values or contributions that you bring that cause you to stand out from your competition?

Keep in mind that this is not about faster or better. This is about different, the extra effort, service, product or skill that you alone possess.

Once you figure out what sets you apart, craft a couple of sentences to explain it. These 2-3 sentences do not reflect EVERYTHING your law practice does. The USP states why you are different as an attorney. A lawyer’s well crafted USP will attract clients because they have immediately become aware of what the attorney can do for them.

Next, use your USP to drive your marketing campaign. Nobody wants to be sold, but they do want to have their needs filled. Use your USP to talk to the right customers about how you can solve their problems and meet their needs.

Figure out where the majority of your business comes from and focus on your target market. Put your advertising dollars to work there.

It Takes Time but it is Worth It

It is not difficult to stand out from the crowd because most lawyers don’t.

Be a lawyer that stands out with these simple steps.

So, to recap: figure out your USP. Once you have your USP, use it as your marketing message. Identify who your target audience is and where they are and what they read. Advertise there.

It will take some time. Developing effective USP’s, finding your target audience and marketing specifically to them can be a tedious process in the beginning. Especially if this way of business is new to you.

There is no need to reinvent the wheel. At Lawyer Success, we focus our business on improving your business. We can extract what is unique and different about you and focus your marketing in the right direction while you focus on your law practice.

Once the clients start pouring in, there may not be much time for anything else.

For a free consultation concerning marketing tips call us today at (769) 218-6099.

At Lawyer Success, “Your Success is Our Business.” Each new client is treated as if they were our only client and we understand that your success with our services is our responsibility and is critical to a long term client for our company. Lawyer Success, Inc. was founded by law firm marketing expert James Greenier. Over the past 11 years, Mr. Greenier has personally worked on, developed or consulted with 7 of the top 10 most trafficked legal websites on the Internet. He also served as the primary web marketing advisor for over 3,500 law firms. He will be your primary contact at all times and will develop the strategy for for your project. He will also personally supervise and participate in your project to ensure that you receive the highest level of service, support and performance. For a free consultation concerning marketing tips call us today at (769) 218-6099.

Web Page Design for Lawyers, Attorneys and Legal Professionals

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

Having a website is imperative to remaining competitive in today’s marketplace. People turn to the internet to find what they are looking for.

A benefit of the internet is that your web page stays in the same spot (unlike business cards which have the unfortunate habit of ending up stuffed in a drawer or under the front seat of the car). Your clients can come back to your site again and again.

The appeal of your website to bring your customers back is caught up in the information and the look of your website.

I probably don’t have to sell you on the importance of a website. However, I want to persuade you on the importance of the design of your web pages.

While initial thought may be to create a website that can be described as “cool”, “trendy” or “award winning,” you want to stay away from that. Instead, build an info-filled website- a website filled with the information your potential clients are looking for.

What are Clients looking for?

The websites that have the most traffic are the websites that provide the most useful information and help to a client.

People are looking for answers to their questions and problems. The internet is the place where they search. Your web pages should be a place where you give.

The web page needs to have what the client is looking for immediately as they open the page.

The webpage can be as simple or complex as you want to make it. Just remember the wants of your clients as you create the design.

You want them to want to come back. You want your clients to think of you as a credible, helpful, knowledge-filled, problem-solving lawyer. You want your name to be who they think of first when they have a legal problem or are recommending legal services to someone.

Getting Outside Help- Web Designers and Consultants

You may decide to hire a web designer. Unless you are a whiz and enjoy computer programming and web design as a hobby, it is recommended to hire someone to put it together for you. You will save yourself a headache!

Even though the web designer will create the website and individual web pages, you will need to oversee the direction and “look” of the sight.

Remember- you know the clients you want to work for. You know their mind set, their fears and anxieties and needs. You know how you can help solve their legal problems whether it is getting a new S Corporation off the ground, putting together a living trust or getting answers for legal help with their taxes.

Because you have the knowledge of this vital information, you need to direct the web designer’s work.

Most Important of All

Your website should show your client that you have the solution to their problems.

They should know you are their answer in a matter of seconds.

Otherwise, their clicker-happy finger is bound to go to a different page.

The goal of each web page is to persuade the reader to TAKE ACTION!

Maybe the action is to submit their name and email to receive further information. Maybe the action is to finish reading the page and click on the next page.

Whatever the desired action is, persuade the client to take it.

For a free consultation concerning web page design call us today at (769) 218-6099.

At Lawyer Success, “Your Success is Our Business.” Each new client is treated as if they were our only client and we understand that your success with our services is our responsibility and is critical to a long term client for our company. Lawyer Success, Inc. was founded by law firm marketing expert James Greenier. Over the past 11 years, Mr. Greenier has personally worked on, developed or consulted with 7 of the top 10 most trafficked legal websites on the Internet. He also served as the primary web marketing advisor for over 3,500 law firms. He will be your primary contact at all times and will develop the strategy for for your project. He will also personally supervise and participate in your project to ensure that you receive the highest level of service, support and performance. For a free consultation concerning web page design call us today at (769) 218-6099.

Add a Link Lawyers and Attorneys and Law Firms

Friday, March 12th, 2010

We are always looking to build a network of quality legal or law related link exchange partners for our websites and our clients’ websites.  We are actively pursuing relationships with attorneys or web designers or SEO experts that can actually perform the link exchange on their legal related website(s).  This way we can stay in contact and exchange links.

We prefer pages to exchange links not be in a Link folder or Link Exchange Program.  We would want to only exchange with sites where we would be on a quality web page. Preferably we would want to be able to write a paragraph of content to include the link.

If you truly understand link building and SEO you should understand what we are looking for. This can be a very mutually beneficial relationship for us and our clients! If interested call James Greenier at (769) 218-6099.

Why You Need to Hire a Legal Content Writer for Your Attorney Website

Friday, March 5th, 2010

In the popular book, “The Four Hour Workweek” Timothy Ferris makes the very impressive argument for outsourcing everything that can be done by someone else. He emphasizes the importance of delegating tasks to focus on the things that you do the best.

In summary- the most streamlined, effective, productive people are the ones who know how to delegate.

While most of us have no intention of trying to shave our workweek down to four hours, we do have the desire to focus on our energy and attention on what we do best. As a result, the other tasks on our lists may get delayed, avoided, or (hopefully) delegated.

Writing content should definitely be on your list to hire out on.

These are the top 7 reasons you should hire a content writer for your attorney website:

1. The web has become complicated. Now, you don’t just have to write intelligently to get your readers attention. Studies show the average reader on a website gets bored and clicks away from a website in about 10 second IF they don’t see what they want. You essentially have to reel in the reader into your copy when they find your web site. A content writer knows the methods to get people to stay.

2. Readers are smart and task oriented. They come to the Internet to find something. Unfortunately, most websites are not user friendly. An experienced content writer knows WHAT the reader is looking for and HOW to write it so the reader feels they have found what they wanted.

3. Search engines like Google and Bing send out “spiders” to search websites for original and helpful content. They look for “key words”- words that repeat themselves or “key” your website to people. There are specific methods to insert keywords into your content, causing the search engines to pick up on the specific words, increasing your rating on the search engine ladder.

4. Writing can be tedious. It typically takes hours to write content for an effective website.

5. Good marketers know that people make decisions from their heart, not their head. Your content writers must be aware of the needs people have when looking for a lawyer. These needs ultimately trump the logical decision making brain. This must be reflected in the website to secure leads.

6. Professional websites are different from other websites. It is essentially your business card and your first impression for your future customers. A professional content writer is aware of what the consumer is looking for in a professional attorney’s website and what they should find. He writes from the reader’s point of view.

7. Different perspectives. As a lawyer, you want to grow your business by helping people with your services. Your future clients want to achieve their goals (in a legal case, they need an attorney to reach those goals). The content writer writes with the client’s goals in mind.

Ultimately, the content writer for your attorney website creates a strong selling website by keeping your clients as their focus and your services as the benefit.

Could you learn all of these things? Of course you could! But I wouldn’t recommend it. Becoming an expert at internet marketing and copywriting would take hundreds of hours. These are hours that you could spend doing what you do best: practicing law and helping people.

Furthermore, at Lawyer Success we employ legal content writers who are lawyers and are familiar with not only the writing aspect of an attorney’s website, but the sensitive legal issues and state laws that you deal with and an understanding of legal consumer needs.

When we handle your content, you can be assured that not only are you getting quality content, but it is being handled in the most professional way possible.

For a free consultation concerning hiring a legal content writer for your website call us today at (769) 218-6099.

At Lawyer Success, “Your Success is Our Business.” Each new client is treated as if they were our only client and we understand that your success with our services is our responsibility and is critical to a long term client for our company. Lawyer Success, Inc. was founded by law firm marketing expert James Greenier. Over the past 11 years, Mr. Greenier has personally worked on, developed or consulted with 7 of the top 10 most trafficked legal websites on the Internet. He also served as the primary web marketing advisor for over 3,500 law firms. He will be your primary contact at all times and will develop the strategy for your project. He will also personally supervise and participate in your project to ensure that you receive the highest level of service, support and performance. For a free consultation concerning hiring a content writer for your web site call us today at (769) 218-6099.

What Lawyers Need to Know about Marketing on the Internet

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Marketing has gotten to be a complicated beast. Just the idea of marketing sets non-marketing professionals running in terror.

Does this sound like you? How much time have you spent finding new clients and advertising your services in the last 6 months? Do you have a measurable way to evaluate the return on your marketing? Do you know exactly how much your advertising dollars and efforts have returned in investments?

It does not have to be like this.

In its simplest form, marketing is letting the right potential clients know that you are there in a way that they can hear and see you.

It is being at the right place (where your customer is) at the right time with right message.

However, there is so much marketing noise nowadays that the “hearing” part can be difficult.

Consider the myriad of marketing possibilities in front of you: blogs, articles, SEO, PPC, lead generation, pay per click, Google ad sense, pay per lead, attorney directories, driving traffic, advertising on legal websites, content writing. It goes on and on.

All of these marketing tools are covered under a big umbrella called internet marketing.

While traditional methods of marketing- advertising in newspapers, ads, phonebooks and billboards- still exists, most of today’s marketing goes online.

Why?

Because the internet is the place where people go to find information to solve their problems.

How easy are you to find on the Web?

If your law practice specializes in equipping start up businesses, do entrepreneurs and small business owners find you when they do a search on Bing or Google?

Why not?

Fortunately, there are ways to measure and evaluate what marketing tools work and what do not. Unfortunately, you can spend an awful lot of your valuable time and money into marketing methods that don’t provide you with the results that you want.

With the right tools, you can position yourself on the web to be seen by the right potential clientele. Resist the spam in your inbox promising the number one spot on Google. For a small fortune, many online marketers boast a magical system that boosts your ratings. At best you will feel good about the amount of money you spent on a marketing campaign that doesn’t have a methodical or logical approach. At worst, you could be kicked out of the search engine system for life if the marketer illegally attempts to boost your rating through bogus scams and “blasts” in an attempt to raise your rating.

To avoid that, it is best to consult with a marketing firm that specializes in your business. For lawyers, working with a lawyer driven marketing business will add extensive value to your company. You will be able to see their history and track record with other clients. You can look at their portfolio and see how they have helped other lawyers increase their online presence and business.

Marketers who specialize in specific fields are familiar with the specific needs you have:

· the laws and regulations that lawyers need to abide by

· legitimate and measurable ways to drive traffic and collect leads that can be followed up on

· lawyer “jargon” that needs to be broken down in a way the client can understand

In a highly competitive market, you have the ability to stand out through an effective marketing campaign. Remember, you don’t want to throw yourself at potential clients. Instead, you want to show what sets you apart and gather clients in.

How can you stand out in the crowd of other lawyers and attorney’s vying for your prospective client’s attention?

Make sure you use the right tools! Getting the help of a marketing consultant who is trained to market attorney’s services may be what you need to get the right clients and start the climb to the top of your niche.

Collaborating with the right people can be the difference maker in your business. It will also save you stress, anxiety and hours of valuable time that could be devoted to your business.

After all, when it comes down to the rubber hitting the road, marketing is about building relationships with your customers.

For a free consultation concerning the most effective marketing tools for your practice, call us today at (769) 218-6099.

At Lawyer Success, “Your Success is Our Business.” Each new client is treated as if they were our only client and we understand that your success with our services is our responsibility and is critical to a long term client for our company. Lawyer Success, Inc. was founded by law firm marketing expert James Greenier. Over the past 11 years, Mr. Greenier has personally worked on, developed or consulted with 7 of the top 10 most trafficked legal websites on the Internet. He also served as the primary web marketing advisor for over 3,500 law firms. He will be your primary contact at all times and will develop the strategy for for your project. He will also personally supervise and participate in your project to ensure that you receive the highest level of service, support and performance. For a free consultation concerning marketing for lawyers call us today at (769) 218-6099.