A recent piece up at Marketing Profs suggests using slower summer months to write up case studies of successful projects.  In the hopes of using an actual law firm case study on using case studies as an example, I ran some searches to find a law firm website that includes case studies - and came up short.  So it occurred to me that before describing how to write a case study, I should describe what a case study is and why it's an effective marketing device.  After that, I'll discuss how to lawyers can write case studies that will attract clients, but at the same time, not reveal so much as to violate confidentiality rules.

What is a case study and why is it effective?

As defined in Wikipedia, a case study is an explanatory tool based on "an in-depth investigation of a single individual, group, or event" to highlight underlying issues."  The reason that case studies are effective is because through reference to facts and events, they show, rather than tell, how an attorney can assist.

How can a lawyer write a case study?

Even though there aren't many examples of lawyer case studies, fortunately, there's a fairly stock, multi-step formula for drafting a case study, as described at VAR Marketing.  First, select the matters that will serve as the focus of the case study and highlight your "best work and current business practices."  For example, if you're marketing your firm's responsiveness and ability to get the job done, you might want to focus on a client who retained you to resolve a dispute that had dragged out for years on another firm's docket.  If you want to show your willingness to take on risky or "long-shot" matters, write about a matter where you not only prevailed, but created new precedent.

If you're a new lawyer who hasn't had much experience, not to worry.  Though you can't lie or exaggerate about your involvement in a matter, you can describe your participation - even at a "low-man-on-the-totem-pole" level - in a high profile case that your firm handled.  You could also write about pro bono matters or cases that you handled through a clinic at law school.

Once you've selected a few exemplary cases, organize the content as follows, recommends VAR Marketing.  (I've modified the steps to make them applicable to lawyers):
  
    •    Client description
    •    Client Challenge
    •    Solution
    •    Results

How can I write about my clients -- what about confidentiality issues?

In contrast to some businesses, lawyers are bound by confidentiality requirements and for that reason, may not be able to discuss certain cases simply because the discussion might encroach on a client's privacy or breach attorney-client privilege.  If there's a case where you risk breaching confidentiality, you could consider getting a client's consent to discuss the details.  But in my view, you're probably better off focusing on a less sensitive case.  In addition, avoid identifying details and stick to discussion of information that resides in the public record - for example, the summary of the case from the court's opinion.

In describing the solutions and results, do so in a way that makes sense to a client.  Boasting about setting new precedent means nothing; a prospective client will want to understand why the particular precedent matters.  Likewise, you should describe the solution in layperson terms, rather than lawyer-ese.

Not convinced that the case study approach works?  Which of the following descriptions is more persuasive:

1.  Our firm's lawyers collectively have 50 years of appellate practice experience.  We have a winning record before the XYZ Court of Appeals.

2.  After our clients completed construction of their dream home, the County which had previously approved the plans,  claimed that the clients were in violation of zoning laws and directed them to move their entire house seven feet from the street curb.  Our clients challenged the County's ruling in court, and lost.  They came to our firm to handle the appeal after several firms advised them to accept a settlement which would partly compensate them for the costs of new construction but leave them without a place to live for at least a year.    Instead, we appealed and secured a reversal of the County's decision as well as an award of attorneys' fees, thus enabling our clients to remain in the house of their dreams.

As the examples show, a case study can make your work come alive for clients - which is another reason that case studies are so persuasive.  At the same time, they do require more time to draft than an ordinary practice description - so as I said at the outset, use summer downtime to make the case for your law firm by drafting a case study.

It's been a while since I've done a marketing round-up post -- either updating older posts or throwing out a couple of links.  So let's get started, and see what's new in the world of legal marketing.

Generating Business From Conferences

A while back, I posted about how you can market your practice through speaking engagements.  Of course, speaking engagements at a conference can be hard to come by.  If that's the case, you can also extract value just from attending a conference - particularly if you read this piece, How to Use Conferences to Generate Business Opportunities by Lee Rosen which appears in the May 2010 issue of TechnoLawyer.  Rosen sets out a three-phased approach for conferences which includes: (1) pre-conference reconnaissance where you identify prospects you want to meet, as well as rehearsal on what you'll say; (2) working the conference, which involves getting around during the conference to meet attendees and (3) post-conference follow up.  (Incidentally, as the video at the end of this post shows, a whopping 80 percent of conference attendees fail to follow up on leads).

The Importance of Being Mobile

Over the past year, I've twice posted -- here and here about the increased importance of being mobile when it comes to marketing.  Well, mobility still matters more than ever.  As law firm marketing gury Larry Bodine reports at his Law Marketing Blog, smart phone ownership is up 38 percent, and lawyers need to start thinking about ways to deliver marketing and education-based contents through mobile media.  Along these same lines, a recent post at Marketing Profs notes that frequent users of social media (those who use social networking sites several times a day) have more than doubled to 39 million in 2010, up from 18 million a year earlier.  These frequent users are likely to be using mobile technologies, both to engage in social media and for other purposes.  In short, it's not premature to think about ways to make your web content and other marketing messages accessible for mobile platforms.

Marketing Tips from MyShingle

For those of you who don't read my blog at MyShingle, I occasionally post marketing ideas over there.  In the past month or so, I've posted on ways to market your practice on the government's dime and also created the short video below on Marketing by the Numbers for lawyers.

Marketing by the Numbers: A Thirteen Minute WhyTo on Marketing A Law Practice from Carolyn Elefant on Vimeo.

If you've come to this post expecting a checklist of criteria by which to evaluate your current marketing efforts or implement a new marketing initiative, then you've come to the wrong place.  Those kinds of checklists (especially a task list) are useful to be sure, because they make it easier to delegate marketing to a subordinate or assistant so that it doesn't go by the wayside when your schedule picks up.  But today, I'm addressing another category of checklist:  the kind that lawyers use, or at least should use, that outline the steps or procedures involved in handling the substance of a case.

If the "checklist" concept sounds familiar to you, it's because it's the focal point of Anul Gawande's book, The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, which has been the subject of many-a-recent blog post.  I recently finished the book myself and was convinced by Gawande's thesis:  that the "humble" checklist can minimize error in carrying out complex tasks by helping with memory recall and setting out the minimum necessary steps in a process.  Moreover, by committing routine procedures to a hard and fast list, a checklist frees up professionals to devote more time to the kinds of judgment calls that they always have to make, whether there's a list in place or not.

Gawande draws on examples from medicine, engineering and aviation to demonstrate how checklists can minimize error.  In the medical profession for example, a study showed that by using a checklist for placing a central line (comprised of seemingly mundane tasks like wearing a mask or body-draping a patient), the  the ten-day infection rate was reduced from 11% to zero.  But you can probably imagine situations in your own practice where a checklist - such as the essential elements of a personal injury complaint to a list of documents required to file a bankruptcy petition - could also help avoid error and eliminate the risk of dismissal of a case.

OK.  So you're convinced of the importance of checklists.  But what's that got to do with marketing?  Plenty.  Consider these potential ways to use checklists to market your practice educate your clients and keep your firm at the forefront of their mind.  Here are some ideas:

1.  Create a task-oriented checklist of all of the steps involved in a particular type of proceeding -- for example, a typical divorce dispute.  Post the checklist on your website or blog, or publish it online as a mini-ebook.  The checklist will help clients understand all of the steps involved in even a so-called simple divorce.  As a result, the list can help weed out prospects who aren't really serious about divorce, but nevertheless, eat up your time at a free consultation.  And where a client does hire you, a task-oriented checklist helps clients know what to expect, and also familiarizes them with the amount of work that their case may potentially entail - which can help reduce complaints about excessive fees down the line.

2.   Create a client "to do checklist" - for example, a list of documents that clients should bring to the first meeting or gather together for a bankruptcy filing or preparation of an estate plan.  A client to do checklist will help you to market your practice because it makes clients' lives easier.  Going through a bankruptcy or preparing an estate plan is stressful enough for busy clients; it's even more stressful if they need to keep providing additional information because they forgot to write down a particular item that is required.  Clients will appreciate a checklist that they can work from and they'll appreciate it even more if you offer it on your website and in both paper and computerized format, so that they don't have to keep calling for another copy if they lose the list.  Satisfied clients will provide positive testimonials, which if accurate and sincere, are one of the most effective ways to attract new clients.

3.  Create a post-engagement checklist for clients to use after you've finished the matter for which you were retained.  Even after you've finished a case for a client, there are still matters for which they are responsible, or that may trigger further legal action.  For example, even after an incorporation is complete, the client retains responsibility for filing annual reports and other documents to keep the corporation in good standing.  Creating a checklist of these post-representation matters will help the client avoid problems down the line.  And if you put the checklist on your law firm letterhead (or if you're feeling particularly ambitious, create a branded mobile app for a client to download a checklist on his or her phone), clients can always get in touch with you for follow up questions or problems.

For other matters - like a bankruptcy discharge or a divorce and child custody agreement - you'll want to create a checklist to help clients determine whether they need further assistance.  For example, after a bankruptcy, clients shouldn't be getting calls from creditors whose debts were already discharged - and if they do, they should call you.  Likewise, for divorce matters, a lawyer might identify a list of events - such as loss of a job or an ex-spouse's remarriage or relocation - that may trigger the filing of modification petitions.

Checklists are an ideal marketing tool:  they educate clients and enable lawyers to serve them more effectively.  Checklists aren't as flashy as a T.V. commercial or even a fancy website, but they're inexpensive and most of all, something that lawyers should be creating for their practices anyway.  So when you get around to making a list of the tools that you want to use to market your practice, be sure to include the humble checklist.

Many lawyers exhibit Type A personalities in the court-room or board-room:  highly competitive, ambitious, business-like and aggressive.  Yet when it comes to choosing the appropriate typography for the documents used in court or exchanged during transactions, these same lawyers are far more laid back, rarely searching for choices beyond the default Times-New Roman.

So how does lawyer typography relate to legal marketing, which after all, is the focus of this blog?   As I'll spell out below, one Helvetica character as a time, in the Internet Age, typography matters to lawyer marketing more than ever, largely because the web makes lawyers' writing so widely accessible.

I.  The Letter of The Law Is Everywhere 

In an Internet Age, lawyers' writings are available to all. These days, virtually every law firm has a website, and many have blogs which together comprise a large portion of lawyers' writing on the Internet.  These sites require careful typography choices to ensure that the site caters to its audience.  Thus, a site aimed at the elderly should employ large font on light backgrounds, while a site for younger folks might use an edgier look. 

But, bear in mind, typography issues aren't limited to on-line postings (and indeed, for websites and blogs, is not as critical because readers can, as a last resort, bypass the site through use of RSS feeds or email).   The more significant typography problems, in my mind, are those related to previously paper-based documents that are now rapidly making their way online.  For example, some law firms publish e-books to show their expertise in a particular subject matter and educate prospective clients.  Lawyers routinely make e-books available for download at their websites or post them at article archiving sites which means that the e-books are viewable by a far broader circle than their predecessors, the pamphlet, the law review article or the treatise.       

Likewise, a decade ago B.E.F. (before e-filing), lawyers submitted hard-copies of pleadings or briefs to the court.  Most of those hard copied documents lived out their existence in practical obscurity in courthouse file cabinets, unviewed by anyone besides the judge and the parties involved in the case.  Fast forward to today when anyone can search PACER or a state electronic filing system and find and download briefs and pleadings.  As with e-books, sites like JD Supra offer lawyers an SEO-charged location to upload work product for colleagues and potential clients to review.

The upshot of all this is that both the substance and style of lawyers' writing, is on display.  More importantly, readers' impression of the the latter can influence their opinion of the former.  For example, a reader who downloads a law firm e-book on Fighting Foreclosure that resembles a legal memo - single spaced, Times New Roman font on white paper - may assume that the e-book is written in complex legal-ese without bothering to take a closer look.  Alternatively, the reader might view the e-book as cheap-looking or homemade and wonder about the firm's financial stability, its availability of support staff or potentially, even its competence.   

Likewise, even the typography in briefs and memos tells a story to those who care to "read between the lines."  For starters, a lawyer's choice of typography for a brief can signal to others whether that lawyer is familiar with the rules of the jurisdiction, which often dictate font selection.  Others may wonder whether the lawyer still using a dated font like courier has actually practiced much in recent years.  Finally, some readers will simply feel annoyed or frustrated as they try to work their way through a fifty page memo on the complexities of securities law in font comfortably visible only under a magnifying glass.  

Granted, most of the concerns just described (with the exception of the one related to ability to follow rules) are based on leaping and most likely, inaccurate assumptions. Nevertheless, whether fair or not, the kinds of negative impressions that clients may glean from a lawyer's chosen typography can result in lost business.

On the flip side, however, smart typography choices can help lawyers market their practice.  Bold fonts and interesting layout make an e-book look so crisp and attractive that clients can't resist reading it.  A font that's compatible with other lawyers with whom you work shows that you know what you're doing.  And a unique typography style -- perhaps an unusual combination of readable and stylish fonts --  can serve as your brand, so that all who see the document  know that it's from your firm even before they flip to the signature page.

II.  A Font of Font Solutions

So how can lawyers pick the type of typography that's right for them?  For major products like e-books, engaging a professional to assist with design and typography choice is probably the best solution.  But hiring professional help may not be within your budget, nor is a designer a cost-effective approach for traditional documents like briefs or memos.

Fortunately, the web is a font of information on font selection.  Below are some resources to get you started:

1.  The beautifully designed Typography for Lawyers site offers the most detailed and comprehensive information on font choices for lawyers.  Plus, it includes examples of each font discussed, so you can see how they look in action.

2.  For transactional lawyers, Adams Drafting principal Ken Adams, describes his preferred choice of Calibri as a font for contract drafts here.

3.  The Seventh Circuit discusses federal court typography requirements and offers advice to lawyers on how to choose, as does this journal article, Painting With Print by Ruth Ann Robbins.

4.  Big Brand System explains different types of font and suggests ways to combine them.

5.  Here's a great infographic (kind of like a flowchart) from Julian Hansen that you can use to select the right font for your project.  (In fact, it's that chart that inspired this post).

Finally, if you're interested in a new font to spiff up a blog or website, Google just introduced a bunch of web fonts, free for download. 

III.  Conclusion

As I stated at the outset, many lawyers are already Type A personalities.  For that reason, it shouldn't be too difficult to convert them into Typography-A students as well, once lawyers wake up and realize how much the "letters of the law" matter to potential clients.




 

These days, when I speak about practice issues to lawyers, I'm often asked to comment on trends for social media and legal marketing.  In my mind, the future points in the direction of increased mobility, and concomitantly, mobile marketing.  In fact, just a few months back, I posted about bullish projections for mobility (as well as tips on how to market on mobile media) and since then, it seems that mobile media is gaining even more momentum.

Consider these numbers.  According to ClickZ.com, Apple's App store revenues are expected to grow from $4.2 billion in 2009 to $29.5 billion in 2013, with mobile advertising predicted to increase to $914 million.  Meanwhile, Android, iPhone, and iPod touch users are averaging a whopping 79 to 80 minutes per day engaged with apps.  Moreover, demand for apps is on the rise, with companies turning to sites like Elance to hire new developers.  And with the recent ipad launch, app demand will likely increase even further.

So who's spending all that time on mobile phones?  As a noted previously, mobile media is more popular with some groups than others.  In addition, it's important to understand not just the demographics of usage, but the purpose for which certain categories of users employ mobile media.

Fortunately, there's some new research data available.  According to Drop Ship Access, women are more likely to purchase from a cell phone, which suggests that they might be receptive to buying legal services through a mobile platform.  On the other hand, men tend to use phones to comparison shop - which means, they'd likely spend time reviewing lawyers' websites and credentials on their phones.

The most surprising statistic to me related to seniors:  Seniors (82%) are much more likely than the traditional user (64%) to use their mobile phones to educate themselves.  With that in mind, lawyers who target senior clients might want to be sure to deliver education based materials, like blog content or produce articles that render quickly on mobile devices.

Bottom line:  it may be time for lawyers to start moving towards mobility when it comes to marketing.

In Part I of this two-part series on webinars, I discussed why webinars are an effective marketing tool for lawyers and identified suitable topics for webinars and free and low cost platforms to support webinars.  In this Part, I'll go through the nuts and bolts of setting up a webinar from start to finish.

1.  Choose your weapon.  As I suggested in Part I, test drive a few of the webinar platforms to figure out which ones work for you.  The platforms vary in price and features but what's most important is that you (or your staff) feel comfortable with the interface.  (One of my personal favorites for features and ease of use is DimDim).  Once you've decided on and registered for a webinar service, you can start planning your first webinar. 

2.  Decide on a topic for your webinar.  For prospective clients, pick topics that are timely and don't usually receive adequate attention at other seminars.  Remember - because webinars are so inexpensive to host, you can keep the topics narrow.  You may attract a smaller number of participants, but chances are, they'll be much more interested in the event and more likely to retain you.  To select topics for existing clients, why not ask them what interests them?  Clients will feel flattered that you've sought out their input and will appreciate your continued responsiveness to their needs. 
 
3.  Pick a date.  Choose a date for the webinar anywhere from four to six weeks out.  A shorter time frame will cut down on your ability to promote the webinar.  

4.  Pick a time for the webinar.  The best times for a webinar will depend on your audience.  If your target audience includes a 9 to 5 working crowd, an evening or weekend will work best.  For a national audience, a time slot after noon is necessary to ensure that West Coast participants will be awake in time for the call.  Limit webinars to no more than ninety minutes and preferably, aim for 40 to 60 minutes of content with 15 minutes available for questions.

As for your own schedule, try to set the webinar on a day that you won't be in court or at other meetings.  Though a webinar is only an hour and can be conducted from your office, you're better off hosting it on a day with few distractions.

5.   Set Up Registration:  Once you've set a presentation date, it's time to start marketing your seminar.  Prepare a snappy announcement and post it on your blog, website or a separately created landing page.  You can use auto-responder programs like Aweber or Constant Contact for registration, or even something free like Google Forms.  
These programs will capture registrants names and emails so that you can send them the log in information for the webinar. 

6.  Start marketing.   After you've set up the registration, begin promoting your program.  Use social media applications like a Facebook fan page or Twitter.  Disseminate information about the webinar through your newsletter as well as any listservs in which you participate (if they allow promotions).  Reach out to bloggers who cover the topics that you'll be addressing in the webinar and ask whether they can get the word out to readers.  You might also consider advertising on Facebook.

If you're targeting a consumer audience, don't limit your promotions to the Internet.  Depending upon your audience, consider announcing your webinar in school or PTA newsletters, through leaflets or fliers at the local coffee shop, bookstore and library and perhaps even through an inexpensive ad in a small local publication.

7.  Prepare the Webinar.  Once the marketing for the webinar is underway, begin preparing your materials as soon as possible, for two reasons.  First, getting the prep out of the way early on means you'll have less to worry about when the webinar date approaches.  Second, you may decide to send an outline to participants in advance to provide more details about the topics you'll cover. 

8.  Send Out the Access Information.  Two days before the webinar, send out the access information to participants.  Some of the services - such as DimDim can transmit an invitation for you, or you can simply send an email yourself.   In addition to sending the numbers to call and/or codes to enter to access the webinar, you should also provide participants with an alternative way to get in touch with you (such as email) if for some reason, the webinar disconnects.

9.  Test Run.   It's always good to do a quick test run a day before you put on the program whether you've used the product or not. Sometimes, companies may change the features of a webinar platform and if you don't check it out in advance, you may find yourself fumbling on "game day."  Also test out your recording options and run a sound check.  If the sound comes across weak, you may need to plug a microphone into the computer.

10.  Webinar.  Giving a webinar can be tricky since unlike an in person event, you can't judge reactions.  So stop from time to time to ask participants to send in questions.  Err on the side of keeping the webinar short.  Many people budget a limited time frame - typically not more than an hour - for webinars, so try to keep your presentation short, while allowing time for questions.   

Definitely record the webinar, either using tools included in the platform or screen capture programs like Camtasia (for PCs) or Screenflow (for Macs).

11.  Post Production  Once the webinar ends, there's still plenty of work to do.  For starters, you should email participants with a short survey (also something that can be done with Google Forms) asking them to rate the program and for testimonials (be sure to ask for permission about using them in your marketing materials). 

Next, save a copy of the recording and arrange to have the audio transcribed.  That way you'll have both a visual summary of your talk (on CD or thumb drive) as well as written materials for those who don't care for video.  If you're pleased with the product, you might consider selling the recording bundled with the tape and a written transcript or making it available on your website.

CONCLUSION  Though all of these steps to put on a webinar seem complicated, they become much easier over time once you've mastered the learning curve.  In fact, you may become so adept at webinars, you might decide to hold a webinar for colleagues or clients on...what else?  How to put on a webinar!  

According to the 2009 Benchmark Report on Professional Services Marketing, seminars and webinars are some of the most effective tools for attracting new clients and retaining existing ones.  The Report found that professional services use in person seminars (66%) and webinars (45%) to identify service providers and make hiring decisions.  The results apply with equal force to legal services; at the  Marketing with a Book blog, Henry DeVries writes that:

In 1991 a random survey of the top 1,000 U.S. law firms found that 89 percent held at least one client seminar per year. In 1999, 94 percent of law firms were regularly holding seminars. Lawyers at the top 1,000 firms ranked seminars as the most effective tool for cross-selling and gaining new clients (Source: FGI Research, 1999).

I've already discussed at length the benefits and how-tos of speaking events.  But for all their effectiveness, seminars and speaking events aren't without their drawbacks.  For starters, if you have a national or multi-state practice, you may have to travel to the event on your own dime, and lose billable time while you're away from the office.  Local events are more convenient if you can find a group that's willing to host you.  But you may have to rent space and serve refreshments, which are an added cost that may outweigh the benefits if only a handful of people actually show up.

Though webinars can't replace face to face events, they are a cost-efficient way to supplement live activities.  With today's low cost, user-friendly technologies, even a solo lawyer on a tight budget can put on several webinars a year and perhaps even make a few extra dollars by bundling and reselling the content.  Below, I'll describe what a webinar is, suggest ways that a webinar can work for any practice and finally, give some practical tips on getting started.

THE WHAT, HOW AND WHY ABOUT WEBINARS:

1.  What is a webinar?

Basically, a webinar is what the term implies -- a seminar delivered over the web.  Webinars offer several advantages over their poorer relation, the conference call.  During a webinar, you can present power point slides from your computer that participants can view on their screen.  Many webinar products (I'll discuss them in more detail at the end of this post) allow you to use whiteboard and mark-up features, so that you can highlight parts of your presentation, or demonstrate a skill - perhaps how to fill in a form or improve a contract draft - in real time. 

Other webinar products offer additional features that set them apart from conference calls.  Some incorporate video, so that participants can see you while you deliver your presentation while others will tape the webinar so that you can post it on YouTube or distribute a copy on a CD or thumb drive.  Some products allow participants to submit written questions or comments during the presentation which can be viewed by all other participants through a side bar.  During conference calls, listeners are often intimidated from posing questions, either to avoid being recorded or because they're simply not comfortable doing so.   All of these features make webinars are far more impressive and interactive for potential or existing clients than a simple conference call.

2.  Are webinars better for existing or prospective clients?

Webinars work extremely well for both.  A webinar gives a prospective client a more personalized and impressive introduction to your services.  In addition, a webinar can educate prospective clients, making them realize a need for your services.

As for ongoing webinars, they're a great way to help existing clients keep up to date on developments in the law while showing them that you value their business.   And of course, like newsletters, webinars let you stay in touch with existing clients so that you'll be first to come to mind when they're asked for referrals.

3.  What kinds of topics and practice areas work best for webinars?  Can webinars work even for a consumer oriented practice?

The scope of potential webinar topics is limited only by your imagination.  Consider the following ideas:

• Corporate, tax or regulatory attorneys:  The law in these practice areas is constantly in flux and clients are subject to an array of compliance issues.  Webinars are ideal for providing updates on changes in the law or offering tips on compliance and ways to keep out of trouble.
• Small business lawyers:  In addition to the issues discussed above, small businesses face a variety of legal issues, from leasing, zoning and property issues to employment, trademarks and copyright.  Many times these businesses don't have in house counsel, and aren't able to determine whether they need a lawyer or not.  Educating business owners about the legal issues they may face can help them figure out when it's time to call a lawyer - and that lawyer could likely be you!
  
• Consumer and general practice lawyers:  Holding a webinar on broad consumer issues, such as the need for will or how to draft a lease may not attract much attention if only because so many lawyers offer these seminars already.  However, niche topics - such as estate planning for single parents or parents, tips on writing a contract to hire a nanny or the basics of special education law are more likely to generate interest because these audiences less frequently served by in person seminars.
  
• Unbundled providers:  Many lawyers are beginning to handle legal matters on an unbundled basis.  For example, a lawyer might draft documents for a business incorporation or will but the client would have the responsibility to file the documents with the Secretary's office or execute the will before a notary.   Though most lawyers provide written instructions to clients on how to perform these tasks, a webinar could also be used to supplement the information provided - and clients would have a chance to ask questions as well. 
  

4.    What kinds of materials should I prepare for a webinar?
Again, you have many options.  You can create a power point presentation that participants will be able to view when they log in to the webinar.  Or, as you become more adept delivering webinars online, you could show websites to clients as part of your presentation.  For example, many government websites contain information on rules or filings that may interest your clients, but they may not know how to navigate the site.  You could show them how during the webinar.

5.  What technology is required to put on a webinar?
There are a number of different free and low cost webinar packages available.  I recommend using those that are "cloud" based, i.e., accessible over the web rather than those that need to be downloaded onto your computer or participants' computers.  In this way, participants can log in easily without any advance preparation and further, you avoid any Mac/PC compatibility issues.

As for specific programs, consider the following low cost options:
 DimDim - free for up to 20 users and also supports video (so participants can see you on the screen) and recording capability.
Glance - $49 per month for up to 100 users who can call in free (or available as a one time day pass for $9.95).
Go To Webinar - $49 per month, but only allows up to 15 users; up to 100 will cost $99/per month. 
WebEx $49 per month for up to 25 users; also offered with per minute charge.
Huddle.net - Really a hybrid web conferencing/project management tool.  $40/month for up to 5 users, but not an apples-apples comparison because the Huddle system includes document storage and other team management tools.

All of these services offer free service either on small scale or a trial basis, so play around with them to figure out which ones you like best.  In Part II of this post, I'll go through the nuts and bolts of setting up a webinar.

It's official!  As of yesterday, Hitwise confirmed what many had long predicted: that Facebook surpasses Google as the most visited Website in the U.S. 

So what does this new development mean for those lawyers who've hedged their Internet marketing bets on Google-driven search engine optimization (SEO) or pay per click?  This  article from Fast Company discusses the implications of Facebook's ascendancy for advertising.

For starters, Google will continue to dominate search.  So to the extent that you invested in professional SEO services or activities like blogging to build visibility online, your efforts will still pay off.  Moreover, even if you're a diehard Facebook user, with hundreds of friends and fans, you won't get much mileage from that presence in Google search.  And while users could also search Facebook to find you, as  the Fast Company article points out, search is not why folks flock to Facebook:

 Facebook does have a search ability inside the site, but what's really driving users to Facebook in droves is that it's a genuine phenomenon. Social networking is still riding that "oh you should try this, it's new and cool" wave and the site itself has reached a critical mass of user numbers whereby if you want to contact almost anyone, odds are that they have a Facebook account.

Of course, that doesn't mean that Facebook is without value - not just as a participant but potentially as an advertiser.  Fast Company suggests that:

 Facebook is now in a position to leverage those user visits to seize control of the online ad-placement business from Google--advertisers will begin to do the math and work out which site will get their ads in front of more eyeballs. And while Web 2.0 has been with us for a while, the fact that more people are visiting Facebook than Google indicates that this interactive revolution has really changed U.S. Netizen's online habits.

With enormous traffic numbers and still undiscovered advertising potential, there are certainly benefits to marketing legal services on Facebook.  Moreover, Facebook makes the advertising process easy with these tools that enable you to design your ad and specify where you want it placed.  Features of Facebook ads include the ability to:

• include a photo or logo as well as a link to a website or fan page.  The graphics feature makes Facebook ads snappier than the bland Google pay per click ads that dot the top and side of Google search results pages.
• specify the precise demographic audience you want to target based on age, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, and key words on a fan page.
• choose amount to pay per click through, as well as a daily and/or total limit for the ad campaign.   
  

But for all their benefits and low cost, Facebook ads haven't been terribly effective, as described here, here and here.  That's not surprising either.  After all, most people come to Facebook to interact with friends or socialize.  Thus, an ad for lawyer website isn't going to be terribly appealing, and in fact, might be regarded as an annoyance (though a recent study from Australia showed otherwise).  In fact, to the extent that Facebook ads are effective, they tend to work best for entertainment or recreational services rather than for the pharmaceutical or financial industry.
 
Like Facebook, Linked-In also offers advertising opportunities.  My guess is that Linked In ads might potentially be more effective than Facebook -- since Linked In users are more likely be combing the site to find a service provider rather than to chat with buddies -- I haven't been able to find studies that corroborate my hunch.

Despite the ineffectiveness of Facebook ads thus far, some (for example, a few of the commentors at this post) suggest that Facebook ads may be worth a try for a couple of reasons.  First, because the ads are cheap and users can limit their budgets, they have little to lose.  Second, because users can include logos and pictures, the ads offer an inexpensive way to build brand - though branding of this type is arguably less important for lawyers.

As for me, I'll concede that Facebook ads might be appropriate, albeit not all that useful to publicize a discrete law firm activity or product, like a free webinar or ebook (In fact, I've used Facebook for that very purpose, and I'll share my results in Part II of this post).   But as general tool to advertise a law firm, the the potential intrusiveness of lawyer ads ultimately outweigh any minimal benefit they might provide. 

As the saying goes, a picture is worth one thousand words.  Nowhere is that statement more true than when it comes to logo design.  In fact, the term "logo" finds its roots in the Greek term, logos which literally defined means "word," but actually encompasses concepts like storytelling and analogy.  Which makes sense, because in some ways, a good logo succinctly encapsulates a company's story. 

If done right, a logo also draws attention, conveys memorability and reflects a business' personality.  Even if you believe, as Seth Godin does, that a great logo doesn't mean anything until the brand makes it worth something, if you do decide to create a logo for your firm (and opinions diverge on the need for logo, as discussed below), devote some thought to it or you'll be saddled with something hideous if you eventually hit it big.

So should a law firm have a logo? As with most topics related to marketing or branding, there are two schools of thought.

No Logo Needed 

Several years, Tom Kane of the Lawyer Marketing Blog (absolutely not to be confused with this one, as Tom's been around forever!) downplayed the importance of logos, arguing (somewhat like Seth Godin) that if your service isn't excellent, then a logo is worthless.  From Kane's post:

The point is, logos can be helpful if your product and service is excellent. Otherwise, it can truly give off negative vibes, and it would be better to not have a logo than to have one that generates immediate disdain. I like logos, but a logo is much less important than the impact of your legal services (both the legal product and the actual client service experience).

Dan Hull of What About Clients concurs, adding that a logo is really nothing more than your firm's look -- the patterns, letterhead and colors reproduced on stationary, business cards and the firm website.  Indeed, seems that a number of law firms subscribe to Hull's philosophy; even mega firms like this or this one which could readily afford a fancy logo, instead use simple typography that one might find on letter head in lieu of a logo.

Which raises a second point about logos:  great, professional design doesn't come cheap.  As I'll discuss, there are some low cost and even DIY options, some which are more preferable than others.  But if you can't afford more than a generic logo, you may be better off taking the approach that Hull suggests.

Tips for Logo Design

Let's say you want to take a chance on a logo - maybe you have a distinctive idea in your mind or perhaps you feel that it will make your firm stationary and business card look more prominent.  If that's the case, here are some tips for getting started:

1.  Identify what you like...and what you don't

Do you have a concept for a logo?  If not, there are plenty of resources to stimulate your imagination.  Steve Matthews of Stem Legal suggests SeekLogo.com, a tool that allows you to search a database of around 200,000 - though as Matthews points out, there are only 59 examples for law firms.  Even so, you may find inspiration from other industries. 

If you find that nothing resonates, you might find it useful to review examples of top logos, selected by others, such as this top 250 logo list or 20 great and 20 not so great logos.  It's also interesting to read a designer's explanation of what makes a good logo.  Logo Design Love offers a treasure trove of information on logo design, including samples and discussion of the design and redesign process (not surprisingly, Logo Design Love has a great logo!).

2.  Setting a budget

Once you've got a couple of logos in mind, you'll probably want to set a budget.  Great logo design costs money, which was something that I never fully appreciated until I actually explored the process.  Six Revisions rounds up a bunch of posts like this one that depict the steps in developing a logo, from idea to inception.  If you thought editing a brief or drafting a contract was time consuming, take a look at the design process: it's equally involved. 

3.  Design options for implementation

    a.  Professional designer or web company

With a budget in mind, it's time to find a way to implement it.  If you're able to spend several hundred dollars or more, you might decide to hire a professional designer.  Seek recommendations from colleagues, but don't stop there, as your colleague's tastes may differ.  In addition to references, you want to look at the designer's portfolio to get a sense of his or her style.  Where a designer is local, an in person visit is useful.  And for a designer who's in another location, a phone call is imperative.  You'll be working with this person intensively, albeit for a brief period, so it's best to get a sense of how you'll interact (a phone call also provides added reassurance that the designer isn't fly by night).

Another option for logo design is to commission the work as part of web or blog design.  Again, personal recommendations, followed by a review of the company's portfolio is important.  In addition, if you see a logo on a site designed by your web or blog developer, don't assume that the web company did the design.  Many times, customers hire a web company and provide their own logos that were prepared by another designer.  So if you choose to use your web company for logo company, ask explicitly about their design experience and whether the company actually designed some of the other logos at the site.

b.  Online options for more affordable design

If you can't afford a professional logo design now, not to worry.  There are plenty of mid-range options that you can locate through the Internet.  Results vary, but with some due diligence, you can may be able to find a satisfactory logo at a reasonable price.  On line options include:

1.  Craigslist and intern websites

Several designers offer logo creation services on Craigslist for fees ranging from $60 to $199. You probably won't get anything high end, but again, check the portfolio and see if the designer's work appeals to you.  Another option for low cost work include websites like UrbanInterns or College Helpers where you might find new grads or students looking to build a portfolio and thus, willing to work for less.

2.  Elance, Odesk and freelance sites

Instead of hiring someone for a flat or hourly fee, you can also bid out a logo project at sites like Elance.com or Odesk.com.  You can sign up and provide some details about your project, and set a cost cap and see what kinds of responses you generate.  Both sites include information about a designers' work history and feedback from other customers and provide an escrow type account to hold money in case there's a dispute later on.  As an alternative, you can search for designers by project (e.g., design or logo) and directly contact those who've done work that you like.

3.  Design Contests

Several sites, like 99 Designs or Cullego allow users to run a contest to select a logo.  Essentially, users offer a prize and a description of the project, and designers submit a proposal, with the winner collecting the prize money. While I've seen law firms use contest design sites, I don't recommend them.  Though characterized as crowdsourcing, in my opinion, logo contests are a way to get free work on spec, which isn't fair (would you work on spec?)  In addition, there are a host of other concerns about logo design contests, including the likelihood of attracting low quality or inferior design, winding up with potentially plagiarized work and the legality of contests.  (For another view of crowdsourcing design, see here.

4.  DIY Sites

Some online sites allow users to design a logo themselves, by mixing and matching stock images, fonts and colors in an online template.  Some of the online sites  like LogoYes offer decent variety and themes; you can design the logo free and then pay $69 to $99 to purchase it.  Logoease offers a similar concept but it's free, though its choices are more limited.

Conclusion

Though a professional logo can be fun to create and add some distinctiveness and pizazz to your website and business cards, ultimately, your logo won't carry much value unless you do the work to back it up.  Oddly, when it comes to something as visual as a logo, seems that substance trumps form.

You've heard of cold calls, right?  I posted some tips about cold calling almost a year ago, but they're still relevant if you missed them the first time around.

But these days, what's perhaps even more relevant than the cold call is the cold email.  After all, we interact so frequently online - through social media sites and listservs where we're more likely to have access to someone's email rather than their phone number.  In addition, it's a little less intimidating to make a first crack at contacting someone we don't know by email rather than phone.

So what are some reasons you might contact someone via a cold email? Here are a couple of scenarios.  Let's say that you're a family law attorney interested in generating more referrals from bankruptcy lawyers, since you've noticed that bankruptcy lawyers are already a good referral source.  You might run some searches on a site like LinkedIn to identify bankruptcy lawyers in your area who also attended the same college or law school.  Sending an invitation to "link" with them won't accomplish much if they don't know who you are.  But an email explaining the connection and suggesting a meeting or phone call could lead to a relationship that might generate referrals.

Or, maybe you've just started a blog on estate planning for young families that you believe might be interesting to financial planners or new parents.  Sure, you could compile a list of 50 planners or mom-oriented websites and send a canned announcement.  Or, you could customize an email that introduces you and your site and gives recipients reason to check it out.

As with cold calls, you should follow certain best practices for cold emails to ensure that they satisfy the three Es:  ethics, effectiveness and etiquette.  These practices are discussed below.

 1.  Ethics  Rules prohibiting client solicitation may apply to cold emails.  For example, if you come across a tweet on Twitter that "en route to hospital. Drunk driver hit me," emailing the victim and offering your services would violate solicitation rules.  To avoid running afoul of ethics rules (and, as discussed below, to avoid annoying people), you're best off limiting cold emails to lawyers and other service providers rather than prospective clients, potentially consumers.

2.  Effectiveness   A cold email is effective when it meets with a fairly quick reply rather than a delete button.  Tech start-up advisor Thomas Korte offered some great tips (and a template) for effective cold emails in a recent blog post.  Specifically, he advises that you include the following information:

•   a description of who you are and where you are located;
•  an explanation of your connection to the recipient.  Did you work at the same firm?  Attend the same school?  Or follow him on Twitter? 
  
• an explanation of the reason for the email.  Do you simply want to inform the recipient about an article that you wrote that might prove useful?  Or would you like to schedule a phone call to talk further or even an in person meeting?
• a link to your website and any relevant attachments that can help the recipient learn more about you.

Bear in mind that cold emails don't become effective once you hit "send."  If you don't get a response within a week, definitely send a follow up email.  Many times, emails are accidentally deleted or a recipient may set it aside to respond and simply forget.  Of course, if you send a follow up and still don't hear back, you can probably check that recipient off your list.

When you get a positive response, consider what steps you want to take next.  For instance, if the recipient agrees that meeting in person over a cup of coffee might be a good idea, then the ball returns to your court to set a date.  Do so promptly.

3.  Etiquette  Even if your cold emails are ethically compliant, that doesn't mean that they're not annoying.  Take care not to send impersonal, mass emails, emails rife with misspellings  or emails that make clear that you haven't taken twenty seconds to learn about the recipient.

So why not give cold emails a try?  If you follow these three Es, you'll realize how very Easy cold emails can be.

The numbers are in, and as you might have expected, 2009 was a banner year for social media.  According to the Nielsen Company, consumer usage of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter increased by 82 percent.  In fact, consumers spent over six hours per month on Facebook, or more than three times the amount of time spent on Google. 
 
Many lawyers give short shrift to the growing importance of social media, which is mistake.  As described in this article excerpted from an upcoming book that I co-authored with Nicole Black, lawyers should keep in mind these three themes when they approach social media:

1. Social media is not a fad or a frivolity but a paradigm shift sweeping both the legal profession and society at large;

2.   A social media presence is a tool for achieving other professional goals, not a goal in itself and

3.  Use of social media does not transform otherwise appropriate conduct into something unethical, but nor does it insulate unethical conduct.

Take a look at the full article for more detail on these three themes.  And if you're interested in learning more about social media,  consider  these additional resources:

Mashable - Premier online site for social media, packed full of demographic information, trends and how-to guides.

Social Media Law Student - Don't let the fact that this site is run by students and young lawyers deter you - this blog covers social media issues related to lawyers, judges and the legal system at large, and includes some product reviews of social media tools.

Social Media Today - Focusing on how businesses implement social media.

Web Strategist - Though focused on business use of social media, detailed discussions and statistics at this site make it a great educational resource for lawyers on intelligent use of social media.

AllTop - Social Media - Top social media stories aggregated in one place.
 



 

All too frequently, lawyers treat law practice management and marketing as mutually exclusive matters.   Many times, lawyers invest considerable thought and resources in developing and implementing policies that allow them to effectively and efficiently serve clients, maintain files and collect payment.  Yet lawyers rarely mention these practices in marketing their services - and in doing so, they miss out on an important opportunity to distinguish themselves from the competition. 

Indeed, as this article by Gerry McGovern describes, your firm's law practice management practices are part and parcel of your firm's brand.  In McGovern's case, she judges banks largely on the usability of their online service and unfortunately, they don't fare well.  McGovern believes that's because banks treat customer service and IT issues separately - and fail to recognize how IT design can impact usability:

In fact, I have rarely, if ever, met a senior manager with more than a passing interest in the Web. They think this stuff is technical - something you give to the IT department.
Where customers spend their time is where you build your brand. Organizations need to stop trying to use traditional advertising techniques to create false images. For an increasing number of customers, you are your website. It's about time senior management woke up to that fact.

Unfortunately, in a down economy, are cutting customer service programs rather than enhancing them reports  BigNews.biz.  That's a mistake, says Chris Coles, a CEO of HyperQuality, a customer service solutions provider quoted in the story, because quality service helps companies retain existing customers. 

When you market your law firm, do you describe to clients how you'll serve them?  If your firm has a 24 hour call return guarantee, a client portal, where clients can check the status of cases or Internet access in your waiting room, you should make those features part of the package that you sell to clients, along with your expertise and the results you've obtained in other cases.  And if your firm doesn't offer a suite of client friendly benefits, realize that it's not just a law practice management issue.  It's also a marketing issue that may be impacting the financial health of your law firm. 

Conventional advertising is going the way of the dinosaur.   Declining newspaper circulation means fewer outlets for print advertising, and reduced visibility for ads in the print publications still in existence.  The advent of services like Hulu or Tivo enable consumers to bypass television commercials entirely.  Meanwhile, more and more consumers are spending time online, making the Internet and more recently, mobile technologies the hotspot for ads.

Still, there's one last bastion of conventional advertising:  the billboard.  As David Sparks discusses at SocialMedia.biz, the billboard survives social media because there's no way to avoid outside ads:

As I'm wait­ing for the bus, dri­ving my car, or sit­ting on pub­lic tran­sit, I can't not look at the adver­tis­ing. It's actu­ally some­thing to do. I can't look at the peo­ple. You know what hap­pens if you make direct eye con­tact with any­one on the bus? They'll think you're com­ing on to them or you're a psy­chotic killer. Isn't that every­one who rides the bus?

But is billboard advertising appropriate for lawyers?  Frankly, I don't know, so I searched around on the web, and here's what I found:

1.  Billboard ads can be effective

San Antonio, Texas based family law attorney Michael McLees invested roughly one thousand dollars a month in a billboard to market his new practice.  McLees' billboard is simple and in good taste (insofar as billboards go) with just his picture, firm name, phone number and tagline, Family Matters.  Over at his blog, McLees reports that the billboard does in fact generate clients.

Traverse City, Michigan lawyer Enricho Schaefer also reports that billboards are effective, even for law firms such as his with a dominant internet presence.  Schaefer's billboard is also tasteful, featuring many of his firm's local clients, who appreciated the added exposure.

2.  Billboards can also be cheesy or carry negative connotations

Though billboards can be effective, there are also drawbacks.  Some billboard advertising is cheesy and or controversial.  And sometimes, it can reflect poorly on a lawyers' abilities.

Chicago, Illinois attorney Corri Fetman stirred up a controversy with her Life's Short, Get a Divorce billboard featuring the scantily clad torsos of a woman and man.   Many fellow lawyers criticized the ad as trivializing divorce, or as simply undignified.  There's no word on whether the ad attracted clients, but it certainly received wide media coverage.

Meanwhile, in Houston, Texas, DWI lawyer Tyler Flood put up a billboard on a street known for a high number of drunk driving arrests.  Flood's billboard, depicted here, asks drivers to keep Flood's number on their cell phones, prominently warns them that if arrested, DON'T BLOW (i.e., take the breathalyzer test). Not surprisingly, law enforcement officials are critical of the billboard, claiming that it provides bad advice since drivers who decline to take a breathalyzer test can have their licenses suspended for three months, or in certain cases, be subjected to a blood test.   However, Flood's billboard passed muster with the state disciplinary committee which reviews billboards in advance of publication.

Billboards can also carry negative connotations.  Memphis, Tennessee lawyer James Ferrell has a poor impression of  "billboard lawyers" in his neck of the woods, many of whom have never taken a case to trial:

Of all the lawyers who heavily advertise on billboards, city buses and television, I know of only one (and I won't say which one) who is actually a credible trial attorney.  Most are virtually unknown in professional circles, except by reference to their advertising.  Most seldom if ever try a case in court. Most never speak at continuing legal education programs, and  attend barely enough CLE to keep their licenses. Hardly any are active in professional organizations.

When clients have asked me to consider taking over cases that those firms had been handling, I have been appalled at the lack of the most basic forms of investigation and preparation.

Conclusions regarding billboard ads

Based on my review of lawyers' experiences with billboards, I arrived at the following conclusions.  First, billboard advertising may survive social media, but that doesn't mean that it's for everyone.  Billboard advertising doesn't come cheap so unless you receive some tangible returns like McLees or Schaefer, it's probably not worth considering. 

Second,  if you're going to advertise by billboard, keep it simple and tasteful.  Billboards that are cheesy or brazen generate controversy but they can also offend prospective clients and harm the public image of all lawyers. 

Finally, bear in mind that a billboard is no substitute for excellence:  high quality work and scrupulous ethical standards in every case that you handle.  Even if you put the resources into advertising by billboard, you're not going to attract clients if you're a lousy lawyer because those clients may still ask around about the quality of your work.   Billboards may be the last bastion of conventional advertising -- but there's nothing to stop consumers from Googling you on the Internet after they've found you on a billboard. 

Why are you marketing your law firm? 

Maybe that sounds that a stupid question.  After all, isn't marketing all about making money? 

Not necessarily.  True, in some instances, a law firm may initiate a marketing campaign that's designed to attract more clients.  For example, marketing techniques like special discounts on estate planning or incorporating a small businesses or free consultations in a market where they're not traditionally offered are largely intended to bring more client matters through the door to generate more revenue. 

Trouble is, if your primary goal isn't short term cash infusion, then discounts or free consults or doing whatever your competitors are doing won't help - and in fact, may actually hurt your practice.  Let's take the hypothetical case of Louis, a busy immigration lawyer.   Due to a couple of contacts in his country of origin, Louis has dozens of clients beating down his door.  He's so busy he can barely keep pace.  And yet, neither can he afford to hire an associate to share the workload.  That's because to date, Louis' business model has consisted of charging less than other lawyers but making it up in volume.  For Louis, additional discounts would exacerbate his stress rather than improve his practice. 

Louis' immediate goal isn't necessarily making more money.  Instead, he needs to be more concerned with keeping his income at the same level by cutting down on the number of clients.  To do that, he needs to implement marketing techniques that will help him improve the quality of his client base.  How to do that?  Education based marketing initiatives like ebooks or blogging might be one place to start.  Clients who take the time to learn about the immigration process are often better educated and therefore, potentially higher earners.  In addition, by using educational tools to explain the complexity of the immigration process and the need for expertise, clients will come to appreciate the value of the service provided and may be willing to pay more.  Another way to find better quality clients is through use of testimonials.  A former client's recommendation is powerful and lets potential clients know that you have the ability to assist them effectively - which also enhances your value to them. 

In other cases, a lawyer's primary goal in marketing may be to expand or diversify a practice.  Here again, discounts and free consults aren't the most effective way to go.  Instead, stepping up networking events with other lawyers would help more because they give you a way to get the word out about your new practice area.  Likewise, speaking engagements on your new practice area are a way to introduce yourself to new audiences who may need your services.

Ultimately, better quality clients or an expanded practice will yield more money in the long term.  But if quality of life or diversity are your short term goals with money being an added reward, then discounting services or running expensive television or newspaper ads aren't necessarily going to bring you closer to those goals.

Back in August, I mentioned a Pew Internet Report which found that approximately one third of African Americans access the Internet through a cell phone or other mobile device.  I recommended that lawyers serving African American clients make their websites and blogs mobile compliant to facilitate easy access via a hand held device. 

Now, I realize that I should have expanded my advice.  Because even if only a tiny portion of your target clients currently access the web through mobile devices today, very shortly, many more will.  By 2013, mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common Web access device, predicts Gartner Research.  Thus, as we move through the second decade of the twenty-first century, all lawyers will reap benefits by expanding their marketing efforts to the mobile arena, while those who fail to will lose out.

From Gartner's Press Release:   

the total number of PCs in use will reach 1.78 billion units in 2013. By 2013, the combined installed base of smartphones and browser-equipped enhanced phones will exceed 1.82 billion units and will be greater than the installed base for PCs thereafter.

Mobile Web users are typically prepared to make fewer clicks on a website than users accessing sites from a PC. Although a growing number of websites and Web-based applications offer support for small-form-factor mobile devices, many still do not. Websites not optimized for the smaller-screen formats will become a market barrier for their owners -- much content and many sites will need to be reformatted/rebuilt.

While 2013 is still three years away, lawyers are better off getting out in front, rather than scrambling to play catch up.  So what can lawyers do to expand their presence in the mobile online world?  Below are four ideas:

1.  DO design websites and blogs with mobile use in mind.  The Online Marketing Blog recommends keeping fonts basic, stripping out images to optimize loading time, remove third party services from side bars and focus on delivery of content.   For those running WordPress based blogs, design for mobile devices is even easier: you can use a WPtouch iPhone
If you run a WordPress blog, you can use a Word Press iphone theme plug-in to automatically create a small-screen friendly version of your blog.

2. DO develop content with search in mind.  As web access goes mobile, find-ability will be critical.  After all, users aren't likely to have the patience or agility to run Google searches and scroll through results on a 2" x 3" screen that downloads slowly.  Moreover, a significant percentage of mobile users will be searching for local assistance:  consider, for example, an abused wife who's left her home and needs a lawyer to file a restraining order or a businessman arrested for DUI.  In both of these scenarios, the prospective client will be searching for a lawyer away from home and will want to find someone within a specific jurisdiction.
 
The Online Marketing Blog suggests focusing on local directories (a topic I wrote about here) to improve find-ability in mobile search:

The best way to ensure you are found on mobile devices is to make sure your site is in all the local search directories with full and accurate profiles. Places like Google Local and Yahoo local probably receive more traffic from users who want to find business in a certain area. When I've used my phone to search the web, I was searching for specific businesses to visit.  Social networking through mobile is also popular and through links, can drive web site traffic. A combination of search and social is the direction where I see the bulk of mobile traffic going.

3.  DO explore creative ways to establish a mobile presence, but DON'T be tacky.  Fort Lauderdale, Florida based lawyer, Jason Turchin just released the free iphone MyAttorney app, reports the Florida Sun Sentinel.  Granted, the MyAttorney feature which enables cell phone users to call their lawyer at the touch of a button arguably meets the tacky test.  But in my view, MyAttorney is redeemed by inclusion of useful tools, such as a checklist of what to do in an accident and a feature for submitting a case inquiry and uploading and submitting photos.

4.  DO get moving on video  Nearly a year ago, I wrote about the importance of video to online marketing.  As user access moves to mobile devices, video marketing takes on even more importance.  For some users, reading text on a mobile device, can prove cumbersome even at an optimized site.  By contrast, video is much easier to view on a phone, and users can still listen even if they have difficulty seeing the video, they can listen.   Most mobile phones already integrate YouTube seamlessly into their design, and consumers have grown adept at watching videos on the small screen.  Chances are, they'll be equally adept at listening to education-based videos or scrolling through video interviews with attorneys on their phones as well.      
   
Are you good to go in this decade's on-the-go marketing world?  And if not, what are you doing to prepare?  

Eight months ago, I described the benefits of email and newsletter marketing here.  And even though since that time, the the benefits of social media for SEO have become more widely recognized, marketing via newsletters still remain a powerful tool.  For starters, bear in mind that many of your prospects may not participate in social media, so sending an email newsletter enables you to target a population that you might otherwise miss on social media alone.  As for existing clients, newsletters help you stay in touch long after the attorney-client relationship ends, thus laying the foundation for future referrals or other work.  The Law Gazette offers a couple of examples of how firms in the UK are using newsletters for everything from promoting seminars to simply keeping clients up to date on news.

Newsletters also carry SEO value, as discussed here.  The newsletter can drive readers to a law firm website, thus increasing traffic and online visibility.  And, you can repurpose that newsletter content too.  Many law firms upload newsletters to article archiving sites which can further bolster online visibility.

So if you're thinking about starting an email newsletter or improving the one you have, check out Small Business Trends which provides 30 email marketing applications, ranging from free to fee. 

My blogging mantra has always been:


Most commonly, it's the "often" component of this equation that generates the most discussion and debate.  For example, a recent Portfolio story on lawyer blogs pointed out that:

[...] many are finding that feeding the blog beast with fresh content is a legal challenge unto itself. Lawyers and blog specialists say the best legal blogs generate at least several posts per week.

While it's important to blog often, particularly when getting a blog off the ground, timing is equally, if not more important than frequency.  In other words, you don't need to blog often so much as you need to blog early.

First to press:  One component of blogging early involves reacting quickly to a big news story, getting a post up on breaking news or a recently issued decision before other bloggers come on the scene.  When you post about a new development early, you make your blog indispensable to readers; a go to source of up to date information.  In addition, an early post on a topic ensures that other bloggers or media sources will link to or comment on your blog, therefore giving you more exposure.  A couple of rules about posting early, however. 

First, if there's a hot news story or just-issued judicial decision, don't just throw out a link with a single line like "read this!" or "breaking news!"  To make your post valuable, you must offer some original insight or prediction, even if it's based on a quick first impression.  You can always update the post or write a follow up as events emerge.  Second, you don't need to be first to press with every single news item, or you run the risk of converting your blog into a news feed rather than a source of analysis and conversation.  If you enjoy providing rapid feed on new developments, share your blurbs on Twitter, which offers a  better platform for short form writing than a blog.

Early in the morning:   When I say that you should blog early, I also mean it literally, as in early in the morning.   Many heavy blog readers like newspaper reporters (who can give you more exposure) or other lawyers (who can generate referrals) tend to scroll through their news feeders first thing in the morning in search of fodder for their own blog posts and stories.  If you can get your posts up early in the morning, they're more likely to be read when fresh.  By contrast, if you post on a time-sensitive topic later in the day, by the time your post comes up on an aggregator, it may be yesterday's news.

Early in the week:  Posting early in the week is important for two reasons.  First, (and though the evidence is hardly scientific), based on my experience at several different blogs, readership is generally highest on Mondays or Tuesdays.  A  survey of various design blogs reached a similar conclusion, though Thursdays were a close second.  Tuesday is also the most popular activity day for Twitter, which can also be a source of traffic to your blog if you tweet links to your posts.   Statistics aside, there's a second reason to post early in the week: it will allow more time for conversation to brew throughout the week which will also generate more traffic.

Early adapter:  Finally, if you're just starting a blog, you gain a tremendous advantage if you can establish yourself as first to market on a particular topic.  Indeed, many of the earliest blogs, like Howard Bashman's appellate law blog,  How Appealing continue to dominate not just because of quality but also a strong first mover advantage that helps keep competitors at bay.  Even though blogging is more common than five years ago, there's still plenty of room for lawyers to establish a blog on a  topic that's not yet been covered and benefit from a first mover advantage from that  particular niche.

In short, I can't emphasize this point often enough:  blog early!

Here is another post on this topic (from last year) from Blog for Profit.

 

Call me old fashioned, but even with the recent decline in newspaper circulation, I hold a special place in my heart for the old Gray Lady.  For all the exposure that the Internet offers, nothing quite parallels the reach of a mention in the pages of the New York Times, or rivals the cache of a "quoted in the New York Times" entry on a lawyer bio.

Guess what?  You don't need to be a bigwig to snag a mention in the New York Times, or at least, at one of its online sites.  These days, the New York Times gives readers the ability to contribute posts to its local blogs or to cover local news stories.  And lawyers are already taking advantage of these opportunities to contribute to the local community while gaining exposure for their practice.

Consider Livingston, New Jersey-based new solo, Jodi Rosenberg (whose office, coincidentally, is located in my hometown, right around the corner from where I grew up).  Rosenberg wrote this post for the New York Times' local Maplewood blog about an author's talk that she organized for a working mothers' group.  In the post, Rosenberg shares useful tips on how to locate published authors to speak at events as well as information on Workmoms, a social networking group for working mothers that Rosenberg co-leads.  But Rosenberg also discretely slips in mention about starting her new law firm.  Rosenberg's post thus brings exposure both to her Workmoms group (which can generate membership and lead to increased connections and potential clients) and directly to her law firm.

Former lawyer turned author, writing coach and speaker Ari Kaplan has also posted on the New York Times blog, once about his experience of writing his book at the local library and once about family activities.   Kaplan's articles help build a local following, not to mention that he garnered a nice byline with information about his business.

The Times offers another opportunity for lawyers to get exposure and even meet prospective clients face to face with its Virtual Assignment Desk.  The Virtual Assignment Desk lists local events where news coverage is desired, and then solicits volunteers who are willing to cover those events and file a blog post and story.  Past assignments  include school board meetings, a League of Women Voters' workshop offering tips for citizen journalists and a town board of trustees meetings.  By attending these events as a journalist, lawyers have the opportunity to get to know the key players, and even have a chance to interact with them directly by interviewing them for a story.  Consider a lawyer interested in a niche practice advising bloggers and citizen journalists.  Attending a meeting on citizen journalism and reporting about it can get the lawyer's name out in front of prospective clients. 

Does the metropolitan newspaper in your area offer these kinds of opportunities?  Not only can your effort help rebuild the newspaper industry, but you can help build your own practice in the process.

 

Years before I started blogging here at Nolo's Legal Marketing Blawg, I was an unabashed fan of Nolo for its pioneer work in providing legal resources to pro se litigants at a time when they had no other alternatives.  Flash forward three and a half decades, and though other self-help resources now exist, Nolo remains out in front both in the variety of offerings and more importantly, quality of material.   

It's hard to believe that nearly a decade into the 21st century, 52 percent of solo lawyers still don't have a website, according to the ABA's 2008 Tech Survey.  If you fall into this category, perhaps you figure that a web presence isn't relevant since most of your clients come by way of mouth or referral.   Even so, consider the message that lacking a website (or an alternative web presence like a blog conveys.  For starters, many prospective clients and referrers may conclude that if you haven't bothered to stay current on technology, then perhaps you've let your substantive legal knowledge slide as well.  Moreover, many clients regard a website as a basic convenience; a place where at a minimum, they can find contact information, an address and a photo.  By failing to provide this information online, you give the impression that you're insensitive to clients' needs.

Alternatively, the thought of getting a website up and running may intimidate you.  You've heard quotes from colleagues about $10,000 or even $20,000 sites and that's simply not in the budget.  As I'll discuss below, you certainly don't have to put up that kind of money for a basic site.

At the same time, if you're one of those lawyers who has had a website since the mid-1990s, don't pat yourself on the back just yet.   Though a website loaded with Flash, high graphic images and a couple of static pages may have been cutting edge a decade ago, in a more dynamic Web 2.0 age, it is likely showing signs of age.

So, if you don't have a website at all, or you're considering a face lift, consider these tips below to get you started.

1.  Take a trip around the Internet:  Why not start down the path to building a website with a trip of your own -- around the Internet -- and visit other websites for inspiration.  If you're on a listserv, now's the time to click on the URL in participants' signatures and take a look at what their sites look like, and whether it's something you'd want to replicate.  You can also find collections of lawyer websites online -- there's a terrific bunch here at LexCSS as a start.

Don't limit yourself to lawyer websites, though.  If you practice in a specific industry, like high tech or real estate or health care, you may find common conventions amongst those sites that would make sense to incorporate in yours.   Likewise, consultants and other professionals may include certain features that could benefit your practice as well.

2.  Develop a strategy  This article from Small Biz Trends emphasizes the importance of having a strategy -- a method to the madness, so to speak -- behind a website:

Your first step in creating your Web site is to outline the goals for that online presence. From there you'll be able to identify your calls to action and key content themes so that you can build around them. You want to know how the site will be used so that you can incorporate your navigation in a way that will be intuitive for users. You want to create content that will reinforce what you're trying to accomplish, it should be informative, and it should put people on a path to do whatever it is you want them to do. If you don't create a Web strategy before building the site, you're going to lose your focus and value for users.

How do you see potential visitors using your site?  Will it simply serve as a source of basic information?  What kind of contact will be useful to users?  Potential clients may be interested in educational materials or tip lists, whereas potential referral sources will want to information about your credentials and past accomplishments to determine whether to send you cases.

Also, consider your audience.  A corporate crowd likely won't be amused by a whimsical website while consumers won't feel welcome at a highly formal site.  Design your site with the audience in mind. 
 
3.  Website Features  Once you've looked at some of the other sites, and come up with a strategy put together a list of the features that you'd like to include in yours.   For example, an "About Us" page that describes your firm is fairly de rigeur.  But what about an "About You" page, which is a more effective way to make clients understand how you can help them.

Compare the following two descriptions: 

About Us:  I am a highly qualified business lawyer with 12 years of experience drafting leases, shareholder agreements and other business documents.

About You:  You are a small, mom and pop owned business with a need for cost-effective assistance in preparation of basic agreements to protect your rights.

From a client's perspective, which is more effective?

Other effective features include testimonials (though check bar rules to determine whether you can ethically include them), video, which adds a personal touch, an educational e-book, for download or a newsletter.  These features infuse your site with personality and also give clients a reason to contact you, even if only to get a free e-book or newsletter.

4.  Interaction In the 21st century, a website should be interactive.  You need a way for clients to contact you, whether it's through a contact sheet or through tools like Google Voice.

5.  Educate Yourself:  Once you've decided what kinds of features you'd like to include in yourself, educate yourself about the feasibility.  Many features that seem high-end are surprisingly easy to include, yet often site designers will charge an arm and a leg for them.  For example, you can install auto-responder services like Aweber to capture client contact information and enable them to sign up for a newsletter.  Many site designers will tell you that this kind of feature is costly when in reality, you could set it up yourself.  Likewise, companies will often charge several hundreds of dollars for "site maintenance" or updating pages when there are many tools that allow you to do this yourself.

Realize too, that at the end of the day, as a lawyer, you are responsible for your developer's work.  The Ninth Circuit just held that a small law firm, whose web designer lifted the content from a competitor's site and used it for the small firm's new website could be liable for copyright violations.  So if a developer charges a price that's too good to be true (because maybe he's done the same site before!) or provides professional sounding material that seems vaguely familiar, you may want to check around the web to make sure that the site that your designer presented  isn't already online under someone else's name.

6. Design Yourself or DIY  This piece by Deborah Bruce contains some good information on the range of costs of websites, from the low end do it yourself to retaining a designer.  Bruce suggests two easy and inexpensive do it yourself options, www.SpinSite.com for $12 per month and www.SquareSpace.com for $14 per month.  In addition to do it yourself and high end designers, consider a middle of the road solution, such as contracting a designer through Craigslist or Odesk, where you can generally find a developer in the $300-$700 price range. If you do hire a designer, be sure that you register your domain names yourself.  You don't want to find yourself in a conflict with a developer down the line and lose access to the domain name.

7.  The legal stuff:  No law firm website would be complete without the requisite legal disclaimers about how your site doesn't offer advice, how contacting a lawyer through the site doesn't give rise to attorney client privilege and that the site may be a form of advertising.  Check your bar rules to determine what kind of disclaimer is required.   Copyright notices are important as well to put potential infringers on notice.

There's no need to run a monster disclaimer right on the front page; you can simply link to it on a sub-page.  And you might even consider a somewhat humorous disclaimer like this one to satisfy your lawyerly duties but at the same time, show signs of a real personality.

8.  More Reading:  For more ideas on setting up a website, consider this extra reading:

This article from CNN Money offers a great, play-by-play makeover of a highly ineffective website belonging to a small firm in a small community.  Just because you practice in a small town doesn't mean that your website needs to be bumpkin-like, and the article offers great advice on how the lawyers could redesign the site to make it more user friendly and SEO-efficient. 

Solo and small firm lawyers are small businesses, and so they stand to learn a great deal from this piece on common mistakes of small business websites.  These include poor design, lack of interactivity and failing to give any reason for visitors to return.

Personality will help set a website apart, and Entrepreneur.com gives some quick tips on how to let your unique character shine through.

Jay Fleischman at Legal PracticePro provides seven quick fixes for improving an already existing website.

Designing a website correctly can take time, so why not start now?  A website presence is a great present, both for yourself and for your clients. 

So, how many lawyers use online professional networking and social media tools and which ones do they favor?  Interesting questions to be sure, but you're probably wondering why you should care.  After all, as a lawyer you're probably more interested in where and how potential clients are using social media rather than what your colleagues are doing with it. 

However, turning a blind eye to how your colleagues are using social media is a mistake.  Because social media isn't just a static tool -- like a newspaper ad or a website -- for direct generation of clients.  Engaging social media is also a process that enables lawyers to build meaningful relationships with colleagues, which in turn will produce referrals.

A just released study by Leader Networks shows why social media is critical to generating business in the legal profession.  Of the 1474 lawyers surveyed as part of the study (764 private practice lawyers and 710 corporate counsel), 56 percent identified peer referrals or recommendations as the most effective method for finding business, followed by in person networking events (33 percent) and conferences and seminars (15 percent).  Only three percent believed that blogging, listservs or other social media tools helped to generate business.

But here's the rub.  Despite recognizing the importance of networking with peers to generate referrals, most lawyers said that they simply don't have the time to leverage opportunities to network with peers.  And that's where social media can fill the gap.  Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, the ABA's Legally Minded, Martindale Connected or Legal OnRamp, serve as a virtual water cooler, giving lawyers opportunities to exchange quick pleasantries, update colleagues on recent accomplishments ("speaking at national conference" or "just won SJ hearing") and share news of current events or developments in their respective practice areas.   As relationships evolve, you might find yourself consulting with a colleague on another matter or eventually passing on a case -- and vice versa. 

So not surprisingly, more lawyers are joining social networking sites.  According to the Leader Networks Study, 78 percent of lawyers polled reported membership in an online social network, up substantially from 59 percent in 2008.  And participation runs across all age groups, with 86 percent of lawyers aged 25-35 belonging to social networks, followed by 76 percent of those 36-45 and 66 percent of those in the 46-55+ category. 

Still, even though social networking can be less time consuming than traveling to a conference four hours away, it can easily become a time-sink unless lawyers are disciplined about participation.  So here are a few tips to engage social media tools efficiently so that you won't begrudge your participation if referrals don't come as quickly as you'd like.

1.  Choose your weapons

If this is your first foray into social media, you may want to proceed with some caution.  You are better off signing up for two sites and creating a robust presence rather than spreading yourself thin on eight or ten sites. 

However, with so many social media tools available, how can you pick the one that's right for you?  The decision depends largely on your intended targets.  If you're looking to build relationships with other lawyers, here's how various social media sites stack up according to the Leader Network report:

Linked-In - (used by 58% private counsel, 52% corporate counsel);

Martindale-Hubbell Connected, reading and commenting on blogs (42 % private counsel,
35 % corporate counsel);

Public social networks (Facebook, MySpace)  (37% private counsel, 25% corporate counsel);

Online Q&A and expert search services (e.g., WikiHow or Yahoo Answers) (13% private counsel, 19% corporate counsel);

Twitter (6% private counsel, 4% corporate counsel)

Other considerations in choosing a site include:

--Your personality.  If you tend to be shy or reserved, a site like Facebook, which is most interesting when colored by photos or light banter, may not be appropriate.  Instead, you may feel more comfortable at a more sites like Linked-In or Martindale Hubbell Connect, where the interactions are more focused on professional matters.

--Your schedule.  Some types of social media - such as blogging or regularly responding to online questions and answers may be too time consuming to fit into your schedule or to justify based on the resulting returns.  If you're busy, choose social media sites that don't require a large time investment.

--Your markets.  Are your competitors engaged in, or gaining stature at certain social media sites?  If so, you may want to dive in if only to keep an eye on them.  At the same time, don't avoid a social media site just because it's not populated with other lawyers from your practice area.  There's something to be said for gaining a first mover advantage.

2.  Recognize the process for building relationships

Because this post is focused primarily on use of social media as a way to build connections and generate referrals and business from other lawyers (as opposed to directly from clients), I'm going to assume that as your goal.  So how do you reach the point where you establish a relationship that encourages referrals?

In many ways, the stages of relationship building on social media parallel those in a traditional office environment.  For example, if you ever worked in an office, recall how you went about establishing relationships with colleagues.  During the first few weeks, you likely exchanged greetings and perhaps emailed each other about work related projects.  As you grew more comfortable, perhaps you went to lunch together or out for a cup of coffee and chatted about personal matters like your vacation plans or girlfriend or kids.  Finally, after more time, you may have gotten together outside of the office for a ball game or a tennis match.  Having established this level of camaraderie, you most likely tried to help your colleague professionally by referring him clients or making sure to sing his praises to management.

The same process takes place in the online world as well.  Initially, you may exchange greetings with a colleague whom you've "friended" on Facebook.  After a few weeks, you may comment on photos she's posted of family or offer some sympathy after she's posted about a bad day.  Finally, if you learn that your Facebook colleague will be visiting your city or speaking at a conference that you plan to attend, you might try to schedule an offline, in person meeting which will solidify the relationship.  Once you've grown comfortable with each other, your colleague will trust you enough to send contacts.  Plus, because you have a personal friendship, your colleague will make an effort to help you out, and vice versa.

3.  Don't dive in too quickly

You want social media relationships to evolve offline, but at the same time, you don't want to jump in too quickly.  Avoid friending 400 people whom you barely know all at once and then sharing 40 items with them daily.  Likewise, don't bombard Twitter with self-promotional posts or you'll just turn off followers.  You wouldn't like it if an office mate barged in to your conversation with a co-worker and began gabbing away, would you?  Turns out, social etiquette in social media isn't all that different.

4.  Set up a social media schedule

Some social media tools, particularly Facebook and Twitter can quickly become addictive.  If you spend too much time online, you won't get any work done - and worse, you'll create the impression that you're not very busy.  A realistic schedule might include (1) blocking off thirty minutes early  in the morning to log on to your social media accounts and return messages, send messages and tend to any updates and then (2) repeating the process sometime during the late afternoon or evening.   Or you might block out three to four 15 minute segments throughout the day to come online.  Of course, during really busy periods, you may not have any time for social media - so try to stick to the schedule when you can to establish a reasonably consistent presence.

5.  Do not outsource your social media! 

You don't need to read any further than my last post here to understand the dangers of outsourcing social media campaigns.

Conclusion:  Increasingly, lawyers are joining social media - but there's still time to get on board.   You just need to keep an open mind about the possibilities that social media holds to  build meaningful and lasting connections with colleagues that will provide both financial and personal rewards.

For more detailed information on how lawyers can use social media, take a look at my ebook on Social Media for Lawyers.  

It's time for another round up of updates on previous posts.  Without further ado, here's a bunch of quick follow up tips from around the blogosphere:

1. Be Careful Whom You Hire As  a Marketer  A few months ago, I asked whether you should hire a legal marketer and warned about some of the potential red flags to avoid in choosing a marketing consultant.  At least one unfortunate attorney failed to read my advice, and now, she's found herself the brunt of serious criticism around the blogosphere. 

Colin Samuels' Infamy and Praise Round Tuit 2 provides the best summary of the sordid affair.  Apparently, a California attorney retained a marketing consultant (well, actually, she bartered for his services) who chose to build her online presence by scraping content from other blogs, including Houston criminal defense lawyer's Mark Bennett's Defending People.  The consultant also set up a number of alias Twitter accounts under the California attorney's name in a lame effort to boost her SEO.  Mark Bennett took the consultant to task  here and here, with the end result of spreading the story around the blogosphere, damaging the attorney's representation in the process.  Two lessons here:  (1) bad publicity isn't necessarily better than good publicity and (2) DON'T outsource your marketing efforts.  Hopefully, this attorney will read my earlier post on guarding your reputation online so that she can minimize the negative commentary.

2.  Recyle and Re-purpose for a Successful Blog In my post on ebooks, I described how you can recycle or re-purpose content you've created for blogs or other publications to include in the ebook. However, the concept of re-purposing or multi-purposing is also useful to understand if you're trying to build a successful blog, a topic I've covered here. Over at Blog for Profit,  California Defamation Law Blogger Adrianos Facchetti describes how he multi-purposed his blog content to gain visibility in his niche of Internet defamation in just six months time.  Facchetti explains:

This is the "hub and spoke" strategy.  This is how it works.  Let's say I write a really great post and I want to make sure a lot of people read it. The first thing I would do is to upload it to as many websites as possible. So, I would upload the post to several bookmarking sites like social median and digg. Then I would upload it to JDSupra. Then I would tweet about it.

I also made sure that my blog posts updated automatically to my LinkedIN profile and to my Facebook profile via RSS feed.
My goal was to get my content in as many different places as I possibly could, which I did.  Use this strategy. It works.

There's similar advice over at the Baby Boomer Entrepreneur, which in addition to Facchetti's suggestions recommends (1) recording blog posts for podcasts or videos and (2) circulating blog posts to Ezinearticles.com, a heavily trafficked site which will rock your SEO.

 

If Prince Charming had been a potential client, then Cinderella's evil stepsisters had the right idea.  When the Prince embarked on his mission to find the owner of the glass slipper and make her his bride, the stepsisters made sure that they didn't miss out on an opportunity to marry into royalty.  So when the Prince and his entourage galloped by, they invited him into their house, touted their virtues and even kept the competition away by locking Cinderella in a closet.  But came the moment of truth, neither stepsister could close the deal because the shoe didn't fit.   Likewise, even if your marketing strategy succeeds in bringing clients into your office, like the evil stepsisters, they'll walk away without signing your retainer letter if the shoe -- or in your case, the price -- isn't a perfect fit.

Price is a critical component of marketing strategy, and which that many lawyers overlook.  Of course, in some situations, you may not have much leeway in setting price.  In some practice areas, such as social security benefits, lawyers are not allowed to charge clients up front, while in other practice areas, such as personal injury, prevailing practices (such as fronting the costs of case) make it difficult to deviate (such as requiring personal injury clients to pay a retainer up front).  Likewise, for some prospects, the only price that fits is "free;" they're more interested in squeezing free advice out of you than hiring and paying for you. 

Exceptions aside, the majority of lawyers retain significant flexibility on pricing services.  And particularly now, at a time of less than plenty, you may find that tweaking what you charge for services may help you close more deals.  Below are some examples of pricing trends in the legal profession as well as some innovative pricing strategies from the retail world to inspire your imagination:

Flat fees and alternative billing:  As the Wall Street Journal reports, increasingly, large corporate clients are demanding flat fees and alternative arrangements.   A major benefit of flat fees is that it keeps costs down.  Those clients quoted in the article report an average 15 percent cost savings from flat fees, making flat fees the "glass slipper" for many clients in a down economy.

Though from a lawyer's perspective, you may not be interested in taking a 15 percent bath on income, bear in mind that flat fees may also enable you to make sales that you otherwise wouldn't.  Consider air carrier Jet Blue's recent variation of a flat fee strategy: a $599 flat fee ticket entitling customers to fly to any of Jet Blue's 57 national and international destinations, so long as all travel takes place between September 8 and October 8, 2009.  Attorney Jay Shepard highlights the benefits of Jet Blue's strategy at his Client Revolution Blog:

Now let's play law-firm lawyer: "But what if someone takes advantage of JetBlue and flies twice a day, every day during that month? That's 60 flights for $600? How can JetBlue make a profit on ten-dollar flights?"

Dumb question. First of all, no one's going to do that. Or at least not enough people to make a difference. (Maybe one guy, hoping to get on the "Today Show.") Who the heck wants to fly that much, even on a comfy JetBlue plane with individual TV screens? To be sure, some people will take an unusually high number of flights, lowering JetBlue's average revenue per flight for those passengers. But it's just as likely that some people will take only one flight (or even none), increasing the average revenue per flight. And even if it doesn't come out even, it's a safe bet that JetBlue will attract enough new customers to make up the difference -- and some of them will become raving fans of JetBlue. And they'll tell their friends and relatives. (Or get on the "Today Show," attracting more publicity and more passengers.)

Are there ways that you can incorporate a flat fee structure into your law practice?  If you're nervous about losing money, you could offer a flat fee for a limited period of time to limit any adverse effects.  Or not.  Because you might discover that the flat fee that fits your clients' needs is comfortable for you as well. 

Freebies:   No one wants to work for free.  But offering freebies as part of your service makes clients more likely to recommend you to others and come back themselves.  At Duct Tape Marketing, John Jantsch writes about a restaurant he tried out which sent him home with a free pint of soup.  That little freebie made enough of a difference to inspire Jantsch to write about the restaurant and most likely to return.

What can add on to your services to give clients incentive to return?  For example, what about a voucher for free "check up," where you'll review an estate plan or incorporation or terms of a custody agreement at some time in the future at no cost?  The voucher gives clients something of value as well as incentive to come back to your firm.  Plus, if it turns out that something has changed -- perhaps tax laws that apply to estate plans or the make up of a client's LLC -- you'll get some extra business as well.

Premium Pricing - The Five Dollar Slice:  It may be hard to believe, but even in a down economy, premium pricing may prove the right fit for some clients.  As this New York Times story highlights, charging five dollars a slice for a piece of pizza hasn't hurt business at Brooklyn-based Di Fara's pizzeria one bit.  As one customer quoted in the article exclaimed,

"It's [the pizza] is unbelievable...you're going to pay for quality."

Incidentally, this customer, an off-duty policy officer, waited an hour and twenty minutes for two pies. 

As relevant to your law practice, perhaps there are small touches that so greatly improve quality that you can justify charging more.  For example, in a down economy, many clients are nervous about keeping their jobs and are hesitant to take time off from work to meet with a lawyer or even to use a work phone or computer to communicate with an attorney.  If you offered routine weekend and evening office hours, clients might readily pay more for this convenience, particularly if it would enable them to avoid jeopardizing their day job.

In addition, premium pricing is also matter of context, with one client's high-end price might be another client's bargain.  As Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg remarked:

 "The real question, relative to the local economy, is whether people are trading up from a $2.75 slice or down from a $25 entree."

For some clients accustomed to paying bloated rates large firms, transitioning to a solo or small practice, even when they charge premium prices is a welcome surprise.  In fact, if you market to dissatisfied biglaw clients, you may need to raise your rates a bit or your target clients might disregard your prices as "too good to be true."

Serendipitous Pricing:  Lawyers are analytical and want to reduce pricing to a science.  But just as the fairy godmother's magic made Cinderella's foot a match for the glass slipper, there's a serendipitous element to setting prices in the real world.

The Washington Post describes the role of luck and serendipity in pricing houses for sale.  For example, one real estate agent uses prices ending in "944" for her listings -- it's the model number of the brown Porsche that she drove around town when she started selling houses.  Moreover, there's actually evidence that houses that appear more accurately priced (as opposed to ending in zeros) sell more quickly.  From the article: 

About two years ago, Redfin analyzed the list prices of all the homes in one county in Washington state and found that properties with a list price ending in "500" sold for more than slightly more expensive properties whose price ended in three zeroes. They also spent slightly less time on the market, an average of 69.72 days, compared with 70.25.

Redfin's findings were backed up by academic research published in March by Cornell University professor Manoj Thomas....After examining home sales in Florida and New York, [Thomas] discovered that houses with more precise list prices tended to have higher sale prices. In Florida, homes listed with fewer than three zeros at the end resulted in a sale price boost of about 0.2 percent. And for every extra zero added, the sale price fell about 0.09 percent.

Since most lawyers don't use flat fees, these pricing strategies might not transplant as well.  At the same time, using any edge to set your prices apart from competitors can't hurt.  (Just remember, that lawyers are ethically obligated to charge "reasonable fees" so naturally, make sure that any prices that you set will pass muster under ethics codes).

Conclusions:  Tools like SEO, blogging, client newsletter and the myriad of others which I've discussed at this blog are only part of the marketing equation.  Using these tools effectively will bring clients to your door, maybe even convince them to pay for a consultation.  But ultimately -- and also like a wicked stepsister -- prices that don't fit your customers needs will sabotage your best marketing efforts.   

Once again, it's time for a round-up post, updating information that I covered in earlier posts.

1. Lawyer-Bloggers All A-Twitter About the Value of Twitter 

Back in February 2009, I considered whether lawyers should be using Twitter, ultimately concluding that at the very least, they ought to give it a try.  Last month, however, lawyer marketing expert Larry Bodine stirred up a controversy with this piece contending that Twitter isn't a very effective tool for lawyer marketing.  Bodine highlighted Twitter's high churn rate, with 60 percent of users dropping off after just a few months' use and pointed out that other tools such as email promotions and blogs were more effective ways to drive traffic to a website.  Most significantly, Bodine argued that Twitter was a time sink -- a distraction from getting real marketing work done that didn't lead to serious business.

Bodine's post earned him lots of criticism in the blogosphere, which David Barrett exhaustively summarizes at Linked In Lawyer.  Most of the commentary emphasizes that Twitter isn't an end in itself, but a supplement to other marketing tools, such as creating an introduction to warm up a cold call or other personal connection, or helping lawyers reinforce their personal brand.

2.  Are Listservs Obsolete?

Back in December, I made the point that the new generation of social media still hadn't rendered listservs obsolete.  Fast forward six months... and is that still the case?  Via the Legal History Blog, I came across this interesting article, Where Do Legal Listservs Fit in A Social Media World? by law librarian Greg Lambert.  Lambert notes that while listservs still remain a great way to build relationships, network, and discover new resources, at the same time, they have drawbacks such as "lazy research" (obvious questions sent out to 2500 members) and a tendency to generate flame wars if left unmoderated.  Lambert favors Ning (which I'll post about on Monday) as his tool of choice for combining the ease of use and spontaneity of listservs without the drawbacks.  I checked out the Law Librarian Ning that Lambert referenced -- and while it's a nice looking site, it lacks the fluid interaction of a listserv.  At the same time, the participants have all filled out bios, which can facilitate connections and networking.

A couple of days ago, I came across an interesting piece from Portfolio.com about a deal between major publishers like Random House, Simon & Schuster, and the online document document-archiving service Scribd that makes an increased number of best-sellers available for free as ebooks.  Though at first blush, giving away a core, revenue-generating product free seems crazy, publishing houses report that the freebies generate increased buzz and exposure on micro-blogging platforms and thus get the author's name and book title out to a wider circle. After reading this, I got to wondering why lawyers don't take a page from publishers and use and promote ebooks to gain greater exposure for their practices. Why indeed?

Turns out, some lawyers are already using ebooks as part of their marketing portfolio.  For example, consider Florida-based firm, Ricardo, Wasylik & Kaniuk, which released a 30-page ebook, The Consumer's Guide to Defending Florida Foreclosures.  The ebook helps consumers avoid the increasing number of sham "foreclosure prevention assistance centers" cropping up around that state which prey on consumer fears.  Plus, it's a way for the firm to demonstrate their expertise and provide useful information to the public. Finally, by requiring users to register for the ebook, the firm can build a mailing list.

Another Florida lawyer, Miami Criminal Defense attorney Brian Tannenbaum, devised his own innovative ebook concept.  Tannenbaum penned a 28-page ebook entitled The Truth About Hiring a Criminal Defense Lawyer.  Tannenbaum's book offers prospective clients straight-talking advice about what factors clients should consider in hiring a criminal defense lawyer and what clients can do to work with a criminal defense attorney to ensure the best possible outcome.  Tannenbaum's book gives his firm exposure and also educates clients about basics, such as: Be prepared to pay your lawyer!  My guess is that Tanenbaum's book deters those clients who don't realize that attorneys need to earn a living. 

Even more interesting, in order to generate exposure for his book, Tannenbaum asked A-list criminal defense attorney-bloggers like Scott Greenfield of Simple Justice and Mark Bennett of Defending People to review his ebook.  Thus, Tannenbaum set off a nice discussion about various approaches to criminal defense practice and in so doing, gained more visibility for his book.

If these examples have convinced you that an ebook may have marketing value for your firm, here are some ideas for getting started:

Continue reading "Take a Look at the eBook to Market Your Practice" »

Most of us lawyers know that inside a courtroom, there's nothing quite as compelling as testimony, a personal narrative of events from witnesses with personal knowledge of the facts of the case.  So it's surprising, then, that few lawyers recognize the value of a related marketing concept -- the testimonial -- wherein a lawyer's clients or colleagues endorse or recommend a lawyer's service or qualifications based on personal impressions formed during their professional relationship.

Like testimony in court, testimonials are compelling because they're personalized.  In contrast to the cookie-cutter jargon that most lawyers include in brochures and websites about being compassionate or caring or responsive or aggressive advocates, the best testimonials convey those same concepts through examples drawn from an individual's personal experience.  In addition, testimonials frequently focus on points that matter to potential clients, but that a lawyer might not recognize as important.  For example, some testimonials I've seen compliment lawyers on their staff's friendliness -- a significant benefit for harried or stressed clients, but not necessarily a feature that most lawyers would think to highlight in their marketing materials. 

On the other hand, just like the witness whose testimony goes south in the courtroom, a poorly executed testimonial can do far more harm than good.  Testimonials from fellow lawyers that simply state "nice guy, great lawyer" aren't worth the bandwidth they require, while testimonials that are clearly reciprocal -- i.e., where one lawyer endorses a colleague and the colleague returns the favor without any useful information -- can damage a lawyer's credibility.  In addition, testimonials that aren't truthful or that violate client confidentiality rules can put lawyers in trouble with the bar.  In fact, as discussed below, lawyers should consult their respective bar rules prior to seeking testimonials from clients -- or even other lawyers -- because some bars do prohibit the practice.

Below are some how-tos for getting effective and compelling testimonials from clients and lawyers and using them in marketing materials.  But when it comes to testimonials, many lawyers find that giving is just as important as receiving -- and I'll also detail some ways to offer testimonials to colleagues and service providers to generate ancillary benefits for yourself.

A.  Getting Testimonials

1.  What Is Appropriate for a Testimonial?

Testimonials are appropriate for virtually any type of service that you provide.  If you are marketing a divorce or bankruptcy or criminal practice, then testimonials from clients on everything from their satisfaction with your work or your personality and demeanor are appropriate.  On the other hand, if you're trying to generate more referral-based work from other lawyers, then testimonials from lawyers who've worked with you and are familiar with your skills and reliability make the most sense.

But you're not limited to testimonials about your work.  If you write a great blog or produced an e-book, why not ask for endorsements from other readers?  A testimonial about your online materials can help them stand out from the avalanche of information available on the Internet.

2.  How Do I Use Testimonials?

You can incorporate testimonials into your marketing materials in a variety of ways.  For example, you can include testimonials in written brochures and at your website.  As noted, many online lawyer listing services like Avvo or LinkedIn allow users to post testimonials as well.  Finally, some lawyers choose not to publicize testimonials and make them available to prospects on request instead.

3.  Consult the Bar Rules

Before you go to the trouble of seeking testimonials, consult your respective bar's ethics rules.  The ABA maintains an online list of state bar rules on advertising, including those states that prohibit or restrict testimonials.  On the other hand, don't go overboard and assume that because restrictions apply that you can't obtain testimonials at all.  Some bars, for example, prohibit client testimonials but do not limit testimonials from colleagues and/or other lawyers.  Other bars maintain general proscriptions against testimonials that include information that cannot be verified (e.g., "Joe Jones was the best lawyer ever!").  However, this type of restriction would not prohibit testimonials with verifiable, factual information, such as, "Joe Jones timely filed all my pleadings" or "Jane Doe returned my phone calls".  And in fact, if you think about it, it's this kind of specific detail that makes testimonials far more compelling than one that consists of conclusory statements -- just as in a court room.

Bear in mind that bar rules on confidentiality may also prohibit you from disclosing the identity of clients.  Therefore, be sure to obtain appropriate authorization to use a client's name in connection with their testimonials.  Where a client declines to be identified, you may still post the testimonial but indicate that the client's name has been withheld to preserve confidentiality.  In no circumstances should you post a testimonial with a fake name -- that would undermine its credibility.   

4.  Gathering Testimonials

Continue reading "Marketing Through Testimonials: Giving and Receiving" »

Over the past nine months or so, Twitter, a micro-blogging service that enables users to communicate with each other in 140-character spurts has steadily gained traction with lawyers.  Some lawyers regard Twitter as a bit of time-sink in an age of information overload, while others revere its immediacy and use it largely for business purposes.  I'll admit that initially, I too was was skeptical of certain aspects of Twitter, though it's since grown on me as I've become a regular user.

But that's just me.  As for you, to Twitter or not to Twitter? That is the question that I'll address in this post.  But before I evaluate the pros and cons, I'll begin with a quick description of what Twitter is, how it works, and how lawyers are using it for marketing and other purposes.

1.  What is Twitter?

According to Wikipedia, Twitter is "a social neworking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users' updates (known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length."  Users can find out what others are doing by signing up to "follow" their tweets and can comment by sending a reply.  You can keep messages private (by direct messaging) or posting them to all your followers (the default).  If you're interested in seeing what the Twitter interface looks like, take a look at this Legal Tech presentation by Chris Winfield.

Users employ Twitter in a variety of ways.  Lawyer Bob Ambrogi summarized sixteen "reasons to embrace the Tweet" -- which include sharing information (such as links to recent blog posts or news items of interest) -- like monitoring buzz by finding out what topics are of interest to lawyers, making introductions to lawyers whom you're following and would like to meet and even finding clients by responding to inquiries for legal assistance that sometimes crop up in the conversation.

More recently, Twitter has helped build communities of lawyers.  Two sites, LexTweet and Justia Legal Birds list lawyers with Twitter accounts along with information on where they're located and how many followers they have.  If you're ever heading out to a law-related conference, chances are it will feature a "tweet-up," i.e., a casual, in-person get together of fellow 'tweeps.

2.  Getting Started

The only way to get started on Twitter is to dive right in.  After registering for the site, you can check your email to determine whether you already know folks on Twitter -- because you can sign up to follow them.  After that, you may choose to follow some of their followers or identify other lawyers from LexTweet or Justia Legal Birds whom you might want to follow as well.  If you're interested in expanding your inner circle, use Twellow or Summize  to search for specific topics that interest you and find people within those groups to follow.  Feel free to introduce yourself, but thereafter, you can jump into a conversation.

You can use Twitter through the web, but most power users rely on applications like Tweetdeck to keep track of tweets and replies.

3.  So, is Twitter for me?

Continue reading "To Twitter or Not To Twitter? That Is the Question for Lawyers" »

The holiday season has descended in all its glory, and like most lawyers, you probably find yourself with a stack of invitations to bar association lunches, charitable events, and holiday cocktail hours and parties.  So you trek dutifully from event to event, exchanging business cards and pleasantries with dull colleagues whom you see only a few times a year at these types of gatherings and who've never sent you a dime's worth of business.  Maybe worse, the others ignore you entirely, so you resign yourself to observing from the corner, stuffing yourself with cardboard crackers and bland cheese.  And suddenly, the holiday season, which ought to be joyful and uplifting, morphs into an enervating experience.

Guess what?  Networking doesn't have to be this way.  In fact, if you dread or loathe networking events, your distaste will come across in your interactions, thereby further reducing the likelihood of meeting anyone worthwhile.  Why not take a vacation from holiday networking events by holding your own?

You'll find many advantages to sponsoring your own holiday event.  First, you control who you invite, so you can include people you actually want to spend time with, or colleagues who've sent you work or helped you out in the past.  Second, you make yourself the center of attention at your own party by greeting guests and introducing them to each other.  Third, let's face it -- you're not the only person who's grown tired of bar events.  Most lawyers can't stand them and will welcome a chance to hang out in a relaxed environment with a small group of colleagues.  Finally, when you host a party, people appreciate the initiative.  They'll call in advance to ask what they can bring, and likely call afterwards to thank you for a good time, or for introducing them to a potential business contact.  Thus, without any further action, you remain in touch with colleagues long after the party ends and solidify relationships that may eventually yield business.

As for planning a party, it's never been easier than with the Internet.  Use Evite or email to get the word out and collect RSVPs.  You can hold the party in your office or the backroom of a casual restaurant or bar.  There's no need to spend lots of money and in fact, in these economic times, a lavish party may be regarded in poor taste. If you're feeling charitable at this time of year, you can organize a group of lawyers to staff an intake night at a local clinic, or ask them to bring toys or food for the needy to the party.

If you act quickly, you may have time to squeeze in an event before the end of the year.  If not, no worries.  Instead of a holiday party in 2008, why not organize the first post-New Year's party of 2009?

Though we lawyers prefer to think otherwise, for many consumers and small businesses, legal services are a discretionary expenditure.  In times of less-than-plenty, consumer clients may decide that estate planning can wait, while small businesses may choose to make do with do-it-yourself contracts even in complex situations where retaining a lawyer would make more sense.  Couples are even putting off divorce in part because of the costs associated with the divorce process itself!

So what can lawyers do to make procurement of legal services more palatable for clients in lean times?  For starters, they can take a lesson from some of the initiatives that retailers are adopting to retain customers and stimulate sales in the holiday season.  I've listed some of these measures below, and I'll leave it to you to determine whether these ideas can work for your practice:

1.  Show Clients Your Budget Options 

Not surprisingly, upscale grocery store Whole Foods (dubbed Whole Paycheck by some) is suffering in this economy.  Sure, folks always need to eat, but when you're unemployed, the first items cut from the grocery list are discretionary luxuries like imported cheeses or handmade pastas.  So rather than risk losing to pedestrian grocery stores those customers who once willingly shelled mega-bucks for these kinds of goodies, Whole Foods has shifted its marketing to highlight its best values for customers, reports the Washington Post.  Now, Whole Food gives "Value Tours" of its stores to teach customers about saving by buying in bulk and dispenses tips on finding bargains on its blog.  And for the holidays, the store is promoting a list of environmentally-friendly gifts that cost less than $20.  Though teaching customers to cut costs may result in less profit for Whole Foods, in the long run, the strategy allows the store to retain customers who will merrily resume more lavish spending when the economy turns around.

Lawyers can implement a Whole Foods-like strategy by identifying ways for clients to keep their legal fees low.  Perhaps a client can't afford your deluxe estate planning package right now, but can pay for the bare essentials.  When the economy improves, the client might decide to pay for an upgrade.  For some cases, clients can save money by doing some of the legwork themselves.  You might, for example, tell corporate clients that you can draft their incorporation papers but let them take care of the filing on their own to save extra fees. 
Or instead of charging clients each time they call for a status update, you could implement a secure online portal or project management tool (such as Basecamp or Zoho) where clients can check on the progress of their case themselves or download documents rather than calling you.

2.  Layaway Plans

This holiday season, retailers are increasingly reviving an old payment strategy, according to istock Analyst:  the layaway plan.  Under a typical layaway plan, customers select the item they want to purchase, which the store sets aside or "lays away."  Every week or two weeks, the customer makes an installment payment for the item -- for example, in the case of Boscov's Department store, a customer must pay either 10 percent or $5 every two weeks until the merchandise is paid off, at which point it is released to the customer.  There is no charge for the Boscov layway program, though there is a $5 cancellation fee if the customer decides midway not to make the purchase.  Since many customers cannot qualify for credit cards, or prefer to reserve credit cards for emergencies only, layaway plans allow customers to budget and pre-pay for items that they could not otherwise afford.

Continue reading "Lessons from Retailers: Marketing in a Time of Less Than Plenty" »