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Message: Hi, I thought you might be interested in this article I found. How to Set Up a Law Firm E-Newsletter An easy, low cost way for law firm’s to stay in touch with clients and to grow their business is to send out a regular e-newsletter. Law firm e-newsletters are basically newsletters that you send to clients and referral sources through email. See “The Value of a Law Firm E-newsletter” to learn why your law firm should be sending them out and not using a service to do it for you. It is not difficult. Any attorney who knows how to send an email can send an e-newsletter. Here are the basics of how to set one up for your law firm. How Law Firm E-Newsletters Work A quick Google search for e-newsletters will bring up several sites that offer e-newsletter templates that are just waiting for you to add the content. E-newsletter sites like http://www.constantcontact.com and http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com use web content management systems to build their newsletters. The beauty of a web content management system is that users don’t have to know HTML or web programming in order to make updates. In other words, attorneys can pick templates that they like, add content and then send them out. Any attorney who has ever posted a blog or a comment for an online news story has used a content management system. Basically, you go to a web page, log in, and start typing in the field that is designated for text. Hit “enter” or “post” and your content appears on the Internet with all the formatting that was designed by the web developer. Each of the companies that offers e-newsletter services has a slightly different set up, but the basic details are 1) set up an account, 2) select a design or make your own, 3) upload or enter your contacts, 4) start writing. For attorneys who have a technical slant and want to add more to their newsletter, you can upload graphics, video, and more. Also, if you want your e-newsletter to match the formatting and colors of your law firm’s website, ask your web developer to do this for you. This should take them less than an hour and it’s worth it. Continuity of design is an essential piece of effective marketing. In addition to making it incredibly simple for anyone to send e-newsletters, these companies also offer basic analytics about how your firm’s e-newsletter is doing. You can see if and when your contacts are opening the newsletter, if they are forwarding it, and if they select any links you may have included. This is a great way to find out what topics are most interesting to your individual contacts. Some e-newsletters are sent out daily, weekly, or monthly. But, no one wants to get an e-newsletter from their lawyer everyday! A once a month e-newsletter is perfect for connecting to legal clients, prospects and referral sources. There are some e-newsletter services that allow you to buy articles from them for as little as $15 per month. While doing this allows you to connect with your contacts, it doesn’t give you a chance to let them hear your unique voice. Writing and sending out your own e-newsletters can take very little time once you get the hang of it. Important Things to Remember Don’t let your e-newsletter become spam. Include quality content that will make people want to read it. Don’t buy an email list or simply start sending the newsletter to every email address you have. Most email programs now allow people to flag spam. The e-newsletter service gets a report every time your firm’s newsletter gets flagged. If your emails are routinely being flagged as spam, they can and will freeze your account and refuse to do business with you. They will literally blacklist your company and you will have to use a different service all together. As you can see, it’s better to build the list organically. Simply ask people if you can include them in your monthly newsletter. Have your web developer include a link to the newsletter on your website with an option for people to subscribe. Include a link in your email signature so that anyone interested can join your newsletter mailing list. Faster than you realize, your list will grow and you so will your practice. Any e-newsletter template you purchase should provide an option for you to include an opt-out link. Sometimes, even when you ask people if they want to be on your e-newsletter list, or even if they check the box on your company survey indicating that they want to receive the e-newsletter, they may still change their mind about receiving it. In this situation, they are much more likely to use the opt-out button than to flag your newsletter as spam, since they gave you permission to send it to them. Always include a disclaimer about legal advice. While your e-newsletter should not include anything that could be construed as legal advice, someone could always perceive your articles to be just that. Make sure that it is clear to anyone reading your e-newsletter knows that for advice and direction on a particular legal issue, they will need to contact your firm directly. Link: http://www.rainmakerlawyer.com/site/permalink/how_to_set_up_a_law_firm_e_newsletter/