The Truth About Aggressive Marketing for Law Firms
There are many misconceptions about marketing for law firms. Not the least of which is the notion that it is unsavory and something that good lawyers don’t do. But rather than discuss what it is NOT, I thought it would be valuable to share with you what true, aggressive marketing for law firms is all about.
Below is a marketing plan recently implemented by one of my clients. It is not among the most aggressive I have seen but it is above average. I have left out some of the details to protect what I believe is the client’s competitive advantage.
The marketing tactics used by this three person law firm include:
Daily Blog Posts
This attorney updates his blog every day. The leads he gets through search engine optimization (which his blog directly influences) are some of his highest quality leads. He dedicates his time to this because the return on that investment is high.
Weekly Email Updates
Each week, this attorney picks one blog article and he sends it to his database via email. This is effective because many of his current clients don’t read the blog but they will read the email. This also gives him an opportunity to keep his name in front of the folks who refer him business.
Monthly Print Newsletters
Each month the attorney’s assistant compiles four blog articles and formats them into a newsletter. This newsletter is then sent to a printer and formatted and sent off via the US mail. It turns out that most of his mailing list has not seen any of this information before and they love his newsletter.
Media Campaign to Pitch the Attorney for Expert Commentary
My client has assembled a great package to pitch himself to the media. Each week his assistant targets about fifteen media outlets and sends out a media kit and follows up with phone calls. This usually results in 3 to 5 calls into the office for expert commentary each month.
Quarterly Educational Events
Every month my client’s law firm hosts an educational event for clients and prospective clients. These events focus on topics of interest to the attorney’s client base. The turnout is regularly between 25 and 50 people and this process has yielded over 60 clients for the attorney in the last few years.
Speaking at Industry Conventions
My client loves to speak in front of an audience. He speaks at least one per month at industry events. This enhances his standing as an expert in his legal niche and it also helps him develop leads. Since many of his referrals come from other attorneys, he will also speak at functions for local and national bar associations.
Membership in a Networking Group
The attorney is a member of an almost cult-like referral organization. Although many people complain about belong to these groups because they meet early in the morning, this particular group is worth over $70,000 in annual business for my client. He doesn’t mind getting up early at all.
Mealtime Marketing
Each week my client has lunch with one referral source and one prospective or current client. These lunches keep him focused on what these folks need in the way of legal services. While this certainly has resulted in direct business, the lunches serve as a way to deepen relationships and not as sales calls.
Weekly You Tube Video
Each week this attorney breaks out a little Flip Camera and shoots a 3 to 4 minute video. This video is on a topic in his area of expertise. He then posts this video to his You Tube page and sends a link to his clients. They love it. The video helps keep the educational material flowing to his clients and this provides them with extra value.
Involvement in a Local Charitable Organization
My client is also the president of a local charitable foundation. This is a time consuming role but he feels it is important to give back to the community. In giving, he will often receive much, much more in new business in return. He considers this a bonus benefit to the emotional reward he receives for his involvement.
These are ten tactics that this attorney employs as part of his overall marketing. He has set up systems to keep each of these initiatives moving forward while he focuses on his legal work. He averages about 21 new prospects per month and he converts over 60 percent of them.
This is moderately aggressive marketing. If your law firm is not doing at least half of these things (or any 5 things) to try to attract clients, you are not truly making an effort.
Aggressive marketing for law firms is not about television ads. It is not about billboards or even the Yellow Pages. Marketing for law firms is about doing things right consistently over time.
Get started today.
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