The Legal Marketing Idea Shop: Proven Strategies to Help you Make your Law Practice more Efficient and Profitable

The Legal Marketing Idea Shop is a source of information for all the different Marketing Ideas that you can put to use in your Legal Marketing Plan Strategy.  I encourage my readers to bookmark this page and check back frequently, as I plan to continually update the Legal Marketing Idea Shop with the newest and greatest Legal Marketing Strategies.  For now I'll start with the basic legal marketing strategies that you should consider.  Don't think that you have to immediately implement each of these strategies to build a successful law practice - you don't.  But if you start to think about implementing some systems to assist you in making one or two of these strategies part of your overall legal marketing plan, you'll be headed in the right direction.  Click here for additional information on attorney marketing.

Legal Marketing Idea Shop Strategy #1 - Direct Contact and Follow-Up:  As lawyers, we are not allowed to communicate directly with clients.  Furthermore, in most jurisdictions, we are not allowed to communicate directly with referral sources, if our only reason for contacting them is to directly solicit referrals.  Either way, contacting a referral source directly and straight up asking for a referral does not foster the "know you, like you, trust you" relationship that we are aiming for in our everyday practice.

So, how exactly do we initiate contact with referral sources, and what do we say?  When I say direct contact, I mean making contact with a potential referral source by phone, in person, or by mail, fax or email.  As you can probably gather from the paragraph above, this initial contact must be personalized.  I'm a big fan of handwritten notes - I'm get a lot of positive feedback from them.  But, you can do it however you feel comfortable, as long as you personalize the message.  Merely sending a message that says, "Hey, my name is fantastic attorney and I was wondering if you could please send me some clients" just isn't going to cut it. 

Only after you make your first "personal" contact with someone, should you follow-up with a newsletter or e-zine.  You want that person to know who you are first.  Click here for more information on how to add an information based, two-tiered approach to your overall legal marketing plan strategy. 

After you have initiated the first contact with your referral source, it is a good idea to try and follow-up with an in person meeting.  This can be over coffee, at a meal, or possibly in their office for a few minutes.  It is a great idea to get yourself in front of this person so that they can start to see you as a person, and not just a handwritten note or email.  Studies have shown that you need to get a message in front of someone an average of seven times before they will act on that message.  The handwritten note and follow-up meeting are two, only five more to go!

Legal Marketing Idea Shop Strategy #2 - Networking and Referral Building:  Too many lawyers think that networking is going to a bar luncheon and passing out a bunch of business cards in the hopes that someone might send you a case.  I know because I used to do that... until I realized that doing things that way was a complete and utter waste of time.  Now I realize that going to a bar luncheon, getting to know other attorneys, and collecting business cards can be an enormously profitable undertaking.  It's all about having the proper mindset.

There are very specific strategies and systems that you should employ when going to networking events.  By doing this, you can follow a routine that works and feel confident knowing that you have a predetermined purpose when you attend a networking event.  It's not just about socializing and beer anymore - it's about initiating contact with potential referral sources so that they will leave the event feeling good about you.  I go into greater detail about how this should be done in my Marketing Made Simple System for Lawyers.  For now, you should know that when you go to a networking event, your goal should be to get to know others and then collect their business cards so you can follow-up with them later.  By doing this, you will start filling your pipeline with an overflowing quantity of potential referral sources.

Legal Marketing Idea Shop Strategy #3 - Writing and Other Forms of Publicity:  One of the best ways to establish yourself as an expert in your chosen field and to gain credibility in your practice area is to start writing.  Start a blog, submit letters to legal publications, or get yourself a column with a local newspaper.  It doesn't matter what form the writing takes, as long as you do it.  If you've never been published before, that's ok - with the advent of the internet, it is now easier than ever to get the word out.  I recommend that you start by trying to publish your own blog (typepad and blogger are two great websites for this) or submit articles online (you may need to check your bar ethics rules about how you can do this ethically).

Legal Marketing Idea Shop Strategy #4 - Public Speaking:  Most people are overwhelmed and uncomfortable at the thought of speaking in front of a group of people.  If that's you, just move right along to strategy #5.  Personally, I love to speak publicly, and because of that it is an extremely powerful form of publicity for me.  As a lawyer, you have to think carefully about who your audience will be - referral sources, potential clients, or both?  There are so many opportunities for lawyers to speak publicly - mostly at CLE's and other legal conventions.  Alternatively, you can host workshops for potential clients to discuss areas of the law that are important to them.  However you decide to do this, it is important to start small, on a local level, and then slowly move your way up.

Legal Marketing Idea Shop Strategy #5 - Promotional Events:  The types of Promotional Events that you can put on are only limited by your imagination.  Some good examples include golf outings, holiday parties, wine-tastings, fundraisers, or other open houses at your law office.  I recommend that all of my clients plan a minimum of one to two of these events per year.  The goal here is to develop an event that people will look forward to for many years to come.   

Legal Marketing Idea Shop Strategy #6 - Advertising:  Yuck.  There, I said it.  I hate advertising, and I find it to be the least effective (and oftentimes most costly) way for an attorney to market their practice.  However, more attorneys market themselves this way than any other!  Ads do nothing to foster the "know you, like you, trust you" feelings that will lead people to do business with or refer business to your law firm.  That being said, advertising in the yellow pages or on TV can be effective for some law firms.  It will depend in large part on the practice areas in your firm and the size of law firm that you are marketing for.  If you do decide to advertise, my Marketing Made Simple System has some proven ideas regarding how you should do it and what information you should include in your ad.

These are just a few of the strategies that you can employ to help build a successful and profitable law practice.  Check back frequently as I will continue to update this "Legal Marketing Idea Shop" with new and exciting ideas to help you continue to develop your practice.

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