Marketing Your Practice: One Attorney to Another
Saturday, February 4th, 2012You may find Attorney Marketing to be a daunting task, but it could very well be the one thing that could make or break your legal practice. In order to market your practice better, you must learn what you can do about it.
But I’m an Attorney, not a Marketer!
Were your legal aspirations spurred on and fueled by episodes of Law & Order and The Practice? Or were you fully aware that real law practice is not really what they made it out to be in the movies and on television? In any event, it’s unlikely that your reasons for becoming an attorney included the notion that you would need to engage heavily in marketing. However…
All businesses or professions, the legal profession being just one example, must never forgt marketing if they hope to generate continued income and have a sufficient roster of clients.
Being a lawyer myself, my familiarity with the profession has aided me in successfully working with other attorneys and law firms in their marketing plans. My firsthand experience has shown me that currently, most attorney marketing is subpar. Why is this good for you?
Because it means that your marketing does not need to be superb or incredibly expensive in order to garner more clients for your legal practice. I’m going to list some simple tips below, but before I do that, here are a few general thoughts on attorney marketing:
* Do some research first before hiring anybody to market your practice. There are a ton of people and firms out there who profess to be able to bring you amazing marketing results, but very few of them are experienced with attorneys and have achieved amazing results in the past. Ask for proof.
* Stay focused. It’s tempting to start out by trying to get every different type of client imaginable. It almost never works. Focus on a particular practice area, and focus on a particular geographic area. Weigh your options when it comes to what type of marketing you will use, whether online, radio, tv, or print. When you’ve chosen which one to do, do it right. If you have focus, the path forward will be clearer.
* Brainstorm with other attorneys. Ask them what has worked for them. Being in the same profession and “kindred spirits”, they would dole out advice when they know you need it. Take their tips and pointers and see what you can apply in your own situation.
It’s not easy, but it’s not rocket science, either. Let me share a few tips:
3 Simple Pointers for Attorney Marketing
1. Go Online: More and more businesses turn to online marketing to increase their sales figures and customer/client base. Figure out what types of information potential clients are looking for, and then use your website to provide that information. Contact an SEO firm to help you with rankings through marketing for your law firm.
2. Attend Relevant Events: Do not limit yourself to events related to the legal profession alone. It is a good move to participate in events involving the industry of the clients you want to sign up you?re your practice. Attend corporate events if you want to provide legal consultancy services, insurance industry events if you want to work in insurance litigation, etc. – the list goes on. It’s the perfect way to get your name out there and to make new connections.
3. Pro Bono : Provide free services to charity. It’ll give you great experience, and your pro bono clients can occasionally be great referrals for you.