Back Office Betties CEO, Emily LaRusch, recently spoke with John Hinson to take a look at content creation from a whole new perspective. John Hinson is an Administrative Director and Marketing Manager at Spotlight Branding, a content marketing company that helps law firms stand out with results-driven marketing.
John shared valuable information on the shortcomings of SEO-focused marketing and how creating quality content is what drives business to your law firm.
SEO-Focused Marketing Fails to Produce Results
Does this sound familiar? Many law firms hire marketing companies that focus heavily on SEO. These companies often promise high returns and guarantee that you’ll see yourself on the 1st page of Google, but continuously fall short. Leaving firms to move on to the next company with the same promises and tactics, hoping for a different outcome.
After search engines became prominent over the last decade, marketing companies seemingly shifted their focus over to SEO. But SEO keywords simply aren’t the only thing that matters.
Quality Content Sets Your Firm Apart
Content is the 1st way that potential clients engage with your law firm. When searching for an attorney online, the content that’s on your website and social media is THE factor that will set you apart from other law firms.
Content is also the best way to keep potential clients who aren’t ready to buy in your funnel and bring them closer to making a hiring decision. Consider having your receptionist direct callers to content on your website or to a lead magnet that they can download.
Your Client Is the Hero of Their Own Story
Many attorneys will focus on how great of an attorney they are and boast their case results and personal achievements. While potential clients want to know who their attorney is and the qualifications that set them apart, they need to be the hero of their own story.
Self-promotion has value, but can turn potential clients away if it’s all that you’re offering. Recognize your client as the hero and yourself as their guide.
You Can’t Market to Your Ideal Client if You Don’t Know Who They Are
If everyone is your audience, then everyone is your competition. Minimize the number of case types you accept and take the time to identify your ideal client.
Paint the picture and tell their story: Identify with your hero (potential client) and walk them through how they are going to get from point A to point B. Help them to get over the fears that they’re coming to you with.
SEO Terms Appear Naturally in Quality Content
It’s obvious when content is written for the sole purpose of SEO. You’ll find the same terms repeated over and over and it won’t sound natural. Even someone who knows nothing about SEO or marketing will be put off by the uncomfortable way it reads.
But SEO keywords will be present naturally in quality content that’s related to what your clients are searching for.
That means creating good content is as simple as answering the questions your potential clients have, identifying with their emotional state, and recognizing their concerns. You already know the information your potential clients are looking for from past conversations. Think about their most common concerns and fears.
Quality, evergreen content highlights you as the expert and clear choice.
https://backofficebetties.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/1215504_You-reNotTheHeroBlog_1000x528_102021.jpg5281000Rachel Bauerhttps://backofficebetties.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Back-Office-Betties-Primary-1.svgRachel Bauer2021-10-21 17:19:282023-12-04 15:31:57How to Create Content That Drives Business to Your Law Firm
There’s a lot of talk about the psychology of gifting and how much of an impact it has on business relationships. But not just anything will do.
If you’re considering using gifting as a law firm marketing strategy, put on your business glasses and take a look through those lenses. You’ll need to optimize your gifts to make the best use of your money for the best return on investment.
Here are some things to consider:
If Your Logo Is On It, It’s Not a Gift
Gifts should never be billboards with bows on them. It might seem counterintuitive when looking at gifting from a marketing strategy point of view, but handing someone an ad for your business… that’s not a gift.
Logos have a time and place: promotional items. Promo items are all about you. Gifts are all about the recipient. So unless the recipient is you… don’t put your logo on it.
That being said, if you really want to, there are times when it might be appropriate to throw some swag in on the side. In those cases there are a few things to keep in mind:
The main gift should have a significantly higher value. Branded items should never be seen as if they were considered a part of the gift.
Use consumable items. Think notepads and pens. There is absolutely no person alive who wants a cutting board or pop socket (embarrassing) with your law firm’s name on it. This is true for all businesses, but 10x more so for law firms. (Your client doesn’t want to remember their divorce forever.)
Never throw branded items in with gifts given for more personal reasons. Example: Your favorite client’s birthday.
Gift Cards Are a Bad Idea
(In almost all cases.)
Gift cards are so easy. They require minimal effort and time. And you’re busy! You might need some convincing on this one, so here it goes:
They’re impersonal. The benefits of requiring minimal effort and time are also the downfalls.
They aren’t gifts. Gift cards essentially give the recipient permission to go out and get themselves their own gift.
They aren’t memorable. If you give someone who loves Starbucks a Starbucks gift card… the sentiment is there. But nothing about going to Starbucks is going to be memorable to someone who goes to Starbucks every day.
They aren’t always used. Check your wallet. Do you have a gift card in there you’ve forgotten? Maybe a half-used one? It’s so easy to slip a card in your wallet in the middle of a busy day and forget it’s there until you stumble upon it while searching for something else. At least maybe then they’d think about you again. (ha-ha)
Find Gift Ideas for Every Budget & Every Client
Considering the ethics of gifting as an attorney, it’s a good idea to draw up a policy for your firm to avoid complications.
Variation is necessary. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t recycle gift ideas (you should), but it does mean you should make choices based on individuals.
You have an edge here as an attorney. Working with your clients – often on very personal matters – you get a good idea of their lifestyle. Take advantage of this for your law firm marketing strategy.
Pay attention to their habits. If you have a client with a million notes for you every time you talk… a notebook would be a nice gift for them. A higher-end option would be something like reMarkable, a paper tablet. You know they’ll use it because you see them going through notebooks before your eyes.
In general, friendly conversation is your best bet for determining the ideal gift for most clients. (A little Facebook “research” couldn’t hurt either.)
Handle High-Quality Items Carefully to Avoid Mishaps
Remember: If you’re working with a chef, giving them a set of knives isn’t the best idea. They are almost certain to already have a better set of knives. Something like a personalized cutting board or serving tray is less likely to be outshined. Someone who’s just getting into cooking however… different story.
You want to impress clients with quality. But you don’t want to purchase mid to high-end items that they likely already have or have a better version of.
Another example: if you have a Rolex, you’re not likely to regularly set it aside for a lesser value watch just to mix it up. When it comes to items like these, if you can’t afford to give the best of the best (like most of us) or the value is too high for that case, just pick something else.
Don’t Be Basic on a Low Budget
Determine the % of the income from your client’s case you’re going to spend. Bigger cases should get more expensive gifts, but important clients with smaller cases can warrant going a bit over that %.
For the low-budget options, choosing something less mainstream is a solid choice.
An example: Maybe you want to give candles to your clients. You know they’re stressed and you’ve thought about them and how they’re feeling. Okay, great. Don’t buy a big name-brand candle. Consider finding something different from a local store in your area or a small handmade shop online.
Personalized Gifts Have the Biggest Impact
Personalized gifts are a great law firm marketing strategy. They show your clients that you went out of your way to get this gift for them. It’s not just something you have stacked in the back of your office to hand out. Your clients are sure to be excited when they see it.
How to personalize? Names are a safe bet. But it doesn’t have to be their name.
Do they have a family? Did they come to you to win custody of their kids? Consider water bottles or notebooks for school with their kid’s names on them. Are they an entrepreneur? Customize their gift with their brand’s logo.
Here’s what to keep in mind for personalized gifts:
Choose long-lasting items. Think glassware, cutting or cheese boards, picture frames, desktop infinity calendars, etc. You want your client to think of you every time they use that item. Gifts that last a long time have the best value.
Use quality customization. Etching, embossing, engraving, etc.
Make sure the item is something your client or their family will actually use. (What good is a gorgeous engraved cheeseboard that doesn’t leave the cupboard?)
There are plenty of customization companies to choose from. Everything Etched, for example, has a stellar reputation and a variety of products in different price ranges that are sure to impress.
Business to Business Gifting Is an Excellent Marketing Opportunity
The biggest advantage of gifting to businesses: More than one entity can be impressed with just one gesture.
Having multiple employees thinking highly of you keeps your name circulating. Not to mention, employees leave companies, start their own, get promoted to different branches, etc. That means that the next time they, their company, or their friends and family need an attorney… your name will be remembered.
Sometimes it will only be appropriate to gift your main contact throughout the case. Giving a gift to their assistant or receptionist who you’ve also communicated with is a fitting option in that situation.
In other cases, there will be multiple staff members you can gift. In those situations, customizing items with their company’s logo always impresses.
. . .
To Wrap Up
(No pun intended)
Using gifting as a law firm marketing strategy isn’t as complicated once you know the best practices. Looking at it from a numbers and strategic viewpoint is crucial to see a return on investment. But that doesn’t mean that the human and empathetic factors need to be removed. At the end of the day, you’re considering your clients and what would make them happy during a stressful time.
https://backofficebetties.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/1081681_GiftingStrategy_v4_052721.jpg5281000Rachel Bauerhttps://backofficebetties.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Back-Office-Betties-Primary-1.svgRachel Bauer2021-06-01 10:00:342023-04-05 09:07:11Gifting as a Law Firm Marketing Strategy
Even if it was back in law school, you’ve probably googled this before.
And if you’re running a solo or small law firm, you know the frustration of trying to fulfill your dream of having your own thriving, profitable firm. And you know how difficult it is to watch it not happening.
If you want to make lots of money as an attorney, you need to stop seeing yourself as an attorney. Well, as just an attorney. You’re practicing the law, but you’re also shouldering all the responsibilities of a business.
And those responsibilities aren’t just taxes, payroll, and administrative work. A thriving, profitable business requires strategizing, evaluating, and of course, knowing:
The way your clients think and how to use that information to land more leads
How and where to spend your money to bring in the most profit
The most effective ways to make time for billable work and additional clients to grow your firm
So, here’s how you really can make lots of money as an attorney:
1. Capture All Potential Income by Capturing Every Potential Client
Sounds like a no-brainer.
But so many law firms are still missing out on potential new clients – and they don’t need to be. Here are some of the ways you could be too:
You’re missing their calls (80% of callers won’t leave a voicemail)
You aren’t collecting their information in full
Your firm doesn’t have sales scripting in place to sell your services
You can’t take every potential client because you don’t have the time
Make Sure Your Firm Answers Every Call – The Right Way
That call you missed on your lunch break? Could have been your biggest client this year.
The caller whose phone number your receptionist forgot to take down? They’re probably not going to call back on their own.
That caller who declined to schedule due to your consultation fee? Maybe you could have sold it to them with the right scripting.
Every call has the potential to grow your law firm and make you more money. Bringing in more clients is the way your law firm will grow. So never undermine the importance of a single potential new client on the line.
“It’s fine, it was just one call.” – Small law firm attorney struggling to grow.
Impress Your Potential Clients on Their First Call to Establish Your Firm as the Best Choice
Leave your callers with a positive, professional, and capable impression of your law firm – immediately on that initial call.
Your potential clients have a list of attorneys that they’re calling through. Realistically, that first call will be their only call if your firm doesn’t stand out amongst the rest (or pick up the phone). That means your customer service doesn’t need to be adequate. Or without mistakes. It means your customer service needs to be above and beyond that of the competition.
Hook the People You Can Help, And Don’t Waste Time on the People You Can’t
How? By completing intakes on that first call. Every time.
Completing intakes on the first call:
Filters out callers you can’t help
Hooks the callers you can help
Collects the information you need to track the types of callers you get
Time is money. And as an attorney, your time is big money. If you’re looking to scale your law firm, you can’t waste your valuable time on (likely free) consultations for potential clients you won’t be able to help.
When your potential clients get to your firm in their list of attorneys to call, you want to do everything in your power to make sure that the rest of that list gets scrapped. Scheduling a consultation alone won’t do that. If you aren’t the first consultation they have scheduled, you’re in a tight spot.
Make your potential clients feel like they are already your clients by completing their intakes on the first call. This makes them feel like they’ve begun their legal process, with you.
But What If…
You don’t have time to complete intakes on the spot for every potential client that calls in?
Or convince callers that your fees are well worth it?
Or catch every call?
We’ll get to that later.
For now, you need to bring in more leads:
2. Get More Reliable Leads by Starting a Client Referral Program
Referrals are highly likely clients. And they’re easy sells.
Clio’s 2019 Legal Trends Report found that only 16% of clients seek a referral and search on their own for an attorney. That means 73% of clients who seek referrals, are choosing them.
Source: Clio’s 2019 Legal Trends Report
That’s a crazy big percentage. But why?
Many of your potential clients have never needed an attorney before. (It’s even more likely that they’ve never experienced their particular case type.) For most people, finding an attorney is:
Intimidating
Complex
Stressful
High stakes
Don’t forget, while this will be a business deal for you, your potential clients could have their entire family, business, or reputation on the line. They can’t afford to make a mistake by selecting the wrong attorney. Choosing an attorney who was referred to them by their trusted friends or family is often the most comfortable choice that a nervous new client can make.
Set Up a Referral Program for Your Firm That Brings in Low Effort Leads
Entice your clients (Make sure the news reaches them)
Meticulously track your referrals
Follow up – The right way
Your firm is, in all likelihood, already relying on referrals in some capacity. And you know that referrals are aneasy sell.
Your firm should be doing everything feasible to increase your referrals from current and previous clients.
However, no matter how good your referral program is, your clients will not refer you to their friends and family if they had a negative experience with your firm. Here’s how to avoid that:
3. Improve Your Law Firm’s Reputation by Communicating Effectively with Your Clients
Here’s a secret most people won’t tell you: Good communication is the secret sauce for law firm customer service and client experience that leads to positive reviews and more referrals.
Take a look through the reviews for some of your competition. You’ll notice communication (or lack thereof) coming up time and time again. And don’t overlook the power of reviews for attorneys.
View Situations From Your Client’s Perspective to Know What They Want
You’re working around the clock on cases. And sure, you might get emotionally involved in some of those cases. But you’re not sitting around by the phone waiting to hear what’s happening with one specific case that could change the course of your life.
Your clients are.
It’s easy to lose perspective, or just lose track of how long it’s been since you’ve spoken with a client. You know you’re working on their case doing everything you can for them. You know the law and you’re practicing it.
But remember, if you want to make lots of money as an attorney, you can’t forget that your law firm is a business. And you need to treat it that way.
Understand That Your Clients Need to Hear From You, No Matter What
Do your clients constantly call you or your office just asking for updates on their cases? That’s a bad sign.
That client is anxious and on edge wondering when they’ll hear from you and wondering what’s happening with their case. Quite frankly, if you haven’t reached out to them, there probably isn’t anything going on with their case. And no news to share with them. But for your clients, “no news” is news:
I’m still working on paperwork
We haven’t heard back from the opposing party
Etc.
Even a simple, “No news yet” works for an update.
Set Communication Expectations to Reduce Your Clients’ Stress.
Set a regular check-in schedule. An example would be: You’ll reach out to your client every Friday to update them regardless of any activity with their case.
Set individual schedules for clients based on the unique dynamics of their cases.
Regular check-ins are easy to delegate to your receptionist. Instead of emailing or calling clients every week yourself, have your receptionist send and make emails and calls for your clients when you don’t have updates.
For many cases, you’ll want to reach out to your client when you have an update even it’s before your scheduled time. Whatever you choose to do, make sure your clients know when they will hear from you. And always follow through.
4. Save & Make Money by Outsourcing or Delegating Your Administrative Work
This is one of those “Spend money to make money” situations.
Completing intakes?
Answering phones?
Scheduling appointments?
Answering FAQ’s?
Processing payments?
Providing directions to your office?
Adding leads to your CRM?
Making outbound calls?
All of these are:
Not billable work
Time-consuming
Unpredictable
Not worth your time
The reality is, you should have pretty much anyone else doing this type of administrative work. Any professional, that is. (Not your well-meaning spouse.)
Any time you spend on administrative work is time you can’t spend on billable work.
And if you want to make lots of money as an attorney… you need to be doing more billable work.
The only question you need to ask is:
“Who do I outsource my administrative work to?”
And you have options. No one solution can claim to be the best solution for every firm.
You could hire an in-house receptionist
Delegate work to your paralegal
Or outsource to a virtual receptionist company
Virtual Receptionists
Your best bet is likely a legal specialized virtual receptionist service like Back Office Betties. This is because legal virtual receptionists can handle your administrative work for you at a fraction of the cost of your other options. Without slashing the quality of service or missing the legal expertise that you need.
Back Office Betties hires receptionists with experience in the legal industry and provides ongoing legal, sales, and customer service training for all staff.
All of Betties’ receptionists complete custom training courses for each and every firm we work with, to ensure the same level of familiarity as someone sitting at your front desk.
In-House Receptionist
An experienced in-house legal receptionist will be able to provide a great level of customer service and handle your administrative work flawlessly as well. The biggest difference is: value.
The average cost of an in-house receptionist is $4,123.60/month. (For reference, Back Office Betties’ plans range from $309 – $1,699/month.)
Unfortunately, in-house receptionists take lunch and bathroom breaks, step away from the phone, and call in sick. And that’s more than reasonable behavior. But remember, every missed call is a potential client lost.
If you want to make a lot of money as an attorney… Start seeing dollar signs every time the phone rings.
Already have an in-house receptionist that you can’t live without?
Consider a virtual receptionist service to back up your phones when they aren’t available.
Paralegal
The major downside of delegating administrative work to your paralegal is that they have the ability to take significantly more substantial work off of your plate. Leaving you with even more time to spend on billable work. Not to mention, your paralegal is a pretty expensive receptionist.
But again, anything is better than doing it yourself.
. . .
The biggest roadblocks small and solo attorneys face while struggling to grow their firm are landing clients and not having enough time to do billable work.
If you want to make lots of money as an attorney, you need more clients. And you can’t take on more clients if you don’t have the time to work on their cases.
https://backofficebetties.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/1065667_MakeMoreMoneyBlogRB_1000x528_v2_051221.jpg5281000Rachel Bauerhttps://backofficebetties.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Back-Office-Betties-Primary-1.svgRachel Bauer2021-05-18 10:00:462023-12-04 18:29:423+ Things To Start Doing Now That Will Make Your Law Firm More Money
But what about client referrals? Getting referrals from clients can be the easiest, least time-consuming, and cheapest way to bring in new clients.
Establishing a Law Firm Referral Program will help you maximize your referrals and automate the referral process.
Why Is a Law Firm Referral Program Better Than Traditional Advertising?
There are a few reasons:
It’s Easier
Save time by eliminating the need to keep track of multiple ad campaigns.
Reduce the stress on your marketing budget.
Lower risk by spending money as you make it – no upfront marketing expenses that you may or may not see a return on.
It’s Cheaper
The legal industry is the most expensive marketing sector with the highest CPC (Cost Per Click) on Google Ads, making it one of the least cost-effective marketing strategies.
CPC varies rapidly and COVID-19 has seen CPC skyrocket for the Legal Industry.
You can incentivize clients to refer friends and family with a referral program for a much lower cost than traditional marketing and advertising.
It’s an Easy Sell
Referrals from clients start off with higher levels of trust and confidence in you than leads from any other source – before they’ve even spoken with you!
Clio’s 2019 Legal Trends Report found that almost 60% of clients seek a referral when shopping for a lawyer, and only 16% seek a referral AND search on their own. This means 73% ofclients who sought referrals chose them.
Rewarding both the referrer and the referred is ideal.
For past clients giving referrals, gifts are a good idea – gift cards and donations in their name are great options.
For current clients giving referrals, there are more options. Both discounts and gifts work.
For the referred, discounts are ideal.
Disclaimer: Be sure to check with your local Ethics Rules & Opinions before creating your referral program incentive.
Entice Your Clients (Let Them Know About Your Referral Program)
When it comes to getting the word out, consistency is key. Most people don’t know someone who needs a lawyer at all times. If they haven’t heard about your referral program in months, they’re less likely to remember it when one of their friends or family members finds themselves in need of an attorney.
Update your website to include a referrals page with information regarding your referral program.
Blogs are a great way to get information out. You can create original posts or publish the content from your emails. Make sure to include your call to action at the end!
Emails are likely the most effective method of getting in touch with previous and current clients, and they are super easy to automate.
If your firm sends out newsletters, add a section to the newsletter with referral information!
Keep Track of Your Referrals
CRMs are absolutely essential for keeping track of client referrals and leads.
Here are a few we recommend:
Follow Up
Send a handwritten thank you note with your gift or discount. It doesn’t need to be fancy. Make sure you let them know that the referral offer still stands for the future.
How to Increase the Likelihood of Receiving Referrals
Customer Service is KEY and an important part of your Law Firm Referral Program. The number 1 factor in receiving client referrals is a positive experience working with you.
No one wants to risk referring a friend or family member to someone they can’t be sure will take care of them. (This is especially true for something as important as legal issues.)
When it comes to the legal industry, the referral gift or discount alone likely won’t be enough to elicit referrals – they know their friend or family member will be in good hands.
As customer service experts, we’ve put together a few guides to help you really wow your clients:
End cases with thank you gifts and/or cards to thank your clients for choosing and working with you. Let them know you enjoyed your time together and they were an excellent client, then introduce your referral program.
Leave your clients feeling like you’ve gone above and beyond for them and they will feel the desire to return that favor to you.
https://backofficebetties.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/997448_ClientsReferral_1000x528_v2_031021.png5281000Rachel Bauerhttps://backofficebetties.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Back-Office-Betties-Primary-1.svgRachel Bauer2021-03-10 15:56:562024-03-01 11:13:57Your Law Firm Is Missing Out on Easy Money
Marketing is one of those tricky parts of business that nobody really understands unless you’ve previously worked in the field. There are so many tips out there and everyone thinks that their way is the only way. The thing is, there are a few key principles that every marketing tactic or campaign needs to be successful. Determining who your law firm’s ideal clients are is one of those keys.
Today, we want to show you how to nail down your ideal client. Working under the impression that everyone is your ideal client and needs your services quickly leads to serving no one. Quit throwing everything at the wall and hoping it sticks! Once you know who you’re talking to, it’s a whole lot easier to know what to say.
At Betties, we started out offering our services to any small business that wanted us! We quickly realized that many people and businesses didn’t value what we offered. We also realized that it was impossible to offer the level of service we wanted to while juggling calls for multiple business types. Our team took a step back and asked: Who do we like working with the most? The answer was unanimous: Attorneys. At that point, we were able to nail down the specific problems our attorney clients needed help with. This has helped guide our messaging as well as the services we provide.
If you’re currently marketing to everyone, or not marketing to anyone at all, you need to keep reading! Let’s get your ideal client nailed down so you can start truly helping them.
Steps to identifying your law firm’s ideal clients
1) Brainstorm the problems your law firm solves
Remember those handy dandy bubble maps we made in school before starting a paper or project? Take us back because that’s the perfect start to finding your firm’s clients. You need to know what problems you solve before you can know who needs help with said problems! Start with the types of law you practice and branch out with various case types underneath those branches. Get as detailed as possible so that you can really understand the problems your clients are facing.
2) Make a list of your favorite clients
This step is definitely more so for established firms and businesses. Once you’ve discovered certain people that you love working with, make a list of them. Start to process some of their characteristics and find similarities. Do they live in similar areas? Do they share careers? What about familial status? What are their personality types? Male or female? How old are they? Political affiliations? Answering as many of these questions as possible and finding similarities can make it surprisingly simple to understand who your law firm’s ideal clients are. You may already be working with them!
3) Determine how many client profiles you serve
Your clients may not all be in exactly the same circumstances. Especially if you offer multiple services or practice more than one area of law. If you notice that your favorite clients don’t necessarily overlap, or perhaps you solve different problems, consider creating multiple profiles. Start with the problem you are solving and work backward as to who that solution serves. This will help when advertising different services or marketing on different platforms. If one set of clients hangs out on Facebook, target them there with messaging directed at them. If another set of clients hangs out on LinkedIn, market to them there!
Keep in mind – you don’t want to go overboard. Slight differences do not necessarily require an all-new profile if your messaging can work for both ideal clients.
4) Who are your competitors serving?
If you don’t yet have a robust favorite client list, look at your competitors. Who are they serving and who do they market to? Follow them on social media and check out their lead magnets. Who are they speaking to? What are they offering? This might help you to determine if your ideal client is similar or if you have a unique audience that they can’t help.
Now that you know who you are talking to, it will be easier to determine your messaging and how you market to them. The most important part of marketing your firm is to ensure that your potential clients want to hear what you are saying. Nothing turns you off of a company faster than a message you don’t align with, right?
1) Create content that speaks to solving their problems
You identified the problems your law firm solves and you determined the problems of your ideal client profiles. Put those together and market directly to each problem that your ideal clients face. You can do this through informative and helpful blog posts and other free content, as well as speak to how you help solve those problems in your advertising and landing pages. For instance, if your ideal client is having trouble planning his estate and wants to be sure his family doesn’t have to worry about anything, you might create messaging around your uncomplicated, done-for-you estate planning services that will set his family up to thrive after he is gone.
2) Show up where your clients hang out
If your ideal clients hang out on Facebook, you want to advertise to them there and have an active Facebook Business Page. If your ideal clients ride the bus, you might want to utilize bus stop advertising opportunities or have your ads inside the bus. Do your clients attend conferences? What kind? Show up as an authoritative figure there!
When you know where your clients are and what problems they are having, it’s easy to attract them to you with marketing that surrounds them.
Did you find this post helpful? We’d love for you to share your ideal client profile in the comments or over on Facebook!
https://backofficebetties.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/614324_BLOG_UnderstandClients_1000x600_010120.jpg6001000Emilyhttps://backofficebetties.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Back-Office-Betties-Primary-1.svgEmily2020-02-14 16:14:182024-01-18 11:10:19How to Understand (and Market to) Your Law Firm’s Ideal Clients
Blogging has been around for quite a while but it feels like it’s starting to gain more traction all over again. If you haven’t jumped on the blogging train yet, you’ve probably at least read your fair share of blogs. I mean, you are reading this one right now, right?
Blogs can be many things, from a recipe source to a guide on the latest fashions. When done properly, they are a hot resource for quick and digestible information.
So why should you consider starting one as a lawyer?
Blogs make you visible.
By starting a law blog, not only are you getting yourself out there to provide value to your potential clients, you’re boosting your website’s presence on Google – the king of search engines.
But why should I provide value to my potential clients for free?
By giving value to your potential clients for free, you’re allowing them to get to know, like, and trust you. They can then implement a tip you’ve given and say, “Oh hey, that attorney’s advice worked for me!” which will keep them coming back for more.
How does blogging help me get visible on Google?
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) boosts your website by pulling keywords from your website’s text and listing your site pages under relevant keyword searches. If you blog about fighting speeding tickets in Minneapolis, your post will appear in searches that people make about how to fight a speeding ticket in Minneapolis.
How to start your law blog:
Start with your website. Which platform do you use? With WordPress, it is insanely easy to start your blog because it is likely already built into your theme. You’ll simply create “Posts” when you’re ready to make a new blog entry. If you notice that your posts don’t look nicely formatted, you may want to speak with your developer to set that up. If you used a ready-made theme to set up your website, this should not be a problem as blog post formats are built into most themes. Also, be sure that your website’s menu shows your blog page so people can find it easily when they visit your site. Don’t have a website yet? You need to create one! This is your best tool for finding clients and a necessity for your law blog.
Get to writing! You have all kinds of knowledge and experience. Share it! Writing blog posts doesn’t have to be excruciating. Make a list of topics you want to cover, pick one, and start vomiting every thought you have about it onto your keyboard. Editing can happen later – just get your thoughts onto the screen!
Look at your formatting. Do you have photos in your post? What about headers and other formatted text to break things up? You do not want your posts to look intimidating to read – people will skip right over them. Bold your keywords, add relevant photos (be sure to add a Featured Photo, too!), and break your lines up so that the content is skimmable.
Check on your SEO. Your blog is most useful in attracting potential clients when it can be easily found, right? Make sure to use relevant keywords throughout your post, add inbound/outbound links, and keep your text easy to follow. For added help, you can download the Yoast plugin to your WordPress site and it will guide you in best practices that will help boost you in search results on Google.
Launch your blog! Now that you’ve written, formatted, and SEO-ified your first post, it’s time to launch! You don’t need a lot of content on your blog before going public with it. Get eyes on your content right away and if they like what you’ve written, it will keep them coming back for more. To do so, announce your blog on your firm’s social platforms, LinkedIn, and even your personal platforms. Encourage your followers to like and share.
Keep it up. Don’t write one post and bail on your blog. Your website loves the boost of content & the added keyword searches you’ll show up in, plus your potential clients are hungry for your knowledge. Stick to a schedule and continue pumping out the value that people are searching for.
Now go for it!
Hopefully this information has given you the gusto to actually start your law blog and give your potential clients some insight into what you’re knowledgable on. So now that you’ve read what you need to do, it’s time to actually do it! Sit down at your computer and let the (word) vomit fly.
Do you currently have a law blog? What are your favorite topics to cover in it? Let us know.
https://backofficebetties.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/543289_LawBlog_02_100419.jpg6001200Emilyhttps://backofficebetties.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Back-Office-Betties-Primary-1.svgEmily2019-11-05 15:29:062023-04-05 09:27:31How to Start Your Law Blog
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