Marketing your law firm can seem difficult for a number of reasons. First, you need to have the time. Second, there is the money. Third, you need to find the methods to market it in the first place.
There are many methods that lawyers have found to market their practices that are cost-effective and take little time through the utilization of professionals. There are also ways to market your business yourself that require just a little bit of your time. Combine professional services with your own marketing efforts and you have foolproof and powerful ways to get the word out about your practice.
Here are 50 of those ways to get you started:
1. Have a professional design your law firm website.
2. Your local Chamber of Commerce will open you up to many networking opportunities and give you credibility within your community.
3. Put your friends, clients, family, and others to work for you by giving them a business card to hand out and one to keep for themselves.
4. All of your employees should have their own business cards that state their names, their positions within the firm, and how they can be contacted. Of course, the firm name is included in this. They are likely to hand out the cards and increase exposure.
5. You should have a signature block present in all outgoing e-mail. The e-mail signature should include the firm name, your name, location, and contact information.
6. Talk to your local newspaper about writing an article that applies to the majority, such as the importance of keeping a will or bankruptcy information. The byline should include your firm name and how you can be contacted.
7. You can talk to local reporters about being a legal expert for them. If there is an ongoing court case, ask to offer commentary on the case. If you can put complex legal terms into layman’s terms, you’ll be in business.
8. You can talk to local community colleges or community centers about teaching classes. The classes can be for credits or they can simply be for those wishing to learn how the legal system works.
9. E-mail discussion lists can be used for increased exposure and to show off your legal expertise.
10. If you share your office building with others, you need to make sure they all know who you are and what kind of law practice you have so they know to direct people to the right place.
11. Send holiday cards to everyone you meet so that you can keep the client list on the upswing. Make sure they get them in enough time so that they look at them for a while rather than just a few days and then throw them away.
12. Personalized calendars should be made available at the end of each year to get ready for the new year. Those that stick on a computer monitor or refrigerator magnet calendars work out great.
13. If you are aware of a client’s birthday or anniversary, send them a card.
14. Ask your clients to refer others to you. Any time a client is grateful for the services you have provided, hand them business cards and tell them that you would love to provide your services to anyone else they know of who needs the assistance.
15. Send a news clip of a case to another professional and tell them you thought they would find that of interest. Attach your card. You should do this at least twice per week.
16. Your grocery store, beauty salon, community center, church, gym, and local barber may have bulletin boards available where you can pin up your business card.
17. Advertise in football programs and other event programs. Place ads in local yearbooks, local penny savers, church newsletters, and all sorts of places.
18. Make sure that everyone within the organizations you are involved with know you are an attorney and what kind.
19. Check to see if your local bar association has a speaker’s bureau. If not, you can talk to them about starting one.
20. Senior centers and community groups are great places to hold small seminars.
21. Send congratulatory notes to those in the news who have achieved great things.
22. Donate magazines from your waiting room to nursing homes, jails, schools, and other places that may need them. Drop off your business card and keep the address label on them.
23. Your local library would love to have outdated law books, even if they have bookplates with your name on them.
24. Leave your business card at restaurants and at other service places you visit regularly.
25. Get involved with the community.
26. Speak at the local high school about anything related to the law. The students and the teachers could become clients. Plus, you may encourage a student to one day enter law school.
27. Make sure you frequently network with other attorneys so that you are able to refer clients to one another. Make sure these are attorneys that practice in other areas.
28. Always remind your clients that you practice in other areas as well.
29. Remind your clients that they can contact you first any time they have a legal matter come about.
30. If you have a client who is a business owner, patronize that business if possible. Doing so reminds them that you are always there.
31. Make sure you have plenty of press releases written. You can submit them to local newspapers, but also have them submitted to online press release directories so they make their way into the online news and increase your exposure even more.
32. Make sure clients understand the services that you provide. The more they know, the better referral sources they will be.
33. Keep track of important dates for clients and send them reminders.
34. Congratulate clients on life events, such as marriage or a new baby in the family.
35. Make sure your firm employees, family, friends, and anyone close to you knows what you do and what your client base is like.
36. Come up with ideas for your business clients. Even if they don’t take them, they know you have their best interest at heart.
37. Choose a day of the week to write down your marketing goals for that week. Monday is a good day and at least 5 activities should be chosen to reach those goals.
38. People don’t have a lot of time to listen to what you do within your practice, but they can spare at least 30 seconds. Write down a 30 second description and memorize it.
39. Make a list of your 10 newest clients and your 10 best clients. Survey them so you know why they came to your firm. That way you can increase your marketing efforts based upon their answers.
40. Make a list of at least 10 individuals or businesses you would like to acquire as clients. Find a way in which you can get their attention.
41. Make sure you network as much as possible.
42. Always participate in enjoyable activities that can gain you more business. Doing things you enjoy means giving it your best effort.
43. Don’t make mention of the size of your firm. The reason is because individuals choose small firms for a reason. There are also those that choose large firms for specific reasons.
44. Utilize free directories and listings in both print and the Internet.
45. Always have meetings with the other lawyers in your firm just to discuss how to better benefit clients and cross sell services.
46. Other lawyers will enjoy receiving an e-mail newsletter from you about your practice. This is a great way to gain referrals from attorneys practicing in other areas. Clients may also like to receive an informational e-mail newsletter from you.
47. Joining the local trial lawyers association can gain you the exposure that you need and get your name out there.
48. Give clients a free gift during their first visit. Small brief cases or other items that can hold their important paperwork will be greatly appreciated.
49. Give out cards with information on them, such as “what to do if you are injured due to no fault of your own” or “what to do if you are in a car accident.”
50. Give away pens and key chains to friends, family, clients, and others that you encounter. Giving them something useful means they will be reminded of you every time they use it.
