Law Firm Marketing BLOG

We get a lot of inquiries about our lawyer marketing services; one of the most common hesitations that clients have is cost.  Our attorneys realize that you have to spend some money to make some money; however, they don’t have a lot to put out at the onset.  If you’re looking for the most cost-effective, fastest results, pay-per-click listings still rule.

We recently had an attorney contact us in regards to how our services compare to a major competitor of ours.  After finding out what law firm marketing strategies he had implemented in the past and what his current strategy was, we were able to put a proposal together for him.  The attorney was interested in getting a return on his investment before expanding to a full-blown marketing program. 

We suggested that he should create an effective law firm website design; due to cost, our Gallery Websites would probably be the best option.  Then, to get the fastest and most cost-effective return, a pay-per-click SNAP campaign would work best; this way, their ads would be up and running the same day that the website launched and we could easily control placement and cost.  Once the attorney saw a return, he could expand to optimization, newsletters, BLOGs, and more.

Unfortunately, our competitor felt differently.  This competitor told the client that he needed a website (which we agreed with) and that he needed an eNewsletter and that’s it.

We told the client that the purpose of an eNewsletter is three fold.  First, it provides fresh content to the site regularly, which helps in optimization.  Second, if you feature the articles on the homepage, it gives readers a reason to drill down further into your site.  Third, a reader could bookmark the page and come back later for more information.

However, what the competitor failed to tell the client was that optimization works well over time and there are no guarantees.  It could take 6 months to a year to be effective and, then, there is no guarantee that you will show up well.  The pay-per-click listing guarantees first page results in the same day.  While you may not get a huge volume of cases, they tend to be more qualified, so you are more likely to take on enough cases to pay for your expenditure and then some.  Once you have received a return, it makes sense to expand to eNewsletters and optimization, but until then, you will just be waiting for 6 months for a phone call. That doesn’t seem cost effective or fast.

The one thing that we remind our clients is that we won’t suggest a service if you don’t need it.  For a firm just starting to make a presence, a newsletter is not going to give you a return and you don’t have the time to wait.

Don’t take the word of one law firm marketing company – ask around.  You will become educated and know what to ask other companies.  This way you can really compare them without just looking at dollar signs.

Vlasac and Shmaruk’s, LLC became our first Russian-speaking law firm.  Jack Vlasac and Boris Shmaruk were looking for a more effective website to attract clients throughout New Jersey. 

The law firm’s internet marketing campaign already includes optimization strategies, which we will continue when designing the law firm website.  Our customized attorney website design will stress the firm’s focus on personal injury cases in New Jersey.  Since the firm already has a logo, we will use that as a starting point; once the site’s corporate identity has been created, the attorneys will be able to transfer this to all future marketing pieces, such as letterhead and brochures.  We will also be incorporating a state-specific eNewsletter for New Jersey personal injury; this newsletter will be refreshed weekly and will assist in optimization strategies.   

Vlasac and Shmaruk’s New Jersey personal injury law firm is unique in its ability to cater to English, Spanish, and Russian speaking clients.  In addition to personal injury cases, the firm also assists clients with real estate litigation, municipal court matters, medical malpractice, commercial litigations, estate planning, workers compensation, insurance litigation, PIP, condominium litigation, and collections.

Many of our clients have sent us the same question recently: What is the advantage to using a BLOG versus an online eNewsletter? 

We tell them that, in a perfect world, you should have both – the more information that you can provide to your clients (or potential clients, the better).  Law Firm BLOGs and eNewsletters keep the world up to date on what is going on with your firm; this includes firm recent events, recent verdicts, important legislation, answers to client’s legal questions, etc.  

Both provide the information to the world at large and yet there is one big advantage to using a BLOG over an eNewsletter: everyone can see and participate in the BLOG dialogue.  What exactly does that mean?  Well, if a lawyer sends out an eNewsletter to a mailing list (or has an eNewsletter posted on his/her website), and a client wants to respond with a comment or question, only the attorney can see it.  However, with a BLOG, the client can post the question or comment and the world can see the client’s information, as well as the attorney’s response.  The reason this is so great?  It is because the lawyer then starts a dialogue that encourages others to respond.  Rather than answering one question, you can get multiple dialogues started.  This also makes the attorney seem more real to clients; the lawyer is no longer a static picture on a webpage – he or she now has opinions, thoughts, views, etc to share with everyone.  In turn, the client is more likely to call (and hopefully hire) a law firm when the client sees this. 

The greatest part about using a BLOG is that when a client emails a question/comment, it does not automatically post to the BLOG; the lawyer gets an email and chooses whether or not to allow the comment to post.  This way, if it is a disparagiong or irrelevant remark, no one will ever see it.  If it is a comment that you want to respond to for everyone to see, you have that opportunity. 

Moral of the story:  Use BLOGs and eNewsletters – you cannot go wrong.  The biggest difference is that BLOGs give you more interaction with your clients and you become a more trustworthy figure to them.  Now go post what your firm has been up to and see what the world thinks.