Law Firm Marketing BLOG

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. 

The Internet has leveled the playing field for small firms to be able to compete with large firms. Because the Internet is a visual medium, the first impression made by a homepage needs to count.

Does your website have what it takes to spur a potential client to action?
A viewer should be able to tell at a glance who you are, what you do, where you are located, and how to contact you.

Is your homepage structured so that it displays properly on settings of 1024 x 768 pixels?
This is the most common setting for Internet Users.

Is all of the information easily seen without having to scroll down the page?
Research has shown that anything a firm displays below the bottom of the screen will be not be viewed.

Are your successes billboarded on your homepage?
People look at law firm websites for 3 things: expertise, representative cases or clients, and a history of success. What do you do, who else has hired you and do you win.

Does your homepage feature fresh content on a regular basis?
This is extremely important in helping with better search engine placement. Fresh content also gives a viewer a reason to return to the site and also encourages them to drill down further into the site for more information.
Attorneys Online, Inc. offers electronic newsletters, which provide fresh content for it’s client’s websites weekly. Sites hosted by Attorneys Online, Inc. that subscribe to the newsletter service feature new article titles on their homepages.

Is your Areas Of Practice page concise?
You do not want to overwhelm a viewer with too many choices. A law firm should feature its most profitable practice areas. The next generation of websites is niche practice specific. These sites are geared to one area of specialty, which shows strength and expertise. This is especially important for areas of practice that are not complimentary, such as Estate Planning and Criminal. Attorneys Online, Inc. now offers its Gallery Division websites in order to facilitate this growing trend of law firm marketing. These are websites that are licensed non-exclusively and have customized elements added that are specific to the law firm. These sites start at $295 for up to ten pages. The nominal investment in these effective and visually pleasing websites enable firms to have multiple websites specific to various practice areas.

As The Premiere Attorney Business Development Company, Attorneys Online, Inc. prides itself on keeping its clients ahead of the marketing curve with creative and effective campaigns. Check the Attorneys Online, Inc. website for more information about its services such as website creation, graphic design, brochures, print campaigns, TV/radio production & media placement, top listings on major search engines such as Google, AOL, Earthlink, Yahoo and Alta Vista guaranteed as well as Search Engine Optimization and our famous 48-Hour NAP program for your current website to help with better placement in the natural listings on the search engines. www.attorneysonlineinc.com

Cheney Winslow