The Rainmaker Blog

SEO for Law Firms: How to Create a Great Law Firm Marketing Website

Stephen Fairley — Fri, 18 May 2012 09:00:00 -0700

I am in Houston today for our long-anticipated Texas Rainmaker Retreat. We have a large, enthusiastic group of lawyers eager to soak in all the latest information on law firm marketing. Of course, social media and SEO are big topics of interest.

There are certain basic SEO elements that should remain consistent on your law firm marketing website to achieve a high Google rank, no matter how many times Google tweaks its search algorithms – which it does at least once a day!

Here are some basic SEO rules to follow to ensure prospects find you online:

Basic keyword SEO rules – include your target keywords in your URLs, meta tags, titles and descriptions as well as in your page content.

High quality inbound links – creating high quality, unique content that others will want to link to and reference can have a huge impact on your website ranking.

Authority – build authority for your site through participation in social media, providing commentary and links to other authoritative sources in your space and quality inbound link building.

Quality user experience – Google rewards sites that are well designed, easy to navigate, load quickly and keep visitors engaged (low bounce rates).

Fresh content – creating new content and updating old content regularly boosts authority and news ranking.

Content diversity – Google prefers diversity in format and content, so include photos, videos and presentations wherever possible.

Feedback – syndicate, promote and provide people with an easy way to share feedback via a blog hosted or linked to your website.

Browser compatibility – your site needs to be compatible with the latest browser versions, including mobile.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

FREE Webinar: How to Attract Clients in Today’s Marketing Jungle

When it comes to law firm marketing, it is truly a jungle out there! Mastering social media, SEO and Internet marketing strategies – and making sure your efforts align with legal marketing rules – can give even the most experienced attorney pause.

In his new one-hour How to Attract Clients in Today’s Marketing Jungle webinar, Rainmaker Institute CEO Stephen Fairley will lead you through the step-by-step actions you should take throughout the course of the next 12 months to substantially increase your revenues. You will learn:

How to target market to get your ideal client
Why your firm is not getting more referrals and how to change it
How to select the right marketing tools that will work for your practice and personality
Effective online and offline marketing strategies
How to create a financial plan to fund your marketing budget
The 5 critical components of a Marketing Action Plan (MAP)
4 ways to create a unique competitive advantage
What is critical to have in place today’s hyper-competitive online focused marketplace

This FREE webinar will also give you a preview of the 65 different marketing techniques and strategies taught at our 2-day legal marketing boot camp.

Upcoming webinar dates include:

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Click on this link to register now for the FREE How to Attract Clients in Today’s Marketing Jungle webinar.

Law Firm Marketing: 10 Steps to Build a Referral Machine for Your Law Firm

Stephen Fairley — Thu, 17 May 2012 10:19:17 -0700

If you have more referral business than you can handle, you are obviously doing something right. But from what I hear, most attorneys are still scratching their heads trying to figure out how to boost their referral business.

Follow these 10 steps to build a referral engine for your law firm:

Set specific goals. Set a specific goal for a specific number of referrals within a specific time frame as part of your law firm marketing plan.

Express gratitude. Thank your referral sources and keep in touch, just to say “hi.” Thank people online who say nice things about you.

Timely response. Always respond to a referral in a timely manner and let your referral source know when you’ve made the connection with the person they’ve referred to you.

Engage. Engage potential referrals on your social networking sites, don’t just use your posts to sell.

Respond. If someone comments on your blog, then follow-up with an email to further the discussion.

Participate. Don’t just join the social networks, actively participate by commenting on other people’s posts to encourage a connection.

Ask. If you don’t ask for a referral, chances are pretty good that you won’t get one. Encourage everyone you communicate with through email or e-newsletter or on your social sites to tell a friend about you and your services.

Consistent communication. Keep in touch with past and current clients, even if they are not currently shopping for an attorney. You never know when they may need you, so staying top of mind is important.

Give. When it comes to referrals, you need to give as good as you get.

Be real. Let your true self shine through in everything you do. People do business with people they like and trust.

New Study Says 3 of 4 Consumers Look for Lawyers Online

Stephen Fairley — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:13:11 -0700

New research prepared for LexisNexis by The Research Intelligence Group shows that 76 percent of adult consumers looking for a lawyer used online resources at some point during the search process.

If this surprises you, you are already well behind the curve.

Did you notice the news item last month that AT&T has sold its Yellow Pages business to private equity firm Cerberus Capital in an effort to “jettison shrinking parts of its business”? Yellow Pages revenue shrank 30 percent in just the last two years; the fingers are still doing the walking, they’re just walking over to the computer, smartphone or tablet.

Technology has changed consumer behavior forever and whether you spend your time lamenting or embracing this change will determine how successful your law practice will become. The very basics you need to successfully market your law firm today includes:

A website
A blog
A social media presence across all major platforms: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+
Participation on lawyer-centric websites like Avvo, JDSupra, Lawyers.com, etc.
An email marketing program
A search engine optimization (SEO) program for all of the above

I know that for many of you, this sounds overwhelming. But it’s certainly no more daunting than running a business, which is what you are really doing, even though they didn’t teach you how at law school.

However, just as you learned the law, you can also learn the fundamentals of law firm marketing to take you the rest of the way toward building a successful law practice. You can start by attending a Rainmaker Retreat, our two-day law firm marketing intensive that give attorneys hands-on, real world training in both the art and the science of legal marketing.

Our upcoming sessions:

May 18-19, 2012 – Houston, TX

July 27-28, 2012 – San Francisco, CA

August 24-25, 2012 – Las Vegas, NV

You can find out more at www.RainmakerRetreat.com.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

FREE REPORT: How to Use Blogs as a Secret Weapon in Your Online Arsenal

One of the secret tools of Internet marketing for attorneys is the power of having a targeted blog. In a report on the influence of blogs, eMarketer.com found that 51% of Internet users in the U.S. (that’s over 91 million people) read blogs, and they project that usage will go to 60% (150 million) in the next four years!

Still think blogs are a fad?

Here’s what you’ll discover when you read this report:

Why you must have a blog in order to stay relevant
3 keys to successful blogging
7 Guidelines for achieving ROI
Your 3 choices for managing your blog and social media efforts
And much more!

Click now for your FREE REPORT: How to Use Blogs as a Secret Weapon in Your Online Arsenal.

New Study Reveals Best Times for Posting on Facebook and Twitter to Achieve High Click Rates

Stephen Fairley — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:46:21 -0700

A new study out last week from Bitly, a link sharing and analytics website, takes a detailed look at how content propagates through social networks and how when a link is posted affects the number of clicks it receives.

The findings from the Bitly study for Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr posts reveal the best – and worst – times for posting on those three sites (times noted are ET):

The key takeaway from this study is that each social network has its own culture and behavior patterns, and being aware of these can help you publish your content at the right time to reach the most people.

For more information on optimal posting times, see my previous posts on Social Media for Lawyers: When Is The Best Time to Post on Facebook and Twitter? and Law Firm Marketing: When Is the Best Time to Post to Your Blog?

Study Finds Consumers' Appetite for Online Content Growing; How Attorneys Can Feed It to Generate Leads

Stephen Fairley — Mon, 14 May 2012 09:58:34 -0700

A November 2011 study of U.S. Internet users for Broadcom, a semiconductor manufacturer, reported that 87% of respondents consumed more than 11 hours of online content per week and at least 54% percent said they consume over 21 hours of online content per week:

Content marketing is a critical component of a comprehensive law firm marketing program, and there are many avenues you can use to spread your content to potential clients, including your website, blog, online directories like Avvo and JDSupra, and social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+.

With all these venues craving constant content feeds, how do marketing-savvy attorneys feed the beast? Here are some tips:

1. Plan ahead. Brainstorm a list of topics that would appeal to your target audience. Review your website analytics to see what pages of your site are getting the most visits, which can help stimulate ideas. Dig up speeches and presentations you’ve made over the last few years and repurpose those for articles, press releases and blog posts. Subscribe to blogs and news feeds that cover your practice area for ideas.

2. Make it interesting. Nielsen research shows that most people spend about a minute on any given web page, so strive to make your content easily digestible in that timeframe. Use short paragraphs and subheads to keep readers’ attention. Punch it up with references to current events or pop culture to make your content timely. Include client success stories (not using real names, of course).

3. Optimize your content. Be sure to optimize your content for search by including your keywords and keyword phrases in your title, subheads and image file names.

4. Create backlinks. Sprinkle your content with links back to your website, blog, social media profiles or previous posts to create backlinks, which help boost your search engine ranking. Comment on other articles, blogs or forums with links back to a relevant post you’ve written, but be sure your comment adds value or it may be viewed as spam.

5. Go social. Promote your videos, posts, articles, press releases and other content on all your social network channels – not only on your own Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter page, but also through submissions to the discussion pages of groups you’ve joined.

Are Moms in Your Law Firm Marketing Mix?

Stephen Fairley — Sun, 13 May 2012 09:00:00 -0700

Happy Mother’s Day! Today we celebrate all those hard-working moms out there, most of whom do double-duty every day, at work and at home. Actually, work and home have blended for lots of moms who are veracious users of social media to stay connected on both fronts.

If you are targeting Moms as part of your law firm marketing program, this Nielsen infographic should be of special interest to you:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Free Report: 4 Myths That Keep Attorneys From Building A Referral-Based Practice

Referrals are the lifeblood of many law practices, and building a good referral program takes a proven process. Stephen Fairley unveils the 4 Myths That Keep Attorneys from Building a Referral-Based Practice in his new free report. Read and discover:

How to determine the best source for your referrals
How to explain your ideal target market to a referral source
How to get referrals from other attorneys
Whether online directories are a good referral source
How to network effectively
And much, much more!

Click now for your free report on 4 Myths That Keep Attorneys from Building a Referral-Based Practice.

Survey Names Top 3 Marketing Tools: Email, E-Newsletters, Social Media

Stephen Fairley — Sat, 12 May 2012 09:00:00 -0700

A March survey of U.S. marketing professionals by trade publication Chief Marketer found that when it comes to Internet marketing, email continues to be the most effective tool, followed by e-newsletters and social media:

When it comes to improving organic search results, the marketers surveyed said that the most effective tools for accomplishing this important task were adding social share buttons to their existing websites, optimizing their landing pages for search (SEO) and adding more fresh content more often:

When it comes to email marketing, you need to remember the old maxim, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” To ensure your law firm marketing email grabs your prospect right off the bat, remember these tips:

Test subject lines – remember the ingredients for effective email subject lines: deliverability, actionability, personalization, clarity, brevity and consistency.

Keep it brief – keep the copy short and extend your offer early.

Make it social – include social sharing buttons that allow readers to pass along your content. Research shows that adding these can increase your click-through rate by 30 percent or more.

Segment your lists – whether it’s by geography, new clients, current clients, prospects or practice area, segment your lists and talk directly to the subjects that interest that segment.

Personalize – not only by name, but also by interest. Make the most relevant offers to those who are most likely to be interested in those specific offers.

Remove distractions – don’t clutter your email newsletter with lots of “fun facts” or other esoterica that distracts from your message.

Strong call-to-action – hit your prospects in the face with a strong call to action in the first part of your email and make it impossible to miss.

Include a P.S. – these are irresistible to most readers, and should be used to reiterate your offer.

Optimize for mobile – research tells us that 70 million Americans access email via their mobile devices every day. Be sure your email messages are optimized for mobile.

For information on creating great e-newsletters, see my previous post on How to Create an Effective Law Firm Marketing E-Newsletter.

Waltzing to Tennessee to Open the TAJ Annual Convention on June 6

Stephen Fairley — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:11:37 -0700

On Wednesday, June 6, I will be proudly opening the Tennessee Association for Justice Annual Convention in Memphis with a keynote address on the 6 Proven Keys to Marketing Your Law Firm Online. Here are some of the items I’ll be covering:

The 5 biggest mistakes attorneys make with their websites and how to avoid them
3 ways to dramatically improve your website’s conversion rate
The 2 fastest ways to get to the top of Google (and which one works better)
Why you should never pay an SEO expert to “optimize your website”
How attorneys are using blogs to become industry thought leaders
Generating website traffic and leads using the Rainmaker Social Media Blueprint
Real world case studies of lead generating websites and blogs

The theme for the TAJ Annual Convention – Tips from the Trenches: They Didn’t Teach This in Law School – demonstrates how the TAJ is helping attorneys craft a successful law practice in the real world. It’s a must-attend for area attorneys, whether you’re a TAJ member or not.

Click here to register online for the TAJ Annual Convention on June 6-8 at the Westin Memphis Beale Street; I hope to see you there!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

FREE "Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" E-book

In a newly revised e-book, legal marketing expert Stephen Fairley outlines 10 of the most common marketing mistakes attorneys make that can lead to the failure of their business, and provides specific strategies and proven principles for avoiding these deadly errors.

To get your complimentary copy online, click here.

Regardless of your specific situation, this free e-book will help you examine how you are currently finding new clients and recommend specific steps you can immediately start using to grow your practice.

We have helped thousands of attorneys achieve their goals of creating a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice. In this e-book you will discover specific principles and tools you can use to grow your practice, too.

Social Media Marketing for Attorneys: How B2B Law Firms Can Leverage LinkedIn for Leads

Stephen Fairley — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:21:13 -0700

As we reported in January, LinkedIn has been found to be 277% more effective in generating leads than Facebook and Twitter. Since LinkedIn is a social network for professionals, it stands to reason that B2B law firms can get the most out of it when it comes to lead generation; here, adapted from a recent HubSpot post, is how:

Link your blog. If you use WordPress to publish your blog, LinkedIn has a WordPress app that automatically publishes each new post to your LinkedIn profile. You can also use an RSS feed to accomplish the same task.

Share your slides. Your treasure trove of PowerPoint slides contains some great content; why not repurpose them for sharing on LinkedIn? Add a call-to-action and share with LinkedIn’s SlideShare app.

Promote your practice to a targeted audience. Your LinkedIn company page has dedicated tabs you can use to promote your practice. If you have multiple practice areas, create a tab for each one and promote to the target audiences that are relevant – you can target based on industry, location, company size, job function and seniority level.

Create banner ads. LinkedIn has a Product and Service Spotlight feature in its products/services tab area that allows you to create banners that promote your next speech, your free report or whitepaper, or any other service or product you desire. You can use the same targeting feature mentioned previously to promote to the right target audience.

Email your group members. If you have set up a group on LinkedIn, the site allows you to send one email every week to all members. Use this to promote your latest blog post, thought leadership pieces and so on.

Use LinkedIn Answers. LinkedIn Answers lets people ask and answer questions, which provides attorneys with a great platform for thought leadership, networking with influencers and even gathering information on hot topics for your own blog posts. When you answer questions, you can promote your own content as well.

How to Answer The #1 Question Prospective Clients Have to Win the Business

Stephen Fairley — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:14:11 -0700

Standing apart from competitors is increasingly difficult for attorneys today. When I routinely ask attorneys, “Why should someone hire you versus your competition?” almost all of them respond with the same four answers: quality, service, years of experience, and price—none of which has any impact on prospective clients!

Quality is not a feature people will pay extra for. It simply means you meet the minimum level of expectation.

For every service you provide there are a thousand other law firms that offer the exact same service.

Regardless of how long you’ve been in practice, someone has been there longer.

And trying to compete on price is a losing proposition.

Every prospect that walks into your office is looking for the answer to the same question: Why should I hire you? While they may not verbally ask it, they are all thinking it. To win their business, you need to answer that question for them. Here are three things to emphasize in your response:

Focus on the benefits, value, and results. When meeting with a prospective client, emphasize the benefits you offer to clients, the value you bring, and the results you achieve. Be careful not to run afoul of your state’s ethics in advertising regulations.

Focus on your service, not the list of services your firm provides. Explain how you serve your clients better by going out of your way for them and by treating every person as a VIP. Ask yourself what kind of “client experience” you want each client to have. Be very specific and write down your ideas. Put an action plan into place with your staff to ensure that every experience a prospect or client has with your firm is a positive one.

Focus on solutions. People don’t buy legal services; they buy solutions to their legal problems. Prepare a case study of how you found a creative solution to another client’s problem. Explain how you came up with it and the results.

Marketing your law firm is both art and science. There are no magic wands or silver bullets. It takes time, energy, money and advanced planning. Too many attorneys view marketing as an event you go to or an ad you place in the Yellow Pages (and who uses those anymore?). Top Rainmakers recognize marketing is a process, a systematic approach to building referral relationships, cultivating contacts, and staying connected to clients.

Social Media Marketing for Attorneys: Is Facebook Making an Offer You Shouldn't Refuse?

Stephen Fairley — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:02:03 -0700

Late last week, Facebook rolled out its Offers marketing platform to U.S. businesses after a four-month test with select retail users.

Now you can create an Offer on your Facebook Business Page free of charge and it will be distributed to likes/fans in your Page’s news feed. This is a great opportunity to create Offers for free reports, articles, even a free consultation. Click here to find out how to create an offer for your Facebook Page.

I’m not necessarily recommending that you create a Groupon-type purchase offer, although three state bar associations (South Carolina, North Carolina and New York) have weighed in on the daily deals model for attorneys and found them to be OK, according to an ABA Journal article on the subject.

Free reports, white papers or e-books – whatever you want to call these informative downloadable documents – are a wonderful tool for attorneys to generate leads by driving traffic to your website or blog, get sign-ups for your newsletter and engage your followers on social media networks. To create a impactful free report, follow these steps:

1. Identify your prospect’s point of pain. The best reports provide a solution to a problem, so you need to identify what problems are plaguing your prospects – i.e., their “point of pain” – and then provide them with a solution.

2. Give some secrets away. You don’t have to give it all away, but entice your readers with a few secrets so they feel they have something of true value. Secrets are another way of demonstrating your experience and expertise, and that you know what you’re talking about.

3. Be brief. Your report should be 3-10 pages long and should start with a brief summary.

4. Make it attractive. The layout should be easy to read with appropriate graphics and saved as a PDF file for easy download.

Facebook is now providing another great avenue for you to generate leads, build your database and grow your social media following with their Offers marketing platform.

Internet Marketing for Attorneys: Tips on Creating a Legal Website That Attracts New Clients

Stephen Fairley — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:56:13 -0700

It wasn’t too long ago when law firms that had a website stood out for that reason alone. However, that is no longer the case as more and more law firms are waking up to the incredible power the Internet has to help them attract clients.

So what can you do to stand out online in a way that will bring you more and better clients? Here are some tips:

Create a website that targets your ideal clients. Don't make the common mistake of trying to be everything to every person. People want to work with specialists. When it comes to marketing your law firm online, focus is critical to your success.  

If you have multiple practice areas, develop a micro-site for each one. Again, focus is key here. For example, a personal injury lawyer may have a practice specific website for: SUV rollovers, construction accidents, dog bites, and automobile accidents.  

Give website visitors a reason to contact you with a strong call to action. The sentence “ABC Law Firm offers free consultations to discuss your personal injury case” leaves the reader saying “That’s nice. But so what? What’s in it for me?” That’s because this sentence is a statement, not a call to action. It doesn’t ask anyone to do anything. To turn that sentence into a call for action, try something like” If you’ve been injured in an accident, take advantage of our free initial consultation and case evaluation by calling (toll free number).”

Have your content speak your target’s language. Please remember, writing for the Internet is not the same as writing a legal brief. My recommendation is to hire a professional copywriter who has experience writing for law firms.  

Work with an SEO firm. Search engine optimization is the technical process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to your law firm's website. Once you have developed your website into exactly the format you want, you can begin using online legal marketing strategies to market it.  Make sure they have experience in the highly competitive field of legal marketing.  

Submit educational articles to online directories. There are hundreds of places online where you can submit articles to help attract prospective clients for free. At the very least, post helpful guides on legal directory sites like Avvo and JD Supra to expose your expertise to potential clients.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Get More Proven Legal Marketing Strategies FREE from The Rainmaker Institute
One click of your mouse will take you to our website where you can see the current issue and subscribe to our complimentary monthly e-newsletter that will be delivered to your inbox every month. Each issue is chock-full of legal marketing information you can put to use right away. I think you will find the information in every newsletter something you will want to share with your staff to maximize the effectiveness of your legal marketing plan.

Law Firm Marketing Boot Camp: Houston Rainmaker Retreat is May 18-19

Stephen Fairley — Sun, 06 May 2012 09:00:00 -0700

If you’re a small law firm with big growth plans, then you need to attend The Rainmaker Retreat, a two-day law firm marketing boot camp where you will learn:

More than 65 proven legal marketing techniques that are proven to work in the real world environment of a fast moving law firm
The core concepts of search engine optimization (SEO) and Internet marketing for attorneys and how to create a dominant position on the Internet
5 Ways to automate your legal marketing using technology and the Internet
How to utilize the 7 Rainmaker tools for generating more referrals and repeat business from current and former clients
How other solo attorneys have leveraged Internet marketing and social media networks to beat much bigger firms
6 secrets top Rainmakers use to dominate their competition

More than 8,000 attorneys nationwide have discovered the secrets to building a lifestyle law practice through effective law firm marketing that is providing them with significantly greater income and the time to enjoy it all:

"I am extremely thankful I met Stephen Fairley and that I attended his Rainmaker Retreat. I more than doubled my firm's annual revenue in the year since attending the Rainmaker Retreat and implementing Stephen's marketing program. If you are willing to do the work, Stephen definitely has a proven method of driving new business into your firm.”--Gordon R. Levinson, Esq. (Levinson Law Group, Carlsbad, CA).

“I stayed for the entire two days and came home with 19 action items, specific tips, tools and techniques I could immediately put into practice. Most of those action items are up, running and contributing to my bottom line. My partner and I are looking to net double our best year ever. The strategies and techniques taught at the Rainmaker Retreat are some of the tools that assist me to move to the next level of financial success.” – John Bisnar, Founder, Bisnar Chase (California Catastrophic Injury and National Auto Defect Attorneys)

Each day is filled with sessions (with built-in Action Steps and Action Groups) to guide you in putting these law firm marketing strategies into practice immediately. You will leave our Houston session with a specific plan – uniquely suited to you and your firm – that will help you to create a successful and highly satisfying legal practice!

Register for the Houston Rainmaker Retreat today to reserve your place on May 18-19. For more information, visit www.RainmakerRetreat.com or call 888-588-5891.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Free CD: Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices

Get your free CD on Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices by #1 Best-Selling Author And Nationally Recognized Law Firm Marketing Expert Stephen Fairley, and listen as he reveals A Proven System To Generate More and Better Referrals, Find New Clients Fast, and Fill Your Law Practice! Discover:

How 1 piece of simple technology in your practice will drastically increase your communication with prospects, clients and referral sources – resulting in a major revenue boost
5 ways to market and position yourself as a recognized expert
How 2 Attorneys promoted their law firms to over 100,000 people for less than $100 in 2 hours
The 1 item you must absolutely have to create a Million Dollar Law Practice (hint: Not having this will almost guarantee your failure!)
6 BIGGEST secrets to generating more and better referrals
How to create a proven network of 30 new Strategic Referral Partners in the next 90 days

To obtain your free CD, click here now.

Law Firm Marketing: Why Attorneys Should Care About Google+

Stephen Fairley — Sat, 05 May 2012 09:00:00 -0700

I only need three little letters to explain why attorneys need to care about – and participate on – Google+: S-E-O.

Here’s why your law firm needs to have a business page on Google+:

Google is the #1 search engine in the world
A vast majority of people use search for products and services
If you are not in the top 10 search results, those people are highly unlikely to find you, making a top rank critical
Google now places extra weight on social media links in search results
Sites on Google+ tend to be indexed more quickly
Receiving +1 links (that’s Google+’s “like” button) helps push your rank higher in search results
The more people you interact with on Google+, the better your SEO

This infographic does a good job of explaining the business and SEO benefits that a Google+ business page can provide:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Learn How to Get Your Law Firm to the Top of Google at May 16 Webinar

Getting to the top of Google for any term related to the legal industry is highly competitive!

Attorneys spend millions of dollars every year on Pay Per Click (PPC) and banner advertisements, trying to drive more traffic to their website. Far too often it comes down to how much money a law firm has to spend on PPC to outbid their competition.

How are small law firms and solo practitioners supposed to compete when attorneys are spending $20 to $100 per click for keywords?

If you’re thinking, “there must be a better way!” then this webinar is for you!

You will discover a little known secret of how hundreds of attorneys are rapidly increasing their website rankings in 90 to 120 days through building targeted links back to their websites.

Join us and discover:

What an “inbound link” is and why Google loves them
One of the fastest ways to get your website blacklisted by Google (make this mistake at your own peril)
The lowdown on link building on a shoestring budget
The benefits of being at the top of the search engine rankings
The ongoing debate between “quality” and “quantity” links
Selecting the right keywords to go after with your search engine efforts
Which directories are worth paying for…and which ones are not
The top 5 questions you must ask before you hire any link building company

This one-hour webinar will be held on Wednesday, May 16 at noon PT/3 pm ET. Even if you cannot attend the live webinar, you can still get all this information delivered to you so you can watch and learn at your convenience. Just sign up to receive a recording of my one-hour webinar.

Register by clicking on this link now for the Getting to the Top of Google: The Power of Link Building for Lawyers webinar on Wednesday, May 16 at noon PT/3 pm ET.

Law Firm Marketing: How to Generate Leads Through Speaking

Stephen Fairley — Fri, 04 May 2012 11:46:53 -0700

I’m in Seattle today to give the closing keynote address at the Avvocating 2012 Conference, Legal Marketing in the Era of Social Media. It’s been a great conference so far and I’m meeting lots of attorneys who are eager to learn how social media marketing can help build their practices.

Speaking at regular events—like annual conferences—can be an effective law firm marketing strategy for attorneys to attract new clients. However, there are many factors to keep in mind when considering speaking at these events as one of your legal marketing strategies: 

1) Find out the average size of attendance.  

2) Determine the demographics of the group.  

3) Find out what are the common interests among members.   

4) Ask what topics have been covered before.  

5) Find out if the group is interested in current or “hot” topics.  

6) Ask who will be introducing you at the event.  

7) Find out if you can have the attendees’ full contact information (name, phone, email).  

8) Get permission to contact the attendees after the event.  

9) Find out if you can offer a “give-away” during your presentation. (CD, book, special report).  

10) Ask if the organization will publish your article in their newsletter before the event.  

11) If there is a trade show attached to your speaking engagement, try to barter a booth in return for your speaking.  

12) Find out who are the other scheduled speakers and their topics.  

13) Know where you are in the schedule, what precedes and follows your talk. Be aware, for example, that the worst times to speak are early in the morning, right after lunch, right before or after dinner, Friday afternoon, Monday morning or as the last speaker at the event. Conversely, the best times to speak are mid-morning, from 2 to 5 PM, as the conference opener or as the keynote speaker.  

As you work on your law firm marketing, do keep in mind speaking at regular events. These can be great sources of new clients.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

FREE REPORT: How to Use Blogs as a Secret Weapon in Your Online Arsenal

Still think blogs are a fad?

Here’s what you’ll discover when you read this report:

Why you must have a blog in order to stay relevant
3 keys to successful blogging
7 Guidelines for achieving ROI
Your 3 choices for managing your blog and social media efforts
And much more!

Click now for your FREE REPORT: How to Use Blogs as a Secret Weapon in Your Online Arsenal.

Law Firm Marketing: How to Get Your Clients to Send You More Referrals

Stephen Fairley — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:20:44 -0700

One of the things I’m most frequently asked is: "How can I get my clients to refer new business to me?" While I can assure you there are no silver bullets or magic wands, there are some deceptively simple, yet amazingly powerful strategies small and solo law firms can use to market their law firm and create a referral-based law practice.

Referrals don’t just happen. They must be cultivated. While you may get an occasional referral from a current or former client, if you want to take your legal marketing to the next level, you need a referral system. Here’s how to build a referral system that will bring you the results you need:

Categorize – Comb through your client list and identify those clients who already refer, those most likely to refer (happy with your services) and those that will need some special attention to become a good referral source.

Educate – Your referral sources will likely need to be educated about the kind of referrals you are seeking. Every law firm should have a 3-stage client education program that educates your clients about (1) all your firm’s services, (2) who your ideal clients are, and (3) what makes you different. It is especially important to educate them about who your ideal client is so they won’t waste their time and yours referring potential clients that are not a good fit for you.

Motivate – Look for ways to incentivize and reward your referral sources for sending you potential clients. Maybe it’s a free consultation or a gift card to a favored store. Be creative about it.

Follow Through – One of the worst things you can do is not follow through with potential clients who are referred to you. This will dry up your referral pipeline faster than anything. Let your referral sources know how you plan to follow up with the people they are referring, then do it. Keep your sources up to date periodically on the new relationship and be sure to thank them again.

Cultivating referrals is low-cost and high-reward, and should be at the top of your list when it comes to new business development for your law firm.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Stop Wasting Precious Time and Money

Feel like you don’t have time for marketing? Let us show you how to make a plan that runs on “autopilot” – one that attracts new and lucrative clients while you focus on your practice.

Learn how easy it can be to create an effective law firm marketing plan that performs by getting our Free Guide: 5 Easy Steps to Create Your Law Firm Marketing Plan.

After working with many ultra-successful lawyers we found five common threads in their marketing plans. This guide outlines these shared elements to provide insight into strategies that work and how to make them work for you.

There are two versions: one for Attorneys in Solo Practice and one for Attorneys in a Small Firm. Click here to download, and start using these proven strategies today!

Attorneys Share Their Take On The Rainmaker Retreat

Stephen Fairley — Wed, 02 May 2012 11:58:58 -0700

More than 8,000 attorneys have learned how to build a robust referral network, attract and retain new clients by applying our proven Rainmaker System to their law firm marketing practices. Many of these have done so by attending our two-day law firm marketing boot camp, the Rainmaker Retreat.

Listen as Jim Hasier, a community banking attorney in Chicago, talks about his experience at our Chicago Rainmaker Retreat last weekend:

Alabama litigator Clifton Slaton acknowledges that he, like many attorneys, is skeptical about law firm marketing, but what he experienced has changed his viewpoint:

Learn how to build and create a lifestyle law firm that is professionally satisfying, but allows you the time to do what is important to you, by attending an upcoming Rainmaker Retreat:

May 18-19, 2012 – Houston, TX

July 27-28, 2012 – San Francisco, CA

August 24-25, 2012 – Las Vegas, NV

For more information please call: 888-588-5891 or visit www.RainmakerRetreat.com.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

FREE Rainmaker Retreat Preview DVD – Learn Before You Go!

If you want to learn more about the Rainmaker Retreat and why it is a proven legal marketing system that has helped over 8,000 attorneys find more and better clients, then click here to receive a free DVD of your colleagues (and even your competitors) describing their experiences at our 2-day law firm marketing boot camp, the Rainmaker Retreat.

Yes, we know you are skeptical. So instead of us telling you how these 2 days will transform your business, you can listen to your peers describe their experiences in their own words.

Click here to order your complimentary DVD right now.

Time-Saving Tools To Help Busy Attorneys Manage Social Media

Stephen Fairley — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:38:49 -0700

Most attorneys I know are too busy to devote the time needed to maintain a good social media presence, yet they very much want to be involved with social media for the lead generation benefits it provides at little or no cost.

One solution is to outsource your social media marketing to a trusted source who you know works with other attorneys. I discussed this recently in my post, Should Attorneys Outsource Social Media Marketing?

Fortunately, there are some great tools that can help busy attorneys manage their social media platforms from just one site. While there are several good tools that help you manage or integrate one or two accounts, there are two sites that provide total management capabilities for about the price of a Starbucks Grande White Chocolate Mocha:

Postling is a one-stop shop that helps you manage all your social media accounts from one dashboard. You can schedule and post your content across all your networks as well as your WordPress blog from the dashboard. Postling then delivers a daily report that aggregates all your social activity right to your inbox – plus, you can respond to any comments left on your blog or social network page right from the daily report email. Postling is also available for iPhone; an Android version is coming soon. You can try Postling for just $1 for the first 30 days and then $5/month after that for up to five social media accounts.

HootSuite is another popular social media dashboard that provides virtually the same features as Postling but adds analytics as the cherry on top. While the dashboard allows you to monitor all your social media activity, I kind of prefer Postling’s email approach, since I am much more likely to respond to comments that are put in front of me than when I have to search them out. Nevertheless, many people swear by HootSuite for managing multiple social media accounts. There’s a free option with a few options and a $6/mo. option with many more features.

With robust, time-saving social media management tools like these, there’s no excuse for even the busiest attorney not to be engaged in social media.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Free Report: 4 Myths That Keep Attorneys From Building A Referral-Based Practice

How to determine the best source for your referrals
How to explain your ideal target market to a referral source
How to get referrals from other attorneys
Whether online directories are a good referral source
How to network effectively
And much, much more!

Click now for your free report on 4 Myths That Keep Attorneys from Building a Referral-Based Practice.

Law Firm Marketing: Q&A From Our Latest Rainmaker Retreat

Stephen Fairley — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:28:57 -0700

I’m back from our latest Rainmaker Retreat this past weekend in Chicago, a city that never fails to energize me. We had lots of good discussions at our latest session, and it may interest you to know some of the questions that are top-of-mind with the attorneys who attended and my responses:

Q. How, when I am working on litigation, do I continue to grow my business when my head is down and I’m working on a case and solely focused on it?

A. You have to put systems in place that work for you in engaging prospects without you having to do all the work. If you don’t have a systematic approach what happens is you work hard with your head down and then once you are done with that case, you look up and say. “where is my next client?” This is not a situation you want to find yourself in. You need a system in the background that runs the machine. Don’t get trapped in the cycle of owning a practice versus owning a business.

Q. What are some ways to differentiate myself?

A. Talk about the benefits of working with you, the value you provide, the solutions you provide, the results you get. Create a category of one. Position yourself as an expert by using numbers – clients served, $’s of assets protected, cases won, etc. Focus on managing the client experience.

Q. Why am I not getting referrals?

A. Three primary reasons: (1) Your referral sources are not adequately educated about what you do, (2) lack of client communication and (3) you are probably not asking for them.

Q. Why would I get on social media, particularly Facebook?

A. The first rule of fishing is “go where the fish are.” The second rule is, go where there are not a lot of other people fishing. Three in four people are on Facebook; it has enormous market penetration and you must have a presence on it. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you are your client. Just because you don’t actively participate on Facebook or other social media platforms don’t mean your clients and prospects aren’t! Very few law firms are aggressively going after these platforms; it’s an opportunity to get ahead of the curve. Plus, search engines now rank social media pages, so it’s very important for SEO.

Get all your law firm marketing questions answered at an upcoming Rainmaker Retreat:

May 18-19, 2012 – Houston, TX

July 27-28, 2012 – San Francisco, CA

August 24-25, 2012 – Las Vegas, NV

For more information, visit RainmakerRetreat.com

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

FREE "Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" E-book

To get your complimentary copy online, click here.

Internet Marketing for Attorneys: Taking the Mystery Out of SEO

Stephen Fairley — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 09:00:00 -0700

When you hear the words law firm Internet marketing, you will most certainly also hear the term “search engine optimization”. But what does it mean?

More importantly, how does it affect your law firm Internet marketing efforts?

Put simply, search engine optimization (SEO) is the most basic tool used by law firm Internet marketers and web masters to increase the number of people who visit your website, landing page, blog, etc.

The first thing you should know about SEO is that your website must appeal to both people and search engines. If you remember to keep these two in balance, not only will potential clients come to your site, they are more likely to spend time there learning about why your firm is the best choice to meet their legal needs.

A well-designed web site will appeal to search engine “spiders,” which are the part of the search engine that crawls the Internet in search of websites that match the search words and phrases that someone has typed into the search box.

If your site is a good match for the viewer’s search terms, your site will appear in that person’s search results.

Different search engines look for different things. Some things they all have in common is that they like popular, well-organized sites that make it easy to find the search words and phrases. This infographic does a good job of breaking down the elements you need for good SEO:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Get All the Law Firm Marketing Strategies You Need to Create A 7-figure Law Practice with Rainmaker In A Box: Volume 2!

Newly released! Rainmaker in a Box: Volume 2 includes:

8 Proven Steps for More & Better Referrals 

Discover the proven step-by-step system used to double your referrals from current and former clients and how to build a network of strategic referral partners. Top attorneys have used this exact system to double their referrals in 6 months or less!

7 Strategies to Recession Proof Your Law Firm 

Watch and learn as I walk you through the specific strategies top lawyers are using to increase their revenues in this tough economy-and it doesn’t include reducing their fees!

6 Keys to Unlocking the Secrets of Social Media 

Social media has emerged as the fastest way to build a massive platform of prospects! I pull back the curtain and let you in on little known secrets of how attorneys are generating dozens of leads every month from social media.

5 Core Components for Highly Successful Websites & Blogs  

My interview with nationally recognized personal injury attorney John Bisnar on how his law firm uses search engine optimization and internet marketing to drive tens of thousands of unique visitors every month to his 30 websites and 10 blogs. Discover proven techniques for converting website visitors into paying clients.

Data DVD:  Includes all 4 PowerPoint slides for all 4 presentations. We recommend you print all these off and take notes on them as you experience these information-packed DVDs!

Click here now to order!