Attorney marketing can help to set your company apart from your competitors. With the right kind of law firm marketing, you can reach your customers better with the attorney advertising message you deliver that will bring them to your business. Begin making the most of law firm marketing with a clear and concise message.

Attorney marketing companies can perform market surveys to find out what law firm marketing ideas will draw the biggest results. Use a specialized law firm advertising company that knows how to market a law firm to help direct your lawyers marketing campaigns. Whether you use law firm Internet marketing, print ads, law firm marketing sample letters or a combination of venues, make the most of your legal marketing dollars with measurable results in a variety of ways.

1. Make sure you’re using the best information on marketing a law firm

2. Hire a law firm advertising agency to get you on track

3. Measure the results of your law firm Internet marketing

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Avoid waste with good information about law firm marketing

Attorney advertising takes up a good chunk of your budget so you should make sure that you are putting your resources into attorney marketing campaigns that work. Through client surveys, and ultimately through your billable hours and sales figures, you should have a good handle on the most appropriate business advertising for your company. Invest in tracking software and talk to other attorneys to find out what is working best.

I recommend: Qlegal can provide you with legal marketing options that the company has proven to work for others in the industry. Consultwebs can work with you to enhance your website to make sure that it’s attracting the kind and amount of business that you need to remain competitive.

Bring in an attorney advertising agency to plan your campaign

After the surveys and plans are in place, the next step is to find the best place to put your law firm ads. While your law firm marketing information tells you that you need to be on televisions, you need to decide if it should be cable or prime time network airtime that will be most beneficial. An attorney advertising agency can help sort though all the choices as well as design your ads and recommend other places where your name should be visible.

I recommend: Cepac is a boutique ad agency that specializes in law firms of all sizes and specialties. Get a free legal marketing report at their website. Call Attorneys Online for a free consultation about your marketing efforts and receive consultation services to best direct your marketing campaigns.

Count your small law firm marketing revenues

There is no reason that you shouldn't know exactly how many visitors your law firm Internet marketing draws and be able to translate that into direct sales. With the right kind of software and online marketing experts, you can be sure that your resources are being used in the best way.

I recommend: Paperstreet offers search engine optimization services that will increase traffic to your website while measuring results of the clicks. Total Attorneys will help you create your online ad campaigns and provide the reporting tools to measure the response that you receive.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If your current law firm advertising is bringing in the desired business, stick with it. Consider new campaigns only when you feel the need to grow your business or sales are slacking off.

The idea of lawyers marketing makes many law professionals uneasy. It’s not really marketing that they shy away from, but the in-your-face advertising similar to what car dealers do. Nevertheless, a law firm can market itself in a dignified manner to produce growth.

The name of the game is competition. Every time someone looks for a lawyer, you compete against other lawyers whether you want to or not. You have to show prospective clients what your firm is about and how you’re the better choice through legal marketing.

Spend time regularly marketing a law firm to:

1. Increase your business.
2. Take advantage of new attorney marketing trends.
3. Adjust what works and what doesn’t in your marketing efforts.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Build a legal marketing strategy

You build legal strategies all the time. Approach marketing a law firm with the same principles. Start with identifying the services you provide and whom you want to serve. If your specialty is corporate law, you will market to a different audience than if you practice family law. A strategy shows where you want to go and how you're going to get there.

I recommend: Develop a marketing message that clearly makes the case about what you do and why you’re a better choice than other lawyers. Choose to communicate that message through some of the many available marketing methods that include advertising, making presentations, networking, website marketing and blogs. Who better to track effective strategies of all kinds than the American Bar Association? Jay Levinson comes up with unique "Guerrilla Marketing" ideas.

Seek credibility

People want to be confident in their lawyer, so you must appear credible to clients. In fact, many judge your credibility based upon your law marketing abilities. Demonstrate your expertise and professional knowledge in a manner that engages clients.

I recommend: The key to credibility is communicating that you know what you are doing. Educate potential clients about legal issues through booklets, newsletters, articles and seminars. Trey Rider calls this education-based marketing.

Use technology to enhance attorney marketing

Technology is a great fit for lawyers. Email, PowerPoint presentations and websites are all powerful law firm marketing ideas. Maintain contact with past and existing clients through a mailing list. Email remains a great way to communicate in our busy world.

I recommend: Tom Kane's legal blog offers tips to get your message across. Invest in a good looking website with information that you update regularly. See Net Law Tools for hints on designing a great law firm website.

Network

The reason you hear so much about networking is because it's effective. Join community and business groups. The people you know will refer you to people they know who need your services. Word-of-mouth marketing can't be beat.

I recommend: Constantly be on the lookout for networking opportunities. Take some hints about networking from other legal groups.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Paid advertising has its place in how to market a law firm. Consider placing regular law firm ads in a regional newspaper.
• •  Keep business cards with you at all times. Once people learn that you're an attorney, they're bound to have legal questions. Hand them a card, and tell them you're sure you'll be able to help them if they contact you.
• •  Don't forget to register your domain name and have an email address associated with it (for example joelawyer@legalcompany.com).

Law firm marketing can take many forms, from outright flagrant attorney advertising on television and radio to subtler forms of attorney marketing done through networking groups and professional associations. Learn how to market a law firm by taking courses or hire a legal marketing expert who brings experience in marketing a law firm. Law marketing often involves different venues than traditional product placement ads.

You should be using law firm marketing to increase your business unless you are as busy as you want to be from referrals or corporate clients. Law firm Internet marketing is becoming more and more acceptable and even necessary for attorneys. Look for law firm marketing ideas from a number of places.

1. Use a law firm advertising consultant

2. Use law firm Internet marketing

3. Use networking opportunities for marketing a law firm

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Hire legal marketing experts

Law firm marketing firms can bring a variety of skills to bear for your business. They will take the time to get to know your corporate culture or if you run a small office, they can access your needs and find the best way to deploy small law firm marketing campaigns. Consultants can bring a wealth of market knowledge that you may not have time to accrue on your own.

I recommend: Networks Affiliates brings a full-service realm of law firm marketing ideas, from Internet placement to other innovative advertising plans. Log on for a free market evaluation or consult one of the many professional marketing consultants that work with the group through their emails. Contact Smart Marketing by phone or IM or log onto the company blog to participate in law marketing chats. Order a free book on how to use the Internet for attorney advertising.

Look for online legal marketing options

When clients go looking for an attorney, they will look online, just like most consumers today. You need to work with a company that can get you the best placement on search engines so that your company will be high on the lists of the most searched areas fro legal representation. You need to develop a good website to compliment your law firm Internet marketing that is informative and compelling.

I recommend: Go to Webrageous to listen to a video presentation of the firm’s specialization in law firm Internet marketing. Contact the company for a preview of how to get you the clicks that will bring clients to your firm. Target local clients online and keep track of the effectiveness of your law marketing efforts with Yes Local. Get a free copy of a guide that can answer your questions about Internet marketing for law firms.

Include personal interaction when marketing a law firm

You need to cover all the bases when you develop a lawyers marketing plan. In addition to a better online presence and targeted advertising, you should be in the community looking for referrals and new clients. Get a booth at local trade shows and participate in association activities to shore up your presence and make a name for yourself within the industry.

I recommend: The International Lawyers Network offers a multitude of opportunities to network and get referrals from other attorneys worldwide. Consider attending one of the marketing conferences put on by the organization. The National Employment Lawyers Association has many local chapters in which you can participate to raise awareness of your firm’s offerings. Join the listserv online to join in blogs and chat rooms with other like-minded professionals.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Make sure that whatever way you begin using law firm marketing, you have a means to measure the results of your efforts.

Law firm marketing is two-fold in that marketing strategies are used to market the firm as a whole as well as its attorneys individually. To effectively market law firm services, it’s critical to become familiar with law firm marketing key terms. The ultimate goal of legal marketing strategies is to increase brand recognition and develop new business for law firms. Legal marketing strategies are also helpful in selling other firm capabilities to existing customers.

Law firm marketing employs many of the same characteristics as other types of business-to-business marketing methods. To most effectively use these methods, it'll help to more clearly understand a few key marketing strategies used by law firm marketers.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Blogging

Blogging has become popular among law firms. Blogging is one aspect of a law firm's Internet marketing strategy used to increase visibility and credibility among clients and prospective clients.

I recommend: Find out more about blogging at the Legal Marketing Blog.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a marketing method used to enhance a website's positioning in the search engines when certain keyword terms are searched. Having high visibility on search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN can help lawyers reach decision makers who are searching the Internet for legal service providers.

I recommend: Read more about SEO at Internet Lawyer Marketing.

Pay Per Click (PPC)

PPC is an auction-based type of Internet marketing strategy that grants top positioning on various search engines to bid winners. PPC is a marketing strategy that can yield higher site traffic. It's also an ideal strategy that can effectively work in tandem with SEO marketing.

I recommend: Learn more about PPC at Wise Law Media.

Cross sell

Cross selling is essential for law firms to develop business. Cross selling is a marketing strategy used to sell clients using one practice area on the services offered by other firm practices.

I recommend: Read more about cross selling at Law Marketing Portal.

Brand

Branding incorporates the name, logo or other features that distinguish your law firm from other law firms. Because most business received by law firms is through referrals, building brand awareness is a critical step in any law firm marketing plan.

I recommend: Read more about building brand awareness at HG.org.

Tracking

Tracking is one of the most important aspects of law fim marketing, yet it's a task that is often forgotten. Tracking allows marketers and attorneys to measure the level of effectiveness of their marketing strategies.

I recommend: LexisNexis provides a wealth of information about tracking for law firm marketing.