Law firm marketing used to be simpler. Aside from referrals, most lawyers’ marketing strategy consisted of a few print ads, billboards, and TV commercials that always seemed to follow the same script, the game has changed. 

Your target audience now spends at least 8 hours online a day, and when they need an attorney, 97% of the head to Google instead of the Yellow Pages.  More than 70% of them prefer to get their questions answered and learn about your law firm via online articles rather than ads, and they frequently do their research on a mobile device.

• How much Should Law Firms Spend on Marketing?
• How do you Market a Personal Injury Law Firm?
• How do Law Firms get Clients?
• What are the Levels in a Law Firm?
• Digital Marketing for Law Firms
• Creative Marketing Ideas for Law Firms
• How to Develop Law Firm Business
• Law Firm Marketing Plan Examples
• What are the Attributes of a Good Lawyer?
• What Type of Lawyer makes the most Money?

How much Should Law Firms Spend on Marketing?

How much law firms spend on marketing and business development is always a question that generates much debate. Firms don’t want to be outspent, but at the same time, they often have a hard time gauging the return on their marketing investment and are, therefore, leery of potentially overspending. Therefore, some law firms have marketing strategies, such as the scorpion law firm marketing strategy, while others tend to use many different outlooks! 

Read Also: What is the Balanced Scorecard and Why is it so Important to Legal Firms?

With that in mind, we took a look at the firms in the Peer Monitor universe to see if we could distill some general trends around marketing and business development expenditures. Overall, the average firm spent just shy of 2% of their revenue on marketing and business development in 2018, exclusive of salary and benefits for marketing and business development staff.

This translates to an average of about $19,000 per $1 million of revenue. You will often hear anecdotally in the market that 2% seems to be the target percentage, and the data backs that up.

But that’s not the end of the story. We can go beyond looking at just the average law firm in the market and explore some nuances of the data.

The Rise of the Dynamic Law Firms

Many readers might be familiar with our annual Dynamic Law Firms Study. If you’re not, take a few minutes to look it over as it discusses what those firms that lead the market in terms of growth are doing from a strategic standpoint.

Most relevant to this discussion are the trends around what the Dynamic firms themselves, and what those with the best growth have done with regard to marketing and business development spend.

Every year we’ve examined the data in this study, we’ve seen that growth in marketing and business development expenses among Dynamic firms has vastly outpaced growth in that category among what we call the Static firms, those firms that struggle to find growth in their business.

In fact, it is not uncommon to see Static firms with year-over-year marketing and business development figures in the negative, indicating that they spent less than in the previous year.

Now, this can be a bit of a chicken-or-the-egg question as to whether paring back marketing and business development spend among Static firms contributed to their lack of a competitive edge, or was it instead a symptom of a lack of growth in other areas that resulted in less money to spend on marketing. The true answer is probably a little of both.

But it is an inescapable fact that firms that struggle to find growth across their businesses tend to spend less on marketing and business development activities and are less likely to make a substantial investment in that area. It’s equally true that it’s hard to find growth for a business when that business is not being marketed.

Spending for Growth

Looking at the numbers for the end of 2018, Dynamic firms outspent their Static counterparts by about $2,300 per lawyer. In fact, Dynamic firms outspent even the average law firm in the market by almost $1,000.

Here again, it may be that these firms have had better growth, and therefore have more money to spend; but one has to wonder if the larger investment in marketing and business development isn’t contributing to the higher growth across the business. The data shows that the firms that spend more on marketing and business development are also the firms that tend to lead the market in growth in metrics like demand and productivity.

The datapoints around marketing and business development spend make for some interesting conversation, especially when you examine what you firm is doing in this area.

How do you Market a Personal Injury Law Firm?

Personal injury law firm business models are unique. It’s important to understand the basics of how they operate before planning for a legal marketing campaign. Below are 5 tips that can help you in your marketing goals.

1. Forget ROI – Set “Cost Per Case” Goals

It can be a tough question to answer because a legal case could be worth $2,000 or millions of dollars. The practice area also plays a large role because an attorney specializing in car accidents may only want to pay $500 per case, while a Mesothelioma attorney may be willing to pay $100,000 per case.

CPCase is a great way to set expectations for yourself and the firm. If you don’t currently know what your firm’s desired CPCase is, drop everything and start with this. Even if it is a loose number, it will guide your marketing decisions and significantly decreases the importance of not being able to calculate immediate ROI.

For those who don’t know how to come to this number or who can’t get an answer from the law firm, I suggest the following steps:

1. Find the firm’s average case settlement value from the past 2 years. (Advanced: To exclude outlier data, you can use the TRIMMEAN function in Excel. Be careful with the percentage of outliers you use – you don’t want to shave too much off.)
2. Take your average case settlement and multiply by 10%, 20%, and 30% to get three possible CPCase numbers.
3. Take these three numbers to the owner or partners and show them how you arrived at the CPCase. They should then make the business decision whether they are willing to spend 10%, 20%, or 30% of the average case on marketing (or anywhere in-between). That is a business decision that is different for every firm, so I unfortunately can’t give insight on what is right for your firm.

2. Track, Track, Track

Now that you have a target Cost per Case, it’s time to make sure you are tracking every lead you can. Let’s start with the easy tracking first – website submissions and online chats. These are pretty simple to set up conversion tracking in Google Analytics.

But law firms tend to be most focused on driving phone calls, so I always add phone call tracking to client websites and landing pages.

Here are four call tracking services that I’ve used in the past to help with campaigns (no affiliation to any):

Google Call Tracking

Pros: Integrates great with Google Ads (formerly known as AdWords). And it’s free!

Cons: Very little data about the call. Doesn’t show full phone number that called. Only integrates with Google Ads Campaigns

WordStream Call Tracking

Pros: Shares detailed information about phone call. Works on a keyword level.

Cons: Limited to PPC. Have to already be using WordStream software.

Call Tracking Metrics

Pros: Extremely detailed call data. Dynamically changes number on website depending on source of website visitor.

Cons: More expensive than some of the others.

CallRail

Pros: Dynamically changes number on website depending on visitor. A little less expensive than others.

Cons: Not as many options as some of the other call tracking services.

3. Bid on Your Brand Name on Google

As confusing and technical as PPC can be, the easiest and best investment you can make is bidding on your own brand name. The average costs per click on a brand name ranges anywhere from $.50 to $3.

Now the first question that probably comes to mind is, “Why would I spend money on brand searches if I already show in organic?” Great questions and here is the number one reason:

Brand protection. If you aren’t bidding on your brand name, your competitors might, and that will mean the first thing a user sees is your competitor’s message and not yours. Do you want the people trying to steal your clients to have the power of being seen first?

There are additional benefits to advertising on your brand terms, like being able to control the message put in front of potential clients. If you are relying on organic results you are letting Google choose what they show a potential client. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather talk about my firm as opposed to letting Google choose how to do it.

Brand bidding is relatively cheap in the grand scheme when you consider the value you get for it. You’ve worked hard to build up a brand name, make sure you protect it!

4. Make Friends with Mobile

More than 50% of all searches are from a mobile device. That shouldn’t be news to you; just think about how often you reach into your pocket or purse to Google something that is on your mind (sorry Bing). The mobile trend is no longer a trend, but a necessity for many businesses.

Users are 5x more likely to leave a site that is not mobile friendly. “Mobile Friendly” here means a completely functional responsive site design, as opposed to a site that just has a different URL on mobile. Having a fast page is important, too: a 10-second page load time has a 123% higher bounce rate than a 1-second page load time.

Follow these steps to make sure your website is ready in this mobile-first world:

1. This one’s obvious – make sure your website is responsive or at the very least is usable on a mobile device. If it’s not, sorry, you need a better website.
2. To double-check that your site is mobile-ready, go to this URL to make sure you have Google’s mobile-friendly approval: Google Mobile-Friendly Test. This tool will give you detailed insights as to why your page is or is not mobile-friendly.
3. Check your speed. Visit this page to test your mobile page speed. If your number is in the red, follow the instructions to get your speed back up in the green. Some suggestions such as image optimization or cache issues are as simple as downloading a few WordPress plugins.

5. Use Ad Extensions to Dominate Search Results

Ad Extensions are features search advertising platforms give as options to enhance your ads. When used, they can both improve your ad performance as well as give you an advantage over the competition.

• Sitelinks (“client testimonial” link shown above): additional website links that allow you to send users to different areas of your site
• Call extensions: adding a phone number to your ad. These calls can also be tracked as conversions in your performance metrics.
• Location extensions: adds your business address pulled from Google My Business

There are a number of other extensions, but these are the most common ones for localized businesses like law.

So why use ad extensions?

1. The use of ad extensions has shown to increase ad performance because it gives your potential clients more options and drives them further down the lead funnel. On average, use of ad extensions lifts click-through rate by 10-15%. More clicks can mean more opportunities for clients.
2. The more extensions you show the more search real estate your ad takes up. In competitive spaces like law, driving a competitor down the page can make a big difference in the long run. In some cases, Google Ads even ranks you higher in results if you include ad extensions, because they view this as a better experience for users.

Implement ad extensions today to drive more clicks and calls to your business.

How do Law Firms get Clients?

Online Advertising

Like in consumer-facing areas of law, advertising and social media can still be effective tools and sources for leads. It will depend on several factors, such as what type of clients you’re going after.

Google AdWords & Facebook Ads

Lawyers and firms looking to use AdWords and Facebook ads, know that this is going to work best for smaller business owners. These are people who are hiring their first business lawyer, whether to help incorporate, change corporate structures, create employment contracts and so forth.

These platforms will have targeting options that will allow your practice to end up in front of as many small business owners as possible at reasonable CPC costs. If considering doing Google AdWords, make sure to understand that this is going to be most effective for small businesses.

Owner and founders of large businesses are highly unlikely to contact a lawyer to handle the legalese of their company after doing a search in Bing or Google.

Both tech giants allow you to run ads. However, Facebook doubles as a social media platform. We’ll discuss this a little later on.

Social Media

Facebook is going to be the best social media platform to use for the lowest end in terms of revenue and business size. If you’re just starting a business and corporate law practice, then this could be a great opportunity for you to get started early on in your career. You’re unlikely to land any large accounts for a while, so hanging out where you can find people that own, run or are starting small businesses.

A great way to start targeting businesses in your area on Facebook is by targeting business owners and Facebook page admins in your local market. Most Facebook pages are built for a business or individual promoting and marketing on the platform. Therefore, by targeting individuals that administer Facebook business pages, you’re off to a solid start defining your target audience on Facebook.

LinkedIn can be another great social media channel. What’s unique about LinkedIn is the context of the entire platform is around business and working professionals. LinkedIn is the social network of choice, where your social marketing efforts will scale with you as your practice grows. Marketing and advertising for clients work for all sizes.

The business social network is also much more accurate with targeting based on business characteristics than Facebook. If you’re looking to advertise or sponsor your content on LinkedIn, then you can define your audience targeting by company size, number of employees, job titles, etc. 

Create Educational Contents and Promote them

The law industry is becoming more and more competitive. In fact, according to the American Bar Association, there are 1.3 million lawyers in the US alone. So, for you to stand out from the rest of the pack, you need to write informative and timely articles on your website and share them on your social media pages.

When it comes to having a successful law firm website, the most vital element is your content. Get your content right, and everything will fall entirely into place.

Once you’ve already had a strong base of high-quality, written content, look for other forms of content as well.

• Infographics
• Videos
• Whitepapers

Then, make sure that you share them on the right social media channels. For instance, some law firms find immediate results on LinkedIn. But see what social media platform works best for you.

Writing Articles for Business Owners

When considering what to write about, there’s no better place to find topics than in a search engine. This works especially well for commercial attorneys and firms seeking to attract smaller clients. Keep in mind that you want to focus on topics that are most likely to be searched in your state or jurisdiction. Focus on content geared towards smaller companies and individuals seeking legal information for their business.

Once you have published your articles, it will take a while for them to rank organically in search tools like Google and Bing. While waiting, start generating traffic and interest by sharing them on your social media channels like LinkedIn and Facebook.

Producing Video and Vlogs

Another popular medium for publishing and marketing content is video. The same topics you would write about will likely make great video posts. These again can be shared on social media platforms, as well as video platforms like YouTube. A simple format to follow for providing legal information for business owners is:

1. Introduction (yourself and your firm)
2. Make a quick offer
3. Tell a story, leading into the main point
4. Discuss the main point (what you want to get across)
5. Close out with an offer
6. Outro

The offers will be the smallest segments, very quick and casual. The bulk of the video should be on the story and the topic you want to discuss.

SEO & Content Marketing Requires Patience

If you publish valuable and helpful information for small business owners, then these will be valuable assets and marketing channels for your practice. However, SEO and content marketing takes time to build up momentum. 

How much time?

If your LinkedIn and Facebook targeting is performed correctly, you should see results trickle in fairly quickly. Especially if your business is new, since small amounts of new business will make a notable difference. 

When looking at your content and SEO efforts to flourish, you should wait for content to age 6-12 months. At 35 weeks or so, your content will begin reaching 80-90% maturity in terms of the search traffic it’s able to generate for you.

Content Marketing for Established and Mid-Sized Firms

SEO and content marketing will be important for firms of all sizes. I emphasized its importance on smaller firms, because the sooner they start, the better. However, organic traffic and content play a different role in larger firms.

For firms that are more established, you’ll want to expand your content marketing efforts to renowned journals and publications in the legal sphere. At this point, you want to establish your authority and credibility among your peers and larger companies that subscribe to magazines and journals. This is where your firm’s reputation will grow parallel to its revenue and size.

Develop Connections & Referral Sources

Arguably one of the best methods for generating new clients is through referrals. This is a large part of the overall objective of what is known as business development. For lawyers, there are two main channels for referrals:

1. Other attorneys
2. Your current and past clients

Generating referrals from other attorneys and clients is one of the most lucrative channels for new business that you can source from. However, your referability will depend upon some core principles that take time to develop.

What are the Levels in a Law Firm

Managing Partners

The managing partner sits at the top of the law firm hierarchy. A senior-level or founding lawyer of the firm, she manages day-to-day operations. She often heads an executive committee comprised of other senior partners, and she helps to establish and guide the firm’s strategic vision.

Law Firm Partners

Law firm partners, also called shareholders, are attorneys who are joint owners and operators of the firm. The types and structures of law firm partnerships can vary. Sole proprietorships—firms with just one attorney—general partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs), professional associations, and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) are the most common.

Most law firms embrace a two-tiered partnership structure: equity and non-equity. Equity partners have an ownership stake in the firm and they share in its profits. Non-equity partners are generally paid a fixed annual salary. They might be vested with certain limited voting rights in law firm matters.

Non-equity partners are often, although not always, promoted to full equity status in one to three years. They’re frequently required to make a capital contribution to the firm become equity partners, effectively “buying in” to the role.

Associates

Associates are typically younger attorneys who have the potential to become partners. Large firms divide associates into junior and senior associates, depending on merit and experience level.

The typical lawyer works as an associate for six to nine years before ascending to partnership ranks or “making partner.” When—and if—an associate makes partner generally depends on a combination of factors, including the associate’s legal acumen, his client base, and how well he fits into the firm’s culture.

“Of Counsel” Attorneys

Attorneys who are “of counsel” aren’t technically employees of the firm. They usually work on an independent contractor basis.

Lawyers who serve in this role are usually very experienced, senior lawyers who have their own books of business. They have strong reputations in the legal community. Some of-counsel attorneys are semi-retired lawyers who were formerly partners of the firm. Others are hired to augment the firm’s client base or knowledge base.

Summer Associates

Summer associates also referred to as summer clerks or law clerks, are law students who intern with a firm during the summer months. An internship can be unpaid in smaller firms, although large firms often have well-established summer associate programs that serve as a tool to recruit young, talented lawyers. These positions are often highly competitive and well-paying.

A successful summer associate might receive a permanent offer of employment to work for the firm upon graduation.

Digital Marketing for Law Firms

According to eMarketer, U.S. digital marketing spend surpassed traditional in 2019 for the first time. It is clear that in today’s digitally connected world, if you want your law firm to remain competitive and drum up a steady flow of new clients and high-value cases, you must be marketing online. 

The following digital marketing tips includes the critical elements of a successful digital strategy to help you make sure your law firm is on the right track to reach new clients and grow your practice.

1. Be laser focused on your clients

Your past, current, and prospective clients are the lifeblood of your firm. All aspects of your firm’s online marketing strategy needs to be built around them. In order to successfully engage clients and prospects with your online marketing, you must first understand what they truly want and what challenges they need help solving.

We recommend creating a buyer persona for your firm, which according to HubSpot is “a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data about your existing customers.”

2. Build your marketing framework

A core idea that we want to reinforce is that marketing should be evaluated holistically. Rather than thinking in terms of campaigns, you should think in terms of growth frameworks and long-term business objectives. Your framework should be a written marketing plan that guides the direction of your firm’s campaigns, goals, and growth.

3. Getting found online: search engine optimization (SEO)

You can have the most amazing website or blog but ensuring that your website can be found by your target audience is what really matters. This is where SEO comes into play, which is an essential part of any effective online marketing strategy for lawyers.

At its core, SEO generates traffic to your website by allowing visitors to find your firm easily when searching online. The better your website’s SEO, the better it will be ranked by search engines, meaning your website will appear higher in search results.

4. Drive leads with conversion rate optimization strategies

Law firms that are focused on generating new qualified leads and acquiring new clients through online marketing need to ensure that their website is optimized for conversions. Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the practice of converting website visitors into qualified leads. CRO works by capturing the contact information of potential leads who are visiting your website.

5. Build audience connections with content marketing

Quality content that builds a dialogue with your target clients will ultimately strengthen and deepen your relationships and lead to more business. Content marketing is more than just your law firm’s blog, however. When executed properly, content includes articles, ebooks, webinars, guides, quizzes, videos, podcasts, etc.

These content formats can all be powerful growth drivers for your firm. Be sure to focus on creating thoughtful, timely, and educational content that is of high quality and tailored to your audience.

6. Launch a social media strategy

Cultivating an appealing image through social media is an integral part of online marketing and public relations for any law firm today. Social media platforms should be used to connect with your audience, build your law firms’ brand, drive website traffic, and increase leads.

This involves publishing quality content (that can be repurposed from your website) on your social media profiles, listening to and engaging your followers, analyzing your results, and running paid social media advertisements. Also, don’t forget to craft a professional social media bio as it is often viewed more than any content you share.

7. Find clients through search engine marketing

Search engine marketing (SEM) is an effective method of delivering quality traffic and leads right to your law firms’ website. SEM is also referred to as online advertising, paid search, or pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.

These terms are often used interchangeably to describe the same concept — traffic purchased through online ads, often on Google. SEM allows you to bid for ad placement in a search engine’s sponsored links when a prospect searches for a keyword that is related to your legal services.

8. Amplify connections with email marketing

Email marketing remains one of the most important communication tools in online marketing for lawyers. Email is an excellent way for your law firm to capture new business, or keep your firm front-of-mind among past and present clients.

A weekly or monthly newsletter is a great way to stay in touch with subscribers. Law firms that come out on top focus on sending relevant, valuable and personalized emails. An effective way to personalize your email campaigns is through email segmentation.

9. Measure and analyze performance constantly

In a constantly and rapidly changing business landscape, the need to measure online marketing success as efficiently as possible has increased in importance more than ever before. By measuring and paying close attention to your online marketing metrics, you’ll be able to better understand the impact and effectiveness of your online activity.

Creative Marketing Ideas for Law Firms

Drawing a connection between the words “legal,” “creative” and “marketing,” may be tough, but the fact is, law firms need to use all the tools and technology available to reach potential clients wherever they might be. In spite of what you may believe, legal marketing doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult. Here are 7 creative legal marketing ideas for your law firm:

1. Invest in SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is designed to put you in front of the people who will be making a decision on legal representation in the near future. They may have already decided that they need legal services, but they may not be sure who is the best choice.

SEO will ensure your web content has the sought-after keywords that prospective clients are typing into a search engine. These will depend on your area of specialty and location and may include words and phrases like “divorce lawyer,” “slip and fall attorney,” “personal injury lawyer Smallville” and more.

An SEO specialist can help determine the words your potential clients are using most and demonstrate how they should be included in your online presence. Effective SEO will improve your organic results, placing you higher in search engines without you having to pay for the privilege.

This is work that you can do on your own if you are so inclined. Keep in mind, however, that successful SEO brings more clients to you, and can be well worth the investment.

2. Provide relevant, newsworthy content

Closely related to SEO, content marketing demonstrates your expertise in an area of law. This can be done through regular blogs, videos, infographics or articles on topics that may be of interest to your potential clients.

Infographics in particular, can be a powerful way to communicate information and data about complex legal issues in an easy to understand, more graphic format. There are plenty of free online infographic makers that can help you create your own in under an hour.

Keep in mind, subjects don’t always have to be directly related to the law. Your potential clients may be interested in subjects like “The Importance of Seeking Medical Attention After a Slip & Fall,” “Downsizing After Retirement,” or “Five Things to Do Immediately After a Car Accident.”

Potential clients often look for information related to their legal issue prior to securing an attorney. Anticipating their questions and proactively providing answers for them can be beneficial to your firm. When you position yourself as an expert, it improves the chances clients will contact you when they get ready to make a decision.

3. Have a social media presence

At the bare minimum, lawyers should have a LinkedIn profile to showcase educational and career achievements. This ensures at least your basic information is available online for potential clients.

A social media presence like Facebook also makes you more accessible for potential questions and referrals. Social media should keep you better connected with your current clients, colleagues and friends. Posts can also be shared or tagged by those who may know someone in search of legal assistance.

Make sure you are available for questions and referrals that may come through social media. You may want to keep a professional social media page separately from your personal page.

4. Participate in local events

Getting involved in community events will open up new opportunities for you to build your network. This can involve everything from hosting a canopy at the county fair to leading the way in a specific fundraising campaign.

Many “movers and shakers” in a community are well-connected and involved in various boards and community organizations that would treasure an opportunity to have an attorney assisting them both in manpower and in knowledge.

Build your community involvement resume without getting weighed down. Choose events and organizations that have an interest to you. Encourage any staff you may have to get involved. Consider joining a service club or two, but make sure any organizations you get involved with are in alignment with your core beliefs. This is important in building your brand and establishing a respected reputation.

5. Create short online videos

What used to take expensive audio and video equipment can now be accomplished on a cellphone or laptop. Create short one to two-minute videos that provide answers to most commonly asked legal questions in your field and build a YouTube Channel.

Connect videos to your website and social media, creating a digital marketing funnel. Keep your productions simple with basic graphics in an office setting with just you and the camera. Talk directly to the camera and don’t forget to smile. Answer questions you most frequently get asked about on the telephone or online.

This is a superb opportunity to address potential client’s common issues without repeatedly doing it on the phone or online.

6. Integrate reviews on your website

Customers and clients used to ask family members or friends for referrals before shopping or acquiring professional services. Today, most are just as likely to go online and seek online reviews.

Anonymous reviews today have just as much credibility as personal recommendations. You can make client reviews easier to access by putting them directly on your website.

Feature the most positive reviews prominently. Publish reviews that speak to topics important to your prospective clients. If well-known community members are willing to provide testimonials or reviews, make sure you use them.

7. Join an online legal services network to bring you more clients

An online legal services network can be an excellent resource for new clients. Rocket Lawyer’s On Call Network is free to become a part of and all you need to do is be willing to answer legal questions. This can help you bring in new clients as many are in the process of deciding if it’s time to retain an attorney.

Creating new marketing opportunities for your legal firm need not be difficult or expensive. Get started today and start building your client list tomorrow.

How to Develop Law Firm Business

1. Partner With Other Providers to Offer Turnkey Solutions

Research has shown that a large percentage of consumers want to do one-stop shopping. Likewise, other customers have selected bigger companies that have established ethical methods of providing their services in combination with those that are important to address a particular client’s needs.

Similarly, several estate planning attorneys have helped clients locate financial advisors and accountants who will collaborate with lawyers to develop detailed long-term planning and solutions. If you cannot find partners for a solution, at least you can volunteer to help your clients find trustworthy and credible non-lawyer suppliers to support their work.

The further ‘packaged’ products you can give consumers, the more they can see you as forward-thinking and commitment to meet their needs and satisfy them, which invariably leads to more patronage and business growth.

2. Build an Excellent Website that Convinces Visitors to Choose You

Some of your best leads will come right from your website. When people Google the service you offer in your location and you show up on the first page, it is having a decent website relative to other firms who just show up on the first page that encourages clients to get in touch with you. By this time they’ve already checked you out and, and like what they’ve seen.

3. Hire a Digital Marketing Agency

When you employ a digital marketing agency for your law firm, you get a lot more than one in-house marketer. You have a strong team with proven solutions that have worked for other businesses.

Rather than paying for an in-house marketing person’s time to keep up with every new development in digital marketing, you have an agency that has skilled specialists who can ensure that digital marketing helps your organisation achieve its business targets.

Finding the right digital marketing agency can be challenging. There are few agencies that are reputable and can deliver like ClickHereDigital and others. 

4. Grow Your Network

You can meet new people and grow your network while operating from home. Online social media networks make it simple and possible. You can send out cold emails or Linkedin messages promoting your law practice, but that will turn people off. Instead, look for people with whom you have similar interests or want to know more about them and invite them to communicate.

For instance, if you attend a webinar and notice that one of the facilitators has something in common with you, you can send him or her a nice message on Linkedin to let him or her know your shared interests and request to chat.

5. Track and Measure Everything

Ideally, you should never spend more than one-third of your profits winning new clients. That’s because if you get a 3X return, you know your marketing works. But how can you make sure you do so if you don’t have the ability to track and measure it?

Track all your marketing campaigns to better understand what is and what isn’t working, and continue to make improvements to generate better performance. Using your set goals as a benchmark and ensure you’re on track to meet your periodic targets.

Law Firm Marketing Plan Examples

An essential part of the process of developing a marketing plan is first taking the time to figure out where your law firm is positioned currently. Aim to answer questions like: How many and what types of clients do you serve annually? How many leads do you receive online? What are your law firm’s strengths and weaknesses?

List all of the marketing efforts that you are currently implementing and assess how they have performed over the past year, whether it is print advertising, email marketing or other tactics. Once you have a clear idea of where your law firm stands, it will be easier to determine which direction it needs to go.

Identify your target client base

The driving force behind determining what marketing strategies a law firm will use is its prospective clients. Without identifying the type of people who would contact your law firm and use its services, attorneys will have difficulty knowing how to tailor their marketing activities to attract the best prospects and meet their needs.

Law firms can conduct market analysis to create a profile of their ideal client base. Include details like age, gender, geographical location, occupation, education level, income and reasons they would seek a lawyer. If businesses are the law firm’s main clients, determine their size, average revenue and industry type. This will help law firms determine the key demographic areas to which they should devote their time and budget for marketing purposes.

Set specific goals

The backbone of an effective law firm marketing plan is clearly established goals. All marketing plans — legal or otherwise — should start with brainstorming the objectives that need to be accomplished. By setting out specific goals, law firms and other businesses can decide where to focus their marketing efforts.

Identify what your firm wants to achieve in the next three, six and 12 months. Consider factors such as the number of new clients, revenue, knowledge in your practice area and more when crafting both short-term and long-term goals.

Do you want to focus on generating a certain number of new leads and prospective clients? Or do you want to pay attention to establishing authority in your practice area or in a particular geographical region? If you are aiming to attract clients that have never heard of your law firm, your goal might be to reach a set number of new prospects each month. If you are already established, improving your online presence might yield more tangible results for your firm.

Goals should be realistic and quantifiable, whenever possible. That way, you can measure the success of your marketing plan and tweak it if necessary.

Attorneys can use the SMART goal-setting guidelines, also known as Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Time-driven. The technique helps to ask questions about what you want to achieve, in which timeframe, how much money it will cost and how you will measure the results. Crafting a successful law firm marketing plan involves research.

For example, attorneys should conduct some market analysis in order to identify the competition in their practice area and geographical location. Who are they? Are your target clients already using your competitors? How will you stand out from them?

It may be useful to see where the competition is focusing their marketing efforts and how effective those efforts are. However, just because other firms are doing something, does not mean it is the best strategy for you. Your competition has reasons for making certain decisions, and they are likely to differ from your own.

Choose the right strategies

Creating a successful marketing plan means selecting the right marketing channels for achieving your law firm’s objectives. With so many strategies available, how do you decide which one to invest in?

When considering marketing strategies, keep target clients in focus. For example, if your prospects are individuals in their sixties looking for help with long-term care planning, marketing to them on social media is probably not the best idea. By studying their target demographics’ habits, lawyers will have a better understanding of what is likely to work and what strategies to spend marketing budgets on.

Select a few repeatable marketing tactics that fit your law firm’s growth goals and that you can use to reach your target market. These include networking, referral sources, content marketing, social media, email marketing, newsletters, advertising campaigns and more.

A law firm’s online presence begins with its website, so one aspect of your strategy is likely to focus on ensuring your website is polished, on-brand and informative. Content marketing is another cornerstone of any online law firm marketing campaign. Generating an ongoing stream of engaging content that will be useful to prospects — such as blog posts and ebooks — is an effective way to generate more website traffic and fulfill other marketing goals.

Law firms often enlist several marketing companies to handle various aspects of their branding and advertising. In order to determine the scope of a marketing plan, attorneys need to have a clear idea of their law firm’s marketing budget. Knowing how much you have to spend can help you select the marketing strategies that will be most effective for accomplishing your goals and determine the amount you can allocate to each.

Track results

Following through with a marketing plan means tracking its outcomes to determine whether the strategies that have been implemented are yielding the desired results. Without measuring the success of various campaigns, lawyers have no way of knowing what is working and what is not.

If some initiatives fail to achieve the outlined goals, it is best to readjust your marketing strategies. Attorneys should always be willing to enhance or modify their law firm’s marketing plan based on what proves to be effective.

A law firm marketing plan should be viewed as a flexible document that is updated and changed over time as lawyers refine their goals and assess their law firm’s progress. The aim is to set new quarterly goals based on marketing data and metrics.

Developing a plan is just one part of the law firm marketing process. Lawyers are not going to see real results without consistently executing the strategies laid out in the carefully crafted plan. The key is to commit to taking action.

Only then will your law firm move toward achieving its goals. Ultimately, your law firm’s growth will be driven by your vision, and a marketing plan that lays out the process of how to attain that vision is critical to your firm’s success.

What are the Attributes of a Good Lawyer?

Below are ten traits that are common to the best lawyers in the United States.

Passion for the Job

As a starting point, successful lawyers almost always have a true passion for their job. You have probably heard popular cliches like “choose a job you love and you will never work a day in your life”. Of course, we all know that in the real world it’s not quite that simple.

At the same time, there is a wide body of scientific evidence that demonstrates the importance of passion for your work. Some have an already developed enthusiasm for lifelong learning, but as noted by Deloitte, one of the keys to talent development is cultivating worker passion.

In other words, people who are passionate about what they are doing are happier, more fulfilled, and they perform better. If you have a passion for serving people and an interest in the law, you should consider applying for admission into law school.

Compassion for Clients

Without compassion for their clients, a lawyer will never reach their true professional potential. The top legal minds in the field almost invariably highlight compassion and service when they offer advice to law students and aspiring lawyers.

For example, as reported by the Columbia Daily Spectator, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg told law students that they should try to use their degree to “make things a little better for other people”. A lawyer who is committed to represent and helping their clients is likely to find meaning and success in their professional life.

Great Communication Skills

On a fundamental level, attorneys are communicators. They communicate with their clients, they communicate with other parties to the case, and they communicate with the court. Beyond that, lawyers communicate in a wide range of different ways. A great lawyer knows how to get important ideas across in formal legal writing, in informal emails, in phone conversations, through discussions in official legal settings, and in private conversations.

Law students and aspiring lawyers should never miss an opportunity to sharpen their communication skills. It’s not just about the law, it’s also about the business. As noted by the American Bar Association (ABA), the average American law firm spends a considerable amount of time attracting and retaining clients.

Lawyers need to know how to network with potential clients and how to demonstrate their professional capabilities in consultations with prospective clients. Remember, the greatest legal mind in the world will not be able to use their skills until they get hired.

Willingness to Listen

One of the most underrated traits shared by almost every successful attorney is a strong ability and willingness to listen. Although strong listening is a part of overall communication skills, it’s important to highlight listening as its own professional trait. Effective communication is a two-way street.

Too many people fail to put in the time and energy to fully understand and comprehend what the other party is saying. When you truly open up your ears, you will probably recognize that people are giving you even more information that you thought.

Listening to your clients, listening to witnesses, listening to your opposing counsel, and listening to the court can be the difference between winning and losing a case. Great lawyers take in all relevant information, analyze it, and create a plan of action.

Knowledge of the Law

Imagine that you were hurt in a truck accident on a local highway. You would probably want to turn to an experienced personal injury lawyer. If you’re considering starting a company and want guidance on corporate formation, you will undoubtedly want to find an experienced business attorney.

While successful lawyers share many common traits, they may rely on a distinct body of law. The legal knowledge needed to be an effective corporate litigator is far different than the legal knowledge needed to help a California couple pursue a private adoption. Great lawyers know their area of practice.

Some of this knowledge comes from experience. Some of it comes from education. If you are currently pursuing your legal education, you will want to find the right law school classes that will be the most useful for you in your future practice.

Strong Writing Ability

One of the single defining traits that all successful attorneys share is excellent writing skills. Don’t be fooled by the flashy procedurals that are ever popular on television, the vast majority of lawyers spend far more time writing than they do in oral arguments. Successful lawyers must be able to prepare effective, clear, and well-reasoned legal documents.

If you want to take action now that will help you become a better lawyer in the future, focus on sharpening your writing skills. An attorney who can tell a compelling story that weaves in all of the relevant facts and arguments is an attorney that will be successful for a long time.

Creativity

When you think about the job of an attorney, creativity may not be the first trait that comes to your mind. However, contrary to the popular conceptions of most people, successful attorneys are often highly creative people. The law is not purely a science. There is an art to effective legal practice.

Remember, each client that an attorney deals with will have their own unique set of goals, objectives, and concerns. In some cases, ‘outside-the-box’ thinking can help craft a solution that the client may never even realize was possible. Successful lawyers know how to tailor their creativity to suit every situation. All cases should be approached with an open mind.

Good Judgment

At times, lawyers are required to make judgements — both for themselves and for their clients. For instance, a lawyer may have to decide whether a legal claim is worth pursuing at all. Alternatively, an attorney may be involved deep in settlement negotiations and their client may ask them for their opinion on a proposed deal.

To be clear, the client is ultimately responsible for making a choice, but it’s the lawyer’s job to make sure that the client knows and understands all relevant information so that they can make an informed decision. An attorney who lacks good judgement is an attorney who will not last very long in the field.

A Healthy Skepticism

Every successful attorney maintains a healthy skepticism. This does not mean that you need to be a pessimist or a negative person, but it does mean that you need to be aware of the fact that what you are being told might not represent the full story.

Many experienced lawyers have stories about mistakes they made when they were just starting out in the field. A common error that almost every seasoned lawyer has made at least once involves believing someone without getting proper verification. In too many cases, clients and witnesses will leave out important details.

As a result, the attorney is set up for an unfortunate surprise down the road. Successful attorneys always maintain that healthy skepticism. If something sounds ‘wrong’ or ‘off’, they take the time to verify the information.

Perseverance

Finally, successful lawyers know how to persevere. The law is a tough field. There is no reason to sugar coat it; practicing law can be one of the most rewarding and meaningful careers out there, but it’s also a lot of work. As is true with any profession, success requires effort. There will be difficult days.

You may be stuck dealing with a client who is making your life unnecessarily hard, an opposing counsel who is being rude for no reason, or a judge who rules the wrong way on a key procedural matter. You may simply be frustrated because you spilled hot coffee on your shirt that morning.

It happens. What sets successful attorneys apart from ordinary attorneys is that they know how to persevere through the challenging times to get to the rewarding and meaningful moments that make it all worth it.

What Type of Lawyer makes the most Money?

1. Medical Lawyers – $150,881 annually

Medical Lawyers typically make the highest yearly salary. This type of lawyer provides their clients with a variety of legal advisement and services related to medical law. This includes the areas of health care law, personal injury, medical malpractice and a variety of other related areas. Medical lawyers generally represent health care clinics and hospitals.

2. IP Attorneys – $140,972 annually

IP is short for Intellectual Property. These are the second highest paid attorneys in most cases. There are three separate categories within intellectual property law that they must be well-versed in and aware of. These are patents, trademarks, and copyrights.

There is a high earning potential for intellectual property lawyers because there are times when the facts regarding intellectual property are hard to dissect and prove evidentially.

This type of layer typically deals with patents that protect inventors’ rights and prevent others from infringing on these rights by making similar products or inventions for the period of time that the patent is in force. The application process for a patent can be quite challenging, even for IP attorneys and their expertise on the matter is in high demand.

3. Trial Attorneys – $101,086

The trial attorney must have a strong and comprehensive knowledge of the law. They are also charged with the responsibility of staying abreast of current trends and changes to the law as they occur throughout the length of their careers.

New cases may set precedents that they must be familiar with when addressing certain aspects of the law. They must have keen instincts and be able to spot small details that could have a significant impact on their cases. They must be able to think on their feet, organize their thoughts and incorporate new information while formulating a plan or strategy while speaking in many cases.

The best trial attorneys are confident and know the law inside out. They understand how to work within established laws and how to use precedents to influence the outcome of their cases from a legal perspective. They must also possess impeccable verbal and writing skills as they spend a great deal of time divided among speaking and writing to others in matters that pertain to the trial.

They must also maintain a sharp memory for remembering significant facts that may come in handy during a trial. They must not only be artfully persuasive, but they must also maintain legal accuracy when stating their cases.

4. Tax Attorneys – $99,690 annually

Tax Attorneys make between $80,000 and $105,000 annually with an average annual salary of $99,640. This type of attorney represents an organization when they are dealing with government taxing agencies which include federal, state and local entities.

Tax attorneys are responsible to their clients for the preparation of legal documents that involve liabilities and for developing plans that help in saving taxes. The tax structure within the United States is an ever-changing animal and tax attorneys are required to stay on top of all changes to the law as they are enacted and when they are proposed.

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They must know if and when proposed changes to the law are scheduled to take place. This requires constant research and study in addition to their day to day responsibilities. Tax lawyers must complete a Juris Doctor degree and must be admitted by a state bar. They must also have previous experience as the leader of a department with between 2 to 4 years of experience in the tax arena.

5. Corporate Lawyer – $98,822 annually

Corporate Layers make an average of $98,000 annually, but some of the more successful ones can make well into the triple digits in their salaries, while some make as low as $66,000. The average is $98,000 per year. A corporate lawyer provides clients with counsel on legal matters pertaining to a variety of different business transactions including the sale of businesses, acquisitions, and mergers.

They perform a lot of contract preparations and read through offers to ensure that the legalese is in the best interests of their clients, which are usually corporations and businesses.

They also assist in the creation of new companies, draft myriads of contracts, they assist in sourcing venture capital, in the selling and purchase of ownership interests and a variety of major business transactions. Lawyers working in corporate law possess a high intellectual level with a keen knowledge of the law as it pertains to business and the corporation as well as impeccable client skills.