Spotlight Branding - August 2020

Spotlight Branding - August 2020

AUG 2020 (800) 406-7229 SpotlightBranding.com

STOP TAKING CASES YOU DREAD! THE SECRET TO HOOKING YOUR DREAM CLIENTS

Cater your articles to your dream clients. Ask yourself, “What circumstances are they in? What are their questions and concerns? What should they know about this area of law?” Then, answer those questions with content. The more attention you pay to a particular type of client or case in your marketing, the more you’re going to attract it. It’s not rocket science, but you wouldn’t believe how many attorneys leave this strategy on the table! Here’s an example: Say you’re an estate planning attorney and, until now, you’ve taken every client who walks through the door looking for an estate plan. However, you’d really like to specialize in high net worth estate planning. To get there, start focusing on that demographic in your content. Don’t put out blogs about affordable estate planning options for low-income households. Instead, talk about how an estate plan can help someone pass on their wealth or how to include provisions for assets like income properties. By discussing these things, it will look like you specialize in them— and that’s the first step to making specialization a reality. Once you appear to be the expert, you’ll draw in clients looking to work with the best. That said, we’re not actually living in “Field of Dreams.” I’m a big baseball fan, but I know it’s not always true that “if you build it, they will come.” You still need to pursue other avenues to leave those undesirable cases behind for good, like networking with referral sources

This month, I have a secret to share with you. It’s a big secret — something even lawyers who have worked decades in the business don’t know. Are you ready? Here it is: You don’t have to take cases you hate in order to keep your firm afloat. There, I said it. Are you surprised? A lot of the solo and small law firms that Spotlight Branding help have struggled with this issue for years. It’s tempting to practice “door law” and take any client who walks in, but the truth is that you don’t need to take cases you dread to make ends meet. In fact, specialization is not only possible, it’s preferable, too. The more you specialize, the more of an expert you’ll appear to be and the more revenue you’ll bring in. To leave behind the practice areas you hate and start hooking your dream clients, the first thing you need to do is think about your ideal case. Maybe it’s in the area of law you enjoy most. Maybe it’s something you’re fantastic at. Or maybe it’s what’s most profitable. The definition is up to you — what’s important is that you have a profile in mind. Next, you need to center your marketing messages and content around that profile. There are a lot of different ways to do this from an advertising and lead-generation standpoint, but your best tool for attracting the cases you want is your content. All the content marketing you do, whether it’s via your blog, videos, podcast, or social media, should focus on the cases you prefer.

“ALL THE CONTENT MARKETING YOU DO, WHETHER IT’S VIA YOUR BLOG, VIDEOS, PODCAST, OR SOCIAL MEDIA, SHOULD FOCUS ON THE CASES YOU PREFER.”

and finding new ways to reach your audience. These extra strategies are the middle of the equation, but content is both the beginning and the end. It’s how you reach people, and, as we discussed last month, it’s where new leads always end up landing. I hope you realize now that you don’t have to settle. The idea that there won’t be enough business for you if you specialize is a total myth. If you still need proof, consider this: One of our clients works only tractor-trailer accident cases, and their business is booming. Another left behind family law because it made themmiserable. Since they had the right marketing, their business didn’t suffer. You can make this pivot yourself. But if you’d like some help along the way, reach out to my team. We’ll free you up to focus on your work.

–Marc Cerniglia

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WRITE COMPELLING CONTENT IN RECORD TIME KEEP IT SIMPLE, COUNSELOR!

As you read on Page 1 of this newsletter, targeted content is the key to attracting the cases you want. It positions you as an expert and pulls in clients looking for the best in the field. Here’s the thing, though: There’s a right and a wrong way to create targeted content. Choose the right way, and your dream clients will come knocking. Choose the wrong way, and they’ll leave your website feeling bored or confused. So, what’s the trick? In our experience, the right strategy is keeping your content simple. Just because you want to look like an expert doesn’t mean your content needs to be expert level by your standards. The average Joe’s opinion of expert legal content isn’t the same as yours or another lawyer’s. If Joe is in the market for an estate planning lawyer, for example, he won’t be interested in reading about the intricacies of Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts. A hyperspecific article full of legalese will be a turnoff. Trust us, he’d rather read a simple blog like, “3 Quick Tips for Creating a Will: Millionaire’s Edition.”

• Make it scannable. Most people won’t read an article all the way through, so include elements like bullets and subheadings for maximum impact.

That’s it! These tricks work on leads, and they even work on other lawyers and referral sources. Just having targeted content puts you ahead of the pack, builds your reputation, and establishes your expertise. It shows your strategic partners that you’re serious about what you do. After repetition (which we discussed in a previous newsletter), keeping it simple is our best time-saving content tip. Now, put it into practice and see if you agree!

Keeping your content simple will make it more effective and save you time and effort. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you sit down to write:

• Go for generic topics within your practice areas. If you get too specific, your article won’t be relevant to most readers, so opt for a 10,000-foot view. • Leave out the legal jargon. It might make you look smart, but your readers won’t get it. • Include practical advice. This will make your content worth reading.

CLIENT SUCCESS STORY ANTHOOR LAW GROUP (FAMILY LAW AND ESTATE PLANNING)

high-quality clients, they’re still increasing the number of cases they take on each month!

In 2019, The Anthoor Law Group in Fremont, California, decided to focus on business development, which included a commitment to marketing and branding their firm. They partnered with Spotlight Branding to handle their marketing, which included a new

“Thank you Spotlight for helping us create a new brand and for always being so attentive to your clients’ needs. We appreciate the client-focused attention, the timely posts, and the routine meetings to ensure our ship is sailing smoothly. Thank you for your great customer service and bringing your professional input to our firm.”

website, video FAQs, social media, blogging, and an email newsletter.

WANT MORE REFERRALS AND BETTER CLIENTS? Visit SpotlightBranding.com/NL to schedule a call!

Soon after starting their marketing, the firm saw a surge in both family law and estate planning cases, which allowed them to hire new

staff to accommodate the demand. Even more, despite increasing their rates and implementing a grading scale to ensure they are working with

More Referrals. Better Clients. Higher ROI.

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CREATE A PROFITABLE EMAIL NEWSLETTER IN 5 STEPS KEEPING IN TOUCH IS EASIER THAN YOU THINK

4. CREATE AND MAINTAIN AN EMAIL LIST. You need to add the email addresses of your past and current clients, referral partners, and other contacts to your chosen platform. If you’re lucky, your office CRM like Clio will give you the option to export your addresses and integrate them automatically. If you’re not,

Sending out an email newsletter is one of the best ways to stay in touch with your network, build your brand, bring in leads, and generate referrals. This is common knowledge among owners of solo and small law firms, but many of them still don’t hit the send button — why? Well, if you’ve never put together a newsletter, the prospect of spending time and effort to create one might be intimidating. However, the process is much easier than you think. In less than an hour, you can create a DIY email newsletter that will take you only minutes to maintain each month. 1. SIGN UP FOR A PLATFORM. There are plenty of email newsletter platforms to choose from, and you can create an account for little to no cost. We use Mailchimp, but Constant Contact and Zoho Campaigns are great options, too. 2. CHOOSE A TEMPLATE. Don’t waste your time building a newsletter from scratch. Just about every platform offers newsletter templates, complete with visual editors. All you have to do is customize the colors, add your logo, and fill in the content. 3. DRAG AND DROP YOUR EXISTING CONTENT. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel: Simply pop in the blog posts and videos you’ve already made, and rotate them each month. You can even add a section for firm announcements and specials. If you don’t have content available, consider this your reminder to create some.

this step might take some time, but it will be worth it! After the initial input, make a note to add new addresses each month.

5. SEND THE NEWSLETTER MONTHLY! As you’re going through this process, remember that your newsletter doesn’t have to be perfect. Something is better than nothing, and you can improve it over time. If you have questions about creating a newsletter, give us a call.We’re here to help and can even do the work for you.

FEATURED EPISODE THE VERY BEST EPISODES OF ‘THE LAW FIRM MARKETING MINUTE’ PODCAST

RESOURCE OF THE MONTH

AN EASY WAY TO POST TO ALL OF YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS! POST TO YOUR PROFILES FROM ONE PLACE.

If you’re looking for more great resources to drive your business forward, take a look at this episode from our industry-leading podcast – “The Law Firm Marketing Minute.”

By now you should know that posting valuable, evergreen content is important, right? You also need to be posting it to multiple platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The problem is that it can take up precious time having to log into each profile and post to each one individually. Hootsuite helps with that. Although there are paid versions, the free version of the app allows you to post to three platforms as much as you want! This means you can add your firm’s Facebook page, Twitter profile, and either your personal or company LinkedIn page to your account and post your content to all three at once. We’ve used Hootsuite for years to easily post content for our clients, and it’s saved us a ton of time. (Imagine logging into hundreds of accounts on a daily basis!)

“COMPETING WITH DIY LEGAL SITES” – LFMM 318

DIY legal sites like LegalZoom have wreaked a lot of havoc on the legal industry, turning lawyers into commodities. This podcast explains how you can fight back against this much cheaper alternative (and it doesn’t involve lowering your rates!) so you can make sure people remain protected. If you want More Referrals, Better Clients, and Higher ROI on all your marketing, call us today at 800-406-7229 to schedule a consultation!

Listen to this episode and find even more at LawFirmMarketingMinute.com and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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THIS ISSUE INSIDE

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The Secret to Hooking Your Dream Clients

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Write Compelling Content in Record Time

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Client Success Story

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Your DIY Guide to a Profitable Email Newsletter

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Spotlight Branding’s Industry-Leading Podcast

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What Small-Business Owners Can Learn From ‘Profit First’

MANAGE CASH FLOW WITH ‘PROFIT FIRST’ MIKE MICHALOWICZ SHARES WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

second half of 2020, boost their businesses, and recover lost profits.

Michalowicz has faced these types of challenges before, and he used these experiences to develop principles that make life (and business) that much easier for small-business owners. You’ll get the scoop on Michalowicz’s profit- centered approach and how his innovative system flips traditional accounting on its head, making money management more streamlined. If you find yourself struggling to manage the financial side of your business, then he has you covered. His tips are especially useful for businesses that have cash flow that varies frommonth to month or that have a peak season. Michalowicz’s insight is even more valuable in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as business owners and entrepreneurs everywhere look to get back on track in the

Running the day-to-day operations of a business while also managing the money can be difficult to juggle for many small-business owners. Even if they have systems and processes in place, these methods don’t always work as well as they should and can easily become difficult to navigate. When you hit this kind of wall, it can be hard to keep your focus on growing a profitable business. Enter Mike Michalowicz and his book “Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash- Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine.” The book was published in 2014 but was updated in 2017. It’s been a huge hit, garnering rave reviews from the business world due to its simple yet innovative profit-first formula. The book has been so successful because

If you’re a seasoned business owner and are already money-minded and exceptionally organized, this book will likely serve as a quick refresher, but if you’re a startup business owner and want to improve your accounting systems and catapult your profits, then “Profit First” is just what you need. Even more, we have been using the Profit First model in our own business for over a year now, and it really works! Our profitability as a company has grown, and we have a much clearer picture of our financial health. We’re happy to talk to you about implementing this model in your firm too!

More Referrals. Better Clients. Higher ROI.

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