Unless they are attorneys themselves, plenty of people — including your mother and maybe even more so, your girlfriend’s mother — have a misconception about lawyers. They think that as soon as someone graduates with a law degree, the money immediately starts rolling in. Before the ink has even dried on your J.D. degree, you’re swilling champagne for breakfast and lighting stogies with Benjamins.
Ha! If only they knew the truth.
When you’re just starting out as an attorney, you can easily get caught in a conundrum. You need to market your services to make money, but that very marketing costs more than you can spend. How are you going to get your name out there and build up your brand on a shoestring budget?
Turns out it’s not that hard after all. Read on to learn five ways to use marketing for lawyers to grow your business.
Network On and Offline
Many folks find attorneys intimidating, so when they need one, they’d rather turn to an acquaintance or connection than seek out a stranger. To that end, it’s essential that you get out there, shake as many hands as you can, and know how to work a room. Doing this at in-person events can be difficult for shy, retiring types, but it gets easier the more you do it.
And don’t neglect your online presence, either; make sure you’re represented on LinkedIn and Facebook. If necessary, expend just enough effort to make your profiles look lived-in. You can expand on your social presence later, when you can afford to hire help.
Spend on SEO
Search engine optimization is one area where you should spend some money. Simply because it’s such a dynamic, constantly changing landscape, it’s difficult to do on your own. But you can really help drive traffic to your site (and drive dollars to your pocket) through SEO.
Get Listed on Legal Directories
Getting your name out there is as important for Google as it is for potential clients. This will boost your SEO efforts, it’s entirely free, and you can do it yourself. So hie thee to the following sites and fill out your info there:
- Avvo.com
- Nolo.com
- Lawyers.com
- Justia.com
- Findlaw.com
There are dozens of other sites, but those five are a good start.
Create Content
Another tactic that’s related to SEO, but also bears its own fruit, is blogging. Create content for your website, jump at guest blogging opportunities, and promote those posts on your social sites.
Posting fresh content is another great way to garner Google’s attention. It’s also the perfect springboard for our last tip.
Establish Yourself As an Expert
You want to be the go-to guy (or gal) in your area, and in your area of expertise. In addition to writing educational and informative content for your blog, take any speaking engagement you’re offered. Do an educational series of webinars or Facebook Live videos.
A one-time effort that can continue to reap rewards is to write an e-book on your legal specialty and offer it for potential clients to download, like LaMarca Law Group, P.C. did with auto accident law.
Final Thoughts on Marketing for Lawyers
Marketing for lawyers, on top of all your other duties and especially on a budget, isn’t the easiest task to accomplish. But you didn’t go into law because it would be easy. With some creativity and sweat equity, soon you’ll have a whole marketing department working for you!
Have you found any creative way to get the word out about your law firm? Let us know in the comments!
