Attorney Marketing

SEO Begins By Earning Google Trust

July 11, 2014 by Keith Bennett

Earning Google Trust

Earning Google Trust Means Google needs to Know Everything About You…

I see you rolling your eyes. Like Google doesn’t ALREADY know everything about you. Snowden and the NSA revelations of late verified all we suspected, but I am hopeful that a SPECIFIC SEARCH would be necessary to mine all the specific data about a person or entity —right? It is probably as easy as entering a person’s name in a software dashboard – horrific to be the boyfriend/girlfriend, wife/husband of a person who works there and has that access. Let’s hope Google isn’t compiling dossiers. Leave that ugly work to Der Government.

Privacy IS dead – that’s another discussion. This discussion is all about you jumping through some Google “hoops” so Google will make you a shitload of money and grow your law practice.

Come on ladies… Google already knows your bra size and your most secret lusts and desires. And you guys… If you guys are like me, Google knows which Cigar Shops you visit including the actual route you drive to get there; they might also know you order far too many bottles of Cabernet for a busy professional. Let’s just hope they don’t share such compromising data with our new healthcare Czars. All the scary stuff aside, Google needs to “officially” know all about you with your pro-active, check-marked, contractual permission. Do you regularly read over large multi-national’s Privacy Policies and Terms of Service? I do. Reading Google’s online-contracts —ones we all mouse-click-agree with careless abandon— is like taking a 3-unit course in Internet Law or attending a continuing education seminar without all the fun, food, people and TSA pat downs.

Google needs to Know Everything About You...

As Google’s Algorithm Begins to TRUST You & Your Website, They’ll Increasingly Share You

Earning Google Trust Ranking – means jumping through various Google hoops that work together to verify you are who your website and social media persona claim you are. You need to meet various Google Signals that will attempt to verify that your name, profession, physical address, email, phone and website ALL belong to you. As time progresses, additional signals from your online friends, associates, co-workers, and clients “circling” you with their Google+ accounts and visiting your website and social media accounts will all work together to increase Google Trust Rank.

Google Products you will probably need to activate:

Google Master Account
Google Dashboard
Google Webmaster Tools
Google Analytics
Google Plus
Google Profile
Google Maps
Google YouTube Channel

Time for a Lawyer Joke?

Things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down by court reporters:
ATTORNEY: How old is your son, the one living with you?
WITNESS: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can’t remember which.
ATTORNEY: How long has he lived with you?
WITNESS: Forty-five years. **

As a Legitimate Website Publisher & Author you need Google Products to Leverage the Web

You will need to combine several of these Google products that will work together for you as a website owner/publisher to establish a relationship of trust with Google. Fortunately, one account is all you need! A single username and password gets you into everything Google.

Step One – Master Google Account

Create your Google Account – CLICK HERE

Already Have a Google Account?

If you already have Google’s Gmail – Google Calendar, Google Docs, or Google Drive for your law practice, you can simply log into your Gmail account and start to activate the other Google products you will need.

You can do this now, our when you need to activate the specific products as you require them.

We will need to use Google Webmaster Tools and Google Analytics with your existing or new legal website. Webmaster Tools helps us prove to Google that you own your website earning some needed trust points, and Google Analytics will help inspire you as you increase the number of visitors that come to visit your website thanks to your marketing efforts.

If You Don’t Have a Google+ Account, Consider Setting One Up Next

Visit my section on Leveraging Social Media, and let’s get you going on the ONLY Social Media Account that can make you and your website a success.

Enjoy this Article? Circle me on Google+ and we’ll Learn, Grow & Prosper Together

** from a book called Disorder in the Courts Disorder In The Court!

What is SEO and Why Should I Care ?

July 9, 2014 by Keith Bennett

By: Keith Bennett

Definition of SEO:

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine’s “natural” or un-paid (“organic”) search results.

Organic search – is the process of achieving, improving and maintaining the visibility of a web asset (e.g. website, Facebook Business Page, Google+ Page, YouTube video channel) in the highest-possible organic search results of Google, Bing, or Yahoo.

Search Algorithm Changes can and do KILL a Lawyer’s Google Page-ONE results

Regular updates to Google’s search algorithm will routinely result in a changing landscape for those who live and die by “organic search.” As an attorney and business owner, you need to understand these changes, or at least understand that you should never run afoul of Google by jumping on the next bandwagon — and believe me — the next bandwagon will be calling your law office on the phone —Ahem… likely tomorrow! Lawyers are bombarded and deluged with snake oil calls. So sad. 🙁

OMG! My website was Google Page ONE for ‘San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney’ and now we are Page 33…

Following every Google update, we are contacted by frantic, panic-stricken Lawyers who had –for whatever reason– a good Google Ranking and overnight their phones ceased ringing!

Many lawyers, out of desperation, will fall for a cold-call sales pitch from these ENDLESS STREAMS of phone spammers that pester law practices virtually daily. Many lawyers become, understandably, desperate after paying thousands of dollars for a website, and yet they’ve NEVER had a new client result from the expense! If that’s you, it may be that the only website visitor your website regularly has is YOU — only to double-check that it is still there…

The panicked calls we receive – are from lawyers who have paid some outrageous sums of cash to pay for the Google-GAMING exercise of the month followed by some calls, maybe some better ranking and then POOF: their site is gone from the search results with no explanation.

Time for a Lawyer Joke?

Things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down by court reporters:
ATTORNEY: What is your date of birth?
WITNESS: July 18th.
ATTORNEY: What year?
WITNESS: Every year. **

Hiring Cold-Calling SEO Experts can get you De-Listed or “Punished” by Google

The typical reasons why a lawyer’s well-positioned website is no longer showing in a GOOD ranking –usually a short-lived GOOD ranking– is often laid at the feet of some hired-hand you fell victim to. Their efforts may have gotten your website some “traction,” but in the end your website was “busted” as using gray-hat or black-hat mechanisms that Google determined put your site unfairly ahead of sites that were practicing no SEO efforts whatsoever, or sites that were being totally ethical and Google considers the site honorable to share.

Each Google Update is released, in part, to look for and SHUT DOWN the latest Google-GAMING tricks. Lately, those tricks are: link farming, paid links, keyword stuffing, cloaking and duplicating content. Such tricks are analogous to pouring sawdust in the crank case of a car to sell it before the new owner discovers they bought a a pile of crap. These practices, sometimes called “black hat,” are deemed unethical by people like me that do the time-tested ethical steps that we learn about by attending Google conferences, watching the 1,000’s of Matt Cutts’ videos which will reveal “actual clues & alluded clues” to what are Google’s NEWEST SEO expectations are so that we can get our lawyer-client’s phones to ring by being the model web citizens that Google is actively looking to promote.

If you are able to stay in lock-step with all the Google Updates and implement “best practices web marketing,” you can leverage the web to connect with your ideal demographic that can:

improve your life financially — dramatically, and
your loftiest business aspirations can be realized

Is that possible? Yes. It absolutely is.

SEO is the cumulative effect of having ALL the BASICS in Place

If you are flailing around the Internet because you “Google’d” SEO and yet you don’t really know what SEO is. Maybe I can help debunk some misconceptions and help get you focused on the BIG PICTURE.

A Professional SEO Person’s Definition of “SEO” may not be what you expect

SEO to those of us who are paid to perform so-called SEO Services is not what some think. Some readers who find themselves here were likely searching for and expecting VERY SPECIFIC advice such as: “can I have multiple H-1 tags?” Maybe you are looking for “best practices for writing [meta TITLE] in less than 70 characters,” or “should my [meta DESCRIPTION] include some of the meta title’s keywords in the 156 characters?”

Other visitors will be lawyers (my specialty) who are actually considering paying one of the dozens of cold-caller sales people who pester law firms weekly $500 to $1,500 a month for SEO services for his non-performing law practice website and s/he is here attempting some due diligence before agreeing to the pricey crap-shoot service.

My Personal Definition of what SEO is to people like me?

SEO, for me, is a more encompassing term that means that I will be orchestrating ALL the PIECES of someone’s web presence in a cohesive and interconnected manner to meet the high expectations of the Search Engine’s algorithms. The better you meet all the “signals” the search engines are looking for, the better you and your web presence will be rewarded.

I used to temper client’s expectations by sharing that Google would take “their sweet time” to recognize and reward our efforts if we are successfully-addressing sufficient multiple “signals” to reach various tiers of Google Expectations and Trust.

In 2011-2012 we believed that Bing/Yahoo were more reactive and responsive in rewarding better-ranking for our efforts in fewer days. Thus we would use Bing/Yahoo as a leading-indicator measuring tool of what we would expect from Google —eventually. Google’s massive and sea-changing algorithm changes have ended that. Fortunately, we find in 2013-2014 when we are meeting the various “signal thresholds” of Google numerous plateaus we now see measurable results in hours or days. Sweet. Nirvana. 🙂

SEO for Lawyers: We Want to Work at Obtaining Google’s TRUST as a First Priority

Upshot? – Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is getting all your online ducks in order so that they are “understood” by Google’s Search Algorithm as functioning as a sensible and united WHOLE. The Google Algorithm looks for hundreds of signals that allow Google to get to know WHO you are, WHERE you are, that you are an AUTHORITY in whatever profession, service or product line that you are promoting. Google will see if your content quality is fresh, unique and dovetails well with the other parts of your websites. A critical PIECE of SEO is meeting those ‘signals” that establish a “Google Trust Score” for you and your web presence. Google’s clients are the hordes of searchers. Google’s due diligence to their clients propels Google to deliver search results that include a high predominance of “People, Businesses and their Websites” that are pre-screened and then indexed as “Google Trusted.” Does Google trust you?

So Then… What is SEO and Why Should I Care ?

SEO is not a what, but is, in fact a series of “best practices” that you as the owner of a law practice must embrace if you want to tap into the only marketing venue that really matters: the WEB. You can actually leverage the Internet to your advantage where lawyers and clients go to seek out and find each other. You can do it yourself; you can assign a trusted and capable staffer to work the process; or you can hire a person or firm that understands that there are no shortcuts to gaining the trust of Google (and other search engines) and following through with a plan that keeps Google interested is sharing you with its clients: Google Searchers.

SEO is just as critical as paying your state bar dues – or your electric bill. SEO, for lawyers, is a process that needs to be addressed weekly as a part of your routine business processes. Success will benefit your law practice from now until you retire.

Are You Ready For Prime Time? If not…, First Gain Google’s Trust

In my next article: SEO Begins By Earning Google Trust – I will share what hoops you need to step through to gain Google’s Trust. Then you can use my basic minimum LIST of web assets you will need to set up and tie all your web assets together that you will want to incorporate into your own quality-based Web Marketing program…

Enjoy this Article? Please Circle My Google+ Page so we can Stay in Touch

** from a book called Disorder in the Courts Disorder In The Court!

SEO for Local Business

July 7, 2014 by Keith Bennett

By: Keith Bennett

Ever have one of those days when a moment of clarity hits you like a two by four?

Well I did.

In fact, I just paid $800 to a Local Business that could BREAK OUT of obscurity in 90 days. But, sadly, declined. 🙁

Back Story

We have an older Big, Tall and Long 1-ton Chevy truck that we brought home from one of our businesses to use around our house. We live in the hills above Los Angeles and there’s a need for picking up and delivering building materials, plants and materials when you have an acre or more. For the past 3-years, that truck has been moth-balled as I was totally focused on helping several new lawyer-clients push back against a crappy economy. Now it’s time to put that vehicle back into service as my adult son is taking on the responsibilities of property manager here at our California hacienda.

We ordered a replacement hood for the one damaged by a trash truck that inadvertently rolled back into us at a red light, scheduled a silver-gray paint job for mid summer, and then cleaned it for the short term, bought a new battery from Costco and took it for a spin. Nice truck for a heavy duty C-3500 purchased to pull a huge 36-foot long 5th wheel office and residence around the western states. Plushy power seats, 4 doors, lots of leg room, enormous 7.4L high-strung engine, but sadly, no COLD air. Sigh… It was starting to warm up in Southern California 3 weeks back in June, and just as modern-day TV Remotes, Power Windows, and Garage Door Openers are to their non-existent predecessors, once you have A/C in your vehicles, you cannot go back. That said, a 10-year old truck, no matter how sweet, is not a vehicle one wants to dump money into. I’ve learned those lessons. In past lives, I’ve had 2 planes and 3 boats. Have you heard that humorous saying?

.
“A boat is a hole in the water in which to throw money.”

FOUND: A Local Auto Air Conditioning Service Shop

It turns out that the AC Delco Auto Air Compressor’s body was leaking and a replacement was in order. I like to do everything “the right way” and insisted on a new factory compressor with clutch (not a re-manufactured unit) including all the other parts and processes that must be done (a new Accumulator/Receiver Drier, a new Orifice Tube, and flushing and vacuum draw-down of the system to make sure it is clean and free of moisture).

I found the perfect shop to do the work. It took some doing. They have NO digital footprint to speak of: no website, a Yelp profile under the wrong classification with 0 reviews (I’ve since written them a nice and lengthy praise review for a job well-done), an unfinished Google+ page (like so many lawyers :-), still as of today no way to get an email to them: no website OR email on their business card. So then —clever me— I was immediately compelled to propose a BARTER!

My BARTER proposition to them – I would personally oversee the research, pick the best available domain name (I found a terrific one $9), devise a strategy to bury any competitors in search and ranking, design and build-out of a fully-branded, totally-professional website that would blow his competition out of the water (if they would “work the strategy” – an easy routine task), and I would host the site for a year at no charge on a fast server. I would agree to shell out $800 to my crew in exchange for an $800 “compressor install” that might cost him $360 in parts and take him 90-minutes of his own labor.

Who would refuse that? Some of our websites, after about a year, are responsible for generating as much as $100,000/month in new cases per site to some happy and smiling attorneys. Surely we can connect an A/C guru with a constant steam of sweltering upscale Orange County drivers who are baking in their cars and already SUPER MOTIVATED to cool down…

Time for a Business Coach or Therapist You’re Thinking…

Yes. On the face of it I am as crazy as Bat Shit – Since I do as I say, I was ready and willing to invest the equivalent $800 in actual dollars to create a complete new authoritative web presence to a business owner I met only ONCE in exchange for him preforming a 90-minute compressor install. The whole concept of societies using “money” was to skip the bartering of skilled services and broadening who we could do commerce with. So WHY! Why not just pay the $800 for the service and be done with it? I never really played it out in my head in so many words back when it took place in June, but today as I am on day 90 of a new web marketing project that is taking off like a bottle rocket, and today I pondered the WHY of my BARTER offer back in June and the WHY of his office manager casually dismissing it.

The office manager? / operations manager? / business partner? / wife? – dismissed my offer, seemingly without thought nor contemplation, as if I was a penniless customer that had suggested painting the front of their business (something that will fade, diminish and have little immediate impact and NO lasting value) in lieu of handing them traditional folding green stuff.

It was never about the money! In fact, paying for his service –as it worked out– was simple, with no ongoing strings, and my BARTER would surely have ended up costing me far more than $800. I’m not a philanthropist. So then, WHY did I offer?

ANSWER – This very Unique Business would be an “Easy & Spectacular WIN”

My Epiphany – Now I understand WHY I offered to barter a website. I could add a “notch” to my gun belt. This nice, hard-working small business owner would have been blown away by what a well-orchestrated web presence would result: a swelling bank balance beginning in a few short months! This unique and small business was —for me— an “EASY WIN.” That’s why I couldn’t stop myself. Their shop, while on a busy 6-lane highway in Orange County CA, is hidden behind another multi-bay auto repair facility. Passing drivers do not see the shop. A proper web marketing effort could easily double their gross or more… SEO for Local Business is almost always an Easy Win… DON’T THEY KNOW THAT!

Actually they do not have a clue. While each year I see a half dozen lawyer clients bring in a cool extra million bucks by way of a skillfully tailored web marketing program – I doubt the proprietors of this auto repair shop have ever considered that doubling or tripling ones’ bank balance was a possibility for them to aspire to. They have no basis to get them hopeful nor excited. Wouldn’t they be thrilled – I thought – back in June? No… Apparently, they were not. Not even a little bit.

As it turned out – I felt like new drug dealer attempting to sell heroin to wigged-out addicts being released from jail – with no takers. Don’t they know the power of the web; the thrill of weekly marketing victories; the satisfaction of the phone ringing like never before; the thrill of swelling bank deposits?

The business owner, while affable, gently rebuffed me by stating that he must be focused solely on the shop while his office manager? / operations manager? / relative? / partner? / wife? focuses on all “that stuff” like websites – so: “please take that up with her.” I ran the idea by the office manager? / operations manager? / relative? / partner? / wife? — She politely informed me that her sister and a “guy” who used to work for Google have been working on their new website for months and it will be done soon – so……. no need for any help. Therefore no motivation to consider my “barter” proposal.

I bit my tongue

What I did not say is: “How does ‘a guy who once worked at Google’ necessarily translate into six different skill sets including Web Marketing, Graphics Design, Photoshop, HTML5, PHP, CSS and SEO skills needed to launch a good looking and effective website and marketing strategy?”

What I did say is: – That I could have their new website researched, designed, processed through our Photoshop crew with a new LOGO and design elements, the CSS coded and LIVE on the Internet in 48 hours by tasking the whole crew. No need to wait weeks and months. Aren’t they ANXIOUS? Their growth and future is at stake… No Cigar.

Chagrined, I paid the $800. — “Undisclosed Auto A/C” will Not be Leveraging the Web to their Benefit.

I thought of them today because one my “play” websites I launched only 3 months ago is doing what most of our sites do when all the pieces are properly put in play and when I do the daily SEO / web marketing: soaring. Website visitors are more than doubling each month. If this site was the “Undisclosed Auto A/C” guy’s new site, I suspect he would be deluged with new customers. This latest project site is already GOOGLE Page ONE for more than a 100 keyword strings. At its current pace, it will soon dominate an entire city and their primary Industry. In 2013 it would have taken a year to get where it is in only 90-days. All it takes is some experience, focused knowledge and investing some effort.

SEO is all about Investing Some EFFORT

SEO for Local Business takes LESS Effort – than most web marketing challenges. Maybe months or years from now the A/C Shop owner will finally get the “marketing bug” to promote his business and will understand a little bit of what I wanted to share with back him in 2014. Maybe not. There are millions of small business owners (lawyers too) “just getting by” because their potential customers DON’T KNOW THEY EXIST! These millions of individuals, professionals and business owners are but months away from experiencing a growth surge they could only dream about — IF ONLY…

…IF ONLY – they would hook up with knowledgeable people and choose to invest some focused efforts in the right places. Then their whole world could start to change in as soon as 3 months and dramatically so in the course of a year.

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How a Lawyer Can Get New Clients with their Lifestyle

July 5, 2014 by Keith Bennett

By: Keith Bennett

New Lawyers and New Law Practices Want to Know How To Get New Clients

Are you:

starting your new law practice after passing the bar,
leaving a large firm to finally strike out on your own,
starting over after a partnership went sour, or
branching into another law section or niche?

So how do you go from few or no clients to a prosperous law practice before your funds dry up or your budget is all shot to hell and gone? Establish a Lifestyle for yourself and any new associates!

Time for a Lawyer Joke?

What do you call a lawyer gone bad?
Senator.

Law School Short-Changes New Lawyers in the Best Practices to be Successful

Law school doesn’t prepare you to be a good business person. Law schools focus on teaching legal theory and little about running a law practice. Most lawyers open a law practice as a natural progression of their career. Those that go from law school to a firm as a clerk or associate think: “I’m becoming a great lawyer. I work my ass off to make the partners rich off my hours, so I will rent an office space (or even a Regus set-up), start my own practice and pocket all the profits.”

Being a good lawyer and a becoming a successful law practice are two very different things. As a clerk, an associate or a partner in a prior firm, if all you did was “lawyering,” that may not have prepared you for running a business, managing staff or finding new clients and cases.

You may be the next Gerry Spence trial guru and find yourself a starving solo lawyer.

We Have Some Suggestions To get you MORE Clients and Cases Right Away

We have become darn good at lawyer marketing in the digital world. That said, in the world of REAL LIFE – YOU are a more important asset in person than is your digital social media in the beginning of your growth cycle. If you are a personable lawyer – a trial lawyer – an extrovert, you will get your butt out there and network in as many ways you can. You will be pleasantly surprised how much business you can bring in by handing out business cards in numerous social environments.

The Birthday Paradox

If you were in New York and pop into a bar with 70 people, there is a 99.9% chance that one will have your same birthday! Step outside to cross the street where there are only 23 people waiting to cross the street it is a 50% likelihood that one pedestrian will have your same birthday. *

You are just as likely to find 1 or 2 potential new legal clients in a group of 30 persons where you are known on a first name basis! And while that is good news, there is BETTER news about how you can leverage your participation in a few groups to grow your bank balance… Right Away. No waiting on Google, Bing or Yahoo to be nice to you.

The 11th Commandment: “ALL Lawyers Must work Social Media or Die a Slow and Lonely Death!”

Yes, so true in 2014. But that commandment has to do with having a website, a LinkedIN account, a Facebook Business Page and a Google+ Page. Both upstarts and old farts need to drop the iPad and return to the basics of stepping out for one or two evenings per month to be “sociable.” Basics work. Basic means a part of every lawyer’s lifelong marketing must include OLD SCHOOL SOCIAL-izing. Your BEST new clients will come from “Old School Social” networking. Moreover this is the perfect therapy for a happy, healthy lawyer (and spouse) as you will make time to take a break and make new friends in the process. Even if you think you are too busy, try adding ONE group of non-lawyers to your social list – see if your law practice and bank balance is not the ultimate beneficiary. My prediction? You’ll be blessed beyond any expectation.

In-Person Social Networking is MORE VALUABLE to the Law Firm than Digital Social Media

To go “Old School Social,” pass out and collect business cards from everyone in your current and new networks of acquaintances and friends. This can include law school classmates, friends, friends of your parents and friends of siblings, opposing counsel, and judges. You’ll want to build a digital Rolodex (this can be Excel, Outlook, Gmail, LinkedIN, or a carefully-crafted combination of those applications). This master contact list will feed you clients and cases until you retire! This will be your database that will grow into something powerful.

Socialize in 1 to 3 Groups – This is a Recipe to Print Money

Next you need to venture out into some new groups. This is not all that time consuming and can be a new part of a fun new you. Stumped? Let me help kick start you. Do you like taking photos? Go online and go to a Portrait, Landscape, Canon or Nikon Meetup. ( Meetup.com ) You WILL harvest clients and cases if you do this. There are so many Meetup possibilities – whatever your talents or interests, there are meetup opportunities: Wine Tasting, Foodie, Cigar, Dance, Religion, Sports, Cars, Hiking, Surfing, Pugs, Bull Dogs, Investment, Stocks and Bonds, there’s a meetup group or club for virtually anything and everything.

The Leverage of Participating in Old School Social Groups

Let’s say you have more time than clients. If you socialize in just 3 groups that meet every two weeks or even monthly and you eventually said hello and exchange pleasantries with everyone in the group by way of (1) personal interaction, (2) handing your business card out when the moment is right, or (3) the careful attention to creating your online profile on each group’s online website or online membership roster you will grow your practice and NOT all that much time is required. It will more than compensate you for 3-4 lovely and fun evenings per month. For me, I would look into the following Meetups groups: Wine Tasting Meetup, a Foodie Meetup and a Cigar Aficionado Meetup.

Let’s talk leverage and WHY you should be social.

If you were to connect with and introduce yourself as a Probate Lawyer to a minimum of 30 members in each of 3 meetup groups (i.e. Wine, Cigars, Foodie), you have tapped into a social network with 90 people that have direct tentacles to an astonishing 9,000 people.

How is that possible? If 30 people in each of your 3 groups remember that John, the sharp dresser, is a Probate Lawyer, the statistics prove the demographic that half of all adult Facebook users have over 200 Facebook Friends (in that ONE social media network). So then, 90 people who KNOW you are a Probate Lawyer –and hopefully have received your business card by hand or by mail– each independently participates in their own separate Facebook social network of 100 Friends (on average). 90 x 100 = 9,000 persons. **

What travels faster that GOOD NEWS? BAD NEWS! A death in the family is posted on one of the 9,000 persons’ Facebook page and one of your 90 new friends and acquaintances is now aware of it. They know you are a Probate lawyer and the Facebook post mentioned squabbling of the siblings before the funeral has started… People LOVE to give advice. People love to let others know that they are well-connected! People LOVE to say “Hi Mary, so sorry about your loss… Too bad about the bickering too. Why don’t you give a quick call to my Probate Lawyer buddy John…?”

Snail Mail Marketing – It’s Not Totally Without Merit

Yellow Pages are door stops and toddler booster seats AND Snail Mail is Dead.

That said, getting an announcement and business card physically delivered to someone who knows of you is VERY POWERFUL! Once you get 50, 100 or 500 names and addresses, invest in some professional-looking stationary and send an announcement to everyone in your growing database. One hint. If there are non-lawyers in your database you just “marginally know” like friends of friends, friends of parents or siblings, and they may not immediately recognize your name, MANY people will have a near heart attack anytime there is a letter from (A) the IRS, or (2) from a LAWYER! It might be best to put something on the envelope to “soften” the impact for some potential recipients, or use a specialty envelope where the return address is printed on the rear flap and the envelope and stationery are not legal sized but more “Invitation/Announcement Sized.”

The announcement should tell the world that you’re open for business and ready to take on clients. Do you have a bar fly friend that often says: “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere…” In a similar vein, while you cannot –and should not– milk the “we’re OPEN for business” more than once per contact in your database, you can use the snail mail announcement method for some other ethical and acceptable communications: (1) changing our office address, (2) adding a satellite office, (3) adding a new legal website, (4) adding a Facebook Business Page “Please visit and ‘LIKE’ me, (5) adding new staff or Paralegal “Meet Julie, she can help you with many non-lawyer forms under my supervision…” — any valid new information to put an announcement out with two business cards inside. Every six months to a year. No more. Remember these snail mail cards and even your social networking, you should not overtly solicit business, but just be that sociable guy or gal telling everyone in your always growing network that you’re open for business and love helping people.

Time for another Lawyer Joke?

A pastor, a doctor, and a lawyer walk into a bar…
The bartender says: “What is this, a joke?”

Become a Trusted Advisor

Speaking of pastors and lawyers… One goal to wrap your mind around is one that pastors innately understand and lawyers might benefit from when participating in their various social networking circles. If it dovetails well with your personality, consider becoming a Trusted Advisor to friends and acquaintances. A welcoming pastor-like attitude will encourage clients and non-clients to talk with you about all of their problems including personal, legal and financial — not just your particular law section. To grow into a valuable Trusted Advisor, you need to have a good network of other professionals you can use for referrals (other lawyers outside your specialties, CPA’s, financial planners, investigators, marriage counselors, etc.) which you add to your professional database using LinkedIN and Google Plus. Why fill the shoes of a “Trusted Advisor? Remember, the more people you refer out, the more people you get back.

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* Birthday source
** Half of all adult Facebook users have more than 200 friends in their network.

*** from a book called Disorder in the Courts Disorder In The Court!

Growing a Law Practice in a Sluggish Economy

July 3, 2014 by Keith Bennett

By: Keith Bennett

Problems facing all Law Practices – 2008 through 2014

Growing a Law Practice in a bad economy is possible. I have several clients adding associates and growing their checkbooks. Growth requires focus. Starting about the last year of the Bush Administration and beginning of the Obama Administration 2007-2008 Lawyers, in particular, have faced a harsh environment to grow their practices. Many law practices had to downsize their associates and staff; downsize their offices and search for new sources of income.

The Elusive Search for Busy Law Sections with Good Cash Flow

It is 2014 and lawyers are still struggling under the continued sluggishness of the economy. All law sections seem affected. Business formation, transactional legal work, estate planning, patent, trademark and Intellectual property lawyers are surely suffering. These law sections fight for an economically-downsized pool of potential clients. During brainstorming sessions with attorney-clients on where we want to grow their practices, I’ve had several legal beagles bemoan: “Why didn’t I focus on practicing criminal law!?” — thinking that Criminal Law probably doesn’t slow down in bad times, but may increase.

Criminal Law SUCKS too! – The grass IS NOT greener if most of your clients are behind bars instead of calmly sitting across your desk. Many of my 20+ year criminal lawyers who seek the “perfect client” — which is often a model citizen who has been charged with a serious felony crime of passion (e.g. the husband that shoots his wife discovered in bed with the pool boy – and Mr. Model Citizen owns a million dollar estate) is a good example of the “perfect criminal client” — one who can rustle up a sizable defense fund.

Unfortunately, those once “perfect” criminal law clients can no longer get a ELOC (equity line of credit) on their home to fund a $40,000 – $90,000 typical legal defense. Instead, they will make a grave error and turn to a Public Defender. Let’s face it. That’s sad for the criminal lawyer’s quality of life AND even more sad for the defendant who will likely receive a longer prison and parole sentence.

Time for a Lawyer Joke?

Things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down by court reporters:
ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks. **

I’ve had estate planning and business lawyers brainstorming how to supplement their current cases who will often consider venturing into the sad and depressing world of divorce and/or bankruptcy — as both tend to increase in numbers as the economy remains lethargic. NO! The grass IS NOT greener over there either. The divorce lawyers I know support the statistic that 50% or more of all divorcing couples forgo hiring a lawyer these days, and those who look for divorce or custody representation shop solely on ever-falling “price points” overlooking, it would seem, frivolous and unimportant things like legal skills and experience.

Do I have to relate to you the sad, sad state of Bankruptcy law these days? The recession that began Dec. 2007 through early 2010 was really devastating to law firms. In 2008 the economy was in a death spiral. The “housing bubble.” The “stimulus.” The millions of properties “under water!” Realtors and Mortgage Lenders were the first to hit the unemployment line. “99 weeks” of handouts if you can fog a mirror – followed by politicians buying votes with 26 more weeks 2.4 years watching Price Is Right and eating Bon Bons.

Lawyers were not doing much better than Realtors in years 2007 – 2010. Struggling to stay afloat, lawyers ventured into the murky waters of loan modifications. What could possibly go wrong? Those who did not get slapped down by a state bar disciplinary action often moved on to filing bankruptcy cases to supplement their cash flow. So many lawyers flooded into the bankruptcy market that as bad as the economy was/is, there were not enough clients to go around. Every lawyer and his brother-in-law was advertising on Google, Bing and Yahoo for bankruptcy clients. To get the phone to ring, lawyers published ever-lowering prices: $999 Chapter 7, $799 Chapter 7, $599 Chapter 7, and even $399 Chapter 7! (Filing fees not included…)

Upshot? It was like the gas wars taking place in the 1950’s where there were gas stations on each corner of a busy intersections. It was stupid then. It is just as stupid now! The Bankruptcy Law market is forever ruined for those lawyers that had built entire law practices over decades around providing quality legal service for bankruptcy clients. Chapter 7 became a “product” more than a competent legal service. It became a “price point” conveyor belt business. Chapter 13 was likewise turned into a price point product: “$1,299 Home Saver: Save your home from foreclosure!”

Clients in financial trouble lost sight of the real value that a quality lawyer can offer by spending real time, one-on-one reviewing their finances, counseling clients on this life-altering dilemma, taking advantage of otherwise missed opportunities to salvage more assets… It became all about price.

No Need to Flail About in New Areas that Your Are not Qualified

Do What You Do Best! Focused SEO practices can find you NEW CLIENTS

What I have learned working with nearly 1,100 law firms is that you are usually better off staying in your own lane unless it is a conscious decision to branch out or add an associate to address a complimentary law section. Chasing seemingly easy and potentially-lucrative income streams for sake of needed cash flow can be a road better not taken.

Instead, read more articles to learn about SEO and what elements you need to combine in your own Web Marketing Process to start leveraging the Internet to benefit your law practice. It IS NOT rocket science! It is simple and fun. It is also personally rewarding when you can actually witness daily and weekly growth.

You can see, in real time the actual number of potential clients who are finding and visiting your website and learning that (1) you exist, (2) that you offer the legal services that their matter needs, and (3) witness that some of these new visitors will actually reach out and contact you to see if you are a good fit for becoming their new lawyer.

The cute test that economics or math teachers challenge students:

Which would you rather have $100 dollars everyday for 30 days or a penny doubled everyday for 30 days?

If you’ve ever done the math you’d know. This test is useful for identifying unsophisticated, gullible people who are more likely to fall for get-rich-quick schemes. I mean DUDE! Would you really rather have ONLY $3,000.00 instead of $5,368,709.12! ***

Here is a NEW WEBSITE I am actively working: Notice the Web Visitors are more than Doubling EACH Month !!!

Below – is a screenshot I took while updating this article. It is directly analogous to the —$100 a day or Penny doubled each day scenario. If you have time to market your own firm, you could and should have a very similar measuring-tool always “OPEN” on a TAB of your browser so you can monitor how well you are doing with your own web marketing. Whether you do it, or have someone do it for you, web marketing your law practice MUST BE a life-long process no different than opening the mail each day: otherwise you will always face those days of panic when your case load is dwindling and those panicky-fears of the phone not ringing are gnawing at you.

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** from a book called Disorder in the Courts Disorder In The Court!

*** Here is the math laid out all proper-like…

Attorney Marketing

Earning Google Trust

Earning Google Trust Means Google needs to Know Everything About You…

As Google’s Algorithm Begins to TRUST You & Your Website, They’ll Increasingly Share You

Google Products you will probably need to activate:

Time for a Lawyer Joke?

As a Legitimate Website Publisher & Author you need Google Products to Leverage the Web

Step One – Master Google Account

Already Have a Google Account?

If You Don’t Have a Google+ Account, Consider Setting One Up Next

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Definition of SEO:

Search Algorithm Changes can and do KILL a Lawyer’s Google Page-ONE results

OMG! My website was Google Page ONE for ‘San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney’ and now we are Page 33…

Time for a Lawyer Joke?

Hiring Cold-Calling SEO Experts can get you De-Listed or “Punished” by Google

SEO is the cumulative effect of having ALL the BASICS in Place

A Professional SEO Person’s Definition of “SEO” may not be what you expect

My Personal Definition of what SEO is to people like me?

SEO for Lawyers: We Want to Work at Obtaining Google’s TRUST as a First Priority

So Then… What is SEO and Why Should I Care ?

Are You Ready For Prime Time? If not…, First Gain Google’s Trust

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Back Story

FOUND: A Local Auto Air Conditioning Service Shop

Time for a Business Coach or Therapist You’re Thinking…

ANSWER – This very Unique Business would be an “Easy & Spectacular WIN”

I bit my tongue

Chagrined, I paid the $800. — “Undisclosed Auto A/C” will Not be Leveraging the Web to their Benefit.

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New Lawyers and New Law Practices Want to Know How To Get New Clients

Time for a Lawyer Joke?

Law School Short-Changes New Lawyers in the Best Practices to be Successful

We Have Some Suggestions To get you MORE Clients and Cases Right Away

The Birthday Paradox

The 11th Commandment: “ALL Lawyers Must work Social Media or Die a Slow and Lonely Death!”

In-Person Social Networking is MORE VALUABLE to the Law Firm than Digital Social Media

Socialize in 1 to 3 Groups – This is a Recipe to Print Money

The Leverage of Participating in Old School Social Groups

Let’s talk leverage and WHY you should be social.

Snail Mail Marketing – It’s Not Totally Without Merit

Time for another Lawyer Joke?

Become a Trusted Advisor

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Problems facing all Law Practices – 2008 through 2014

The Elusive Search for Busy Law Sections with Good Cash Flow

Time for a Lawyer Joke?

No Need to Flail About in New Areas that Your Are not Qualified

Do What You Do Best! Focused SEO practices can find you NEW CLIENTS

The cute test that economics or math teachers challenge students:

Here is a NEW WEBSITE I am actively working: Notice the Web Visitors are more than Doubling EACH Month !!!

More Reading: Cost Effective Ways to Prosper in ANY Economy

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