I listen to a lot of podcasts, always looking for good law firm marketing ideas that I can pass along. I find that the same ideas seem to come in waves, and one idea currently riding the crest is the idea of scheduling your email time. The new conventional thinking (read to the end to…
Author: Aaron Morris
Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan
A recent incident again showed me the power of niche marketing and reminded me that it is important to keep feeding the pipeline. Occasionally I brainstorm niches for my practice areas and buy appropriate domain names, intending to create informative websites for those topics. During one such brainstorming session about nine months ago, I decided…
How to Create (Legit) Backlinks to Your Site with Reddit
First let me tell you right up front that I haven’t tried this technique yet, but I have no doubt that it will work based on the video you are about to see. Let me also tell you that the guy who does the video, “Jay,” really knows his stuff, but he takes…
How Your Preconceived Notions May Be Costing You Six Figures
When meeting with other attorneys at practice seminars, I frequently hear comments like, “I don’t represent individuals” or “I won’t take a case worth less than [fill in the blank].” You may have decided that under your business model it doesn’t make sense to take on small cases, and there is some wisdom to that…
How to Manage Multiple Blogs Crazy Fast (for FREE!)
ManageWP Review I mention this service on the resources page, but it is such a game changer that I wanted to do a more in-depth review here. ManageWP is a service (and plug-in) that allows you to manage multiple WordPress blogs from the same dashboard. Using the term “WordPress BLOG” is a bit of a misnomer…
Don’t Make it Hard for New Clients to Call You — How to Make Your Phone Number Clickable
The estimates vary, but it is safe to say that more than 50% of Internet searches are now being made on mobile devices. So, if a potential client is searching for an attorney on their smart phone and you win the search results derby, don’t throw away your victory by frustrating the client’s desire to…
Don’t Forget Bing and Yahoo in Your Law Firm Marketing Mix — How to Find Love and Success Even When Google Rejects You
The Holy Grail of search engine optimization for a law firm is to get your website in the number one position of the Google search results for your practice area. But contrary to popular belief, Google is not the only game in town. The number varies based on a number of factors, including the demographic…
Most Clients Find Their Lawyers Via the Internet — How to Make Sure it’s You They Find
According to a survey by FindLaw, 38% of clients find their lawyers via the Internet, and 29% still rely on a referral by a friend or relative. By comparison, in 2005 a full 65% relied on referrals by a friend or relative, and only 7% looked to the Internet. However, applying a little logic reveals…
Understanding Long Tail Searches, and Why You Should Keyword Optimize for Your Location
Over and over again I see attorneys make the mistake of trying to optimize their websites for the biggest and best search terms or, worse, paying big money for pay-per-click ads for those terms. Allow me to explain why, as counter-intuitive as it may appear, that you want to optimize for the search terms that…
A Heartfelt Thank You for the #1 Law Firm Marketing Book on Amazon
One year ago today my e-book on law firm marketing, How to Create a Big, Fat Pipeline of New Clients for Your Law Firm in Just 10 Days, appeared on Amazon, and shot straight to number one among all the books in that category. It occasionally drifts down a spot or two, but for the…
Fiverr.com – Your Law Firm’s Low Cost Personal Assistant
If you have not yet experienced the joy that is Fiverr.com, you are in for a real treat. Fiverr is the world’s largest online marketplace for $5 services, with weird services such as “I will write any message on my lips and take a photo” or “I will make fun of someone in my stand-up…
It’s Your Time to Shine, Juke Box Hero
In a town without a name, in a heavy downpour Thought he passed his own shadow, by the backstage door Like a trip through the past, to that day in the rain And that one guitar, made his whole life change – “Juke Box Hero” by Mick Jones (Foreigner) At the risk of sounding grandiose…
Does Starting Your Own Law Firm Have to be a Lonely Experience?
I happened across an article entitled Thinking of Going Solo? Think Carefully, published on the American Bar Association website by an attorney named Jennifer Ator. It is important to read the introductory paragraph, because Ms. Ator specifically confirms that starting your own firm can be a wonderful thing, and states that once her friends “eventually…
How Does Google Work?
In my book, How to Create a Big, Fat Pipeline of New Clients for Your Law Firm in Just 10 Days, I discuss all the factors Google looks at to determine which search results will appear on page one. I came across this very good video that discusses the issues as well, and provides a basic…
Chocolate-Covered Strawberries Restore My Faith in Humanity
No doubt much to the chagrin of my partner, I give away an obscene amount of free legal services. The thing is, I’ve been doing this so long that I have worked out easy solutions for many of the legal problems I get calls about. Most attorneys would no doubt bring the caller in and…
New York Busts 19 Companies for Fake On-Line Reviews
Bloomberg Businessweek published a great article on Tuesday, discussing fake Yelp reviews, following a sting operation in New York, designed to catch businesses engaging in the process. Referring to the process as “astroturfing”, the article details the sting by the New York State Attorney General. The AG set up a fake yogurt shop in Brooklyn,…
Five Reasons Attorneys Get Suckered by SEO Marketing Scams (and How to Make Sure You’re Not One of Them)
In my book, How to Create a Big, Fat Pipeline of New Clients for Your Law Firm in Just 10 Days, I provide the following anecdote: There is a classic Peanuts comic, where Linus is going door to door trying to sell wadded up pieces of paper as cat toys. His sales presentation is good,…
Yelp Reviews for Attorneys – Yelp Sues the McMillan Law Group, Claiming it Posted Fake Reviews
Yelp Reviews for Attorneys As part of your legal marketing, it is very beneficial if you can offer testimonials, and great if you have good on-line reviews. However, what follows is a cautionary tale of why attorneys must avoid the temptation of creating their own reviews. My primary practice area is free speech and defamation,…
iPad Tip for Lawyers: How to Put Your Contact Information on Your Lock Screen
It’s a very obvious idea that had never occurred to me until I saw this video. I have my contact information printed on a label on the back of my iPad, but why not put it right on the lock screen, so anyone who finds my iPad will see who it belongs to as soon…
Best Client Call of the Week
It is only Wednesday, so I suppose I could receive a call that would top this one, but I’m pretty confident this will be the winner. I received an inquiry by email, seeking representation on a breach of contract matter. The email mentioned that the contract was only two pages, so I responded that if…
Unhappiest Job in America: Associate Attorney
The website CareerBliss.com has compiled a list of the happiest and unhappiest jobs in America, and found that associate attorney is the absolute worst. Based on a survey of 65,000 employees, which examined such factors as relationship with boss, work environment, job resources, compensation, daily tasks and control over work, associate attorney rated just 2.89…
Damning With Faint Praise – The Ongoing Saga of Bell v. Igal Feibush
Can’t a guy get a few minutes to enjoy his victory? As discussed in greater detail here, we forged an important precedent as regards the application of Penal Code § 496(c). Our client loaned the defendant $202,500 that was never repaid, and in addition to suing for breach of contract and fraud, I added a…
If You Lie Down With Dogs You Wake Up With Fleas — Rule #1 for a Satisfying Law Practice
My book on starting your own firm is oh so close to publication, and a call from opposing counsel today reminded me of the ramifications of violating Rule 1 from that book. Rule 1 is a lesson they never teach in law school; one that many attorneys never learn. In civil litigation, no one is…
A New Way to (Possibly) Add to Your Bottom Line — Write A Bonus Into Your Fee Agreement
I had nothing to do with this case, but an attorney friend of mine alerted me to this very interesting issue arising from an attorney fee application. Here is the scenario. A party won a breach of contract action and was entitled to attorney fees under the contract in question. As you are no doubt…