There are many questions that need to be answered when embarking on a law firm newsletter marketing campaign, in a series of blog posts over the next few weeks we will provide our answers to some of the most commonly asked questions raised by lawyers and practice managers.
No doubt you will have questions of your own and we would love to hear from you and to help you answer them so please feel free to email us with any questions you have.
So let’s dive in…
Who should receive your newsletters?
You should send newsletters to your all of your clients (I know, it sounds obvious really).
That is, not only your current clients, but clients you have done work for in the past- your former clients. Don’t forget people who refer work to you and others in the firm, as well as family friends, people you know in other business and social circles.
Ultimately you want to build your database so it contains as many clients and potential referrers as possible. You should take active steps to build on its current size. Naturally exclude anyone you do not want to do work for.
Remember that newsletters are shareable so that people you know can pass them on to other people they know who might also be interested in the information.
Why is marketing using newsletters so successful?
Newsletters create a communication channel with your clients and this enables you to maintain regular contact with your clients and referrers.
In spite of doing the best possible legal work for your clients, providing legal services can be an ad hoc process and it may be difficult to develop lasting relationships. Clients may forget you if you don’t keep in contact with them, they may not remember you, the name of the firm, its location and so on.
You will enhance an existing relationship or start to develop new relationships and you will be appreciated if you consistently keep clients informed about relevant, interesting and meaningful legal issues in an understandable way.
As a trusted adviser, you are keeping your clients informed about the law and for that you will be remembered and appreciated.
What style should your newsletter take?
Newsletters need to be practical, interesting and engaging. They need to make sense to the reader. Forget legalese and formality.
Your clients just want to know what they need to know that’s new, or to be reminded about. If the client thinks you are ‘talking over their heads’ they may think you are being deliberately arrogant.
A newsletter is not a formal advice and it should not be written that way.
The best blog posts and newsletter articles have interesting headings that attract attention, the headings help describe and enhance the subject matter, then they deal with a few points- not in an over complicated way- and draw the article together at the end often with a summary or conclusion.
Articles should be visually appealing and contain relevant photos or images. It should say something about your firm and the way that you want that style to reflect the image you want to project about the firm. You don’t want that to be dated, old fashioned or behind-the-times.
Who should be the sender named in the newsletter emails?
As the newsletter is an ongoing conversation, it should be personalised and come from an individual rather than the firm.
We recommend that the firm’s newsletters be sent from a senior person within the firm, rather than a junior employee or a sterile email address such as ‘info@’ or ‘accounts@’.
Can newsletters help me in other ways?
Newsletters are a great communication tool so you are able to let your clients know about special events, functions etc.
We find smart law firms promote other activities they are involved in via their newsletters. For example the firm might be running a seminar on a particular issue, for example Family Law, and so it is sensible to let your clients know if such an event is upcoming- they might want to come or tell their friends. You may be offering a ‘special’ on say Powers of Attorney and can let all your clients know by telling them in your newsletter.
It’s also worth remembering that while posting a new article on your website is a great idea it is not very useful if nobody knows it is there, newsletters are also a great way of letting your clients know about new things like new articles, a website upgrade, changes in the law that might affect them, a social event….the list is endless.
Conclusion
Marketing is all about communication and successful law firm marketing requires the right tools to communicate effectively. Newsletters are a great tool to help you to get started with your marketing as they enable your firm to communicate helpful information to your clients on a regular basis.
If you need help getting started with your newsletter marketing you will find more information here, you can send us an email or read part 2 of this post here.
