Marketing a Law Firm with E-mail

Pound for pound, e-mail remains one of the most cost effective ways for marketing a law firm and for attorneys to market their services to both existing clients and prospects.  Even though we all get way too many e-mails each day, open rates and response rates are generally consistent, so even a small response rate can prove valuable.

We like e-mail marketing for newsletters and alerts because the medium enables attorneys to showcase their expertise in a clean, professional manner.  It enables attorneys to stay in touch with their clients in an unobtrusive way while also marketing specific services.  We think it’s a winner for almost every lawyer and legal marketing campaign.

We can assist with design, content creation and distribution as well as list development if necessary.  And e-mail distribution software continues to evolve in complexity and measurement capabilities, so it is easy to review results and hone messaging.

Frequency is Key.  We always say that the toughest e-mail newsletter (or print newsletter) is the second one.  When we first start discussing a newsletter, we have a bunch of ideas for content but then quickly realize that if we are on a monthly production schedule, we will need to have more content in just 30 days – rather than the mounds of ideas we have been sitting on for years.  We work with lawyers to develop a manageable distribution schedule so that your audience is hit frequently and effectively.  Building frequency of communications is key, as most firms don’t have a budget for mass market advertising.  Attorneys need to hit their audience frequently and consistently when marketing a law firm.

Content should be unique.  E-mail newsletters, blasts and alerts can be more advertising related or practice specific, but they must be unique.   We create custom content that matches the style of the firm – no cookie cutter stuff.  It takes more time and costs a bit more, but it will pay off as the firm or lawyer will be speaking to clients and prospects with a unique voice.

Does size matter?  List size, that is.  We published a blog post a few years ago that talked about social media marketing and you have to “Start by Starting.”  While your e-mail list may be small at the outset, we can help you grow it and build your network.  Size matters, but not as much as you think.

Contact us if you would like to learn more about using e-mail as part of your legal marketing efforts.