Guilty is not only a jury verdict. It is how I feel, as a legal marketing consultant who has let blog posts and other marketing initiatives slide in a recent rush of client work.

Of course, it is good to be busy. But a marketer with no marketing does not set a good example. Mea culpa!

The pressure to start or re-start a business development is enough to drive one to procrastination. Common questions confront the campaign sponsor, like where to start, what to promote, and how to reach the right audience.

If you also are facing the daunting task of launching a new legal marketing program, here are three basic strategies that may be helpful.

Legal Marketing Strategy #1: Pick a Niche

Trying to be a “jack of all trades, master of none” is risky business in today’s legal market. Consider instead concentrating on two to three carefully selected target markets. This approach can help the motivated lawyer to build a reputation within a promising industry. As an attorney writes and speaks on particular topics, they can become known as a thought leader in their field.

Specialization also serves as a defensive career strategy. Gaining in-depth knowledge in specific areas of the law will help to minimize the risk of providing poor service in an unfamiliar practice area.

Niche markets we have selected at Legal Expert Connections, for example, include insurance defense marketing, employment law defense marketing, and content marketing. We also serve as an outsourced legal marketing department for small- to mid-sized law firms that do not have an in-house marketing department.

Picking a niche will help you to evaluate potential clients, save time by streamlining the proposal process, and deliver better quality legal services.

Legal Marketing Strategy #2: Educate Rather Than Sell

Educating your audience is best accomplished through speaking, writing, press coverage, newsletters, and client alerts. When you offer true value to prospective clients in the form of legal insight, you create an attraction that pulls your audience to you and invites natural business development.

Encourage prospects to step forward by emphasizing in all your educational materials that each client’s situation is unique. Encourage the prospect to contact you via email or a phone call to talk about how you might be of service to them.

Legal Marketing Strategy #3: 
Create a Structure to Maintain Your Marketing Effort

As I know first-hand, it is very hard to maintain an active marketing program when you are busy. The challenge is to create a process that will keep the marketing initiative moving forward.

One effective way to do this is to establish a law firm marketing committee that meets on at least a monthly basis. When multiple committee members share joint responsibility for business development results, there is a greater likelihood that the effort can be sustained.

Involve non-lawyers in the process also, so that some contributors are less susceptible to the conflicting demands of court and client deadlines. Many times an office manager takes on the role of coordinating marketing campaigns.

At outside marketing agency can also help to keep the firm’s marketing efforts moving forward, particularly if they offer the ability to create content, compile a list of targeted prospects, and package educational content into attractive graphic designs.

Get Ideas for Your Legal Marketing Campaign

Contact law firm marketing consultant Margaret Grisdela at 561-266-1030 to discuss the legal marketing strategies that work best for your law firm. Click on the link to connect with her on LinkedIn.

Remember, marketing is a process and not an event! Have fun.