People hate marketing. A lot of people hate lawyers. Put them together, and just about everyone hates legal marketing. Is it possible to create legal marketing that people actually love?

When people think of legal marketing, they tend to think about crappy lawyer TV ads, billboards, websites, etc.

And let's face it, for the most part, legal marketing has come to deserve much of this negative reputation.

The ads tend to be ego-driven celebrations of how hard the lawyer fights and how long she's been practicing.

They tend not to focus on the issues faced by their audience of potential clients.

And it's very rare to find legal marketing that actually provides something of unique value to potential clients.

So, it's little surprise that most legal marketing is just plain crappy.

But does it have to be this way?

I first heard the phrase, "Marketing that people love," from Hubspot.

I'm not sure whether or not they coined it.

It's a great mantra though.

Think about that for a second. Marketing that people love.

What might that look like? Is it even possible for a law firm to create marketing that people might actually love?

Hubspot compiled 29 tips from industry experts and put them in a slide deck:

You might read some of these tips and quotes and think that they simply don't apply to marketing a law practice. And that's what I'm hear here to argue with you about.

Great legal marketing makes your clients feel like they're part of something special. Huh?

You might argue that, "my clients don't care about feeling special, they just want results."

And of course, you're right, clients want results.

But you're probably overlooking how important their feelings really are to your marketing.

People tend to talk about things that are exceptional. That means both exceptionally good and exceptionally bad.

There are a multitude of ways you can make your clients feel like they're part of something exceptional. I'm not going to try and reproduce them all here.

The point is that you should be constantly thinking of ways to make clients feel exceptional. Then, ask them whether or not they feel like they're part of something special in working with you.

Your relationship with your client is only as good as the last time you interacted with them. This one you should know already. What is the source of most attorney grievances? Lack of communication.

What is your process for maintaining regular interactions with clients? Do you even have one? Hint: Sending your bill doesn't count.

You must show people that you genuinely care about them.

Here's a question for you: Do you genuinely care about people?

If not, perhaps you're in the wrong line of work. How can you possible show people that you genuinely care if you really don't? You can't.

And if you do care, it's likely to show, at least some of the time. But sometimes, you have to go out of your way to show people how much you care about them.

People don't fall in love with law firms, websites and ads, they fall in love with people.

You've probably come across a lot of "stuff" online about building a brand, logo design and website marketing. I leave it to you to decide how much weight each of these deserve at your practice. However, I would suggest that none of them will ever be as important as how your clients feel about you (and other people they encounter at your firm).

What marketing do people thank you for?

Hopefully, at some point in your career, someone has thanked you for something professionally. What was it? That's your best marketing.

Has anyone ever thanked you for writing something (i.e. left a comment, sent you an email or twitter reply)?

Listen for this feedback. You might not have realized it then, but you created marketing that at least one person loved.

Don't be afraid to show your personality.

Personality is a huge part of making legal marketing that people love.

It goes to authenticity.

It goes to character.

It goes to trust.

These are some of the building blocks of relationships.

Don't market yourself in a way that doesn't feel like you.

Too many lawyers think that they can purchase great marketing in a box.

That's not marketing that people will love.

The truth is, if you're providing excellent service to your clients, showing them that you genuinely care about them and regularly interacting with them in ways that demonstrate that you really do care, you're probably already creating legal marketing that people love.

Next it's time to find ways to let other people know about what you've been up to.

Have a "legal marketing that people love," story? Feel free to share below.