Marketing Ideas for Lawyers

Looking for marketing ideas for your law firm? You should be. In this “round-up” I’ve gathered some of my favorite tips from around the web. Disclaimer, some of them were written by yours truly (which might explain my partiality toward them). Have some favorite legal posts, articles, resources or quotes? Share ’em in the comments below.

How To Get More Business: 25 Tips On Marketing The Small Law Firm (Olmstead & Associates) – Dr. John W. Olmstead lists 25 helpful marketing tips for small law firms. Especially noteworthy: What do you want to be known and remembered for?

Marketing Magic for Lawyers (Originally published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal August 5, 2000 – Vol. 71; No. 23) – Jim Calloway explains one of the most important distinctions in client development: Marketing is not advertising.

Twenty Marketing Tips for Solo and Small Firm Lawyers (ABA Law Practice Today May 2004 or November 2005) – Larry Bodine says, “Get out of your office and start meeting people.”

50 Ways to Market Your Practice (ABA Journal Magazine October 2007) – Margaret Graham Tebo lists tips compiled by Terry Berger from ABA’s Solosez discussion group and elsewhere. One of my favorites: 30. Get to know your client’s business.

100 Law Marketing Ideas and Strategies (FindLaw March 26, 2008) – FindLaw shares some tips from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Some applicable tips on media relations, client service, networking and word of mouth. A good idea: Join or organize a breakfast club with other professionals (not in your field) to discuss business and network referrals.

“Do-It-Yourself” Marketing for Small Law Firms (Legal Marketing Reader September 2009) – John O. Cunningham shares some inexpensive ways for small firm lawyers to imitate marketing strategies of larger firms. One of my favorites: 6. Do Client Surveys.

Top Ten Marketing Tips for First and Second Year Associates (The Remsen Group 2010) – John Remsen, Jr. instructs young lawyers to hang out at the bar and find a good mentor.

Do-It-Yourself Marketing: Tips for Solo and Small Firm Lawyers (ABA Law Practice Magazine January/February 2011 Solo and Small Firm Special Issue) – Michele R.J. Allinotte discusses firm logos, social networking, blogging, SEO and traditional strategies.

11 Smart Marketing Tips for Lawyers (Erickson Marketing 2011) – Donna Erickson encourages lawyers to update their marketing plans and follow through with objectives.

18 Law Firm Marketing Ideas (Lawyerist September 19, 2011) – I share some law firm marketing ideas that might not strike you as marketing.

100 Internet Marketing (SEO, Inbound) Tips for Law Firms (September 26, 2012) – I posted 100 SEO tips for law firms. Keep your eye out for 100 more this year.

Really Good Marketing Ideas! (.pdf) (Attorney At Work January 2013) – From the guide: There is no brand-new super-duper, easy-peasy way to gather new clients. No button to push. No switch to flip. No pill to take. Sorry, the basics remain the basics: Do really good work. Get a little bit famous. Get acquainted with people who can hire you do the kind of work you want to do (And with people who know those people). Offer to help.

Local Search Legal Marketing Ideas (Avvo’s Lawyernomics Blog June 17, 2013) – With the help of Mike Ramsey, I provide some recommendations for lawyers to attract clients from local search results. From the post: Ultimately, effective local search marketing depends, to a large extent, on your authentic participation in your local community.

50 simple ways you can market your practice (ABA Journal Magazine July 2013 Issue) – Stephanie Francis Ward advises attorneys to be genuine—and helpful, even if your actions may not offer immediate business.

Outbound vs Inbound Legal Marketing – With Mark Britton’s help, I distinguish between the concepts of outbound and inbound legal marketing. Warning: Michigan football reference.

$500, Your Law Firm and SEO (Lawyerist August 21, 2013) – I respond to a question in the LAB about whether solos can really compete with big SEO budgets. From the post: In my opinion, your best SEO investment at this budget level would be to pay someone to fix technical SEO site issues (i.e. fixing HTML problems, improving site speed, etc) offer consulting and provide regular support and maintenance.

Fixing Your Law Firm’s Web Marketing (Avvo’s Lawyernomics Blog October 23, 2013) – Not to dwell too much on web marketing, but misunderstandings about online legal marketing are rampant. This post should help you change your approach.

Marketing Tips Archives (Legal Marketing Blog) – Tom Kane’s legal marketing blog is full of really great tips. Pay particular attention to his marketing tips posts.

Idea Garage Sale: 2013 Leftovers Edition (The Non-Billable Hour January, 2014) – Matt Homann cleans out his link closet with a few gems from 2013. Check out his: Ten Things to Do Every Workday.