We're continuing our series on things you can do to improve your law practice economics. Today, the topic is getting more clients with marketing and specifically what we think is the #1 web site for terrific marketing tips and ideas --- and it's unusually entertaining too.
The #1 unconventional marketing tv show isn't on tv at all. It's on the web and you can watch it there or download the podcast. In fact, if you don't watch it regularly, you are missing out on great ideas and tons of tips that are free every single week. I subscribe to the iTunes podcast so it downloads automatically whenever I hook up my iPhone. Then on the drive to court (or anywhere else), I plug in the iPhone and start listening to the podcasts.
But these podcasts are so good that I invariably end up watching them at my desk on their website too and making notes on the tips I get out of it for future implementation.
The podcast is called "Help, My Business Sucks" and the web site is
http://www.helpmybusiness.com/. Now I like to think my business doesn't quite suck, but with a url name like that, and all the terrific ideas and content on the site, it's no wonder that it gets lots of attention.
Hosted by the admittedly unconventional, but vastly entertaining and lively, Andrew Lock, I heartily recommend that every business person (he calls them entrepreneurs) subscribe to the podcast for easy listening and viewing. But don't forget to visit the website, where you'll find even more info regularly posted and just as regularly updated.
Lock is, quite simply, the single most effective guru in marketing today. And he's fun to listen to.
The site is loaded with tons of valuable content that can kick start your marketing effort or really zoom it up, depending on where you are in the marketing process. There's so much on the site that I can't cover it all here, so you just have to trust me and head over there to see for yourself.
For instance, yesterday I downloaded his publication "7 Killer Methods for Marketing Without Money." It was free, so how could I go wrong? Dig around on the site and you'll find it too, but don't forget to sign up for his free tv show updates, so you don't miss anything.
So, how good were his 7 Killer Methods for Marketing? Well when I read through Andrew's 7 Killer Methods, I smiled when I suddenly realized that they were some of the very things that I was already doing. I just didn't view them as marketing methods but, as Andrew says, "marketing is everything and everything is marketing."
I can vouch for the accuracy of his 7 Killer Methods. They work, folks.
He is dead on with these methods and, best of all, they are free. All it takes is a little of your time and if you do it every day, it will definitely help your business get more clients.
But for lawyers, I'd add this tip as Killer Method #8 to Andrew's list: get on
http://www.avvo.com/ and regularly answer the public questions posted there. It's a great way to show your expertiese to the very people who are looking for legal advice. You can even write articles (for both potential clients and potential referring attorneys) and publish them on the Avvo site. Also, you can limit yourself to answering questions just in your geographical area so you can get maximum impact and value for your time.
Okay, so the point is we can all use a little marketing help from time to time and Andrew Lock is one of the best resources out there. If you want to hear the best tips every single week, this is the web site you want to go to and the podcast you want to listen to so you don't waste your time or your money.
http://www.helpmybusiness.com/ does just that. And it'll help your business too.
Ron Burdge
Helping attorneys help clients, every day.