Marketing Articles

MARKETING SECRETS OF A POWERFUL WEB SITE

by Trey Ryder

SECRET #1: Your web site should contain information that achieves the six essential elements for marketing success: Credibility. Differences. Interaction. Urgency. Commitment. Loyalty.

SECRET #2: Your web site should be one place you display your entire marketing message. Your message should include

(1) a powerful title,
(2) substantive content identifying your prospect's problem, proving it exists, identifying the solution, proving it works, and building yourself into the solution,
(3) advice on how to hire a lawyer in the area of law you want to promote,
(4) a call to action spelling out the action you want your prospect to take,
(5) print articles that support your message,
(6) your photo and a detailed biography,
(7) articles you've written (published or not),
(8) results you have achieved or transactions you have completed for clients,
(9) testimonials from past clients (if permitted by your bar's rules of ethics),
(10) letters of recommendation from colleagues and professionals (if permitted by ethics rules),
(11) references by name, or an offer to provide them,
(12) a detailed list of services you offer,
(13) a services letter that explains to prospects how to hire your services,
(14) the many ways prospects benefit from hiring you,
(15) a list of your competitive advantages identifying how you differ from all other lawyers,
(16) a list of your prospect's objectives, which they can mark by priority and return to you by fax or email, or bring them to their first meeting with you, and
(17) a written schedule of fees.

SECRET #3: Your web site should contain in-depth information about the area(s) of law in which you want to attract clients. Each field of law needs its own marketing message. Make sure you provide enough educational information so your prospect concludes you are a respected authority in that field of law.

SECRET #4: Your web site should answer every question your prospective client might ask. The more information you provide, the more comfortable your prospects feel. Don't worry about your message being too long. If prospects are genuinely interested in your services, they will read even a long message, providing the message is well written and relevant to their needs. Long marketing messages work, not because they're long, but because they're complete.

SECRET #5: Your web site should offer reliable information that will involve prospects for long periods of time. You want prospects to see you as an authority. Also, you want them to see you as the only source of information they need. The more information you offer, the more prospects rely on you, trust you, and feel they know you.

SECRET #6: Your web site should offer articles with attractive titles on your site's top level. Compelling titles seize your prospects' attention and draw them into your site. If you don't put these articles on the top level, your prospects might never see them because they might not navigate deeper into your site. So put articles on the top level where the titles will seize your prospects' attention immediately.

SECRET #7: You should put "calls to action" at many points around your site. A call to action invites your prospect to contact you for one or many reasons. Put a call to action at the end of every article or page on your web site because that one article may be the only article your prospect has time to read.

SECRET #8: Your web site should provide several reasons for prospects to interact with you through submit forms. You can use these forms to invite your prospect to (1) request articles not on your web site, (2) ask to be added to your mailing list, (3) request a copy of your seminar schedule, (4) ask you a question, (5) ask you to contact him, (6) request a case evaluation based on facts he sends, and so on.

SECRET #9: Your web site should offer prospects many methods through which they can contact you. Some prospects prefer to make their first contact by e-mail. Others prefer the telephone. And yet others might prefer to send a fax. Make sure you offer prospects many ways to get in touch with you because you never know which method will most appeal to a particular prospect.

SECRET #10: Your web site should project a dignified, professional image. Your web site projects an image, even if you don't want it to. Elements that affect your firm's image include your choice of colors, wallpaper textures, fonts, lines, designs and photographs. I encourage you to hire a professional designer who can help ensure that your web site projects the image you want.

SECRET #11: For your convenience, your web site should need only minimal maintenance on an ongoing basis. If your web site requires heavy maintenance, you'll soon grow tired of the time commitment and cost. Design your web site so it requires only occasional updating of things such as seminar dates, recent issues of your newsletter, and so forth. Otherwise, your web site will become so much trouble that your staff will grow to resent it and you'll lose the many benefits it could provide.

SECRET #12: Your web site should reach all of your audiences. Don't put information on your web site that appeals only to prospective clients. You can also post information that will appeal to current clients, referral sources, editors and even vendors. I have a link on my web site for editors and reporters. And while it doesn't generate a lot of traffic, occasionally an editor calls me in response to this information.

HOW TO GET PROSPECTS TO VISIT YOUR WEB SITE IF SEARCH ENGINES FAIL YOU

by Trey Ryder

With search engines, you face two problems, similar to those you face with yellow page ads.

PROBLEM #1: The lawyers who get the first few positions usually get the inquiries. The remaining lawyers are left paying for web sites that produce little.

PROBLEM #2: Even if you rank high, your search results are mixed among those of your competitors, so prospects can easily get distracted and miss your site altogether.

Fortunately, you can bring prospects to your web site without search engines and without the potential for confusion. Here's how:

STEP #1: Load your web site with educational articles that have teaser titles. People are drawn to helpful information written in list form. For example, I use 17 Fatal Marketing Mistakes Lawyers Make, Marketing Secrets of Superstar Lawyers, 11 Brochure Mistakes Lawyers Make, and many more. When you add educational articles, besides creating a desirable web site, your articles increase your relevance in search engine rankings.

STEP #2: Invite prospects to visit your site where they can read your articles. Offer the articles in every type of communication, including

-- Classified Ads. Invite prospects to your web site through classified ads. Your entire ad could be as simple as this: Discover 17 Fatal Marketing Mistakes Lawyers Make at www.treyryder.com. Or make it more attractive by including two or more titles: Discover How to Build Your Law Practice With Dignity and 11 Brochure Mistakes Lawyers Make at www.treyryder.com.

-- Display Ads. If you want more space than a classified ad -- or think your prospects may not read classifieds -- design a small display ad. Make powerful use of black and white graphics to seize your reader's attention. In addition, include a closely cropped photo of your face with good eye contact and a warm, engaging smile. (Nothing draws a reader's eyes to your ad faster than your eyes looking back at the reader.) Depending on the size of your ad, you could include titles of many articles. Each title acts like a fishhook in the lake. You can't be sure which bait will cause your prospect to bite, but all it takes is one good title to motivate him to visit your web site.

-- Yellow page ads. In your yellow page copy, offer articles that your prospect can read on your web site.

-- News releases to the media. Write a news release about a key issue in your area of law or the impact of a recent court decision. At the end of the news release, announce that you have published three articles listing each by title. Then tell the reader he can call your office to receive free copies by mail, or visit your web site at www.yourdomain.com.

--Newsletter. In every issue, invite prospects to read articles on your web site. You might say something like: Yours Free! Discover 15 Business Card Sins Lawyers Commit, Marketing Secrets of Superstar Lawyers, and How to Market Other Practice Areas Within Your Firm -- at www.treyryder.com.

-- Seminars. In your seminar materials, include a flier that lists articles on your web site.

-- Referral Sources. Send a mailing to your pst clients and referral sources alerting them to articles on your web site -- and inviting them to direct friends and colleagues to your site.

--Referral Card. Create a referral brochure with a reply card on which you offer various articles. Say that for a faster response, they can read these articles on your web site.

-- Feature Articles. At the end of every article you submit for publication, include an author's note that offers your articles, something like this: Trey Ryder specializes in education-based marketing for lawyers. He offers the following three articles at www.treyryder.com: 17 Fatal Marketing Mistakes Lawyers Make, High Pressure vs. Dignity Depends on How You Use the Three Cons, and 19 Secrets That Increase Response to Ads.

-- E-mail Signature. Consider offering an article and including its title in the signature to your e-mail. You might include something like: Visit www.yourdomain.com to read 17 Fatal Marketing Mistakes Lawyers Make. Your URL by itself may not motivate a prospect to go to your web site. But when you alert him to an important article that discusses one of his current problems, he has a good reason to visit your site.

-- Envelope Insert With Outgoing Mail. Prepare an insert about 1/3 the size of an 8.5" x 11" sheet that announces new articles on your web site. Include this in all outgoing correspondence and, on the insert, invite the recipient to pass it along to a friend or colleague.

In addition to offering articles, you can also use the above methods to invite prospects to your web site so they can (1) ask you a question by e-mail, (2) send you facts about their claim for a case evaluation, (3) subscribe to your firm's newsletter, (4) register for your firm's seminar, (5) read your latest newsletter, (6) request a consultation with you by phone or in person, (7) read comments from past clients - whatever you think will motivate them to visit your site.

Summary: Don't depend only on search engines to bring prospects to your web site. Also, don't depend on your web address alone to motivate prospects to visit. Instead, make your prospects an irresistible offer -- something they can't refuse -- which they'll discover on your web site. Then put the offer in ads, newsletters and announcements. This will erase the confusion factor from search engines and increase the number of qualified prospects going to your site.

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