Attorney Marketing Blog

I recently received an impressive free offer from Wag! – a dog walking company. A week before I needed to schedule a walk for my pup, I created an account and was excited to find out that the first walk was free. But even better than that, Wag! offers to send you a free lockbox with two combination codes – one for the compartment with the key and the other for the lock handle to place securely around the doorknob. They priority mailed it in a custom box, and I received it two days before my scheduled walk. I was beyond happy because placing a key under my doormat in an apartment complex is just asking to get burgled.

Having a unique and valuable free offer can really set your law firm apart from the competition. We often get blinded by our own biases and knowledge, but we need to remind ourselves that the average person doesn’t know much about what makes a good attorney and will have a difficult time selecting one. The free lockbox is what made me choose Wag! over another dog walking company, Rover. By leaving an impression on the potential client when they are still in the “gathering information” phase of their buying process is a way to be remembered and trusted when it comes time for the buying decision.

Why Attorneys Need to Give Away Free Information

Taking the time to record a webinar or write a report/book takes away your valuable time and will cost money to create… So why are you giving it away for free?

Thousands upon thousands of leads do not convert into clients because law firms do not have follow-up. Or, they do have follow-up in the form of a forgotten Excel sheet that sometimes people remember to check and sometimes they don’t. Follow-up marketing is essential for converting leads, and exchanging your free information for an email or mailing address is valuable. (Especially a mailing address so that you can impress them with direct mail.) By acquiring their information, you can now automatically put that person into a follow-up sequence and significantly increase your chances of converting him or her as a client.

Warning: Not Every Free Offer is Effective

educational-based marketing and free offers law firm attorneyWhile the offers are monetarily free for the consumer, they are exchanging information to receive the free item. If they want access to a digital offer, they must provide their email address. Similarly, if they want a physical copy of the free offers. The exchange of information for free content is called selling free. It is still considered selling because people do value their data, and you’re offer has to be enticing enough that they are willing to exchange information. Understanding that their email and mailing addresses are private, and people will not give out that information lightly, you can craft an offer that is informative and eye-catching to your ideal client.

3 Potent Free Offers

• Webinar or video series. There are numerous benefits to using multi-media in your marketing. Filming and editing a webinar may take a few precious hours to put together, but once it is completed you have a valuable marketing asset that you can use for years to come. If you do not have a marketing director, you can hire a freelancer to come in and film and edit the video for you.

• Report. We see the most success with attorneys who use education-based marketing, which is leveraging knowledge as a tool to acquire more leads and clients. Offering a free report increases your level of authority and credibility on the subject matter. A free report needs to engage, captivate, and motivate your ideal client.

• Book. Writing a book isn’t as challenging or time-consuming as you may think. The goal with this book isn’t to become a New York Times Best Seller, the goal is to provide high-quality easy to understand information that a potential client will read. An effective book only needs to be 50-60 pages and can be double spaced and in a 14-point font. The easiest way to achieve a book is by pulling the information you’ve already written from your free report.

Notice how free consultations aren’t listed. While free consultations are better than nothing, it is truly not unique. The vast majority of law firms offer a free consultation, so the offer does nothing to help you stand out among the competition. In fact, some members of Great Legal Marketing stand out by charging for a consultation, further validating their expert status on the subject.

Ben Glass

Ben is a nationally recognized expert in attorney marketing and the owner of Great Legal Marketing.

Most attorneys start their firms assuming that being a really, really good attorney should, in and of itself, be a marketing advantage. Those attorneys believe that joining a whole bunch of committees and putting their name in lawyer directories is “marketing,” and they never bother to ask if there is a better way.

Attorneys are catching on, however, and those who succeed learn to leverage their current resources to create effective (and ethical) marketing. What they discover isn’t a magic pill or silver bullet but a different approach to marketing that your competitors haven’t considered.

If you want a peek at what successful attorneys use to market their practice, the HERO Starter Kit is your logical next step.

We’ve put together a FREE (and potentially life-changing) kit for solo and small firm attorneys that will show you a better way to reach potential clients and get them excited to call your firm. Request your HERO Starter Kit from Great Legal Marketing!

Request Your HERO Starter Kit Today!