The hourglass concept says that the job of law firm marketing is to not only get prospects to know, like and trust you, but then to turn that into try, buy, repeat and refer. Here is an infographic from his website on this interesting and relevant marketing concept:

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Free CD: Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices

Get your free CD on Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices by #1 Best-Selling Author And Nationally Recognized Law Firm Marketing Expert Stephen Fairley, and listen as he reveals A Proven System To Generate More and Better Referrals, Find New Clients Fast, and Fill Your Law Practice! Discover:

• How 1 piece of simple technology in your practice will drastically increase your communication with prospects, clients and referral sources – resulting in a major revenue boost
• 5 ways to market and position yourself as a recognized expert
• How 2 Attorneys promoted their law firms to over 100,000 people for less than $100 in 2 hours
• The 1 item you must absolutely have to create a Million Dollar Law Practice (hint: Not having this will almost guarantee your failure!)
• 6 BIGGEST secrets to generating more and better referrals
• How to create a proven network of 30 new Strategic Referral Partners in the next 90 days

To obtain your free CD, click here now.

• Building referrals through purposeful relationships
• Automating your law firm marketing system
• Leveraging the power of the Internet to attract highly qualified clients
• Maximizing your return on investment for all your marketing dollars

Steve Jackson, an estate planning attorney from North Carolina (www.stevenandrewjackson.com/), attended our Orlando Rainmaker Retreat last weekend – for the third time! Here’s why he keeps coming back for more:

If you are interested in building a lifestyle law practice through effective law firm marketing, then come to one of our upcoming Rainmaker Retreats:

March 30-31, 2012 – San Diego, CA

April 27-28, 2012 – Chicago, IL

If you want to learn more about the Rainmaker Retreat and why it is a proven legal marketing system that has helped over 8,000 attorneys find more and better clients, then register now for one of our one-hour complimentary teleseminars:

Friday, March 2

11am PT | 12pm MT | 1pm CT | 2pm ET

Wednesday, March 14

12pm PT | 1pm MT | 2pm CT | 3pm ET

Join us and learn why the Rainmaker Retreat is the one law firm marketing boot camp you cannot afford to miss!

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Get All the Law Firm Marketing Strategies You Need to Create A 7-figure Law Practice with Rainmaker In A Box: Volume 2!

Newly released! Rainmaker in a Box: Volume 2 includes:

8 Proven Steps for More & Better Referrals


Discover the proven step-by-step system used to double your referrals from current and former clients and how to build a network of strategic referral partners. Top attorneys have used this exact system to double their referrals in 6 months or less!

7 Strategies to Recession Proof Your Law Firm


Watch and learn as I walk you through the specific strategies top lawyers are using to increase their revenues in this tough economy-and it doesn’t include reducing their fees!

6 Keys to Unlocking the Secrets of Social Media


Social media has emerged as the fastest way to build a massive platform of prospects! I pull back the curtain and let you in on little known secrets of how attorneys are generating dozens of leads every month from social media.

5 Core Components for Highly Successful Websites & Blogs 


My interview with nationally recognized personal injury attorney John Bisnar on how his law firm uses search engine optimization and internet marketing to drive tens of thousands of unique visitors every month to his 30 websites and 10 blogs. Discover proven techniques for converting website visitors into paying clients.

Data DVD: 
Includes all 4 PowerPoint slides for all 4 presentations. We recommend you print all these off and take notes on them as you experience these information-packed DVDs!

Click here now to order!

To create a impactful free report, follow these steps:

1. Identify your prospect’s point of pain. The best reports provide a solution to a problem, so you need to identify what problems are plaguing your prospects – i.e., their “point of pain” – and then provide them with a solution.

2. Give some secrets away. You don’t have to give it all away, but entice your readers with a few secrets so they feel they have something of true value. Secrets are another way of demonstrating your experience and expertise, and that you know what you’re talking about.

3. Be brief. Your report should be 3-10 pages long and should start with a brief summary.

4. Make it attractive. The layout should be easy to read with appropriate graphics and saved as a PDF file for easy download.

Once you create your free report, you can now use it to:

Generate leads quickly. Blogs are great lead-generators, but it takes time –usually around six months or so – to build a following. A free report can help you generate leads more quickly.

Build your e-newsletter database. Offer your free report on your website and blog in exchange for prospects signing up for your e-newsletter.

Grow your social media following. Offer your free report in exchange for “Likes” on your Facebook page. Create a landing page for your free report and promote the link to it on Twitter and LinkedIn.

For some examples of how we use free reports in our marketing efforts, click on these links:

"Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" E-book

Free Report: How to Use Article Marketing to Increase Your Google Ranking & Control Your Online Reputation

Free Report: 4 Myths That Keep Attorneys From Building A Referral-Based Practice

FREE REPORT: How to Use Blogs as a Secret Weapon in Your Online Arsenal

FREE REPORT: 8 Reasons Small Firms & Solos Should Publish an E-newsletter PLUS 3 Steps to Get Started

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Feb. 29 Webinar: Unlocking the Secrets of Social Media for Attorneys

On Wednesday, Feb. 29, Stephen Fairley will present Unlocking the Secrets of Social Media for Attorneys, a one-hour complimentary webinar sponsored by Avvo beginning at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET.

Social media is no longer a fad. It's a fundamental shift in the way we communicate and it is quickly becoming a powerful and cost effective tool to market your law firm! Every time you turn on the television companies are asking you to "like them on Facebook" or "follow them on Twitter"—what does that mean and why should you do it?  

We have all heard the startling statistics: 



• Facebook recently announced they now have over 845 Million active users! 

• LinkedIn adds another 1 Million users every 6 days! 

• Over 200 Million people have set up a Twitter account!
• YouTube surpassed over 490 Million unique visitors per month! 



As a law firm, should you “jump on the bandwagon” and get in before your competitors do or should you “wait and see” if social media really takes hold? If you wait, what will you miss and how do you know if it's right for you? What are the risks you need to be aware of? What about the ethical rules and regulations? How can you get started? Where do you begin? How much time, energy and money should we devote to social media? How do you measure a return on investment?  What expectations should you have?

To register for this free Avvo webinar on Unlocking the Secrets of Social Media for Attorneys, click here.

Take a quick look at our Rainmaker Retreat website and you’ll see lots of video. When we build a client’s website, we always try to add video features – because even though attorneys may love words, your potential clients love video, and hosting your video clips on YouTube is an excellent way to state your case to those potential clients as well as improve your search engine ranking (YouTube is owned by Google).

Plus, it’s easy and economical to do. So whether or not you have video features on your website, you can create a YouTube channel for your practice that will do double duty for you, persuading potential clients why they should hire you, and boosting your Google ranking. Here’s how:

Pick your specialty. You’ve heard me say it before, but it bears repeating: one of the biggest legal marketing mistakes attorneys make is generalization. You need to promote yourself as a specialist (in the marketing sense) – you’re a divorce lawyer, or a car accident attorney, or an estate planning lawyer. Choose 3-4 topics within your area of specialization and develop informational talking points (no more than 3-4 minutes each) that potential clients will find useful. And remember, you are not shooting a commercial – make it interesting and informational.

Shoot your videos. Your clips do not need to be Hollywood-quality productions. You can get a small camcorder for around $200 and have someone shoot the videos of you in your office or conference room. These wonderful little camcorders have a built-in USB connection so you can upload each clip to your computer, edit it, and create a file for YouTube.

Brand your channel. Once you create an account on YouTube, you can set up your YouTube user name and channel in the Settings menu. Your channel name should NOT be “ABC Law Firm”, it should be something that describes your practice – i.e., Orange County Personal Injury Law, Phoenix Divorce Attorney, etc. The website will walk you through the process of uploading and tagging your video. Be SURE you title and tag your video with your keywords (i.e., “Atlanta divorce lawyer”) so you feed those search engines. You will also need to add a description of your video – be as specific as possible and load up on those keywords.

Promote your channel.  Add your YouTube channel link to all your social media pages – LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc. – as well as to your email signature. Have everyone in your practice add it to their social media and electronic signatures as well. You can also search for relevant videos on YouTube and post a video reply linking your channel to those relevant videos. And, of course, embed the clips into your website and link to your YouTube channel from there.

YouTube is no longer just for skateboarding dogs and sleepy babies...it’s a great social media tool for your law firm marketing arsenal that can help you with SEO and attracting new clients.

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FREE REPORT: 8 Reasons Small Firms & Solos Should Publish an E-newsletter PLUS 3 Steps to Get Started

In less than a few hours a month, you can produce an effective electronic newsletter, also known as an “E-newsletter.”

An E-newsletter is a customized electronic newsletter that is commonly used in business, but rarely in the field of law. If you are truly interested in the long-term success and sustainability of your practice, you need to learn how to leverage technology and the Internet to build it.

Here’s what you’ll discover when you read this report:

• The cost benefits of an e-newsletter
• How to incorporate your e-newsletter with your social networking
• How an e-newsletter supports your marketing efforts
• How to get started right away with your e-newsletter
• And much, much more!

To get your free report now, click here.

Whether you are starting, building or maintaining a life-style law firm, it is important to keep in mind that persistence pays – and to remind ourselves to celebrate ALL wins.

Why? Because when you celebrate a win you:

1.       Acknowledge the accomplishment.

2.       Reinvigorate yourself and the team with positive energy.

3.       Become hopeful about moving forward successfully.

Over six months ago, we began what was to become an odyssey to get our logo on the side of our office building.  An easy task, some might think. However, it turns out that the city had incorrect architectural documentation -- it took 6 months, 35 emails and dozens of meetings and phone calls to finally get the sign approved and hung.

Special kudos to TRI team member Jessica Johnson, who saw this project through to fruition and got this tasty show of gratitude for her efforts:

So for us at The Rainmaker Institute, Valentine’s Day last week was extra special because the sign was finally hung.

That simple act of hanging our sign represents a lot more than building identification.

It unified the team, it represents all that we stand for and it shows the world that we are a company that proudly promotes itself and our ability to positively impact thousands of attorneys looking to Increase lead generation, enhance client conversion and improve client retention.

We wanted to share our win with you and remind you that no matter how small the accomplishment, be proud and celebrate the wins you accomplish on a day-to-day basis.

It will keep you motivated, make your team feel wonderful and make all your challenges a little more tolerable.

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FREE REPORT: How to Use Blogs as a Secret Weapon in Your Online Arsenal

One of the secret tools of Internet marketing for attorneys is the power of having a targeted blog. In a new report on the influence of blogs, eMarketer.com found that in 2010, 51% of Internet users in the U.S. (that’s over 91 million people) read blogs, and they project that usage will go to 60% (150 million) in the next four years!

Still think blogs are a fad?

Here’s what you’ll discover when you read this report:

• Why you must have a blog in order to stay relevant
• 3 keys to successful blogging
• 7 Guidelines for achieving ROI
• Your 3 choices for managing your blog and social media efforts
• And much more!

Click here to order your free report now!

But what about nontraditional law firm advertising? Facebook Ads has recently added a broad targeting option that I find really interesting. And I believe it provides some good opportunities for lawyers to spread their influence through the offering of targeted, relevant education materials.

For example, say you are an attorney in Dallas who targets small business owners. You create a downloadable e-book on, say, “Incorporation and Legal Structures: What Every Small Business Owner Needs to Know”. Then you create a Facebook ad with a link to your website, blog or a special landing page that captures a prospect's email address in exchange for downloading the e-book. Using broad category search, you set your target:

You specify business owners over the age of 30 in the Dallas area, and this is how many people you can reach:

Or say you are an estate planning attorney in Dallas and want to capitalize on the growing trend of creating pet trusts. Again, you create a downloadable informative e-book on “How to Provide for Your Pet After You’re Gone”. You can go to Interests and target pet owners over the age of 60:

Then narrow it to those in your market area and reach this many prospects:

Facebook ads allows you to target very specifically to introduce an audience of likely prospects you may not have had the opportunity to reach with any other medium. It is also inexpensive; you can try it out for a week or two for a couple hundred dollars or less.

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Stop Wasting Precious Time and Money

Feel like you don’t have time for marketing?  Let us show you how to make a plan that runs on “autopilot” – one that attracts new and lucrative clients while you focus on your practice.

Learn how easy it can be to create an effective law firm marketing plan that performs by getting our Free Guide: 5 Easy Steps to Create Your Law Firm Marketing Plan. 

After working with many ultra-successful lawyers we found five common threads in their marketing plans. This guide outlines these shared elements to provide insight into strategies that work and how to make them work for you.

There are two versions: one for Attorneys in Solo Practice and one for Attorneys in a Small Firm.  Click here to download, and start using these proven strategies today!

Consumers are bombarded with advertising material on a daily basis and most have learned to just tune it out and ignore it. How are you supposed to reach potential clients and stand out from the pack?

I have formulated a five-step plan that guarantees potential clients won’t just pay attention to your legal marketing, but they will even remember your name!

1. Create a U.S.P (Unique Selling Proposition)

A U.S.P is an absolute must-have for any business, especially a law firm. Your U.S.P. is a list of benefits or the number one benefit that you can offer potential clients that your competition can’t. Choose a unique feature of your law firm and tell your potential clients why it is so beneficial to them and focus on it in every area of your law firm marketing.

Make it a compelling offer or guarantee that answers the question – “Why should I do business with you instead of the other lawyers in town?” This will put you at the top of their mind when they need the service you provide. Create a memorable catch phrase to present your U.S.P. in all your law firm advertising and marketing material. Consistently using the same phrase will create an association between you and your message in the minds of potential clients. Make sure you keep it short, simple and concise.

2. Specialize

You can’t be all things to all people, so go ahead and become The Expert  on one particular topic. This topic should also be the focus of your U.S.P. Your U.S.P. should become your mantra and you should use it in everything you produce. Put yourself out there, write articles, write a book, become a local expert in the media on your specialty.

This strategy doesn’t appeal to all potential clients, but then again, you shouldn’t try to appeal to everyone! This approach will attract clients who value your knowledge and expertise over your prices. Having a specialty is an easy way to assert your uniqueness and announce to potential clients how dramatically different you are from your competition. 

3. Be First to Proclaim Uniqueness

Being the first to declare your individuality from the pack gives you a clear advantage. Until your competition follows suit, you are the ONLY one claiming to be different from all the rest. You are the client’s clear #1 choice!

4. Make an Irresistible Offer

An effective U.S.P. boldly declares big benefits and illustrates your exceptional service. You have to promise potential clients something so valuable they will never even think of calling your competition. It must grab their attention, so even though they don’t need your services now, when they do in the future, they will remember you.

Studies have shown that some of the most motivating desires we have are for tranquility, vengeance, fairness and social justice. Choose one of these key desires, hone in on it and appeal to it in your U.S.P. Try to evoke an emotional connection with the audience that will make your offer irresistible.

5. Give Social Proof that Clients Prefer YOU

Use testimonials from previous clients in your legal social media marketing. They validate your claim that you can help potential clients get what they want. Testimonials make it easier to market yourself because someone else is doing all the talking. Even in states where the use of testimonials is prohibited in law firm marketing, you can still use them in materials you send to prospective clients after they have initially contacted you. These responses are priceless for marketing your firm to potential clients.

These five steps will help you uniquely position yourself as the expert and #1 choice for anyone looking for an attorney in your area.

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Stephen Fairley Guest Speaker at PILMMA Legal Marketing Boot Camp March 1 in San Francisco

At the Personal Injury Lawyers Marketing and Management Association (PILMMA) one-day boot camp, you will learn "How to Increase Your Caseload... Without Spending a Boat Load," from some of the sharpest legal marketers in the world. These are the very people (secret weapons, really), who have worked behind the scenes at all those successful firms that have been grabbing the big cases from you for years.

Now they'll disclose their entire Vault of Secrets to you...



One of PILMMA’s guest speakers is Stephen Fairley, legal marketing expert and CEO of The Rainmaker Institute. Stephen will share the secrets of Getting Your Law Firm to the Top of Google on Thursday, March 1 at the San Francisco session of the PILMMA one-day boot camp.

Registering is simple and takes less than 2 minutes. Simply click this link and learn how you can start snagging these big cases for yourself!

In other words, if you wanted something fast and cheap, it wouldn’t be good. If you wanted it good and cheap, it wouldn’t be fast. If you wanted it good and fast, it wouldn’t be cheap.

Social media – a good, fast and cheap way to promote a small business – has now made that rule obsolete. Here’s why you can no longer afford not to go social:

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Feb. 29 Webinar: Unlocking the Secrets of Social Media for Attorneys

On Wednesday, Feb. 29, Stephen Fairley will present Unlocking the Secrets of Social Media for Attorneys, a one-hour complimentary webinar sponsored by Avvo beginning at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET.

Social media is no longer a fad. It's a fundamental shift in the way we communicate and it is quickly becoming a powerful and cost effective tool to market your law firm! Every time you turn on the television companies are asking you to "like them on Facebook" or "follow them on Twitter"—what does that mean and why should you do it?  

We have all heard the startling statistics: 



• Facebook recently announced they now have over 845 Million active users! 

• LinkedIn adds another 1 Million users every 6 days! 

• Over 200 Million people have set up a Twitter account!
• YouTube surpassed over 490 Million unique visitors per month! 



As a law firm, should you “jump on the bandwagon” and get in before your competitors do or should you “wait and see” if social media really takes hold? If you wait, what will you miss and how do you know if it's right for you? What are the risks you need to be aware of? What about the ethical rules and regulations? How can you get started? Where do you begin? How much time, energy and money should we devote to social media? How do you measure a return on investment?  What expectations should you have?

To register for this free Avvo webinar on Unlocking the Secrets of Social Media for Attorneys, click here.

This pre-dates the Internet as we know it today by about 15 years!

Here’s an infographic on A History of the Business of Social Media so you can see how far we’ve come:

 

And speaking of how far we’ve come...I was delighted to see that I am ranked #35 (and rising!) in the Top 100 Marketers to Follow on Twitter:

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FREE "Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" E-book

In a newly revised e-book, legal marketing expert Stephen Fairley outlines 10 of the most common marketing mistakes attorneys make that can lead to the failure of their business, and provides specific strategies and proven principles for avoiding these deadly errors. 

Get your complimentary copy online here.

Here are some you should be leveraging to help generate leads:

LinkedIn Answers – a forum for people to ask and answer questions. Get involved here to build your credibility and to identify other industry influencers you can network with. See what people are asking to get ideas for your blog. 

LinkedIn Apps – LinkedIn has two legal apps – JDSupra’s Legal Updates and Martindale-Hubbell’s Lawyer Ratings – as well as Google Presentations and SlideShare presentations that allow you to share presentations, and a Blog Link that links your blog to your profile.

LinkedIn Subgroups – you may already be participating in LinkedIn Groups, but click on the “More” tab of your LinkedIn group and you’ll find subgroups. Great for building influence in your niche.

Skills & Expertise – the Skills tool allows you to search for LinkedIn members, companies or groups based on skill or expertise. 

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Stephen Fairley Guest Speaker at PILMMA Legal Marketing Boot Camp March 1 in San Francisco

At the Personal Injury Lawyers Marketing and Management Association (PILMMA) one-day boot camp, you will learn "How to Increase Your Caseload... Without Spending a Boat Load," from some of the sharpest legal marketers in the world. These are the very people (secret weapons, really), who have worked behind the scenes at all those successful firms that have been grabbing the big cases from you for years.

Now they'll disclose their entire Vault of Secrets to you...



One of PILMMA’s guest speakers is Stephen Fairley, legal marketing expert and CEO of The Rainmaker Institute. Stephen will share the secrets of Getting Your Law Firm to the Top of Google on Thursday, March 1 at the San Francisco session of the PILMMA one-day boot camp.

Registering is simple and takes less than 2 minutes. Simply click this link and learn how you can start snagging these big cases for yourself!