Profiting With Public Relations

Mistakes Made By Attorneys When Getting Their Work Published.

Getting by-lined articles in  targeted trade publications is a good way for attorneys especially those who don't like the limelight, of building their credibility in their  target market. Done well, published articles can be leveraged into speeches, white papers, and provide content  for blogs etc.

One of the biggest mistakes I have seen attorney's make when writing articles is having a great topic, especially one that their prospects are interested in. The attorney usually has a specific publication in mind as well. The problem arises in failure to  conduct due  diligence when it comes to editorial guidelines of the publication. Why is this important? A great article does not automatically gaurantee publication. Editors have specific guidelines and they must be adhered to. Otherwise, efforts to have work published will have mixed results.

Getting Ink For Your Law Practice

Getting your name in print is really all about consistent recognition.  Regardless of  your opinions on the state of the media, when a law firm  gets positive ink, readers automatically view the firm with more credibility.  It does not matter where the law firm or attorney's name is printed as long as it was put there ‘by someone else’. (See my earlier blog posting about advertising v public relations.) Getting the word out may not be as complicated as you think, there are a number of ways to get the law firm's name out.

• Get quoted in a news article.
• Named as one of the key firms/attorneys orchestrating a transaction or deal.
• Listed on web and letterhead of a non-profit board.
• Write and publish an article in trade publications.
• Be listed as a speaker or panelist on web site and newsletter of organization.
• Collaborate with associates on a project that is to be published. This is a win/win situation for both attorney and associate.
• Consider letters to editor.

An KEY component of getting your name in print regularly  is having a PR (public relations) specialist on retainer. While the law firm is conducting the business of law the public relations firm is consistently seeking  public relations opportunities. It is something that requires commitment from all the players in the firm and is definitely worth the investment.

ACTION STEPS:

1. When was the last time an attorney, associate work was published?
2. How is the firm leveraging the published articles?

Getting Published

Getting articles published in trade publications, magazines and newspapers have long been considered  important benchmarks for building reputation as thought leaders and experts in a specific market for all businesses.

When approached strategically, getting published can help you:

• Increase the law firm's visibility with key constituents.
• Begin building relationships with editors of publications, read by your target market.
• Enhance, continue building the law firms/attorney/associates reputation.

So where do you start?

If your firm doesn't work with a public relations firm, your marketing manager should be responsible for this task.

If you are doing your own marketing and public relations, then follow the guidelines below:

1. Come up with a couple of ideas that will be of interest to YOUR reader not you. Remember its all about your reader not you.
2. Identify a couple of publications your target market reads.
3. Review at least a couple of issues, before approaching the editor.
4. Approach the editor. Follow your cues from there.

Undoubtedly, there will be other competing interests for your time, understand that when done well, the article can be leveraged into other marketing activities, such as reusing the article into blog postings, republishing it in the firm's newsletter, utilize parts of the article as a basis of a speech or presentation.

When talking to potential legal clients, I've heard attorneys say "been there, done that, nothing came out of it". The problem is when I dig deeper, much to my dismay, typically I discover they have written only one article and had unrealistic expectations. With a bit more probing I discover aside from putting the article on the website, the firm does little else. But, one thing is clear there is a great deal of frustration and disappointment.

In order to avoid this sort of frustration law firms, associates and solo's need a cohesive marketing plan. A plan that gives the firm direction and  understanding of how all the pieces of the marketing pie come together. My partner Allison C. Shields of Legal Ease Consulting and I  put together an 8 week long teleseminar on "How To Grow Your Law Practice On A Shoe String Budget. You can purchase individual sessions,  or really get the most bang for your buck  by buying all the sessions. To find out more about how we can help your firm, please email me.

Connecting The Dots The Power of Public Relations

During my experience in legal public relations, and talking to attorneys, its clear that many don't understand what public relations is, or its role in business development. Where they really fail to connect the dots, is not only confusing public relations with advertising, but thinking they can gain press immediately. See earlier blog posting on the Art of Changing Public Relations, addresses these misconceptions.

Now, granted, getting immediate attention in the press is very possible but is dependant on a number of factors, such as timing, area of expertise, what the current news cycle is covering and availability of attorneys.

All of which involves having a public relations plan. Here are some things to consider when considering public relations:

1) What are the firm's objectives?
2) Which practice groups to hilight?
3) Who is your target audience?
4) How to you want to perceived in your target market?
5) Identify specific public relations tactics such as giving CLE's both online and inperson, getting published, seminars etc
6) How will return on investment be measured?
7) What are some of the benchmarks and milestones?
8) How long will the firm be committed to the public relations initiatives?
9) Determine which attorneys will regularly talk to the pr professionals to brainstorm ideas etc.
10) How frequently will this be conducted?
11) How comfortable are the attorneys talking with the press?
12) Do the attorneys have a basic 101 understanding of how the press works?

Once the plan is written,  revisit it after a couple of days to determine whether all key strategies and objectives are addressed.

Typically, a solid public relations plan will:
- Build awareness
- Position the firm's experts in their legal area of expertise
- Position the firm as a value added contributor for the legal industry nationally and locally
- Build goodwill among your key constituents
- Educate and persuade your target audience
- Have benchmarks in place

What is essential to the success of any plan is to understand that public relations like most marketing activities requires hard work. Distributing the odd press release by the paralegal or office manager whose wearing multiple hats will not generate calls from the press. Infact a disservice is being done you are taking the away from billable hours!

Some of the reasons why public relations initiatives fail are:

1) Lack of commitment on the part of the management of the firm.
2) Lack of understanding of what public relations is, even though EVERYBODY understands perceptions.
3) Grandiose expectations.
4) Once the pr firm has been hired assuming that law firm's work is done.
5) Lack of chemistry.

Finally, law firms have to participate wholeheartedly in the public relations campaign for it to work, otherwise, the firm is better off spending those dollars on other marketing tactics.

If your firm is considering public relations, call me at (212) 661-9137 to find out how we can get started. Or if you want to find out more visit The Sun Commnication Group.

8 Ways to Improve your Legal Practice in an Economic Downturn.

    The last couple of months has seen increasing focus and coverage on the state of the American economy. According to economists, the economy is in a far worse state than originally anticipated; which in turn has led to the current administration working fast and furiously, putting together an economic stimulus package.

    Understandably, there is a lot of talk about doom and gloom. A popular topic of discussion in business circles is  how to keep your businesses growing in slow times.  For example, should business owners, spend more on advertising, blogging, attending trade shows etc. Or should they review current marketing plans.

    To be candid, all of these lead generation methods have their advantages, but, there are other actions attorneys can take, in their  legal practice, that are more likely to produce more bang for your buck when things are slow.

Here are some areas to review in your legal practice:

1. How frequently do you reach out to your professional networks? How well do you maintain your extended networks?

2. Harvard Business School research found that a 5% increase in customer loyalty can lead to 40% to 90% increases in the lifetime value of that customer relationship. You need to earn your customer's loyalty. What are you doing to improve your client systems?

3. Are you perceived as the expert in your niche? If not, what concrete actions steps are you taking? Do you know where to begin to start building your expert status?

4. Review your strategic plans. Slow times are a great time to review your plans and see if you are still on track.

5. Are you taking opportunities of collaborating with strategic partners and authoring articles for local papers and trade journals. If so, how  are you leveraging them?

6. Are the systems in your legal practice operating efficiently like a well oiled machinery? If not, what area needs improvement? Your marketing? Public Relations? Managing clients? Are you still searching for a systems that WORKS for you?

7. Is the press calling to quote you?  When was the last time a reporter called you?

8. Do prospects get to see and hear you up close and personal. How often and where are you speaking?

    Reviewing all these different areas of your law practice, and discovering where weaknesses lie are far more  likely to be  productive and dollar cost effective, instead of trying new marketing strategies and hoping they will work.

     Allison C. Shields of Legal Ease Consulting  and I will be giving an 8 part teleseminar  How to Grow Your Law Practice on a Shoe String Budget discussing all these areas in considerable detail. To take advantage of the early bird offer please register at: How to Grow Your Legal Practice on a Shoe String Budget.

Honing Your Rainmaking Skills

Whether you are a solo practitioner, an associate or a partner, the ability to bring in business is fundamental to the success of your professional life. The more business you bring to your firm, the more economic value you provide and the more control you have over your professional life.

Rainmaking allows you to bring in the clients with whom you wish to work, do the work you enjoy, build your profile, enhance your reputation and increase your value to the firm.

Rainmaking, however, remains an elusive pursuit for many lawyers, even though most of them are already implementing some of the necessary skill sets, such as networking, speaking and writing. But such qualities by themselves are not enough.

Successful rainmakers must possess four critical attributes that, when applied in a cohesive and consistent manner, will generate business. Those attributes are: having the right mind-set; taking leadership roles; caring for, protecting and guiding clients; and exhibiting time management skills. To read the rest of the article please visit: The Sun Communication Group