If a potential law client wants to chat with you now, they will call or email you. Most lawyers have this aspect of new business covered. Add on a phone or email to their website and call it a day. For everyone else visiting your site, they will need to be nurtured over a period of days and weeks before they make a decision. Here is how to have them to pay for your legal services, step-by-step.
Content offer.
Determine a content offer that you can give away, such as a white paper and weekly resources, in exchange for a potential client’s email. Focus on compiling free resources related to the niche you’re serving. As an example, do not use legal terminology in the content when the client is a startup founder. Consider content related to business growth and success instead. If your focus is on individuals and injuries, talk about trends in workplace safety or % of accident reductions over time, not the legal regulations on speeding limits.
To take it a step further, ask your current clients what they’d like to read to help shape your content direction. You may already have all of the material you need to build this all out.
Once you have the content in mind, you will need to add an opt-in box to the website. The opt-in box can be easily added after choosing your email marketing provider (to be discussed next).
Email sequence.
Build a sequence of six emails or more to educate your new leads. These emails should not be image-heavy or filled with links. Less is more for optimal email conversion. You can build the sequence with a free email marketing program like MailChimp. They have an automation feature to make the process simple. I wrote more about the program here.
If setting up an automation sequence seems daunting, consider setting up a monthly newsletter at the very least. You can have this run on autopilot by sharing your latest blog posts in the newsletter. This is called a RSS newsletter, where your blog feed’s content is pulled into the email automatically. MailChimp also has this option in their platform.
Content value.
The content within each email should look educational or informative. Never sell yourself in an email. High-pressure sales never work when building long-term relationships. Offer a maximum of one link to convince the client to read more or eventually reply to your information.
An email serves another purpose: it keeps you top-of-mind. The potential client might know someone else who can benefit from the information you share – that can lead to another opportunity and organic growth of new leads through word-of-mouth.
Call-to-action.
You may wish to give a free 15-minute consultation within the middle and final parts of the email sequence. This is a direct call-to-action to have the lead connect with you. By then you should have given enough value to see some conversions and new business.
Benefits.
This email marketing approach will help build rapport with your future clients. By having a sequence of content to gain the trust of others, you will be more likely to succeed with the growth of your law practice.