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Need some ideas to bootstrap a client's new project

by Honest Tune
2 replies
It's on a very bootstrapped budget right now, but I will be trying to build awareness, build a following, and ultimately, increase sales.

Can anyone offer ideas with grassroots campaigns they have done where dollars for online ads or even blog content were not readily available in the beginning?

Below is my strategy:
It is an online assessment that helps lawyers and law students make better career decisions by answering two questions:

* Which legal practice areas are the best fits for my interests and values?
* Which general (non-legal) career fields are the best fits for my interests and values?


Tangible Business Goals:

* Build awareness
* Spark relationships with clients, prospects, and influencers
* Better understand buyers or potential buyers
* Increase website traffic
* Improve search engine rankings
* Generate leads
* Generate sales

Targeting:

1. Law Students
2. Prospective Law Students
3. Lawyers
4. Law Schools
5. Law Firms
6. Companies employing in-house counsel
7. Bar Associations

Channels:

* LinkedIn Groups
* Facebook Fan Page
* Twitter
* StumbleUpon

Action Items:
* Find influencers on Twitter to help spread the cause using online tools.
* Posting to primary social channels, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter.
* Forum & Blog Participation: 5x weekly

I guess my question is, in what way would you approach this (if it were your project)?

thanks in advance
#bootstrap #budget friendly #client #ideas #project #social media
  • Profile picture of the author TheArticlePros
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    • Profile picture of the author Dryberry
      Originally Posted by JaRyCu View Post

      Carlton:

      Before I ever knew anything about online business, I was really good at developing and increasing offline business. If you're really strapped for cash, why not try it the more traditional routes?

      For example, I'm sure you can afford $5 for a pack of paper, right? Take 20-30 minutes, design a nifty flyer with pull tags on the bottom, and run off 100 copies. Take those around town and to various colleges and have post them on every corkboard you can find.

      Now take another 20-40 minutes and do up a really nice business card. Print it 800 times (8x100 sheets of paper), cut it out, and start passing them out to everyone you meet. Drop them off at customer service desks, gas stations, other legal offices, bathrooms, all kinds of places.

      You're down to 300 sheets of paper.

      If you can afford stamps, do a manually-targeted mailing. Aim it at some of the people you've listed above. That should be another 100 pieces of paper.

      Now you have 200 left.

      Are you starting to get the idea? Online is easy to get into, but unless you're a pro, it can be difficult to get the results you desire. Offline takes people skills and, to me, is a lot easier to work.

      -- j
      I was thinking along the same lines, I've done my fair share of offline marketing in a similar manner. Another idea is to generate some qr codes and have a qr stamp made, you can save money this way by just stamping the pieces of paper instead of getting them printed.

      Also, most law firms have contact info for their attorneys readily available, just look up large firms in big cities and you should be able to put together a large email list in no time. (Same thing with professors at law schools, send them an email asking them to try out/recommend the site to their students)

      Another idea, use the search function on twitter, put in phrases with quotes "thinking of going to law school" "lawyers" "law firm" "law schools" etc. you could be replying real time to these tweets with a link to the site.
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  • Profile picture of the author Honest Tune
    JaRyCu, DryBerry:
    Brilliant ideas, really. I had sort of painted myself in a "digital corner" with this and was only thinking from my IM point of view.
    I think if I can find some easy wins early in the game, investment in social ads and ppc ads won't be a problem.
    Starting a group on LinkedIn might be a very effective strategy to grow the audience, as well as be able to credibly reach out to the law school deans, professors, and HR people. I think the group itself could be titled the same as the product - LawFit - and bring together prospective lawyers, current lawyers, and law students. It has potential to be lively and engaging.
    Again, thanks for your ideas.
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    Founder of a virtual agency in Alabama. Roll. MFin. Tide.
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