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Copywriting for law firms.

by Andy The Copywriter
5 replies
Anybody here ever offer newsletter marketing services to lawyers/law firms before?

I'm really considering doing offering a newsletter service to law firms in my area, maybe even nationally.

A lot of the books I've read suggest going after real estate agents and financial planners as clients. I'm sure this works but I can see two problems with these,

- Most real estate agents already have a newsletter service.

- There aren't very many financial planners in most cities.

I have a suspicion that lawyers could make VERY good clients, for three reasons:

1. Like real estate agents and financial planners, they market themselves very heavily.

2. And yet, for some reason, most of them don't use newsletters or free ebooks in their marketing arsenal. There is only one lawyer in my city who currently uses the free ebook tactic.

3. There are TONS of them, in every city. The lawyers section in my local phone book is like 20 pages.

Just wondering... What do you guys think of this idea? Ever tried it? How did it go?
#copywriting #firms #law
  • Profile picture of the author sethczerepak
    Originally Posted by Andy The Copywriter View Post

    Anybody here ever offer newsletter marketing services to lawyers/law firms before?

    I'm really considering doing offering a newsletter service to law firms in my area, maybe even nationally.

    A lot of the books I've read suggest going after real estate agents and financial planners as clients. I'm sure this works but I can see two problems with these,

    - Most real estate agents already have a newsletter service.

    - There aren't very many financial planners in most cities.

    I have a suspicion that lawyers could make VERY good clients, for three reasons:

    1. Like real estate agents and financial planners, they market themselves very heavily.

    2. And yet, for some reason, most of them don't use newsletters or free ebooks in their marketing arsenal. There is only one lawyer in my city who currently uses the free ebook tactic.

    3. There are TONS of them, in every city. The lawyers section in my local phone book is like 20 pages.

    Just wondering... What do you guys think of this idea? Ever tried it? How did it go?
    They can all make really good clients, but it's a double edged sword for copywriters.

    The #1 objection I get from attorney's is that the bar association has to approve EVERYTHING they say in writing. They have to submit the content to the bar, pay a fee, and hope that it gets approved.

    For some attorney's, this is a mental block that has them completely closed off to any ideas about communicating value in writing. Trying to convince them otherwise can be like giving a root canal to a 20 foot Saltwater Crocodile. We're not talking about overcoming sales objections anymore, we're talking about trying to change someone's paradigm. Even trained psychologists need several months of one on one sessions to make that happen.

    Same with financial planners, lots of regulation...things they can't say or do in their marketing. Again, you have to find those who don't use this as an excuse to sit on their butts and depend on word of mouth alone.

    That's why the newsletter offer appears as a hole in those markets. It's not an unmet need, it's a collective paradigm that's keeping them from seeing the value of such a service. You have to find the clients who don't have a wall of self-defeating assumptions that you have to break through with a sledgehammer.

    That said, I have had some great success creating direct mail campaigns with attorney's and financial planners, but it's been a team effort in almost all cases. Those who are open to it usually want to write their own content and hire me to coach and direct them. Which, frankly, I prefer.

    My advice, position yourself as a consultant and find the ones who are open-minded and not intimidated by the regulating bodies.
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    • Profile picture of the author Andy The Copywriter
      Dude... Seriously thanks for the reply. This is exactly the kind of input I need right now.

      To be honest, I'm not even sure I'll go the newsletter route. Might just offer lead generating ebooks.

      Here's a guy in my city who does this:

      Newfoundland Accident & Injury Lawyers - Ches Crosbie Barristers | Ches Crosbie Barristers

      I actually ordered one of his books and he didn't spam me with newsletters the way a real estate agent would. It seems like his strategy was to just send you all of his books over a period of months, all of which had a call to action at the end.

      I know for a fact that this guy is a smart dude, so I'd say there's a good chance this strategy will work.

      Originally Posted by sethczerepak View Post

      They can all make really good clients, but it's a double edged sword for copywriters.

      The #1 objection I get from attorney's is that the bar association has to approve EVERYTHING they say in writing. They have to submit the content to the bar, pay a fee, and hope that it gets approved.

      For some attorney's, this is a mental block that has them completely closed off to any ideas about communicating value in writing. Trying to convince them otherwise can be like giving a root canal to a 20 foot Saltwater Crocodile. We're not talking about overcoming sales objections anymore, we're talking about trying to change someone's paradigm. Even trained psychologists need several months of one on one sessions to make that happen.

      Same with financial planners, lots of regulation...things they can't say or do in their marketing. Again, you have to find those who don't use this as an excuse to sit on their butts and depend on word of mouth alone.

      That's why the newsletter offer appears as a hole in those markets. It's not an unmet need, it's a collective paradigm that's keeping them from seeing the value of such a service. You have to find the clients who don't have a wall of self-defeating assumptions that you have to break through with a sledgehammer.

      That said, I have had some great success creating direct mail campaigns with attorney's and financial planners, but it's been a team effort in almost all cases. Those who are open to it usually want to write their own content and hire me to coach and direct them. Which, frankly, I prefer.

      My advice, position yourself as a consultant and find the ones who are open-minded and not intimidated by the regulating bodies.
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  • Profile picture of the author stanigator
    What about a voice recording program that they get in the mail every now and then? Attorneys are fussy about claiming as much billable hours as possible, but they may have time to figure out how to make more money in their cars...
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