There are many ways for lawyers to get new clients. To succeed in any channel, you'll need law firm marketing materials such as blogs, social media copy, and other assets.
As part of your owned media strategy, you might consider using a law firm newsletter. These tools can fit in with the rest of your marketing ideas to help get the word out about your practice or connect with former clients.
Law firm email marketing requires brainstorming concepts for content so your material is fresh, engaging, and relevant for your readers. You don’t have to struggle to develop ideas for your newsletter. We’ve put together 12 ideas to help you showcase your law firm every time you send an email.
1. Repurpose Blog Posts
You put a lot of work into creating law firm blog posts, but you can't always count on your followers to visit your website regularly just to see what's new.
Instead, look for ways to repurpose those blog posts into short blurbs with links inside your email newsletter.
Rather than posting the blog image and title or the first paragraph, tease what's in the post to make it more enticing for someone.
2. Behind the Scenes/About Us
Don't assume that your potential clients know everything about you or your lawyers. Go a little deeper than the bio on your website.
Share something interesting about who you are outside of the office. Use pictures to tell a story in your email newsletter that puts a face and more to the name.
3. Informational Videos
If you frequently walk clients through complicated processes, create an informative video. Short videos can be a good way to give them more information about what to expect.
Most prospective clients are unsure of the legal system and what they'll be required to do. In an informational video, you could break down:
- How settlement talks work in PI cases
- What an injured employee should do once they're hurt at work
- Different options for pleading in a criminal case
- What parents can expect in a contested child custody claim
In this example video, an attorney explains a process for what to do if you win a judgment but believe the debtor is hiding money.
4. Share a Client Story Showing You as the Guide
We've talked before on our blog about the importance of making your client the hero of their own story. Great personal injury lawyer marketing positions you as the guide helping the hero (your client!) achieve a good outcome.
If you have client testimonials, either direct words or your rewrite of how you helped them, feature them in your email newsletter.
Here's a great example from Shah Total Planning, an estate planning law firm that recently pivoted into financial support for clients. In these two examples from their newsletter, they discuss how they’ve helped clients succeed.
5. Answer Frequently Asked Questions
If you're looking for really helpful material for your audience, look no further than the questions you and your front office get most often.
These questions may be about your practice area, firm policies, or how you work with clients. FAQs are a good opportunity to clear up misconceptions and make your law firm more accessible to readers.
Here's an example from the Rothenberg Law Firm LLP. Using a commonly asked question about which legal theories apply to personal injury cases, put together a shareable visual for a general audience.
6. Share Thought Leadership
Have you been interviewed on a podcast or have a legal podcast of your own? Have you been featured in your law school's alumni newsletter or published an article in a trade magazine?
These can be great opportunities to show that others recognize you as an expert in your field.
7. Content Roundup/Infographic
You're not limited to content you create yourself in a newsletter, although you don't ever want to link or share something from a direct competitor.
Instead, you can gather information from other sources and present it in a new way.
For example, if you're a car accident lawyer, you could gather up a list of winter driving tips or statistics and share them in an infographic.
8. Invite Them to a Live Event
Live events and workshops are great chances to get to know prospective clients better. It’s also an excellent way to hear more about what they really need.
You can set up your own live event and send out invitations through your newsletter.
Make sure you tell people the when, where, why, and other pertinent details. Topics with questions as titles or lists like "X things you need to…" perform really well since they pique people's interest.
Here's an example from Edwards Group LLC. This presentation looks like a great value add for an attendee. Family members may be worried about all that they don't know before helping a loved one find a nursing home. Of course, this positions the elder law attorney here as a solid resource for all things related to aging and proper planning.
9. Sound Off on Current Legal Issues
Is there a proposition up for a vote in your local area? Is a politician at the federal level taking charge of creating new laws that might influence your clients?
Consider this your chance to discuss what's at stake and what readers need to know whether these new laws succeed, get amended, or fail. This positions you as "in the know" and provides a clear perspective on what this means for all your clients.
10. Share Press
If you've recently received press for volunteering in your community, being recognized for an award, or simply getting a great outcome for a client, it's nice to get some extra eyes on this through your law firm newsletter.
In this example, Connecticut trial lawyer Ryan McKeen celebrates a major verdict with an injured client. The article featuring this award and the photo would definitely generate attention-getting subject lines in an email newsletter.
11. Discuss Legislative Changes
One thing your clients count on you for is to know any upcoming changes in the law. You can share this news and put your own spin on what it means and why it matters for clients. Use language that contextualizes how this translates for your client's legal issues.
In this example from the King Law Firm, an injury attorney discusses what new trucking insurance minimums mean and why changes in the law could help North Carolina accident victims.
12. Ask a Question
Have you ever asked your audience what more they'd like to see from you?
Simply opening up a question or a poll could generate engagement with your email list. You can use an online form or survey program for them to enter an answer, or you could allow your readers to just reply directly to your message.
Do Newsletters Work for Lawyers?
Most lawyers recognize that they could use an email newsletter to grow their law firm, but it's a whole other matter whether it's worth the effort.
Email marketing is usually less effective for lawyers than in other industries. That's because those other industries need time to warm up their buyers. Someone looking for an attorney probably needs help right away.
Without existing material to put into a firm newsletter, personal injury lawyers will struggle with this concept in digital marketing and may not see any return on investment.
There are a few instances in which email marketing could work for a law firm, including:
- Lawyers with a longer sales cycle, such as business or estate lawyers
- Marketing to current and former clients for repeat work or referrals
- Connecting with referral partners
Before you go all in on an email campaign, make sure other basics, like your law firm website and your content marketing plan, are in order. These may deliver better results by sending qualified clients to your website right at the moment they need a lawyer to help them.
Launch Your Own Law Firm Newsletter
If you're convinced that a law firm newsletter holds promise in your digital marketing strategy, get started by mapping out some ideas for your first few months of content. Staying consistent with an email newsletter can be a challenge, but some legwork done in advance makes it easier to stay on top of a schedule.
If you're not yet ready for an email newsletter strategy, you may want to invest some time and energy into content marketing and search engine optimization. These investments can help you fuel an eventual email marketing campaign.
