The days of salesy blast emails are over, and smart law firms are using email marketing to help build their business. Nowadays law firms use email to stay in contact with website visitors and clients, keeping people up-to-date by sending new blog posts content offers and firms news. Email marketing can help you stay top of mind with both prospects and current clients.
The Secret to Creating Effective Law Firm Marketing Emails
When it comes to email marketing, you aren’t looking to cast a wide net—you’re working to cast several smaller and more concentrated nets to make sure you effectively reach your desired audience. Here are a few tips to help you optimize your email marketing strategy.
Mobile Optimization for Legal Marketing Emails
Nowadays nearly everyone has a smartphone, and most people have them attached to their hip at all times. In fact, more than 50% of emails are opened on a smartphone and more than 80% of people use for their phone primarily for email.
Marketing automation tools like Hubspot.com and mailchimp can help create and deliver responsive, user-friendly emails.
Creating Law Firm Marketing Content that Connects with People
No matter how good the content of your email may be, if it’s not sent to the right audience at the right time, it’s a waste of time.
Consider Your Law Firm’s Target Audience
Begin to think about who you are trying to reach — this is called building a persona. When you understand who your target audience is, you’re more likely to send them emails that they will want to open and read. Ask yourself questions like:
- What is their profession?
- What are their primary concerns that I can help solve?
- What are their goals? How can you help them achieve their goals?
Collect and Sort Contacts into Lists
Now that you’re aware of who you’re trying to target, you need to begin to determine what your relationships are with your contacts and where they fall in the marketing lifecycle. A customer’s lifecycle is like a journey, and identifying what stage they are in will make sure you send them content that’s relevant for them. Helpful labels to use include subscribers, leads and customers.
Subscribers have been to your website and enjoyed at least one of your blogs enough to provide their information. To keep subscribers engaged you must send them valuable content, in line with other content that they have viewed, in exchange for more personal information (like their company name, job title or other interests.) The more they share with you, the more applicable content you will be able to share with them.
Choose educational content that you think will resonate with the subscriber and encourage them to come back without directly pushing your legal services. Some options include:
- Intriguing blog posts
- Content offers such as free whitepapers, ebooks and checklists
Leads are people who have visited your website and expressed interest in your services. They have identified their problem and acknowledge that you may have the ability to solve it. Follow up with content related to their initial interest.
Remember that they are in the phase of researching, so you need to send them content that will indirectly show why your solutions are the best fit. Choose content like:
- Expert guides and whitepapers
- Demo video or invitation to a webinar
- Live interactions, such as a free consultation
Customers have already sought out your services. Maintaining these relationships will not only help to secure their ongoing and future business, but can also serve up future business through referrals.
Keep up with customers by sending educational content that helps them understand how they can continue to benefit from your legal services. You can send them:
- Case studies and updates on firm news
- Invitations to relevant events
- Surveys to gauge client satisfaction
Components of a Successful Email From Your Law Firm
Now that you know who you’re writing for, it’s time to create the perfect email. Here are some things to make sure you include:
- An intriguing subject line that tells the reader exactly what they will be reading about
- The name of a real attorney on the “From” line
- Content catered to the reader
- An enticing call-to-action (what do you ideally want them to do after reading your email?)
- Links to share and your social media accounts to follow
- Your law firm’s logo
- And unsubscribe link
Now you’re ready to send effective emails that educate subscribers, entice leads and keep clients happy. Keep up with these ongoing conversations and, in good time, you’ll be reaping the benefits of staying top of mind with potential, current and past clients.
