When solo and small firm lawyers ask how they can gin up their business development, I start by asking them where they already get their business.

That answer is almost always “referrals.” It could be referrals from other lawyers and professional colleagues, clients and former clients, or any number of sources. So then I ask, “What are you doing to stay on your referral network’s radar?”

Those answers can run the gamut and include holiday cards, social media and personal networking at bar association and professional events, among other methods. All those are great and I encourage them to keep…

Many lawyers I meet seem to be intimidated by the prospect of marketing themselves. There is a never-ending list of things they think they should be doing to develop business, and they’re so overwhelmed that what they often end up doing is nothing.

To those lawyers I say: Have a plan, and start small.

Formulating a plan will ensure that you’re not just throwing money and time into the wind, and starting small can help prevent overwhelm.

I find that overwhelm is one of the biggest impediments to many attorneys’ marketing efforts. Unless you are the exceptional lawyer with unlimited…

As we head into the holiday season — the one that exhausts and delights in equal measure — it’s a good time to take a deep dive into one of my favorite timesavers: marketing multitasking.

Some of us have a hard time saying no. That’s how I ended up with two Girl Scout troops and more PTA positions than I can count. The upside is that I’m helping organizations I care about. The downside is that there is less time to spend on business development, family, friends, and walking in the woods.

So, a few years ago, I resolved to…

In our work for lawyers and law firms, we rely on a host of online tools to keep projects organized, automate our social media posts and newsletters, and just generally make life easier and more productive.

If you’re looking to juice up your online presence, these tools can help save time and create a clean, professional look in all your marketing efforts. And best of all, they’re all free or very inexpensive, meaning you can easily fit them into your marketing budget.

Before we start, a quick disclaimer: we mention several products and companies by name in this blog post…

LinkedIn is the least popular of all the big social media channels, but it’s still considered a must for companies looking for business and individuals looking for work.

It’s not hard to see why LinkedIn isn’t popular: it’s technologically clunky and everybody is on their best behavior, so it’s basically a live feed of the world’s most boring party.

Nevertheless, it’s one of the first places employers, recruiters and prospective clients go to vet potential hires. …

If you’re at a law firm with a marketing department, congratulations! You have the support and resources that most solos and small firm lawyers can only dream of.

But, unless your name is on the door or you’re already a major rainmaker, it’s a safe bet that the firm’s marketing team isn’t spending much time helping you achieve your personal marketing goals. More than likely, that responsibility falls on you.

I’ve been getting a lot of calls lately from those lawyers, so I’ve compiled my best advice for any attorney who is looking to take their marketing matters into their…

Many lawyers spend countless hours preparing CLE presentations, writing informative blog posts, giving media interviews, and generally creating informative content of interest to their clients, prospective clients and referral sources.

The smartest lawyers find ways to get multiple uses out of those efforts by recycling their content in a variety of other formats.

If you’re a small law firm looking to grow your business, you may have encountered the phrase “content marketing” while exploring potential marketing options.

This blog post will explain some of the main concepts of content marketing and how it can be a potent tool for solos and small law firms with limited marketing budgets.

Content marketing is an umbrella term that incorporates the following elements (among others):

• Blogs
• Website text
• Social media
• Email marketing
• Search engine optimization for website text and other online content (i.e. making your content easily findable online)
• Online profiles
• News releases
• White papers
• Ebooks

Become a Source of Genuine Value

The…