From friends and family to clients and prospects, we all have relationships that require some form of nurturing on a regular basis. Just like you know that giving Mary a dozen yellow roses on your first date is only one step in the courtship process, you also know that sending her one email (or one generic email campaign) is not enough to impel enduring trust and devotion. Nurturing is a long-term commitment. As in any relationship, lead nurturing involves more than simple delivery. It’s about communicating clearly and regularly, understanding and addressing your intended’s concerns, and establishing a cohesive bond over time.

Can you nurture prospect relationships via email? Absolutely.

Email campaigns nurture leads when they tell stories, allowing your prospects to get to know you and your areas of expertise. They avoid overt sales pitches, which is a major turn-off (particularly in the early stages of your relationship). Mary doesn’t want to know how much you charge to draft up a will – she doesn’t know you well enough to care about that yet. She would prefer to read about you and your team, learning about your proficiencies, and determining whether or not your firm can meet her needs. She does not want to be threatened with the overt expectation of an immediate response. She wants to be wooed with highly relevant content that speaks to her needs.

The more relevant your content, the more you demonstrate your commitment to the relationship. Make sure that your email databases are segmented by topic of interest and that your prospects receive exactly the kind of information that they yearn for. One of the best ways to ensure that your prospects get what they need is to let them tell you what it is they want – let them choose categories, topics, and other preferences when they subscribe to your email newsletter.

Do not confuse mere delivery for nurturing. In order for email nurturing to be effective, it’s all about the content: what is being delivered and how well it addresses your audience’s needs, priorities and objectives. The perceived relevance of the delivered content is the key to your prospect’s heart (and business).

Another way to find out if you’re sending out the best kind of content to nurture your subscribers is to track their activity. Use an email program that enables you to track click activity. For example, if Mary receives your general litigation newsletter, but she only seems to read articles about estate planning, use that data to update her member record so that she receives more information about estate planning than any other topic. Put her on your estate planning list to receive special offers, reminders, tips and strategies about estate planning. That shows her that you have noticed her interest (without her having told you), which will elevate your status and push your relationship forward.

Jazz up your standard email content to make it more compelling by incorporating a personalized note, great photos of yourself and your team, or link to one of your videos on YouTube or your website. Make sure that your email campaign is branded consistently so that Mary recognizes it as coming from you, but keep the content fresh and engaging so that she’s not bored by the same old thing.

But don’t stop there. Mary needs more from you than one-way communication, even if what you’re giving her is exactly what she’s looking for. Give her alternate ways to interact with you and get to know you better. Ask her to join your Facebook page, follow you on Twitter, connect with you on LinkedIn, sign up for a webinar, or fill out a prospect survey. Mary may prefer to see how you communicate with existing clients on Facebook before she takes the next step in your relationship. Or perhaps she wants to see and hear how you present estate planning strategies via a webinar before making a commitment to a face-to-face meeting. Allow her to communicate with you in a variety of methods by delivering options to her in your nurturing email campaign.

Prospects who follow you on social media or sign up for webinars are essentially winking at you. It’s their way of demonstrating a sincere interest in your content and a willingness to continue the conversation with your firm about a particular topic. Keep track of who your social media fans are, monitor which subscribers interact with which articles in your emails and newsletters, maintain an activity log on your hottest prospects (like Mary) and watch your metrics. That data will tell you when the time is right to give Mary a call and ask her to be yours.

Lead nurturing is a cumulative relationship-building process. This process consists of several components, including: 1) understanding the unique needs of your prospects, 2) communicating that understanding via educational content and demonstrating expertise, and 3) developing respect, trust and rapport.

As with any relationship, multiple communication methods used in combination are often the most effective. Use your email campaign as the foundation for your lead nurturing efforts, and utilize the data you glean from the campaign to integrate additional relationship-building behaviors as your prospects glide through the buying process.

Let the courtship begin.

Becca Fieler is an Online Marketing Specialist for BizActions, a Thomson Reuters Business, serving as a strategic partner in the planning and implementation of electronic communication and marketing initiatives. She develops and oversees comprehensive programs that present marketing strategies and solutions to diverse audiences, including attorneys, accountants, banks and credit unions, human resource companies and other professional service providers.

Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com

Attorneys typically use professional headshots in their email and social media marketing campaigns. Headshots are great and they certainly have a place in your marketing collateral (with submissions for a prestigious award, for example). But a very strong case could be made for replacing professional headshots with a variety of candid photos in your email newsletters, digital marketing campaigns and on your firm’s Facebook page.

How so, you ask? Candid photos tend to be significantly more engaging and immeasurably more relatable than that 7-year-old headshot with the blue background that you’ve used every time a photograph was required since the day it was taken. Candid photographs typically portray you in the best light, at least from a perception perspective: they appear to capture and anthropomorphize honesty, approachability, affability, trustworthiness, reliability, character, personal connectivity, strength, wisdom, personality, and most importantly, your “humanness”.

As the majority of us abhor having our picture taken, it is natural if you outwardly groan and squirm at the idea of taking not just one headshot every decade, but multiple candid photos on a regular, consistent basis for use in your marketing materials. Don’t despair. The candid photo process can be a very painless, and often pleasurable, experience. Not to mention that it can be done by anyone, regardless of budget or photographic experience. Candid photos are essentially free, minus the 20 to 30 minutes it takes you and your designated photographer to set up and take the photos. Smart phones take great pictures these days so an investment in an expensive SLR digital camera and tripod is not necessary.

Here are six tips to help you take some highly engaging, quality and pain-free candid photos:

Elevate The Angle: Ask the photographer to take the photograph from a higher elevation than your head – always have him or her stand on a chair before taking the shot if you are standing, or hold the camera higher than his or her own head-level if you are sitting and he or she is standing. This will eliminate any double-chin issues that even the sveltest of us experience in eye-level photos and will make you look as fabulous as possible. Absolutely avoid taking photos from below eye-level.

Dress For Photographic Success: Digital photography tends to make fabric patterns swirl and twirl and become slightly psychedelic. Avoid wearing jackets, shirts or blouses that have broad or dark stripes, flowers, dots, blots or circles, paisleys, geometrics, and especially plaid. Make sure that whatever you wear will look appropriate if cropped at shoulder or waist height (an off-the-shoulder blouse or sweater will make you look naked if cropped at the collar bone, so leave those types of clothes for the social scene). Bright colors (blue, purple, pink, red, green) work exceptionally well for all skin types and also help to showcase a bit of personality; if you don’t want to wear a bright color, go for a dark neutral color (gray, black, brown, navy) rather than a white or pastel color. It doesn’t matter if you’re wearing the same clothes or not, but feel free to do a wardrobe change in the middle of your photo shoot if you wish.

Light It Up: If you need to bring in an extra floor lamp, desk light or other light to make the room brighter, don’t hesitate to do so. Try to avoid using the flash on your phone or camera if possible by adding ambient light to your photo shoot location. The most attractive lighting will subtly shine on your face from the above in the general direction your photographer faces you from. If your face is washed out in light, turn a light off. Try to have as much light from as many different sources around you as possible – this will make you look light and bright without washing you out, and will reduce unattractive shadowing on your face.

Shoot It Multiple Times: Take a dozen photos of the same or similar pose from multiple angles – have the photographer move the chair he or she is standing on a foot to the right and then a foot to the left. Turn your head without moving your body to look up to the photographer from each angle. If you are standing in your photo, try a few different poses each time the photographer moves to a new location: with your body straight on with arms by your sides in one photo, with your body slightly turned in another, turn your body the other way in another; cross your arms in one shot, place your hands on your hips in another, hold a briefcase or tablet in another, and adjust how you hold your head for each pose. You will likely be surprised at how a tiny change in your posture, combined with where the photographer is standing, may make on the lighting effects as well as the personality captured on “film”.

Keep It Clean: De-clutter your surroundings before staging your photo shoot. If you sit at your desk, tidy it up and put paperwork, pens, and other distracting items away prior to shooting. If you are standing, be sure you stand in an area that has very few visual distractions in the background, or, if there is a lot of “stuff” behind you (such as a bookcase or reception area), ask the photographer to use the “portrait” feature on the camera to have the background blurred while keeping your face in focus. Avoid standing directly in front of a wall (particularly if using a flash) or risk having a dark shadow directly behind you that makes your head look particularly large as wall shadows often appear like an extension of hair and are difficult to “edit” out.

Take It Outside: Consider taking one or two photos outdoors – your photographer can stand on a bench, on a staircase above where you are standing, or on a chair that you’ve taken with you for the photo shoot. Outdoor photos in front of your office building, in the nearby park, by your firm’s office sign and other locations out in nature are highly engaging (we tend to gravitate toward images that include plants, trees, flowers and other natural elements). Natural lighting is also frequently the most attractive for photographs, particularly on sunny days.

By following the above tips, your candid shots may turn out even better than professional headshots and will certainly have more applicability in your marketing efforts. Rather than having one photo that you use over and over again, develop a series of candid photos that you can manipulate and utilize in multiple ways – on your website, in banner ads for your newsletter, as profile pictures on articles you pen, as a personalized greeting in email messages, in your print marketing collateral, and on your firm’s Facebook page.

Becca Fieler is an Online Marketing Specialist for BizActions, a Thomson Reuters Business, serving as a strategic partner in the planning and implementation of electronic communication and marketing initiatives. She develops and oversees comprehensive programs that present marketing strategies and solutions to diverse audiences, including attorneys, accountants, banks and credit unions, human resource companies and other professional service providers.

Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com

“Hi, my name is Becca, and I’m a scheduling junkie.”

Over the past twenty years, I’ve come to realize the importance of scheduling in order to manage everything that I have to do. I live by my Outlook calendar, which I use not only as a To Do list but also as a tracking tool for what has been done and how long it took.

Some people look at my calendar and comment that it looks like it has thrown up. Having every day scheduled out from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. with tasks, projects, meetings and appointments is instantly overwhelming to them. But I know that nothing will slip through the cracks if it is on my calendar, even if I have to snooze an appointment or move it to another day or time. I could not perform my duties as an Online Marketing Specialist without that level of organization.

I would probably miss a dinner party or two as well. If it’s not on my calendar somewhere, it may as well not exist.

Why should you care about my scheduling proclivities?

Firms can learn from my addiction to organization. My Outlook calendar is for my own personal use so that I stay on track from one day to the next. What you may not realize is that I take that kind of organization and use it to communicate our marketing plans to the rest of the team. I am in love with spreadsheets as much as I am in love with my calendar.

Like many firms with a robust marketing plan, we utilize several different strategies to get our messages out. We blog. We send out email newsletters. We engage in social media. We mail post cards. We attend conferences. We host webinars. We mass email important communications.

In order to plan, manage and track each of our marketing efforts, we utilize several Editorial Calendars (set up on spreadsheets) to lay out pending campaigns and messages. The spreadsheets are shared with the entire team through an internal website and are updated whenever things change, sometimes daily. Other marketing managers I know use programs like Dropbox to share and collaborate with team members.

How will spreadsheets help you stay on track with your marketing plans?

Aside from the benefit of keeping management informed of our activities and facilitating inter-departmental collaboration and communications, an Editorial Calendar is essential for any firm that participates in marketing. It helps you keep your content consistent, relevant and timely. It helps you plan your time (which saves you time). It also helps you communicate your efforts to all those who have the need to know.

You can start with a simple Editorial Calendar that simply tracks the date and content you are planning. Include all days of the business week and mark holidays in advance. Add your key dates, such as events, newsletter deadlines, email messages and blog posts.

If you want to take it to the next level, add a few separate Editorial Calendars to track specific content types and marketing initiatives. Keep all the spreadsheets together in one workbook for easy reference. Each of the tabs might include more details about certain activities that are listed on your master Editorial Calendar.

We maintain an Editorial Calendar for all six prospect newsletters we send out, as well as one for email messages scheduled for the specific target markets we serve, another for our client communications, and an additional one that shows the pending blog schedule. These Editorial Calendars not only help our marketing team members know how to plan their priorities each week and collaborate on themes and messaging, but it also informs our sales team about the subjects and topics being highlighted so that they are fully prepared for inquiries that come in as a result of our efforts.

Why would you want to become a scheduling junkie like me?

Using an Editorial Calendar will help everyone involved stay on track with your campaigns, avoid overwhelming your target markets, prioritize messages and tasks, keep your audience fulfilled and satisfied with quality content, help your teams collaborate and share ideas, and maximize your marketing efforts with streamlined, organized and scheduled activities.

Once you realize all of the tremendous benefits of uber-organized planning, you might become a scheduling junkie too.

Becca Fieler is an Online Marketing Specialist for BizActions, a Thomson Reuters Business, serving as a strategic partner in the planning and implementation of electronic communication and marketing initiatives. She develops and oversees comprehensive programs that present marketing strategies and solutions to diverse audiences, including attorneys, accountants, banks and credit unions, human resource companies and other professional service providers.

Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com

The title on this blog post was originally “Four Stories That Will Help You Sell More Services”. Do attorneys sell services? It sounds so tawdry. Ask any of your peers if they sell services and their unfiltered, off-the-cuff response will likely be “no” – until they think about it, and then grudgingly concede that yes, in fact, they do sell services.

Cringe if you must, but it is a fact that attorneys sell professional services. You must “sell” your expertise, your knowledge base, your ethics, your years of education and experience, your skills, your creativity, your ability to solve problems, your capacity for listening, your empathy, and your trustworthiness. When dealing with existing clients, where the bond has already been established, all you have to do is maintain the relationship. When you are actively seeking new business, however, it can often be particularly challenging to establish the necessary rapport to get a prospect in the door.

You have to tell a story.

In my last post, I discussed why stories are effective in marketing and sales. Incorporating stories into your marketing and business development will help you bond with your prospects, nurturing them and earning their trust. Trust is an essential step in the buying lifecycle, particularly when it comes to selecting a lawyer.

In this post, I review which stories will help you sell more services, earn you more business and boost your bottom line. Consider how you can thoughtfully incorporate these five types of stories that have been proven effective time and again into your marketing strategy.

Personal Stories

I started off this blog post with a personal story. Did you notice? If you’re still reading, it was at least moderately effective. One of the most successful ways to reach out to prospects and show them that you are their best choice for their estate planning needs is to profile yourself, your staff and your current clients in the form of a personal story. People respond to people, particularly if sincerity is palpable. Stories come in many shapes and sizes, so don’t be shy about recording one on video, jotting one down on your blog, drawing a cartoon, or sharing one on your Facebook page. Use first person whenever possible to establish that connection with your readers. Infuse emotion into the story so that your readers can relate and begin bonding with you on an emotional level. Anecdotal stories are frequently the easiest to draft, as the memories are yours. If story telling is new to you, start with a personal anecdote and go from there.

Success Stories

Success stories are just a twist on personal stories. Rather than using yourself as the main character, use your clients. They all have a story to tell – the story of how you helped them through a particularly painful situation. Success stories persuade, even when a sale is not the primary objective. While protecting your clients’ privacy, tell the story of their struggle. What was the issue? Why was it such a big problem? How did it affect the client’s life, business, family, perspective, financial resources, status in the community, relationships, reputation or success? Be specific. Be poignant. And then focus on the positive – the outcome, the success.

The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies conducted a youth-oriented anti-smoking campaign that was highly effective because they used success stories that included the initial struggle to overcome the addiction. The ads evoked empathy in addition to fear. Empathy was the winning trait. “Personal testimonial ads rely on emotional appeals that may enhance message relevance and credibility… there is increasing evidence that ads using personal stories are effective.” If success stories can convince teenagers not to smoke, couldn’t they be used to convince your prospects to hire you?

Pop Culture Stories

Pop culture is a great communication starter. At parties, we meet new people and discuss celebrities, television shows, pop culture happenings, politics and other current events as ice breakers. Use the same ice-breaker concept to break into your prospects’ hearts and minds. Tell the story of a known celebrity who has experienced a similar pain point as one your prospects might be facing. There are dozens of tragic stories of wealthy Hollywood types who “forgot” to plan for their estate, or failed to maintain and update their plans that resulted in family feuds that lasted for years. These kinds of stories are fodder for a “don’t follow this example” story that might resonate with your prospects. Consider adding how you would have handled and resolved the matter had you been involved, infusing yourself and your product or service into the story. As long as your prospects understand that it is a hypothetical situation, you may introduce yourself as the would-have-been protagonist.

Historical Stories

Persuading prospects to consider you for their estate planning needs can often come with stories from times of yore. The historical story might take a bit of additional research, but the time spent collecting data to support your case will likely be worth it when you get new business from it. On the summer television hit show Franklin & Bash on TNT, the partnering lawyers have a reputation for using both personal and historical stories in their courtroom antics with tremendous success. Their behavior may not be traditional or conservative, but it is effective. They use stories in each case to persuade and connect with the jury. While these are fictional characters in fictional courtrooms, the show’s writers developed the characters’ behavior based on standard neuromarketing research – stories have an emotional impact and can generate the desired response if told properly.

The relationship between lawyer and client is a complex one. It is professional, yes, but there is a personal element as well. Perhaps this is due to the client’s need to divulge sensitive or intimate information. Perhaps is it due to the nature of the work. Regardless of the reason, prospects have to get to know you, trust you and maybe even like you before they take the plunge to hire you. Using stories, you will create a bond with prospects that will help you win their trust and their business.

Becca Fieler is an Online Marketing Specialist for BizActions, a Thomson Reuters Business, serving as a strategic partner in the planning and implementation of electronic communication and marketing initiatives. She develops and oversees comprehensive programs that present marketing strategies and solutions to diverse audiences, including attorneys, accountants, banks and credit unions, human resource companies and other professional service providers.

Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com

Once upon a time, there was a Law Firm that wanted to grow. It was a good Law Firm, following the rules and regulations set forth by the regulatory agencies, providing quality client service and hiring only the best and brightest talent. It was a relatively young firm, but it dreamed of being recognized as one of the very best. It fantasized about becoming the leading provider of estate planning services. It envisioned multiple offices throughout the country. More than anything else, it wanted to grow.

What did the good little Law Firm do? It began telling stories, sharing educational and informative content in an engaging and interesting way. It began to highlight its services, benefits and people through storytelling. It began marketing by identifying with its target market, its prospects, its clients and its referral sources through relevant prose and attractive visuals. The Law Firm began to demonstrate its greatness through storytelling, and, little by little, began to grow. Soon, it was opening new offices, attracting better clients, expanding its service offerings and bringing in more qualified leads. The little Law Firm was very happy.

What is the moral of this brief story?

A good story can help you sell, whether your product is a gadget, an idea or a professional service. Why? As human beings, our brains process information better when it comes in the form of a story, whether auditory or visual. We are literally hard wired to react to stories more than any other form of information gathering. Cognitive and behavioral neuroscience research indicates that our brains respond to certain triggers either favorably or unfavorably. Occasionally, there is a minimal response either way, which indicates a complete lack of interest or engagement in the trigger. (If your marketing is eliciting zero response, keep reading!)

What does this have to do with marketing or selling?

Harvard University began studying the impact marketing strategies have on our brains (and therefore our reactions) back in 1990. While the term “neuromarketing” wasn’t actually coined until 2002 (by Ale Smidts), Harvard psychologists began experimenting to determine if they could effectively manipulate information to generate a specific reaction. The meme, originally coined by Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene, was the foundation for neuromarketing research. A meme replicates information and influences a decision maker within 2.6 seconds.

Dah Dah Dah DUM

Do you recognize that tune? The first four notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony are collectively a cultural meme, just as advertising slogans such as “Where’s The Beef?” and “Just Do It” are marketing memes. Memes are used (and recycled) in marketing all the time. When Puss in Boots was launching in theaters, DreamWorks ran an ad featuring Puss that was based on the Old Spice commercial series “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like”. Classic meme (watch the Puss in Boots commercial).

Since the dawn of neuromarketing, companies such as Google, CBS and Frito-Lay have used neuromarketing research to measure consumer response to products and promotions. Apparently, we cannot make a decision solely based on facts and logic. For professional service providers, this may come as a shock. It goes against the paradigm we have held dear for years. Facts, figures, statistics and logic: those are the keys to persuasion, right? Not really.

Use stories to entertain, inform and persuade

According to neuroscientists, most of our cognitive activity (i.e., what we think) occurs on a sub-conscious level, well beyond the reach of our active awareness. Highly emotional content tends to have the most positive reaction, activating oxytocin, producing feelings of empathy and helping us bond with one another. Oxytocin ensures that we bond, rather than merely eliciting pleasure for the sake of it. Bonding has been imperative to our survival as a species and is certainly critical to marketing and selling.

“Buy this product and it will do this” and “hire us because we’re the best” won’t sufficiently engage your prospects or create that essential bond. Facts are boring. They generate zero response on a biological level. You need to use stories to draw prospects in, titillate them, educate them, inform them and persuade them.

A story can potentially carry the entire sale for you, provided it has these six characteristics of highly persuasive stories (courtesy of the Neuromarketing blog for marketing and sales):

1. Impactful delivery.
2. Vivid imagery
3. Realism and understandability
4. Structure
5. Context and surroundings
6.  The proper audience

What story do you have to tell that will help you increase prospect engagement and boost sales? In my next post, I’ll review five types of stories that will help you sell more services.

Becca Fieler is an Online Marketing Specialist for BizActions, a Thomson Reuters Business, serving as a strategic partner in the planning and implementation of electronic communication and marketing initiatives. She develops and oversees comprehensive programs that present marketing strategies and solutions to diverse audiences, including attorneys, accountants, banks and credit unions, human resource companies and other professional service providers.

Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com

In my last post, I gave you five tips about preparing your blog so that you can maximize its reach, effectiveness and visibility. Organization is key to a well-maintained blog, but the most important element is content. Content makes or breaks a blog.

As you celebrate the New Year with friends and family, remember that, like the best holiday parties, the best blog content is authentic, unique, entertaining and interesting. Here are some tips on how to vary your blog posts to keep readers engaged and mesmerized.

1.      Tell a story

• Personal stories might include a “day in the life” of the managing partner

• Historical stories might include an attorney’s perspective on a past trial or case

• Expert or mentor stories might include how an industry guru helped steer your career

• Celebrity stories might include how an actor’s lack of preparation made his life difficult

 2.      Showcase your clients

• Address common problems your clients face

• Write case studies about a client’s success

• Video interview a client – keeping it short (no more than 2-3 minutes), you can provide authenticity and credibility for both you and the client

• Do a written or video Q&A with a client on a particular topic

• Write about how your most satisfied clients have benefitted from your service
  • What do they have in common?
  • How can other clients incorporate those lessons

• Include relevant testimonials with links to clients’ websites or blogs in your posts

3.      Highlight events that your firm and firm leaders are participating in

• Blog about sponsorships and events as soon as you register for them

• Blog about your preparation leading up to it, why people should stop by, who they can  connect with, etc.

• Blog “from behind the scenes” while you are at industry events and tradeshows

• Blog after events and give readers your take on the value of the event

4.      Spotlight your staff

• Do a virtual (video) tour of your offices

• Show readers where and how you work

• Interview staff members and write “did you know” interesting blog posts about key team members

5.      Develop a series of “how to” blog posts

• Turn “how to” posts into short 2-3 minute videos and post them as vlogs

• Do a series of “what not to do” blog posts to showcase the flip side

6.      Recycle other blog posts, articles, whitepapers, presentations and materials

• Update one of your own older posts with a new one that provides new insight and value to readers

• Write a blog post about an industry leader’s blog, adding your own spin on the topic or intelligently arguing against the writer’s opinion or advice (remember to be respectful)

• Include PowerPoint presentations on your blog by embedding links from Slideshare

• Convert a PowerPoint presentation into a series of blog posts, with each slide as a post (the slide can be the image), and then explain the slide as if giving the presentation

• Turn a whitepaper into a series of blog posts

• Convert an article into one or more blog posts

7.      Write about best practices in your industry

The keys to quality content on a blog are variety, authenticity, education and entertainment. It is just as important to keep your readers entertained, using videos, stories, cartoons, animations and infographics, as it is to keep them informed. Let your blog sparkle and shine in the New Year!

Becca Fieler is an Online Marketing Specialist for BizActions, a Thomson Reuters Business, serving as a strategic partner in the planning and implementation of electronic communication and marketing initiatives. She develops and oversees comprehensive programs that present marketing strategies and solutions to diverse audiences, including attorneys, accountants, banks and credit unions, human resource companies and other professional service providers.

Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com

Are you thinking about your blog strategy for 2013? From determining post topics to scheduling frequency to back-end tools, there are numerous elements that will affect how successful your blog can be. If you are starting from scratch, or hoping to increase readership and visits to your existing blog, the number of factors involved in jump-starting and maintaining a blog can seem overwhelming. This is especially true for professional service firms, despite the fact that the benefits of a well-manicured blog are loudly touted by industry leaders.

Where do you begin? Which elements are the most important? What can you do when time and resources are limited? Some firms throw up their hands in frustration, while others assign the blog to an entry-level staff member with no experience to simply “get something up there”. Few firms take the time to research best blogging practices before jumping into the blog fray.

Fortunately, it is not necessary to utilize the trial by fire method. You can learn many of the secrets to blogging success by following the examples set by some of the most popular and thriving blogs.

While there are hundreds of blogging strategies, tactics and tips available online, here are five tips that will help your blog sparkle and shine in the New Year.

Subscribe to and follow pertinent industry blogs and newsletters

• Review blogs and articles on a regular basis to see what’s topical, timely, and popular (Lawyerist, Lawyernomics, and Legal Insurrection are three of the highest ranked legal blogs)

• Gain inspiration and learn successful blogging strategies from existing popular blogs

• Link to highly ranked blogs in your blog posts (particularly if you use them as sources)

• Comment on other blogs and news articles to demonstrate your thought leadership and expertise, while providing a link back to your blog in your comment

Develop an Editorial Calendar for your blog

• Schedule at least one blog post per week

• Understand that your topics might change if something important comes up

• Brainstorm topics and ideas with your staff and colleagues and map them out

• Put topics on your calendar even if they haven’t been fleshed out yet

• Keep a tickler file of ideas and concepts

Let your readers (clients, prospects, referral sources) tell you what they want to read about

• Use email newsletter, direct mail, receptionist, social media and your website to poll readers and solicit topics and questions

• Allow readers to comment (with oversight) on your blog posts

• Ask questions in your blog posts that will generate comments

• Upon receipt of comments, take the time to respond directly and thank readers for the comments

• If someone asks a question, answer it; the answer could even be a new blog post – start the post off with the reader’s question and then answer it, giving credit to the reader for the question

Format your blog for visual impact and readability

•  Include an eye-catching or iconic image at the top of your blog

• Break up large blocks of text with interesting images

•  Use headings and sub-headings to make the blog easy to scan

•  Maximize the use of bullets and lists for readability

Optimize your blog for search engine optimization

•  If using WordPress, install the SEO All-in-One pack; other platforms have other tools

•  Maximize use of keywords, tags, and image attributes in your blog

• Promote your blog through your social media and online marketing outlets, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, your firm’s email newsletter, email blasts, Outlook signature, etc.

• Link back to other posts in your blog roll when they are relevant

• Link to external blogs, industry journals, and pertinent news outlets when appropriate

• Implement “subscribe” buttons via RSS and email; include blog links in your email newsletter

• Provide social media “share this” buttons on each blog post and make them easy to find and easy to use

• Use a large banner or button on your website to drive traffic to your blog

These tips will get you started on your path to blog success. In Part 2 of this series, I’ll review specific types of content that will also contribute to your blog’s ability to sparkle and shine in the New Year.

Becca Fieler is an Online Marketing Specialist for BizActions, a Thomson Reuters Business, serving as a strategic partner in the planning and implementation of electronic communication and marketing initiatives. She develops and oversees comprehensive programs that present marketing strategies and solutions to diverse audiences, including attorneys, accountants, banks and credit unions, human resource companies and other professional service providers.

Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com

It’s Football Season. Did you know that the start of football season coincides with another season, pertinent to law firms? Football season also kicks off Budget Season. Many law firms, like the majority of businesses, begin preparing next year’s budget during the last quarter (some even do it while watching Monday Night Football).

Here are three budgeting tips that will help you stay in the game longer, earn more fans and create a long-term winning streak.

 1. Draft a realistic game plan

Your budget is your financial and operational game plan for the coming year. Planning for the fundamentals is easy: overhead, salaries, supplies, marketing, etc. Flag on the field! Am I saying that marketing is a fundamental, essential expense? Absolutely. Marketing is your MVP and positions your law firm for success. You won’t have a winning season without it. Not including marketing in your annual budget is akin to benching your star quarterback. Draft your entire budget in writing, but don’t set the bar too high. You can’t score if you are unable to reach the end zone or field goal.

 2.  Keep your eye on the ball

Once your budget has been drafted, review it regularly to see how accurate your predictions were and if changes to the game plan are necessary. Host a monthly huddle with key management members to review the past month’s plays as well as formulate pending strategies for upcoming quarters. Frequent reviews help you stay on track, create a sense of teamwork and camaraderie, and ensure that each of your key players is following the same play book and aiming for the same goal.

 3. Don’t be sidelined by losses

Just as when there are several players on the field, your budget may be impacted by a number of unforeseeable factors. Your budget might remain on target for a quarter or two, only to be suddenly sacked by unexpected expenses. What happens in the first quarter, second quarter or even the third quarter doesn’t necessarily reflect the final score. Some months may have unexpected expenses while others offer unexpected opportunities. Due to your regular budget reviews, you will notice the fluctuations and take advantage when possible. One winning opportunity could easily offset a brief loss – the opportunities are often thrown into play by your MVP (marketing). Take advantage of cost-effective marketing strategies and communications to get back in the game.

Unfortunately, when most people think of a budget, they picture limitations, pain, penalty flags and fouls. It can be very difficult to view a budget as a positive rather than a negative. Your attitude can make or break the season. Begin by drafting a realistic financial game plan. Remember to budget for incidentals and give your superstars, such as marketing, adequate attention. By keeping your eye on your budgeting ball, your firm will be poised to take advantage of opportunities that might otherwise be missed. A solid game plan, budget-wise, will ensure that you will be able to run interference when an obstacle blocks your pass. Don’t let temporary losses take you out of the game – keep your eyes open for opportunities to compensate for minor financial injuries. If you follow these three simple budgeting tips, your firm is more likely to have a winning season, with raving fans to cheer you on for the long-term.

Becca Fieler is an Online Marketing Specialist for BizActions, a Thomson Reuters Business, serving as a strategic partner in the planning and implementation of electronic communication and marketing initiatives. She develops and oversees comprehensive programs that present marketing strategies and solutions to diverse audiences, including attorneys, accountants, banks and credit unions, human resource companies and other professional service providers.

Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com

The inbox can be a very noisy place. Email marketing continues to be a highly effective method to connect with, nurture and build long-term relationships with business contacts. But your firm is not the only organization vying for your contacts’ attention. The first way to ensure that your message can be heard over the din is to have an exceptional subject line.

There are few considerations to keep in mind when drafting a subject line for your email: deliverability, captivation, attention, importance and relevance. Here are 10 tips that will help you maximize opportunities by increasing your email marketing effectiveness through subject line finesse:

1. Be fresh. Don’t recycle subject lines. Using the same subject line launch after launch could result in your email being blocked by spam filters or dumped into junk folders. Even if it isn’t captured, repetitive subject lines miss the mark in telling the recipient what the email is really about, which is essential not only for improved deliverability but also for sparking interest and engagement.
2. Be relevant. Your subject line should be a succinct, descriptive summary of what your email is all about. One of the ways that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) determine whether or not your email is spam or junk is by using an algorithm that compares your subject line to the content within your email. As with Tip #1 above, not only will relevance affect deliverability, but it will also help spark interest in the topic at hand.
3. Be concise. Keep subject lines shorter than 49 characters (not words – characters). Any longer than that could be a spam trigger for some ISPs. You should be able to captivate your audience in a few short, expressive words that aptly describe your primary message.
4. Be editorial. Think of your subject line like a newspaper headline. Which headlines grab your attention when you browse your favorite paper or online news feed? Utilize an active voice to make your subject line audible amidst the inbox hullabaloo.
5. Be interesting. Don’t bore your readers before they even read your message. Pique their curiosity while maintaining relevance to the email’s content, by using questions, thought-provoking statements, or a metaphor that will entice recipients to open your mail.
6. Be informative. If your email contains a special video, infographic or event invitation, inform your readers through your subject line of that fact (i.e., “Video: Estate Planning For Dummies,” “Infographic: The Estate Planning Process From A to Z” or “Webinar: Estate Planning Strategies You Can’t Miss”).
7. Be branded. It can be a good idea to include your firm’s name in your subject line, provided you have that space to do so (remember how important it is to keep subject lines under 49 characters long). If you are new to email marketing, introducing your campaign by including your firm’s name (or a known abbreviation) in the subject line might help your contacts recognize your emails until they know what to expect from you and when.
8. Be calm. Avoid using ALL CAPS (which is equivalent to screaming and SCREAMING IS JUST RUDE) or exclamation marks. In order to convey a sense of urgency, try to use active verbs or include a date or deadline in the subject line (i.e., “Estate Tax Law Sunsets on December 31 – Are You Prepared?”).
9. Be safe. ISPs will likely block emails that use certain words in the subject line (or body content). The list of trigger words is constantly evolving, but certain words are clearly unsafe to use. To ensure the “safeness” of your message, don’t use trigger words such as “Free,” “Click,” “Open,” “Sale,” This isn’t junk/spam”, “Visit our website,” “One time only,” or dollar signs. Also refrain from using imperatives such as “Must,” “Now,” “Always,” “Never,” “Immediately,” or “Or Else.”
10. Be creative. Put your marketing hat on when drafting your subject line. Allow your creativity to come to the forefront. Read your email message and consider what the most important take-away is. Jot down a few keywords that describe that take-away and play with some interesting, engaging, actionable words to make it sound appealing and worth reading. Check the length and then go for it.

Rise above inbox ruckus by providing your audience with relevant content that is described in an engaging and thoughtful way in your subject line. Your contacts receive dozens of promotional emails every day and time is a valuable commodity for most of us. Use these ten tips to craft a subject line that politely screams “read me!” and lets your message be heard.

Becca Fieler is an Online Marketing Specialist for BizActions, a Thomson Reuters Business, serving as a strategic partner in the planning and implementation of electronic communication and marketing initiatives. She develops and oversees comprehensive programs that present marketing strategies and solutions to diverse audiences, including attorneys, accountants, banks and credit unions, human resource companies and other professional service providers.

Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com

In today’s fast-paced world of electronic communications, traditional paper news is old news. Hardcopy publishing just can’t compete with the timeliness and relevance of email. Email enables you to share news virtually “hot off the presses” with very segmented and targeted groups, increasing the relevance of the message. The problem is that the inbox is a very busy place and you don’t want your message lost in all the traffic. This can often be mitigated by presentation – how your message looks when a reader initially scans the contents.

Consider these seven tips to improve presentation and engagement when developing your email or e-newsletter campaign:

1. Keep the subject line short and concise. A common and avoidable mistake is a lengthy subject line. Many firms attempt to tell the entire story in the subject line, which often leads to the email never being seen by many of the recipients since long subject lines trigger spam and junk filters. Keep subject lines descriptive of the content in your email, but no longer than 49 characters (typically six to seven words).
2. Size the email properly. To maximize readability upon delivery, use email and newsletter templates that are no wider than 730 pixels. Wider emails require left-right scrolling, which will not only turn off your recipients but also hide content at first glance that might be important, such as a call to action, that might be included on the right hand side of your email.
3. Include an online link. Always include a link near the top of your email or newsletter so your recipients may view your message through their web browser if their inbox doesn’t render the email properly. Various email programs render email differently, and users often have images turned off. Including the online link enables them to view your email or newsletter online as it was intended to look.
4. Use quality graphics. Remember that your e-newsletter or email campaign represents your firm’s brand; sending out pixilated or fuzzy images results in a loss of credibility and hurts your brand. While it is not necessary to use high resolution photos in email, you should ensure that your images are a minimum of 72 dpi and not resized to be larger once the resolution has been set.
5. Communicate clearly in plain English. As mentioned, your recipients may have email images blocked by default, so be sure the text imparts your message even if the graphics aren’t viewed. Avoid using technical jargon that only professionals in the industry will comprehend. If your readers don’t understand your message, they will delete it or, worse, unsubscribe from your campaign. Write your content in common layman’s terms, in a conversational tone, to maximize engagement.
6. Avoid attachments, flash and embedded videos. Attachments and embedded videos may prevent delivery or will be stripped out of the delivered message. A better option would be to host these files online and provide links for your readers to click through to view them. Don’t be afraid to include video in your emails, provided you utilize links to the videos online (consider setting up a YouTube channel). Videos are highly engaging and may quickly grab your recipients’ attention if they are compelling and interesting – use an image placeholder of the first frame of your video as a graphic “button” they may click to watch your video.
7. Provide quality content. No matter how beautiful your email or newsletter is, you will lose readership if the content doesn’t live up to the packaging. Give your customers something tangible to take away from reading your communications. Tips, strategies, solutions and educational articles will generate long-term interest and your readers will look forward to your emails. Keep content informative, helpful and interesting for maximum readership and engagement.

If your goal is to produce an effective business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C) email or e-newsletter, keeping these seven tips in mind as you design your campaigns will give you the edge over other emails competing for attention in your readers’ inboxes.

Becca Fieler is an Online Marketing Specialist for BizActions, a Thomson Reuters Business, serving as a strategic partner in the planning and implementation of electronic communication and marketing initiatives. She develops and oversees comprehensive programs that present marketing strategies and solutions to diverse audiences, including attorneys, accountants, banks and credit unions, human resource companies and other professional service providers.

Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com