I spent an hour or so a couple weeks ago talking to an attorney who focuses on Pet Planning. She is quite successful in her efforts and I wanted to know more about how she attracted such a great flow of business. There were no huge secrets in what she had to say:

1. Be passionate about the pet niche or any other niche you are making an effort to serve. Be clear about what the estate planning challenges, needs and solutions are for the niche. It’s also very important to identify exactly what it is about the niche that causes you to connect to the needs people in that niche are worried about.
2. Connect with referral sources. In the case of the Pet Niche, are you making the professionals who work at the Humane Society, training or grooming providers or Rescue Shelters easier in some way. Find something that you do, that could take a little of their load off and provide it. Help them understand what you do. Ultimately, in addition to referrals, they can feature you as a guest speaker on the estate planning topic that they need to hear more about.
3. Go back through your existing clients and educate them on this new or renewed focus you have for the niche you’re passionate about.
4. Make the topic part of your consultation. Look at your Client Intake Forms and customize a corner or add a few questions about whether this prospective client has a pet, how many, what kind, how old are they, what’s the plan for them down the road… you’re guaranteed to find the person lights up and talks more about their pets that they often do their children!

Let your prospective clients, clients and centers of influence catch a glimpse of what you find important. Be human and take an extra moment to share a SMALL bit about why it is you have such a soft spot for the same thing they do.

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

Social media sites make it easy to brand your business. Unlike traditional forms of marketing, social media marketing allows you to instantly communicate your message to your prospects. It is with this ease of use that can also get you into a PR nightmare. Would you know what to do if someone in your office makes an offensive or inappropriate social post? More importantly, how do you react if someone in your social network sees that post and reports you? It’s time you learn the Social Media Playbook for how to handle Social Media PR blunders.

Step 1: The best offense is a good defense. If you make a mistake, and people see it, own up to it. The best thing about social media is that it provides for a quick communication turnaround time. Get right into the conversation and apologize if anyone was offended.

Step 2: Offense sells tickets, but defense wins games. Your social media offense comes in the form of the updates you make to your social media profiles, and it’s gotten you a certain number of fans. But make a bad defensive move, and you can lose a fan, follower or connection. Even when you stand by your post, insulting or arguing with your social media prospect or customer is the fastest way of losing a point in the social media marketing game.

Step 3: Pain is only temporary but victory is forever. Addressing this social media blunder internally will help avoid future social media disasters. Talk to your staff about what you consider appropriate material for your social media marketing updates. Also, it is important that the staff you designate this responsibility to is well versed in the laws and policies of each social media accounts you are utilizing.

Step 4: Stick to the game plan, but audible when necessary. Having an internal game plan for social media marketing and sticking to it is the key to victory. But sometimes, calling an audible is a necessary part of the game (most of us know in football terms, this means calling a play on the fly). Social media allows people to publish instantly and with ease. It’s important not to let the approval process slow you down from responding to an URGENT social media matter. A simple apology or acknowledgement can go a long way.

Step 5: Practice makes perfect. Don’t be afraid to get in the game. The more your post, the more familiar you’ll get with the social media landscape, and the less likely you’ll find yourself in a social media PR nightmare.

Vera Galace
SEO & Social Media Manager
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com

Survey Shows 43% of Past Seminar Producers Quit Seminar Marketing Due to Poor Conversion Skills

I recently reviewed results from outbound survey calls to financial professionals who conducted seminars in the past 4 years – but who have since stopped using seminars – and identified  “Conversion” (converting seminar attendees to appointments) to be the biggest single reason for discontinuing the use of Seminars for Prospecting.

From the very first seminar campaign in 1992, I told financial professionals that seminar attendees were a different kind of prospect than those who replied to a typical direct mail letter or yellow page ad. Back then, the social seminar concept – what we now call the SeminarSuccess Program – was so new to both the financial world and consumers that conversion wasn’t a big challenge.

Over the past 10-plus years, consumers by the millions have filled private dining rooms and hotel conference rooms across the country to meet and listen to financial professionals talk about every facet of financial, estate and tax planning. But, as with any industry, competition turned the “social event” concept from an opportunity for an advisor to talk with and meet and set appointments their ideal prospects to the consumer seizing the opportunity to ‘shop’ for a new financial professional – or at least look for a second opinion.

This change in the perception and behavior of the seminar-attending public, coupled with the results of the producer survey, was the primary motivation we created SeminarSuccess University (SSU). This 2 ½ day program in Tampa, FL, is taught by long-time seminar producer, author and instructor, Frank Maselli. SSU has already made a big difference in the lives of past graduates.

In preparation for this month’s blog, I called Frank to get his thoughts on why SSU has been so successful. He said, “In my follow-up calls with SSU students, I’m hearing one success story after another. It’s not saturation or competition or even compliance that was the big obstacle to being a successful seminar marketer – it was conversion.”

The key to conversion is understanding your audience – and that’s what Frank teaches at SSU – how to leverage the emotional dynamic that occurs in every seminar to make an attendee WANT to sit down with you for a consultation.

No one converts one-hundred percent of their attendees, but at SSU, Frank (with over 5,000 public seminars under his belt himself) teaches financial professionals how to increase the percentage of those who will set appointments and how to convert their post-seminar prospects to clients.

Think about the top athletes in almost every sport. They ALL still search out help from trainers and coaches to help improve their game and skill set. To be honest, I don’t care where you go to get the extra training necessary to help improve your conversion skills – just do it!

For more information about SeminarSuccess University and Frank Maselli, go to:  www.seminarsuccessuniversity.com

Jorge Villar is President of Response Mail Express (RME), with more than 26 years of direct marketing experience, he is known in several industries for his ability to create mail packages that garner the highest response rates. He is responsible for the Seminar Success program that, for the last 17 years has accounted for more than 65% of the events being held in the nation with over 14 million individuals making reservations. Mr. Villar has also been very successful marketing to physicians and business owners regarding Success Planning and Asset Protection. Response Mail Express, and parent company DME, is a $100+ million marketing powerhouse, housing over 600 employees in their 2 state-of-the-art facilities in Florida. Their marketing ideas are presently being utilized by over 10,000 clients, including: top producing advisors, estate planning attorneys, large financial organizations, health care organizations, universities and many other industries. Mr. Villar is a frequent key note speaker at national financial symposium and training conferences.

Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Ave Ste 300
San Diego, CA 92123
858-453-2128
www.aaepa.com

To many lawyers, marketing a law practice is collection of dark arts, where the focus is on a confusing array of the latest tactics. This kind of approach is bound to fail and waste a lot of money in the process. Because attorneys are often a logical group, I thought I’d offer some strategic step-by-step concepts so you can see if your marketing activities are on track.

Step number one is to identify your ideal clients. No use having a fabulous marketing campaign generating lots of business from clients that are unprofitable, or worse, that you hate working with. Construct a virtual avatar of all the perfect clients’ traits and demographics. That’s right, actually construct a vivid picture of these folks or companies. Where do they live? What kind of income and net worth do they have? What organizations do they belong to? Where do they spend their leisure time? You get the picture.

Next, identify the lifetime value of those ideal clients. In other words, over the full lifetime relationship with your firm how much revenue will they generate. This is an important and often surprising number because it will influence how much money you spend on marketing efforts. After all, if you knew that over many years clients typically generate $35,000 in fees to your firm you would have no problem spending more money acquiring that client as opposed to focusing just on the $3,500 initial transaction. The question you should always be asking is how much would I gladly pay to acquire a client worth $35,000 to my firm. The answer will change the way you look at marketing expenses.

With the ideal client profile and the lifetime value of the client firmly fixed in your mind, you’re ready to start the 7 step marketing funnel that we can discuss in our next blog.

Robert Armstrong
President & Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
6050 Santo Rd Ste 240
San Diego, CA 92124
858-453-2128
www.aaepa.com

For as long as professionals have been using social educational or dinner seminars to get in front of a consistent flow of qualified prospects there has been a persistent myth through the years: “People don’t go to seminars during the summer.”

FALSE: Good marketers listen to consumers and base their approach on data, behaviors and trends. For the past 15+ years, we have been the most vocal advocate for holding summer seminars BECAUSE THEY WORK and PEOPLE SHOW UP. There are plenty of folks to mail to…no community leaves town all at once.

THE FACTS: Your target audience does not suspend their needs, concerns or issues during the summer…nor at any other part of the year for that matter. They need your solutions year round…makes total sense right?

A comprehensive review of seminars marketed for the months of June, July and August in both 2009 and 2010 shows that over 90,000 reservations were taken!

When I recently asked a group what motivated them to conduct summer seminars, the overwhelming response was, “…because they work like any other time of the year (maybe except on December) and the main strategy behind it is because my competition takes the summer off” (they fall victims to the myth).

Another theme that emerged in those interviews was the importance of not losing production momentum. One confessed the obvious, “I know from personal experience that it takes an average of 30 to 60 days to convert a seminar prospect to a client. If I was to take two or three months off during the summer I’d be hard pressed to meet my personal and business goals.” BIG FACT!!

One other added, “Marketing and lead generation works the same way any program does. Starting and stopping my marketing based on months of the calendar is short-term thinking. Since I know marketing is an investment I need to be in front of prospects every month of the year. After all, if they (prospects) aren’t meeting with me they are meeting with someone else.”

It’s a season to steal away clients from your local competitors. Let them live the myth and be dormant. While the case for holding seminars during the summer is a clear and convincing one, some have also opted to mail out personalized invitations to private, one-on-one dinner meetings during those months. A program that was created more than four years ago, generates pre-qualified, pre-set appointments with the elusive, affluent prospects that historically don’t respond to seminar invitations.

Bottom line, professionals who continue their marketing efforts throughout the year will see more prospects, increase their client-base and generate the highest revenues. Avoid the myths, listen to the consumers…all good marketers do.

Jorge Villar is President of Response Mail Express (RME), with more than 26 years of direct marketing experience, he is known in several industries for his ability to create mail packages that garner the highest response rates. He is responsible for the Seminar Success program that, for the last 17 years has accounted for more than 65% of the events being held in the nation with over 14 million individuals making reservations. Mr. Villar has also been very successful marketing to physicians and business owners regarding Success Planning and Asset Protection. Response Mail Express, and parent company DME, is a $100+ million marketing powerhouse, housing over 600 employees in their 2 state-of-the-art facilities in Florida. Their marketing ideas are presently being utilized by over 10,000 clients, including: top producing advisors, estate planning attorneys, large financial organizations, health care organizations, universities and many other industries. Mr. Villar is a frequent key note speaker at national financial symposium and training conferences.

Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
6050 Santo Road, Suite 240
San Diego, CA 92124
858-453-2128
www.aaepa.com

The words “Nice Bike” to all who attended the Summit, including the entire Academy staff, never meant so much until the New Orleans event. Our guest speaker, Mark Scharenbroich, author of Nice Bike: Making Meaningful Connections on the Road of Life, did more than make a keynote presentation. He honored, acknowledged, and connected with all of us by showing us firsthand how to make meaningful connections. Many Members made it a point to let us know, either right after the session or on their evaluations, that this was a phenomenal speaker and topic!

This Summit was about “connection.” Connection begins with you connecting to why you do what you do and moves on to connecting with your staff, prospects and clients. For those at the Summit, let this be the reminder to create structure and accountability so this message does not get lost and overcome by the demands of daily activity. For those offices who were unable to attend, be sure to calendar time to listen to this session, take notes, and plan for a review of the other sessions at the Summit. There was a wide array of important game changing concepts covered that you will be able to implement immediately.

ACADEMY BOOT CAMP
Prior to the Summit, we held an Academy Systems Boot Camp for partners, associates attorneys, and attorneys looking into Membership. We spent 8 hours reviewing strategic planning, marketing approaches and planning, tracking, and the entire Academy “think like a business owner, not a technician” philosophy. They also learned more about the Academy services and programs, which will enable them to take immediate advantage of the full scope of Membership benefits on an ongoing basis. The feedback from Members and participants was outstanding, and we are making plans for another Boot Camp at the Fall Summit.

THURSDAY SESSIONS
We shook things up and did some things differently at this Summit. We kicked off the event with a drawing for a free Kindle – the winner was Jim Nash, a 16-year Member from IL. We eliminated many of the Member Day topics and instead created a Summit Program with the typical Member Day items in there. Our focus during the session was on the New Developments at the Academy. We touched on the new Legacy Wealth Planning Co-Author Book Project, a new style of marketing videos specifically designed for the internet, and our latest technology developments. It is important to listen to this first session to hear about the upcoming upgrades to CounselPro™ regarding Lifetime Funding and the new Trust Administration module. In addition, we announced the continuation of a project that was sidelined as we reviewed document language. We are currently programming our documents into the commercial document assembly program HotDocs. Some Members currently use this program and we are well on the way to having our documents on this platform.

We ended our session with a review of our last keynote speaker, Darren Hardy. His message was inspiring and focused on individual productivity. Many Members told us they have implemented some of his recommendations. As we heard, “The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” The Compound Effect was the perfect message leading up to Mark  Scharenbroich and Nice Bike! There was definitely a special connection between Mark and the Membership during his presentation. This connection continued as he signed books and well into the evening when he and his wife joined us for the cocktail party and dinner. Nice Bike Mark!

FRIDAY SESSIONS
Success Stories: This is always a highlight of every event. Don’t miss the recording and materials from this session and use the successes of others to immediately impact your business. Although all of them were noteworthy, be sure to pay attention to the referrals received from the internet through the SEO program. In fact, one Member forwarded a website lead request email to us just after the Summit and shared the following: “Just look at these amazing Internet requests. Of course I’ll schedule this prospect when she has a good day. Isn’t this amazing? Look at the people you are helping! At the next event I would suggest you show the Members about 100 of these real examples.“

Good idea! We ask that your offices forward meaningful web leads to your PBC – those that turn into clients, or additional work or referrals!

Ethics Case Studies: Best Practices and Biggest Blunders: Members really thought the format of this session was great and there was a lot of contribution by Members. In addition, Dennis and Steve plan to provide follow up to the session in the upcoming months.

Financial Database Session: Always a favorite of Members and extremely informative! Thanks to our panel of Members who were kind enough to share their numbers with participating Members. We always wonder why all Members do not submit financials (which remain confidential and NO OTHER MEMBERS see your numbers unless you volunteer for the panel discussion). One success factor is being able to model what highly successful Academy attorneys are doing. This gives you the exact financial information which reveals their success. If you have not participated, make sure you do not miss this discussion at the next Spring Summit. The top owner compensation was $846,000. Come find out how it was done by making 2011 the year you will participate! Talk to your PBC for more details.

Funeral Trusts, Insurance Cases and Medicare Supplemental Insurance: This session covered several important topics. Funeral Trusts was presented by Steven Prince of Premier Planning (Bryan Adams was out of the country) and it is fast becoming a standard part of estate plans. There is a lot of activity inside the Academy Membership as well as by others not in the Academy. If you are not meeting this need for your clients, then it is likely that some other professional has or will. The top Academy firm has funded $1.5M in funeral trusts. This session covered how they did it. The Insurance Cases session reviewed several case studies that have been handled by Steven Burmeister of Premier Planning. The cases were interesting and may likely apply to one of your client situations. The final topic was Medicare Supplemental Insurance which many of your clients may already have in place; however, one primary benefit you can offer them is the same insurance at a lower cost. Premier Planning has a turn-key system to make this happen for you. For more information, contact Bryan Adams at badams@premier-planning.com to let him know what services you’re interested in and expect a follow up from him or his staff. If you have not yet worked with Premier Planning, take advantage of this opportunity to work with an organization that can help you, help your clients with these important planning decisions and leave a lasting, positive impression of your firm and the services you provide.

SEO and the Future of Legal Services: 89% of shoppers begin online, 2 out of 3 consumers use Google to find your firm. There is no doubt that visibility online is vital to a firm’s success. This session highlighted the importance of online marketing and the latest tools for use in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) that every law firm needs to implement. We reviewed the constant changes happening at Google and other search engines, the importance of SEO and social media, actions you can take now to get better placement, and the use of smart phones, mobile websites, and text notifications. Stay tuned for more innovation in this area.

Social Event: Even with the Mississippi River water level rising by the minute, the weather was perfect for dinner and conversation at the Audubon’s Swamp Exhibit. Although the band got caught in traffic, no one seemed to mind. The Cajun food was great, and a few Members even took advantage of the dance lessons to learn how to dance to lively Zydeco music.

Saturday Sessions
New Law, New Strategy: Dennis and Steve gave a brief overview of the new law and then focused on how to take advantage of the two-year window of opportunity. They spent most of the session exploring a case study and the pros and cons of various planning strategies.

Getting the Best of Both Worlds: Assets Separate During Life, Together at Death: This discussion caused a great deal of buzz because of the unique opportunities available through the use of general powers of appointment. Steve walked through the PLR funding options (200101021 and 200604028), which allow the use of the survivor spouse’s funds to fully fund the Family Trust. Steve also showed how to get a step-up in basis on the Family Trust at the death of the surviving spouse, by using his unique contingent GPOA, getting a step-up in basis whenever possible!

Client Engagement Standards and the Impact on Profitability: This covered a topic introduced earlier in the year, Engagement Standards (ES). These standards set forth what clients should expect from your law firm and what you expect from your clients. We introduced a methodology for you to follow when developing your law firm’s ES. In addition, we covered how and when to implement this with clients. This can dramatically improve your practice and set the stage for referrals. We will continue to discuss this topic throughout the year because this can be a game changer in your firm.

Technology Update: We covered two important developments in the technology area. DocuBank shared their new SAFE program (Store All Files Electronically), which provides client portals from your website to store clients’ healthcare and other important documents. Make sure to contact DocuBank about this new addition to their services. We also had a demonstration of creating an Academy document using the new HotDocs program. We look forward to the initial release of the Academy HotDocs program.

Roundtable Session: Members openly sharing what works in their practices is always a session that has immediate impact on Member firms. The topic covered at this event was Setting and Quoting Fees – Charging What Your Services Are Worth. A special thanks to each of the panelists who shared their specific fees, methodology and successes. Be sure to listen and compare what you’re doing to the strategies these Members are using.

Sunday Sessions
Sunday was devoted to education where Dennis and Steve covered Avoiding Estate Planning Malpractice, Including New Cutting Edge Claims - how about that for Sunday morning excitement! The final topic was Getting Medicaid and VA Benefits Without Giving Up the Farm. This was a comprehensive half day of education with great feedback from all who attended!

BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Introduction of CounselPro™ 6A:  Donna Hooper and Randy Harwick showed staff and Members the new design features of the soon-to-be-released update for CounselPro™ 6.0. This update includes the redesign of Lifetime Funding, integration of Advanced Funding, a new Trust Administration and Probate Module, and four new Wizards. The new Funding redesign tracks asset information in one screen, allows offices to add and update funding institutions globally, and to transfer assets from any source to any destination, including Family and Marital Trusts, or other trust type transfers. The new Funding Wizards automate the entire transfer process. The new Trust Administration and Probate module includes a new field for administration capacity, the ability to automate government, state and local deadlines by date of death, various member selected trigger points, generate forms, letters, and reports, and manage scheduling and calendaring. Keep an eye out for installation information in the coming months. Members attending the session were impressed with the comprehensive nature of the program. The session also provided a forum for user input as the final programming is being completed.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR OUR UPCOMING EVENTS!
2011 Fall Summit in downtown San Diego:  October 13-16, 2011

Optional Educational Training (same location):  October 16-17, 2011
We are already working on the Summit agenda for this event! Be sure to book your rooms now at the U.S. Grant Hotel. Optional Educational Training will be offered on October 16 and 17, topics to be announced.

2012 Spring Summit in historic Williamsburg, VA:  May 3-6, 2012
Hotel information will be posted soon.

Keep in mind… If you miss one Summit, at least 365 days will have passed since you were surrounded by the most successful, knowledgeable, and like-minded estate planning business entrepreneurs in the country. This is not something to take lightly. More ideas and inspiration, that produce vast amounts of revenue, are exchanged at Academy events than any other place you could go.

Don’t leave your future to chance—mark your calendar now and commit to working on your business and your life with the rest of your Academy community!

ONE FINAL THOUGHT
Most attorneys never understand the importance of investing in themselves and their staff. You are all different and continue to invest in your business in many ways. As entrepreneurs, you have chosen to get more out of life than the rank and file attorneys out there who leave their destiny in others’ hands. You have accepted the risk, responsibility, and rewards that go with this territory, rather than the illusory security of a job and the routine that usually follows. To all of you – Nice Bike!

To your success,

Robert and Sandy

Robert Armstrong & Sanford M. Fisch
Co-Founders
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
6050 Santo Road Ste 240
San Diego, CA 92124
858-453-2128
www.aaepa.com

Being a marketing professional, I’m always watching trends in demographics to identify new or expanding opportunities, and today’s entry might be a wake-up call to many of you. If you are not targeting affluent women, you are in for a rude awakening. There is a female revolution taking place – not only will women continue to EARN more than half of the country’s wealth, but they are also inheriting a large percentage of it.

You have been hearing for years that women are outliving their spouses and most likely controlling the majority of wealth, but most of you have maybe ignored this fact. Many do, and you are not alone.

Why? Because, up until now, women were willing to relinquish control to their professional advisor or to another man in their life. Those days are over. If you have not made a serious effort in your practice to develop strong relationships with women, you may want to now re-consider your approach.

Here are some facts:

• According to a 2008 LIMRA Report, over 70% of women who lose a spouse will change advisors in 3 years. Will they change their attorney as well?

• 95% of the U.S. home addresses have the male’s name as the head of household, so when you mail out an invitation or a promotion you are targeting the male only. Why not target the female – you may be surprised with the response.

• In that same LIMRA report, only about one in six male insurance representatives and roughly half of all female representatives plan to target the female market. Marketing to women is less than 25%.

• Working women are earning $4.3 trillion income annually.

• Among affluent women, 72% are NOT satisfied with their current advisor.

Today women want and expect more from their professional advisor, and the more is not about performance. Most male clients are concerned about performance and fees; when women typically focus on relationships and process. While the male client appreciates white papers and market updates, women typically want education and personal relationships.

Being aware of a trend and opportunity is one thing – acting on it and adjusting your marketing efforts is another. You can target this demographic and fill seminars and appointment calendars with these motivated, affluent women. They need to be involved in all financial and legal decisions. Speak directly to them with your marketing. Try it. It makes total sense in today’s world.

Jorge Villar is President of Response Mail Express (RME), with more than 26 years of direct marketing experience, he is known in several industries for his ability to create mail packages that garner the highest response rates. He is responsible for the Seminar Success program that, for the last 17 years has accounted for more than 65% of the events being held in the nation with over 14 million individuals making reservations. Mr. Villar has also been very successful marketing to physicians and business owners regarding Success Planning and Asset Protection. Response Mail Express, and parent company DME, is a $100+ million marketing powerhouse, housing over 600 employees in their 2 state-of-the-art facilities in Florida. Their marketing ideas are presently being utilized by over 10,000 clients, including: top producing advisors, estate planning attorneys, large financial organizations, health care organizations, universities and many other industries. Mr. Villar is a frequent key note speaker at national financial symposium and training conferences.

Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
6050 Santo Road Ste 240
San Diego, CA 92124
858-453-2128
www.aaepa.com

So you’ve decided to make the leap to online marketing. If you do it right, this decision could be one of the best you’ll make. With a strong online presence, your law firm can interact powerfully with clients and potential clients, you can establish your authority and expertise among the people in your community, and you can become the go-to source for information and help when people in your city – or even your state – have a problem that falls into your practice area.

But, as with most other important endeavors, there’s a right way and a wrong way to proceed. Here are three don’ts that have the potential to derail your online marketing efforts and alienate the people you’re trying to reach:

1. Link Baiting. How many times have you been online, seen an intriguing headline, and clicked through only to find out that the article, blog post, or other content following the headline just doesn’t deliver as promised? This is called link baiting, and it can be a tempting way to increase traffic to your website or blog. However, it’s a huge no-no. There’s nothing wrong with catchy titles – as a matter of fact, they make for smart and effective marketing. However, it’s critical to make sure the article matches the content you’re providing. Otherwise, you’ll lose credibility and alienate potential clients.
2. Mousetrapping. You want visitors to stay on your website as long as possible, but you don’t want to use a technique called mousetrapping to accomplish this. Mousetrapping is the incredibly frustrating (and, in some cases, illegal) array of tricks that keep a user from navigating away from your site. Maybe you’ve experienced it… you visit a website, decide it’s time to move on, and all of a sudden, you’re faced with endless pop-ups or the same page keeps reloading over and over again. Not a good way to win over potential clients.
3. Keyword Overload. Don’t sacrifice your website or blog content on the altar of keyword density. Granted, search engine optimization (SEO) is important, but if the “right” keyword density makes an article or blog post repetitive, hard to follow, or downright nonsensical, you’ll drive away the very people you’re trying to win over. Remember, write for your reader.

The world of online marketing can be an overwhelming one for attorneys. That’s why Robert Armstrong and I have collaborated on our soon-to-be-released book, Dominating Your Market. In it, we offer a blueprint for establishing a commanding internet presence for your firm, giving you all the tools you need to harness the unique power of the internet to position your firm as the source clients in your market seek out to meet their needs.

Sanford M. Fisch
CEO & Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
6050 Santo Rd Ste 240
San Diego, CA 92124
858-453-2128
www.aaepa.com

Every advertising medium has natural advantages and inherent limitations. Let’s talk about two of the most popular; newspaper ads and direct mail. Consider newspaper if you are selling to a general market, because newspapers are generally bought by all segments of the population. Direct mail can be an easy and relatively inexpensive method of selling your products or services and every business has the potential to increase their profits through the intelligent use of direct mail advertising. Let’s look at both of them a little more closely.

Direct Mail Benefits

• Can personalize each piece to the recipient

• Can target a very specific demographic, such as Age, Income, Net worth, Homeowners

• Can create interest immediately to get the prospect to open (if done properly, a good direct mail piece should land in the 3^rd pile of mail… 1^st pile is garbage i.e. credit card offers, large glossy Bed Bath and Beyond type mail, etc; 2^nd pile is bills, and the 3^rd pile is any cards, letters, and stuff you’re not really sure of, but will plan to open)

• Can enclose tickets to the event, in addition to the letter; which can increase attendance

• Each letter campaign gives you the ability to precisely track your return on investment. This way you know to the penny whether or not your marketing plan is working

Having a long term, well thought out marketing plan for Direct Mail can be highly profitable as CONSISTENCY is the key. You don’t really see a Billboard on the Interstate up for one or two days… It’s up for a month or two or longer! As with most forms of marketing, there are ebbs and flows; not every single direct mail campaign is going to blow the doors off – stick with it and continue to market consistently and you’ll see tremendous results. The more you stay in front of prospects the better! Also keep in mind, your piece is competing with dozens of other pieces for attention. If it’s your first time using direct mail or you haven’t achieved the results you desire, make sure you use the experts or it could be a waste of money.

Newspaper Benefits

• You can reach certain socio-segments of your market by placing your ads in different sections of the paper such as: sports, comics, crosswords, news, classifieds, etc

• The newspaper offers a predictable frequency of publication: once, twice or up to seven times a week

• An advertiser has flexibility in terms of ad size and placement

• Newspapers can allow for reaching certain neighborhoods or living communities, as most will have a smaller circulation or neighborhood paper

Something to consider… Any given advertising message must compete for the reader’s attention. The paper may contain hundreds of ads, as well as dozens of articles and features for the reader to wade through. If the total time spent scanning a newspaper is only 20 minutes, your ad may not be noticed by a significant number of people. You also have no assurance that every person who receives the newspaper will read your ad or will open an elegant looking piece of mail. They may not read the section you advertised in, or they may simply have skipped the page because it contained little or nothing else of interest.

No matter where you advertise, always coordinate your efforts with other methods to significantly increase your return. And, ALWAYS diligently test and track your campaigns.

Happy Marketing!

Jorge Villar is President of Response Mail Express (RME), with more than 26 years of direct marketing experience, he is known in several industries for his ability to create mail packages that garner the highest response rates. He is responsible for the Seminar Success program that, for the last 17 years has accounted for more than 65% of the events being held in the nation with over 14 million individuals making reservations. Mr. Villar has also been very successful marketing to physicians and business owners regarding Success Planning and Asset Protection. Response Mail Express, and parent company DME, is a $100+ million marketing powerhouse, housing over 600 employees in their 2 state-of-the-art facilities in Florida. Their marketing ideas are presently being utilized by over 10,000 clients, including: top producing advisors, estate planning attorneys, large financial organizations, health care organizations, universities and many other industries. Mr. Villar is a frequent key note speaker at national financial symposium and training conferences.

Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
6050 Santo Rd Ste 240
San Diego, CA 92124
858-453-2128
www.aaepa.com

Many folks have told me in the last 25 years that marketing does not work in certain areas, or with certain people, or with certain products or with certain services. It’s normal and it happens to thousands of businesses. Direct mail doesn’t work anymore, this part of the country doesn’t do well with seminars, it’s too expensive – I hear it all the time.

But GOOD marketing does work… anywhere and with anything, if done RIGHT. To be successful in marketing yourself, your business and your services, you have to abide by proven and tested formulas. Most importantly, do it right to begin with, then do it with frequency. Allocate a specific budget (4% to 7% of your revenues) and do not stop spending it. Have a message that impacts your audience and makes them want to call you. Make it easy for them to meet with you. Give examples of what you are doing that has helped so many in your surrounding area. Offer an expert opinion on what they’re doing now may not be working. Give folks a relevant GIFT for taking the time to see you.

To make sure you’re using good marketing, hire expertise and follow what has worked before for so many others in your particular industry. In real estate sales they tell you to invest in what others will buy – not in what YOU would buy. Makes sense right? The fact is, it’s about what the consumers are telling you they like. That is what good marketers guide themselves by… not by gut or personal instinct. Doing the latter will cost you lots of money and lots of headaches.

Frequency is what good marketers do so well. They stick to things and stand above others. Because they continue to market they are there when the consumers are ready to make a decision to buy. Some even say that the message and the vehicle is less important than the frequency in which you do it.

Your marketing investments will pay-off if you commit to an ongoing promotion plan. So many folks are so close to turning the corner in marketing themselves and reaching what is called “CRITICAL MASS,” but then they stop. Don’t let that be you.

Continue to market your business and do it the right way… oh yeah, and with frequency.

Jorge Villar is President of Response Mail Express (RME), with more than 26 years of direct marketing experience, he is known in several industries for his ability to create mail packages that garner the highest response rates. He is responsible for the Seminar Success program that, for the last 17 years has accounted for more than 65% of the events being held in the nation with over 14 million individuals making reservations. Mr. Villar has also been very successful marketing to physicians and business owners regarding Success Planning and Asset Protection. Response Mail Express, and parent company DME, is a $100+ million marketing powerhouse, housing over 600 employees in their 2 state-of-the-art facilities in Florida. Their marketing ideas are presently being utilized by over 10,000 clients, including: top producing advisors, estate planning attorneys, large financial organizations, health care organizations, universities and many other industries. Mr. Villar is a frequent key note speaker at national financial symposium and training conferences.

Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
6050 Santo Rd Ste 240
San Diego, CA 92124
858-453-2128
www.aaepa.com