Why you must market your law firm, even when you don’t want to

I’ve said it before, and I will say it again – legal marketing isn’t easy. You have to work at it on a daily basis. Back in 2006 or so when I was first starting my solo practice, I remember this cycle.

1. Market really hard to bring in new clients.
2. Get new clients and get busy doing legal work.
3. Stop marketing the law practice.
4. Work dries up, so you start marketing again.
5. Rinse and repeat.

David Lorenzo, of the Rainmaker Lawyer, recently wrote “Do something every day in an attempt to attract new clients.  Something big or something small.  It doesn’t matter.” I couldn’t agree more.

You need to market your law firm ever. single. day.

You have to do something, anything, every single day to keep your law firm moving forward, keep the phone ringing, keep setting up consult for new clients. If you don’t, you will wake up one day with no more clients left and no idea where the next one is coming from.

I took part in a coaching program years ago when I first learned about this roller coaster phenomenon that can be marketing a law practice. I was just starting to hit a low point after having a lot of legal work come my way. My practice coach told me that the efforts I put in today to try and generate new business would take between 3 to 4 months to produce a difference in my firm.

I don’t necessarily agree with that comment today – but you get the idea. If you stop marketing, the phone will stop ringing – it’s that simple. But if you spend even one hour each and everyday doing something to market your law firm, then you will be well on your way to building a practice that you can be proud of.

What can I do each day to market my law firm?

The answer to that question depends on a lot of factors, but here are some quick ideas of things you can do to market your firm:

1. Take a referral source to lunch or coffee, or better yet, take one referral source to coffee and another to lunch.
2. Write a blog post.
3. Write a book on your practice area.
4. Write a monthly newsletter.
5. Hire a marketing assistant to help you stay on track when your practice inevitably gets busy.
6. Pick up the phone and call a referral source to schedule a future meeting.
7. Record a podcast for your website.

So stop reading this right now and get going. Pick up the phone and call someone that can refer you business. It’s the easiest and fastest way to build up your name and reputation in the community and get people referring to you fast. Wondering who to call? Lawyers in different practice areas that yours are typically the best referral sources to other lawyers.

Take a minute and comment below, letting me know what action you took to market your law firm today.