I am happy to report that I have officially shed my “COVID-15”. After several months of going to the gym every day and eating more protein and far fewer refined carbohydrates, I’m finally seeing results.
When I stepped on the scale this morning, as I do every morning that I go to the gym, it occurred to me that there is a marketing lesson here. I’ve always resisted weighing myself on a daily basis on the belief that somehow I would be discouraged in seeing the ups and downs of my weight loss. But a family member of mine is doing Noom, and according to Noom, weighing yourself every day is encouraged. While you may not see direct progress each time you step on the scale, weighing yourself regularly keeps you focused on your goals.
Marketing success is very similar. Measuring your marketing activity keeps you focused on your marketing goals. In legal marketing, your success is based on the sum total of all your activities. The important thing is to be slow and steady in posting on social media, participating in networking events, giving presentations, having coffee, sending items of interest to your contacts, etc. (depending on what you enjoy doing and what makes sense for your practice.)
While you don’t need to measure your activity on a daily basis, taking the time to assess your activity and review your plan is important in growing your practice.
If you want to measure your own marketing activity, complete my marketing audit (10 minutes), and schedule a time to speak to me for a free consult. I’m always happy to help lawyers reflect on their careers and on their marketing. #legalmarketing #lawyers #goalsetting
Yesterday was not a great day. I was driving on the highway and a car in front of me hydroplaned. In a matter of seconds, I smashed into it and then into a concrete block on the side of the road. You can see that the result in this picture. The car is probably totaled.
You don’t have to be a professor of English literature to come up with language that communicates what you do. In fact a complex message is likely to get lost. We are bombarded all day long with marketing messages. The ones that stick (and the ones that will lead to quality referrals–i.e. work you want to do), should be understood by a child in elementary school.
Some of my best (and worst ) inspirations come to me at 4:30 a.m. That happened to me in early February when I woke up thinking about all of the creative marketing ideas I’ve heard about in the last 12 months. Some of them have come from clients, some from fellow ProVisors members, and some from lawyers and other professionals I meet who have a flair for garnering attention.
I’ve always made a habit of responding to email messages within a day (even if just to say I’m sorry but I’m busy right now and will try to get back to you next week–or something like that). While I don’t always live up to this standard, I believe it is common courtesy to acknowledge that someone is trying to communicate with me (unless they are simply trying to sell me something).
For many lawyers, carving out time for marketing activities is challenging. When there is billable work to do, spending time on things that don’t immediately generate revenue is hard to prioritize. Of course as I’ve written many times, making marketing a habit will ensure more marketing success in the long run (see 
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If you want to grow your law practice, having a good strategy is important. Figuring out who are your ideal clients and what are the ideal matters you want to work on is an important first step in building a marketing plan. Creating a niche practice area is an important way to ensure that you have differentiated yourself from the competition. Mapping out who are your key referral sources and how you can build relationships with these referral sources is essential. The process of coming up with a marketing plan is anything but mindless. A scattershot approach that lacks focus is far less likely to be effective.