"Why don't you write on how to market legal services?"
Colin very kindly asked me to write on this topic as I run a law firm, coach other lawyers on living great lives while they run great firms and before that ran a marketing company for lawyers.
But here's the thing...I hate this topic. Okay, to be fair, I hate how most people explain this topic. So I swear to you, you will get an answer to this question but in a very different way than normal. But first, I want to explain to you why most of what you have been taught about marketing sucks.
When it comes to marketing legal services...who normally talks/presents/explains about this? Marketing companies. Or people who otherwise want to sell you their software/product/service. So they explain to you about how amazing SEO is and why there's so much value with TikTok ads right now, or why you NEED to be making niche content right now.
And guess what, they're all right, or wrong, or both, or neither.
EVERYTHING is going to work for SOMEONE. But are you that someone?
Or even better...is your IDEAL client that someone?
This is what almost everyone who wants to sell you their wares misses - is this the right marketing strategy for YOU/your firm/your clients.
(title) Your Ideal Client
You HAVE to start here. You need to get SUPER deep on your ideal client. So deep someone would call you a creepy stalker if you did it in person. And I will give you two ways to do this
1) think about your current clients, pick you the ones you REALLY love working with and then spend an hour or so thinking about what they all have in common.
Did they all come from the same marketing campaign?
Were they referred to you by the same person?
Do they all have the same specific type of case?
Are they of similar ages? Jobs? Genders? Ethnicities? Astrological Signs?
I really don't care WHAT they have in common, but I care that we know what it is. Then we focus our marketing to them and people like them and market that way.
Or
2) if you don't currently have clients, are making a pivot, or otherwise just hate all your current clients with the fire of 1,000,000 suns (or one Alderaan post Death Star attack)...then you can go this route and answer the following questions.
Occupation for ideal client
Age Range:
Gender (if it matters in ANYWAY)
Annual Income Range:
Marital status: Married
Kids? If yes, what ages?:
Education:
Are they in any organizations?
What do they do on a normal day?
Most urgent problem they current have?
Biggest Challenge?
What do they want?
What do they want to avoid?
What are the ramifications if the problem continues?
What else do they want that is relevant to my legal services?
What other options do they have to solve their options?
What are their fear with respect to us solving their problems?
Who are their enemies?
Top Three immediate goals:
Why hire us? Or maybe why are we the best choice for THEM?
Now use those questions to make a fake person (or an avatar) and target all of your marketing towards THAT person.
(title) How Do I Target Them?
Great question, that I am glad you asked.
You now think about how that person WOULD find a lawyer.
Are they going to get on the internet and do a google search?
Are they going to ask someone they know, like and trust for a referral?
Do they have NO idea they even have a problem and need to be told it's an issue via advertising?
Are they consistently showing up to the same place or same group that you also come to, speak to, sponsor, etc.
Then once you have the options for location of your marketing...think about what you're really trying to sell them and what they NEED to hear from you.
I have a PI firm, but we don't target the same types of people as billboard lawyers. We want fewer cases but with more value in each. So we want people who are blue collar professionals (enough to have a great lost wages claim, but not so much income that they will NEVER go to the doctor). These people tend to be a bit savvier than the billboard lawyer clients...so they might ask a lawyer they already know, or talk to their doctor, or someone else they trust for advice on who to hire.
This will help you come up with a LOT of ideas for WHAT you can do...but limit some that don't make sense to YOUR client.
(title) How to Narrow It Down Further
1) do you WANT to be involved in your marketing? And if so, how involved?
If you HATE talking to other humans...don't start trying to network.
If you don't like writing...don't commit to doing your own blog posts.
If you can't stand being on video...don't make video content.
I know this sounds so simple...and yet...I talk to SOOOOOO many lawyers who genuinely hate HAVING to go do marketing. Let me tell you something my new friends, you should GET to go marketing.
2) what do I WANT to do?
When you figure out what marketing you enjoy you will look forward to it. This means you will prioritize it (instead of being busy some months and getting few cases, and then being not busy and doing the marketing and then being busy and stopping it to handle the cases...rinse and repeat).
And when you prioritize it you put in the effort. I read 175 books last year, most of which were business/marketing and I LOVED almost every minute of it.
And when you are doing what you want to do for marketing then you show up better. You come across more likable. You have that little flair to what you do (even if you don't wear a fun Hawaiian shirt at the time).
3) Can I afford to do enough of this marketing?
Now, and ONLY now do I want you to start thinking about the cost. If you do it before this step you will either fall victim to the "it only takes ONE case for this marketing to be worth it" trap OR you will cross off ideas too quickly because that one buddy spends $250,000 a year for PPC and you can't compete with that.
If you need cases right now today...how many people can you connect with ASAP that MIGHT need your services (or know someone who might)? 1 for breakfast and lunch? Another for coffee? Maybe a small group for happy hour or golfing...and then when do you find time to do any of the work and still get home to see the family?
Or you have $250 to spend and a single click on google is $200, but it usually takes 20 clicks to get one call ($4000). Then only 50% of calls are viable ($8000). Then only 25% will hire you ($32,000 for 1 case). I am TOTALLY making up those numbers (but they're right for someone somewhere).
So try and balance your time with your money. If you're already coaching your kids little league team...it might be worth $250 to sponsor the shirts. If you're already known in the community it might be worth hosting a monthly happy hour at your office. If you're already getting some cases from google, it might be worth doubling your ad spend and also uploading photos to GMB.
You might have to start small, and that's okay. This is why we already looked at what works for your client (or might work), what you want to do (or at least willing to try), and now we are just budgeting your time and money. Because we want to maximize the impact you have at the beginning to get more leads, to get more cases, to make more money, which you will then reinvest some of it back into your firm.
But THIS is how you market legal services without driving yourself nuts or going broke.
Jordan Ostroff is many things to many people: Fun Dad, Pretty Good Husband, CEO of Driven Law, Owner of Carpe Diem Consulting, and Big Brothers Big Sisters Board Member.
From an early age, Jordan knew he wanted to be a lawyer—even when he didn’t quite know what that entailed. After a stint as a prosecutor, he took the plunge and opened his own firm. With parents who were a postal worker and a substitute teacher, Jordan became the first lawyer in his family. Lacking any business experience, his initial years were a rough ride.
Marketing companies saw him as an easy target, taking advantage of his lack of knowledge. Facing a choice between closing his firm and filing for bankruptcy due to a $200,000 debt or learning how to run a successful business, Jordan chose to learn. This steep learning curve eventually led to a 400-day cross-country trip with his family, during which his firm had its best year yet.
Now, Jordan manages Driven Law, focusing on personal injury cases and helping injured victims get the recovery they deserve. His firm prides itself on providing top-level legal work, maintaining a low volume of cases but offering high levels of care and compassion. Jordan works three days a week, typically 20-25 hours, while his firm continues to thrive.
This journey inspired him to write the best-seller "Love Your Law Firm: A Roadmap to the Firm You've Always Wanted," aiming to help more lawyers find joy in their work and better serve their clients.
But that wasn’t enough. Jordan launched Carpe Diem Consulting to work one-on-one with other lawyers, diving deep into their true desires and crafting a plan to achieve them. He helps them build a law firm they can be proud of while living an even better life.
When not steering his companies or traveling with his family, Jordan gives back to his community, spends time with people he cares about, and even gets in a round of golf (disc or stick) or a few games of pickleball.
Jordan’s life motto? "High Seas Raise All Boats"—we are stronger together, and together we can make the world a better place.
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