Tab Mix Plus For Firefox Does Not Play Well With Skype

June 24, 2009 By Long Duong

The first extension/add-on that I always install for Firefox is Tab Mix Plus. This Firefox extension allows me to switch between my current tab and a recent tab without “scrolling” through every tab.

For example, if I have 6 tabs open and I’m currently viewing Tab 3, I can hold down Ctrl and hit the Tab key to go to the tab 5 (and release.) To go back to Tab 3, I simply need to quickly hit “ctrl+tab” in one swift move and I’m back on Tab 3.

Recently, it stopped working and would just cycle through each tab in chronological order. Furthermore, I could not view the options menu for Tab Mix Plus. After much googling, I found the culprit:

Tab Mix Plus does not play well with the recent Skype add-on for Firefox. Therefore, to continue using Tab Mix Plus you will need to discontinue use of the Skype For Firefox add-on.

Filed Under: Office Technology, Productivity for Lawyers Tagged With: Firefox, Skype, Tab Mix Plus

Can Yodle Harm Your Search Engine Placement?

June 24, 2009 By Jay Fleischman

Much has been said about Yodle lately in the legal community. The company in engaged in paid search engine marketing, and I won’t speak to their services here in terms of quality. But it is important to recognize certain questions that you may be unaware of.

What Yodle does is create a replica of your website on a another domain name. they do this so they can track visitors, provide an alternate phone number and assist in tracking leads.

This may be a problem for your “real” site’s organic search results.

It’s important to realize that the creation of duplicate content online may cause an issue with Google. There is some suggestion that duplicate content may harm your organic (i.e., non-paid) placement on the search engines.

According to Google:

Duplicate content generally refers to substantive blocks of content within or across domains that either completely match other content or are appreciably similar. Mostly, this is not deceptive in origin. Examples of non-malicious duplicate content could include:

* Discussion forums that can generate both regular and stripped-down pages targeted at mobile devices
* Store items shown or linked via multiple distinct URLs
* Printer-only versions of web pages

Check out this page for more information on the problem and how to minimize the impact.

So let’s say that Yodle protects against the problem of duplicate content. That’s a good thing for your organic search rankings, but it could harm your paid rankings – in other words, where you show up on the paid ads.

Google uses an algorithm for paid searches that is similar to the one used for organic rankings. Among other things, Google looks to the relevancy of the advertised site to the search term in order to generate the best results for the searcher. No matter what you offer to pay per click, Google will factor in the entire site (as well as the ad and bid price) when deciding where to place you on the paid ads.

That’s why some pay-per-lead servies rank very well on the paid searches but pay far less per click than other lawyers and advertisers. They have deep, relevant content that scores well with Google.

There’s more to it, of course. But look solely to this factor – one of many, but one to consider nonetheless.

If Yodle blocks Google’s robots through a robots.txt file or noindex tag then Google has no idea as to what the site is about. That’s bad because your site will show up lower on the paid ads. And if Yodle doesn’t do this then it may harm your organic searches.

What does Yodle do? I have no idea, but it’s something to consider and ask about prior to making a decision to hire this company – or any other company that duplicates your site content wholesale.

Filed Under: Legal Marketing Tagged With: adwords, Google, yodle

What If You Don't Want Clients To Connect With You On Social Networking Sites?

June 22, 2009 By Jay Fleischman

Bankruptcy lawyers and consumer protection lawyers who are using tools such as Facebook and Twitter are finding that their clients are there, too. That’s good, right?

To some, not so much. Some of my lawyer friends have commented lately that they don’t want to connect with their clients on these sites because doing so will show the client a side of the lawyer that isn’t congruent with the lawyer’s “office personality.” In other words, the lawyer’s kind of uncomfortable with the client seeing pictures of their attorney on a catamaran in the Caribbean.

To those lawyers I say – you’ve got two options. Either get your hair wet or stay out of the pool.

Look, it’s pretty simple. If you’ve got a social networking profile it’s out there. Google can find it, so searchers can find it. Period.

If you don’t want someone to find the profile, don’t have one. Because once you do, it’s out there.

What If You Don’t Want Clients To Connect With You On Social Networking Sites?

You run a very real risk of being perceived as an elitist snob, that’s what. By declining to allow a client to friend you on Facebook you’re telling that person, “Look, you’re good enough to give me money and allow me to live my life. But you stay on the other side of the red velvet rope with the riff-raff while I hang out over here with the cool kids.”

Imagine this. You’re walking down the street and see your dentist with his wife. This is a guy who has stuck his hand in your mouth, has seen your gums, and has watched you spit into a basin. You’re pretty intimate.

So you stop, smile at your dentist and put out your hand to shake his. Pleasantries and what not.

Your dentist, barely breaking stride, looks at you briefly and shakes his head. As he continues on his way you hear his wife say, “Who was that?”

“Nobody important,” comes the reply.

How do you feel? Are you going back to that dentist anytime soon?

How about using Fan Pages on Facebook? Can’t you just use those and tell clients they can connect with you there?

Again, it’s like shuttling the client to the back of the bus. They’re left with the feeling that they’re somehow inferior. And they get justifiably angry at that.

So here’s the solution – radical, but it works.

Don’t put stuff on your social networking sites unless you’re comfortable with the world seeing it. No naked pictures, no dancing on bars, no driving fast without a seatbelt. My rule of thumb is this – if I don’t want my mom to see it, I don’t put it up there.

As to the stuff that’s on there, remember that your clients need to know who you are as a person. Your dog, your cat, your life. Doing so makes you more than just a lawyer in a suit, it makes you a person. Someone with a life, who has things they think are cool and fun. Someone who is just like them, separated only by circumstance and some specialized knowledge (and perhaps some student loans to show for it). Doing so allows you to maintain rapport and bonding, create empathy and maintain your positive influence over clients.

Because deep down, we are not too different from our clients. It’s not too far to fall into bill problems, nor is it too far to climb to the top of the ladder.

Filed Under: Legal Marketing Tagged With: facebook, social media

Mark Merenda's Legal Marketing Blog Reaches Milestone, His Son Cheers Him On

June 19, 2009 By Jay Fleischman

So my good friend Mark Merenda has been blogging for five years. Mark’s an awesome guy, a marketing wiz and super-smart.

His son marked the occasion by sending him a little ditty from YouTube to cheer him on for the next five years. Give a listen – damned if I can’t get the tune out of my head.

Congratulations Mark!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

You Can't Build Your Practice If You Betray The Market's Trust

June 15, 2009 By Jay Fleischman

The headline pretty much says it all – if you mess with the market, the market will mess with you. Period. End of story.

For example, let’s say you’re marketing a bankruptcy law office. You know people don’t want to file for bankruptcy, so you craft a wonderful way to get people in the door.

You promise them free mortgage forebearance help. You tell them you’re doing it out of the goodness of your heart, and you spend a whole bunch of time selling that to them. No money, totally free, peace and love all around from this lawyer.

Gives you the warm and fuzzies, doesn’t it?

But the truth is that we all know forbearance is not real easy to get. There are specific guidelines, and getting a round peg into that round hole doesn’t happen all that often. So chances are pretty good that you’re going to fail on the forbearance front. It’s window dressing, but you don’t tell prospects about that.

Now let’s make it every more fun. You’re in a non-judicial foreclosure state, and you know that all foreclosure sales are held on the fourth Thursday of every month. The list you’re mailing to is to people facing imminent foreclosure, so you know they’ve got less than 30 days to get filed or lose their home.

You spend that time dickering around with a forbearance that you know isn’t going to work. As the clock ticks down.

Three days before the gavel falls, your client gets a call from your office letting them know the forbearance didn’t pan out (who’da thunk?) … but there’s this other thing called a Chapter 13. You’ve got only 3 days to decide – less, really, because we’ve got to get all the paperwork done – so hop to it.

Will you get the client? Probably.

Will you get the referrals from that client? Probably not.

Why? Come on, this is easy – you suckered your client into buying from you. You took someone’s trust and screwed them over.

But my client is in a bind and needed the Chapter 13.

But my client won’t care so long as they get to keep the house.

My client is just happy to have someone who is working for them.

No, your client … somewhere in the recesses of their mind … is pissed that you brought them in for a public service and ended up jamming a bankruptcy down their throat. Doesn’t matter what the end result is, it matters that you did a bait-and-switch.

You Can’t Build Your Practice If You Betray The Market’s Trust

Remember that every single day. Even if you didn’t really betray the trust, it’s the perception that you did so that will hurt you.

Your prospects are afraid, beaten down, and have been taken advantage of by everyone who could do so.

Why would you possibly want to add your name to that ever-expanding list?

Why not do something radical in their lives? Be honest and truthful, direct and caring?

Because they won’t come in the door? Untrue.

By hiding behind a lie you’re revealing your own lack of message, a big black hole where the story belongs. You need to sit back and consider what truthful stuff you can say in order to change their mind that bankruptcy is bad, and that they can continue burying their head in the sand.

Be honest.

Be upfront.

Be smart.

Win the market.

Filed Under: Legal Marketing

6 Things to Remember When Writing Online

June 15, 2009 By Jay Fleischman

In legal practice, it’s easy to become so accustomed to writing for clients, judges, and other attorneys, that you forget how to write for the common, everyday person. When you’re writing content online, though, that’s exactly what you have to do.

If you don’t write for your target audience, it won’t take readers long to become confused (or distracted, or bored)… and they’ll hastily click the “back” button to find information elsewhere.

Here are six tips to help you write effectively when you’re marketing your practice online:

Write in first person, not third person. It might seem more comfortable to say, “John Smith is a bankruptcy attorney working in the Long Island, New York area. for the past 15 years, he has…” The problem is, writing in the third person doesn’t engage your readers – they feel like they’re reading a newspaper article instead of a blog or web page. “I’m John Smith, and I’ve spent the past 15 years working as a Long Island bankruptcy attorney…” is much more engaging and personable.
As much as possible, avoid “legalese” and technical terms. You’re writing for someone who is looking for solutions to their problems, not a legal professional. If you need to use a legal term, make sure you explain it in plain language.
Keep paragraphs short. When you write in long paragraphs, readers tend to skim over the content… and they often miss the most important parts. A good rule of thumb is to limit paragraphs to three sentences each whenever possible.
Numbered lists and bullet points are great for breaking down important information. These features provide a means of visual separation, so the reader can easily digest the information they contain. Plus, breaking down information into a list or bullet point format makes it easier to remember.
Vary the length of your articles or blog posts. This keeps your pages from looking overly structured, and is more inviting for your readers.
Be concise. When internet users are looking for information, they want it now. Posting wordy, meandering content is one of the quickest ways to make sure that visitors leave your site quickly (and never return).

Filed Under: Legal Marketing Tagged With: blawg, content marketing

Where Do You Want Your Law Practice To Take You?

June 11, 2009 By Jay Fleischman

When you finally finished law school and passed the bar exam, you probably had at least a vague idea of what you wanted to do with your degree. Maybe you had your sights set on a six-figure salary and a nice home. Or perhaps your vision was a bit more altruistic, and you were more keenly focused on using your skills to benefit others.

As you grow and develop your practice, though, it’s critical that you become a little more specific. Actually, a lot more specific. The bankruptcy attorneys who achieve the greatest success are those who set out a clear plan, and build their practices around that plan.

What do you want from your practice? It’s not enough to say, “I want to earn a good living” or “I want to help people get out from under their debt”. Your plan should reflect specific financial, social, or business goals.

The answer, ultimately, is inside of you. You may be so busy dealing with the day to day grind that you haven’t given much attention to your long term goals, but in the back of your mind, they’re still there.

Think about this for a moment – five years from now, what do you want to be able to say you accomplished? Would it be satisfying to know that you’ve built a million dollar practice? Would you be proud of the fact that you’ve helped over a thousand clients start over financially?

Ultimately, this vision will play a major role in your success. It will become the framework upon which you make decisions about the direction of your practice, and it will keep you focused on those days when you’d really rather be peering down the fairway, trying to decide whether to use a 5-iron or a 3-wood.

In the end, developing a clear, specific vision will give you the focus to achieve your goals as a bankruptcy attorney, while so many others continue to struggle.

Image courtesy of m o d e.

Filed Under: Law Office Management

5 Things You Should Know About Twitter

June 8, 2009 By Jay Fleischman

If you’ve been paying attention to internet media lately, you know that Twitter has become the favorite social media vehicle for all kinds of marketers – including bankruptcy lawyers.

The concept of Twitter can be a bit overwhelming at first – millions of people writing 140 character blurbs (called “tweets” that are immediately posted for the world to see – but more and more marketers are finding success with this social media site.

But how do you use Twitter to attract clients and build your practice?

Here are 5 tips that can help you effectively use Twitter to engage potential clients:

Twitter is a social networking site first, and a marketing vehicle second. The whole point of Twitter is to converse with other users on a personal level. It might seem counterproductive to talk about your weekend trip to the Poconos, but these are the things that make potential clients feel like they really know you. Of course, you’ll want to promote your practice as well, but this shouldn’t be your main focus. If it is, people will start ignoring you very quickly.
The more engaging your “tweets” are, the more followers you’ll attract. Twitter users who focus on interesting, informative tweets often attract thousands – or tens of thousands – of followers. That’s a pretty impressive audience, especially when you consider that any one of your followers could become your next client.
To make the most of Twitter, use it every day. Tweeting consistently is an excellent way to make sure your followers are paying attention to what you have to say. If you take a few days off, people will tend to forget about you – that’s just the downside of a social media vehicle that moves so darned quickly.
“Retweeting” is a valuable act of goodwill. Retweeting is when you read someone else’s tweet, and copy it to send it to your own followers. It essentially says, “What you wrote was so interesting that I had to tell my friends about it.” Just make sure to credit the original author, and place the letters “RT” at the beginning of your retweet so the author will know you passed it on.
Respond to your followers’ tweets. Okay, it would be literally impossible to respond to every single one – you’d never have time for anything else! Still, responding to the occasional tweet lets your followers know that you value their insights… which helps you build strong online relationships.

So are you on Twitter? If you are, just put your Twitter name in the comments section so everyone can find you!