Marketing your bankruptcy practice is never easy, online or offline. No matter what the world thinks, our margins are small when it comes to operating our law firms. Every dollar out must have a positive impact on the bottom line or it’s wasted.
In the past I’ve talked about using Craigslist for legal marketing purposes, and it seems as if it’s a hot topic. Given the fact that there’s so much competition in the field right now, this is a good time to revisit the zero-cost marketing game that is Craigslist.
Here, then are my 4 Tips For Marketing Your Bankruptcy Practice With Craigslist:
1. Choose Your Headlines Wisely. In reviewing the ads showing up at the top of the section today, you can easily see that none of the headlines really grab you by the throat and force you to take notice:
In fact … well, there are no headlines. Huge mistake.
Remember, people who read ads scan them for what looks the most interesting. You need to ask a provocative question, tantalize the reader, or make a bold promise that will encourage them to click on the ad. If they don’t click, they don’t call. Period.
2. Format Your Ads For Greater Effect. Sure, you can use Craigslist as a purely text-based medium. In fact, it’s just like the old classified ads that lawyers used to buy in the newspapers and Pennysaver papers. But did you know you can easily use a graphic ad for your Craigslist posting? Check this one out:
The ad could be improved but the fact remains that this one is a heck of a lot more effective than a straight text ad, seen here:
Does this ad work? I’m not sure (I don’t know the lawyer who posted it) but I’m going to guess that it’s not nearly as effective as what the first firm did. Just think – for a few hundred dollars you could get yourself not one, but a number of professionally-designed graphic ads to really make your firm stand out.
3. Remember that it’s not about you. As with any type of legal marketing, the focus should always be on the prospective client. Most lawyers suffer from an overabundance of “I” and “we” – and that fails to answer the key question of, “What’s in it for me?” Phrase your ad in a way that answers this critical question for greater effectiveness.
4. Make A Non-Threatening Call To Action. Your prospective clients want nothing less than to come to your office to talk about bankruptcy. Going to a lawyer is scary, and making a bankruptcy consultation appointment isn’t going to happen until they actually make a decision to file. Craigslist visitors tend to be more in the information-gathering phase, so a call to action that involves a lead generation piece is going to be most effective.
Have you advertised on Craigslist for your bankruptcy practice? What’s worked for you? Sound off in the comments below!
Jay,You are spot on about Craigslist. I have been advertising on Craigslist for the last three years and it has produced some quality clients at almost no cost. Using symbols in the headlines has helped my ads stand out from everyone else. Also using graphics in my ads helped with click thru rates. I post several different ads on a regular basis and track them using a free tracking code from http://www.craigslistadtracker.com. The service is free, it creates a little counter graphic that allows you to track how many people actual click on your ad. I always put a url in my ads or make my ads clickable to get to a website, but that does not give you a good idea of who is viewing your ads and not going to your website. This is where the craigslistadtracker comes in handy. It really helps you to figure out which ads are working (getting people to click on them) and which ads need to be tweeked. Thanks for all of your great tips on legalpracticepro. Keep them coming!
Jay,You are spot on about Craigslist. I have been advertising on Craigslist for the last three years and it has produced some quality clients at almost no cost. Using symbols in the headlines has helped my ads stand out from everyone else. Also using graphics in my ads helped with click thru rates. I post several different ads on a regular basis and track them using a free tracking code from http://www.craigslistadtracker.com. The service is free, it creates a little counter graphic that allows you to track how many people actual click on your ad. I always put a url in my ads or make my ads clickable to get to a website, but that does not give you a good idea of who is viewing your ads and not going to your website. This is where the craigslistadtracker comes in handy. It really helps you to figure out which ads are working (getting people to click on them) and which ads need to be tweeked. Thanks for all of your great tips on legalpracticepro. Keep them coming!
Jay,
I think you are pointing all of us in the right direction. I have been using Craigslist or the past 4 years and have found that 1 out of every 3 of my bankruptcy leads has come from Craigslist. I must say, that the quality of leads may not be as strong as those from personal or client referrals, but the fact that I am taking calls and gettng those potential Debtors into my office has been a great help.
All the best,
Michael Goldstein