Don’t Underestimate the Power of the Law Firm Newsletter

While most of our inboxes are flooded daily with unwanted messages that go straight to the trash folder unopened, a well-crafted newsletter can stand out in an otherwise saturated inbox by providing relevant and helpful content to its readers. It’s also one of the cheapest and most efficient marketing tools out there.

Why is having a newsletter important? Newsletters are a great way to showcase your firm’s subject-matter expertise and personality to prospective clients, and to nurture relationships with existing clients. Demonstrating the work you’ve done for clients and providing insights on the industries in which you practice makes a bigger impact on your audience than the traditional sales pitch, and will keep your firm at the forefront of clients’ minds.

All right, we need a newsletter. How do we make one? There are plenty of email marketing platforms available that can help generate mailing lists, segment your audience and create and send emails to your readers. One of the most user-friendly platforms among them is Mailchimp. Mailchimp has a built-in tool to create your own email template — no starting from scratch every time you want to send a newsletter. It’s easy to use, and there are many tutorials available on their website when you run into trouble.

What goes in the newsletter? Here are just a few examples of what you can add to your newsletter:

• Excerpts from recent blog posts or published articles, with links

• Recent hires or firm growth

• Community service or pro bono work

• Awards/recognitions

• Upcoming or recent changes in the law that will affect your clients

Whatever content you decide to include, here are some ways to ensure your subscribers open your newsletter:

• Keep it simple — It should be written for the layman. Explain cases in simple terms that everyone can understand.

• Keep it concise — Studies have shown that people spend an average of just 51 seconds on a newsletter after opening it. Use images, subheadings or lists to break up large chunks of text to immediately grab readers’ interest.

• Keep it consistent — Send out each issue on the same day of the week, month or quarter. Newsletters can be sent as often as you deem necessary, but aim for at least quarterly.

• Keep in touch — Prominently display the firm’s contact information on each newsletter and invite readers to call or email for more information. A primary goal of the newsletter is to gain more clients, so make sure they know you actually want to talk with them.

Initially, a newsletter seems like an intimidating project, but there are tools out there that make the process a breeze. Still need help? Get in touch!