How lawyers can improve their online reputation, effectively and ethically.

1. –Ernie Svenson

3. My Book: Blogging in One Hour for Lawyers
http://bit.ly/12fmwHN

5. Marketing—makes most lawyers uneasy

6. but online reputation…
—we sort of understand

7. The Digital World is dominant. And
it’s not the same as the old, analog world.
It’s faster, more pervasive, reaches more people

8. Niche General

9. Search

10. Findability
is Job #1

11. You can’t be liked/trusted if you can’t be found

12. ‣ Relevance: does the site contain text
that seems to answer the question, or
help answer it
‣ Authority: does the site rank highly
(i.e. “page rank)?
๏ Do other sites link to it? (“inbound links”)
๏ What page rank do those sites have?
๏ What topics does it focus on?

13. Strategy: Platform
‣ Michael Hyatt
‣ CEO Thomas Nelson
Publisher
‣ 7th Largest Trade
Publisher
‣ Blogger, Social Media
user, Speaker, Author
‣ Blog - +6 Million page
views per year

14. Platform Provides
‣ Visibility: you’re more easily
“findable” online, and people can
learn about you more easily.
‣ Amplification: gives your message
an extra boost over what is normal;
important in our ‘noisy’ world.
‣ Connection: Helps establish you as
a trusted authority. Keeps people
paying attention on a continuing
basis.

15. Home Base Outposts

16. Home Base Outposts

17. You don’t necessarily need a blog,
not as your first step anyway.

18. You can’t be liked/trusted if you can’t be found

19. Tomb of the Unknown Solider

20. Blog post:“Unknown Lawyer -
Why is your phone not ringing?”
http://bit.ly/14hmnmV

21. The Unknown Attorney is listed on Avvo and Justia,
and even has an Avvo rating

22. The Avvo page has a rating that could be improved.
It has no picture at all, which would be the first big
improvement.

23. The Justia profile hasn’t been claimed
and also has no picture. But his competitors
have pictures and updated profiles.

27. Need Two Things
‣Good Profile Photo(s)
‣One square (100x100 pixels, less than
100 kbs)
‣One 5x7 format, casual (not typical
lawyer picture)
‣Short bio - 300-500 words - addressing
client’s cares & concerns first

28. Photos - Two
‣One square (100x100 pixels, less than
100 kbs) - Studio shot
‣One rectangle - Casual (not a typical
lawyer picture)
‣One looking in lens (makes a personal
connection)
‣Crop one tightly
‣Pick one as your main photo

29. A good photo (or two)
Lawyer Lawyer in a setting

30. NJP

31. Square headshot Casual portrait
Two Good Examples

32. About page (bio)
‣Short, client-focused
‣preferably 300 words or less
‣not more than 500 words
‣Don’t say “we” if you’re a solo
‣Don’t use “I” or talk much about
yourself
‣Show client you understand their
problems, and point of view
‣Use your voice when you write

34. Word Count: 182

35. Client-Focused
‣What’s in it for them?
‣Why should they care about you?
‣What do you know about them?
‣Emotional appeals work best
‣What’s their problem feel like?
‣What emotions do typical clients
experience? (Address those!)

39. Influence - Principles
1. Authority (are you qualified)
2. Scarcity (what’s unusual about you)
3. Likability (let your personality shine)
4. Reciprocity (give first, ask later)
5. Social Proof (testimonials)
6. Consistency (& Commitment)

40. There’s a saying: people buy on emotion, and
justify their decision with logic.
So, what are you selling, and what emotions
will resonate with the potential buyer?
Website/BlogYou need a home base for your platform.

41. There’s a saying: people buy on emotion, and
justify their decision with logic.
So, what are you selling, and what emotions
will resonate with the potential buyer?
Landing Page
To get people to opt-in to your email list
you need to offer something valuable for free

42. You don’t need a lot of words to
show clients you care, but you
need to write in a way that makes
them believe you care.

43. Murthy Law Firm
‣ Founded in 1994 by Sheela Murthy
‣ Born in Baroda, India
‣ Started solo immigration firm in
1992; website created same year.
‣ “[F]rustrated by [her] own immigrant
experience”
‣ Gave away information for free
online to help others with same
experiences

44. Murthy Law Firm
‣ Email newsletter also started
‣ Each day answers 100 questions
from immigrants, for free.
‣ According to NY Times article, her
site is “world’s most visited law
firm site.”
‣ Email newsletter has 40,000
subscribers
‣ Firm now generates $10 million
annual revenue

45. There’s a saying: people buy on emotion, and
justify their decision with logic.
So, what are you selling, and what emotions
will resonate with the potential buyer?
Page Rank
Just exactly how much does Google love you?

46. My Old Law Firm
Page Rank: 3

47. Page Rank: 3

48. Page Rank: 6

49. There’s a saying: people buy on emotion, and
justify their decision with logic.
So, what are you selling, and what emotions
will resonate with the potential buyer?
Cost of a Blog?Not as much as your probably think.

50. Item Fixed Fee Recurring Fee
Wordpress FREE $0
Domain name $15/year
Hosting (Basic) $60/year
Hosting (Advanced) $270
Wordpress Raw Design $100
SEO Plug-in $0 $0
Setup Help (Elance.com) $100 - $200 Depends
TOTALS: $200 - $300 $75/year | $300/yr
Cost of a Blog

51. There’s a saying: people buy on emotion, and
justify their decision with logic.
So, what are you selling, and what emotions
will resonate with the potential buyer?
Looks like what?What would a site costing $200 look like?

53. Writing
Words that people read, and which Google evaluates

54. – Elmore Leonard
I try to leave out
the parts that folks
tend to skip over.”
“
Useful Writing Advice

55. Copywriting
the art of getting & holding attention, through words

56. Voice
Your personality on the page

57. CopyBlogger.com

61. A typical lawyer’s LinkedIn page.
Nothing unusual, so “no scarcity”

62. Intended Message:
I’m an excellent lawyer because
I have sterling credentials

64. How can you help ME?How can you help me?

66. Ashley Ambirge knows how to make use
of LinkedIn to get her message out.
And she takes a slightly unusual approach.
16 words

67. Making use of Ashley Ambirge’s trick,
I update my LinkedIn profile by putting 17 words
where LinkedIn only seems to want a few.

68. What’s an example of how divorce lawyer
would show they understand what a client
who is thinking about divorce feels like?
Divorce Lawyer

69. No one wants to go through a divorce
You dreamed of building a life together
and you shared many great moments.
But, sometimes the dream turns sour
and your relationship turns bitter.
You're feeling a lot of emotional turmoil
and maybe confusion too.

70. Knowing the law and the court procedures
is one thing, but another part is knowing
how to put your mind at ease.
I'm Frank Avila and I specialize in divorce
cases, and I want to help you get through
this difficult time in your life.
Word Count: 102

71. Now an example of how business lawyer would do it
Business Lawyer

72. Business is built on trust
You rely on people to keep their word
and to do the right thing when it counts
But, sometimes the deal turns into a struggle
and you are feel more than just disappointed.
You feel betrayed.
There comes a point where trying to get along
is no longer an option.

73. Anyone can file a lawsuit, and anyone can
make brash allegations. It takes someone
with experience to know how to seize the
advantage. And hold it.
I'm Frank Avila and I specialize in helping
people deal with business lawsuits, whether
it's filing them or defending them. I've
helped plenty of other small business
owners, and I can help you too.
Word Count: 115

74. Twitter is an easy to way to start working on your
online reputation. It doesn’t allow much text and
yet it has a strong reach.

79. Obviously, you have to be aware of ethical
constraints, as well as professionalism issues.
But you can do a lot more empathizing than
you’ve been doing. If you spend time thinking
about how your clients feel when they engage a
lawyer.

80. You have to think about what judges
might think when they visit your site.
You don’t want to appear unseemly.
But there is no downside to showing
your personality.

81. Beware of these issues
‣ Advertising: check rules to see
what limits are placed on lawyers’
posting to the web
‣ Specialization: if rules prohibit
claim of “specialty” don’t say on
LinkedIn that “I specialize in...”
‣ Venting: don’t post in anger
‣ Confidentiality: don’t compromise
clients’ sensitive information

84. Obviously the most important impression will be the one
you present to your clients and prospective clients

85. 3 Steps to establishing a
better online reputation
1.Address “Outposts”: LinkedIn,
Google, Avvo, Justia, Twitter
2.Website/Blog: get a domain name,
commit to create simple site, and
build attention steadily
3.Email capture: offer useful free
information and collect emails using
service like Mailchimp

86. Check out my website: www.onehrblog.com
The Link to buy my book
http://bit.ly/12fmwHN

89. View the slides from
this presentation at
http://slidesha.re/13aN4Hi

90. ernie@paperlesschase.com
Ernie Svenson
.com