How to Start a Law Firm Newsletter
If you don’t already have a law firm newsletter, you’ve probably thought of starting one.
But the challenges involved – from choosing a platform to coming up with content – might have kept the idea on your to-do list for weeks, months, perhaps even years.
There’s no better time to launch a law firm newsletter than now, with the whole world moving online.
This article, “4 Steps to Staring an Email Newsletter for Your Business,” by US Chamber of Commerce contributing writer Sammi Caramela, can help you get started. Below are key takeaways.
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4 Step Process for Your Law Firm Newsletter
Following are the four steps outlined in the US Chamber blogpost, with quotes from the author.
Step one: have a plan. Here are four things Caramela says you should focus on: “(1) Pick an email service. Services like MailChimp and Benchmark help organize and streamline your processes. Be sure to consider different features like free templates, the ability to segment your contact list and schedule out emails, etc., as well as their complexity and cost. (2) Answer, Why are we sending this newsletter? The why behind your newsletter is an essential piece of information you’ll want to clearly define before writing the email. Maybe you want to keep your audience up to date on events or announcements regarding your business or community. Perhaps you’re looking to establish yourself as a thought leader or build your firm’s credibility. (3) Choose email frequency. [This] depends entirely on what you’re comfortable with, and it can change as you grow your business or adjust to writing newsletters. At first, many businesses start with one newsletter a week or every few weeks even. If that doesn’t feel often enough, bump it up to twice a week or daily. However, what you don’t want to do is overwhelm yourself with sending so many newsletters that you sacrifice the quality of your content. It’s better to send fewer newsletters that offer valuable and engaging content rather than more newsletters that lack substance. (4) Define the type of content: What type of emails do you want to send your audience? letters from the editor (feature-style); curated content (with internal links to additional content or external links to other sites); blog-style content; and hustle pieces (focused on different topics within your niche).”
Step two: build your mailing list. “This should be achieved by offering an option for people to opt in as subscribers to your newsletter, rather than simply sending it to all your contacts. Coming off as intrusive will only cause people to unsubscribe. Rather, you should turn to platforms like social media or your company’s blog and provide a CTA for followers/readers to subscribe to your newsletter, and offer the option on your website for visitors as well.”
Step three: create your email. Three priorities: (1) Come up with a good design. It’s not all about content. “Be sure to include your company’s branding (like logo, colors, etc.) into the design to increase brand awareness,” writes Caramela. (2) Write a good subject line. One-third of recipients will decide to open or not based on the subject line. (3) Keep it short and sweet. “Shorter newsletters with a specific goal are more effective that longer ones with various messages,” writes Caramela.
Step four: analyze metrics. This will let you see what works and what doesn’t.
Source: US Chamber of Commerce
Jay Reeves is author of The Most Powerful Attorney in the World. He practiced law in North Carolina and South Carolina. Now he writes and speaks at CLEs, keynotes and in-firm presentations on lawyer professionalism and well-being. He runs Your Law Life LLC, which offers confidential, one-on-one consultations to sharpen your firm’s mission and design an excellent Law Life. Contact jay@yourlawlife.com or 919-619-2441.
