Some folks, attorneys perhaps particularly, most of whom don’t want to admit to selling anything, even though it is much their business, find email marketing to be a dirty phrasing, equating almost everything done via this method with the crucible word: spam. Yeah, some directed email is spam; read: the Cialis and Viagra emails you get in your junk email folder (hopefully) . . . um, don’t literally read them . . . Not all directed group email, however, is spammy; some of it can be exceedingly useful. For that sort of useful targeted-to-a-group emailing, the pain is directly proportional to your ability to filter it, and that’s if it comes often enough to merit filtering, as by the creation of a dump folder, using rules. There is some email that is easily restricted in the manner alluded to above: listservs, member organization notices, e.g. There are some other email types, as well, that can be filtered, but that are not necessarily odorous. Into that class steps the regularly-scheduled, but not overly-scheduled e-newsletter.
An e-newsletter scheduled quarterly, by way of example, for distribution to an email contact list, can be an extremely powerful way to reduce a portion of your message for directed consumption. A regularly scheduled e-newsletter, appearing in the inboxes of your closest friends and most treasured clients, will keep you top of mind, and will provide you with a continuing level of visibility, in delivering your consistent, branded content.
There are two starkly different temptations surrounding the distribution of an e-newsletter: one meaning too much, the other too little. In our information age, we are bombarded with hundreds of pieces of usable and forwardable news and tips every day. These are not all fodder for your e-newsletter, or direct marketing campaign. You must be certain not to make your e-newsletter too long, because nobody will read to the end. (Seriously. Trust me.) Neither should you send information too frequently, whether via an overscheduled e-newsletter, or via other emails, thus surrounding and overwhelming the distribution of your e-newsletter. Of course, the doubtful obverse of a coin is the not pushing forward enough of information, or too infrequently scheduling releases. Just as too much information paints you annoying, too little information colors you irrelevant. Quite obviously, your investment in the process is what drives the process. If you are not making certain that you are remaining closely tied to a consistent production and release schedule, your e-newsletter will be forgotten, or never remembered. This may, also, directly hinge upon your ability to create content for your other production outlets. If you are utilizing your blog posts as featured content for your e-newsletter, well, your failure to post to your blog equals a failure of content plug-ins for your e-newsletter.
This content question is one that is frequently on the lips, figuratively, of our clients. Well, isn’t it tough to derive content? Certainly. Actually producing something, and even producing somethings, consistently, is difficult; but, there are tricks for that trade. When producing and disseminating an e-newsletter, you should create a template platform that contains some combination of your logo and contact information and disclaimer and other suitable and useful information, including a nifty and eye-catching color scheme. Once you’ve developed your template, you should take care to develop, at each issue, your foreground theme. Each e-newsletter of yours should have a settled theme; it’s much easier to aggregate content on this basis than haphazardly. The two supra suggestions are obvious timesavers. As to what links and information you’ll include in your e-newsletter, there are two useful timesaving options there, as well. First, you should not draft new content for your e-newsletter, save for perhaps an overarching introduction, and some short, internal introductions. Use what you have already done/link out to what you have already done. The easy fix here is to prominently feature topic-aggregated series of blog posts. Second, you should include useful content drafted by others, be those others colleagues, those who have posted useful information or reputable news sources. People love it when others deem their writing useful/interesting/well-done enough to broadcast to a new, unique set of followers. Don’t flout copyright, getting permission for reproduction when you need same; but, do highlight the work of others when appropriate. If the content game is just impossible from a time (you’re too busy practicing law) or technique (you don’t like to write, or you don’t feel that you write well) standpoint, there are options for content generation. Ghost writers are available, in a number of forms, for straight content generation. Just make certain that you are selecting reputable persons, reviewing final drafts and that you maintain ultimate administrative control over your publication engines. Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly offers a unique program for the generation of entire newsletters or e-newsletters, for the generation of content for newsletters or e-newsletters and for the design and construction of newsletters and e-newsletters. You can find out more about the service here. Best of all, LOMAP clients get 20% off. The caveat here is to make certain that, even if you are using content generation services, that it is not an excuse to completely disengage, and to let things run on, on autopilot. You should make certain that you apply at least some personalization to your e-newsletter or e-newsletter content. Folks can generally sniff out entire cans of material pretty quickly these days, if for no other reason that there is so much out there. Enough small tweaks, however, can distinguish a canned product from a canned-spam product.
The use of e-newsletters can be advantageous for firms both old and new. For starting attorneys, it provides an opportunity to leverage an existing contact base, which is more likely to exist in email form than not, in 2010. Even if your contact list is comprised entirely of family and friends, that is a start; and, where can you get better good will, and word of mouth, anyway? As your practice grows, grow your emailing list along with it. And, when your firm is established, you can utilize your emailing list and e-newsletter provision for some extended purposes. Generally, you can reside at the tops of the minds of your emailing list inclusions by broadcasting more regular content, like an e-newsletter. Regular reminders of your existence and the quality of your work will help to generate referrals. Keep in mind that your best source of referrals is your roster of existing clients and colleagues; providing general updates by way of your e-newsletter keeps in the forefront of those valuable minds your presence and specialty, making it more likely that they will refer future cases, and clients, to you.
It is difficult, however, to execute an e-newsletter straight out of your inbox. The development of a template can be a pain. Transmission via cc:, bcc: or emailing lists are difficult, at times respecting both the process and execution. If you’re looking to develop consistent and impressive e-newslettering, and associated othering, campaigns, your best bet is to invest in delivery of your message through a direct emailing marketing service. The two leading providers are Constant Contact and iContact. Although the CEOs of the respective companies may disagree, both products are substantially the same. Both are cheap (roughly $15/month for 500 email addresses). Both offer professional delivery, without strings of email addresses being included somewhere within the message. Both offer a professional look, through templating and html delivery. Both offer professional management tools, including sharing options within emails, archive to a public website and opt-out spam management features, so that you may not run afoul of the CAN-SPAM Act. The spam management tools alone are worth it, given that it can be very difficult to manage opt-out’s on your own.
Do we really believe in this stuff? Yeah. Do we have a e-newsletter, too? Of course we do. Check out our archive here. Was this all just an excuse to pimp our e-newsletter? Definitely. Did I mention that we have an archive that you can view, where we aggregate all of our historical newsletters? Oh, I did? If you like the e-newsletter archive, and want to subscribe to our emailing list, so that you can receive fresh, virtual copies of new editions of our e-newsletter (as well as a monthly installment of the ABA’s fine “Law Practice Today” ezine), fill out the contact form at the lower left-hand corner of the frontpage of our website.
. . .
Liner Notes
Elton John has, for quite some time now, been known mostly for crooning slow jams meant to inspire Disney characters to get it on and for being the other old dude performing with Billy Joel in a series of dueling piano-style concerts. This version of Elton the performer is not bad; but, I much prefer the early version of Elton John, you know, the pre-dressed up like Donald Duck Eton John. The hardest rocking Elton does now is likely an up-tempo version of “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues”; but, Elton, back in the day, could really lay it down. The sweet-spot for crazy-good Elton John music (as opposed to good Elton John music) is established from the beginning of his career (1969) out to the mid-seventies (1975). In that seven-year period, Elton released 10 studio albums of exceptional quality. (Who does this anymore (well)? That’s almost two records per year.) Most people (not me) seem to agree that 1973’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” is Elton’s greatest work; but, taken as a collective, the 1969-1975 Elton John catalogue stacks favorably against the most vibrant and creative periods of music’s greatest performers. Not only did this seven-year snatch mark the creation of some sublime album tracks, the entire set of albums work masterfully, individually, as cohesive units, even including a concept album, the last of which referenced can be difficult to pull off under the best of circumstances. Several years ago, I purchased, on CD, the entire remastered Elton John catalogue representing the years 1969-1975. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to those CDs at this point, or how many times one found its way onto the CD player after a night’s worth of boozy partying, carousing performances leading to rousing performances. I loved those CDs, especially because they had imprints of record albums on them, all different colors. And, although my Elton John CD collection has, in being caught up in the march of time, been converted to my Elton John iTunes collection, I can assure you that my play count numbers for albums and songs remains high.
Let’s, then, do a little early career retrospective for Elton Hercules John né Reginald Kenneth Dwight, and present studio album releases in chronological order, with representative tracks following:
(Yes, I know that Bernie Taupin wrote most of the famous songs.)
(I have, in more recent years, grown to develop quite a fondness for country music. When I was younger, I eschewed country music. Only, I was already listening to it. I am surprised, in looking back, to find the intermittent country flavorings of some of my favorite singers, like James Taylor and Billy Joel and even the Beatles. Hell, Elton John produced an entire country & western-style album--but I’m getting ahead of myself, though not too far.)
Empty Sky (1969): with “Lady Samantha” and “Val-Hala”
Elton John (1970): with “Your Song” and “No Shoe Strings On Louise”
Tumbleweed Connection (1970): with “Into the Old Man’s Shoes" (bonus track on reissue; I know, this is cheating--but, isn’t it sick that a song of this quality didn’t even make the original album) and “Son of Your Father” (This is the country & western concept album.)
Madman Across the Water (1971): with “Holiday Inn” and “Rotten Peaches”
Honky Chateau (1972): with “Susie (Dramas)” and “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters”
Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player (1973): with “Elderberry Wine” and “Midnight Creeper”
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973): “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” and “Funeral for a Friend/Loves Lies Bleeding”
Caribou (1974): with “The Bitch Is Back" and “Step Into Christmas” (which, roughly thirty years later, gave birth to the "Step Into Christmas" dance)
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975): with “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy” and “Philadelphia Freedom”
Rock of the Westies (1975): with “Island Girl” and “Grow Some Funk of Your Own”
(Included in the early corpus of John are two excellent live albums: 17-11-70 (1971) (dated in the British way) and Here and There (1976), the former a recorded radio show performance, the latter an ambitious project, featuring concerts delivered “here” (London) and “there” (New York), the highlight of the New York show being John Lennon guesting with Elton on a few songs. (The Backstory: (Elton) John extracted a promise from John (Lennon) that, if (Elton) John sang backup on John (Lennon)’s “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night”, and the song went #1, John (Lennon) would appear on stage with (Elton) John, appearances on three songs during the New York City side of the Here and There album being the upshot of (Elton) John’s predictive power and faith.)
Following the release of the Rock of the Westies album, Elton founded his own record label and released Blue Moves, a double album. Blue Moves was different in tone from nearly all of Elton’s prior albums, and represented what would become a permanent shift to soft rock, ending the Elton John era, as I knew it, or came to know it.
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Thursday, April 29, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Twitter Update: Steps for Following
Back in February, four days after Valentine’s Day 2009 (not sure how I got away with that), I blogged on Twitter as a marketing revolution, not unto itself. That was a pretty bold statement, I guess--especially considering that I had used Twitter for a total of about two-and-a-half months when I wrote that post. (God, I’m such a poser.) Anyway, I still believe in the potency of Twitter as a marketing force. And, as time presses on here, I see the expansion of the use of Twitter. It’s everywhere now. More and more companies are using social media, and Twitter has become an essential component of the social media platform for business advertisers. Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook make up the Big Three of social media, as Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish once made up the Big Three of the Boston Celtics. (Gratuitous Celtics reference.) At this point, I shouldn’t have to provide an overview of Twitter, or to tell you that it is something of a cultural force, because it just is. Watch CNN or ESPN, and many other major networks, and watch the Twitter references and Twitter feed information fly. See what the major internet players, including Google, Facebook and LinkedIn are doing to incorporate, carefully, aspects of Twitter, and Twitter, into their own services. In any event, I’ve already made the importance argument, in my last post on this subject. And, if there is anything that I am not, I am not redundant. If there is anything that I am not, I am not redundant.
So, just what is my purpose here? Am I just wasting your time? Of course not. I would never do that. I’d like to think that, through our impersonal internet relationship, you have to come know me better than that. I just feel that, since I have been on Twitter for almost a year-and-a-half now, it’s high time that I write a post about Twitter strategies--after all, everybody else is doing it. (“On Twitter” sounds pretty stupid, on second thought. Is there something like a methadone clinic where I can go to get “off Twitter”?) Should you listen to me? Certainly. Here’s why:
Why I’m bona fide. I have 2,100+ Twitter followers. (10 of whom probably care.) I’ve made 2,600+ Twitter posts. (A number of which involve, at least tangential, reference to obscure country music.) I’ve been listed 50+ times. (No, I don’t really know what the hell that means either.)
Why I’m unique. I have a ton of German followers. I don’t know why either. I’m like the frickin’ David Hasselhoff of Twitter.
My Promise to You. I refuse to use stupid, fake Twitter words, like “tweep” and “twitterverse” and “twenius”, save for when I just did, in an attempt to mock those words, which may or may not have worked. Shun stupid Twitter words. Unshun. “Tweetup”. Reshun. For my punishment, I threw up in my mouth just now, a little bit.
With those qualifications in mind, let me come around to telling you about some of the strategies that I employ on Twitter, and those that will probably be useful to you, too, at least in some way. I think that Twitter is important for businesses to leverage. And, I say that along with saying this: I don’t particularly enjoy using Twitter at all. I still think it’s kind of stupid. But, my personal preferences take a backseat to my desire to market LOMAP effectively: and, we have done just that utilizing Twitter. How? I’m glad you asked, it’s not so hard after all:
-You need a picture and to describe yourself in the description section provided by Twitter. It is difficult on many similar sites, unless you want to troll for recommendations, to get to a completed profile. But, on Twitter, it’s easy. An incomplete profile on Twitter is an obvious blackmark. Replace the standardized “bird” image with your own photo. Use a professional photo. If you don’t have a professional photo, get one taken. It’ll pay for itself, because you’ll use it in places other than Twitter. Fill out the description section in a way that offers, as fully as possible, just what you do. Think of it as your first tweet. If you do not provide at least a picture/description, that combines to make it rather obvious to anyone looking that you didn’t even care enough about this endeavor to take the most basic step required of the program. From that point, the easy analysis is that you are either careless or lazy, and that your tweets will be reflective of those unfortunate technology-aided traits. Ironic, isn’t it?
-If you’re just starting out, follow some people in your field, in order to gain traction. This can be a pretty simplistic calculus, if you wish it to be. When I started out, I simply did Twitter searches for “law” and “lawyer” and followed some people who seemed to me to be reputable. Not everyone whom I followed followed me back; but, I got enough followers to feel like I had something of my own little tribe. People love to get followed. What’s the most common response to being followed? They follow you back. Easy. Hands down, in fact, the easiest way to get a decent amount of followers is to follow first. Return the goodwill, too. I follow everyone who follows me. Well . . . not everyone. If I can see a naked secondary sexual characteristic in your profile picture, or if your most recent post involves something about your webcam, I shall not follow you. Otherwise, I’m on board. Lots of people worry overmuch about who is following them and who they follow. It’s not that big a deal. Really. Twitter is all about information overload. It’s more about gross numbers (we mass communicatin’!) than it is about specific connections, as far as perception is concerned. If you want to run down my followers list for potentially suspect folks, be my guest. You’ll be the first.
-Retweet most vigorously. Twitter is all about pushing out content, don’t let anyone fool you. (I’m talking about, now, when Twitter is leveraged appropriately, for a business purposes. Too many people I talk to say things like, “Oh, Twitter--I don’t care what you had for lunch this afternoon”, which such comment is usually followed by a tremendous guffaw. But, that is just about the most simplistic view that can be taken, and ignores the most important view that can be taken: that Twitter can be, for the most part, just what you want it to be. Tweet about your lunch, and yes, no one will care. Tweet about your professional interests and accomplishment, and people will care quite a bit more.) People shoot out their content on Twitter (be that content a new blog post, a speaking engagement, a link to an informative article or an informed opinion) in the hopes that it will really reach as many of their followers as it can. Wouldn’t they love to expand their reach? You know they would. How do they accomplish that expansion of their reach? Through you and your followers, when you retweet their content. People love it when you retweet their stuff. They love to pop up in their own vainglorious mentions filter. They love that you’ve deemed their content worthy enough to extend to the reach of your own network. Retweeting is a two-click process. There’s no excuse for not doing it. And, it’s the reason why Twitter is reputation-building-for-dummies: You may have no idea of the subject you wish to broadcast on Twitter; but, someone else does. If you find enough trusted sources, to retweet regularly, you’ll look rather brilliant, as a shadow. Is there a danger to that? Sure. Better hope nobody asks you about any of this stuff . . . So, yeah, you should be knowledgable in your subject matter; but, you should retweet others even if you know what you’re talking about, because Twitter is about building this community of interest, or communities of interest, around yourself. Another danger is coming off looking like a spammer. Sure, it’s easy to retweet 100 times a day, if you want; but, resist the urge. And, including a smattering of your own observations and content makes you appear more human-like and less bot-like. Incidentally, when you are on the receiving end of a retweet, you should thank the retweeter in your public feed, rather than via direct message. They’ll be happy to see it, and they get another mention = more exposure.
-Twitter now also allows users to create “Lists”: user-defined groups of influential Twitterers within certain subject categories. This will be extremely helpful for when you are building your niche/brand/reputation, which “for when” is “all the time”. Once you’ve been listed, it is no longer just you saying that you know about this stuff--someone else is validating your position as a subject matter expert among other subject matter experts. Can you predict when you’ll be listed, and how? No. Let’s hope you’re not listed under a group like, “These People Suck Really Bad”. But, assuming that doesn’t happen, it’s pretty clear what you have to do to get listed: tweet in a subject matter field, engage other subject matter specialists in conversation via direct messages or @ replies and list other people. Listing is much like retweeting in this wise: If you do it for someone else, someone else is more likely to do it for you. Twitter could be an essentially selfish engine; but, its savvy users realize that it is most effective when used to push others’ content, in addition to your own. The only way you increase your reach beyond your follower limitations is by getting people to push your stuff as well as their own. You see how this might work ad infinitum, literally? So, is it entirely altruistic? No. But, nothing ever really is.
-Make Twitter your content pipeline. Every time you’ve got some new content, broadcast it through Twitter. It’s just another avenue for discovery, another way to stay top of mind. Your mantra: Every blog post goes to your Twitter feed, immediately after you publish it, so you don’t forget to do it. Every new speaking engagement gets promoted through Twitter. Every new initiative by your firm goes to Twitter. Twitter is a far more dynamic mechanism for marketing than the web alone is. When you post something to the internet, you’re hoping someone comes across it. Twitter explicitly points to that thing that you want found, and broadcasts that thing that you want found to specific communities of interest who are most likely to click through and more likely to become engaged with what you have done. If you run one of the celebrity get-away ranches, providing real West experiences for those mansion-bound, you’re not releasing a horse into a field, and hoping that the person you want to find it finds it . . . No, you’re going to give somebody a damn saddle, and you’re saying, suit up, on Dapple. Or, if you prefer, it’s less like forcing people to sift through a haystack for needles, and more like providing a needle to a community of desperate sewers. (The former analogy reminds me more, of course, of when the good folks of Exline, Iowa, suggested that, although I could not milk a cow, because machines do that now, I might try my hands at a goat. I’ve yet to milk something.) One of the better aspects of Twitter, as well, is that your posts appear in Google and Bing searches, such that, not only are you supplementing your original web post by a Twitter post, that new Twitter post is also searchable online.
-If you’ve been on the Twitter.com website, you know that it is very simple, rather clunky and has limited functionality. It’s very difficult, nigh impossible, to use Twitter effectively when your main point of access is the Twitter.com site. So, what you want to do is to utilize a program that will connect you to Twitter, and that will graft onto your user experience significant additional functionality. The two most popular Twitter extension programs are Tweetdeck (software download, built on Adobe Air) and HootSuite (website access/SaaS). There are differences between the two services, and I personally prefer HootSuite, given its additional functionality, stability and ease of use--but either program will do you better than the Twitter website does. Of the number of features available through Twitter extension programs, I have deemed two important enough to “list” (Get it, haha. Reshun.) below.
-Creating groups for sets of followers is indubitably one of the best thing that you can do to make Twitter work better for you. How many of the people who follow you are relevant enough to retweet on a regular basis? If you have a decent number of followers, that figure stands at, maybe, 10%. Maybe. But, those relevant persons are otherwise fed into the morass of posts that stem from all of your followers, all of the time. You’ll quickly stop wasting the time it takes to pan for those golden tweets among the sediment, and you’ll become frustrated, and are likely to drop tweeting before you’ve ever realized any benefit from it. The creation of groups allows you to segregate your most trusted advisors (and that is a good way to think of them), so that their tweets will now not only show up in your main stream (which is almost useless when you reach a certain number of followers), but will also appear in a filtered stream, that focuses down to categories. In my case, I have a “PMA” stream for folks who offer consistently excellent practice management advice, that I can forward along. At the point that I trust someone enough, I will often retweet their posting based on the subject they define alone, without even clicking out to a link and reading through the information. That is a tremendous time saver. Perhaps that’s foolish, and I am setting myself up for someone to make me look bad--but, that’s the beauty of Twitter: If, in the context of this discussion, you intend to make me look bad, you, generally, have to make yourself look bad first, by making an initial post. It would be something like a game of tag, played by really mean people. (A Note To My Trusted Advisors: I’ll now be more deeply wary of retweeting posts that say “Jared smells like burning baby food”, and the like.)
-But, there are a lot of these sorts of social media sites out there. How are you supposed to spend time updating Twitter (more on that later), Facebook, LinkedIn, Reflyer, Naymz, etc., etc.? Well, the Twitter extension platforms can provide you some relief there, as well, as you will be able, through the immediate Twitter extension service, to apply your Twitter posts across other platforms, maneuvering same through the invisible interneting cables to Facebook and LinkedIn status updates, by way of example. This can be a tremendous timesaver, too, and one that allows you, additionally, to fan out your content across platforms with the click of a button, so multiplying your coverage. This is not, however, something you should do automatically, or undertake without thinking it over. Consider that not every social media site works the same way that Twitter does. A string of @ replies, for example, and shortened words and text, looks odd on Facebook, where there is no character limit for status updates, and where people tend to use real language, and not Twitter language. (Although Facebook has added @ functionality for tagging other Facebook users, that does not necessarily translate from Twitter, because someone’s handle on Facebook is not necessarily the same as it is on Twitter--so the link is lost.) I don’t push out my Twitter posts to Facebook for this very reason. For the most part, as well, people can tell when you are moving content in this wise. They may assume, not unexpectedly, when they see you doing so, that you’re just not that invested in the particular medium they use to screen you, and that may turn them off--which can be particularly devastating if that is the only medium through which they follow you. This is a combination question for resolution, then, that touches upon your ideal for your professional presentation and your tolerance for risk.
-Keep in mind that you should consider Twitter not some outlying engine, but, rather, as an integrated part of your marketing platform, such that you should apply basic marketing principles to your use of Twitter. Twitter is another way to establish your niche, or specialty, and to promote your brand. And Twitter is a great device for promoting those things. The very design of Twitter practically begs for you to create a specialty, and to pimp it most hard. As with any branding exercise, you should be consistent in what content you produce, and in what you say. You should also be repetitive with your message, even more so on Twitter, if for no other reason than to breach the constant crush of information that provides Twitter its general appeal. The Twitter stream is onrushing, and you never know when you’ll get noticed for a particular thing. However, you can work to provide yourself with more opportunities to be noticed, by tweeting about the same subject/topic/content in a different way a few, or several, times throughout the day, or week, of release of that information. If you’ve crafted and published a new article or blog post, for example, and wish to increase the likelihood of its being seen, and accessed, tweet about it several times following your first tweet, using unique descriptors each time, that will help to draw people in. Again, however, there is a fine line here between spamming and promoting. If you have seven followers, for example, this may not be the time to practice a multiple tweets strategy. With more followers to try, you can test the waters: If your crowd (those top 10% of followers you really want to reach) does not seem to dig what you are doing, you can always disengage. The danger is in the missing of the forest, for the trees. Likewise, if the tea leaves you are reading indicate that Twitter is not working for you as a marketplace device, stop using it. You’ll only know this, however, if you take the time to analyze your return on investment, as derived from the program.
-The sort of engagement alluded to above: knowing something about your crowd, and acting on that information, should be a hallmark of your Twitter persona. Twitter is not entirely about just dumping content to the wide world (web), and waiting to see what happens. Take opportunities to talk to your follower via @ replies, when appropriate, and through direct messages. There is something of a personal connection via retweeting, but it is tenuous if not consistent. The strategy for cementing a relationship online is the same as it is for establishing a relationship offline: you have to invest in it. Perhaps surprisingly, there are a number of opportunities for dialogue on Twitter, including through users who ask direct questions of their followers from time to time, through Twitter interviews, through conference streams, sometimes using hashtags, and the like. I’ve gotten some good, sustained relationships out of Twitter; but, only when I have taken the time to invest in those potential relationships, did they become kinetic.
-When creating, or managing, your online persona (and a personality of that derived persona exists on Twitter), make sure to maintain the professional image that you cultivate within your offline, work life. (Or, if you’re like me, just be unprofessional in both contexts.) Your online persona, generally, should agree, in all pertinent respects, with your offline persona. It used to be, in some sense, that the internet allowed you to operate without a face, as it were. But, that is increasingly becoming less and less the case. Now, for example, it is probably best practice to include your picture with your online profile. And, when fully accessing a social media marketing platform, you are tied down and across so many websites and services, it’s impossible to hide. Bad judgments will yield consequences. And those bad judgments, if not consequences, will be memorialized forever on the perpetual web imprint that will seem as cave drawings to the next civilization that discovers electricity. So, be good. Be objective. Be fair. Don’t engage in flame wars--because you’ll get burned! (Are we at 4,000 words yet?)
-No, you’ll never get the time back from having read this blog post, as I will never get the time back from having drafted it. Time well spent? Let’s hope. One of the main complaints I hear from people respecting Twitter is this: But, Jared, I don’t have tiiiiiiiime to do it. Call the Wah-mbulance. Seriously. You have the time. You just don’t know it yet. As with almost anything, finding the time to access Twitter is a question of continence, in the traditional sense. Do you always have time for Twitter? I don’t know. Depends. Twitter as a time trap is code for lack of time management skills, is all. Can people become addicted to Twitter? Sure, people can get addicted to any old thing. But, if you find yourself spending too much time on Twitter, you have to wean yourself off its majority use. Twitter is useful as a tool, destructive as an obsession. How much time is too much time? There is no one answer; but, I bet that part of the question relates to how often and how well you are measuring your return on investment, as achieved through the system. I think there are probably several effective approaches to Twitter usage (as an overview microcosm, there are probably as many effective approaches to using Twitter as there are people that use Twitter), including: reviewing it from time to time as a sub-email account; establishing settled times throughout the day when you will check your group feeds and retweet and respond, logging in and logging out each time; aggregating web information throughout the day and scheduling tweets for broadcast, etc. Whatever method is successful for you is the successful method. Period. Oftentimes, however, “I don’t have time for Twitter” is code for “I don’t want to take the time to learn about Twitter”, because it’s not intuitive for everyone. That is certainly fine, if the chosen route. However, I bet you’d be doing it if it meant you could get more clients, and more money.
But, that begs the question: What sort of value can be derived from Twitter? My general answer is easy to guess after: I wouldn’t have spent almost 4,000 words (We’re not there . . . yet.) writing on this topic if I didn’t think Twitter was useful. I think it clearly is. From my standpoint, my consistent use of Twitter has meant that I have: established my expertise as a subject matter specialist on law practice management issues; driven traffic to our blog; created new relationships with vendors and colleagues, as well as further establishing and entrenching relationships with existing contacts; and, buttressed our web presence. Those accomplishments, in and of themselves, are valuable enough for me to continue to use Twitter. Have I ever gotten a client directly from Twitter? I can’t say that I have, or, at least, that I have and have known about it. I am, however, fairly certain that a combination of what I have done online has gotten us clients, and that an essential part of that grab-bag of “what I have done online” is at least partially represented through my use of Twitter. Am I fearful enough that removing Twitter from my web arsenal would detract enough from my marketing to generate a noticeable hit to our client intake? Yes. I don’t want to take the chance on finding out. Part of the power of Twitter is in its oozing out into the ether. How many people have picked a Twitter post of mine from Google and contacted me on that basis, and only indicated on intake that they found me on Google? How many people have asked me to speak for their organization after coming to see me speak at another program that they found through Twitter, and only indicated on intake that they saw me speak at an event prior? How many people have heard from someone else that I was a good source for practice management advice when that someone else learned about me on Twitter, when our client only indicated on intake that they heard about our program from a friend? There’s no exactly effective way to tag all of these relationships, as they depend so much on information submitted by others; but, I am pretty sure these nexi exist, and that is why I continue to tweet. And, sure, our sell is easy: free law practice management consulting . . . C’mon, who doesn’t want that? But, in a competitive, for fee environment, the effect of Twitter may be even more pronounced. If you can be somewhere active that your competitor is not, if you can be accessing and engaging communities of interest that your competitor is not, if you can present as a subject matter expert when your competitor does not, Is that enough to swing the pendulum from potential client to actual client? Are you comfortable never trying, or never trying hard enough, to find out? This is, once more, a question of risk tolerance. Are you comfortable letting a free and easy-to-use marketing opportunity like Twitter pass you by without ever really making a true attempt to fold it into your marketing program? If you’ve read this far, I would hope not.
Now, Go forth and tweet, like a bird released from its rusty cage, made of the bones of Web. 1.5.
Full Disclosure. There are three things I left out on purpose: (1) I want to convert from Tweetdeck to HootSuite. I just haven’t done it yet. I need some time to set up HootSuite, and haven’t found it yet. (2) I have fallen for April Fools’ Day jokes on Twitter for the last two years. But, this is consistent with my personal life, where I routinely fall for April Fools’ Day jokes. My Twitter percentage of falling for April Fools’ Day Jokes is relatively low, by comparison. (3) I haven’t created any of my own Lists on Twitter yet. I’m serious!: I’m a poser!
Postscript. My wife presets the car radio to Boston's #1 Hit Music Station! Kiss 108, to my continuing chagrin. What a terrible radio station. They play Justin Bieber all the time. He’s insufferable. You may know him as the #1 trending topic on Twitter for something like the last 18 months straight. I call him Justin Beaver, because I don’t care to pronounce, or spell, his last name correctly. In attempting to solidify his tremendously impressive, burgeoning musical career, Justin has recently guested on a song called “Eenie Meenie Miney Moe Lover” by the immortal Sean Kingston. This is easily the worst song I have ever heard. All of this drivel seems to be combining to destroy my desire to continue to do a Liner Notes segment. Almost.
. . .
Liner Notes.
The easy reach here is songs about birds. . . . Twitter. . . . Tweeting. What say we reach easy?
“Blackbird” and “And Your Bird Can Sing” by The Beatles
“Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley and The Wailers
“Bluebird” by Buffalo Springfield
“Bluebird Revisited” by Stephen Stills
“Mockingbird” by Carly Simon featuring James Taylor
“Rockin’ Robin” by The Jackson 5
“Free Bird” by Skynyrd, man
Geez. I tired myself out writing this damn thing.
Seacrest out.
So, just what is my purpose here? Am I just wasting your time? Of course not. I would never do that. I’d like to think that, through our impersonal internet relationship, you have to come know me better than that. I just feel that, since I have been on Twitter for almost a year-and-a-half now, it’s high time that I write a post about Twitter strategies--after all, everybody else is doing it. (“On Twitter” sounds pretty stupid, on second thought. Is there something like a methadone clinic where I can go to get “off Twitter”?) Should you listen to me? Certainly. Here’s why:
Why I’m bona fide. I have 2,100+ Twitter followers. (10 of whom probably care.) I’ve made 2,600+ Twitter posts. (A number of which involve, at least tangential, reference to obscure country music.) I’ve been listed 50+ times. (No, I don’t really know what the hell that means either.)
Why I’m unique. I have a ton of German followers. I don’t know why either. I’m like the frickin’ David Hasselhoff of Twitter.
My Promise to You. I refuse to use stupid, fake Twitter words, like “tweep” and “twitterverse” and “twenius”, save for when I just did, in an attempt to mock those words, which may or may not have worked. Shun stupid Twitter words. Unshun. “Tweetup”. Reshun. For my punishment, I threw up in my mouth just now, a little bit.
With those qualifications in mind, let me come around to telling you about some of the strategies that I employ on Twitter, and those that will probably be useful to you, too, at least in some way. I think that Twitter is important for businesses to leverage. And, I say that along with saying this: I don’t particularly enjoy using Twitter at all. I still think it’s kind of stupid. But, my personal preferences take a backseat to my desire to market LOMAP effectively: and, we have done just that utilizing Twitter. How? I’m glad you asked, it’s not so hard after all:
-You need a picture and to describe yourself in the description section provided by Twitter. It is difficult on many similar sites, unless you want to troll for recommendations, to get to a completed profile. But, on Twitter, it’s easy. An incomplete profile on Twitter is an obvious blackmark. Replace the standardized “bird” image with your own photo. Use a professional photo. If you don’t have a professional photo, get one taken. It’ll pay for itself, because you’ll use it in places other than Twitter. Fill out the description section in a way that offers, as fully as possible, just what you do. Think of it as your first tweet. If you do not provide at least a picture/description, that combines to make it rather obvious to anyone looking that you didn’t even care enough about this endeavor to take the most basic step required of the program. From that point, the easy analysis is that you are either careless or lazy, and that your tweets will be reflective of those unfortunate technology-aided traits. Ironic, isn’t it?
-If you’re just starting out, follow some people in your field, in order to gain traction. This can be a pretty simplistic calculus, if you wish it to be. When I started out, I simply did Twitter searches for “law” and “lawyer” and followed some people who seemed to me to be reputable. Not everyone whom I followed followed me back; but, I got enough followers to feel like I had something of my own little tribe. People love to get followed. What’s the most common response to being followed? They follow you back. Easy. Hands down, in fact, the easiest way to get a decent amount of followers is to follow first. Return the goodwill, too. I follow everyone who follows me. Well . . . not everyone. If I can see a naked secondary sexual characteristic in your profile picture, or if your most recent post involves something about your webcam, I shall not follow you. Otherwise, I’m on board. Lots of people worry overmuch about who is following them and who they follow. It’s not that big a deal. Really. Twitter is all about information overload. It’s more about gross numbers (we mass communicatin’!) than it is about specific connections, as far as perception is concerned. If you want to run down my followers list for potentially suspect folks, be my guest. You’ll be the first.
-Retweet most vigorously. Twitter is all about pushing out content, don’t let anyone fool you. (I’m talking about, now, when Twitter is leveraged appropriately, for a business purposes. Too many people I talk to say things like, “Oh, Twitter--I don’t care what you had for lunch this afternoon”, which such comment is usually followed by a tremendous guffaw. But, that is just about the most simplistic view that can be taken, and ignores the most important view that can be taken: that Twitter can be, for the most part, just what you want it to be. Tweet about your lunch, and yes, no one will care. Tweet about your professional interests and accomplishment, and people will care quite a bit more.) People shoot out their content on Twitter (be that content a new blog post, a speaking engagement, a link to an informative article or an informed opinion) in the hopes that it will really reach as many of their followers as it can. Wouldn’t they love to expand their reach? You know they would. How do they accomplish that expansion of their reach? Through you and your followers, when you retweet their content. People love it when you retweet their stuff. They love to pop up in their own vainglorious mentions filter. They love that you’ve deemed their content worthy enough to extend to the reach of your own network. Retweeting is a two-click process. There’s no excuse for not doing it. And, it’s the reason why Twitter is reputation-building-for-dummies: You may have no idea of the subject you wish to broadcast on Twitter; but, someone else does. If you find enough trusted sources, to retweet regularly, you’ll look rather brilliant, as a shadow. Is there a danger to that? Sure. Better hope nobody asks you about any of this stuff . . . So, yeah, you should be knowledgable in your subject matter; but, you should retweet others even if you know what you’re talking about, because Twitter is about building this community of interest, or communities of interest, around yourself. Another danger is coming off looking like a spammer. Sure, it’s easy to retweet 100 times a day, if you want; but, resist the urge. And, including a smattering of your own observations and content makes you appear more human-like and less bot-like. Incidentally, when you are on the receiving end of a retweet, you should thank the retweeter in your public feed, rather than via direct message. They’ll be happy to see it, and they get another mention = more exposure.
-Twitter now also allows users to create “Lists”: user-defined groups of influential Twitterers within certain subject categories. This will be extremely helpful for when you are building your niche/brand/reputation, which “for when” is “all the time”. Once you’ve been listed, it is no longer just you saying that you know about this stuff--someone else is validating your position as a subject matter expert among other subject matter experts. Can you predict when you’ll be listed, and how? No. Let’s hope you’re not listed under a group like, “These People Suck Really Bad”. But, assuming that doesn’t happen, it’s pretty clear what you have to do to get listed: tweet in a subject matter field, engage other subject matter specialists in conversation via direct messages or @ replies and list other people. Listing is much like retweeting in this wise: If you do it for someone else, someone else is more likely to do it for you. Twitter could be an essentially selfish engine; but, its savvy users realize that it is most effective when used to push others’ content, in addition to your own. The only way you increase your reach beyond your follower limitations is by getting people to push your stuff as well as their own. You see how this might work ad infinitum, literally? So, is it entirely altruistic? No. But, nothing ever really is.
-Make Twitter your content pipeline. Every time you’ve got some new content, broadcast it through Twitter. It’s just another avenue for discovery, another way to stay top of mind. Your mantra: Every blog post goes to your Twitter feed, immediately after you publish it, so you don’t forget to do it. Every new speaking engagement gets promoted through Twitter. Every new initiative by your firm goes to Twitter. Twitter is a far more dynamic mechanism for marketing than the web alone is. When you post something to the internet, you’re hoping someone comes across it. Twitter explicitly points to that thing that you want found, and broadcasts that thing that you want found to specific communities of interest who are most likely to click through and more likely to become engaged with what you have done. If you run one of the celebrity get-away ranches, providing real West experiences for those mansion-bound, you’re not releasing a horse into a field, and hoping that the person you want to find it finds it . . . No, you’re going to give somebody a damn saddle, and you’re saying, suit up, on Dapple. Or, if you prefer, it’s less like forcing people to sift through a haystack for needles, and more like providing a needle to a community of desperate sewers. (The former analogy reminds me more, of course, of when the good folks of Exline, Iowa, suggested that, although I could not milk a cow, because machines do that now, I might try my hands at a goat. I’ve yet to milk something.) One of the better aspects of Twitter, as well, is that your posts appear in Google and Bing searches, such that, not only are you supplementing your original web post by a Twitter post, that new Twitter post is also searchable online.
-If you’ve been on the Twitter.com website, you know that it is very simple, rather clunky and has limited functionality. It’s very difficult, nigh impossible, to use Twitter effectively when your main point of access is the Twitter.com site. So, what you want to do is to utilize a program that will connect you to Twitter, and that will graft onto your user experience significant additional functionality. The two most popular Twitter extension programs are Tweetdeck (software download, built on Adobe Air) and HootSuite (website access/SaaS). There are differences between the two services, and I personally prefer HootSuite, given its additional functionality, stability and ease of use--but either program will do you better than the Twitter website does. Of the number of features available through Twitter extension programs, I have deemed two important enough to “list” (Get it, haha. Reshun.) below.
-Creating groups for sets of followers is indubitably one of the best thing that you can do to make Twitter work better for you. How many of the people who follow you are relevant enough to retweet on a regular basis? If you have a decent number of followers, that figure stands at, maybe, 10%. Maybe. But, those relevant persons are otherwise fed into the morass of posts that stem from all of your followers, all of the time. You’ll quickly stop wasting the time it takes to pan for those golden tweets among the sediment, and you’ll become frustrated, and are likely to drop tweeting before you’ve ever realized any benefit from it. The creation of groups allows you to segregate your most trusted advisors (and that is a good way to think of them), so that their tweets will now not only show up in your main stream (which is almost useless when you reach a certain number of followers), but will also appear in a filtered stream, that focuses down to categories. In my case, I have a “PMA” stream for folks who offer consistently excellent practice management advice, that I can forward along. At the point that I trust someone enough, I will often retweet their posting based on the subject they define alone, without even clicking out to a link and reading through the information. That is a tremendous time saver. Perhaps that’s foolish, and I am setting myself up for someone to make me look bad--but, that’s the beauty of Twitter: If, in the context of this discussion, you intend to make me look bad, you, generally, have to make yourself look bad first, by making an initial post. It would be something like a game of tag, played by really mean people. (A Note To My Trusted Advisors: I’ll now be more deeply wary of retweeting posts that say “Jared smells like burning baby food”, and the like.)
-But, there are a lot of these sorts of social media sites out there. How are you supposed to spend time updating Twitter (more on that later), Facebook, LinkedIn, Reflyer, Naymz, etc., etc.? Well, the Twitter extension platforms can provide you some relief there, as well, as you will be able, through the immediate Twitter extension service, to apply your Twitter posts across other platforms, maneuvering same through the invisible interneting cables to Facebook and LinkedIn status updates, by way of example. This can be a tremendous timesaver, too, and one that allows you, additionally, to fan out your content across platforms with the click of a button, so multiplying your coverage. This is not, however, something you should do automatically, or undertake without thinking it over. Consider that not every social media site works the same way that Twitter does. A string of @ replies, for example, and shortened words and text, looks odd on Facebook, where there is no character limit for status updates, and where people tend to use real language, and not Twitter language. (Although Facebook has added @ functionality for tagging other Facebook users, that does not necessarily translate from Twitter, because someone’s handle on Facebook is not necessarily the same as it is on Twitter--so the link is lost.) I don’t push out my Twitter posts to Facebook for this very reason. For the most part, as well, people can tell when you are moving content in this wise. They may assume, not unexpectedly, when they see you doing so, that you’re just not that invested in the particular medium they use to screen you, and that may turn them off--which can be particularly devastating if that is the only medium through which they follow you. This is a combination question for resolution, then, that touches upon your ideal for your professional presentation and your tolerance for risk.
-Keep in mind that you should consider Twitter not some outlying engine, but, rather, as an integrated part of your marketing platform, such that you should apply basic marketing principles to your use of Twitter. Twitter is another way to establish your niche, or specialty, and to promote your brand. And Twitter is a great device for promoting those things. The very design of Twitter practically begs for you to create a specialty, and to pimp it most hard. As with any branding exercise, you should be consistent in what content you produce, and in what you say. You should also be repetitive with your message, even more so on Twitter, if for no other reason than to breach the constant crush of information that provides Twitter its general appeal. The Twitter stream is onrushing, and you never know when you’ll get noticed for a particular thing. However, you can work to provide yourself with more opportunities to be noticed, by tweeting about the same subject/topic/content in a different way a few, or several, times throughout the day, or week, of release of that information. If you’ve crafted and published a new article or blog post, for example, and wish to increase the likelihood of its being seen, and accessed, tweet about it several times following your first tweet, using unique descriptors each time, that will help to draw people in. Again, however, there is a fine line here between spamming and promoting. If you have seven followers, for example, this may not be the time to practice a multiple tweets strategy. With more followers to try, you can test the waters: If your crowd (those top 10% of followers you really want to reach) does not seem to dig what you are doing, you can always disengage. The danger is in the missing of the forest, for the trees. Likewise, if the tea leaves you are reading indicate that Twitter is not working for you as a marketplace device, stop using it. You’ll only know this, however, if you take the time to analyze your return on investment, as derived from the program.
-The sort of engagement alluded to above: knowing something about your crowd, and acting on that information, should be a hallmark of your Twitter persona. Twitter is not entirely about just dumping content to the wide world (web), and waiting to see what happens. Take opportunities to talk to your follower via @ replies, when appropriate, and through direct messages. There is something of a personal connection via retweeting, but it is tenuous if not consistent. The strategy for cementing a relationship online is the same as it is for establishing a relationship offline: you have to invest in it. Perhaps surprisingly, there are a number of opportunities for dialogue on Twitter, including through users who ask direct questions of their followers from time to time, through Twitter interviews, through conference streams, sometimes using hashtags, and the like. I’ve gotten some good, sustained relationships out of Twitter; but, only when I have taken the time to invest in those potential relationships, did they become kinetic.
-When creating, or managing, your online persona (and a personality of that derived persona exists on Twitter), make sure to maintain the professional image that you cultivate within your offline, work life. (Or, if you’re like me, just be unprofessional in both contexts.) Your online persona, generally, should agree, in all pertinent respects, with your offline persona. It used to be, in some sense, that the internet allowed you to operate without a face, as it were. But, that is increasingly becoming less and less the case. Now, for example, it is probably best practice to include your picture with your online profile. And, when fully accessing a social media marketing platform, you are tied down and across so many websites and services, it’s impossible to hide. Bad judgments will yield consequences. And those bad judgments, if not consequences, will be memorialized forever on the perpetual web imprint that will seem as cave drawings to the next civilization that discovers electricity. So, be good. Be objective. Be fair. Don’t engage in flame wars--because you’ll get burned! (Are we at 4,000 words yet?)
-No, you’ll never get the time back from having read this blog post, as I will never get the time back from having drafted it. Time well spent? Let’s hope. One of the main complaints I hear from people respecting Twitter is this: But, Jared, I don’t have tiiiiiiiime to do it. Call the Wah-mbulance. Seriously. You have the time. You just don’t know it yet. As with almost anything, finding the time to access Twitter is a question of continence, in the traditional sense. Do you always have time for Twitter? I don’t know. Depends. Twitter as a time trap is code for lack of time management skills, is all. Can people become addicted to Twitter? Sure, people can get addicted to any old thing. But, if you find yourself spending too much time on Twitter, you have to wean yourself off its majority use. Twitter is useful as a tool, destructive as an obsession. How much time is too much time? There is no one answer; but, I bet that part of the question relates to how often and how well you are measuring your return on investment, as achieved through the system. I think there are probably several effective approaches to Twitter usage (as an overview microcosm, there are probably as many effective approaches to using Twitter as there are people that use Twitter), including: reviewing it from time to time as a sub-email account; establishing settled times throughout the day when you will check your group feeds and retweet and respond, logging in and logging out each time; aggregating web information throughout the day and scheduling tweets for broadcast, etc. Whatever method is successful for you is the successful method. Period. Oftentimes, however, “I don’t have time for Twitter” is code for “I don’t want to take the time to learn about Twitter”, because it’s not intuitive for everyone. That is certainly fine, if the chosen route. However, I bet you’d be doing it if it meant you could get more clients, and more money.
But, that begs the question: What sort of value can be derived from Twitter? My general answer is easy to guess after: I wouldn’t have spent almost 4,000 words (We’re not there . . . yet.) writing on this topic if I didn’t think Twitter was useful. I think it clearly is. From my standpoint, my consistent use of Twitter has meant that I have: established my expertise as a subject matter specialist on law practice management issues; driven traffic to our blog; created new relationships with vendors and colleagues, as well as further establishing and entrenching relationships with existing contacts; and, buttressed our web presence. Those accomplishments, in and of themselves, are valuable enough for me to continue to use Twitter. Have I ever gotten a client directly from Twitter? I can’t say that I have, or, at least, that I have and have known about it. I am, however, fairly certain that a combination of what I have done online has gotten us clients, and that an essential part of that grab-bag of “what I have done online” is at least partially represented through my use of Twitter. Am I fearful enough that removing Twitter from my web arsenal would detract enough from my marketing to generate a noticeable hit to our client intake? Yes. I don’t want to take the chance on finding out. Part of the power of Twitter is in its oozing out into the ether. How many people have picked a Twitter post of mine from Google and contacted me on that basis, and only indicated on intake that they found me on Google? How many people have asked me to speak for their organization after coming to see me speak at another program that they found through Twitter, and only indicated on intake that they saw me speak at an event prior? How many people have heard from someone else that I was a good source for practice management advice when that someone else learned about me on Twitter, when our client only indicated on intake that they heard about our program from a friend? There’s no exactly effective way to tag all of these relationships, as they depend so much on information submitted by others; but, I am pretty sure these nexi exist, and that is why I continue to tweet. And, sure, our sell is easy: free law practice management consulting . . . C’mon, who doesn’t want that? But, in a competitive, for fee environment, the effect of Twitter may be even more pronounced. If you can be somewhere active that your competitor is not, if you can be accessing and engaging communities of interest that your competitor is not, if you can present as a subject matter expert when your competitor does not, Is that enough to swing the pendulum from potential client to actual client? Are you comfortable never trying, or never trying hard enough, to find out? This is, once more, a question of risk tolerance. Are you comfortable letting a free and easy-to-use marketing opportunity like Twitter pass you by without ever really making a true attempt to fold it into your marketing program? If you’ve read this far, I would hope not.
Now, Go forth and tweet, like a bird released from its rusty cage, made of the bones of Web. 1.5.
Full Disclosure. There are three things I left out on purpose: (1) I want to convert from Tweetdeck to HootSuite. I just haven’t done it yet. I need some time to set up HootSuite, and haven’t found it yet. (2) I have fallen for April Fools’ Day jokes on Twitter for the last two years. But, this is consistent with my personal life, where I routinely fall for April Fools’ Day jokes. My Twitter percentage of falling for April Fools’ Day Jokes is relatively low, by comparison. (3) I haven’t created any of my own Lists on Twitter yet. I’m serious!: I’m a poser!
Postscript. My wife presets the car radio to Boston's #1 Hit Music Station! Kiss 108, to my continuing chagrin. What a terrible radio station. They play Justin Bieber all the time. He’s insufferable. You may know him as the #1 trending topic on Twitter for something like the last 18 months straight. I call him Justin Beaver, because I don’t care to pronounce, or spell, his last name correctly. In attempting to solidify his tremendously impressive, burgeoning musical career, Justin has recently guested on a song called “Eenie Meenie Miney Moe Lover” by the immortal Sean Kingston. This is easily the worst song I have ever heard. All of this drivel seems to be combining to destroy my desire to continue to do a Liner Notes segment. Almost.
. . .
Liner Notes.
The easy reach here is songs about birds. . . . Twitter. . . . Tweeting. What say we reach easy?
“Blackbird” and “And Your Bird Can Sing” by The Beatles
“Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley and The Wailers
“Bluebird” by Buffalo Springfield
“Bluebird Revisited” by Stephen Stills
“Mockingbird” by Carly Simon featuring James Taylor
“Rockin’ Robin” by The Jackson 5
“Free Bird” by Skynyrd, man
Geez. I tired myself out writing this damn thing.
Seacrest out.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Choo-Choo-Choose Your Entity: Train-ing Materials for Selecting Your Firm’s Business Structure
Last week’s, as usually stellar, guest contribution to the LOMAP blog, this time from Wellesley attorney Chiara LaPlume, covered main considerations for solo attorneys seeking to find the appropriate entity for their firm’s existing. Chiara makes some great points in her post; and, we are very appreciative of her taking the time to draft her coverage for us. The purpose of this present post (the one you’re reading, not the one under your tree), is not to restate what Chiara has already addressed, but, instead, is to provide further information, including discovered resources, that will make your choice of entity for your business an informed choice.
Certainly, of course, and despite the title of the last post on this topic (which was not at all meant to be exclusionary), it is clearly not the worry fiefdom of solo attorneys, solely, when it comes to the choosing of an entity. Small firms make the same choice (well, not the same choice, but you catch my meaning . . .). Large firms, too, at least at some point in their histories, have made the decision on a business entity. But, they don’t read our blog. Fortunately, you do. And for your reward? The following thoughts on choosing an entity, including resource materials:
There are, unfortunately, a paucity of resources as to choice of entity for an attorney/for a law firm. Whether in practice, in working at the Massachusetts Bar Association as its publications attorney or here at LOMAP, my conclusion has always run the same: I have never been able to locate a really good, general publication respecting choice of entity for lawyers. Why this is, I can’t exactly figure . . . Perhaps it’s because people think that lawyers, a number of whom establish entities for their own clients and/or provide tax advice, should probably know this stuff already. Perhaps it’s because people think that a law firm’s entity choice is likely very much similar to the entity choice of any other service industry provider, such that generic business entity choice publications would be suitable for attorneys, as well. (Although, I would like to think that that is not the case, given the special ethics requirements attached to the practice of law, and given some business limitations that attorneys face, e.g.--not being able to take paying referrals from other businesses, or from other attorneys, in certain states, and not being able to limit liability as widely as general companies are, in most states.) Perhaps it’s because people think lawyers don’t even really have to think about the choice of entity option because they’re rich enough to hire someone to do it all for them. (If someone knows of a place where this truth exists, kindly let me know the directions, because I want in.) Perhaps someone is writing a book on choice of entity for lawyers and law firms right now, even as we speak. (No. It’s not me.) The fact of the matter, however, is that such a text (an entity choice book built for lawyers) would be exceeding useful, because, let’s face it: lawyers are not the best of businesspeople. (Otherwise, our service wouldn’t exist.) Usually, lawyers will let their business affairs drag in search of other grails, or will hire others to manage various portions of their business affairs (marketing, finances, technology). This is likely true even for lawyers who specialize in helping others to make business decisions. To a large extent, poor business practices are endemic in the practice of law.
But, these are not meant for excuses. Rising above the lawyers-as-bad-businesspersons stereotype, even without tailored resources, is really just a matter of applying the appropriate amount of mental elbow-grease in conjunction with the discovery of appropriate-enough resources, like the ones about to be addressed below, which can be utilized by attorneys, even if not meant exactly for attorneys, and even if not covering all eventualities for attorneys.
. . .
Section IV of LOMAP’s own “Start-Up Kit” covers the choosing of legal entities for attorneys. (The Start-Up Kit, Section IV, along with some other referenced material from this post, will be aggregated at this drop site; keep an eye out, as indicators come by, which they will.) The “Choosing a Legal Structure” section reviews options for the: sole proprietorship, professional association, partnership, professional corporation, limited liability company and limited liability partnership. As alluded to in both Chiara’s guest blog post, and in our own Start-Up Kit materials, any attorney, or firm, seeking to establish an entity with limitations on liability should take care to closely review the Supreme Judicial Court’s Rule 3:06. More generally, there are a number of practical considerations you should address before choosing an entity for your firm. These major considerations are addressed within the “Choosing a Legal Structure” section of our Start-Up Kit: How trustworthy are your potential partners? What are the tax consequences of your entity choice? What are the liability issues associated with your entity choice? What about transferability of interest? What limitations are imposed by statutes, regulations or rules? If you are entering into practice with another attorney, or other attorneys, be certain to memorialize your arrangement by executing a partnership agreement, or operating agreement. Be sure to address all issues of fees, fee sharing and fee splitting, as well as of profit sharing, before you enter into practice with your partner(s). Include all financial accords as part of your general agreement. Overall, treat your decision to enter into a professional relationship with other attorneys as you would treat your decision to enter into a romantic relationship with another person (or persons, if you swing that way). A number of the same stresses will apply, since you will be spending as much, if not more, time with the partners of your law firm as you do with your significant other.
But, Rodney and I and our little Start-Up Kit are really just a collection of posers as compared to the godfather, Jay Foonberg, and his classic treatise, “How to Start & Build a Law Practice”. What sayeth Foonberg on choice of entity? He recommends a sole proprietorship for those just starting out, unless there is some overriding reason to choose an alternate entity type. For those determined to start in a partnership, Foonberg recommends the professional corporation, the limited liability company or the limited liability partnership. He states that tax considerations will dictate the choice of a C or an S corporation. Where can you find this information for yourself?: the last two paragraphs of page 48, of the latest, 5th edition, of “How to Start & Build”. Of course, the “How to Start & Build a Law Practice” book is a classic of the law practice management genre, and is valuable for more than just two paragraphs; but, if you don’t want the whole book, and want, rather, on the cheap, just the smaller portions instead of the full meal, you can buy full chapters at 99 cents a piece, here.
As Foonberg says, and as we say, perhaps the major consideration for choice of entity respecting lawyers and law firms surrounds tax issues. And for a goodly number of solo and small firm attorneys, especially those starting out, tax concerns for entity choice are not especially relevant, as major tax implications do not usually come into play until a company takes in $250,000 in gross receipts for a given year.
With respect to the taxation question, attorney and CPA Morris Robinson, of M. Robinson & Company, has been kind enough to provide some information, and some access points, for our clients. His Powerpoint: “Solo Law Offices and the Underground Economy: Minimizing Liabilities and Taxes” covers law firm entity choice at Slides 28 through 32, which Powerpoint segment has been included at the above-referenced drop site. Advice in the slides is offered on the following entities: sole proprietorships, single member LLCs, C corporations and S corporations. Keep in mind, however, that this Powerpoint was drafted before changes to the Massachusetts business tax law were enacted on July 3, 2008. The changes became effective January 1, 2009. Under the new rules, the tax choice of the entity for United States tax purposes also governs the Massachusetts taxation of the entity. This is known in the jargon of the trade as “check-the-box” conformity, since the owners of an entity literally check the box on Form 8832 to determine how a limited liability company will be classified for tax purposes.
Attorney Robinson is always willing to give a few minutes of his time, without charge, to speak to lawyers who have taxation issues. His direct dial line is (617) 428-0055.
. . .
Beyond the information points listed above, there are a number of other useful resources that are available for attorneys. While there is no overarching textbook covering choice of entity for lawyers yet, you can, in the meantime, access several resources for cobbling together your own guide for choosing a business form, until such time as that hoped-for fulsome guide is released. The list we have compiled (mostly under the auspices of our new and wonderful administrative assistant Rachel--thank you, Rachel!) follows; bolded resources represent titles available through the LOMAP Lending Library:
Books
-Law Firm Partnership Agreements
-Law in a Nutshell: Law Practice Management
-Limited Liability Corporations vs. Business Corporations: Legal, Tax and Accounting Considerations
-The Essential Formbook, Volume I: Partnership and Organization Agreements/Client Intake and Fee Agreements
-The Lawyer’s Guide to Governing Your Firm
(Chapter 4, on “Partner Relations” addresses some choice of entity options)
-Hillman on Lawyer Mobility: The Law and Ethics of Partner Withdrawals and Law Firm Breakups
(Chapter 4, “Law Firms as Partnerships”, and Chapter 6, “Alternatives to Partnership: Professional Corporations and LLCs”, address choice of entity options)
-Law Partnership: Its Rights and Responsibilities
-Law Partnership Revisited
(Updates “Law Partnership: Its Rights and Responsibilities”)
Articles
-“An Accountant’s View: Financial Trends that Affect Law Firms” by Janet Ellen Raasch
Video
“GPSSF Session I: The Mechanics of Setting Up Your Firm”
(Video segment from 2010 Massachusetts Bar Association CLE, “How to Start & Run a Successful Solo or Small-Firm Practice”)
(Corresponding book chapter is also available)
(2006 version of the publication available through the LOMAP Lending Library)
. . .
Liner Notes
Last month, during the great New England rains of March 2010, I provided a list of sunshine songs, to lift our collective spirits. It rained for, like, a week, before I completed that list. When I published it, it was sunny. Now, it’s rained again all this past weekend. And, it’s cold again. In the hope, then, of working more of my reverse magic, here is a comprehensive list of what would be my favorite rain songs, if I didn’t hate the rain:
“Rain, Please Go Away” by Alison Krauss and Union Station
"Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” by B.J. Thomas
“Rain” by The Beatles
“No Rain” by Blind Melon
“Rainy Day Women # 12 and 35” by Bob Dylan
“Mandolin Rain” by Bruce Hornsby & The Range
“The Rain, The Park and Other Things” by The Cowsills
“Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” by Creedence Clearwater Revival
“Just Like Strange Rain” by Elton John
“Let It Rain” by Eric Clapton featuring Duane Allman
“Rainy Day People” by Gordon Lightfoot
“Box of Rain” by the Grateful Dead
“Fire and Rain” by James Taylor
“Rainy Day Man” by James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine
“Save It for a Rainy Day” by The Jayhawks
“Fool in the Rain” by Led Zeppelin
“Laughter in the Rain” by Neil Sedaka
“It’s Always Raining Somewhere” by Robbie Fulks
“Heavy Cloud No Rain” by Sting
“It’s Raining Again” by Supertramp
“Louisiana Rain” by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
“It Never Rains in Southern California” by Tony! Toni! Toné!
“Fistful of Rain” by Warren Zevon
“It’s Rainin’ Men” by The Weather Girls (Hallelujah!)
Why are these in alphabetical order by artist? Because I have my iTunes back on my computer!! Yes, I finally transferred my 7,000+ music files to my new computer. I know you’re all very excited because you were waiting for me to do that. I hope your lives still have meaning now that I have done so.
Certainly, of course, and despite the title of the last post on this topic (which was not at all meant to be exclusionary), it is clearly not the worry fiefdom of solo attorneys, solely, when it comes to the choosing of an entity. Small firms make the same choice (well, not the same choice, but you catch my meaning . . .). Large firms, too, at least at some point in their histories, have made the decision on a business entity. But, they don’t read our blog. Fortunately, you do. And for your reward? The following thoughts on choosing an entity, including resource materials:
There are, unfortunately, a paucity of resources as to choice of entity for an attorney/for a law firm. Whether in practice, in working at the Massachusetts Bar Association as its publications attorney or here at LOMAP, my conclusion has always run the same: I have never been able to locate a really good, general publication respecting choice of entity for lawyers. Why this is, I can’t exactly figure . . . Perhaps it’s because people think that lawyers, a number of whom establish entities for their own clients and/or provide tax advice, should probably know this stuff already. Perhaps it’s because people think that a law firm’s entity choice is likely very much similar to the entity choice of any other service industry provider, such that generic business entity choice publications would be suitable for attorneys, as well. (Although, I would like to think that that is not the case, given the special ethics requirements attached to the practice of law, and given some business limitations that attorneys face, e.g.--not being able to take paying referrals from other businesses, or from other attorneys, in certain states, and not being able to limit liability as widely as general companies are, in most states.) Perhaps it’s because people think lawyers don’t even really have to think about the choice of entity option because they’re rich enough to hire someone to do it all for them. (If someone knows of a place where this truth exists, kindly let me know the directions, because I want in.) Perhaps someone is writing a book on choice of entity for lawyers and law firms right now, even as we speak. (No. It’s not me.) The fact of the matter, however, is that such a text (an entity choice book built for lawyers) would be exceeding useful, because, let’s face it: lawyers are not the best of businesspeople. (Otherwise, our service wouldn’t exist.) Usually, lawyers will let their business affairs drag in search of other grails, or will hire others to manage various portions of their business affairs (marketing, finances, technology). This is likely true even for lawyers who specialize in helping others to make business decisions. To a large extent, poor business practices are endemic in the practice of law.
But, these are not meant for excuses. Rising above the lawyers-as-bad-businesspersons stereotype, even without tailored resources, is really just a matter of applying the appropriate amount of mental elbow-grease in conjunction with the discovery of appropriate-enough resources, like the ones about to be addressed below, which can be utilized by attorneys, even if not meant exactly for attorneys, and even if not covering all eventualities for attorneys.
. . .
Section IV of LOMAP’s own “Start-Up Kit” covers the choosing of legal entities for attorneys. (The Start-Up Kit, Section IV, along with some other referenced material from this post, will be aggregated at this drop site; keep an eye out, as indicators come by, which they will.) The “Choosing a Legal Structure” section reviews options for the: sole proprietorship, professional association, partnership, professional corporation, limited liability company and limited liability partnership. As alluded to in both Chiara’s guest blog post, and in our own Start-Up Kit materials, any attorney, or firm, seeking to establish an entity with limitations on liability should take care to closely review the Supreme Judicial Court’s Rule 3:06. More generally, there are a number of practical considerations you should address before choosing an entity for your firm. These major considerations are addressed within the “Choosing a Legal Structure” section of our Start-Up Kit: How trustworthy are your potential partners? What are the tax consequences of your entity choice? What are the liability issues associated with your entity choice? What about transferability of interest? What limitations are imposed by statutes, regulations or rules? If you are entering into practice with another attorney, or other attorneys, be certain to memorialize your arrangement by executing a partnership agreement, or operating agreement. Be sure to address all issues of fees, fee sharing and fee splitting, as well as of profit sharing, before you enter into practice with your partner(s). Include all financial accords as part of your general agreement. Overall, treat your decision to enter into a professional relationship with other attorneys as you would treat your decision to enter into a romantic relationship with another person (or persons, if you swing that way). A number of the same stresses will apply, since you will be spending as much, if not more, time with the partners of your law firm as you do with your significant other.
But, Rodney and I and our little Start-Up Kit are really just a collection of posers as compared to the godfather, Jay Foonberg, and his classic treatise, “How to Start & Build a Law Practice”. What sayeth Foonberg on choice of entity? He recommends a sole proprietorship for those just starting out, unless there is some overriding reason to choose an alternate entity type. For those determined to start in a partnership, Foonberg recommends the professional corporation, the limited liability company or the limited liability partnership. He states that tax considerations will dictate the choice of a C or an S corporation. Where can you find this information for yourself?: the last two paragraphs of page 48, of the latest, 5th edition, of “How to Start & Build”. Of course, the “How to Start & Build a Law Practice” book is a classic of the law practice management genre, and is valuable for more than just two paragraphs; but, if you don’t want the whole book, and want, rather, on the cheap, just the smaller portions instead of the full meal, you can buy full chapters at 99 cents a piece, here.
As Foonberg says, and as we say, perhaps the major consideration for choice of entity respecting lawyers and law firms surrounds tax issues. And for a goodly number of solo and small firm attorneys, especially those starting out, tax concerns for entity choice are not especially relevant, as major tax implications do not usually come into play until a company takes in $250,000 in gross receipts for a given year.
With respect to the taxation question, attorney and CPA Morris Robinson, of M. Robinson & Company, has been kind enough to provide some information, and some access points, for our clients. His Powerpoint: “Solo Law Offices and the Underground Economy: Minimizing Liabilities and Taxes” covers law firm entity choice at Slides 28 through 32, which Powerpoint segment has been included at the above-referenced drop site. Advice in the slides is offered on the following entities: sole proprietorships, single member LLCs, C corporations and S corporations. Keep in mind, however, that this Powerpoint was drafted before changes to the Massachusetts business tax law were enacted on July 3, 2008. The changes became effective January 1, 2009. Under the new rules, the tax choice of the entity for United States tax purposes also governs the Massachusetts taxation of the entity. This is known in the jargon of the trade as “check-the-box” conformity, since the owners of an entity literally check the box on Form 8832 to determine how a limited liability company will be classified for tax purposes.
Attorney Robinson is always willing to give a few minutes of his time, without charge, to speak to lawyers who have taxation issues. His direct dial line is (617) 428-0055.
. . .
Beyond the information points listed above, there are a number of other useful resources that are available for attorneys. While there is no overarching textbook covering choice of entity for lawyers yet, you can, in the meantime, access several resources for cobbling together your own guide for choosing a business form, until such time as that hoped-for fulsome guide is released. The list we have compiled (mostly under the auspices of our new and wonderful administrative assistant Rachel--thank you, Rachel!) follows; bolded resources represent titles available through the LOMAP Lending Library:
Books
-Law Firm Partnership Agreements
-Law in a Nutshell: Law Practice Management
-Limited Liability Corporations vs. Business Corporations: Legal, Tax and Accounting Considerations
-The Essential Formbook, Volume I: Partnership and Organization Agreements/Client Intake and Fee Agreements
-The Lawyer’s Guide to Governing Your Firm
(Chapter 4, on “Partner Relations” addresses some choice of entity options)
-Hillman on Lawyer Mobility: The Law and Ethics of Partner Withdrawals and Law Firm Breakups
(Chapter 4, “Law Firms as Partnerships”, and Chapter 6, “Alternatives to Partnership: Professional Corporations and LLCs”, address choice of entity options)
-Law Partnership: Its Rights and Responsibilities
-Law Partnership Revisited
(Updates “Law Partnership: Its Rights and Responsibilities”)
Articles
-“An Accountant’s View: Financial Trends that Affect Law Firms” by Janet Ellen Raasch
Video
“GPSSF Session I: The Mechanics of Setting Up Your Firm”
(Video segment from 2010 Massachusetts Bar Association CLE, “How to Start & Run a Successful Solo or Small-Firm Practice”)
(Corresponding book chapter is also available)
(2006 version of the publication available through the LOMAP Lending Library)
. . .
Liner Notes
Last month, during the great New England rains of March 2010, I provided a list of sunshine songs, to lift our collective spirits. It rained for, like, a week, before I completed that list. When I published it, it was sunny. Now, it’s rained again all this past weekend. And, it’s cold again. In the hope, then, of working more of my reverse magic, here is a comprehensive list of what would be my favorite rain songs, if I didn’t hate the rain:
“Rain, Please Go Away” by Alison Krauss and Union Station
"Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” by B.J. Thomas
“Rain” by The Beatles
“No Rain” by Blind Melon
“Rainy Day Women # 12 and 35” by Bob Dylan
“Mandolin Rain” by Bruce Hornsby & The Range
“The Rain, The Park and Other Things” by The Cowsills
“Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” by Creedence Clearwater Revival
“Just Like Strange Rain” by Elton John
“Let It Rain” by Eric Clapton featuring Duane Allman
“Rainy Day People” by Gordon Lightfoot
“Box of Rain” by the Grateful Dead
“Fire and Rain” by James Taylor
“Rainy Day Man” by James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine
“Save It for a Rainy Day” by The Jayhawks
“Fool in the Rain” by Led Zeppelin
“Laughter in the Rain” by Neil Sedaka
“It’s Always Raining Somewhere” by Robbie Fulks
“Heavy Cloud No Rain” by Sting
“It’s Raining Again” by Supertramp
“Louisiana Rain” by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
“It Never Rains in Southern California” by Tony! Toni! Toné!
“Fistful of Rain” by Warren Zevon
“It’s Rainin’ Men” by The Weather Girls (Hallelujah!)
Why are these in alphabetical order by artist? Because I have my iTunes back on my computer!! Yes, I finally transferred my 7,000+ music files to my new computer. I know you’re all very excited because you were waiting for me to do that. I hope your lives still have meaning now that I have done so.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Guest Post: Choice of Entity for the Solo Attorney in 2010
We are pleased to have the following excellent guest post, which has been drafted by Chiara Urbani LaPlume. Chiara has been kind enough to offer her thoughts on the question of choice of entity for the solo attorney . . . a question that we are frequently asked here at LOMAP.
Chiara is an attorney with Alan R. Goodman & Associates in Wellesley, Massachusetts. She works with privately held companies on business creation, strengthening, transfer and dissolution, as well as on real estate matters. She can be reached at chiara@goodmanlegal.com.
. . .
The changes in the economy over the last few years have brought with them many changes for attorneys: some have parted ways with old partners; others have been let go by their firms; and, still others are busy re-crafting their law practices, to maintain or increase profitability. If you have been planning to take the solo leap, or to strengthen your solo practice, you may have considered creating a legal entity for your law office.
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:06, at section 3(a), is clear about what entity creation will not do for you if you are a solo: it will not provide that much sought-after personal asset protection against legal malpractice claims. The rule reads, in pertinent part:
“Each owner of the entity shall be personally liable for damages which arise out of the performance of legal services on behalf of the entity and which are caused by his or her own negligent or wrongful act, error, or omission.”
It is my understanding that most state laws provide for similar protection limitations.
The reality is that many solos still choose to create a separate legal entity. Reasons cited include: assistance in separating work life from personal life; tax-related benefits; it being a prerequisite for obtaining bank financing; professional image, or meeting client expectations of what a law office should be; and, personal protection relating to liability claims, aside from malpractice claims.
Considerations for the Solo Practitioner
How does one decide whether to create a legal entity?
First, consult a certified public accountant. There may be valid reasons to create an entity solely for tax purposes. Also, you should obtain professional liability insurance coverage, whether you create an entity for liability protection or not.
Second, consider your practice area. Some areas of practice require substantial operating liabilities on a day-to-day basis, some of which you may be able to put in the entity name alone. Think about whether your firm might grow quickly. Contemplate the name you want to use for your business. Contemplate other formalities that will become necessities for your business if you do not create a separate legal entity, such as filing a “doing business as” certificate.
Options, Options
In entity creation, your main choices are between a corporation (usually a professional corporation, also referred to as a “P.C.”) and a limited liability company (an “LLC”). There are other options, of course, but they are not currently as popular for smaller practice groups. The differences could include, depending on the exact situation: entity flexibility; cost of creation; cost of annual returns with the Secretary of State; excise tax liability; and, income taxation treatment.
Both P.C.s and LLCs provide personal liability protection only to the extent that the law recognizes them as a separate entity. Therefore, after an entity has been created, you must: avoid commingling funds between the entity and the individual; maintain adequate insurance and operating funds; and, follow entity formalities (including the filing of annual returns to prevent the entity from being involuntarily dissolved by the Secretary of State).
Solo -“Plus”
How would your analysis be any different if your practice was a little larger than what could be called a true “solo” practice? What if you had an attorney that you referred to as “of counsel”, who worked with you on matters on a regular basis? What if you would like to have a part-time associate in the near future? These are all further reasons to create a separate legal entity for your business.
To limit your personal liability relative to the malpractice of another attorney at your firm, your first steps would be to obtain professional liability insurance and to create an entity. Make sure that the insurance is sufficient to allow the entity structure to provide personal liability protection from malpractice (see the formulas set forth in the aforementioned Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:06).
When you choose to grow, it is also very important to enter into a written agreement with the attorneys you are partnering with and any “of counsel” attorneys. It is easier to discuss division of costs and profits while the parties involved do not feel personally slighted. There are also potential pitfalls, such as an of counsel attorney taking on a matter or doing work for another firm, thereby creating a conflict which disqualifies your firm from accepting a client.
In conclusion: treat your business as a business. Start by talking to your accountant.
Chiara is an attorney with Alan R. Goodman & Associates in Wellesley, Massachusetts. She works with privately held companies on business creation, strengthening, transfer and dissolution, as well as on real estate matters. She can be reached at chiara@goodmanlegal.com.
. . .
The changes in the economy over the last few years have brought with them many changes for attorneys: some have parted ways with old partners; others have been let go by their firms; and, still others are busy re-crafting their law practices, to maintain or increase profitability. If you have been planning to take the solo leap, or to strengthen your solo practice, you may have considered creating a legal entity for your law office.
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:06, at section 3(a), is clear about what entity creation will not do for you if you are a solo: it will not provide that much sought-after personal asset protection against legal malpractice claims. The rule reads, in pertinent part:
“Each owner of the entity shall be personally liable for damages which arise out of the performance of legal services on behalf of the entity and which are caused by his or her own negligent or wrongful act, error, or omission.”
It is my understanding that most state laws provide for similar protection limitations.
The reality is that many solos still choose to create a separate legal entity. Reasons cited include: assistance in separating work life from personal life; tax-related benefits; it being a prerequisite for obtaining bank financing; professional image, or meeting client expectations of what a law office should be; and, personal protection relating to liability claims, aside from malpractice claims.
Considerations for the Solo Practitioner
How does one decide whether to create a legal entity?
First, consult a certified public accountant. There may be valid reasons to create an entity solely for tax purposes. Also, you should obtain professional liability insurance coverage, whether you create an entity for liability protection or not.
Second, consider your practice area. Some areas of practice require substantial operating liabilities on a day-to-day basis, some of which you may be able to put in the entity name alone. Think about whether your firm might grow quickly. Contemplate the name you want to use for your business. Contemplate other formalities that will become necessities for your business if you do not create a separate legal entity, such as filing a “doing business as” certificate.
Options, Options
In entity creation, your main choices are between a corporation (usually a professional corporation, also referred to as a “P.C.”) and a limited liability company (an “LLC”). There are other options, of course, but they are not currently as popular for smaller practice groups. The differences could include, depending on the exact situation: entity flexibility; cost of creation; cost of annual returns with the Secretary of State; excise tax liability; and, income taxation treatment.
Both P.C.s and LLCs provide personal liability protection only to the extent that the law recognizes them as a separate entity. Therefore, after an entity has been created, you must: avoid commingling funds between the entity and the individual; maintain adequate insurance and operating funds; and, follow entity formalities (including the filing of annual returns to prevent the entity from being involuntarily dissolved by the Secretary of State).
Solo -“Plus”
How would your analysis be any different if your practice was a little larger than what could be called a true “solo” practice? What if you had an attorney that you referred to as “of counsel”, who worked with you on matters on a regular basis? What if you would like to have a part-time associate in the near future? These are all further reasons to create a separate legal entity for your business.
To limit your personal liability relative to the malpractice of another attorney at your firm, your first steps would be to obtain professional liability insurance and to create an entity. Make sure that the insurance is sufficient to allow the entity structure to provide personal liability protection from malpractice (see the formulas set forth in the aforementioned Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:06).
When you choose to grow, it is also very important to enter into a written agreement with the attorneys you are partnering with and any “of counsel” attorneys. It is easier to discuss division of costs and profits while the parties involved do not feel personally slighted. There are also potential pitfalls, such as an of counsel attorney taking on a matter or doing work for another firm, thereby creating a conflict which disqualifies your firm from accepting a client.
In conclusion: treat your business as a business. Start by talking to your accountant.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Thy Rod(s) and Thy Staff: LOMAP Grows, Hires Administrative Assistant
Explanatory: For those of you who may be getting your frothing up over the title of this blog post, determining, as you might, that I am making certain allusions, and becoming upset, according to which belt you happen to live in, consider the following: Rod(ney Dowell), or 1 Rod + (J)Rod (Correia), or a 2nd Rod (college nickname) = 2 Rods = “Thy Rod(s)”. Plus, 1 new Staff person (Administrative Assistant) = “Thy Staff”. C’mon, you gotta give that to me. That was clever. Besides, I don’t care whether you worship to this 23, or that 23.
. . .
The real purpose of this blog, of course, is not to conduct an imagined debate over its title, but to announce that LOMAP has hired an administrative assistant. My late-night, blog-writing self may actually finally be able to surrender to a day-time racket; and, we are hopeful that a team of three, rather than a team of two, can combine for better, and more expedient, service provision.
On April 1 (and, no, this is not an elaborate April Fool’s Day joke), Rachel Willcox began work as LOMAP’s first-ever administrative assistant.
Rachel is a graduate of Saint Anselm College, in Manchester, New Hampshire. While there, she was a Politics major and a captain of the nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College Thomas More Debate Society. She graduated magna cum laude in 2006, which is no joke at Saint Anselm College, because St. A’s inexplicably practices grade deflation. Following her graduation from Saint Anselm, Rachel attended the University of Connecticut School of Law for a time, before deciding that she would rather, ultimately, pursue a career outside of the practice of law. Rachel has previously worked at Nypro, Inc., over summers of school, as a corporate legal intern. Rachel was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, and grew up in Clinton, Massachusetts.
But, perhaps best of all, Rachel is really cool, which is absolutely a prerequisite when you are working with dudes the caliber of awesomeness of Rodney and I. Yeah, we’re on Twitter . . . What.
Further portions of the Rachel Willcox story, I believe, are best relayed by Rachel herself:
- My high school participated in this robot building competition called FIRST, I did that for 4 years.
-I am the proud mother of three-year-old Monty (short for Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu), who is a rescue black lab originally found in a box on the side of the road in Arkansas. He has killer bird hunting instincts that I have yet to take advantage of.
-I am trying to restrain myself from getting a brother for Monty (he would be a yellow lab, named Larry Bird). (Now we’re talkin’!!)
-I am expecting my first nephew/God-son (Arthur Liam Willcox) at the end of this month!!
-I recently spent a bit under a year in central Texas with my sister while she was stationed at Fort Hood. The major cities of Texas are great. We were not nearly close enough to the major cities.
-I am a huge Celtics fan. I want to marry Rajon Rondo. I love football. I won one of my fantasy leagues last season. I am trying to get myself interested in futbol. It isn’t taking. I am big on UK hoops.
-I drive a Jeep Wrangler named Humphrey Bogart. (Good choices.)
-I love good commercials, especially those for E*Trade (the baby ones, particularly “Hey Girl, Can I hit you back?”) and for Sportscenter (most of all the one where Jimmy Rollins critiques footage of Scott Van Pelt anchoring).
-My favorites right now are: book ("SuperFreakonomics"), movie ("Food, Inc.") and television show (Sportscenter).
See that, Rachel is awesome. I wasn’t kidding. And, in all honesty, she is very bright and exceedingly proactive and helpful. She will likely be your first contact for our office going forward. We hope that you will enjoy working with Rachel as much as we do.
. . .
Kinder Liner Notes
In keeping with my traditional posting style (and anchoring my hopes and dreams on the fact that, with Rachel around, I’ll get to do less work), I’ve asked Rachel to come up with 15 of her favorite songs, across three broad categories. The results of my query follow:
“Rachel’s 5 Favorite Road Trip Songs from Her Recent Trip Back from Texas”
(1) “All the Right Moves” by OneRepublic
(2) “Haven’t Met You Yet” by Michael Buble
(3) “Two is Better Than One” by Boys Like Girls featuring Taylor Swift
(4) “You Belong with Me” by Taylor Swift
(5) “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum
“Rachel’s 5 Favorite Workout Songs of the Moment”
(1) “United States of Pop 2009” by DJ Earworm
(2) “Sean Kingston Mashup” by DJ Earworm
(3) “Break Your Heart” by Taio Cruz featuring Ludacris (Good ol’ Luda.)
(4) “In My Head“ by Jason Derulo
(5) “Bring ‘Em Out” by T.I.
“Rachel’s 5 Favorite Songs That She Would Be Ashamed About If People Knew She Really Liked Them”
(1) “Barbie Girl” by Aqua
(2) “U Can’t Touch This” by MC Hammer
(3) “Bring It! (Theme from “Snakes on a Plane”)” by Cobra Starship
(4) “I Want Your Sex” by George Michael
(5) “”Ghostbusters” Theme” by Ray Parker, Jr. (I love all these songs, too!!)
But . . . Wait, a minute . . . no Cat Stevens? Well, we’ll just see about that.
. . .
The real purpose of this blog, of course, is not to conduct an imagined debate over its title, but to announce that LOMAP has hired an administrative assistant. My late-night, blog-writing self may actually finally be able to surrender to a day-time racket; and, we are hopeful that a team of three, rather than a team of two, can combine for better, and more expedient, service provision.
On April 1 (and, no, this is not an elaborate April Fool’s Day joke), Rachel Willcox began work as LOMAP’s first-ever administrative assistant.
Rachel is a graduate of Saint Anselm College, in Manchester, New Hampshire. While there, she was a Politics major and a captain of the nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College Thomas More Debate Society. She graduated magna cum laude in 2006, which is no joke at Saint Anselm College, because St. A’s inexplicably practices grade deflation. Following her graduation from Saint Anselm, Rachel attended the University of Connecticut School of Law for a time, before deciding that she would rather, ultimately, pursue a career outside of the practice of law. Rachel has previously worked at Nypro, Inc., over summers of school, as a corporate legal intern. Rachel was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, and grew up in Clinton, Massachusetts.
But, perhaps best of all, Rachel is really cool, which is absolutely a prerequisite when you are working with dudes the caliber of awesomeness of Rodney and I. Yeah, we’re on Twitter . . . What.
Further portions of the Rachel Willcox story, I believe, are best relayed by Rachel herself:
- My high school participated in this robot building competition called FIRST, I did that for 4 years.
-I am the proud mother of three-year-old Monty (short for Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu), who is a rescue black lab originally found in a box on the side of the road in Arkansas. He has killer bird hunting instincts that I have yet to take advantage of.
-I am trying to restrain myself from getting a brother for Monty (he would be a yellow lab, named Larry Bird). (Now we’re talkin’!!)
-I am expecting my first nephew/God-son (Arthur Liam Willcox) at the end of this month!!
-I recently spent a bit under a year in central Texas with my sister while she was stationed at Fort Hood. The major cities of Texas are great. We were not nearly close enough to the major cities.
-I am a huge Celtics fan. I want to marry Rajon Rondo. I love football. I won one of my fantasy leagues last season. I am trying to get myself interested in futbol. It isn’t taking. I am big on UK hoops.
-I drive a Jeep Wrangler named Humphrey Bogart. (Good choices.)
-I love good commercials, especially those for E*Trade (the baby ones, particularly “Hey Girl, Can I hit you back?”) and for Sportscenter (most of all the one where Jimmy Rollins critiques footage of Scott Van Pelt anchoring).
-My favorites right now are: book ("SuperFreakonomics"), movie ("Food, Inc.") and television show (Sportscenter).
See that, Rachel is awesome. I wasn’t kidding. And, in all honesty, she is very bright and exceedingly proactive and helpful. She will likely be your first contact for our office going forward. We hope that you will enjoy working with Rachel as much as we do.
. . .
Kinder Liner Notes
In keeping with my traditional posting style (and anchoring my hopes and dreams on the fact that, with Rachel around, I’ll get to do less work), I’ve asked Rachel to come up with 15 of her favorite songs, across three broad categories. The results of my query follow:
“Rachel’s 5 Favorite Road Trip Songs from Her Recent Trip Back from Texas”
(1) “All the Right Moves” by OneRepublic
(2) “Haven’t Met You Yet” by Michael Buble
(3) “Two is Better Than One” by Boys Like Girls featuring Taylor Swift
(4) “You Belong with Me” by Taylor Swift
(5) “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum
“Rachel’s 5 Favorite Workout Songs of the Moment”
(1) “United States of Pop 2009” by DJ Earworm
(2) “Sean Kingston Mashup” by DJ Earworm
(3) “Break Your Heart” by Taio Cruz featuring Ludacris (Good ol’ Luda.)
(4) “In My Head“ by Jason Derulo
(5) “Bring ‘Em Out” by T.I.
“Rachel’s 5 Favorite Songs That She Would Be Ashamed About If People Knew She Really Liked Them”
(1) “Barbie Girl” by Aqua
(2) “U Can’t Touch This” by MC Hammer
(3) “Bring It! (Theme from “Snakes on a Plane”)” by Cobra Starship
(4) “I Want Your Sex” by George Michael
(5) “”Ghostbusters” Theme” by Ray Parker, Jr. (I love all these songs, too!!)
But . . . Wait, a minute . . . no Cat Stevens? Well, we’ll just see about that.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
The Wind WISPers Wary: Further Considerations for Data Privacy Compliance in Massachusetts, Post-Effective Date
With serious apologies to Jimi Hendrix and his Experience, for paraphrasing, in a rather ridiculous, but alliterative, at least, manner, such a great song, I am nonetheless hopeful that my cheesiness may be what draws your attention to this post.
I have not yet taken the opportunity to post on the Massachusetts Data Privacy Regime since the law became effective, on March 1, 2010. (Yes, just in case you were wondering, the law is now in effect. We have moved from the theoretical to the practical. If you are not currently in compliance with the Massachusetts data privacy laws, you should become compliant forthwith. For more information on the Massachusetts data privacy laws and regulations, you may take a trip down my memory lane: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here, in reverse chronological order.) However, I do now have some impetus to write again on this topic, having been asked to, and having participated in, a CLE program on the subject, which CLE program was recently put on by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. Two points here, which was the deciding spread in a great collegiate basketball national championship game the other night:
(1) You heard me right. Lawyers Weekly now provides CLE programming. Yup. Says so right here at their CLE homepage. The fact of more options is almost always advantageous to the consumer, in this case, the attorney consumer of CLE programming in Massachusetts. Adding to the mix of MCLE, the various bar associations and miscellaneous providers, the producer of the flagship legal newspaper publication for Massachusetts is attempting to push the boundaries of its current kingdom. Although Lawyers Weekly has begun to brand itself as a CLE provider, the fact has likely not yet made deep penetration into the legal community in Massachusetts. Let this serve, then, as notice of the fact. If the presentation that I participated in is any indication, the future programs emanating from Lawyers Weekly CLE will also feature timely topics, excellent presenters and thoughtful presentations. For a list of upcoming Lawyers Weekly CLE presentations, visit the upcoming program schedule page.
(2) Now, for the program that I participated in. On Friday, March 25th, 2010, I was a member of the faculty for the “New Security Laws, Regulations and Red Flag Rules: Everything Lawyers Need to Know” program that took place from 1 pm to 5 pm. I was joined on the faculty by C. Max Perlman of Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP, Tom Catalini, Vice President, Technology at William Gallagher Associates and Jason Egan, Deputy General Counsel at the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation.
I provided an overview of what I call the Massachusetts Data Privacy Regime, covered the new SJC regulations respecting the submission of personal identifying data in court documents and touched a bit on the FTC’s Red Flag Rules, which will not be effective until June 1, 2010, and which have been held not to apply to attorneys anyway--that third part was a short segment. Max discussed the basic protocol for WISP implementation, offered a playbook for response to breach and provided a perspective on enforcement issues. Tom discussed WISP implementation from the IT perspective, and covered, generally, practical IT considerations for compliance. Jason provided insight into the OCABR perspective, to the extent that he is able, that is, without answering too specifically, or to direct hypotheticals.
I always make it a point, even when I am presenting at CLE panels, to listen to what everyone else has to say, "everyone else" being the presenters and attendees, the former group being, usually, very knowledgeable, and the latter group asking, usually, very good questions. I never fail, in taking this tack, to learn something, at every program I go to. This presentation was no exception.
When others spoke, I took my own sets of notes, and relay now, and below, the most pertinent observations made:
-A resident of Massachusetts, for purposes of the statutes and regulations, is one who makes his primary residence in the state of Massachusetts.
-Remember to restrict the use of, and to monitor, fax machines and copy machines, many of which machines now have memory capacity that can be accessed by savvy persons seeking to utilize the information on such devices for purposes of identity theft.
-When you’re recycling paper, for notes--know what’s on the back.
-Utilize a binder, that includes your WISP, policies for data privacy protection (including for disciplinary measures for employees flouting instituted WISP protections), employee acknowledgments and contracts with third party service providers.
-Third party vendors are required to agree to a contract term, essentially stating that they will comply with Massachusetts data privacy laws and regulations with respect to their accessing of your protected client information. If a vendor refuses to sign off on such a contract term, the only correct response under the existing rules is to cease doing business with that vendor, and to find another vendor that can provide a similar service. Practically speaking, however, it is sometimes nearly impossible, or most nearly nonsensical, to forgo the use of certain well-respected and long-tenured service providers, which are too large, frankly, to respond to individuals’ requests (read: Outlook, Google, e.g.). The best that can be done in that case is to include in your WISP, and to archive the paper trail backing that recordation of, the steps that you have taken, and the research that you have done, to create your fair certainty that, although the service provider may not sign a contract provision, the service provision in question is robust enough and fairly designed as to be capable, in fact, of protecting your statutorily-defined protected information from identity theft; of course, these latter suggestions do not represent compliance under the law.
-Be exhaustive in attempting to uncover your breach points, when inventorying your systems for creation of your WISP. Consider the information available in a notary book laid upon a secretary’s desk, or visible on a computer screen via window by pedestrians crossing at a busy intersection, by way of example.
-When implementing IT protections for data security, work backwards from the most restrictive protocols.
-Do not use defaults for password creation, as default passwords are the easiest to crack; set parameters for password creation.
-Receipt of email is maintenance of information, unless the email containing the information is wiped completely from your device(s). At the very least, you should be deleting your email trash folder on a regular basis.
-Consider unique ways of maintaining employee awareness concerning data privacy protection issues. Everyone is inundated by emails every day. Why not try public service announcement-style posters by the printer? Or, humorous YouTube videos?
-The better the system you apply, the better you can track breaches, the more fully you can report to the OCABR and the Attorney General’s Office.
-If a breach occurs, conduct a post-incident review.
- In the event of a breach, discrepancies between your planned protocol and your actual steps taken may be problematic in the eyes of enforcement agents. Make sure that you actually apply the procedures outlined in your WISP, should a breach occur.
. . .
In addition to my observations, relayed above, Max Perlman has been generous enough to allow me to link out to his two fantastic Powerpoints, produced for the program. Those Powerpoint presentations cover “The WISP--Implementing Physical, Administrative and Technical Safeguards: The Basic Program” and “Playbook for Reacting to a Data Security Breach”, both of which slide sets are available at this drop site.
I have not yet taken the opportunity to post on the Massachusetts Data Privacy Regime since the law became effective, on March 1, 2010. (Yes, just in case you were wondering, the law is now in effect. We have moved from the theoretical to the practical. If you are not currently in compliance with the Massachusetts data privacy laws, you should become compliant forthwith. For more information on the Massachusetts data privacy laws and regulations, you may take a trip down my memory lane: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here, in reverse chronological order.) However, I do now have some impetus to write again on this topic, having been asked to, and having participated in, a CLE program on the subject, which CLE program was recently put on by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. Two points here, which was the deciding spread in a great collegiate basketball national championship game the other night:
(1) You heard me right. Lawyers Weekly now provides CLE programming. Yup. Says so right here at their CLE homepage. The fact of more options is almost always advantageous to the consumer, in this case, the attorney consumer of CLE programming in Massachusetts. Adding to the mix of MCLE, the various bar associations and miscellaneous providers, the producer of the flagship legal newspaper publication for Massachusetts is attempting to push the boundaries of its current kingdom. Although Lawyers Weekly has begun to brand itself as a CLE provider, the fact has likely not yet made deep penetration into the legal community in Massachusetts. Let this serve, then, as notice of the fact. If the presentation that I participated in is any indication, the future programs emanating from Lawyers Weekly CLE will also feature timely topics, excellent presenters and thoughtful presentations. For a list of upcoming Lawyers Weekly CLE presentations, visit the upcoming program schedule page.
(2) Now, for the program that I participated in. On Friday, March 25th, 2010, I was a member of the faculty for the “New Security Laws, Regulations and Red Flag Rules: Everything Lawyers Need to Know” program that took place from 1 pm to 5 pm. I was joined on the faculty by C. Max Perlman of Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP, Tom Catalini, Vice President, Technology at William Gallagher Associates and Jason Egan, Deputy General Counsel at the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation.
I provided an overview of what I call the Massachusetts Data Privacy Regime, covered the new SJC regulations respecting the submission of personal identifying data in court documents and touched a bit on the FTC’s Red Flag Rules, which will not be effective until June 1, 2010, and which have been held not to apply to attorneys anyway--that third part was a short segment. Max discussed the basic protocol for WISP implementation, offered a playbook for response to breach and provided a perspective on enforcement issues. Tom discussed WISP implementation from the IT perspective, and covered, generally, practical IT considerations for compliance. Jason provided insight into the OCABR perspective, to the extent that he is able, that is, without answering too specifically, or to direct hypotheticals.
I always make it a point, even when I am presenting at CLE panels, to listen to what everyone else has to say, "everyone else" being the presenters and attendees, the former group being, usually, very knowledgeable, and the latter group asking, usually, very good questions. I never fail, in taking this tack, to learn something, at every program I go to. This presentation was no exception.
When others spoke, I took my own sets of notes, and relay now, and below, the most pertinent observations made:
-A resident of Massachusetts, for purposes of the statutes and regulations, is one who makes his primary residence in the state of Massachusetts.
-Remember to restrict the use of, and to monitor, fax machines and copy machines, many of which machines now have memory capacity that can be accessed by savvy persons seeking to utilize the information on such devices for purposes of identity theft.
-When you’re recycling paper, for notes--know what’s on the back.
-Utilize a binder, that includes your WISP, policies for data privacy protection (including for disciplinary measures for employees flouting instituted WISP protections), employee acknowledgments and contracts with third party service providers.
-Third party vendors are required to agree to a contract term, essentially stating that they will comply with Massachusetts data privacy laws and regulations with respect to their accessing of your protected client information. If a vendor refuses to sign off on such a contract term, the only correct response under the existing rules is to cease doing business with that vendor, and to find another vendor that can provide a similar service. Practically speaking, however, it is sometimes nearly impossible, or most nearly nonsensical, to forgo the use of certain well-respected and long-tenured service providers, which are too large, frankly, to respond to individuals’ requests (read: Outlook, Google, e.g.). The best that can be done in that case is to include in your WISP, and to archive the paper trail backing that recordation of, the steps that you have taken, and the research that you have done, to create your fair certainty that, although the service provider may not sign a contract provision, the service provision in question is robust enough and fairly designed as to be capable, in fact, of protecting your statutorily-defined protected information from identity theft; of course, these latter suggestions do not represent compliance under the law.
-Be exhaustive in attempting to uncover your breach points, when inventorying your systems for creation of your WISP. Consider the information available in a notary book laid upon a secretary’s desk, or visible on a computer screen via window by pedestrians crossing at a busy intersection, by way of example.
-When implementing IT protections for data security, work backwards from the most restrictive protocols.
-Do not use defaults for password creation, as default passwords are the easiest to crack; set parameters for password creation.
-Receipt of email is maintenance of information, unless the email containing the information is wiped completely from your device(s). At the very least, you should be deleting your email trash folder on a regular basis.
-Consider unique ways of maintaining employee awareness concerning data privacy protection issues. Everyone is inundated by emails every day. Why not try public service announcement-style posters by the printer? Or, humorous YouTube videos?
-The better the system you apply, the better you can track breaches, the more fully you can report to the OCABR and the Attorney General’s Office.
-If a breach occurs, conduct a post-incident review.
- In the event of a breach, discrepancies between your planned protocol and your actual steps taken may be problematic in the eyes of enforcement agents. Make sure that you actually apply the procedures outlined in your WISP, should a breach occur.
. . .
In addition to my observations, relayed above, Max Perlman has been generous enough to allow me to link out to his two fantastic Powerpoints, produced for the program. Those Powerpoint presentations cover “The WISP--Implementing Physical, Administrative and Technical Safeguards: The Basic Program” and “Playbook for Reacting to a Data Security Breach”, both of which slide sets are available at this drop site.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Guest Post: 10 Inexpensive Ways to Market Your Practice and/or Yourself
We are pleased to have Alvah Parker’s contribution of this fine blog post, based upon her web presentation made to the LOMAP Marketing Group earlier today. Alvah is the principal of Parker Associates and has been a coach and practice advisor for more than 10 years. Before starting her practice, Alvah was a sales executive and sales manager for AT&T for 15 years. At AT&T she was twice elected to the Counsel of Leaders, an honor reserved for those in the top 3% of the AT&T sales force. Alvah is also a business counselor for the Northeast Massachusetts Chapter of SCORE, an organization that is part of the Small Business Administration. She specializes in helping her clients find work that is meaningful so that they are able to enjoy their work and make money at it.
For more about Alvah, check out her bio page, her information page for attorney clients and her Twitter feed.
. . .
Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive to be effective. The objective of all your marketing activities is to get to have a sales conversation with the potential client. The sales conversation starts once you understand the client’s needs and the client is clear on how you can provide the services he/she needs. It might take one marketing action to get to that point, or several; but, marketing includes the initial way that you found the potential client, and all follow-up conversations, until you come to the selling conversation.
Here are some techniques to use as you make your way to the selling conversation:
(1) Have a compelling response to the questions: “What do you do?” or “Tell me about yourself.” Make it brief and interesting. If you only have 30 seconds, give them enough of an idea about what you do so that they want to hear more. When they show their interest, their questions will give you an idea of their particular needs, so that you can tailor your follow-up questions and responses to their interest.
(2) Create a leads exchange group. Who are the people in your network that have the ability to refer business to you? By way of example: a therapist might be a good referral source for a divorce lawyer; an assisted living manager might be a good referral source for an elder law lawyer; a venture capitalist might be a good referral source for a business lawyer, etc. Find 5 to 10 people who can refer to each other, and set up a group to meet regularly.
(3) Use every social occasion as a networking opportunity. Have your business cards ready if someone asks for one. Be ready with a success story to fit into the conversation. Make sure that in every social situation the people you are with know that you are an attorney and what your practice area(s) is (are).
(4) Offer to give talks at business meetings, or teach courses at a school or training center. Use your expertise to generate interest in you and/or your practice.
(5) Place an article about you and/or your practice in a local newspaper. Local papers are often eager to print information about people in the area. Introduce yourself to the editor, or person at your local paper who is responsible for press releases. Find out the requirements for drafting and submitting articles, and learn to write a press release for newspapers. If you give a talk at a business meeting or begin teaching a course, write a short article and put it in the local paper. Offer to comment on local issues appropriate for your practice area.
(6) Connect with other lawyers. Most lawyers today specialize in one or two practice areas. The average person does not know that. A potential client may find his/her way into the office of a lawyer whose specialty is not what the client needs. This will happen to you. In addition, other lawyers in your specialty may also hand off work to you because they are too busy. You may refer to them when you have a conflict or when a case is more involved than you want to take. Have informal referral arrangements with other lawyers, so that you refer to them and they refer to you.
(7) Have some stories about successes you have had with clients that you can tell prospective clients. The stories will be helpful when you have follow-up conversations with clients, as these stories will help them to see the value of your experience with cases similar to theirs.
(8) Volunteer to do the legal work of a non-profit and/or to sit on board of directors. Become their trusted advisor for legal matters. Choose the non-profit based on your interests as well as on your knowledge of the membership and their ability to refer business to you.
(9) Use a domain name that tells people what your business is. For example, www.doepatentlaw.com. Associate your email address with that url; e.g.--johndoe@doepatentlaw.com. Make sure to use the signature file of your email to list all your contact information, and include a description of the types of law you practice.
(10) Get in the habit of asking all your clients if they know anyone who could use your services. Satisfied clients are a great referral source. Remind clients at the conclusion of their case that you built your practice on referrals, and ask them if they know someone who could use your services. Call all your former clients at least once a year to see how they are doing, and to ask them for referrals.
. . .
Alvah’s blog post here emanates from her LOMAP Marketing group presentation on this topic. If you wish to view her slides from that presentation, "Low Cost Marketing That Brings in Clients!", visit this drop site.
For more about Alvah, check out her bio page, her information page for attorney clients and her Twitter feed.
. . .
Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive to be effective. The objective of all your marketing activities is to get to have a sales conversation with the potential client. The sales conversation starts once you understand the client’s needs and the client is clear on how you can provide the services he/she needs. It might take one marketing action to get to that point, or several; but, marketing includes the initial way that you found the potential client, and all follow-up conversations, until you come to the selling conversation.
Here are some techniques to use as you make your way to the selling conversation:
(1) Have a compelling response to the questions: “What do you do?” or “Tell me about yourself.” Make it brief and interesting. If you only have 30 seconds, give them enough of an idea about what you do so that they want to hear more. When they show their interest, their questions will give you an idea of their particular needs, so that you can tailor your follow-up questions and responses to their interest.
(2) Create a leads exchange group. Who are the people in your network that have the ability to refer business to you? By way of example: a therapist might be a good referral source for a divorce lawyer; an assisted living manager might be a good referral source for an elder law lawyer; a venture capitalist might be a good referral source for a business lawyer, etc. Find 5 to 10 people who can refer to each other, and set up a group to meet regularly.
(3) Use every social occasion as a networking opportunity. Have your business cards ready if someone asks for one. Be ready with a success story to fit into the conversation. Make sure that in every social situation the people you are with know that you are an attorney and what your practice area(s) is (are).
(4) Offer to give talks at business meetings, or teach courses at a school or training center. Use your expertise to generate interest in you and/or your practice.
(5) Place an article about you and/or your practice in a local newspaper. Local papers are often eager to print information about people in the area. Introduce yourself to the editor, or person at your local paper who is responsible for press releases. Find out the requirements for drafting and submitting articles, and learn to write a press release for newspapers. If you give a talk at a business meeting or begin teaching a course, write a short article and put it in the local paper. Offer to comment on local issues appropriate for your practice area.
(6) Connect with other lawyers. Most lawyers today specialize in one or two practice areas. The average person does not know that. A potential client may find his/her way into the office of a lawyer whose specialty is not what the client needs. This will happen to you. In addition, other lawyers in your specialty may also hand off work to you because they are too busy. You may refer to them when you have a conflict or when a case is more involved than you want to take. Have informal referral arrangements with other lawyers, so that you refer to them and they refer to you.
(7) Have some stories about successes you have had with clients that you can tell prospective clients. The stories will be helpful when you have follow-up conversations with clients, as these stories will help them to see the value of your experience with cases similar to theirs.
(8) Volunteer to do the legal work of a non-profit and/or to sit on board of directors. Become their trusted advisor for legal matters. Choose the non-profit based on your interests as well as on your knowledge of the membership and their ability to refer business to you.
(9) Use a domain name that tells people what your business is. For example, www.doepatentlaw.com. Associate your email address with that url; e.g.--johndoe@doepatentlaw.com. Make sure to use the signature file of your email to list all your contact information, and include a description of the types of law you practice.
(10) Get in the habit of asking all your clients if they know anyone who could use your services. Satisfied clients are a great referral source. Remind clients at the conclusion of their case that you built your practice on referrals, and ask them if they know someone who could use your services. Call all your former clients at least once a year to see how they are doing, and to ask them for referrals.
. . .
Alvah’s blog post here emanates from her LOMAP Marketing group presentation on this topic. If you wish to view her slides from that presentation, "Low Cost Marketing That Brings in Clients!", visit this drop site.
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