Word of mouth gets lawyers their best work : Spend Internet marketing dollars there

I practiced law for 17 years. My best clients came by word of mouth. I talk with 4 or 5 lawyers a day. Invariably, they tell me their best work comes by word of mouth.

The problem is always how to get more work, better clients, and higher quality projects to work on from word of mouth alone. Assuming you can’t get more work by word of mouth, the result is you guys spend a lot of money on building a better website, buying directory listings, buying search engine optimization (SEO) from folks you don’t trust, and when SEO doesn’t work, buying keyword/sponsored links at Google and Yahoo.

With the Internet, there is a way to get more clients and better work by word of mouth. Successful Traverse City, Michigan lawyer Enrico Schaefer says he’s done it through blogging.

The Internet offers a wonderful vehicle to establish your expertise as an attorney. And there are a lot more eyeballs surfing the web than there are mouths standing at the fence line talking about legal services. I cannot think of any better way to establish and promote your expertise than to publish online. There is no better tool for accomplishing this goal than blogging.

Unfortunately too many of you see blogging as the way to cheap SEO or a means to draw traffic to your website. That has nothing to do with word of mouth marketing.

Blogging is about networking with thought leaders in your niche, being seen by your target audience as you both cite thought leaders in your blog and are cited in the blogs of others, and talking with your potential clients in a transparent way as I do here with you. That’s word of mouth at its finest.

As you start the new year, examine where you’ve gotten your best work over the years. If it’s by word of mouth, invest a few dollars in learning how to generate a word of mouth reputation on the net. If you’re like most lawyers who do so, the results will exceed your expectations.