by Shaun G. Jamison

Self-promotion is key to the success of every attorney or law firm. After all, how can
clients hire you if they don't know you exist? But what is the most effective way to let
your potential clientele know you're out there? The days of just hanging out a shingle
are long gone. Should you take out an ad in a local newspaper or splurge on a
30-second commercial break during a late-night movie? Either of these options may
strain your limited budget. Why not consider a newsletter instead?

Why bother with a firm newsletter when Web sites are all the rage? First of all, a
newsletter and a Web site are not mutually exclusive. Potential clients will be
motivated to visit your site more frequently if they can expect something new every
month. And don't forget those clients who never access the Internet. Getting a monthly
mailing from you is another way to keep your firm and the services you offer fresh in
their minds.

Once you've decided to add a newsletter to your marketing mix, you wonder how to
get started. As with any other project, determine the major benefit that you're looking
for. Client loyalty, better-educated clients, referrals, publicity, cross-selling -- are all
great potential outcomes.

You can gain client loyalty by keeping your clients informed. The image of you being
one step ahead of an ever-changing legal world will inspire confidence in your
competence to handle matters for the client.

Secondarily, you can get business referrals. Newsletters, like all publications, are
passed or forwarded around. An interesting success story can generate referrals,
and you're not limited to a subscriber or contact list of only former and current clients.
You can include attorneys who don't specialize in your area of practice, and they'll
appreciate the updates. They may recognize your expertise when it comes time to
make a referral
.
Third, it never hurts to gain good publicity. Consider allowing your articles to be
reprinted in other publications for better exposure. As I mentioned in Self Promotion:
Lawyers and the Media, I had the good fortune of having my newsletter picked as the
best small firm newsletter by a local publication. If you see opportunities like this to
expose your firm and newsletter to publicity, take them.

Finally, remember the benefits of cross-selling your services. When I was in private
practice, I found out that some of my clients had referred cases elsewhere because
they thought I was only interested in family and criminal cases. If I had let them know
of my other interests and skills, that revenue could have been captured. The opposite
story is that of the firm Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays and Handler as described in
Newsletters Are A Firm's Best Friend, 19 No. 5 ALAPUBS 39 (ALA 2000). They had
a long-time client who used them for corporate litigation. Informed by reading in the
firm's newsletter that they had an e-commerce practice, the client opted to use the
firm's expertise when faced with an e-commerce issue. The newsletter paid for itself.

Once you've determined your goals, pick content that matches your goals and your
target audience. According to Using Newsletters To Communicate Outside (And
Inside) The Law Firm, 84 ILBJ 215 (Il State Bar Ass'n 1996), a newsletter is either
case based (with summaries of cases) or article based (general legal articles of
interest to clients) or both. Both can be appropriate, but it depends on your intended
audience. Most clients aren't armchair lawyers, so they would probably appreciate
articles rather than case summaries. Your newsletter can help them become better
informed about current legal trends, and more knowledgeable about the members of
the firm. Did someone teach a seminar? Win a big case? Become a certified civil
trial specialist? You also have to decide the image that you want to project and how
much personal information you want to include.

Once you've set your goal and decided on the tone of your newsletter, who will write
it? You might find that you can inexpensively hire someone to do the layout and
editing, but it doesn't make sense to have someone else write the newsletter.
Readers want to gauge your expertise and learn about you. If all you offer them is a
canned, outsourced form newsletter, it won't effect your desired result.
How much should you spend? That all depends on your budget. If you e-mail the
newsletter to subscribers or publish it only on your Web site, you will save on
postage, but there are still some folks who prefer a "hard" copy. Do you stick to the
"Web", offer "hard" copy, or both? Next, decide how often you can publish. You can't
spend a disproportionate time writing and composing a newsletter to the detriment of
your caseload.

Lastly, what should the newsletter look like? Again, this depends on budget. It's
critical that the newsletter be consistent with the branding you've established with
your letterhead, business cards and Web site. This means consistently using the
same logos, colors, image, etc. Who will design your Web page, and how expensive
will it be? What type of printed page do you want - glossy, color, photos, etc.?
Decisions, decisions, decisions. First and foremost, consider the value of
self-advertising and what a newsletter can add to your practice.