It’s mid-April 2020. Over one month ago, political leaders shut down economies around the world and asked people to stay home in effort to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unprecedented restrictions on consumer behaviour and a climate of fear has created a depressed economy that will struggle to “turn back on” at a later date. If you own a private practice and you’re looking for information about how to do marketing in a slow economy – whether it’s due to the COVID-19 pandemic or some future event – you’ve found the right resource.

The first estate planning lawyer I worked with used radio to attract calls from genuine prospects. In fact, his message drew as many as 80 calls per commercial. He filled his calendar every month for three years from airing only four radio commercials each month.

When people search for information online, it’s important to remember that they often ask questions that are full sentences. This is especially true in the age of Siri and other voice-activated searches because people speak their questions rather than write them.

SECRET #1: Send news releases written in Associated Press (AP) style. Doctors understand medical terms. Lawyers understand legalese. Editors understand news releases written in AP style — because that’s the style in which most editors write. An editor is much more likely to print your news release if it won’t cause him a lot of work. You reduce the editor’s workload and increase your chances for success when you write your news releases in AP style.

Every law firm has a lot of enthusiastic things to say about themselves. Websites and marketing brochures everywhere are sprinkled liberally with “we” and “I” statements that tout the outstanding qualities of a firm.