Integrity Marketing

Estate Planning Website Optimized: View The Reveal!

We just completed a complete website re-design and optimization for your colleague, estate planning attorney Jerry Reif, who practices in Saginaw, Michigan. Jerry is a long-term IMS client who had a very nice, fundamental website. But, realizing that online marketing, and especially online search, was becoming increasingly important, he decided to have us update and optimize his site.

 

You can review his new site online now at www.jerryreiflawyer.com

 

Some of the highlights of the new website:

1. Content -- we added volumes of targeted new content to Jerry's site. In the initial planning stages of the site development, we really focused in on Jerry's key markets, and built compelling content that speaks directly to their needs.
   
2. A Little WOW! -- Additionally, we added 11 animated content modules on topics such as Estate Administration, Business Owner Blues, Elder Law 101 and etc. These animated presentations not only add a little WOW! factor to the site, but they also add tons of keyword-rich content that will boost Jerry's ranking with the major search engines. (Check out the page on Michigan Probate & Estate Administration, which includes a link to one of Jerry's new animated presentations)
   
3. Estate Tax Calculator -- Calculators and checklists really drive traffic online, so we added an estate tax calculator to the site, and links to it from strategic pages within the site. (Here is the page on Estate Tax Planning, which includes a link to Jerry's estate tax calculator.)
   
4. SEO -- Once we had decided on the key markets for Jerry's practice, we conducted search-demand research and developed a master keyword list. All of Jerry's new content incorporates words and phrases from his master list. We then set about to build the background hard-coding of the site in the file names, page titles, descriptions and keywords meta tags.
   
5. Lead Capture & Follow-Up -- Jerry's site includes a subscription link to his free monthly e-newsletter. Now he has a perfect way to follow-up and build relaitonships with the qualified leads from among his site visitors.
   
6. Local Search -- We localized Jerry's SEO for his target market and got him listed on Google's local business directory. Even though Jerry's site was just published yesterday, you can see he already appears at the top of Google's page one for the search string: "Saginaw Michigan Estate Plannnig Attorney" because of his listing on the map.

It does take time for Google to re-index a site re-design like this, so we will be watching the Google rankings for Jerry's site over the next six months. But I am confident we will see results.

 

We recently completed a similar optimization project for another of our clients, Noreen Murphy, in Winchester, Massachusetts. Before we started Noreen's project, her site did not show up within the first 50 pages of Google on searches for "Winchester Massachusetts Elder Law Attorney." Today, however, if you search on that phrase, Noreen's site comes up #1. Not just on page one, but NUMBER ONE on Google. Check it out for yourself: Winchester Massachusetts Elder Law Attorney

 

We have more work to do, search engine optimization is an ongoing process. Every month, we will add fresh new content to these websites, create and submit a new Google sitemap, and add targeted keywords in the new content, page titles, and meta tags. Additionally, both sites could benefit from off-site promotion through online PR and social-media. Our plan is to ensure that our clients DOMINATE the local-search online for their target markets.

 

We realize that not every attorney is ready to take these bold steps, some are quite comfortable where they are right now. But if you are ready, call James now at 1-877-352-2021, ext. 0 for a free demonstration and online marketing proposal.

Plan Now for Fall Revenue

Kyle and I have often thought that marketing and practice development in the estate planning law firm is a lot like farming. I actually own a small farm, and through the years I have come to realize that marketing and farming are almost EXACTLY alike ... except that having good marketing skills will NOT get that fence repaired, the barn organized or the horse's stalls cleaned!

Nonetheless, I did learn a valuable marketing lesson from my farm this year. You see, it is mid-August and summer is almost over. I have FINALLY gotten the farm back in shape from last winter. The roof is repaired from that ice storm, the swimming pool is sparkling, the patio furniture has been painted and repaired, I even put the finishing touches last week on a new automatic fly spray system in the barn. Whew! I'm READY to sit back and relax and enjoy the place ... for the remaining two weeks of summer. Sigh.

What did I learn? Next year, I'll start sooner. I will take those first few non-bitter days of late winter and start working on the fences, the barn and the patio furniture. I'll pull out any weeds that survived from the fall. So when the balmy days of summer arrive, I'm not sweating in the blistering sun but swimming in the sparkling-clean pool.

So it is with marketing. September and October will be here soon. These are prime revenue months in an estate planning practice, before everyone gets into holiday-mode. To really reap a bountiful harvest, though,the planning and hard work needs to begin NOW.

Whether it's buffing up your law firm website, purchasing a new estate planning workshop presentation, or launching a direct-mail campaign, NOW is the time to get the marketing wheels in motion. I encourage you to call James and set up a free appointment to visit with him and plan now for fall revenue. You can reach James toll-free at 1-877-352-2021, ext. 0.

Estate Planning Attorneys Drive Down Client Acquisition Costs with Internet Technologies

One of the first things I do when consulting with a new client is pull together key financials that speak to the long-term health of their estate planning or elder law practice. Client acquisition costs are a key, and frequently overlooked, indicator of long-term health ... or impending difficulty.

 

I recently reviewed a promotional offer from another marketing company claiming that retail seminars are "still" the best practice-building strategy. I chuckled as I thought to myself, yes indeed - they certainly are ... for the marketer! This fellow's practice grows every time he signs someone up for his seminar marketing service. Seminar marketing is a gold mine -- for marketeers. There are invitations to be designed, printed and mailed, mailing lists to purchase, advertising to be designed, purchased and placed, phone calls to be made, presentations to be created, and the follow-up ... oh the follow-up! Ah ... give me a moment while I bask in the glow of bygone years of profit ...

 

Whenever I work with a client for whom seminar marketing is the primary practice-building strategy, I know I need to perform a marketing intervention, because client acquisition costs will be through-the-roof. And, because seminars do bring in new clients and new revenue, the attorney often is nearly evangelistic in his fervor to defend them...until we look at the numbers.

 

An estate planning practice requires a steady stream of new qualified prospects, so it's not unusual for marketing expenses to be somewhat higher than in other practice areas. This is understandable. But this just means that every marketing dollar needs to work even harder in the estate planning practice. Client acquisition costs need to be driven down at every turn. Otherwise, the attorney is not unlike the pet-store hamster, constantly running in perpetual motion but never getting ahead!

 

Leveraging internet technologies is the key to driving down client acquisition costs. We have known this at Integrity Marketing Solutions for more than a decade! You seldom find us exhibiting in fancy booths at expensive trade shows or advertising in high-dollar glossy magazines. Why not? Because that is not the smartest investment of marketing dollars, for us or for you either! Over the past five years, virtually all of our new business has been generated either through word-of-mouth referrals, or from our online efforts with Google Adwords, our optimized website or blog, and more recently Twitter or Facebook. In fact, just yesterday we were privileged to welcome a new client with whom our only previous interaction had been on Twitter.

 

How many new clients came to your door through your website, or other online marketing efforts, during the past six months ... or year? It's time to leverage those technologies to cut your costs, expand your influence and build revenue!

 

Join us at 12 noon (central) on Tuesday, August 25 for a virtual Practice Development Workshop, and let us show you how. for more details, read on below or visit our website at http://www.estateplanningpartners.com/ims_clientworkshop.htm ... or call james toll-free at 1-877-352-2021, ext. 0 and he can give you the whole scoop and get you registered over the phone.

Practice Development Workshop for Attorneys

Leveraging Internet Technologies
To Cut Costs, Expand Influence & Build Revenue

What would it do for your estate planning practice if tomorrow morning you were invited to speak to a packed-hall of entrepreneurial business owners? And all of them in attendance were keenly interested in selling their business, transferring it to the next generation, or equalizing their estate for all of their children? Additionally, each and every person gave you their email address, visited your website, and asked if you would please stay in touch with them over the next several months. What if this happened every single day of the week?

Would this transform your practice?

Of course it would! And it is happening on the internet every day. Not just business owners, but special-interest groups of all types from caregivers for the elderly to sailing enthusiasts and alpaca farmers. People are gathering together on the internet to pursue their interests and find services that meet their specialized needs.

But reaching them is both science and art. Old sales methods fall flat and even backfire on the internet. Violate the netiquette  and quickly become a pariah.

In our next Practice Development Series workshop on August 25, we will show you how to leverage internet technologies to cut your costs, expand your influence and build revenue, even in a down economy!

Websites, SEO, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, Linked-In, pay-per-click, Google, Bing! -- there is a vast new online universe with its own lexicon. If you haven't caught up with the technology, there's no more time to wait! NOW is the time to get up-to-speed and start leveraging technology to grow your practice.

Practice Development Series Online Workshop
Leveraging Internet Technologies
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 | 12 noon (central)

We will show you how to leverage your time with social media and share strategies that guarantee you get the most out of your online investment. You will learn the secrets of search engine optimization, the keys to getting local search results, why blogging is so powerful and how to use social media like Twitter to expand your influence within key markets.

Additionally, we've invited your colleagues Jerry Reif and Lizette Sundvick, two successful estate attorneys practicing in very different markets, to share with you their insights about the trends and challenges in the estate planning marketplace. We're also building a social networking space where you can continue to share ideas with your colleagues from the workshop.

Workshop Details:

• Online Workshop w/ audio, video and chat

• 12 noon (central time) | Tuesday, Aug. 25

• Program will be recorded and available for review to all paid registrants

• Opt-in networking site so you can share ideas with your colleagues

Tuition

• Regular Tuition: $149 per firm

• Early Registration (through Aug. 18): $99 per firm

One tuition fee will cover your entire firm. You can broadcast over the web into your conference room and share ideas and valuable training with your entire staff.

Special Offer: 100% Tuition Rebate!
Apply your entire registration fee to any new website design service,
re-design & update, or search engine optimization.

Click Here to Register Now & Save $50!
$99 Early Registration

New Stats on How Consumers Find Businesses

I just ran across some very interesting new statistics out about how consumers find businesses, including professional services, released this month by the Berry corporation, a Yellow Pages publisher. (These numbers are based on their own consumer surveys.)

 

Berry describes the new model as "Multiplatform Consumer Usage."

 

During the previous month, the consumers surveyed reported searching for business services using the following media:

 

64% of those surveyed used the Yellow Pages.

54% used a website

47% used an online search engine such as Google

24% used Internet Yellow Pages

 

I think these numbers are particularly interesting because they are reported by a Yellow Pages publisher, surveying their own customers. While it may appear at first blush that Yellow Pages still wins out, with 64% saying they used Yellow Pages, the website / search engine usage combined makes a compelling argument for search engine optimization!

 

Even the phone directory people are figuring out that "we are all digital marketers now."

 

What does this media revolution mean to you and your estate planning or elder law practice? How do you leverage internet technologies to reduce your costs, expand your influence and increase your revenue?

 

Join us at 12 noon (central) on August 25 for our Practice Development Series workshop, "Leveraging Internet Technologies."

 

We will show you why internet technologies are essential to your practice marketing. We'll show you how to use them to leverage your time (rather than eat it up!) and we'll share strategies to ensure you get the most out of your marekting investment. You'll learn the secrets of search engine optimization, the keys to getting local search results, why blogging is so powerful and how to use social media like Twitter to expand your influence within key markets.

Additionally, we've invited your colleagues Jerry Reif and Lizette Sundvick, two successful estate attorneys practicing in very different markets to share with you their insights about trends and challenges in the estate planning marketplace.

Conference Details

• Online Workshop w/ audio, video and chat
• 12 noon (central time) | Tuesday, Aug. 25
• Program will be recorded and available for review to all paid registrants
• Opt-in networking site so you can share ideas with your colleagues

Tuition Fees

• Regular Tuition: $149 per firm
• Early Registration (through Aug. 18): $99 per firm

One tuition fee will cover your entire firm. You can broadcast over the web into your conference room and share ideas and valuable training with your entire staff.

Special Offer: 100% Tuition Rebate!
Apply your entire registration fee to any new website design service, re-design & update, or search engine optimization.

Click here for more information, or to register online.

social media: blogging and facebook and twitter, oh my!

posted by kyle e. krull, esq.

i am onsite at integrity marketing hq today. as i look out the french doors to the pasture, lake and woods, i am reminded of how blessed we are to have worked together for more than 15 years. jennifer has been giving me a hands-on demonstration of current marketing technology, to include the place for social media. wow! for example, ims now has its own intranet, blog, facebook and twitter account. indeed, i am learning to "tweet" as i type this.  ;D  jennifer is using "tweetbeep" and "google alerts" and is explaining to me why these are vital practice development tools. internet marketing has progressed far beyond having a website presence.

the days of relying solely on hanging out a shingle, and the concept of "if you build it, they will come," are gone ... and so are the attorneys who relied upon that. in the words of peter frampton, do you feel like i do? as a baby boomer, i was born into the estate planning field on the heels of the dinosaurs who had a hang-out-a-shingle mentality. well, like the literal dinosaurs, those dinosaurs are now gone (retired). i'm the "sandwich generation" of estate planning attorneys.

regardless how much i would like to ignore these new technologies, they are here and if i want to stay here, i will learn to use them to my advantage. and even though my lovely 80-year-old widowed client may not be on facebook, the entrepreneurial business owner likely is. for the long-term success of my practice, i need to be talking to both types of prospects, and i need to meet them where they "live" per se ... and i need cost-effective ways to stay in touch with them, nurture those relationships, and enjoy the harvest of downstream referrals.

unfortunately, not everyone can come out to ims hq and get a full day of one-on-one training with jennifer. the next best thing, however, will be our online client workshop at 12 noon (central) on August 25, "leveraging internet technologies." joining us will be your colleagues from the front lines, jerry reif of saginaw, michigan and lizette sundvick of las vegas, nevada. these successful attorneys, practicing in very different markets, will share their perceptions of how the practice has changed and why they are now embracing those changes in their own practice development efforts. 

stay tuned to this blog, or follow us on twitter (http://www.twitter.com/integritymarket) for the latest updates and registration details.