Posted by Kyle E. Krull, Esq., President
INTEGRITY MARKETING SOLUTIONS
Are you a “webmaster”? I would define a webmaster as an “artist” for whom the internet is but a pallet. Against that backdrop, our team of artists at Integrity Marketing Solutions has mastered the World Wide Web.
How can I make such an audacious boast? Well, an article in the November/December issue of Practice Management Solutions (a supplement to the Journal of Financial Planning) confirms objectively what I knew subjectively. The article, titled 6 Steps To The Perfect Website is one of the best third party pieces I have seen on this subject.
Let’s review the 6 steps our financial planning counterparts recognize as website essentials:
Step 1: Define the Purpose
Here the key decision is whether you want you website to be a “digital brochure” or a “lead generator.” My response: Both! The purpose of my website (and, by the way, my new website is currently in “build-out,” so stay tuned for the upcoming unveiling) is to establish my credibility as a subject matter expert in estate planning… and to convert website visitors into appointments.
Step 2: Research Website Designs
It has been said that the highest form of flattery is imitation. Accordingly, check out the website designs of your peers. As they say, “Seeing Is Believing”: http://www.estateplanningpartners.com/Portfolio.php
Step 3: Develop Messaging
Make sure your website has content that has “key words” intentionally selected to drive traffic to your website. Our website design team at Integrity Marketing Solutions is masterful at this. Case in point: My website (designed and implemented in January of 2010, still dominates my market) lands on Google page one for “Estate Planning Attorney Overland Park Kansas.” Try it for yourself. Result: We are now booking appointments into January of 2012. Not bad, yes?
Step 4: Determine Functionality
Make sure you decide up front whether you want to have a blog and relevant calculators on your website. Recommendation: Include your blog AND an estate tax calculator on your website. Why? Not only will this enhance your credibility as a subject matter expert (i.e., Jennifer always teaches that “talkers are hawkers, but writers are experts”), but it will give visitors to your website additional reasons to like you.
Step 5: Choose Images
I am a firm believer that your website is an extension of your soul. Well, maybe not your soul, but at least your personality. As a result, for my current and especially for my new website, I selected pictures that reflect who I am, where I live and what is important to me. In my opinion, and that of our website design team, a picture is worth more than a thousand words. Check out the portfolio of website in “Step 2” above.
Step 6: Continue To Update Your Site
The only constant in life is change. Make sure your website stays “fresh.” You need to have fresh content in the form of blogs, articles, videos, calculators, newsletters and free downloads. My website has all of this. Is it any wonder that, as of this posting date, my http://www.martindale.com/Kyle-E-Krull/1009250-lawyer.htm “visibility ranking” is #3 in weekly profile views out of 1,498 attorneys in Overland Park, Kansas, and #742 out of 1,453, 233 attorneys worldwide.
Teaching Point:Your website is an essential part of your marketing system. This is not an area where you want to cut corners or work with an amateur. If you want to enjoy a steady stream of pre-qualified and motivated prospects on your calendar each month, then work with proven professionals when it comes to the design and maintenance of your website. In the end, without clients to serve, you really do not have a practice. Let us help you take your website and, with it, your practice to the next level with The Essential Solution®. It’s a comprehensive marketing system, tested and proven effective in my own law practice. We are here to help when you are ready to have an ever more profitable and enjoyable estate planning and/or elder law practice.
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