Weekly Rainmaker Activity 9/28/09
What written marketing materials do you have? Examples include a website, a one-page description of your practice, a newsletter, articles, and so on. For this week’s activity, choose one item for review. (Although I would generally include a biographical sketch as written marketing material, exclude it for this week’s purposes.)
As you read your marketing material, how much is written from your perspective (generally indicated by lots of “I” and “we” statements), and how much is written from your client’s perspective? Although your potential clients will be interested in your qualifications and experience, they will be primarily interested in whether you are someone who could meet their needs. (Don’t allow yourself to imagine that legal sophisticated potential clients are different here. They aren’t.)
In other words, potential clients won’t care about all of those “I” statements until they have a sense that you understand their concerns, that you know where they’re coming from, and that you are someone who serves clients like them. It’s important, then, that your materials speak to your potential client and not at her. How you accomplish this will vary somewhat depending on your area of practice. In general, though, you’ll want to describe the concerns your ideal client is facing, the decisions at hand, the problem he’s confronting, the doubts or worries she may have. Then you’ll describe how you assist someone in that position, preferably with examples based on past experience.
Review the material you’ve chosen through the “speaking at”/”speaking to” filter. If you find many more “I” and “we” statements than statements designed to speak to your ideal client’s situation, it’s time to revise what you’ve written.
If you’re uncertain whether your written marketing materials speak to your ideal clients, perhaps we should talk. Please send an email to schedule a complimentary consultation, during which we’ll explore the challenges you’re confronting and the solutions that may be available.
Can you give a sample of what you would consider a good paragraph and a bad paragraph?
You are right on with your analysis of written marketing materials. Marketing materials can’t just talk about your business, they need to speak TO the potential clients not AT them. You want to provide the benefits your clients will receive from working with you and build a trust between the potential client and your business.
Also, it’s extrememly important to ensure that all your written marketing materials include a clear business message built into the language. The copy needs to not only speak to the target audience, but it needs to express your brand message.
Great post Julie!
Damien and Britt, thanks for your comments.
Damien, that’s a great question. I’ll offer some samples in Monday’s Weekly Rainmaker Activity. Thanks for asking!