Email marketing is a legal marketing strategy that promotes direct and objective communication between law firms and clients. It is quite common for customers to register their email addresses to receive communications from companies that interest them.
Email is valuable for marketing professionals, as most internet users have an email address. According to data from Statista, in 2021, there were 4.14 billion active email users, so this platform is interesting for sending communications between companies and customers.
The difference between email marketing and normal email marketing is its objective, which can be sales or promoting the organization. For this email marketing to be effective, the audience must first be segmented.
In other words, customers who are more likely to make a purchase receive promotional emails, and so on. This action ensures better delivery of your email, given that the content is designed for each person’s interests and particularities.
Benefits of email marketing for lawyers
Email marketing is a great legal marketing tool with the help of a virtual assistant for lawyers you will hire. It allows you to reach a known customer base by sending relevant information to the recipient. Please note that email marketing is different from a newsletter. Its execution involves planning and studying the audience so your email marketing campaign is assertive.
Let’s take a practical look at how email marketing can work in the legal profession:
- A law firm offers services in both civil and corporate areas. Therefore, clients of the former will receive one type of content and those of the latter, another. Both types of content must align with each client’s interests.
See the impact of email marketing on the legal profession.
Low Investment
You don’t need a large investment to start the strategy. Sometimes, you must pay for a platform or choose a free one to coordinate the shots. Additionally, it is possible to carry out monitoring for free.
Win customers in particular.
Good content tends to be shared with others. If you have good email marketing content, your customers will likely share it with others. This is because we know that the US has limited access to quality legal information. Therefore, your content helps people receive safe, quality information.
Know that content production is part of mental trigger strategies. When producing quality content that solves a problem or doubt, people tend to create a feeling of gratitude. Therefore, these people have great potential to become future clients of your law firm.
Sending content to the targeted audience
Unlike other platforms, such as social media, email allows you to send messages in a targeted manner. For example, if your client wants to receive content related to updates and new laws, you can send it directly.
Step-by-step guide on how to do email marketing for lawyers
1. Create a contact base
Firstly, to create an email marketing strategy for lawyers, you must build a contact base. They can either be customers or people who have registered on the site in the past. This list should be organic, representing the audience that wants to receive the content.
2. Determine the persona
Secondly, you can define the persona once you have the list. A persona is a detailed profile that shapes the strategy to be followed. Through the contact list, you define the person who will receive the content. So at this stage, the following questions are answered:
- How old are you?
- What is the gender?
- What is your level of education?
- What industry do you work in?
- What are your hobbies?
- What problems does he/she need solved?
Furthermore, this is where the objective to be achieved with the mailing is made very clear.
3. Plan the content
Once you have your list and persona, it’s time to start planning. Each segmentation has its own calendar, with clearly defined content and deadlines. The email title is very important, as it will determine whether the email will be opened. Therefore, it should be direct, offer a solution or instigate in some way.
In addition to the theme and text, invest in the layout. After opening the email, the customer should feel attracted to the content. All communication should follow the same pattern, which helps with recognition.
Be direct and state the main idea right at the beginning. Emails are cut off on devices, and if the person isn’t interested right away or doesn’t scroll to the end of the message, your customer may delete the message. In addition, CTAs (Call to Actions) should be used so that the customer can interact and get in touch if they need the services. However, respect the Code of Ethics when creating the calls.
In the end, leave an option for the customer to unsubscribe from the mailing if they wish. At first, this tool may seem like a bad thing. But in fact, it is an ally. This way, people who are not interested can stop receiving, and delivery remains focused on the target audience.
4. Plan the frequency
Plan how often you send emails, as the open rate is a critical metric within the strategy. Too many emails saturate the company’s image, but too few emails make the professional forgotten. By defining the frequency, you can create a posting calendar.
5. Focus on content and offer benefits
Content is key. There is no point in having a beautiful email that doesn’t deliver anything of value to the person opening it. This way, the client will continue to want to receive what the lawyer or firm is sending. A good exercise is to answer some questions as a customer:
- What makes me open an email?
- What benefits do I like to receive?
- What content keeps me interested?
- Why unsubscribe me?
Whenever possible, offer benefits such as an e-book, for example.
6. Segment your audience
As mentioned earlier, one of the significant advantages of this strategy is its segmentation. Therefore, when creating the mailing lists, create the base according to the planning. Because a client who asked for help with a family case will not want to receive something technical that is being launched for an academic base.
7. Pay attention to important dates for your niche and for the client
A good way to get ideas is to pay attention to important dates within your expertise and for your clients. If they fit into the content, major media events can also be included in the agenda.
8. Pay attention to OAB rules
Every strategy must comply with rules on email marketing. Under no circumstances should you set prices for shots or run special promotions. If an e-book is produced, it must be relevant and have purely instructive content. Under no circumstances send emails to people who have not previously requested or agreed to the mailing. Finally, the Code of Ethics prohibits the sending of direct mail.
9. Choose the right email marketing platform for lawyers
With the content and list ready, it’s time to choose the platform to manage the process. Thanks to this, sending is done automatically and the results can be easily obtained for analysis. Some platforms offer free versions with some limitations and paid versions with more features.
10. Perform A/B testing
Once you start shooting, you must conduct tests to find the best day and time. Likewise, you can also send different layouts of the same email to different people in the same database to find out which one is better.
Consequently, A/B testing is essential for decision-making regarding the entire process of creating and sending emails. Texts, schedules, CTAs, titles—everything can be tested to improve the material created.
11. Measure the results
Finally, it’s time to collect data and analyze the results. There are several metrics to check if the campaign is working. Using this data, you can plan the next steps. Some KPIs are:
- Percentage of emails opened;
- Number of emails sent;
- Clicks on CTAs;
- Unsubscribe;
- Conversions;
- Number of delivery errors.
With low cost and high potential return, the importance of a good legal digital marketing strategy for email is undeniable. By following the step-by-step guide, you can create one that suits your objectives, attracts more potential customers, and builds loyalty among those who have already done business.