As a law firm, you need a robust content marketing strategy that will increase awareness about your brand and help you build lasting relationships with your clients. While building an engaging website and posting compelling content is essential for the success of your efforts, you also need a variety of ways to get that content in front of your desired audience.

You have several solutions at your disposal, such as a strong SEO program, a lively social media presence, and so on. These are tools you should make priorities as a means to connect with current, past and potential clients. Email newsletters are another way to make the connections you need and produce the business results you want.

What is a Law Firm Newsletter?

You probably receive email newsletters daily but haven’t assigned them a name. Simply put, these are a type of email that informs your readers about the latest updates, tips, and news from your law firm. There aren’t any limits to what you can put in your newsletter, and you can send it quarterly, monthly, or weekly. Most businesses decide that a monthly roundup works best.

The Benefits of Newsletters for Law Firms

A lot of people think of newsletters as somewhat “old school.” But, you might be surprised to learn that email newsletters remain an incredibly effective way to create and maintain relationships with your law firm’s clients. Couple that with the fact that email marketing is inexpensive and has a high ROI; this is a tool that you’ll probably want to include in your arsenal.

If your interest is piqued, here are some of the benefits of using newsletters for law firm marketing:

1. Newsletters Help You Connect With More Clients

Believe it or not, email can be one of the most effective marketing channels available to your law firm. Every one of your clients, potential, current, and past, has an email account. People like the control that they have over their inboxes, and when you get access, you have the opportunity to enhance your law firm’s reputation with high-quality content.

More than 60% of consumers prefer email as a way to stay connected with brands and services. Unlike social media posts that can get lost in the shuffle, an email message stays in the recipient’s inbox and encourages action. With email, you are delivering your brand’s information precisely where clients have asked to see it.

2. Newsletters Increase Your Law Firm’s Authority and Credibility

The legal profession is incredibly competitive. When a person needs legal services, whether it be to get a divorce, draw up a legal will, or hold a negligent party accountable for their injuries, they want an attorney they can trust to advocate for their interests.

No law firm is born with a stellar reputation. It must be earned and then promoted. By giving readers consistent content that exhibits your knowledge, you build trust with your audience that will produce results when those readers need your services.

3. Newsletters Are Low-Risk and High-Reward

Your email list contains people who have already consented to receive your newsletter. This audience is going to be more receptive to your marketing message than, for example, a general audience found through the search engines or social media. Email marketing has a relatively low cost compared to other channels and an estimated ROI of $40 for every $1 spent, making it well worth the effort.

4. Newsletters Boost Your Content Marketing Strategy

Instead of being a replacement for other digital marketing strategies, email newsletters enhance and build on what you’ve already created. A newsletter often serves as a “roundup” of content you’ve produced on your blog, encouraging readers to click through to your website to read more. This drives more traffic to your site and can result in an increase in conversions.

How to Create a Law Firm Newsletter

If you’ve jumped off the fence and are ready to start using newsletters to market your law firm, here are some simple steps to get started.

1. Identify Your Audience

You need to decide who you’re going to send your email newsletter to before you do anything else. In general, your target audience will likely be your potential clients, past clients, and other legal industry professionals.

2. Build Your List

Having a defined audience will help you build your email list. In some instances, it’s necessary to have readers opt-in to receive your email messages. Make sure you are following all of the rules of the CAN-SPAM Act. You can add clients to your email list as long as they have a simple way to opt-out or unsubscribe. Other ways to build your list include giving occasional webinars, offering a free ebook downloadable on your website, and having a simple newsletter signup form on your website.

3. Choose an Email Marketing Platform

Technology has made it much simpler to send out email marketing messages, including newsletters. But you’ll have to choose an email marketing platform and then learn to use it. Some are free, and others charge a small fee and have more features, such as advanced analytics.

4. Start Publishing Consistently

Choose a schedule for your law firm’s newsletter. Most opt for a monthly schedule. You can set up a template for your email newsletter that allows you to drop in the content each month, making the process quicker and more efficient.

Make sure the layout is attractive and the text is easy to read. What you include in your newsletter is up to you. You might want to consider a mixture of blog post summaries, industry news, and law firm updates.

5. Measure Your Performance

As with anything else, you should measure the performance of your legal newsletter to figure out what’s working and what could use some improvement. Most email marketing platforms provide metrics relative to open and click rates. If your open rate is low, consider testing out some different subject lines. If your click rate is low, you might want to mix up your content.

Ready to Send Out Your Law Firm’s Newsletter?

Not every newsletter you send out is going to bring a rush of new clients to your law firm. Few digital marketing strategies work that way, unfortunately. Newsletters, like most marketing tools, work best over the long haul. When people see that you are consistently sending out quality content to their inboxes, they will remember your law firm’s name when they or someone they know needs your services.

If you’re not ready to start designing emails on your own, we can help. Too Darn Loud Legal Marketing offers comprehensive digital marketing solutions for law firms, including email marketing. We will design your newsletter, craft the engaging content, and handle all of the moving parts. Contact us today to learn more about our services.