July 22, 2012
3 reasons why it’s better to write your own rather than purchasing pre-written content from someone else.
I was commenting earlier this week on a LinkedIn group discussion about email newsletter content. The thread was about the best places to buy pre-written (I called it canned) content. I was shocked that this was even a consideration, and surprised that the discussion was so matter-of-fact. A large number of people were exploring different companies that sell the exact same newsletter to multiple firms.
My response was simple – don’t do it! Why not just write your own content? Then I listed three reasons not to purchase content by the can: Read the rest of this entry »
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General, Marketing | Tagged: accounting firm marketing, attorney marketing, best practices, content, content marketing, financial planner marketing, law firm marketing, lawyer marketing, linkedin, newsletter | 
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Posted by Dave Slovin
July 9, 2012
Use the “Rule of 3″ to streamline communications and improve results.
I was viewing a firm’s website earlier today… with a magnifying glass. Each page was chock-full of very valuable information about the firm, but it was so overwhelming that I couldn’t figure out what they were really trying to communicate. I feel bad for saying this, but I quickly lost interest and decided to write this post rather than read on.
Is your firm’s website, blog, presentation or other communication overloaded with content in paragraph form? Did you have to produce your brochure in 9 pt type to include everything you wanted to say? How many times does a website visitor have to page down to reach the bottom of your home page? If you had to give these questions more than a couple of seconds of thought, you need to cut out some of the fat and focus on delivering a few key messages to the right audience at the right time. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | General, Marketing, Sales | Tagged: accounting firm marketing, bullets, content creation, differentiate, financial planner marketing, law firm marketing, lawyer marketing, lead generation, MarCom, sales presentations | Permalink
Posted by Dave Slovin
June 24, 2012
5 marketing tips to improve your odds of winning new business when you least expect it.
We signed a new client last week. I could say that it was because of our tremendous service quality, amazing results, or widely recognized brand, but that wouldn’t really be correct. We were in the right place at the right time. Yes, I’ll admit it. We got lucky.
I disagree with the sales guru who first coined the phrase “luck is not a strategy.” While there are probably no marketing plans that list “luck” as a strategic priority, your marketing plan can dramatically increase your opportunities to get lucky – meaning to generate leads and win business when you didn’t expect to do so. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | General, Marketing, Sales | Tagged: accounting firm marketing, attorney marketing, communication, financial planner marketing, law firm marketing, lawyer marketing, lead generation, linkedin, Marketing, Sales Improvement | Permalink
Posted by Dave Slovin
June 10, 2012
Breaking the website company’s code.
Today I feel like that guy on the TV show Magic’s Biggest Secrets Revealed. I was doing some competitive research for a client and noticed two sites that looked almost exactly the same. Viewing the pages, I quickly realized that most of the wording on the two sites was also very similar.
Assuming this was just a lucky catch, I pasted a phrase from the homepages, “we provide fanatical support” into my Google search bar. The websites of at least four other firms had the exact same content. Looks like a website company was “reselling” content, to put it politely. I wonder if their clients know… Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | General, Marketing | Tagged: accounting firm marketing, attorney marketing, best practices, content, creativity, differentiation, financial planner marketing, law firm marketing, lawyer marketing, SEO, trust | Permalink
Posted by Dave Slovin
May 21, 2012
10 ideas for growing your marketing program and your firm – 1 step at a time.
With apologies for butchering the quote, Steve Martin used to joke, “You can be a millionaire… First you get a million dollars…” That’s like many marketing recommendations today. All you need to do is blog, make rain, optimize something, create a series, or do something else that seems easy, but takes much more effort to implement or maintain once you get started.
I don’t agree that there is ever just one solution, but how do you get just one thing started? Running your firm takes enough time, let alone trying to run a marketing program. So let’s try to keep things very simple here. Do something. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | General, Marketing | Tagged: accounting firm marketing, attorney marketing, best practices, demand generation, financial planner marketing, law firm marketing, lawyer marketing, referrals, reviews, testimonials | Permalink
Posted by Dave Slovin
May 13, 2012
5 ways to encourage more website visitors to contact your firm.
This morning I was in the office catching up on some email. It was interesting that the majority of marketing articles in my mailbox talked about how to generate website “traffic” from one source or another. A successful business, they claimed, requires SEO, pay-per-click, Facebook ads, Tweets, and [insert social media cliché here] to drive that traffic.
I live in Atlanta, where “traffic” is a 2.5 hour drive to commute 10 miles. Just like Atlanta traffic, website traffic can be a waste of time and money – unless those visitors actually contact you.
Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | General, Marketing, Sales | Tagged: accounting firm marketing, attorney marketing, bandwagon, best practices, demand generation, financial planner marketing, law firm marketing, lawyer marketing, lead generation, website conversion | Permalink
Posted by Dave Slovin
March 13, 2012
Learn a sales lesson from the lady in the St. Lucia straw market.
I was on a Caribbean cruise last week – first time away from email in years. The first stop was St. Lucia, home to one of the larger straw markets (local crafts, etc.) in the region. Let’s just say I’m not a shopping fan, but I negotiated a morning of ziplining for an afternoon of shopping – and received $50 in free sales training.
Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | General, Sales | Tagged: accounting firm marketing, business, business development, demand generation, financial planner marketing, law firm marketing, Sales, Sales Improvement, st. lucia, straw market | Permalink
Posted by Dave Slovin
February 13, 2012
3 questions to ask yourself before you spend money with a competitor.
I got a call this week from a “marketing specialist” at a large law firm directory company announcing that it was time for a law firm client’s marketing review. Of course, that meant it was time to hear the annual sales pitch.
I started thinking about the value these directory/marketing companies add versus the competitive threat they present, so I searched “Family Law Firm on Google. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | General, Marketing | Tagged: accounting firm marketing, demand generation, financial planner marketing, law firm marketing, Marketing, planning | Permalink
Posted by Dave Slovin
February 2, 2012
Is your content the cream of the crop, or crap?
I’ve seen a lot of online discussion recently about the quality of the content that we’re including in our websites, blogs, and other communications. Is it educational? Does it speak to the right audience? Does it speak English?
When a friend asked me last week to comment on his new website copy, I pulled out a list of criteria that I’ve been using for a few years and got to work. After ripping apart his website (sorry), I realized that this list was a good tool for anyone to use when evaluating pretty much any content. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | General, Marketing, Sales | Tagged: accounting firm marketing, blogging, communications, content, content quality quotient, demand generation, financial planner marketing, law firm marketing, Marketing | Permalink
Posted by Dave Slovin
January 26, 2012
Three strategic questions to (quickly) ponder before you start building a new site.
With the start of a new year, we reflect on those positive changes we want to make and goals we want to achieve. We resolve to improve our health, spend more time with family, get organized, and of course, update our website.
Before you pick up the phone and call that guy (or gal) who said he could build you a great new site for $1,000, please resist the urge to fire until you’ve had a chance to aim – or quickly define your goals, market and message. This doesn’t have to take months. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | General, Marketing, Sales | Tagged: accounting firm marketing, business strategy, communication, financial planner marketing, law firm marketing, Marketing, messaging, target audience, website, website development | Permalink
Posted by Dave Slovin
