In attorney marketing many assume they need a brochure it seems. They may be right or not - lets see. It is not uncommon for me to be asked if I think a solo attorney or small firm needs a brochure. The elegant answer is "it depends". Well great Henry, what does it depend on? In deciding if you need a brochure or not I would look at the following issues:
1. Who is your audience, market, or practice areas and if you had a brochure would it help your prospective client to make a positive decision about hiring you? Is it expected in your practice area or market? If the answer is no then you may not need a brochure. I would not create a brochure just because you think everyone should have one or most of your competitors have one. If most of your competitors do have one then how are they using them? If it looks like that helps "seal the deal" for them then perhaps you do need a brochure for your attorney marketing.
2. Does it make you feel more comfortable having a brochure? If yes, maybe you need a brochure. There is something to be said for you feeling comfortable. If handing over a "leave behind" when you visit a potential referral source in the form of a brochure makes you feel better with attorney marketing or having brochures in strategic places in your office makes you feel comfortable then maybe you should have a brochure. You will be more confident if you have it is the theory and thus create more business as a result.
3. Would you do better to put your attorney marketing time, energy and dollars into producing "white papers" on several subjects that have "real meat" in them as well as really pull the interest of your prospective client into the paper and thus be a better vehicle than a brochure? Can you use them as "leave behinds" with potential referral sources? Can you give them to prospective clients or give them away at speaking events? This is often a much better strategy, especially if you have more than one practice area. Additionally, these white papers can be turned into high quality PDF files and thus you can email them or they can be offered on your website to visitors for download (if they give you a name and email address perhaps).
4. Speaking of cost, what is it going to cost you to create a brochure? Brochures can cost from a few hundred dollars up to several thousand dollars or more to produce? How sure are you that you will have a return on your investment on a scale of 1 to 10?
5. Now this aspect may be a little challenging to you so forgive me. Are you trying to solve or avoid your legal marketing fears and challenges through creating a brochure? I mean at least you are doing something you may be telling yourself. You see a brochure needs to be a part of an overall attorney marketing plan that is informed by the right law marketing knowledge and certainly a brochure in itself rarely gets you new business. There are plenty of things you can do in marketing that need to be done first that will produce more business than creating a brochure will do for you.
6. If you do create the brochures will they be stuck away in the closet or will they motivate you to get into action on other "fronts" in attorney marketing? If doing a brochure will motivate you to get into action then maybe you should have brochures!
Well, there you have it, some food for thought on how to decide if you need a brochure in attorney marketing. In my companion article "Creating Brochures For Lawyers" I go into more practical detail on brochures. I write on what you need to do to have a brochure that gets you new business. Don't rush out and get your new brochures until you read that article. You will also find the right information on how to find quality vendors at a low price that will write, design and print your brochures thus making your attorney marketing easier. Be sure to check that article out.
You can download free now the 125 page Report titled "31 Proven Law Firm Marketing Strategies" by Henry Harlow and much more. You can increase your income; reduce your work hours as you serve your clients better than ever - guaranteed. http://www.Law-Firm-Marketing-Coach.com
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