Automating Your Law Firm Email Marketing

I was recently asked by Clio to be a guest speaker at their Legal Marketing Masterclass on Leveraging Emails to Engage Existing and New Clients. This was hosted by Michael Chasin who founded Lexicata which was eventually acquired by Clio and turned into Clio Grow. We were joined by Patricia de Fonte, an estate planning attorney with a passion for marketing making it a great panel with tons of insight. You can watch the webinar below and download the slides but I wanted to share some additional thoughts on law firm email marketing.

Where Law Firm Email Marketing Goes Wrong

Are any of your email sequences automated? 61% of attendees responded no, 23% said somewhat, only 11% responded yes, and the rest did not know. The fact that only 11% of the audience could confidently say they’re using email automation is extremely alarming. While many may believe they have email marketing covered through a monthly newsletter sent to their entire database, I’m sorry to say that is not sufficient or even the best use of email as a platform. Email automation is a more effective way to communicate with potential new clients and clients alike.

What Is Email Automation?

Email automation is a way to create and send emails that reach the right people with the right message at the right time. The beauty of this is that it will repeat the appropriate process for every new contact or update to contact meaning that it will scale with your firm as it grows. This is a highly leveraged resource that is worth the upfront investment.

We can use the terms workflow, sequence, and drip interchangeably — simply put, they are automated sequences of communications. In an automation, an individual will meet entry criteria to begin their journey through the automation. These automations will send emails and possibly even text messages to the recipient over a period of time. These could last days, weeks, or even months. The purpose is to provide relevant information to the prospect that is useful and addresses their needs. There should also be a purpose in place meaning that a call-to-action or next step is included to guide the individual to your desired goal as a business.

How Law Firms Should Use Email Automations

I have created many automations throughout my career so I understand how difficult it is. You need to consider the entry rules, segmentation, user journeys, content, Key Performance Indicator’s (KPI’s) to monitor, and how to nurture them throughout the process. Recognizing this, the fact that 11% of the webinar attendees were doing this made a lot more sense. That is why I wrote this free eBook, 5 Email Sequences Your Law Firm Can’t Live Without.