5 Ways to Generate More Leads for Lawyers [A Guide]

Want to get more clients as a lawyer?

Then you need to first figure out how to get more leads.

Today we are going to discuss five lead generation strategies that can help you do exactly that.

Ready to take your law practice to the next level?

Continue reading…

Let’s Talk About Your Lead Magnet First

Okay, so before we get into the ways to generate more leads, we need to talk about the foundation of not only your lead generation strategy but also of your entire sales funnel:

Your lead magnet.

What is a Lead?

Let’s start by defining the key term of this article:

A lead is a potential customer who has given you their contact details (typically either their name and email address or just their email address).

Note that someone who simply expressed interest in your services by, say, visiting your law practice website, is not a lead unless they have also provided their contact details.

What is Lead Generation?

Lead generation is the process of converting potential clients into leads by persuading them to give you their contact information.

In theory, this can be achieved by simply asking people to subscribe to your email list, but in practice, you will have much more success if you offer them a lead magnet in exchange for their email addresses.

Also, note that the purpose of lead generation isn’t to collect a bunch of email addresses, it’s to get the contact information of potential clients so that you could then convert them into new clients.

Remember to keep this in mind as we discuss lead generation strategies because it’s easy to fall into the trap of optimizing for the number of email subscribers when in fact that’s a vanity metric. What you want to optimize for is the number of new clients.

What is a Lead Magnet?

A lead magnet is a freebie that you offer to potential clients in exchange for their email addresses.

It can be anything that they can either access online or download to their device:

• A report
• A cheat sheet
• An ebook
• A masterclass
• An email course
• A video course
• A webinar
• An app

…etc.

How to Create an Effective Lead Magnet?

What matters is that:

1. Your lead magnet offers a solution to a problem that potential clients are struggling with
2. That problem is the same one or related to the problems that you address in your law practice
3. The lead magnet is super valuable and exceeds expectations

So think about what issues come up again and again when dealing with clients:

• Are there any laws that could benefit potential clients that they might be unaware of?
• Are there any common mistakes that people make that then cause unnecessary problems?
• What are the most frequently asked questions that you encounter as a lawyer?

…etc.

Pick the issue that comes up most often and provide a free solution to it in a format that makes the most sense. That’s going to be your lead magnet.

Also, if you want your lead magnet to be as effective as possible, you need to understand this:

People will not give you their email addresses unless you offer them something SUPER VALUABLE in return.

It’s impossible to overstate the importance of this because as we have already mentioned your lead magnet is the foundation of your entire sales funnel.

So really go above and beyond. Create something that is so valuable that people would happily pay for it should you ever choose to sell it. Then give it away for free.

Create a Landing Page for Your Lead Magnet

Just because your lead magnet is free doesn’t mean that you don’t have to “sell it” aka persuade people to download it.

That’s what your lead magnet landing page is for. You can think of it as a “sales” page for your freebie.

Never built a landing page before?

You can start with a simple squeeze page that has these three key elements:

1. A headline that emphasizes the #1 benefit of your lead magnet – How will it make the potential client’s life better? Focus on that.
2. An opt-in form that asks for the potential client’s contact information – It’s best to limit it to name and email address. You can always ask for more information after they have subscribed to your email list.
3. A call-to-action (CTA) button that encourages the potential client to get the lead magnet – Use benefit-driven copy such as “Get Your Free Ebook Now” instead of generic copy like “Download” or “Subscribe”. Make sure that the CTA button stands out in the overall color scheme of the page.

You can also add social proof in the form of client testimonials, relevant accomplishments, relevant credentials, etc.

Lead Gen Strategy #1: Run Facebook Ads to Your Lead Magnet Landing Page

We believe that paid advertising is the most straightforward way to start generating more leads. Why?

Because it’s quick, targeted, and measurable.

And we recommend you start with Facebook ads.

Analyze what traits your existing clients have in common, then use that information to target people who might benefit from your services.

But don’t promote those services with your ads, promote your lead magnet instead.

Your aim should be to get people to click through to your lead magnet landing page and download your lead magnet. Once you have their email addresses, then you can offer them your legal services.

Just be careful with your ad spend because when you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s easy to burn through your entire marketing budget without having anything to show for it.

So start with a small daily budget first, then, once you figure out how to generate leads profitably, begin gradually increasing it.

Lead Gen Strategy #2: Run LinkedIn Ads to Your Lead Magnet Landing Page

Another great platform to promote your legal services on is LinkedIn.

Obviously, this depends on the area of law that you are specializing in, but if you are in business law, then your potential clients are probably hanging out there.

The same principles that we have just discussed in the previous section apply to LinkedIn ads:

Target people based on existing client data, promote your lead magnet, start small then scale once the campaign is profitable.

However, to increase the effectiveness of this approach on LinkedIn, you want to also make sure that your LinkedIn profile is on point.

So make sure that you have a professional photo, list relevant accomplishments in your “Experience” section, get endorsements, etc.

Also, remember that LinkedIn is a professional social network, not a personal one, so keep your personal drama, controversial opinions, politics, etc. out of it.

This might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how often people blur the lines between their personal and professional lives on social media, then wonder why no one takes them seriously.

Lead Gen Strategy #3: Build a YouTube Channel, Drive Traffic to Your Lead Magnet Landing Page

You can also generate leads by tapping into YouTube’s vast user base (2.2+ billion users!).

Here’s how you can do that:

1. Identify a popular keyword that your potential clients are searching for by putting a generic search term into YouTube’s search box (e.g. “non-disclosure agreement”), then looking at search suggestions. These suggestions are the keywords that you should be targeting.

2. Watch the top five videos that are already ranking for a given keyword, then figure out how to make your video that targets the same keyword better than all of them.
3. Create a video that comprehensively covers the topic and make sure to promote your lead magnet at the end of it.

…then rinse and repeat.

Keep at it and you will build a YouTube channel that you can then use to drive traffic to your lead magnet landing page.

For example:

Brett Cenkus is the founding partner of Cenkus Law, PC a business law firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, and contracts.

His YouTube channel has 16.5k subscribers at the time of writing.

Here’s his most popular video that has 171k views:

The approach Brett has taken is focusing on educational content related to his area of expertise.

Another way to go about it is focusing on entertainment content by making “a lawyer reacts to” type of videos about current events, the latest celebrity dramas, etc.

We recommend the former approach because of the better signal-to-noise ratio: you will not only attract higher quality leads but also fewer time-wasters, weirdos, and crazy people.

And sure, your channel growth will be slower, but the point is generating leads, not becoming a YouTube star, right?

Lead Gen Strategy #4: Attend Industry Events, Build a Professional Network

You have probably heard the saying:

Your network is your net worth.

It sounds cheesy, but in the long run, it’s true. Building a solid professional network is one of the best investments you can make. Why?

Because people:

• Want to hire those they trust – When someone is looking for a lawyer, they will first consider the lawyers that they know personally.
• Want to work with those they trust – When someone needs a lawyer for a project, say, to provide expert commentary on a podcast or a TV show, they will first consider the lawyers that they know personally.
• Want to recommend those they trust to others – When someone’s friend or family member needs a lawyer, they will be inclined to recommend a lawyer that they know personally. 

So your professional network can help you generate leads both directly through people in your network hiring you and sending you referrals and indirectly through various business opportunities that lead to more publicity.

The best way to build those connections is by attending industry events where you can interact with your peers and/or potential clients in person.

Say, if you specialize in business law as it relates to startups, you might want to attend startup meetups, conferences, etc.

What’s important is that you focus on providing value instead of trying to extract value.

Listen to people, give free advice, help out where you can. This will help you to not only expand your network but also build goodwill.

Keep in mind that networking is a long game. You won’t see the results in the first week, first month, or even the first year. But if you continue building those connections and investing in your personal network, sooner or later it will start paying off. 

Lead Gen Strategy #5: Ask Happy Clients for Referrals, Incentivize Word-of-Mouth

Word-of-mouth is arguably the most powerful form of marketing but it’s also one that you can’t control directly.

However, you can increase the likelihood of your existing clients recommending you to their families and friends by incentivizing that.

For example, you can offer a referral discount, where a new client that was referred to you by an existing client pays less than a “regular” new client would.

That way, when an existing client’s friend needs a lawyer, recommending you is a no-brainer. Why go to someone else when you are not only trustworthy but also offer a better price?

Also, if you want referrals, you need to ask for them. Simply tell happy clients that if they know someone who needs legal help, you’d appreciate it if they’d give them your business card. Then give the happy client a few business cards. Simple.

Just like networking, word-of-mouth is a long game, but once it gains momentum, it can become a major lead generation channel.

Want to Learn How to Convert Those Leads Into Customers?

Follow the advice in this article and you’ll soon be getting more leads than ever.

But generating leads is not enough. You need to convert them into paying customers and then into repeat customers. And that’s what sales funnels are all about.

Our 5 Day Challenge will show you exactly how to implement them in your business.

You will learn how to:

• Generate unlimited leads
• Create your first lead magnet
• Build your first sales funnel
• Create a simple 6-email follow-up sequence
• And launch your funnel!

…in just five days.

So don’t hesitate.

Join our 5 Day Challenge today. It’s completely free!