10 Tricks to Turn Your Law Firm’s Email Newsletter into a Lead-Generation Machine

Most law firms put out an email newsletter – and for good reason. They remain an effective tool for marketing to and retaining existing clients. Though there are countless new ways of communicating with people in your database, an email newsletter is a concise method of sharing your latest content and thought leadership. But remember: at least one of the important goals of your newsletter is to drive leads. If you’re struggling to convert your law firm newsletter recipients into real leads, try these 10 tips. 

1. Target a niche

Specialized content is difficult to come by, so when readers discover your niche newsletter, they’ll become an instant fan. Crafting a newsletter that caters to a niche interest can quickly attract warm leads. Even better, with little competing content out there, your law firm’s email newsletter is more likely to retain subscribers. For this reason, a lot of bigger law firms have separate newsletters for their different client personas (target audiences).

2. Provide valuable content in every newsletter

Rather than sending out “fluff content” just to send an email, provide useful, relevant and timely content that will keep your email subscribers engaged. Always prioritize value over all else. Find your audience’s major pain points and create intent-based content around them that you’ll include in your newsletters.

3. Personalize your content

Personalizing your newsletter content is key, and it’s accomplished by thoroughly researching and segmenting your audience. It makes your readers feel recognized and appreciated, which fosters trust and favorability in your law firm — great for generating leads. 

4. Learn to grab attention with subject lines

 The importance of a good subject line can’t be overstated: 35% of email recipients open an email based on the subject line alone. Make sure you’re doing the following when crafting subject lines: 

• Optimizing length for mobile –You can even use a third-party tool like Zurb to see what your subject line and preview text will look like on mobile. Keep in mind that most mobile devices cut off subject lines after 30-35 characters.
• Using emojis – sparingly. They can improve open rates when used appropriately in subject lines. 
• Varying your subject line – Even if your newsletter has a name that you use every time, you can alter the subject line for each send (to better reflect the content inside, for example). Don’t just use the newsletter name for every send. 

5. Choose the best “sender”

You probably don’t open emails from companies or individuals you don’t know – why would your recipients be any different? If your law firm has a well-known brand, you might be able to get away with using the firm name as the sender. Otherwise, experiment with other individuals within the firm to see who makes sense. You should perform tests so that you can base future sends on real results. 

6. Think twice before you incorporate tons of images

Email marketing best practices advise against creating heavily image-based emails. Not all mobile devices display images by default so it’s better to plan for an “images off” experience. Make sure that your email will still make sense even when your images don’t show. Here is a list of other reasons for thinking of images as optional rather than the contrary:

• Some email providers don’t autoload images, so recipients may see a blank screen or broken images
• Images usually take longer to load than text, so the reader may not wait for them
• Low image/text ratio can result in your email getting pushed into the spam folder

However, an image says a thousand words, and not to mention how good gifs are for engaging users. Here are some best practices on are some how to include them into your email correctly:

• Keep image or gif files sizes small (so they won’t load for too long)
• Use images to support the content, so that if they don’t load, users still have an idea of what your email is about
• Make sure that any item pictured in your email is directly linked to its corresponding webpage

7. Create short, scannable, and consumable content

Remember the amount of email most people get these days. On top of that, we tend to have very short attention spans. When you write your law firm’s email newsletter, make sure it is easily skimmable. Dense copy is your enemy. Use plenty of images to break up text and bulleted lists and sub-headings for easier reading. Play with font choices and white space that draw readers to the 2 or 3 most important features of your newsletter. In most cases, your goal is to grab the reader’s attention so that they click onto content hosted on your website or blog – so optimize those previews as much as possible. 

8. Always include strong calls-to-action (CTAs)

 Every newsletter should have at least one clear and compelling CTA that is easy for readers to act on. To incorporate a strong CTA in your law firm’s newsletter, use creative language that will attract your readers’ attention and encourage them to follow through.

The most effective CTAs are short and sweet and they incorporate an element of urgency, excitement or mystery. They are hard to ignore and spur readers into action, helping you to improve your conversions.

Use action oriented text: Draw the reader in and compel them to take action by using text like “Learn More”, “Reserve Your Spot”, “Download for Free”, and so on.

9. Consider timing

The time and day that you send out your law firm’s newsletter can determine whether it’s opened, left unread, or even seen. The frequency, day of the week, and time of day that generate the most opens depend on your audience. Find out best send days/times through split testing (more on that below).

10. Split test your law firm’s newsletter

Different tactics work for different audiences. Use split testing (also known as A/B testing) to discover what works and what doesn’t.

Great places to start testing include:

• Subject lines – Try using emoticons or personalization.
• Design – Play with the images, font, and layout.
• CTA – Alter the appearance, copy, and placement.
• Header – Change the links you use and the text size.

Tip: Test one aspect at a time, for example, the color of your CTA button.

Related: 10 Law Firm Email Newsletter Ideas to Try This Year

Takeaway

Keeping lead generation in mind with your law firm’s email newsletter is essential. It’s the difference between churning out traditional emails that are likely to be ignored, and leveraging email as a tool for thought leadership and brand building. Use these tips to improve your law firm’s email newsletter starting today. 

If you need assistance with your law firm’s newsletter strategy, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We can help you increase the return on investment (ROI) of your email efforts, while streamlining your processes.