13 Key Things to Remember for Effective Law Firm Email Marketing

Email marketing is one of the most powerful ways for law firms to stay connected with clients and prospects. But even the most seasoned legal marketers can make mistakes when crafting emails. Overlooking details like broken links or formatting issues can not only damage your firm’s professional image, but also cost you valuable opportunities. To help ensure your next email marketing campaign is seamless, I’ve put together 13 essential things every law firm should check before hitting send.

1. Check for Broken Links

Broken links in your firm’s email can be detrimental. Not only do they frustrate recipients, but they can also harm your firm’s reputation. Before sending any email, make sure every link—whether it’s a call-to-action button, social media icon, or even a simple hyperlink—works correctly. A quick click-through ensures that clients can easily navigate to the right pages without encountering any errors. This step only takes a minute, but could prevent losing a potential client.

2. Look Out for Forgotten Links

Sometimes, it’s easy to forget to add a link to a key element in your email, such as a “Contact Us” button or a social media icon. This can be a costly oversight, especially if you’re trying to encourage engagement. Always give the email one last review before sending it out, making sure every clickable element leads to a relevant page. Sending a test email is a simple way to spot these gaps and ensure nothing is left out.

3. Verify Social Media Sharing Buttons

Social media sharing buttons are important tools for extending the reach of your content. They allow your clients to share valuable legal insights with their networks, potentially bringing new leads to your firm. However, these buttons must be functioning properly. During a test send, click through every social media sharing link to verify they work correctly. A broken share button could result in missed opportunities to spread your firm’s message.

4. Proofread for Spelling and Grammar Errors

As a law firm, the last thing you want is to be seen as unprofessional due to spelling or grammatical mistakes in your emails. Set aside time to carefully proofread emails and check for typos or awkward phrasing. Having a colleague—preferably familiar with legal terminology—look over the content can reveal any errors that you may have missed. This extra step helps ensure that your emails reflect the attention to detail clients expect from a law firm.

5. Review Image Quality and Alt Text

Images are often key to a visually appealing email, but poor-quality images can have the opposite effect. Ensure that images in the email load correctly and appear crisp, especially on mobile devices. In addition, add alt text to every image for accessibility purposes. If images fail to load, the alt text provides context for readers, ensuring the message still gets across clearly.

6. Inspect Email Formatting

Proper formatting is critical in maintaining a professional appearance for your law firm’s email. A disorganized or cluttered email can distract from your message and turn off potential clients. Always check the layout, ensuring proper spacing, alignment, and readability. Bullet points, in particular, can look different depending on the email client, so double-check that everything looks neat and aligned across devices.

7. Ensure Text and Background Color Contrast

Readability is essential, and the right color contrast makes a big difference in how easily your email content can be consumed. Sticking with dark text on a light background is a good rule to follow, but when using colors, always test the contrast to ensure readability. Take into consideration that some email clients may not display background colors correctly, so ensure the content remains legible, regardless of how the email is viewed.

8. Verify the Sender Name and Subject Line

The first things your recipients see are the sender name and subject line, so it’s crucial to get these right. For law firms, I recommend using the name of an attorney or a specific practice group, rather than a generic “info@” address. Additionally, try to keep the subject lines clear and concise—around 50 characters—so they’re not cut off in mobile email clients. A strong subject line increases open rates and sets a professional tone for the email.

9. Test Dynamic Tags

Personalization can make a big difference in email marketing, but dynamic tags must be tested to ensure they’re working properly. Make sure to double-check that tags like the recipient’s name or firm-specific details pull through correctly. If an email list contains outdated or incomplete data, this could lead to embarrassing mistakes. Testing dynamic tags ensures a more personalized experience for each recipient, which is key to building strong relationships with clients.

10. Fulfill CAN-SPAM Compliance

For law firms, compliance with CAN-SPAM regulations is not optional—it’s essential. Ensure every email contains the firm’s physical address and includes a visible unsubscribe link. This shows recipients that we respect their preferences and privacy. Additionally, avoid using misleading subject lines or content, ensuring that the email’s purpose is transparent and complies with both legal standards and ethical practices.

11. Include a Web-Based Version

Not all email clients handle HTML emails in the same way, and some recipients prefer reading emails in a browser. To accommodate everyone, add a link at the top of each email that lets readers view the message online. HubSpot makes it easy to add this feature, and it helps ensure everyone can access your content, even if their email client doesn’t render it perfectly.

Related: Transform Your Law Firm Marketing Efforts with HubSpot and Breeze AI Webinar

12. Optimize the Plain Text Version

While HTML emails are the standard, many recipients prefer plain text emails, especially in certain industries like law. It’s important that the plain-text version of my email looks just as polished as the HTML version. This includes trimming long URLs and breaking up large blocks of text. A well-formatted plain text email makes the recipient’s experience seamless, no matter which format they choose.

13. Test Accessibility Across Devices, Browsers, and Email Clients

My clients and prospects may be reading emails on a variety of devices, including desktops, tablets, and smartphones. That’s why testing emails across as many platforms and browsers as possible to ensure they look great everywhere is important. Additionally, check different email clients, such as Gmail and Outlook, to ensure the email renders correctly. Once you find a layout that works, save it as a template for future emails, ensuring consistency across all campaigns.

Key Takeaways:

Effective email marketing is crucial for law firms, but it’s easy to make simple mistakes that can undermine your efforts. By using this checklist, you can ensure every email you send is professional, polished, and ready to engage. Whether you’re sending newsletters, client updates, or promotional offers, these 13 simple steps will help your law firm build stronger, more meaningful relationships through email marketing. Don’t hesitate to contact us today to get expert help crafting a successful email marketing strategy for your law firm.