client alertsAccording to a survey by Corporate Counsel Magazine, client alerts are one of the most valuable forms of law firm related content. In this competitive environment, law firms must realize that clients are paying for value and not just for hours of work. In order to remain top of mind, constant reminders in the form of educational alerts are essential.

Client alerts are tools which can demonstrate your firm’s knowledge of key topics while simultaneously generating leads for your firm. In contrast to dense white papers or reports, client alerts are easily readable and can be sent on a frequent basis.

If you missed our recent webinar on the topic, the following is a list of best practices for client alerts to make sure your firm is maximizing the benefits of this marketing tool:

Keep it short and clear. You aren’t trying to write the next great American novel. It’s crucial to know that the people reading your alerts will be doing so on a subway or at the doctor’s office. If it is too long, it will be unappealing. Think 1,000-2,000 words at most. Also, stay away from legal jargon, you’re trying to relate to businesses or consumers, and therefore you want to speak their language.

Identify and segment your audience. Energy companies don’t want to receive health industry updates. European companies don’t necessarily care about local New York news. This is why it’s important to both identify and segment your audience before creating and sending out client alerts.

When you understand the types of people you’re writing for by creating buyer personas or client profiles, you will know the types of content they would like to receive. Once you establish these personas, segment your email lists and create practice or industry related client alerts to be sent out to each. This improves overall engagement and prevents your clients from being bombarded with irrelevant updates.

Engage your audience. So you’re sending the right alerts to the right audience, but how do you encourage readers to click through and not just skim the email? Visual elements always increase engagement so catch your reader’s’ attention with images and videos to push them to stay focused on the alert. Including links to relevant pages or longer articles on your law firm’s site is also a great idea for driving traffic and pushing prospects and clients to the next step in the buyer’s journey.

Use alerts to differentiate your firm. If all firms are sending out client alerts, how can you make your emails stand out? Try attacking the topic from a different angle or write about the non-obvious. Apply the topic to your firm’s strengths or specializations.

Measure the success and improve if necessary. There is no optimal open rate or click-through rate, but you can always try to improve upon your own metrics by changing subject lines, the content itself, or reevaluating your list segmentation. In order to get even more use out of your client alerts you can promote them on social media in addition to through email marketing.

Consider GDPR. Whether you’re a domestic or global law firm, GDPR has a major impact on email marketing. While initially it may seem like an obstacle to marketers, it can also create a great opportunity to reassess marketing tactics. GDPR means that individuals must give your firm explicit consent to email them different types of content. By segmenting your lists well and understanding what your audience will find valuable, you can avoid spamming prospects and clients and ensure that the client alerts you’re sending is the content they actually want to receive.



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