I am thrilled to be presenting at the upcoming InPractice conference in Hartford, Connecticut on May 3rd. My session is entitled ‘DIY MARKETING: ESSENTIAL TOOLS AND GADGETS TO HELP YOU SUCCEED.’  There are so many things that solo practitioners and small law firms may do to market their practices.  My colleague, Kirsten Lovett, and I want to cover it all, but are forced to make some tough choices and prioritize the topics.  Sound familiar?

There are so many worthy marketing initiatives to choose from to build visibility, support brand awareness and bring in new business.  Everyone has limited time and resources. So… how do you choose what to focus on?  Here is one approach.

Identify your strengths.  For example,

• Are you technologically savvy?  If so, consider choosing websites, video, blogs and social media posts.
• Are you a strong writer?  If so, consider writing a regular blog or publishing articles to set yourself apart as a thought leader on a given topic.
• Are you comfortable in networking or presentation settings?  If so, attend local events or locate some presentation opportunities to gain some visibility.

After you have identified your strong skills, consider these types of things:

• What are the available resources, both financially and in terms of availability.
• Identify target audiences.
• Identify a specific message about your services for each audience.
• What are the available marketing tools that you can immediately use.  If there aren’t any, what vendors or consultants can help you get those tools.

With both of these steps in place, select one activity to focus on first.  Pick something specific and book the time you need to prepare and complete the activity.  Finally, track your results.  Both tangible and anecdotal– how did you feel about it before the activity, how did you feel following the activity, what positive results occurred, did anything negative occur, etc… If you deem the results from your initiative worthwhile, repeat the procedure again.  Each time you repeat the action, perform the analysis to study the results.

Ultimately, it is important to build a marketing plan based on strategy.  Reality is that sometimes you need to just get started by jumping in.  Be careful… you do not want to perform ‘random acts of marketing’.  Carefully select initiatives that fit into an overall program for building awareness, supporting your brand and confirming your skills within the marketplace.