What to Include in Your Law Firm E-Newsletter

June 1, 2017
Daniel Decker

An email newsletter is one of the most valuable marketing tools for your law firm. Every lawyer and every law firm should have an email newsletter that goes out monthly, if not even more frequently. We broke down several reasons why this is the case in a previous blog entry.

Today, I’m going to focus on what your newsletter should look like. But first, I want to emphasize a key principle that should guide your newsletter strategy:

Your newsletter isn’t about you – it’s about your readers. 

Your email newsletter should deliver value to your audience. Otherwise they’re not going to read it. It’s that simple. So don’t make your newsletter a vanity exercise and don’t bore readers with information they don’t care about. (No, you probably shouldn’t include a list of your staff birthdays and you shouldn’t include firm news that’s not interesting to anyone outside the firm.)

What should you include? Here are some ideas:

Informational video. If you’ve created a Video FAQ library, your newsletter is a perfect place to feature them. You can’t include the video itself within an email, but you can include a screenshot from the video and then you can link it to the actual video on your website. So when a reader clicks on the image, it will take them to the video on your website. (Note – some people link to the video directly on YouTube, but we highly recommend that you link to the video on your website. After viewers are done watching the video, they’ll often spend some time browsing your site!)

A blog entry or article. You can think of this as the “meat” of your newsletter – the written content. Of course, it should be content that provides value to your readers – practical tips or information they can apply. As a family law attorney, you could include blog content on subjects such as preparing for divorce, protecting your kids through the process, and even recovering/building a new life after divorce. Include as much of the blog entry as you can fit in the newsletter, and then include a “read more” link that takes readers to the full article on your website. If you’re blogging regularly, this is a great strategy to help you leverage that content even further.

Contact information. Your e-newsletter isn’t an overt advertisement – but it will often lead to new inquiries or referrals. To facilitate this, make sure to include your contact information so that it’s easy for readers to get in touch with you.

Practice Areas / List of Services. Your email newsletter is an excellent way to remind your network exactly what you do. This is important for people who may be considering hiring you, but it’s every bit as important that you’re continually educating your referral network. By including a list of your practice areas, you’re reminding readers what you do and helping them recognize good referral opportunities.

A quote, joke, or something light-hearted. Include an inspirational quote or a joke that your audience will appreciate. This is a good way to give your newsletter a soft touch and a piece of easily digestible content. You’ll have some readers that read your newsletter primarily for this section, believe it or not!

A personal introduction. This pulls it all together. We recommend a few sentences at the very top of your email newsletter in which you greet your readers and provide an overview of what they can expect in each edition. This is a time to address any major news or announcements as well – a big victory in court or a new hire. Just be sure, as always, that you’re providing value with the information you share… not simply stroking your own ego.

You can certainly do more with your newsletter than I covered here, but if you include each of these elements you’ll be in great shape. The most important thing is that you make it happen… don’t become so obsessed with creating a “perfect” newsletter that you never actually get it out the door. Your email newsletter can be a great marketing tool… so get started!

If you’d like some help along the way, click here and schedule a Discovery Call to learn how my team can help.

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Daniel Decker

Daniel Decker is a co-founder and Partner at Spotlight Branding. In addition to helping lawyers stand out from the crowd, he spends his time writing, dreaming up new marketing strategies, and coming up with catchy subject lines. In his spare time, Daniel enjoys playing sports, guitar, politics, and Minnesota sports.