How to Keep Readers Engaged with Your Law Firm E-Newsletter

February 3, 2016
Daniel Decker

There are at least 100 BILLION emails sent per day. Some days it can feel like most of those were sent to me – do you know the feeling?

Well, we’re not alone. Just about everyone with an email account is inundated and overwhelmed. So given this email overload… how can you keep your audience engaged with your law firm email newsletter?

(If you want to know why an email newsletter is important for your firm, read this blog entry.)

Most people who receive your email newsletter are also receiving hundreds of other emails per day. They clearly don’t have time to read each of them – let alone take their time absorbing the content.

So here’s how you make sure they’re reading yours. Just three words: Make it valuable. 

If you can make your email blasts sufficiently valuable to your audience, they will prioritize them and they will read them. Here are some practical ways to do this:

1) Accept that it’s about your readers, not about you. Frankly, most of your audience isn’t interested in the internal workings of your firm – unless it impacts them. So the traditional “newsletter” format where you highlight firm birthdays, milestones, and other internal happenings won’t work.

2) Provide practical, actionable, relevant information. Give your readers information they can use. If you own a business law firm, include content like “four steps your business can take to minimize your risk in a lawsuit.” Try to make the information in your newsletter so helpful that your audience would pay to receive it. Don’t be theoretical, don’t be academic – be practical and relevant.

3) Use a variety of media formats. Include pictures, include videos, include short little blurbs in addition to longer content. Studies show that most people (but certainly not all) would prefer to watch a video than read text. So include video tips with the same approach discussed in the previous point.

4) Ask for feedback and adjust accordingly. When you’re with a client or a colleague that you know well, ask them for their thoughts on your newsletter. What do they like, what could you do better? Outside perspective is extremely valuable – you may be surprised at how much this feedback improves your newsletter.

An engaging law firm newsletter is a powerful marketing tool. It helps you maintain top-of-mind awareness with past clients, potential new clients, referral sources, and more. But it can only be effective if it’s being opened and read… so make it valuable.

The following two tabs change content below.

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.