My Shingle

New Marketing Ideas

Social Media v. Referrals: No long an either/or proposition

October 8, 2012 by Carolyn Elefant

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’re familiar with the perennial debate  over whether social media or personal referrals are the best way to grow a business.  Those who hail from the referral-based school of marketing contend that social media is a waste of time, attracting tire-kickers and dud clients.  Meanwhile, those who [...]

Read more MyShingle Solo 5 comments

A Departing Solo’s Post-Mortem on the Practice That Didn’t Cross the Finish Line (Part I)

August 21, 2012 by Carolyn Elefant

Editor’s Note: Sometimes solo practice doesn’t work out.  Recently, a member of one of my listserves shared one of the best and most objective post-mortem analyses of a solo practice that didn’t quite make it to the finish line.  Despite increasing momentum towards the end of the second year, the author (who has a family [...]

Read more Business Plans 12 comments

Companion Post to the Solo Practice That Didn’t Finish (Part II): The Marketing Plan That Started to Work

August 21, 2012 by Carolyn Elefant

Editor’s Note:  In the previous post, the solo lawyer who is transitioning out of his practice mentioned that his online marketing efforts were starting to bear fruit.  In this post, there’s a description of the activities that started the turn-around.  Don’t get the wrong idea – online marketing isn’t a silver bullet since if you [...]

Read more Business Plans 1 comment

From Quote to Contract: Online Proposal Generators

July 11, 2012 by Carolyn Elefant

So, I’ve been thinking and teaching  about the 21st Century Retainer Agreement (for those who attended the last event, the ebook is coming soon; for those who missed it, we’re scheduling another webinar in August), specifically ways to streamline the drafting process.  Flat fee or one-off retainer agreements aren’t all that tough (my upcoming ebook [...]

Read more Client Relations 3 comments

Thank You Thursdays: You Never Know Whose Life You May Have Changed

July 5, 2012 by Carolyn Elefant

This  New York Times article about how a 13-year old’s interview with an Olympic hopeful motivated him to snag one of the last berths on the 1976 U.S. Olympic swim team is a reminder of the role of serendipity in our journey in life or law and the power of a genuine thank-you. Back in [...]

Read more MyShingle Solo 0 comments

Advance Your Practice With FastCase’s FREE Advance Sheets

June 20, 2012 by Carolyn Elefant

With a torrent of information streaming through our email, social media channels and RSS feeds daily, most of us have become regimented in filtering.  We eyeball headlines, prioritize links from designated Twitter followers, strain articles without a particular tag or search term and use the delete key without mercy.  While our compulsive filtering immunizes us [...]

Read more Legal Research Options 1 comment

Photos Make the Website So Rock Them; Don’t “Stock” Them

June 14, 2012 by Carolyn Elefant

No, you’re not experiencing a bout of deja vu.  You’ve seen these photos or some similar iteration before.  The clay figures. The guy or gal sketching business charts on the glass board.  The inspirational road signs.  Fish jumping from one bowl to another.  Perhaps you stumbled across them online while browsing Google Images or in [...]

Read more New Marketing Ideas 6 comments

Lawyers Aren’t Just Subject to Ethical Advertising Rules, But Platform Terms of Service

June 8, 2012 by Carolyn Elefant

Sit in on any CLE on social media these days, and you’ll be privy to the laundry list of ethics issues that crop up when lawyers use social media.  But even though lawyers answer to a higher calling, we’re not immune from the rules that govern the masses online.  And increasingly, these days, the applicable [...]

Read more Mistakes/What NOT To Do 1 comment

Preliminary Results In: Facebook Ads Don’t Seem to Work

June 8, 2012 by Carolyn Elefant

Sometimes, a gut check works just as well as, or better than a guru.  More than two years ago, when Nolo  was a book publisher rather than a content source for  an marketing content provider, I blogged about whether lawyers should use Facebook to market a practice.  Ultimately, while I suggested that lawyers might play [...]

Read more New Marketing Ideas 4 comments

The $100 Start Up Is A Great Read For Lawyer StartUps

May 31, 2012 by Carolyn Elefant

Cruising the airport magazine stand while airing for the departure of my  flight to London last week, the cover of the Chris Guillebeau’s  new book, $100 Start-Up  caught my eye.  My ipad was already loaded with reading material, including Eric Ries’ Lean Start Up  which I’d put off reading for months, so I wasn’t in [...]

Read more Book Review 1 comment

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →