You made it through the first month of generating revenue. After four weeks of working at the business side of the law, you are, no doubt, becoming accustomed to the things that need to be done in order to network and create business. As we begin month two, you should begin to feel a little more confident in your skills. You’ve already done so much to generate revenue. Even if your work hasn’t resulted in new business (and most of you will fall into that category), business will eventually come. Stick with this program, and your value at the firm will surely increase!
Monday: Now that you’ve got a few blogs under your belt, it’s time to start your own blog. Don’t worry. You’re going to start very slowly and build from there. (We know that you have a very limited amount of time.) Go to WordPress and sign up for a free blog. It’s a very simple process that will take less than 10 minutes. (Tip – When you’re asked if you want the blog to show up on the search engines, make sure you check the “yes” box.) Make sure your blog has a title that matches the content you’ll be writing. For instance, if you’re a real estate attorney, try to get a blog name like RealEsateLaw.wordpress.com. After you’ve set up your blog, take some time to write out a few ideas for posts. Make sure you write down at least 10 ideas.
Tuesday: Have you gone to a networking or social event in the last week? If not, go online and find something to attend this week. Understand that these events don’t have to be law-related and they don’t have to be at night. If you’re a morning person, sign up for a networking breakfast. There are also groups that meet during lunch or at happy hour right after work. This way, you can still get home and spend time with your family. If you are interested in setting up regular networking events, try looking at Provisors or another networking group that may meet near your home or near work. These groups can be amazing ways to bring business!
Wednesday: Create a newsletter to send to all of your contacts – friends, family, business contacts (even the out-of-state ones). The idea behind the newsletter is to let people know that you’re looking for business and that you’re an expert on your area of the law. Writing a newsletter is another one of those tasks that sounds much more difficult and time-consuming than it actually is. First off, go to one of the newsletter service providers. There are many providers, including Constant Contact, Send Blaster and others. You may want to spend a little time researching which one you like best. (Time-saving tip: Most newsletter services are fairly similar.) Next, pick a template provided by the service and write your newsletter. Be sure to provide some helpful information about your area of the law; let recipients know that you’re looking for cases; and include all of your contact information. You may also want to include a “brag” section where you’ll talk about the blog posts that were published.
Thursday: Now it’s time to write your first blog post. Don’t worry – this isn’t brain surgery. Just pick a topic within your area of the law that you know well. Keep the post under 700 words or so (more than that can get tedious to read for the casual reader). You can include picture or videos that complement the story, if you wish. (Videos and pictures typically add interest to a post, and will usually result in more readers.) Congratulations – you’re a blogger!
Friday: Start a spreadsheet of your business tasks. Now that you’re on your fifth week of generating revenue, you’re probably losing track of everything you’ve done. Start a spreadsheet to keep track of your daily tasks. Did you write a blog post? Enter the date, the link to the post and the topic of the post. Did you attend a networking event and meet someone who may be interested in doing business? Enter the date of the event, the person’s name and your follow-up tasks. It really doesn’t matter how you organize the spreadsheet, as long as it makes sense to you. This sheet will definitely help you track all of your activities and will help to keep things on track and you move forward and start bringing business!
Congratulations on another week of work! Don’t worry if you haven’t seen direct results from your efforts. Understand that it may take months to develop a relationship that results in new business. However, this will happen with time. Keep up the good work. If you have questions or concerns about your progress, contact us. Building attorney careers is what we do best!