True story. One of my clients emailed a quarterly newsletter - the goal was monthly, but he thought emails are a waste of time, no one ever opens email newsletters. He certainly doesn’t. So we sent the newsletter out at the start of every new season. The open rates were in the 20% range, the click rate about 5%. Not good, but not embarrassingly low.

The biggest client he ever signed was from his newsletter: and that recipient had never once opened the newsletter, she just saw it in her inbox and then deleted it. But she saw it.

And when she needed to hire, she had recently seen the newsletter in her inbox, and so my client’s name was front of mind. So while opens and click rate matter, just seeing your name in their inbox on a regular basis is REALLY important.

This true case provides several good lessons. In addition to the need to actually send a newsletter, it’s important that the newsletter is from someone the recipient knows. Not from info@. Not from The Firm. From a real, live person that the recipient can make a connection with. Here are some newsletter best practices for law firms that can help grow your business.

7 Law Firm Newsletter Best Practices

1. Send A Newsletter
If the above true story doesn’t convince you, think about this:

90% of email gets delivered to the intended recipient’s inbox,
     whereas only 2% of your Facebook fans see your posts in their News Feed.

                                                                                    – Forrester Research

Email newsletter marketing is an inexpensive and effective way to keep in touch with your clients, colleagues and prospects. If you can’t think of what you’d put in your newsletter, consider:

• Recent blog posts

• Firm news such as new hires, awards, important case wins or new clients

• Upcoming events such as podcasts, webinars, speaking engagements or guest authoring articles

• Charity, sponsorships or pro bono work

• Behind the scenes look at your office

• Client testimonials

• Upcoming deadlines or expiring laws

2. Make Sure Your Design is Responsive and Mobile-Friendly

75% of recipients will delete an email if it's hard to read on a mobile

Mobile-friendly emails are a MUST. Over 50% of emails are opened on mobile, and that number keeps climbing. Most email service providers provide a mobile-friendly option and let you preview both your mobile and desktop versions before you send.

3. Personalized Subject Lines Increase Open Rates

Are you more likely to read an email that uses your name?

The recipient’s name in the email subject line increased open rates by 42%

4. Get Permission

Inviting your audience to subscribe and opt-in to your mailing list gets better open and click results than spamming people with unwanted emails. Ask subscribers to confirm their subscription so you're whitelisted and your email gets in their inbox.

SPAM may be illegal. In many places SPAM is not only unsolicited, it's illegal with serious fines. Many countries have serious spam penalties, so know who is on your mailing list. #CanSPAM #GDPR #CASL

Make sure your email has an UNSUBSCRIBE option in the footer or somewhere findable.

5. Write A Custom Subject Line and Preview Text

Your email’s subject line displays in their inbox - and can improve your open rate! Tell your recipient why they should open your email.

• Numbers in your subject line get noticed. People respond to facts and data, and numbers give your subject authority.

• Subject lines have a maximum character length - typically 60-125 characters. Emojis save space and attract attention. Know your audience: a picture tells 1000 words and an emoji in your subject line attracts notice and saves space. But if your clients or prospects don’t like emojis, then don’t use them.

• Treat your subject line like a Call To Action. Use action verbs to entice readers to click.

• Create a sense of urgency. "New Ruling" and other subject line announcements that create a sense of urgency and exclusivity can have a 22% higher open rate.

• Subject lines should be short. There is no statistical link between subject line length and open rate. But for subscribers reading on mobile devices, shorter may be better. 9 or fewer words is the sweet spot.

Preview text also displays in most email service inboxes. If you don’t create custom preview text, most email tools will automatically pull random text from the body of your email. - and you don’t want that

6. Personalized Sender

It’s not enough that your name is in the body of the newsletter - make sure your name is in the newsletter Sender field as part of your strategy to build a relationship with your prospects, and stay top of mind!

7. Add Your Photo

People do business with people. In addition to including your name and contact information in your newsletter (and I’m hoping that’s a given - if not, consider that a bonus Newsletter Best Practice) add your photo in your message near the opening or by your signature.

Final Thoughts

If your law firm doesn’t have a newsletter, you need to start one. If your firm does have a newsletter, make sure it follows these best practices so that it gets results - and the results help build your business and your profits.

If you need help with your law firm’s newsletter, let us know: we can help! SEO My Law Firm provides newsletter writing and marketing services and other content solutions for law firms.