“Let’s write a book,” said Dick to partners Sally and Jane sitting across from him at the oblong walnut conference table of SDJ Law, LLC.
Both women lifted their heads and stared at him.
“Yes, a book,” he said, “a book for our corporate clients. A book will establish us as experts in our field, encourage the right clients to call and provide helpful information to our clients and colleagues.”
Dick is right. A book, written by you for the benefit of your clients and colleagues, is an innovative marketing tool. Your book can be given to attendees at your next seminar, displayed in your lobby and featured on your website. It is concrete item that prospective clients take home and refer to when they have a need. And, it puts your name and contact information in their hands.
6 Easy steps to put a book together.
 |
| Write a Book for Clients |
First, consider that a book of this type doesn’t have to be a 300-page tome. It can be about 40 to 75 pages or 10,000 to 20,000 words. If your firm has been writing weekly blog posts on your practice for several months, you have a good start on content for a book. Twenty weeks of roughly 500 word posts gives you 10,000 words or enough for a 40-page book.
Second, know your ideal clients and what they need. Most blogs are far to wide-reaching. They try to do too much in too little space. To be effective, you need to narrow the topic down to one small part that is the greatest concern to your clients.
For example, SDJ’s practice handles a wide range of legal matters affecting corporate clients such as contracts, copyright and trademark, annual reports, corporate meetings, employee relations, mergers and acquisitions, etc. They need to narrow the focus of the book to one topic; one that they care about as that will improve the writing. They select contracts as their topic.
Third, now that there is a topic, create a working title and theme for the book. If the topic is annual reports, a title—Understanding the parts of a contract—might work as a start. The theme is: Helping clients understand some basic contract principles.
Fourth, outline your book. You can probably use some of your blog posts from the past and create new ones in the coming months. For our example, SDJ could focus on the various types of contracts clients may have to review.
Fifth, compile your chosen blog posts into one document, add a cover, an introduction, a table of contents and a conclusion and you’re done. Using Amazon Kindle for an e-book or their Create Space for a Print on Demand book takes time to set up, but is free. Other services are available to take over the whole formatting and printing process for a cost.
Sixth, once the book is available, put some in your lobby, link to it on your website and social media and post it under publications on your SBM Member Directory
You now have a book that is helpful to prospective clients and your colleagues and can establish you as a thought leader in your area of practice.
Definition of hashtag: word or phrase preceded by the symbol # that classifies or categorizes the accompanying text, such as a tweet. (Merriam Webster Dictionary)
For most of us, the # icon is a symbol of measurement. It stands for a pound as on 1#. But, for many, it is type of label used in social media to make it easier for users to find messages with specific content. The hash (#) character is placed in front of a word or phrase (tag) used for description and placed either in the main text or at the end of the message.
Historically, the pound sign was first used in information technolo
 |
| how to use #hashtags |
gy to identify a special meaning. Over time, some suggested using it on microblogging sites such as Twitter and it took off in 2007 after it was used in tweets relating to the San Diego forest fires. Internationally, it became a writing style for Tweets during the 2009-10 Iranian election posts. Now #hashtag is also used on Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest and many more.
Hashtags are not registered or controlled by any one user or groups of users. They live in perpetuity and don’t contain any set definitions, which means that any hashtag can be used for any purpose and by anyone. It is also important to think about which hashtags to include with your post since they can have a huge influence on who finds or fails to find what you are writing about. Going to the wrong audience can cause great content to be lost in Internet land.
Keep your hashtags short. Limiting them to one or two words is best. #thisisaverylonghashtag is too hard to read.
Hashtags on Twitter
Because of their expanded use, hashtags have become valuable. Adding a hashtag in your Twitter post will make your content noticeable by anyone with an interest in your topic or word. For example, #unbundling. If it is mentioned and hashtagged in your Tweet, anyone searching for that word in Google or in Twitter could find you regardless of whether they are a follower or not.
Hashtags can appear anywhere in your Tweet—beginning, middle or end. Tweets with hashtags get more retweets and favorites than those without. Keep it simple, however, don’t use more than two hashtags per post. In other words, don't #spam #with #hashtags and only use hashtags that are relevant to the topic.
Clicking on the hashtagged word in your Tweet shows you all the other Tweets marked with that keyword. Twitter reports that hashtagged words that become popular are often included in trending topics.
Hashtags on Instagram and Pinterest
For those who like to post and tag photos, Instagram and Pinterest are the places to be. Unlike Twitter, use as many hashtags to categorize your photos as you want since using them will increase your followers.
Hashtags on Facebook
Hashtags are not as popular on Facebook. When you add a hashtag to your post, the people you’ve shared your post with can also see it in that hashtag's feed. For example, if you share a post with a hashtag with Friends, they can see your post in that hashtag’s feed. Remember, if you use a hashtag in a post you share to Public, and allow people to follow you, your post will appear on your public profile and in that hashtag's feed.
Hashtags on Google+
Google+ is not Twitter so it’s important to remember that a Twitter approach will not net the same results. Google recommends that you pair your hashtags with images since photo sharing is the most popular activity on Google and limit yourself to 2-3 hashtags per post.
Hashtags are an organizing tool. Using them well on your social media sites can identify your content, bring more readers to your posts and expand your network of possible clients.
