Email Marketing for Law Firms: The Ultimate Do’s and Don’ts Checklist

Email marketing is a powerful tool for law firms to attract new clients and stay connected with existing ones.

After all, statistics show that email marketing has around a 3,600% ROI, with higher click-through rates, engagement rates, and conversions.

However, it takes a bit more work than just writing emails, sending them out, and hoping for the best. You need strategy and consistency.

On this note, today, we’re exploring the best practices to avoid common pitfalls and ensure success. This is your comprehensive checklist of the ultimate do’s and don’ts of email marketing for law firms.

Email Marketing for Law Firms At a Glance:

DO: Build a high-quality email list.
DO: Personalize your emails.
DO: Provide valuable and informative content.
DO: Test and measure your campaigns.
DON’T: Buy email lists.
DON’T: Use a generic subject line.
DON’T: Send too many emails.
DON’T: Ignore unsubscribe requests.

Let’s get into the details.

DO: Build a high-quality email list

Your email list is the foundation of your email marketing campaign.

It sounds obvious, but you’ll be amazed by how many businesses focus on building the biggest list possible and trying to get their numbers up rather than actually focusing on building a list of high-quality leads and clients who actually want to do business with you and have the potential to convert.

You might have 5,000 people on your list, but if only two are interested in converting, that 5,000 is a vanity metric and won’t do you any favors.

With this in mind, be aware of how you promote your email list and what messages you’re putting out.

Sure, it’s great for growth if you offer a ton of freebies, downloadable PDFs, and run competitions, but if that audience only wants the freebies and not your service, what’s the point?

This is why you must focus on attracting genuinely interested subscribers to your law firm’s services.

Sure, encourage sign-ups through your website, social media, events, and other channels. You can also offer incentives, such as a free e-book or consultation, to encourage people to join your list, but create this content with your ideal target market in mind, not just everyone.

DO: Personalize your emails

Personalization can significantly improve the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns. Use your subscribers’ names in the subject line and body of your emails. Segment your list based on demographics, interests, or behaviors and tailor your content accordingly.

According to Campaign Monitor, personalizing emails simply by adding a lead’s location increased open rates by 29%. Personalized subject lines can increase open rates by over 50%.

TL : DR: Personalize your emails for better open rates and higher conversions than any other marketing form.

DO: Provide valuable and informative content

It’s easy to fall into the habit of only writing promotional email content that tries to sell your service. However, this will only push people away because people don’t like being sold to all the time.

After all, do you?

Your subscribers signed up to your list because they’re looking for valuable and informative content that addresses their needs and interests.

Therefore, to keep everyone around and engaged in your business, focus on providing content that’s relevant to your subscribers, such as legal advice, news, or educational content.

Use a conversational tone and avoid legal jargon that may confuse or alienate your audience.

According to HubSpot, 78% of consumers unsubscribed from emails because brands were sending too many irrelevant emails.

DO: Test and measure your campaigns

Testing and measuring your email campaigns are crucial for understanding what’s working and what’s not.

Let’s say you’re writing lots of emails, formatting them, sending them out, and basically spending a ton of time and money on your content, but you’re not getting the results you hoped for.

What can you do?

Do you know what’s going wrong? Do you know what’s going right? Do you know what you need to make improvements on?

Not at all. There’s no data to work with.

Instead, by creating two types of the same email, you can see what subject line gets the better open rates, what content resonates better with readers, and which call-to-action buttons get more clicks.

Use A/B testing to test different subject lines, content, and call-to-action buttons. Use analytics tools to track your email open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.

Use this data to refine your campaigns and improve your results over time.

DON’T: Buy email lists

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is shortening your way to a bigger email list and buying a load of addresses. Not only is this ethically wrong because you’re sending unsolicited emails, but it can actually harm your reputation as a legitimate business when people take to the internet and leave reviews they’re receiving emails from you that they didn’t want.

You’re far more likely to end up in the spam folder, and you just won’t get the results you’re after. Remember, it’s better to have 50 engaged leads who are ready to convert than it is to have 10,000 leads who don’t care about what you have to say.

What’s more, purchased lists often contain invalid or outdated email addresses, which can increase your bounce rate and damage your reputation.

DON’T: Use a generic subject line

Sigh. The generic subject line. Never underestimate its importance.

Your subject line is the first thing your subscribers will see in their inboxes, so you must make it compelling and specific to grab their attention and encourage them to open your email.

Avoid using generic subject lines without context or value, such as “Newsletter” or “Update.”

According to Super Office, 33% of email recipients open emails based on the subject line alone.

DON’T: Send too many emails

Sending too many emails can annoy your subscribers and lead them to unsubscribe.

On the other hand, sending too few emails can lead to decreased engagement and brand awareness.

Find the right balance by testing and measuring your campaigns and segmenting your list based on the subscribers’ preferences and behaviors.

As a rule of thumb, 2-3 emails a week seems to be the sweet spot for the best rates. Of course, this means writing up a lot of interesting and valuable content, and this can be tough when you’re trying to run your law firm.

That’s why it’s recommended to outsource your email marketing efforts to a digital marketing campaign that can handle everything on your behalf.

DON’T: Ignore unsubscribe requests

Honoring unsubscribe requests is an ethical, legal requirement under the CAN-SPAM Act.

It might sound counterproductive, and it may dishearten you to let people go, but you have to make it easy for your subscribers to unsubscribe by including a prominent unsubscribe link in every email.

Once a subscriber has opted out, promptly remove them from your email list to avoid potential complaints or legal issues.

At the end of the day, your list and business won’t be suitable for everyone, so don’t worry about it and instead focus on keeping and nurturing those who are interested in what you have to offer.

Summary

In summary, email marketing can be a powerful tool for law firms to attract new clients and stay connected with existing ones. However, following best practices and avoiding common mistakes is essential to ensure success.

Sounds like a lot of work?

Tell us about it. Most law firms won’t have time to run their business and focus on SEO strategies like running an email list, which is why we’re here to help.

Here at Lawsome Digital, our digital marketing agency specializes in helping law firms grow their businesses through targeted and effective digital marketing strategies.