Hi and welcome to the Marketing Law Cast, your go-to podcast for everything digital marketing in estate planning and elder law. I'm Jennifer Goddard, ceo of Integrity Marketing Solutions, and I'm thrilled to have you here today. In this episode, we're focusing on something crucial the pre-work necessary before you start working on your 2024 digital marketing plan. Remember, I have a free live training this week, scheduled at 11am Central Time on Thursday, january 18th, where I'll walk you through creating a robust digital marketing plan. Don't forget to register at imsrockscom. The link is also in the description for this podcast.

Before we dive into today's episode, a special shout-out to our sponsor, QuidproQuo. Are you a law firm looking to scale or sell your practice? Qpq's expert team can help you unlock your firm's full potential. Stay tuned for valuable insights brought to you by QPQ.

Welcome back to the Marketing Law Cast. Today we're focusing on the essential pre-work that can make or break your 2024 marketing strategy and plan. Let's start with the core of your practice, your mission and values. Oftentimes, what I see when I work with lawyers is that the mission statement is an overworked, tired cliche and it was created because the lawyer needed to check it off the list. That's not what I'm talking about here. What I am talking about is purpose, especially for attorneys practicing in these very personal fields of estate planning and elder law. Purpose or mission is the driving force behind your every decision, your every action. Before you start worrying about whether you should post on Facebook, write a blog or buy Google Ads this year, I want you to spend some time getting reconnected with your purpose, with your mission, the real reason you're practicing law in this place at this time and in this practice area. I know it's not just about making money and it's not just about a practice area that keeps you mostly out of court and affords you more time with your family. Sure, those things are important, but they are the fruits of your labor. You could get those benefits in lots of different ways. Now there is a reason you do the work you do. For some, their mission stems from personal experience, perhaps making sure no other family goes through what theirs did when a parent passed away and everyone was unprepared. For others, it might be about a commitment to making sure that seniors aren't impoverished by nursing care costs. Maybe they had a parent or grandparent who suffered needlessly because there wasn't a qualified caring attorney like you there to help them. I know some are on a mission to make sure that every eligible veteran and their spouse gets the benefits they earned, they are entitled to and that they deserve.

I want you to spend some time to think about your why and feel it in your heart. Reflect on some of the clients you've served, families you've protected, maybe even messes that you helped straighten out with a solution that preserved assets and precious relationships. You have more than a job. You have a calling. So ask yourself, what's my mission? What are the values that propel my firm forward? Is it about safeguarding families during their most challenging times, or maybe it's ensuring that every senior citizen gets the care and respect they deserve in their twilight years?

It would be a great idea to carve out some time, an afternoon or even a weekend, to really focus on what drives, inspires and motivates you. Invite your significant other people to join you. Those other people could be your spouse, your law partner, key members of your staff or your marketing mentor. Reconnecting with this sense of purpose is transformative. It can reignite your passion, energize your practice and bring crystal clear focus to your real goals for the year. Whether it's helping more families navigate estate planning, expanding your reach to new markets or helping more seniors with their nursing care needs, aligning your heart with your purpose ensures that your goals are meaningful and impactful.

Now let's talk about those goals, but not just any goals. Your goals. What would success look like for you in 2024? Be thoughtful about this. You need to find your voice here. I can't tell you what your goals should be. It's not up to me or anyone else to say that you should make more money, that you should work fewer hours, that you should open up a second or a third office, or that now is the time to start planning your exit. You need to find your voice and make sure you are setting your goals that motivate, inspire and excite you, and that they are aligned with your mission or your purpose for your law firm.

Clearly, there are different strategies to reach a variety of different goals. For example, if you're in a growth phase, you may have very aggressive revenue goals. That's fine, but ask yourself why you have such aggressive revenue goals. It's important to connect to your why, because achieving those aggressive targets will require from you commitment, investment and some risk tolerance. Paper-click advertising could be a big part of your strategy because it's direct, it's measurable and it's scalable, but it also requires a robust budget, an investment in testing and the commitment to scale campaigns that work and revise the ones that don't hit your key performance indicators or your KPIs.

Unless you're deeply connected to your why, you're likely to bail on the whole strategy the first time you hit a snag. Money gets a little tight, add, traffic slows down, you talk to a few people who are clearly not a good fit and suddenly you're backing out of the whole strategy before it even has a chance to optimize and deliver a healthy return on investment. But when you are committed and passionate, you hang in there. You let the data lead the way, because you believe this is the strategy that helps you help the people you're on this earth to serve. This is the strategy that will get you to your goals, not just the one that might make you more money.

You see the difference. Or consider this. Let's say you want better qualified prospects. You're tired of wasting time with people who just don't need or value your services. You're not here to just crank out a set of documents. You're really here to help people, whether they are business owners or retirees, families with minor children, whomever they are. It's your passion to help them.

In that case, a webinar marketing campaign could be your golden ticket. The educational nature of a webinar helps make sure that the people who book with you are ready to talk not just about price or documents, but about their needs. Webinars help you frame the conversation around what really matters. It's not just about reaching more people, it's about reaching the right people. Webinars help you build trust, establish your authority and connect deeply with your audience's needs. But what if you're facing some very real budget constraints? Until you have more cash, paid advertising may just not make sense for you. In this case, a solid content marketing strategy could be your game changer. Content marketing will boost your search engine performance or SEO, also helping to build trust and showcasing your expertise. This approach might take longer to gain momentum, but the leads you get are likely very well qualified and they will come in at a lower cost per lead compared to paid ads. Remember, your goals should reflect and align with your mission, whether it's expanding services, enhancing client experiences or scaling your impact. Let your mission guide the goal setting process. So you're inspired now and deeply connected to your why. You've set some goals that feel really good to you. They're aligned with your mission and now it's time to select the right marketing strategies.

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Okay, remember we were talking about goals that are strategically aligned with your mission, and now we're ready to think about the marketing strategies and tactics that have the highest percentage chance of helping you achieve those goals. That's where Thursday's webinar class your 2024 Marketing Plan is vital. In this class, I'm going to share with you our growth acceleration roadmap for estate planning and elder law. I'll show you the exact path we have found that works at each stage of practice development, taking into account your mission, your goals and your resources. I'll go over what's working best right now in online marketing, how the entire landscape has shifted with changes in the algorithms, consumer behavior and the explosion of artificial intelligence. We're going to go over every strategy and tactic so you know what's available to you and whether any specific strategy might be the best for you this year. Then I'm going to give you some tools to help you implement. You can register on my website at wwwimsrockscom. The live webinar will start at 11 am Central Time on Thursday, january 18. Be sure to register, even if that time doesn't work for you, because everyone who registers will get a link to watch the replay and download the bonus materials, if you happen to be listening to this podcast. After January 18, head on over to the website and click on the Resources tab, where you can still register to watch and get the bonuses.

There's one more thing I really want you to be honest with yourself about. That's the resources you have or can bring to achieve your goals. You know that nothing worth having ever came cheap right. If you are satisfied where you are now and didn't really set any stretch goals for 2024, then the resources you're using now are probably sufficient. Now, if you want to achieve more, do more, serve more. What do you think it will take? That's right. It will take more.

Having the right resources in place is crucial for achieving your goals. This means evaluating your current staff, your budget, even your office space and technology. Are your resources aligned with your goals? For instance, if you're planning an aggressive ad campaign, do you have the budget and the right team to manage it? Or if you're leaning towards content marketing, do you have the expertise in-house or do you need to partner with a specialized agency like Integrity Marketing Solutions? Sometimes, reaching your goals may require investing in new technologies or hiring additional staff. It's all about creating this balance leveraging your existing resources while being open to new investments that can propel your firm closer to achieving your goals.

There's an old saying that anything is possible for the committed and the resourceful. When you are firmly committed to your goals, you may have to get resourceful to achieve them. Now that we've explored reconnecting with your mission, setting goals and aligning strategies and resources, you're almost ready for Thursday's webinar. This is where we're going to take these concepts and turn them into a concrete, actionable plan for 2024. We're going to discuss how to implement these strategies, measure their effectiveness and adjust as needed. The goal is to create a dynamic marketing plan that not only reflects your firm's unique identity and mission, but also sets you up for tangible success in the coming year.

I can't wait to see you all at our webinar on January 18th. This is your opportunity to take the insights from today's podcast and apply them directly to your firm's unique context. Register now at imsrockscom and get your spot Together. We'll turn your goals into achievements and your mission into a living, thriving practice. Be sure to register even if that time doesn't work for you, because everyone who registers will get a link to the replay and to the download for bonus materials. Like I said before, if you happen to be listening to this podcast after the webinar after January 18th. Go to the website at imsrockscom and click on the Resources tab. You'll find the live class recording there. Click on that and you'll be able to get registered and receive those bonus materials in the replay link. Thank you for joining me on the Marketing LawCast today. Remember, your mission is the heartbeat of your practice. Keep it at the forefront and let it guide you to success. See you at the webinar and until then, keep striving for excellence in all that you do.

That's a wrap for today's episode, and a big thank you to our sponsor, QuidProQuo. Qpq is your partner in law firm success, offering expert guidance on scaling, selling and optimizing your practice. With a team of experienced professionals, they bring real-world insights to the table. Are you ready to take your law practice to new heights? Visit their website at wwwquidproquolawcom to learn more and start your journey toward a thriving and sellable law firm.