Starting a Law Firm | A New Opportunity for You

UPDATE: Don't want to talk about this anymore here, though I've gotten several responses. For more information, go to lawfirmwebsiteseo.blogspot.com, my site that's more relevant to this.



I was at a DUI conference in Boston a couple of weeks ago and I had an interesting conversation with several people there. As we DUI lawyers are wont to do after we've had a couple of frosty beverages, we started talking about the respective strengths of our practices - how we're doing, where we are struggling, and what others might be doing that is working that we can use when we got back home.



A funny thing happened time and time again when I was having these conversations, everyone was paying a lot of money to try to take advantage of everything the web had to offer - and they weren't seeing great results from it. I would tell them about what I've done, how effective it has been for my practice, and I could just see their eyes light up as they asked me question after question about how to do what I did. And for pennies on the dollar.



One particular person I talked to said he wanted us to meet after the conference to talk about how what I knew could help their firm and their firm's business. I said sure, I'd meet with them, just like I've met with countless other people (and discussed on my blog) to talk about what I do from a search engine perspective. But he said something I hadn't heard before - he said "I want you to help us do this, and I want to make it right for you." That got the wheels turning. And here's why.



Anyone can do what I do to get higher rankings in the search engines. Literally anyone. But, it takes work. It takes grind it out work. It takes monotonous work. I'm just stupid enough and bull headed enough to do it - and over time I've gotten good at it. When I tell most people how to do it (the process will probably take you about an hour a day, every day, forever) they shy away from it, even though the rewards are huge.



So, I've decided to hire out my services to people that are interested in using them. What I will do, for a fee, is employ my strategies on your website to get them ranking at the top of the search engines for your desired keywords. I will do this and continue to do it as long as you see value in it, and I think you'll see value in it the moment we hit the top three results (which, depending on the competitiveness of your keyword could take a couple of weeks or a couple of months).



Since you all are my faithful readers I thought I'd give you the opportunity to sign up first. But here's the catch - I don't want to get overwhelmed with this, so I'm not going to just let everyone sign up. Right now I have no clients - none. Like I said, this literally was discussed three weeks ago with a DUI lawyer colleague of mine. I want to start slow and build over time, so right now I'm only going to take on two clients. That's it. So, after you read what I'm offering, if you're interested let me know quickly.



Here's what I'm going to do. When you sign up for me, whatever keywords you want, you have exclusive rights to those keywords with me. They have to be location specific, because that's all that matters anyway, so once you sign up, you'll get my full attention to your specific location based keywords. You get to pick two, and then as we grow, you can add more on for a nominal fee.



For example, let's say you practice divorce law in Kansas City. Two great keywords for you would be Kansas City divorce lawyer and Kansas City divorce attorney - that's what people type in when they are looking for you. You would have the exclusive rights to those keywords with me as long as you were a client - that means I would never sign anyone up in the Kansas City area for divorce law.



Don't know if anyone is still interested, but if you are, here is how the price structure is set up. I don't want to work for free, but I don't want to get paid for the premium value I'm giving you until you are getting it. So, the way I've set it up is a tiered fee structure. Every week I'll check your keywords and report to you the results. As long as you are not on the first page, the fee is $500 a month. Even if you get on the first page during a month, you don't owe any extra. Once you are on the first page, the price goes up to $1000 a month. That reflects the value you are getting - you should start to get more pageviews and hits on your website from being on the first page. Once you are in the top 3, the price goes up to $3000 a month, and it stays there forever.



I'm not sure if that sounds like a lot of money to you or not. If you are just starting out it may seem like a big commitment. But here's the thing, my guess is if I get you even one new client a month you have already paid your costs for the month (that's at the $3000 a month level). After that, everything is profit. To put it into perspective for you, the guy I talked to was paying at least $7000 a month for his search engine help!



This kind of search engine help probably isn't right for everyone. From my perspective, this service would be most valuable to people that have potential clients looking for their services on the internet - this means, for the most part, consumer based services. The one's I'm thinking of are criminal defense, bankruptcy (consumer), family law, personal injury, estate planning (maybe), employment law (from the employee side), and on and on.



I have no idea if anyone is going to be interested in this. I can tell you I could easily pay the price I've asked for with the business I've brought in using these techniques. I thought some of you might want some help from a reputable source that truly has your success in mind.



Remember, I'm only taking two spots for now, so let me know if you're interested and we'll talk further.

The Image List : A Great Way to Get Your Creativity Juiced

In mid-summer, my writing often takes a dive.  I feel the laziness of summertime and don't really want to work on anything, much less do the hard work it takes to be a dedicated book author.

I set myself a schedule, I set a timer, and still the stuff doesn't come out on the page.  Maybe
the garden is calling (boy, is it ever right now--anyone need some cucumbers?).  Or I've just gotten that cool memoir by Patti Smith (Just Kids--great book!) from the library and the book, my screened porch,  its comfy camp bed, and a glass of iced tea sounds pretty wonderful.

Basically, I'm too hot to write, too cold to write, too tired to write.  So little writing gets done.  This process doesn't make me feel better, surprisingly.  Because I really love to write, and I love my book.   

During doldrums like this, I usually let myself take a break, because I work hard most of the time.  But if that break goes on into guilt about not writing, or if the ache to get back to my book started growing, I have a couple of effective helpers to get my creativity juiced.

A favorite for the sensory-rich days of summer is the image list.

Using an Image List
In my writing notebook, I have a list of images.  These images are connected to my book.  They include objects, weather, vehicles like a certain car or truck, parts of a landscape like a river or a field of rocks, the way light comes into one of the rooms, a taste, a certain sound like bells, or anything that evokes sensation in me when I imagine it.  I add to this list of images whenever I can, so it's always fresh and interesting.

I encourage all my book-writing students to keep such a list, and draw from it for freewrites.  Here's how it works:

Last week, I was finally in front of the chapter I was editing for my next book.  But I was stumped.  So I turned to my image list.  I picked an image that somehow spoke to me, that might be part of the life of one of my characters.  I began freewriting about my own associations with that image.

The image was holly wreaths.  

I have some history with holly wreaths.  When I was a teenager, I was in charge of making huge holiday wreaths each winter from the holly my dad grew in our yard.  Not a fun project--holly has wicked thorns--but I loved the meditative time weaving the strands into a circle of heavy wire, trying to keep the berries intact, and I loved the months the holly wreaths hung on our windows and front door, bright against the snow.  It felt artistic, interesting, and certain different from my normal teenager life.  The making of this strange kind of art soothed me as a kid, and I still enjoy doing it.

One of my characters also has history with holly wreaths (surprise!) because she lives on a flower farm.  So I wasn't too shocked, as I wrote my memories of wreaths, that a clue came from my freewrite for my book.

It solved a dilemma I've been struggling with:  how could I get this character to meet up with a former love who's back in town and causing trouble?  She would avoid this person at all costs.  But, believe it or not, the freewrite on holly wreaths got me thinking about a place, a time, and a situation neither could get out of.

Another flaccid chapter gets unexpected life breathed into it.  Thanks to the image list.

Writing Exercise #1:  Using the Image List to Locate a Character's Primary Image
John Gardner, author of The Art of Fiction, wrote, "We read five words on the first page of a really good novel and we begin to forget that we are reading printed words on a page; we begin to see images."

Ask yourself, what's the primary image that relates to one of your main characters? It may be an object (a favorite pen, jackknife, vase, wooden toy), part of the landscape (a river, cliff, apple orchard, path through the forest, side of a graffitied building), something worn by the person (sunglasses, black leather jacket, tattoo).

Spend 20 minutes writing everything you know about this image.

Writing Exercise #2:  Using the Image List to Develop Sensory Details in Your Book
Another favorite writing teacher, E.L. Doctorow, said, "Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader. Not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon."

Set a kitchen timer for 10 minutes and write about this image from one of the five senses: smell, taste, touch (texture and temperature), sound, sight. Underline your favorite sentence from what you wrote, one that "evokes sensation." Can you add it to a page in your book draft?  Could it rescue one of your chapters?

Book writers (and all writers!) need to be able to hear both the random, illogical side of their creative selves, as well as the structuring, logical part. Images come from this random side, and they are just waiting to be grabbed.  Clues about how to improve our writing come from images, in my experience.  If the dog days of summer are leaving you feeling a bit distant from your creative self, begin making a list of images.  Then pick a time, set a timer, and go to it.

Write everything you can about that image.  It may lead you to a completely new view of your book.


PS  Next week I'll be on vacation.  I'm taking my book along and plan to plant myself with a ton of images (by a lake in the mountains) to inspire me.  Hope you do the same!  The blog posts will resume the following week. 

Chic Habits

Looking after le feet. Our poor feet. They are tromped around on all day, squeezed into shoes that aren't their shape, and generally forgotten about.



I've been doing two of my favourite things lately - using stuff up, and pampering myself. In my possession I have all manner of foot creams, heel balms and minty massage oil designed for the feet. These I have both purchased myself and been given as gifts. I didn't really use them though, and much as I like decluttering, I feel wasteful throwing out products I could use if I wasn't so darn lazy.



So I've rehomed all my foot goodies in the top drawer by my bed, where I also keep lip balms and creams, and body butter and rich moisturisers for the decolletage, hands and elbows. I apply all these things every night.



If I'm tired and it's late I at least do my decolletage and hands, but if I have gone to bed nice and early it's lovely to sit there using different lotions and really beautifying myself. It's a relaxing way to spend five minutes too, perfect for bedtime.



I have added feet to the list now. Some nights I might give my feet a small massage with the oil, others I might rub in the heel balm. Because it's winter here I put on bedsocks afterwards, this way I can use the thickest and most unctuous creams. In summer when it's too hot for bedsocks the lighter moisturisers will do and then I won't have sticky feet in bed.



When I wash my feet in the shower the next day they are very soft, and it inspires me to use my foot file more often than I used to. When I moisturise my legs after a shower I always include the feet too. We ask so much of them and then bemoan their ugliness (I hear it all the time in the shop, always from women). It's about time we gave them a little TLC!

Commit to clichés

‘Run like the wind!’ Olaf shouted. ‘The kind of wind that goes very fast in a certain direction, then changes course abruptly to avoid obstacles, whilst taking care not to let itself be caught by its pursuers!’

Anneke glanced over her shoulder. It literally felt as if her heart was in her throat – a thumping knot of muscle lodged just behind her tonsils, pumping blood around her body from its strange new position through arteries which presumably had been rerouted down her throat in some way. She ran as fast as she could, knowing that what pursued her was her worst nightmare – worse than finding herself back at school with no clothes on; worse than her teeth falling out in the middle of a business meeting; worse than not being able to understand what the man in the golden highchair was saying and then noticing that he has the face of her boss but sometimes it’s the face of her old piano tutor and she somehow knows without knowing how she knows that if she gets too close he will shout at her but the room is getting smaller and smaller and her shoes are too tight. It was worse than any of those things and was made even more terrifying by the knowledge that it wasn’t, in fact, a nightmare, but a real thing in her waking life. It was, however, a figurative nightmare, with all the concomitant emotional impact that description suggests (for which, see above).

Transitioning to the Image Brain: Write a Poem about Your Book

Novelist and short-story writer Stuart Dybek (Coast of Chicago) was interviewed in Novel Voices about unique approaches to writing a book.

A most intriguing idea he presented was this
:  Write a poem about your manuscript.

I was very inspired by this exercise. I don't consider myself a poet, but I wanted to try it.  Maybe it would give me some new insights on my book?

My current novel is in revision stage; it's a struggle and a joy, as all books are, so I grabbed a handful of magnetic poetry words from a bowl in my office.  I spread them out on the table and started arranging the words into three stanzas, each representing one of the Acts of my book-in-progress.

I've been stumbling around Act 3 for weeks, and doing this poem-writing exercise gave my insights into why.  Words came together easily in the stanzas for Acts 1 and 2 of my book, but Act 3 was still full of mystery.  Mostly, my poem shared questions.  What's going to happen in Act 3, to pull all the threads together?  Why does Kate stay, why does Zoe commit, why does Mel come back?

I realized I was telling myself I needed to know these answers, but my book wasn't ready to give them yet.

The poem let us come into some agreement about things unanswered, and we both felt better.  I stopped pushing.  I decided to be content with not knowing answers, because I wasn't ready to implement them.  Yes, I had a plot ending to the story, which seemed to work, but the inner story, the characters' motivations, were still mysterious to me.  Letting the question just be in front of me, as I continue to revise, felt right.

Since then, I've been mulling over the poetry exercise.  I've tried it in my classes, and I've seen it give writers a lot of peace about their books, where they are right now, as well as unexpectedly good ideas about next steps.   

Poetry is image-based, so it clicks the writer into the right brain rather than the more linear left side of the brain.  This exercise takes about 20 minutes, but it can bring breakthroughs.

This past week on Madeline Island, I asked my workshop class to end our five day session with this poetry-making exercise.  I reassured them that they didn't have to be poets to do it, they just needed to be willing to play and explore what they knew about their books.  I passed out small handfuls of magnetic poetry words and let everyone get to it.  Some people are reluctant, of course, because this activity is all about process, not product.  It doesn't seem efficient or logical.  I encourage and cajole, and everyone eventually makes a poem. 

We share the rough poems, and many this year were very moving.  Some of them eloquently described the journey of the past five days of the retreat, where writers learned unexpected new avenues into their books.  Some poems talked about the struggle to find a story, and how it had come to resolution (or not).  Other poems showed a character's journey, and how the writer's own journey mirrored that.

I've expanded the exercise to include the steps below.  Try it this week, just for fun.  It'll sink you back into that wonderful sense of creative play, which is so appropriate for summertime.


This Week's Writing Exercise
 1.  Create one sentence for each of three acts in your book (their peak moments, their external movement, the changes that you're going for).

2.  Create one sentence for each of your main character’s shifts during the story, or your reader's shifts and journey as she reads your material.  These can be internal changes in the character, such as a big realization moment, or an external decision the person makes to do something differently.

3.  Create one sentence for each of three different setting details (with something from the five senses associated with each).  For instance, think about a setting you've chosen for Act 1 and a sentence that describes that setting.

4.  Create one sentence for each of three objects or memories associated with the book.  These can be something a character really loves or remembers.

5.  Find one musical detail in the book (sound or rhythm).

6.  Take all the above musings and write a three-stanza poem about your book, one stanza for each Act. Use one plot point, one character shift, one object or memory in each stanza. Then try to get something rhythmic or musical in each stanza.

Have fun with this!  Don't approach it too seriously; let the book guide you into new insights.

Starting a Law Firm | Spending Money to Make Money

I know I've talked about this before on here (at least I think I have) but there are decision you will be asked to make every day that require you to shell out money. And I'm not talking about paying for phone services or things like that. This money decision I'm talking about typically comes in the form of you paying someone to do something you could do yourself.

Now, if you are asking yourself "why pay someone to do something you could do yourself?" this post is specifically for you.

When you first start your law firm you won't even have to ask yourself this question - you probably won't have any choice in the matter because you won't have the money to spend. You'll have to do it yourself. But once the phone starts ringing and you start actually having to manage your time and resources, you're going to have to start spending some money - if you want to keep making more money that is.

What I'm talking about here is leverage - using what you've got to get even more. Leverage is an extremely powerful and effective tool if used right. And it's easy to learn how to use it right.

Here's a perfect example. When I started my law firm it was just me. I answered the phone, I did the paperwork, I folded the laundry, I mopped the floor, I went to court, I did it all. But eventually I found myself missing calls because I was in court so much. I found myself spending a lot of time doing paperwork and filing paperwork. All of that time I was losing to those activities was hindering me from going out and getting new work. So I hired Kelsey.

For the sake of this post let's say I pay Kelsey $10/hour (I don't, I pay her more than that, but it makes the math easier). Let's say she works 40 hours a week - that's $400 week or $1600 a month. For $1600 a month she has freed me from the responsibility of answering the phone, filing paperwork, following up with clients for documents, filling and mailing newsletters, and many other things. Do you think I can make more than $1600 with my new found 160 hours of free time? You betcha.

Yes, I know that seems like a lot of money, and I know it's a leap of faith to hire someone and let them help you. I mean, what if you hire them and then the phone mysteriously stops ringing, right? That would suck.

But here's the honest truth - it's not going to stop ringing. It's going to ring this month just like it did last month. Actually, that's a lie, it's not going to ring like it did last month - it's going to ring more because you're going to have the time to go after those marketing opportunities that you've just let slip away because you've been so busy drafting notices of appearance. You're going to schedule more meetings because you're not going to miss any more calls.

If you're not ready to spend some money to make some money I get it. I was there. And that's okay. Just know you are limiting your law firm's true earning potential by holding yourself back.

Go get em.

How to stay young

I wish there was a tape recorder going for the conversation I just had with a customer, because I don’t think anyone will believe me when I relay it to them.

A nice, well-dressed lady was buying a pair of shoes, and said she needed them to get around in the weekend and watch the grandchildren play rugby on a Saturday morning.

‘Grandkids!’ I spluttered. ‘You look too youthful to have grandkids, what’s your secret?’ I asked her. After I said it I realised it may be misconstrued as an impolite question (starting very young etc). Luckily she didn't take offence.

‘What cream do you use?’ I quizzed. ‘None really’, she said ‘I don’t use much at all.’ ‘Good genes?’ I asked again. ‘No, that’s not it. My mother has a lot of age spots’.

After a bit she said ‘Sex! Lots of sex. I’m not joking. Have sex. And have it a lot.’

Cue my startled face and then an interesting conversation. I’m no prude but she was very upfront and happy to tell me her secret to defying her age. And ten minutes before I'd never met her.

I told her about an Oprah show I saw a while back about a couple who were overweight, tired out and unhappy. They decided to rev up their life by making a pact to have sex every day for a year. You can imagine how vibrant, trim and healthy this couple looked after the year was up, not to mention happy and smiling, with an enviable energy.

‘It would be hard if you were single though’ I put to her. ‘Oh, my friends think I’m terrible’ she said, ‘but I have a 'friend' who’s ten years younger than me and we've been getting together for a couple of years. I’ve had marriage and I’ve had long term relationships, I just can’t be bothered with those now. I’m happy being single and just getting together with my friend every so often.’

I admit I was a little speechless (and impressed with her candour) at this stage. She recommended sex as the best exercise you can have, and of course it is fun and free.

Just in case you are wondering otherwise, she wasn’t tacky or tarty looking. She just looked like a pleasant, normal woman who might be standing in front of you at the supermarket checkout. Except that you might think she was 45 when she was really 55. I didn’t have the cheek to ask her age, but I was dying to know.

She asked if I always worked Fridays and I said I did, as she wanted to come in again for another pair of shoes and would come when I was there. Maybe I’ll find out then.

But in the meantime...

PS. Feel free to comment anonymously on this post!