The Lawyers' Video Studio » advertising

A Shocking Website Error

Gerry Oginski — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:00:58 +0000

Many of you know that in August I revamped this website by switching from Blogger over to WordPress. I transferred over all the content to my WordPress blog and have continued to add content on a regular basis. The other night I went back to the original site, which is still online under the URL of http://videoforlawyers.blogspot.com and was shocked.

When I had last been to my site, my Feedburner counter indicated that there were 1812 readers subscribed to my blog. What shocked me was that when I looked at the Feedburner count again, it had increased by over 100 readers even though I had not added any content on the old site since August. This was fascinating.

I immediately realized that these people did not know that I switched my blog over to WordPress, and changed the URL to http://lawyersvideostudio.com. What I also needed to do was redirect people going to the old blog directly to the new one.

Importantly, I created a quick blog post on my old site letting my readers know that we had the new site up and running with tons of fresh new content. Importantly, I told my readers that if they really want content that I did not disclose to the public, then they have to sign up for my e-mail updates.

What does this have to do with creating video?

Nothing. Imagine that, coming from me. I’ve created a blog post in The Lawyer’s Video Studio having nothing directly to do with video. This is a shocker, to me anyway.

What does this have to do with attorneys who market themselves online?

Everything. If you are transferring your blog or website from one place to another, make sure that your readers from your old site know that you have a new website address, and make sure your URL is redirected seamlessly.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. Have a great day!

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Find Out Why I Created a Video Titled “What is Sepsis?”

Gerry Oginski — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:00:41 +0000

Think you know what sepsis is? If you handle medical malpractice cases, you should. It’s a systemic infection that can be deadly if not treated properly.

Why would I create a video that asked that particular question? Simple.

There are potential clients who have been diagnosed with sepsis and may not have been treated appropriately. Sepsis may be a complication from a failure to diagnose a perforated bowel during surgery.

Has this helped me? Yes.

Just today I received another call from a woman whose mother was diagnosed with septic shock and died shortly after. This woman was doing a Google search to learn what septic shock was. This is what she said to me:

“I did a search about sepsis, and you came up on top of hundreds of other lawyers.”

“Did you see my video that talks about sepsis?”

“Yes I did. That’s why I decided to call you.”

What’s the point? You need to create a video that answers your viewers unasked question. How do you know what they need to know? Simple. The next time a potential client comes in your door, write down every single question they ask you. Then do it again for the next 10 people who come into your office. Those are the frequently asked questions that will form the basis for your series of videos that you will ask me to create and produce. Notice the subtle plug for my video production services here?

Remember, I do not want to see copycat videos that ask “What is Sepsis?” Rather, I want to see original, innovative content that answers viewers unasked questions.

I may even have a contest to see who can create the most original and novel video by an attorney.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog! Now, pick up the phone to call me and lets get started with creating your video series starring YOU!

______________________

Gerry is a New York medical malpractice and personal injury trial lawyer in practice for over 21 years. He has produced and created over 200 educational and informative videos to help consumers understand how lawsuits work in the State of New York. If you want to see how Gerry has used video to promote his own practice click here.

Gerry created the Lawyers’ Video Studio to help lawyers get onto video. To get started with creating video to market your legal services, Gerry offers a simple and cost-effective turn-key video creation system where he does everything for you except appear on camera, click here to learn more.

You can reach Gerry personally at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at Gerry@lawyersvideostudio.com. He welcomes your call.

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Ben Glass & Great Legal Marketing Video Testimonial

Gerry Oginski — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:28:41 +0000

Attention All Lawyers:

Ever hear of “Great Legal Marketing?” If you haven’t, you should. Ben Glass is a Fairfax, Virginia personal injury and medical malpractice trial lawyer who is the genius behind Great Legal Marketing. Ben has changed the way lawyers market themselves and does so in an ethical, outside-the-box way that helps distinguish you from all of your competitors.

I have been following Ben’s marketing methods for years now and felt that now was the time to create this video testimonial; to let other lawyers in on Ben’s marketing secrets. Nobody asked me to create this video or this blog post and I’m not being paid to do it either. Rather, it’s time that lawyers open their eyes and realize that most attorneys don’t have any clue about how to market themselves and their law practices effectively.

If you want to learn how to improve your marketing and your mindset, I encourage you to sign up for one of Ben’s information-packed two day seminars that he holds in Northern Virginia; one in January and one in June. I went in January 2009 and can tell you it was very impressive. I didn’t stop taking notes the entire weekend. Up to that point, I thought that I was pretty savvy in marketing my law practice. Wow, did I have a lot to learn. The people presenting had so much content and useful information that I have been continuously implementing every one of their tips for the last 10 months and there’s still so much more!

Anyway, I hope this information has been helpful and hopefully I’ll see you at one of Ben’s seminars.

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HOW VIDEO CHANGED MY LIFE

Gerry Oginski — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 14:11:00 +0000

Two years ago when attorneys started to use video to market their services I recognized that most lawyers were using video as if they were TV commercials. Even the better videos were nothing more than “Hey, come to me, because I’m a lawyer.”

I realized that a better way to use video was to educate viewers who were interested in the field of law in which I have specialized for almost 21 years now. Creating video has literally changed my life and the way I practice law.

I am a solo practitioner and have tried all the traditional forms of advertising; yellow pages, TV, newspaper, classifieds, display ads- all leading to wasted dollars. Video has allowed me to create one video that is available to a viewer looking for an attorney 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I pay the same whether that video is watched one time or 25,000 times. That’s an incredible form of marketing. There is no other method of advertising where you can achieve a similar return on investment anywhere.

I used to think up ethical ways to try and distinguish myself from other attorneys who compete with me in New York. However, nothing compares to video. Video is the key to showing how you’re different from everyone else. You get to speak directly to a viewer who is looking for an attorney. You get to capture their attention for a few moments while explaining how you can help them.

Over the last two years I have created over 170 educational and informative videos posted to my website and video sharing sites, to help online viewers understand how lawsuits work in New York. I receive calls every single day from viewers across the country who have watched my videos, thanking me for providing useful information that nobody else provides.

My goal in creating these videos was not to become popular. Rather, my goal was to educate people who had questions about medical malpractice, wrongful death and personal injury cases here in New York. You see, the other benefit of creating a video is that once you create it, anytime a potential client has a similar question, they can watch that video without any further repetition or additional effort on my part. Create it once, have it watched thousands and thousands of times.

One video I created called “Questions Never to Ask at a Deposition” has been watched almost 30,000 times. That, in my opinion, is amazing.

When I go to legal marketing seminars, other attorneys come up to me saying how much they really like what I’ve done using video. They recognize my face and my voice because they’ve watched my videos. They feel they already know me. Importantly, I didn’t create videos to be recognized at legal seminars, but rather to educate potential clients. Being recognized is a nice side-benefit.

Video is the best tool to market yourself on the internet today. It offers the best ROI and allows a viewer to get to know you before they ever walk in the door.

Creating video is fun for me. I enjoy the video shoot and importantly, the entire post-production process where I take a rough video project and turn it into a concise, clear, pointed message that viewers want to watch to answer their questions.

For more information about how I can help you get onto video, I encourage you to explore the articles here in the Lawyers’ Video Studio. I now offer you the ability to hire me as your consultant and guide you through the video process, or hire me to do it all for you (except appear in your videos) from start to finish. Give me a call at 516-487-8207 or email me at lawmed10@yahoo.com to get you onto video. I guarantee it’ll be the best investment you can make in your marketing today.

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5 REASONS WHY MOST LAWYERS DON’T TWITTER EFFECTIVELY

Gerry Oginski — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 04:08:00 +0000

1. THEY THINK IT’S THE SAME AS THE YELLOW PAGES

Fact: Twitter is not the yellow pages.
Fact: Twitter is great for telling your followers something interesting.
Fact: Twitter is not great for telling us what you ate for lunch or that you’re going on a big date tonight.
Fact: A person in need of an attorney is not going to look for, or find you on twitter. Why not? Because that’s not what it’s for. It’s for having a conversation. It’s for talking about useful information. It’s about telling me you found a great article or video that I really should see.
Fact: It’s really not the yellow pages.

2. THEY THINK IT’S THE SAME AS A TV AD

TV ads scream at you. They say “Come to me, because I’m a lawyer and I’m on TV.” Many lawyers mistakenly think that Twitter is the same. It’s not. I cringe every time I see a tweet that says “Jim Jones, accident atty in my state. Call me at…”

I always ask myself “Why?” Why should I call them if I have a legal problem? Just because they put a useless tweet out there? No thanks. I’ll find someone who actually offers useful information.

3. THEY THINK IT’S ALL ABOUT THEM

Yellow pages ads are all about the attorney. “Look at me! Look at what I do. Look at what I’ve done!” TV ads are similar yet they rarely give you much useful information to help you understand why they are a better lawyer for you than the lawyer who just had their commercial only 30 seconds before yours.

Twitter isn’t about you. If you want to use it effectively, make it about your followers and what they want. Not you!

4. THEY THINK THAT IT’S ANOTHER TOOL TO REPEATEDLY DISPLAY THEIR NAME

Why do some lawyers think that by repeatedly posting tweets that say their name, their town and their phone number that someone would actually call them for their legal services? Frequency does not mean you’ll get business. In fact, I don’t know of a single lawyer who uses Twitter that way who has actually gotten a single client doing so.

5. THEY THINK THAT BY HAVING MORE FOLLOWERS IT MEANS MORE BUSINESS

This is such a fallacy. The concept of having more followers does not mean more business. Want to know why? If you have 10,000 followers, do you think they really care about your tweets? No. They just want to see their followers increase each day.

In my experience, if you have a core group of followers who are actually interested in what you have to say and you have actual conversations where you share information, you are much more likely to get a referral from one of those people than if you continually strive to get more followers who don’t know you and frankly don’t care about you.

CONCLUSION:

By learning to share information and actually pay attention to what others are tweeting about, you stand a much better chance of having someone send you a potential client than if you continue to talk and tweet about yourself.

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Guest Post at Grant Griffith’s Blog For Profit

Gerry Oginski — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 03:11:00 +0000

Today I was honored that Grant Griffiths, the blawgfather of all things blog-related, posted an article I wrote about Creating Video for Lawyers.

I highly recommend the article (especially since I wrote it). The post provides useful information about creating video for attorneys. Click here to read the full article.

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Who Wants To Spend $47,783 To Distinguish Yourself?

Gerry Oginski — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:30:00 +0000

The “cost” to distinguish yourself for a one-time display ad in the June 2009 edition of New York magazine that profiles Personal Injury Litigators is $47,783 for the early bird offer. If you wait, your cost will be $53,092.

I received today in the mail a special advertising pitch that will appear in New York magazine in conjunction with the New York Law Journal. I was fascinated to read their pitch to attorneys to get in now. Here’s part of their pitch:

“This is your time to let the readers of New York magazine know about your victories and achievements-to stand out from your competition-to let the public know that if they’re injured, your firm is the one to turn to. This is a special advertising section in which you can tell your firm’s story, your way.”

In my opinion, the pitch should read, “This is your chance to part with your hard-earned dollars to show the world how great you are with a one-time fancy display ad.”

The early birds get a tremendous discount.
A full-page profile costs $27,717; a half-page profile costs $16,918; a third-page display costs $11,045 and a ‘key attorney profile’ costs only $6,165.

The pitch continues…”This is your opportunity to highlight you and your firm’s stand out partners in a profile or display ad.”
“We provide all of the following: The services of a professional photographer, experienced writer and designer who will work with you to create a winning profile.”

Now, if you’ve read New York magazine special advertising section before, you get the impression that these attorney write-ups are written by news reporters. However, these ads are not news items or independently written profiles by a news magazine. In reality, these advertorials are ads purchased by attorneys and law firms to promote themselves.

The inherent problem with these ads is that, like many attorney videos, they talk about how great they are. While I accept that some of those attorneys truly are great trial lawyers, ask yourself how a consumer is able to distinguish one law firm from another. If one law firm says they get many million dollar verdicts and settlements, and the next law firm says pretty much the same thing, how is a consumer going to determine which law firm is right for them? By the fancy photos they see? By the pretty bookcases and smiling attorneys? By saying they’ve been in practice for 20 years? Is a consumer looking for an attorney going to be swayed by the large two page ad over an attorney who buys the 1/3 page ad?

There are many consumers who pick lawyers they way they pick a plumber; by going to the largest yellow pages ad thinking that since that company can afford to pay for the large ad, it must necessarily mean that they are better able to handle their matter than another firm that takes a smaller ad.

I am sure many of these lawyers deserve credit for their accomplishments, yet from a marketing standpoint, I cannot see how the small law firm or even a solo practitioner can match the marketing madness that is associated with a one time display ad that costs almost $50,000.

From a magazine marketing standpoint it’s a brilliant way to generate tons of advertising dollars and give potential consumers the impression that these lawyers are the ones you should go to. Despite the fact that this advertising section is labeled “Special advertising section” the consumer does not realize that the attorneys have paid for these display ads.

Do I want to spend $47,783 to distinguish myself from other personal injury attorneys in New York? No thanks. I think I can find a few other ways to distinguish myself. I’ll start with my website, my blogs and importantly my video blogs.

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