I had an “Aha” moment about two years ago. I was creating a series of videos for my legal practice to help viewers understand how medical malpractice and personal injury lawsuits work in New York. A friend of mine asked me whether I was a marketer, and up until that time, the answer was “No.”

“I’m a medical malpractice and personal injury trial lawyer,” I said. “I’m not a marketer.” A marketer is sleazy. A marketer is a businessman looking to make a sale. A marketer is someone who wants you to part with your hard earned money. At least that’s what I thought up until that point. Then I realized that what I was trying to do was educate a viewer with my videos. It was at that moment that I recognized for the very first time that what I was doing was in fact MARKETING!

It took me a few months to come to grips that I AM a marketer of my legal services. I may be a lawyer who helps injured victims obtain compensation, but in order for the world around me to know that I am here and available, I must be able to TELL THE WORLD what I do and how I’m different from all the other people who market themselves. That’s marketing.

Dan Kennedy, the well-known information marketer likes to say that we are all marketers of information, regardless of what business we’re in. As an attorney who uses video to market myself, I really had a tough time accepting that I am a marketer. Yet with each new video I created, I began to see how I was educating my viewers and marketing my services at the same time.

Now, I consider myself a marketing maven. I love to read about marketing and learn from smarter people who have “Been there and done it” marketers. If you’re an attorney, you can’t get any better than learning from fellow trial lawyer Ben Glass of Fairfax Virginia. Ben has transformed the way attorneys market themselves to the general public and empowered them to be different, be ethical, and live life big while carving out a family life for themselves. His marketing system, Great Legal Marketing is a genius breakthrough. If you haven’t been to one of his seminars, you shouldn’t walk there, you should run there.

I am proud to say that I’m a marketer of legal services. My videos are watched around the country and in many different parts of the world. I am proud that I receive calls from viewers thanking me for providing useful information that nobody else gives. I know video works. It helps show I’m different. It lets viewers get to know me and begin to trust me before I ever meet them in person.

The sooner you realize that you are a marketer, the sooner you can transform your good video into great video.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.

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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.

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.

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.

1. Static websites are out.

In case you haven’t noticed, websites that do not interact with a viewer quickly lose the attention of someone searching for an attorney. Unless you can immediately provide a viewer with the information they are looking for, they will go elsewhere.

2. Yellow Pages are out.

If you still haven’t figured it out yet, the Yellow Pages has long been out of favor as Web 2.0 and social networking have consumed the online world. Most people today go online to look for information, and there are fewer and fewer people still using the antique yellow pages to find an attorney.

3. Lawyer directories are long gone.

Five years ago, lawyer directories were used to scam lawyers into giving up their hard earned money so they could sit on a list with 8000 other lawyers. The problem was that no website viewer was able to distinguish one lawyer from any other. You were just another name on a list that proved useless.

4. Static blogs are not interactive.

Most attorney blogs are not interactive. They tend to shout at you instead of educating you. An attorney blog that does not have video fails to utilize the best tool online to interact with a website viewer. Viewers want to be able to interact with you, and really do not want to see pictures of buildings or cityscapes or courthouses.

5. Video allows a viewer to see you.

Photographs are nice, but video is so much better. A viewer can see you. They can watch you talk. They can watch your expression. They can see how you dress. They can see the office you’re in. They can learn a lot about you after watching only a few moments of video.

Think about it this way: when you are purchasing an item online don’t you want to see what it is you’re going to get before you make that purchase? If you’ve never held that product in your hand, aren’t you more inclined to buy the product if you see a video about it or someone talking about the product?

6. Video allows the viewer to hear you.

There is no substitute for allowing a viewer to hear you. Podcasts are great, but most people are not going to download your audio podcast if they don’t know you. By combining both audio and video you create the best of both worlds. Video gives the viewer a preview of how you sound and what they will hear if they pick up the phone to call you or make an appointment to come in and see you.

7. Video allows a viewer to see how confident you are.

If you are knowledgeable, you will come across as confident. A video will portray you as being an expert in your field. A viewer is much more likely to call someone that they perceive as an expert compared to someone who has very little experience handling their particular legal problem. Video is the best way to achieve this before a viewer ever comes into your office.

8. Video allows a viewer to begin to trust you before they ever pick up the phone to call you.

How do you develop trust with someone you have never met before? With video. By explaining to a viewer who you are, what you do and how you can help solve their problem, you come across as the “go to person” for a website viewer.

9. Video allows you to begin a conversation that allows the viewer to raise their hand and ask for more information.

The goal of creating an attorney video is not to sell your legal services. Instead, it is to educate a potential client and engage them in a line of thought that will compel them to pick up the phone and call you. 99.9% of attorneys fail to recognize this important point.

Think back to the last time you went to a car showroom to buy a car. Did the salesman try and sell you a car, or did the salesman try to educate you about the car he was selling?

If you come across as a salesman, no one will pick up the phone to call you. Educate a viewer, and you are much more likely to get that telephone call than your competitor.

10. Video is interactive.

A video is the next best thing to being there. Admittedly, it is a one way interaction. Short of having a two way video conversation, video allows you to interact with your viewer in their private space and during their private time. Create a video one time, and have it watched by thousands.

CONCLUSION

Lawyers who fail to take advantage of creating attorney video lose the opportunity to be ranked highly in the video search engines, and lose the opportunity for potential clients who are searching for lawyers online to find you. Don’t get lost in all the social networking hype about what lawyers must do in order to properly market themselves in today’s economy. Instead, focus on the information you can provide to potential consumers using the best tool currently available: Video.

To star in your own videos, and learn how to distinguish yourself from all other attorneys, call me. I have a turn-key system that will get you onto video in the most cost-effective way possible.

Don’t just take my word for it, read what other attorneys have to say about my video work:

Fairfax Virginia Personal Injury Lawyer Ben Glass, says

“Gerry Oginski is the master of online video. If you have not seen his videos, you should. He’s done more videos than any lawyer out there. The big edge that Gerry has over his competition is that his videos allow consumers to get to ‘know’ him before they even pick up the phone. His use of video on his website and his video blog is amazing.”

Susan Cartier Liebel, creator of Solo Practice University says “Gerry has the aptitude and technical savvy to create compelling, engaging and highly professional videos to get potential clients to pick up the phone. Educational marketing through video is the future. Gerry is your teacher.”

New Jersey Attorney Victor J. Medina, host of the Macs In the Law Office Podcast says “Gerry is the best-known resource for video for lawyers on the Internet.”   

If you’re not familiar with Ben Glass’s system of educational based marketing, you’re missing out on the best form of marketing for attorneys.

In this audio replay, Ben Glass interviews Gerry Oginski and asks why video for attorneys is so important. Listen to this interview as Gerry explains how video creates trust, establishes you as an expert and importantly, viewers get to see and hear you.

Listen to the interview, then join me here on this blog for frequent tips about video for lawyers, and also on Facebook in the Lawyers’ Video Studio.