You’re hearing about it here first!

The Lawyers Video Marketing Alliance is a collection of some very smart entrepreneurial legal marketing experts across the country. This panel has been hand-selected for their expertise and their knowledge of marketing.

You will instantly recognize each of them. Drum roll please…

Chairman of the Board: Gerry Oginski (Me)

Founding Members

• Ben Glass (Great Legal Marketing)
• Dave Frees (3DaysToSuccess.com)
• Ken Hardison (PILMMA; Personal Injury Lawyer Management & Marketing Association)
• Chris Munley (ATLAS)
• Tom Foster (FosterWebMarketing.com)
• Dale Tincher (ConsultWebs)
• Mark Merenda (SmartMarketingNow.com)
• Larry Bodine (Editor at Law.com)
• Harry Brockman (Partner, Lawyers Video Studio)

An Alliance is Born

You see, Dan Kennedy has advised that thought-leaders in an industry should be aligned in a trade organization, to set goals and industry standards. As you know, when Dan speaks, most everybody listens. I do. It is my opinion that each of the founding members here are leaders in the same industry. Each of us focus on lawyer marketing.

Our goal in creating the Alliance is to help our fellow lawyers. You might think from looking at our list that we compete with each other in certain legal marketing segments. That would be incorrect. In fact, each of us has carved out an entire niche within the legal marketing world. Each has their strengths.

Your goal is to use the information from our Alliance and implement what you learn. Those lawyers who implement tend to be the most successful. By providing you with tools that will help you become better marketers of your legal services you will improve. It’s not a question of if, just when.

Consistently implementing tips, strategies and techniques that you learn from our Alliance will help you…as long as you make the effort to implement and invest in yourself. Absorbing useful information without applying it achieves nothing.

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to our new Alliance. In the future, you will see information, articles, videos and possibly offers from our founding members that you will find helpful.

My recommendation for 2012: Become a marketing student; learn as much as you can and implement even faster. We wish you good health for the coming year and a prosperous New Year for you and your families.

Gerry

Chairman, Lawyers Video Marketing Alliance

Founder, Lawyers Video Studio

In this end-of-the year, 2011 internet address, Attorney Gerry Oginski, as Chairman of the Lawyers Video Marketing Alliance gives us his observations on attorney video during the 2011 year. He takes us through some startling statistics about online video; discusses goals that each one of us, as legal marketers should strive for.

Come join Gerry as he explains why you need to become a better communicator. Learn why you have an obligation to your online viewer and potential clients when using video to market your law firm using video. Find out what Gerry’s predictions are for the legal marketing community who use video for the year 2012.

This is one video that will give you an overview of where we, as legal marketers have been this year, where we want to go and how to accomplish our goals to use video to educate, teach and stand out from the crowd.

To learn even more about how you can use video to market your law firm online, you are invited to join Gerry for a FREE webinar he created just for you. Simply click the link Secrets of Attorney Video in the Age of YouTube. That will take you to a sign-up page where you can select a convenient time and date that works for you. Gerry welcomes you with open arms. So come on in and join him:
We look forward to seeing you on the Webinar!

Lawyers Video Studio, LLC
25 Great Neck Rd., Ste. 4
Great Neck, NY 11021
1-800-320-4314
Gerry@lawyersvideostudio.com

In today’s slugfest we ask the question:

“Why do TV ad lawyers continue to throw their TV ads onto YouTube?”

Our special reporter, Johnny B. Goode, filed this report.

Dateline: New York, NY

Six years ago, when YouTube was a nascent and fledgling website, nobody knew what to make of this site. Nobody had any idea what ‘user-generated-video’ would be used for. Some enterprising advertising companies figured that since they already had lawyer commercials ‘in the can’, what harm could happen by throwing it up onto this new website called Youtube?

And that’s what they did. Lawyers put up their 30 second commercials. They were not optimized, and gave a viewer no real information. The TV ad companies thought that if these commercials were working in the TV format, then it would be no different online.

Oh were they wrong. Really wrong.

Around that same time, one really enterprising and savvy attorney had an idea. He asked this question:

“If a viewer is going online to look for information about which lawyer to hire, how can a consumer distinguish one lawyer from another if all they are doing is putting their TV commercial online?”

The problem is an age-old one for the TV ad lawyer. “How do you distinguish yourself from all the other lawyers who advertise and handle the same type of law that you do?” This savvy lawyer asked every TV ad lawyer the same question. The answer was disheartening. “My ad doesn’t set me apart,” was the self-realizing answer.

Some TV ad lawyers tried to answer by explaining features of their firm:

• We have more experience,
• We offer personal attention,
• We’re trial lawyers,
• We offer free parking.

Despite these answers, this savvy lawyer explained that ‘free parking’ is not a compelling reason for a viewer to call.

The inherent problem for these TV ad lawyers was that none of their ads were able to set themselves apart from their competitors. The ads focused on the lawyer or law firm and was all about “Me, me, me.” Nothing about the ad explained much of anything. That’s the drawback to a TV ad…you have only 30 seconds to get your sales message out. Clearly, that’s insufficient time to explain your message to a viewer.

This smart lawyer with an idea was learning a new concept from some very smart marketing guys. It was called “Education-based marketing.” The focus of that style of marketing was to educate your ideal client or consumer before you ever met them.

Interestingly, no lawyers were using this method of marketing six years ago. Except one. His name was Ben Glass, a personal injury lawyer from Fairfax, Virginia. He did something that no other attorney in the country was doing. He was educating his consumers. Teaching them. Taking the time to explain to them. This was a novel and unique concept.

Fast forward to this other smart and savvy lawyer who had an idea. “What if you combine an educational message with video and put it online?” This lawyer’s name is well-known to you now, and he’s the Founder of the Lawyers Video Studio. Gerry Oginski is a pioneer who took video and combined it with educational messages that no longer focused on the lawyer or his law firm. In fact, I believe he was the first lawyer in the Country to put education-based messages on video to market his law firm.

Fast Forward Six Years

YouTube has just celebrated their 6 year birthday. Three BILLION video views a day. Tons of video uploaded every minute. Yet, TV ad lawyers continue to post their 30 seconds commercials onto YouTube. The only question to be asked is “WHY?”

There is still no way to distinguish yourself from your competitors in a 30 second TV commercial. The TV ad lawyer doesn’t give a viewer any useful content that explains information they need to know. Why then are the TV ad agencies and TV studios still throwing those ads up onto YouTube?

The answer, we think, is because it’s sitting around doing nothing and might give the TV ad lawyer some greater exposure.

Yet, Gerry Oginski always asks this question:

“If a viewer is going online to search for information about their legal problem, do you really think they’re going to find the answer in the form of a TV lawyer commercial?” The answer is “No.”

Well, that’s it for today’s installment of this slugfest of the TV ad lawyer v. Online Video lawyer. Thanks for reading.

Great Legal Marketing

“A Parade of Moving Interest” was a phrase that Ben Glass explained to a packed room full of lawyers from around the country looking to stand out from the crowd. Unless you were a Dan Kennedy devotee, you most likely needed Ben’s explanation to understand the concept that a consumer or potential client isn’t looking for you or your legal services when they wake up in the morning.

How then do you market to a group of people who don’t need you now? That was the challenge that Ben attacked so well. On Friday night and Saturday morning, we were treated to Dan Kennedy talking about that exact issue. “How do you market to a group of people who inherently mistrust what you are and what you have to say?”

The answer was insightful. It took Ben and Dan hours to get to the bottom line and was well worth it.

Here’s my take-away from the conference:

You must build relationships. You must get people to like you and trust you. How do you do that? I’m glad you asked, because Ben, Tom Foster and Rem Jackson explained just that over the course of two days in Reston, Virginia.

The obvious way to build a relationship is with personal interaction. Absent that, the next best way is using video. There is no other media available that allows a prospective client to get to know you, like you and trust you, before they ever meet you. Lawyers can leverage video to maximize their time by creating one educational message that can be watched 10 times, 1000 times or 1 million times, all for the same exact cost of zero.

There was a new topic at GLM this year: Lawyers competing for prizes based upon worst marketing to best marketing. The competition was fierce.

Neil Goldstein, a PI attorney from Long Island gave a heart-rendering overview of how Ben helped him transform the way he practiced law and changed his life. Brian Mittman a disability attorney in Westchester, NY described a similar transformation, and created a humorous video about blog-talk-radio. An unusual competitor was Larry Weinstein, a CPA from Texas who showed us step-by-step what an incredible marketer he has become using the strategies and techniques used by Ben Glass, Dan Kennedy and Bill Glazer. Jason Epstein also explain his transformation. The last attorneys competing for a MacBook Pro or and iPad2 were Andy Garcia and Collin Phillips, PI attorneys from Massachusets. They created a video that spoofed the movie Social Network and was really funny. The winner of a new MacBook Pro? Phillips & Garcia!

I also need to mention four really smart lawyers who are clients of the Lawyers Video Studio who also attended GLM: Jack Carney-DeBord, a PI/Divorce attorney from Ohio; Brent Adams, a PI attorney from North Carolina; John Burns, a PI attorney from California and Joe Hanyon, a PI attorney from Pennsylvania.

For those of you who have never attended a GLM conference and simply buy the DVD’s to watch at home, let me tell you that you’re missing out big-time. The reason to go to a legal marketing conference like this is to hang out with smart lawyers. You begin to build relationships with like-minded lawyers who are looking to improve their marketing. At the seminar you’ll find many lawyers who love to share their ideas just by asking them. Talking to super smart legal marketers like Dave Frees, a Trusts and Estates attorney in Pennsylvania; Bob Battle, a DUI attorney from Northern Virginia, Jim Brown, a Bankruptcy lawyer and Charlie Hoffheimer, a divorce lawyer are worth everything. You can’t get that simply by listening to a DVD.

FYI- this was my third legal marketing seminar within a two month period. Become a marketing student, implement what you learn and watch what happens to your law practice. It works.

It’s true. I finally confessed. I used to love going to live CLE seminars about trial practice, direct examination, cross examination, jury selection, opening arguments, summations and legal updates. I loved learning everything possible from attorneys who were in the trenches every day trying cases.

While trying to learn how to become a marketing student and expand my marketing horizons, I noticed that none of the bar associations we’re giving any seminars about legal marketing. I began to call different bar associations asking if there were any classes or seminars on legal marketing. The answers were all disturbingly familiar. “We don’t feel that lawyers need to take classes or CLE seminars about marketing.” “Marketing seminars are beneath us and we simply don’t have time in our schedule.”

Virtually all the bar associations take great steps to teach lawyers how to practice law. There are great educational programs for attorneys who want to learn the ins and outs of various specialties. What about the lawyer who is actively trying to find more clients so they can now take that knowledge and put it into practice?

Being a big proponent of legal marketing and being a big marketing student myself, I have approached numerous bar associations suggesting specific types of marketing seminars for attorneys.  I have been rebuffed at every request or suggested seminar dealing with marketing.

I have come to the inescapable conclusion that the bar associations see no future in teaching lawyers how to market their law firms. This simply means that lawyers must turn to an entire cottage industry of legal marketing experts who offer their services with varying levels of competence. There are a handful of legal marketing experts who I believe are outstanding. People like Ben Glass, Dave Lorenzo, Larry Bodine, Mark Merenda, Ken Hardison and Darrin Mish are people you should be following on a regular basis.

While lawyers are required to keep up with the latest caselaw in their specialty, it is equally important for lawyers to learn to bring new business into their law firm. Over the past few years, I have found that creating video messages generate the best return on investment. Although lawyers cannot obtain CLE credit from my webinars, I highly recommend taking advantage of one of my free one hour webinars about using video that makes the phone ring. It will be the best one hour of unaccredited CLE learning you’ll do all year. Besides, it’s free! Keep your eyes peeled for my next webinar.

Well, that’s it for now. I have to go sign up for my next CLE seminar on trial practice right now. I can’t wait to learn how to ask leading questions on cross-examination. “Doctor, isn’t it true you operated on the wrong side of my client’s brain?” “Objection, no foundation.” “Ok, let’s try it this way…”

“Doctor, you operated on my client, true?

You were supposed to operate on the right side of her brain, true?

You nevertheless operated on the left side of her brain, true?

You believed that the left side of her brain was the affected side, correct?

She never had a problem with the left side of her brain, correct?

At no time during surgery did you ever operate on the right side, true?

The patient died because you operated on the left side, true?

You would agree that operating on the wrong side of the brain would be a departure from good and accepted medical practice, correct?

You would agree that your failure to properly operate on the right side of the brain was a substantial factor in causing plaintiff’s death, correct?

Doctor, you are not dyslexic, correct?

Doctor, would you agree you are an idiot?”

“Objection! Calls for a conclusion. Calls for information not in evidence.”

Oy…I need to learn how to ask better questions during this CLE

[No client or doctor was harmed in this fictional cross-examination.]

Great Neck

I’m sitting in the park on Labor Day weekend by my pool club and it is a magnificent 75° today. I have a large blanket on the grass and I’m using my Mac speech dictate program to transcribe my thoughts as I’m lying here observing a magnificent day.

What type of lifestyle do you want as an attorney? Do you enjoy working till midnight because you’ve got a motion that must be submitted the next day? Do you have trouble attracting new business and new clients in this economy? Are you looking for ways to make your phone ring? Do you have the charisma to generate new business through attorney referrals? Do you have a marketing funnel already in place that is proven to work?

If you are new to marketing, you would do well to hitch your star to any one of the legal marketing experts I discuss below. The following three marketing experts are, in my opinion, the best in the business.

This list is in no particular order.

Dave Lorenzo

I start with legal marketing expert Dave Lorenzo, a remarkable marketing guy with tremendous insight. I read his blog on a regular basis and I strongly recommend you do the same. His knowledge and wisdom is unsurpassed. He offers tons of free information that gets your mind racing about different ways that you can market yourself. I am amazed at the amount of useful information he puts online almost daily. You should watch his video tips and then glance at the number of views his videos receive. You’ll be astounded. He  represents attorneys throughout the United States.

Mark Merenda

Next up is Mark Merenda, a good friend of mine. He has clearly established himself as a leader in the field of legal marketing. Mark is thoughtful, provocative and has a crystal-clear understanding of how lawyers should best market themselves utilizing every available tool and media to do so. I’ve had the opportunity to interview Mark on video and met with him multiple times in Naples, Florida. I’ve seen him use seminars, offline marketing, websites, video, promotions and many other ways to market an attorney. One way Mark differentiates himself from other legal marketing experts is that he and his team of marketing experts actually create a total, comprehensive solution rather than just telling the lawyer what they should do. I have learned much from Mark in the years I’ve known him and he can often be found in various law practice listserves helping attorneys answer their marketing questions.

Ben Glass, Esq.

Lastly, you need to know about a fellow personal injury attorney who practices in Virginia. This guy is a leader in the field of lawyer marketing. Not only is he an experienced trial attorney but he created a powerhouse of marketing program for lawyers that is unsurpassed anywhere. His name is Ben Glass and his attorney marketing program is appropriately called Great Legal Marketing. I had the pleasure of meeting Ben many years ago when he was beginning to market himself in ways that lawyers had never heard of. By going outside of the traditional forms of attorney advertising and learning what other companies did to market themselves, Ben leapfrogged all other lawyers in the marketing arena and became a pioneer for new ways to get consumers to raise their hands for more information. Most unusual was Ben’s ability to help fellow attorneys like me who began to follow his ethical marketing efforts.

I am also pleased to say that I have attended a number of Ben’s seminars where a select group of really smart attorneys get together to discuss the best ways to market and distinguish themselves. I also had the privilege of speaking to hundreds of lawyers this past June in Virginia at Ben’s Great Legal Marketing Superconference where I spoke about the importance of attorneys creating video to market themselves online.

By the way, Dave, Mark and Ben had no idea I’d be writing this article; no one asked me to write it and I’m not being compensated in any way to write this. It takes a lot for me to give whole-hearted recommendations to anyone online, but these three experts certainly deserve it. If you speak to any of them, just let them know I said “Hi.”

For more information from any of these experts, click below:

Dave Lorenzo; Rainmakerlawyer.com

Mark Merenda; Smartmarketingnow.com

Ben Glass; Greatlegalmarketing.com

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog!

Mischelle Davis

Ever hear of Mischelle Davis?

She’s the marketing powerhouse for her husband, Seattle personal injury attorney Chris Davis.

I had the pleasure of finally meeting them both at Ben Glass’ Great Legal Marketing seminar June 11 and June 12, 2010 held in Fairfax, Virginia. They are both down-to-earth and lovely people to talk to. I had the pleasure of speaking with them the night before the conference started and was blown away by all the different marketing this super duo make happen.

It was clear during our talk that the number one reason why attorneys succeed at what they do is because they implement their decision to take action. It is those attorneys who fail to implement that always wonder why their marketing is not working.

I first heard Mischelle Davis speak to Ben’s group in January 2009. At that time I thought I was a savvy legal marketer. After listening to her talk about everything she and her husband Chris implemented and continued to implement, I was totally blown away. I walked out of her lecture with tons of notes and a promise to myself to implement every one of those items. Since that time, I have followed their successes online and continue to be amazed at how much they implement and get done to market Chris’ law practice.

Chris & Mischelle Davis

I knew I was in for a treat when Mischelle gave me a head’s up preview during our talk the night before she was scheduled to speak. She did not disappoint. Starting promptly at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, the first words out of her mouth were “You have to implement.”

“We’re doing it. Why aren’t you?”

The theme of her talk was: This is what we did before coming to Great Legal Marketing, this is what we did after joining; this is what we did each year and here are the trackable results we achieved for each year. Her talk was energizing and it is obvious they have literally taken the bull by the horns to effectively implement their marketing ideas in such a short time.

I am glad I had the pleasure of meeting these two legal marketing superstars in person and sharing ideas with people who truly get it.

Great Legal Marketing, Fairfax Virginia

I am thrilled to be back from a lecture I presented to over 250 attorneys in Fairfax, Virginia about the benefits of creating educational video to market their law practices. Before leaving New York, I had visions in my mind of the crowd going wild; jamming to the music; raising their hands and singing along; demanding more and then of course chanting my name for an encore. Then I woke up and realized it was a daydream of sorts.

Here’s what really happened, and you should read further, because you’ll get that ‘Aha!’ moment shortly.
When I arrived Thursday night at the hotel where the conference was being held, I went to the conference area to scope out the area where I’d be speaking the next day. The crew was setting up for the big event. Now here’s what blew me away. As I walked in the door, about 6 different people shouted to me “Hey Gerry, how are you? Glad you’re here.”

What’s the big deal about that greeting, you ask?
Well, I had never met these people in person before. Ever. But they knew me. They knew who I was the moment I walked in the door. They instantly recognized me and eagerly welcomed me.

What does this have to do with attorney video?
EVERYTHING.
Want to know how they knew me?
From watching my videos. Not one video; not five videos but many of my videos.

“Well, what does being recognized at a legal marketing seminar have to do with marketing my law practice?”

I’m glad you asked. The answer is: EVERYTHING.
Video allows you to create a bond with your viewer.
Video allows you to get a viewer to trust you and become familiar with you.
Video allows you to enter the conversation going on in the mind of your online viewer.

The key to converting online viewers into callers is to know what information they want and need to know, and guess what? It has nothing to do with your credentials.

Want to learn more about what content will compel a viewer to pick up the phone and call? Come join me in my video coaching group; the only video coaching group for lawyers anywhere in the Country. No other video production company teaches lawyers the mindset they need to understand what their online viewer wants and needs. My coaching group is perfect for lawyers who do-it-yourself as well as lawyers who use a video production company to create their videos.

Here are comments made by really smart attorneys after listening to what I had to say:

I was speaking to over 250 attorneys on June 11, 2010 at the Hyatt in Fairfax, Virginia. The room was packed. Ben Glass had just finished talking about ethics in attorney advertising. 5:00 pm arrived and I had my wireless microphone all set; my laptop was ready to go and my wireless pointer was plugged in. I walked up on stage and the first question I asked the crowd after introducing myself was “How is it that a solo practitioner like myself is able to compete with the biggest law firms in Manhattan with the biggest marketing budgets?”

The answer explored five keywords and the number of websites that compete for those very competitive search terms. The search terms were “New York medical malpractice lawyer.” Google shows that 5 million websites vie for those search terms. “Do know which website consistently comes up in the #1 organic search results?” My New York Medical Malpractice Trial attorney website does.

The crowd got very quiet and their eyes opened wide, eager for more.

Later, I asked “What if you could own the first page of YouTube?”

Technically, you can’t ‘own’ the first page of YouTube, but in a practical sense you can. “How?” you ask? By having all twenty of your videos show up on the first page results of your search terms on YouTube. That’s how you can ‘own’ the real estate on the first page of YouTube. I then showed the group how I “own” the first page of YouTube for specific search terms.

Then I asked, “What if you could also own the second page of YouTube as well?” I then told them that for those specific search terms I own the second page too. Now, I really had everyone’s attention.

The important question I asked was “What do you think an online viewer would think if they did a search for their particular legal problem and they came upon a YouTube page where every single video on the page (except for the paid videos at the top) was yours?” Who do you think a viewer is going to call after seeing all of your videos; you or your competitor who only has a static website?

I had a blast talking to this group of smart, energetic and eager attorneys willing to learn how to market themselves in ethical, out-of-the box ways. I was glad I had a chance to talk with many brilliant attorneys who are blowing away their competition using so many different marketing methods. It was nice to actually meet a lot of attorneys I communicate with on Facebook and Twitter but had never actually met in person.

The feedback I received from the attorneys were amazing.

• Want to learn what I teach attorneys to create compelling video?
• Want to learn how I create my videos?
• Want to learn what will compel a viewer to pick up the phone and call you instead of your competitor?
• Want to learn the mindset of a viewer and figure out what content will get them to click on your headline and watch your video?

If you do, I encourage you to come join me in the Lawyers Video Studio coaching group. To learn more about the only video coaching group for lawyers in the country, click here: Lawyers Video Studio coaching group.

P.S.  By the way, if you need a speaker to talk to your group of attorneys about how video can help convert online viewers into callers and why attorneys need to create video now, pick up the phone and call me 516-487-8207 or send me an email to Gerry@lawyersvideostudio.com. I welcome your call.

Here’s are the top 10 posts of 2009. Enjoy your reading!

1. 10 Reasons Why Every Lawyer Needs To Be On Video
2. An Interview w/ Gerry on the Legal Broadcast Network
3. Why a Thank You Card Can Improve Your Video
4. Attention All Lawyers: How To Distinguish Yourself
5. Why Aren’t You Different?
6. What Should I Talk About in my Lawyer Video?
7. How To Use Social Networking to Boost Your Video Content
8. You’ve Created a Video: Here’s How You Should NOT Blog About It
9. 5 Errors To Avoid When Creating Attorney Video
10. 9 Reasons Lawyers Should Not Create Video

Thanks for reading my blog and I wish you much success in 2010!

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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.”

Ben Glass, Esq., BenGlassLaw.com, Fairfax, Virginia   703-591-9829

______________

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.