The Lawyers' Video Studio » legal

How a Local Dry Cleaner Made My Day

Gerry Oginski — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:00:31 +0000

I used to use a dry cleaner near my home that I would have to drive to in order to get my clothes dry cleaned. They were a big operation. Very impersonal. The front desk staff changed often and nobody ever knew who I was despite the fact I had been using them for more than 10 years. Well, this dry cleaner went out of business, and I needed to look elsewhere for my dry cleaner needs.

There is no shortage of dry cleaners in Great Neck. The key is finding one that is convenient. That’s why most people use local services; because they are convenient and easy to get to. Remember that when deciding where to open your office.

I decided to give the dry cleaners that are literally next door to my office a try. Why not? I pass by their store every day when I go to and from work. They seem nice enough. All dry cleaners are the same, I thought. They all solve the same problem: They clean my clothes and expect a fee. They all use the same cleaning process, so differentiating one dry cleaner from another is virtually impossible. So why choose one over the other? Convenience.

When I went in for the first time, I noticed that the place is brightly lit, and the front desk is always manned by the same woman I see everyday. We park our cars in the same lot behind our building. It turns out it is a husband and wife team that runs the shop. Setting up my account took less than two minutes.

I’m happy to report that every time I walk in to drop off or pick up my clothes the same woman has a smile on her face and welcomes me by name. She knows who I am, and before I even have a chance to pull out my laundry ticket, she has punched up the information on the computer and gone to the back to obtain my clothes. That is true service. Our transaction finished, she turns to me with a great big sincere smile and says “Thank You Mr. Oginski, have a great day!”

Imagine that you could offer this type of service to your clients when they walk in the door. That would certainly make their day.

How can use this to improve your attorney video? Simple.

When you create your video, make sure you welcome your viewer. At the end of your video thank them for watching. That’s how you show a viewer you appreciate their time.

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Video Marketing for Lawyers: “Change Your Clothes!”

Gerry Oginski — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:00:13 +0000

The emperor had a change of clothes and so should you.

When you arrive in court for trial each day, you have changed your clothes, right? (At least I hope so.)

When you watch the evening news (does anybody still watch the evening news?) you notice the newscasters with different clothes each night.

“Why does this matter and what the heck am I talking about?”

I’ll tell you…

Have you heard the phrase “Same old, same old?” Sure you have. It means the same damn thing as always. Nothing has changed. It’s boring. Not interesting. “So what does this have to do with video marketing for lawyers?” I’m glad you asked. The answer is “everything.”

Let’s say you shoot an hour of video wearing your nice sharply creased white shirt with a blue polka-dot tie and a navy pin-striped suit. From that one hour of video, you can get about 4-5 video clips lasting 2-3 minutes each. (I know some video production companies that take hours of video and only give you one or two video clips lasting less than one minute each.) If you’re wearing the same thing in each video clip, it becomes the “same old, same old.” Maybe you don’t want to change your clothes. “I’ll change it on the next video shoot.” Ok. That’s fine. Just make sure you do, because your viewers will remember, especially if you have all of your videos on one web page.

If you change your clothes, it appears as if you are being DIFFERENT!

That’s the whole point of creating video: To show you’re different.

The bottom line: CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES!

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

______________________

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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8 Reasons Why Attorney Video is Not For You

Gerry Oginski — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:00:30 +0000

WARNING: This list is not for the thin-skinned or faint-hearted lawyer.

You don’t know why you should create video.
Nobody would want to watch you anyway (except your family).
You’re lazy.
You like the # of calls you’re getting from the yellow pages.
You have no desire to market yourself on the internet.
It’s beneath you to talk about what you do in public.
You don’t look good, and have a radio face.
You don’t sound good and would rather pay ‘talent’ to appear for you.

This list is for those attorneys who fail to take action when presented with the opportunity to dominate their area of law.

Let’s face it; the yellow pages are dying and lawyer directories don’t distinguish you from any other lawyer. TV, radio and display ads are expensive. You created a website to tell the world what you do, hoping that somehow, someone looking for a lawyer online will find your website and despite compelling odds, choose to call you instead of your competitor down the street. You don’t update your website often. You don’t write a blog. Nor do you give your viewer a compelling reason to call you.

At this point, you might as well give up now and continue to complain to friends and colleagues about how bad your law business is in this economy. This mindset reminds me of a character in the book “Our Iceberg is Melting” by John Kotter. The character is a penguin (all the characters are penguins) who is always pessimistic and they call him “No-no.” Why? Because every suggestion, even good ones, are turned away by “No-no.” Nothing is ever good enough to warrant a “Yes” from him.

Why does your yellow pages ad stink? Because it’s just like all the others.

Why doesn’t your offline advertising bring in business? Because as marketing guru Mark Stevens says “Your advertising sucks.”

Nothing’s working for you. Business is way down and you don’t know how video can improve your marketing. To you, video looks like a waste of time and money. For the pessimist it will be. However, if you have a positive outlook and a good mindset, then creating video can dramatically improve your ability to effectively and ethically market your law practice.

Video allows a viewer to hear you; see you and begin to trust you. Now here’s my warning:

If you really look like a schlump, dress poorly and are not confident, then DO NOT create video. If your prospective clients are afraid to meet you because of your looks or inability to converse and interact with them, you might want to consider being an attorney who has limited contact with clients and focus your strengths on the law. Leave the marketing to someone more dynamic in your firm or hire talent to appear on camera for you.

Will you start creating video to market your law practice? Only you can answer that question. If you are eager to get onto video, I can help. Take a look at my turn-key system where I do everything for you. Also, take a look at some of the well-known lawyers who have taken the time to write testimonials. It’s truly eye-opening.

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

______________________

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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Attorneys: Here’s a List of Web Video Companies You Need To Know About

Gerry Oginski — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 10:00:51 +0000

In order to find a web video company to produce your lawyer video you typically have to do an extensive Google search or click on one of the banner ads that these companies use to promote their services.

I decided instead to post a comprehensive list of web video companies, as a resource, for lawyers to use. In the near future I may post reviews of each of these video production companies, but for right now, here’s a list- in no particular order. By the way, before deciding to call any of these companies, I strongly encourage you to read my article “9 Questions You Must Ask Before Choosing a Video Production Company.”

Fairfax Video Studio, Tom Foster at FosterWebMarketing is the go-to guy here. 1.703.928.8257
Scorpion Design, 866-332-3230
Consultwebs, Dale Tincher is the face behind this website company. 1-800-872-6590
Intelligent Video Solutions, (914) 925-3688
iLawyerMarketing.com, 1-800-753-6997
Cepac, 212-759-1126
FacesMedia, 866.839.3577
Indigo Productions, 212-765-5224
Online Video Concepts, 312-953-3826
Media Edits, 1-631-287-3362
Einstein Law, 866-689-9921
FindLaw, 866.443.4635
eLawMarketing, 718-793-7168
HB Production Group, 877-789-9163

Ok- if you know of others that are worth your time and money, send me an email and I’ll include them here as well.

Oh yes, I should have also included a plug for my own video production company, The Lawyers’ Video Studio, 516-487-8207.

Where else have you seen another lawyer helping fellow lawyers get onto video? Where else have you seen an experienced trial lawyer with over 200 educational videos for his own law practice, create, produce and upload videos for other lawyers? Where else have you seen an experienced video producer who is also a seasoned trial lawyer? Where else have you seen a web video company create a simple turn-key video production system to get you on video, where all you have to do is show up? Where else can you find a video production company that creates, produces and uploads your videos, optimizes them, blogs about them, tweets about them and posts them on their own blog? Right here. (If you know of someone else who does all those things, please let me know! I’d love to meet him or her.)

When choosing your web video production company, choose wisely. It’s your marketing dollars hard at work. Make your dollars work for you.

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

______________________

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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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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Lawyer Directories v. Online Video: You Decide

Gerry Oginski — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:00:37 +0000

I received a call the other day from a representative of a large lawyer directory that we are all familiar with. I’m not going to mention them by name because the name isn’t really important. What’s important is what this rep was telling me and why he felt it would be useful for me to sign up.

I made the mistake of answering the phone and actually had a few minutes to spare. As soon as I learned that he was looking to get me into a lawyer directory, I immediately stopped him and asked how would I be able to distinguish myself from any other lawyer on this directory?

His response was typical.

He said that a viewer searching for me would be able to see my credentials, where I went to school, see what I have written, see whether I had been certified by any legal organization, and my accomplishments.

I then asked what would happen if my competitor had similar credentials; how would a viewer be able to distinguish me from my competitor? The answer disturbed me. His answer was to purchase sponsored listings and use pay per click advertising, claiming that this would be sufficient to set me apart from my colleague down the street.

I again asked what would compel a viewer searching for an attorney handling medical malpractice to choose me, who would be listed on page 7 of his online directory, compared to a competitor of mine who is listed on page 1 at the top of the fold?

He didn’t have much of an answer for that one.

He still pushed on. To make his point, he asked me to do a Google search using my last name and the type of law I practice. “See, you don’t come up #1, instead you come up way down here.” He then used those results to justify why I needed to be in his directory. I explained to him that this was an inaccurate way of searching for an attorney. Why? (Here is a million-dollar tip that this representative clearly had no clue about).

A person who is online searching for an attorney doesn’t know who you are. They don’t know your name. They don’t know a lawyer who can help solve their problem. They haven’t gotten a referral from anyone and are now taking matters into their own hands and searching for someone online. This rep made the deadly mistake of thinking that online viewers search for lawyers by name. He failed to understand how people with legal problems actually search for lawyers. If he truly understood this, he would realize that attorney directories are virtually useless online today.

I pointed out his fallacy by explaining to him that a viewer would be searching for the type of lawyer who handles these cases and the geographic area where they live. I then asked him to do his own Google search for “New York medical malpractice lawyer” and then tell me who comes up #1 in the organic search results. His answer was whispered when he gamely tried to tell me the results of that Google search. The result: My website shows up in the #1 organic slot for those search terms consistently.

Later that evening I received an e-mail from this rep again trying to sell me on the reasons why I should join his lawyer directory. This is exactly what he said:

“If you want to ensure your credentials can be found in an objective forum, where consumers can compare you with other firms and link to your website, then you should be there. If you want to ensure other attorneys and corporate counsel can find you, you should be there, listed on XXXXX. If you want to guarantee results – assuring your information is found, complete with full stats of where and who is viewing you, then you should be there. If you want an easy and inexpensive way to grow your practice, then you should be there, listed.”

Why do I tell you all this? Because the best way to distinguish yourself from the other lawyers who compete with you is not with the lawyer directories. Rather, it’s with video. A viewer gets to see you, hear you, and begin to trust you before they ever pick up the phone to call you. Video is interactive, it’s entertaining and importantly, it’s different. Being just another listing in a lawyer directory accomplishes none of those things.

Having said all that, if you want to get listed in one of the big lawyer directories, give me a call and I’ll hook you up with this rep, where I am sure he will be happy to take your hard-earned dollars. If instead you want to create video with an experienced attorney who has created hundreds of educational videos, then I encourage you to give me a call and get started today.

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

______________________

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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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!

______________________

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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Lawyers: Does Your Video Producer Understand What You Do?

Gerry Oginski — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 10:00:28 +0000

When you hire a video production company, do they look at you like you’re just another lawyer?

Do they know what it means when you to go to trial?
Do they know what it means when you mediate a contract dispute?
Have they walked a mile in your shoes?

Why are these questions important?

You want a video producer to understand the type of law you practice. You want your ideals and work ethic to show in your video. If a video producer thinks you’re just another lawyer and you fit into a ‘cookie-cutter’ mold, you’ll lose something important in your video.

Does your producer understand what an online viewer looks for when choosing an attorney in your specialty? Do they know what questions a prospective client typically will ask you? If they don’t, you’re going to have to teach them a lot in a very short period of time.

A producer helps you create your video. It’s a producer’s job to develop a plan that establishes you as the expert without you saying “I’m an expert.” The days of saying “Come to me because my commercial is on at the same moment you’re watching this show,” are over. You need content that will drive a viewer to pick up the phone and call you. If your producer doesn’t know you and the type of law you practice, they have a huge learning curve to overcome.

As a practicing attorney who is also an experienced video producer, I know what potential clients look for when searching for a lawyer online, and it’s not “Call me because I just paid a lot of money to make this commercial,” or “I graduated from blah blah law school where I was on law review.” The major advantage that an experienced attorney has when creating video for other lawyers is that callers tell me all the time why they called my office. They tell me which video they watched that prompted them to call.

There are a lot of good video production companies out there that produce good quality video. There are video producers with TV and film experience who really know how to make a video shine. There are also wedding photographers who turned to online video to generate more revenue who know nothing about the practice of law. Any of these companies may be right for you. The key is making sure your video producer understands what you do and knows how to show your viewers what you know.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.
______________________

Gerry created the Lawyers’ Video Studio to help lawyers get onto video. If you’re interested in getting started with creating video to market your legal services, Gerry now offers consultation services. If you want a turn-key system where Gerry does everything for you except appear on camera, click here. You can reach Gerry personally at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at Gerry@lawyersvideostudio.com.

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Lawyers: Attack The Hill!

Gerry Oginski — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:00:45 +0000

When bike riding and approaching a large hill, the most common way to approach it is to attack the hill on your bike. There is no easy way to bike up a hill. Instead of letting inertia and laziness take over, you must make that Herculean effort to overcome gravity and propel yourself up the hill in an aggressive and confident manner. When you’ve reached the top you glance down at the hill that you just conquered. Even though you may be exhausted from your climb up the mountain, looking back to the bottom of the hill is filled with a great sense of accomplishment. When faced with doing something easy, or doing something hard, you will usually be better off attacking the challenge that is more difficult, rather than taking the easy and lazy way out.

There is a road in Great Neck which forks left and right. The path to the left affords me a straight and level road. The path to the right offers a quick downhill but then an intense and short uphill section of road. Either choice of road gets me to the same exact place. When you arrive at the fork in the road ask yourself “Do I take the easy road, or the more challenging one?” I’m happy to say that in every one of my bike rides, I’ve always chosen the road more challenging. It’s more difficult and takes greater stamina, but the reward is incredible when you’ve overcome that mountain.

Okay, enough about the hill. How does any of that apply to lawyers who create video to market their legal services?

I’ll tell you how. Lawyers typically do not embrace new technology in order to let the world know what they do for a living. Hence the inherent inertia and laziness that accompanies new marketing efforts. Once lawyers begin to understand the true value and marketing potential of using video to get their message out to the world, the key obstacle to a lawyer getting on video is threefold:

1. Taking action

2. Cost

3. Deciding whether they create the video themselves, or hire someone to do it for them.

I just watched an excellent video made by a guy who creates newsletters for other people. His name is Jim Palmer, and if you follow my YouLaw video reviews at Technolawyer Blog, you’ll soon see an article I wrote that commented upon his recent video. In this remarkable video Jim talks about the obstacles that people put in place which prohibit them from accomplishing their goal of generating business. It’s a great video that every lawyer should watch.

The key is to take action and attack the hill that most challenges you. Creating video for lawyers can be a challenge. It need not be if you let someone do it all for you. If you want to learn how to do this, click on the link at the top of the page that says “Turn-key system.” I strongly urge you to explore the articles on my site and learn how creating video can help market yourself, and improve the way you practice law. As always, if you have any questions, pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at: Gerry@lawyersvideostudio.com.

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

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