Now that you’ve mastered the basics of web traffic sources for your law firm's website, and embraced the importance of direct traffic, it’s time to tackle referral traffic.

Computer security can’t be stressed enough in law firms. It's tempting to think you personally don't really have to pay attention to "security stuff," or that your firm is "too little" for bad guys to be interested in. But you’d be wrong. As with so many things, size is not important when it comes to client data security and confidentiality.

There is significant debate in law firms about whether to produce electronic holiday cards or mail a printed card to clients. People want to know what works best so, in the absence of any definitive research, I took an online poll to find out what lawyers, themselves, like to receive. The result? Of the 140 lawyers and law firm professionals surveyed, 62 percent said they preferred receiving printed holidays cards. That’s right, printed. Only 10 percent said they would prefer to receive an e-card, and 28 percent reported it didn’t matter what kind of card was sent. We got responses from corporate, transactional, defense, family law and plaintiff's attorneys who work in local, regional and national firms. READ MORE

Every law firm needs to know who else is representing their clients and hottest prospects. The following five tools make it easier than ever for us to find out. None of the tools is 100 percent comprehensive or 100 percent accurate, not even the “for pay” databases. However, they keep us from having to pore over individual filing documents and search individual law firm websites. READ MORE

Ryan Sullivan | Tips to prevent or (if need be) alleviate a client's anger over a not-so-happy ending.

A couple of months ago, I wrote a post about the importance of showing up — how regular contact with people and building relationships keeps you top of mind so potential clients will call you when they need legal services. In that post, I introduced you to my friend Jeremy, who works for a locally owned automotive repair and tire shop. Jeremy goes to all the mixers and networking events and staffs the booth at all the community fairs and business expos. Easy for Him to Say! A reader pointed out that Jeremy is his company’s director of business development, which essentially means he’s a professional hand-shaker and baby-kisser. His whole job is networking, unlike most solo and small firm lawyers who are working 40 to 80 hours a week on their clients’ legal matters. ... READ MORE

"Content marketing" is no doubt the legal marketing buzz-phrase of the year. The Content Marketing Institute defines it as a "technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience." So what does this have to do with you? The Bar Association of San Francisco's Sayre Happich has insights from the Legal Marketing Technology Conference/West.

Mae West once claimed, “I speak two languages, Body and English.” Double entendre aside, she had a point. Fluency in both speaking and understanding body language can take you far — both in your law practice and your life (although maybe not quite as far as it took Mae). In fact, says body language expert Traci Brown, lawyers especially need a refresher on reading body signals because they often get so caught up in the technicality of their words that they tend not to pay attention to what’s across from them. “Attorneys really need to look at the bigger picture,” says Brown ... READ MORE

We always look forward to tips from Legal Marketing Technology Conference/West, the hot-ticket event presented by the Legal Marketing Association's Bay Area Chapter and the Bar Association of San Francisco. For this Friday Five, the BASF's Kerstin Firmin is sharing her notes from the 2013 conference, held this week in San Francisco. (Watch for some terrific content marketing tips from the BASF's Sayre Happich next week, too.) Technical and social skills don’t always go hand-in-hand. But in today’s marketplace, it is crucial to master (or hire) both. According to John Ray, Google's Industry Head - Legal, there are over 375 million legal-related online searches per month in the United States. Ray, who spoke Tuesday at the 2013 Legal Marketing Technology Conference/West, said you can be a brilliant attorney, but if potential clients can’t find you, you are losing out on business. At the same time, opportunities to interact socially are increasing. In addition to optimizing your firm's online presence, though, remember that your online and offline social skills are crucial to building trust. Here are a few tips from the conference. ... READ MORE

The most successful salespeople strongly believe that sales is a numbers game. In other words, you don't have to be an ace or a homerun king to be successful at business development. You just have to keep pitching and swinging in the general direction of the clients. The more at-bats, the more runs (clients) you are likely to earn (win). When putting together the networking portion of your marketing plan, it helps to have a “numbers game” mentality. Let’s say you compile a list of 10 prospective clients or referral sources to meet for coffee or lunch. After that, you contact these people to try to set up something. What’s a good “hit” rate? ... READ MORE