It’s time to learn about the best email marketing software for law firms.
First, let’s take a look at the basics.
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Contents
Email Marketing Software vs Regular Email Platforms
Why pay for email marketing software?
Can’t you just use Gmail or Outlook?
This is a common question. But, sending marketing emails from your regular account is a rookie error.
Why you shouldn’t send marketing emails from your regular email platform
5 reasons come to mind…
1. Your work email account can get blacklisted
Some people will report your emails as spam. It’s inevitable. This can get your regular email account blacklisted. What does this mean? Your emails will go to spam folders. Standard client emails, communication with other parties and invoices.
Can you imagine the drama? Your firm will also have to get a new email account, set it up, tell everyone, change stationery and online assets. What a pain.
2. Email limits
Regular email accounts are generally not built for mass emailing.
This includes limits on:
- How many emails you can send in a 24-hour period
- How many emails you can send in one go
3. Adding/Unsubscribing
This will be a challenge.
You’ll have to do it manually. Or, pay a staff member to do it.
Also, this is the type of information that you’ll want data on. It shows you what works and what doesn’t. For example, you can measure open rates, reply rates, reading time and unsubscribes.
Naturally, you’ll want to create the type of content that performs well. I don’t know how you can get reliable data unless you do it manually. Once again, bad idea.
4. It’s pretty affordable
Entry-level options can be free. Some options start at only $9 per month. When you consider the typical expenses of a law firm, this is a drop in the bucket.
5. But wait, there’s more
- How will you create an automated email sequence with a regular email account?
- How will you design stylish newsletters?
- How will you schedule email blasts?
Types of Email Marketing Software for Lawyers
There are many options available. It mostly depends on your needs.
Do you only need to send emails to your list? Or maybe you want to track website visitors with a built-in CRM software tool? Perhaps you’re after some tailor-made landing page templates?
I like to keep things simple. So, here’s how I categorise email software: standard, advances and marketing automation.
1) Standard Email Marketing Software
This is what EVERY email marketing software program should do:
- Maintain a list of contacts
- Provide an email builder with templates
- Send emails. These can be manual and/or automated
- Track results
Most law firms will be happy with this.
Popular email marketing software for law firms include:
Some of them include more advanced features.
What do these include?
Maybe you want to send emails to targeted subscribers once they take a certain action. This could be once they’ve filled out a contact form. Or, when they visit a certain page on your website. Maybe a specific email should be sent once they’ve opened X number of emails. Thus, your targeting strategy can become very precise and intentional.
Recommendations:
MailChimp and Campaign Monitor.
Why?
- Easy to set up
- User-friendly
- MailChimp has a lot of third-party integrations with common law firm software
- MailChimp is also free for < 2,000 contacts
2) Advanced Email Marketing Software
Sending emails is nice.
But, what if your goal is to convert subscribers into paying clients?
If so, you may need to take it up a notch.
This could include
- CRM functionality
- Automation sequences for different lead magnets
Recommendations:
Active Campaign.
Why?
- Built-in CRM. This lets you actively manage your subscribers through the buying cycle. Why is this important? People have different pain points. These issues need to be solved. That’s why it’s essential to create tailored email sequences. This allows you to ‘speak to your audience’ more effectively.
- Your law firm can run several email automation sequences. Including downloadable content (‘lead magnets’) and weekly/monthly email campaigns. Active Campaign could be crucial to your success with law firm email marketing.
Bonus Tip:
Get your toes wet with MailChimp.
Once you’ve ‘out-grown’ it, move to Active Campaign.
3) Marketing Automation Software
Now we’re moving into ‘big boy’ territory.
This type of email marketing software has EVERYTHING you could ever need.
Examples of marketing automation software for law firms
The two most popular are Hubspot and Infusionsoft (now ‘Keap’)
They have the standard tools for email creation and automation. But, it doesn’t stop there.
What marketing automation software can do for your law firm:
- Landing page creators
- Contact / intake form creators
- Social media posting apps
- Blogging software/hosting
- Complete CRM with contact activity tracking
- Advanced contact tracking and lead scoring
What type of data can marketing automation software provide your law firm?
- Which emails they’re opening
- Which website pages they’re visiting
- What type of content they’re engaging in
Why is this important? Well, you can use this data to send them TARGETED email campaigns.
Is Marketing Automation Software Necessary for law firms?
Probably not.
Why?
- < $800 per month. Most of the features will never be used by law firms.
- ‘set up fees’ and hidden costs. These can be several thousand dollars.
- The list goes on. Generally speaking, these apps are overkill for the needs of most law firms.
Why do consultants promote these apps? Well, I can take a guess. It might be due to the sizeable referral fee. Also known as an ‘affiliate fee’. These apps offer incentives to consultants because they know it’s a tough sell.
While they provide a tonne of value, law firms generally don’t need it.
Conclusion: what type of email marketing software is best for your law firm?
Let’s just cut to the chase and provide our top pick.
The best email marketing platform for most law firms
Here’s a piece of advice that most consultants will never share with you:
If you’re a rookie, start with an app in the Standard category. Get started with MailChimp.
This is what most businesses start with. Chances are you already receive emails from this tool.
Why your law firm should start with a simple email marketing tool:
- You’ll make mistakes and learn along the way
- Email marketing is a skill. It takes practice. Don’t pay for a service that you barely understand.
- Building an email list also takes time. Don’t pay for expensive tools when your list is small.
How to get started with law firm email marketing
Start out by sending newsletters.
Listen to feedback and refine your skills.
If you have ‘lead magnets’ (e.g. ebooks or guides), you can automate them easily through MailChimp.
Once you outgrow MailChimp, explore more advanced options.
Why we like basic email marketing software for law firms
It’s free to get started.
But there’s more…
We’ve seen too many law firms pay for expensive marketing consulting.
Then, to add salt to the wound, they buy software that far exceeds their needs.
This inevitably provides a low ROI. And, the value of email marketing is distorted. So, please start with modest software.
Remember — it’s easy to export your subscriber list and import into another.
When should you upgrade your law firm email marketing software?
Well, a good rule-of-thumb is: consider upgrading once you have more than 1,000 contacts.
Also — what do you want to achieve? Ask yourself the following questions:
- Do I want to track leads?
- Do I want to create complex automation sequences based on user-activity?
- Do I need to integrate the software with other apps?
Please start your campaign with a specific purpose. Choose your software based on this purpose, and go from there.
Learn More About Law Firm Email Marketing
These resources can help you with email marketing for law firms:
Email marketing campaign management by Legalsites
Better Law Firm Marketing Podcast
Law firm email newsletter ideas
Need help choosing the best email marketing software for law firms?
Want to hire a professional law firm marketing agency to manage your email marketing campaign?
We look forward to hearing from you.
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