Here are some good questions about marketing for solo and small firmsl:

How do I decide whom to connect with on LinkedIn?

One of the most important things when it comes to LinkedIn is to have at least 500 connections. After you hit 501 connections, your profile will specify you as a “power user.”

If you think about your own psychology, you would most likely feel more inclined to connect with someone who has many connections versus few. Essentially we believe this person is more of an influencer. Regardless if this is true or not, it’s our perceptions that create reality.

The same is true when people consider connecting with you. So when you first become active on LinkedIn, I would advise you to be less restrictive about whom you connect with. After you hit the 500 mark, you can be far more picky about who you connect with.

Why do most solo attorneys hit a ceiling in regard to gross revenue?

The reason most solo attorneys can’t exceed $250,000 in gross revenues a year simply boils down to capacity issues. There are only so many hours in a week and weeks in a year. When you are the CEO, the attorney, the accountant, the marketer and wear several other hats in order to keep your business going, at some point you run out of time and effectiveness and you can’t bring in more revenue.

Without building a team and investing in them and a variety of necessary systems, your income will always directly be tied to the number of hours you can dedicate to work on a weekly basis.

A great friend of mine who is very successful with his legal practice says, “You can’t save your way to a multi-million dollar law firm, you have to spend your way to it.”

Essentially that means if you want to build a 7-figure lifestyle law firm, you must invest in people and systems in order to leverage time and grow beyond your own production capabilities.

What are some easy ways I can grow my email list?

A few great and easy ways to grow your list are:

1. Find ways to speak and present. Each time you do, make sure you collect the names and email address of everyone at the events. If for some reason the organizer will not give you this information, do a give-away during your presentation. In order for individuals to be eligible to receive your give-away, they must give you their business card or their name, number and email.

2. Every time you go to a networking event and collect business cards make sure these individuals are added to your database or e-newsletter list. Don’t worry, if someone gives you’re their information they are implicitly stating you can send them information. If for some reason they don’t want it, there is always the opportunity for them to unsubscribe or to ask to stop receiving the information.

3. Offer a freemium. On your website you can send people a free report (filled with information that is important and meaningful to them) in exchange for their contact information. For example you can send them an article titled “Top 6 questions to ask a criminal defense attorney before hiring” as soon as they give you their info. You can have this automated so you or someone else is not personally responsible for sending out the article, but it goes automatically after your system gets their info.

4. Any time you send out an e-newsletter, encourage those who receive it to forward it on to anyone they know who can also benefit from the information.

5. Have a “e-newsletter” opt-in form on your website so people who visit your site can opt-in to receive your e-newsletter.