Solo practitioner Suzanne Meehle who blogs at Solo Practice University has an exciting story to relate about her use of video in marketing her law firm.

In exchange for helping a local film studio set up an LLC, Suzanne had a number of videos of herself produced that feature her sitting in her office while a friend interviews her on basic business law topics.  (You can see them here.)

She set up a channel for herself at YouTube (“YouTube makes it easy,” she reports) and linked her videos back to her website. 

And here’s what happened after she did that:

• In the first week, traffic to her website increased 62%.

• Page views on her website increased 30% (visitors didn’t just watch the videos, they stayed on her site and visited other pages).

• Her phone has not stopped ringing and she is thinking about making her part-time assistant full-time.

• Her inbox is filling up with emails from people who have filled out the form on her Contact Us page.

She is not only getting prospects, she is getting actual clients -- and, oh happy day, her referrals have increased as well because her referral sources are now better educated on what she offers.

Here are some of her tips for making videos that connect with prospects:

• Look professional -- wear a suit.

• Clean up your office so the viewer can’t see piles of stuff on your desk or credenza.

• Prepare what you are going to say but don’t read from a script.

• Produce at least one video that says what you do, but use the rest to provide actual educational content (she did 8 videos on different subjects like tax, employment law, IP, business formation and business planning).

• If you don’t have access to a local studio, hire a freelance professional in your area -- you can find them at Elance.com or Guru.com.

• Post your videos on your website and create your own YouTube channel with links back to your site to help your SEO.

Good stuff, Suzanne.  Congratulations on using what works and reaping the benefits!