I love to fish.  If I am taking time off, it will most likely be with a rod in my hand and a heart full of anticipation for the ancient dance of man vs. fish.

Which is why I loved a recent article in the UK’s Law Society Gazette that examined the parallels between legal marketing and fly-fishing by Sue Bramall, who runs a legal marketing company across the pond and obviously knows her way around a fly rod and a fast moving stream.

I’ll sum up her points here about taking the angler’s approach to marketing your legal services:

Find the right time.  The bait doesn’t matter if the fish aren’t feeding.  Understand what triggers a prospect’s need for your services.

Find the right place.  When you fish a familiar body of water, you know the spots where you are most likely to catch a fish.  Once you understand your target market, you will be able to identify the best venues (online and offline) to find them. 

Choose the right lure.  Not every fish is attracted by the same lure and not every client will be attracted by the same marketing tactic.  Knowing your target market means knowing which marketing tools to use to reel them in.

Anticipate a feeding frenzy.  Sometimes new laws or regulations will trigger a feeding frenzy for your services.  Be ready by anticipating and preparing the right solution.

Drop a line.  You will never catch anything if you don’t put a line in the water.  Done is better than perfect when it comes to law firm marketing.

Set the hook.  When you feel a tug on the line, you set the hook or your fish is gone.  Don’t fail to respond in a timely manner to inquiries.

Be patient.  All anglers know the feeling of being skunked at one time or another.  You may go a long time before you get that trophy catch, but having the patience to persevere will eventually get you there.