My favorite law firm marketing conference is the annual meeting of the Personal Injury Lawyers Marketing and Management Association. I came back with many pages of money-making ideas from some of the sharpest minds in law firm marketing. Here is my personal list of cutting-edge, must-implement, and tried-and-true ideas.

Cutting-edge Marketing Tactics

1. Broadcast a Live Web TV Show. Lawyers can use YouTube Live to broadcast interviews with referral sources and make presentations that might interest clients. Webcasting is the fastest way to create content and engage potential clients. Plug an HD camcorder into an Intensity Shuttle, which lets you capture and play back HDMI video. It connects to your computer via a USB 3.0 or thunderbolt connection. You are then ready to shoot a live Web TV show using Wirecast live-streaming production software. – Idea from Cindy Speaker, West Chester, Penn., SM2 Media and Marketing; http://cindyspeaker.com/about-cindy/

2. Send Photos to Instagram. Send photos of promotions, sponsorship of charity events, and public relations announcements to this online mobile photo-sharing service, which has 90 million active U.S. users. Show your law firm brand as more of a caring part of your community than merely a corporate entity. – Idea from Justin Holderness, The Studio Firm, Centennial, Colo.; http://thestudiofirm.com/the-team

Techniques You Must Implement Now

3. Write a List of the Top 20 Referring Partners You’d Like to Have. Meet them in person, stay in touch by sending cards and print newsletters, and invite them to your speaking engagements. You get your best cases from other lawyers, because they are screening the cases for merit and they’re telling the client that you’re the right lawyer for the case. – Idea from John Fisher Esq., author of The Power of a System, Kingston, N.Y.; http://ultimateinjurylaw.com/

4. Newsjacking.The moment a big news story breaks, look for the “legal” angle and immediately comment on the story in a blog, podcast, or video. Next, notify news reporters via Twitter (compile your list of journalists in advance). This will prompt reporters, who are still gathering the facts, to call you for comment. For example, when Bill Cosby was caught lying about drugging and molesting women, attorney Mitch Jackson posted a blog about the libel ramifications of Cosby’s wife calling the victims liars. – Idea from Mitch Jackson, Streaminglawyer.com, Laguna Hills, Calif.; http://jacksonandwilson.com/

5. Start a Mass-Torts Practice. Find a mass-torts case from FDA recalls, news releases, and conferences such as the American Association for Justice or Mass Torts Made Perfect. Use the form complaint and plaintiff fact sheet from one of 300 multidistrict litigation dockets. Co-counsel with an established mass tort firm to prosecute the case. For more on this tip, see Starting Up a Prosperous Mass Torts Practice. –Idea from Edward Lake Esq., Gacovino Lake, Sayville, N.Y.; http://gacovinolake.com

6. Get Clients with a TV Infomercial.Hire a video studio to record a 30-minute talk show, such as “Disability Secrets Revealed,” and offer a free book or white paper on the air. Viewers can order by calling a displayed toll-free number, where pressing “0” will connect them to a lawyer. Callers give their contact information, and the law firm can follow up with calls and emails over the next 30 days, each time offering something new for free. Ken Hardison, creator of the Personal Injury Lawyers Marketing & Management Association (PIMMLA), paid $1,350 to broadcast his infomercial and got 279 leads that turned into 28 cases. – Idea from PILMMA, Myrtle Beach, S.C.; www.pilmma.org

7. Self-Publish a Book and Position Yourself as an Expert.First, hire a book-writing service that interviews you and turns the transcript into plain English. Give hard copies to potential and current clients – it’s a business card that is never thrown away. No one will ask how many copies you sold, they will simply be impressed. Let people “order” the ebook version online with a webform on your site that requests their phone number and email address. – Idea from Michael DeLon, Paperback Expert, Little Rock, Ark. Download “10 Ways to Grow Your Business With Your Own Book”; http://paperbackexpert.com

Tried and True Tactics

8. Be Involved in Your Community. Pajcic & Pajcic of Jacksonville, Fla., sponsored a nine-hole golf tournament and happy hour benefiting Jacksonville Area Legal Aid. The firm promoted it on social media, generated publicity, and collected nine backlinks to their website. This approach can be very successful at engaging potential clients and the public. – Idea from Tanner Jones, Consultwebs, Raleigh, N.C.; http://consultwebs.com

9. Send a Print Newsletter Designed to Convert. Mail a printed newsletter: people like to hold something tangible, and you might not have the email addresses of potential clients. Key: spend 90 percent of your time designing a great headline. It should emphasize the reader’s pain, aggravate the pain, and offer your solution. – Idea from Paul Hogan, Law Center for Car Accident Injuries, Wichita, Kan.; http://caraccidentinjurylawcenter.com/

Conclusion

Whether you use cutting-edge or tried-and-true tactics, the idea is to market interactively and to engage other people. Rather than blast out promotions, lawyers should give potential clients something to respond to. The more back-and-forth contact you have with others, the more new business you will gain.