How can I sell my newly created online presentations? How can I step my marketing efforts for next month’s conference that’s lagging in registrations? I keep getting these inquiries. Whether you’re planning a live, in-person continuing legal education event or offering CLE courses online for on-demand viewing, creating buzz, filling the seats and creating customer loyalty are the goals.
Here we discuss seven strategies involving a mix of old and new media — from email and phone call campaigns to social networking.
1. CLE accreditation
After “how much does it cost?”, the next question lawyers ask is, “how many CLE credits will I earn?” In CLE Accreditation as a Marketing Tool how it promotes quality assurance and provides an opportunity for lawyers to earn CLE credits, with free advertising bonus.
2. Social Media
Create a Facebook Page around the CLE presentation or provider. List the presentation on LinkedIn Events. Send notices to your Twitter community – use a #hashtag. Create a short promotional video and post it on YouTube. These are long-term brand awareness and trust building strategies. Not for the ROI impatient.
3. Advertising with associations and law blogs that serve your target audience
The ratio of sales per impressions will probably be low, but you’ll also be building relationships, recognition and trust.
4. Mail and email
The old fashion way is still effective in getting the word out to a target audience. This will take some analysis and evaluating besides simply purchasing large email lists.
5. Phone call campaign
Employ a service to do a telemarketing campaign which is usually a recorded message alerting lawyers of the seminar. Old school, but still a very effective strategy. I’ve seen providers turn around their fortunes doing this.
6. Multiple listings for event
List your event with sites like Eventbrite, Eventful, Upcoming, and Craigslist’s Events section, leading back to the registration page on your website.
7. Start blogging
If you don’t have a blog or already have a website for your online on-demand courses, then add a blogging component, or switch the entire site to a CMS platform like WordPress.
These are just a few of the strategies to market CLE presentations that use traditional and new media. Strategies vary and should involve both old and new. If you have any of your own, please share in the comments section below.
(photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ari/423850162/)
Tim Baran is the founder of BaranCLE, a continuing legal education services venture and resource hub. He's also the community manager at Rocket Matter. He can be found on Twitter @tim_baran. 
Lawyerist is the #1 law practice blog. We write about marketing, practice management, career development, and more.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Tim, can you give some advice about marketing to the marketers? My CLE programs are popular, but I don’t have the energy or interest to do all the leg-work and marketing to get butts in seats. I’d much rather have the CLE providers do all that work and have me just show up and do the gig, splitting the fees appropriately when possible.
Thoughts?
Hi Keven, providers already do. I think we need to make a distinction between presenter and provider. In this case you’re the presenter who shows up and does his thing. The provider – online or in-person (like bar associations), runs the program through the regular advertising channels – email lists, mailings, social media, etc. Regarding compensation, you’ll have to negotiate that with the provider. Many new presenters are willing to do it gratis for the exposure.
{ 1 trackback }