Television Advertising for Lawyers. Television Advertising Tips for Lawyers. Some specific advice for attorneys who want to start advertising on television.

Television Advertising for Lawyers

1. Take a Cue From Your Competition. Keep in mind: No one advertises on TV for long if it doesn't work. But when it does work, most people stick with it. So, if you've seen another lawyer advertising on TV consistently for months, chances are you've seen a lawyer who's making money at it. If your practice is similar, maybe you could be making money too!

2. Know Your Prospect. Your prospect from TV advertising is not just someone who needs a lawyer. Your prospect is someone who needs a lawyer and will hire one from TV. This usually means someone who does not already have a lawyer, and does not know any lawyers.

3. Meet a specific need. This is an important exception to Rule #2: If your practice meets a very specific need, you may even get response from prospects who know lawyers or have lawyers. The prospects rightly assume that you could do more for them in this particular circumstance than another lawyer, who would know less about it.

4. Some Practices Work Better on TV Than Others. Advertising your Corporate Tax Law practice on local TV is probably not going to help you very much, unless you are only interested in building your image over the long haul and you are willing to stick with the program without getting much response in the short term. Corporate executives are unlikely to leave their dinner tables, pick up their phones, and call you.

5. Feed Off Your Competitors' Ads. If another attorney in your area of practice has been using TV successfully for awhile, and your commercial suddenly pops up, you may pick up some prospects who have seen his ad but didn't need him at that time. Now they do need him, but it's your ad they see!

6. Make Sure Your Staff Benefits. This is not just altruism, believe me. TV advertising can create a lot of extra work. Sometimes an office staff, resentful of having to answer, process and track a large number of TV calls, will try, consciously or unconsciously, to sabotage the effort. Avoid this by making sure your staff benefits materially from the extra work.