Let's Talk Legal Marketing With Steven H. Heisler

A Law Firm Marketing Blog Series: Edition #4

Welcome back to our blog series, in which we talk legal marketing with real law professionals. In this edition, we discuss best marketing practices with Steven H. Heisler, one of the most highly regarded and trusted injury lawyers in the Baltimore area.

We hope hearing the thoughts and ideas shared by the people in these blog posts, will inspire you to make positive changes to your marketing strategies. We also know that marketing legal services these days is more complex and challenging now than ever before, and hope that some of our readers may identify with some of the marketing struggles presented here, and perhaps be able to offer solutions.

The biggest goal of this blog series is to get the conversation going, so let’s dive in.

A Marketing Conversation With Attorney Steven H. Heisler Esq.

Steven H. Heisler, “The Injury Lawyer”, practices personal injury, workers compensation, medical malpractice, and product liability. This December marks a special milestone for Mr. Heisler, as he will enter his 30th year of practicing law. In our below discussion, the veteran attorney provides insight on the value of relationship marketing, engaging in search marketing as a technology-challenged lawyer, and the importance of discussing national health issues in his firm’s blog posts.

Answering Legal: What methods do you currently use to market your firm?

Steven: Some of the methods I use include developing relationships with community influencers, developing and cultivating relationships with medical professionals (including chiropractors and orthopedic doctors), and cultivating relationships with other attorneys. I also send out newsletters, birthday cards and emails to existing and past clients, and write daily content for my website to help rank higher in search engines. By far the most effective method has been our relationship marketing.

AL: What are some of the biggest marketing challenges your firm faces today?

Steven: Probably the biggest marketing challenge is allocating limited resources to all of the different marketing platforms. As far as I’m concerned the most effective way to get consistent leads on a modest budget is relationship marketing.

AL: How difficult can it be for busy attorneys like yourself to find real time to devote to marketing?

Steven: I decided a long time ago that there is no law practice if there is not a steady stream of clients coming through the door, so I don’t have any trouble devoting the necessary time daily to marketing.

AL: What kind of search marketing strategies does your firm utilize?

Steven: I am technologically challenged, so I employ a phenomenal SEO firm, which helps me stay on page one on Google. Some of the keywords that I rank high on are “Baltimore Injury Lawyer”, “Baltimore Auto Accident lawyer”, and “Baltimore Personal Injury Lawyer”. While some people still use the Yellow Pages to hunt for an attorney, the masses are going online.

AL: How did you go about designing your firm’s website and what is the main message you want site visitors to take away from visiting it?

Steven: I wanted my website to be clean, easy to navigate and rich in content. The main message I want visitors to take away is that I only handle injury cases, so I am the right lawyer for them.

AL: How involved are you in developing content for your website blog? What’s your approach for picking topics to write about?

Steven: I am very involved in developing content for my blog. As an injury attorney, there are many categories to write about and I am constantly adding categories that I think are evolving and trending upwards. For example, toxic torts, legionnaire’s disease and opioids are categories that have become national health issues and people are going online to find attorneys to handle these cases.

AL: What marketing advice would you give to an attorney just starting out in 2018?

Steven: Two things. First, my law practice really started prospering when I decided that I would handle ONLY injury cases. So seriously consider a niche practice. Secondly, develop as many relationships as you can. The attorney with the most relationships wins. Relationships equal many clients, which is why relationship marketing is the way to go.

Some key takeaways from our conversation with Steven H. Heisler:

• While many are eager to take their marketing efforts completely online, experienced attorney Steven H. Heisler reminds us that building relationships still matters. While search marketing has allowed his firm to reach more potential clients, it’s Heisler eagerness to interact and communicate with consumers and influencers in his area that helps set his firm apart in today’s crowded legal world. After spending just a few minutes on Heisler’s firm website, it is easy to see how he has engraved himself into the city of Baltimore and its communities.
• Mr. Heisler should serve as an inspiration for other technology-challenged attorneys. A personal lack of comfort with engaging online has not stopped Heisler’s firm from achieving SEO success. Using a professional SEO firm has helped Heisler grow his firm’s online presence in ways he wouldn’t have been able to on his own. Attorneys need to make peace with some of their marketing shortcomings and not be ashamed to reach out for professional help.
• For attorneys looking to start or improve their website blog, Mr. Heisler’s firm blog page is a great example to follow. Over the years, Heisler has transformed his blog site into an in-depth database for injury law related issues. The site provides valuable insight on just about every injury law related topic, and is still running strong today. By providing answers to the various injury law questions consumers might have, Heisler further cements his status as an industry expert, and gives readers reason to trust his firm with their important case.

That’s it for today’s blog post, but the legal marketing discussion doesn’t have to end here. Join the Let’s Talk Legal Marketing discussion groups on Facebook and LinkedIn, and start communicating with other top legal marketing minds today! Also be sure to follow the Let’s Talk Legal Marketing Twitter account (@letstalklm), for all of the latest legal marketing news and info.