Attorney advertising through the Yellow Pages once was considered unprofessional, and ethically taboo. Then it gained acceptance as a lawyer marketing solution and a productive way to gain new clients. One advantage of these display ads was that an attorney could start with a small ad and, if enough clients were produced, one could “move up” the next year. Bigger ads garnered more calls.
Of course, one disadvantage was that you were stuck with any errors for the full year. If it happened to be your phone number they got wrong, you would get nothing out of the ad for a full year. Refunds are nice, but what about the full year’s loss of new clients? Their contracts were odd enough; they were quite familiar with that problem and they nicely exonerated themselves of all responsibility for the devastating losses. With any disagreement, it was immediately apparent the phone company was the 600 pound gorilla, and you were the mouse.
During the 1980’s and early 1990’s, advertising for attorneys in the Yellow Pages was big. Wannabes proliferated, sporting the amazingly enough, un-copyrighted “walking fingers” logo, and undercutting the phone company’s rates. They solicited ads for directories that few ever read. Even with the Phone Company’s directory, there were many full page attorney advertisements, despite such ads costing well into five digits monthly, but people called, and ad revenue well exceeded the cost.
Then along came the Internet. With web advertising, errors could be instantly corrected, with no loss of advertising time. Suddenly, detail about your practice and why people ought to call you instead of competitors was handy. Space was not at a premium any more, and…it was MUCH cheaper. The Walking Fingers just could not match the web’s added depth in the areas of information the reader wanted to see.
Predictably, people approached hunting for a lawyer differently. Some sought the low key lawyer, while others the Top Gun. Some hunted for the folksy rolled-up sleeves guy, while others required the in-the-law library attorney. Cigar chomping gutter fighter or take the high road ex-divinity student? While the Yellow guys had to strike a bland middle ground, the Internet could be all things to all people, depending on which buttons they choose to click. Want testimonials? Click here.
So eventually attorneys started to vote with their feet and move their ad money to the Internet. Sure, there are still Yellow Page ads for divorce lawyers, but does she specialize in representing women? Does the attorney favor mediation or scorched earth? Does the attorney charge for the initial conference? Evening Law School Professor? Likes cats? Community volunteer? Readers quickly exhaust the Yellow Page’s limited data, while the Internet web site allows its followers to dig as deep as they please. One suspects that those who still maintain full Yellow Page ads do it for the perceived prestige. It likely costs more per new client than the same firm’s concurrent internet advertising. The Yellow Pages, like newspapers, are a fading medium, especially when it comes to advertising for attorneys.
For more on law firm web marketing, see Law Firm Internet Marketing Strategies that Work.
You must log in to post a comment.