Speaker 1: 0:05

Welcome to Legal Marketing 101. I'm Toby Rosen. If you think that Google Ads is just about stuffing as many keywords as you can into a little box and getting all the stuff you can in there, then you need to think again. The great ad men of the past, people like David Ogilvie. They're not just selling products to you. They sold ideas, emotions, stories all of this wrapped into one. What they really understood is that to truly connect with people, you have to go a lot deeper than just the facts and the figures and the awards, and today we're going to talk about a couple of ways to apply those principles people like Ogilvy, who really is my ad writing hero so that we can actually craft some ads for the internet, for Google Ads, that don't just compete with our competition, but they dominate the competition.

Speaker 1: 0:58

In today's episode, we're diving into some of my strategies for writing Google ads that I really think stand out, and a lot of these are based on people like Ogilvy, who created a lot of the type of advertising that we really strive to do today, and we're really not just talking about the basics here. We are talking about some of the advanced tactics that are going to help you beat your competition, get lower cost per clicks, increase your impression share and really just piss your competitors off, which is fun. So let's get started Now. I'm going to talk about David Ogilvie until you get really tired of him and then I'm going to try to stop, but we're going to start by drawing some inspiration from Ogilvie, one of the greatest ad writers of all time, because his approach to advertising wasn't just about making things sound good, it was about really cutting straight to the heart of what matters to the people, and one of the first things that he mastered was the headline. The first line of any ad needs to really grab attention immediately, and especially in the world of Google ads, we only get a few characters to do this, so we need to think about how to make this count.

Speaker 1: 2:01

What we want to do is think about leading with a bold statement or a question that speaks really directly to your potential client. This is what we generally find works best. So I'm going to use some random examples throughout this episode. But if you're an immigration for, say, in New York, instead of saying experienced immigration lawyer or immigration lawyer for 24 years, we're going to try and say something that immediately addresses the client's actual concern. So maybe we say need help with your visa? Or here's how we make your visa stress-free, or here's an ebook on getting your stress-free visa. All of these are simple, but they tap directly into the problem and usually into the solution in just a couple of words, and we can play around with these direct statements like things like you know we can help, versus the questions like do you need help? To see what resonates more with your audience and, as always, testing is key, but I will say that do you need help? Or you, and help sometimes sets off filters in Google ads and Facebook ads. So just keep an eye on some of those words.

Speaker 1: 3:07

Now let's move on to talking about how we can craft a story with our ads, because what David Ogilvie knew was that a good story could really sell anything, and I would say more than anything, but not more than anything, maybe as much as most things. That applies to legal services, and you might think storytelling in an ad when we have 25 characters to say something is kind of impossible, but we just have to be a little bit clever with how we frame things. So what we need to do here every single time pretty much, is start with a client's pain point and immediately follow up with the resolution that we offer. So, for a family law firm facing a complex divorce, our attorneys make it simple. Call today to protect your future. In just two sentences, or two and a half, we've presented the problem and the solution. You have a complex divorce and we make it simple. And then we call the client to action and we've told, in just three little lines here, a mini story that has zero fluff. We're taking out all the extra words and the key here is to condense this full narrative of what's the problem, how do we fix it and how do we get you to come in and do this and give just enough to grab the curiosity of the client, grab their attention and make them want more. We're trying to build a little bit of a connection, a little bit of confidence and, you know, stoke that curiosity a little bit, just like the great advertisers, like Ogilvy, did in their legendary VW campaigns, or there's a bunch of them. But I think I'll move on from beating this at the moment.

Speaker 1: 4:39

Now that we've sort of covered the fundamentals, this is the basic way we want to structure an ad, let's start diving into some of the more advanced strategies for making our ad stand out. When things get really competitive and you know just if you're in a crowded market, it's not really enough here to just have a good ad. We need to have an ad that commands attention and positions our firm as the clear choice among all the other noise on the page. And that's where these tactics come into play. Let's start by leveraging contrast to differentiate our firm, and this is one of the most powerful ways to prove that we're actually different from other people, because we can show that. But I will quickly warn that you want to check your bar rules for this. I'll mention bar rules and making sure you're understanding what you can and can't say, because superlatives or comparisons can be challenging in some places.

Speaker 1: 5:29

Too many legal ads though they sound just the same. They sound experienced, trusted. What I call them is Ron Burgundy ads, where they're talking about you know they have many mahogany bound books in their apartment and their apartment smells of rich mahogany, and they have many leather bound books. But what we can say that actually positions our firm as the only solution is really where we want to take this. This contrast helps us make that distinction a lot clearer, so we can think about what our competitors are doing and then figure out how we can say we do it better. So if most firms in our area present themselves in sort of a sterile corporate, you know, just office-like tone, then we can go in the opposite direction.

Speaker 1: 6:12

There are plenty of examples of law firms who have done this well and we can focus on the personal, human approach. So let's take a family law example. Other firms treat you like a case number. We treat you like a real person because your case and your family deserves it. This draws a really direct line between how you operate differently and why that should matter to the client. We can show or tell directly that we work differently and then explain not only why that's a good thing, but why that should matter to the client. We're not just another option. Here we are, are the option for this client, and by positioning our firm in contrast to the others, we are framing not only ourselves but our services as unique, and that uniqueness is really key to capturing attention and, ultimately, retentions. It's about making it clear that there is just no substitute for what we can do for this person.

Speaker 1: 7:05

Now let's start talking about the language in the ads itself. Specifically, we're going to talk about the power of words. Certain words hold a lot more weight than others in our society and in general, especially when clients are searching for legal help. This really rings true. Power words in our context are things like trusted, proven, award-winning, expert, specialist, and all of these can trigger an emotional response. These words are instantly communicating authority and credibility, which is essential when clients are making big decisions about who to trust with their legal issues and often with their money. So, for example, an ad that says work with our trusted, award-winning attorneys immediately is elevating your firm above the others that call themselves just experienced, experienced. When clients see these power words whether it's in the ad, it's on the landing page, the website they feel a little bit more confident in choosing you because they associate these words with reliability and expertise.

Speaker 1: 8:06

But here's the thing there is a fine line between using powerful language effectively and sounding kind of sensationalist. Overusing these terms, using them all the time, or using them without having some kind of proof or something that looks professional, is going to make your ads feel gimmically or misleading. The key is to weave power words naturally into your copy, always making sure that we're supporting this by facts, so we don't want to just say that we're trusted. We want to prove it with client testimonials, industry recognition or awards, and we don't want to just say that we're trusted. We want to prove it with client testimonials, industry recognition or awards, and we don't want to say we're award-winning unless we have won awards. It's not just about creating hype, it's about actually creating trust, and trust is really important.

Speaker 1: 8:50

But there are other things that are important, and one of the other tactics I really like and one of the most underrated techniques I would say is using curiosity. People have a really natural desire to know more, and you can use that to your advantage in your ad copy or in your graphic ads as well. But the trick here is to create curiosity without being too vague or confusing or pushing the boundaries too much. But I do like pushing the boundaries. We'll come back to that. Let's look at an example. We might say you might think all criminal defense lawyers are the same. Think again.

Speaker 1: 9:24

This type of line is something I'm sure you've seen, but it's great because it almost immediately challenges the assumptions a potential client could have. It's like daring them to click and find out why you're different. You've piqued their interest and now they're more likely to engage with your ad because they want to know more. The best part of using curiosity, though, is that it works at any stage of the decision-making process. So if someone is just at the very top of the funnel just starting to explore legal services, got in an argument with their girlfriend or was in a car accident, it can hook them in, and it also works for someone further down the funnel. So if they're in estate planning and they've been doing research but they haven't pulled the trigger, or they're in family law and they've been thinking about it for a few months but just didn't seem right, and they don't know that they can do it For them, it can reinforce the idea that your firm offers something that they're not going to find elsewhere and that you can handle their issue, but ultimately, curiosity-driven ads tap into this fundamental human need for closure. You're giving your audience just enough information to spark interest, but you're leaving enough out so that the only way to satisfy their curiosity is by clicking on that ad and learning more.

Speaker 1: 10:34

Now we're moving on to one of the bigger challenges in Google ads. This is something that's a little bit more fundamental and that's addressing potential client objections before they even have a chance to arise. People sometimes hesitate to contact a law firm because they're concerned about the cost, the reputation, how long it could take. Is it going to destroy their life? Are they going to get arrested? They have no idea. They've seen too many TV shows and they don't understand what's going to happen. But the beauty of a well-crafted ad and sometimes this has to lead through to your other content, but the beauty here is that you can start to tackle these objections head on and remove these barriers to engagement.

Speaker 1: 11:11

So let's start with one of the most common objections legal fees. Clients often assume that hiring a lawyer is out of their budget. This is true for a lot more people than you would think, and by acknowledging this concern directly in your ad copy, you can ease that fear before it turns into a lost opportunity. So we could have an ad that says worried about legal fees? We offer flexible payment plans so that you get the best representation without the stress, and doesn't just acknowledge that objection. It doesn't say, oh, we understand that you're worried about this. We go ahead and say we solve it. If you can work on contingency, you can tell people about that. If you have a no fee consultation or you know you do some other variation on contingency, you can tell people about it because it's going to solve one of the biggest objections that people have to hiring you. This approach is going to show your potential clients that not only do you understand their concerns, but that you're willing to work with them, even though it may not be the easiest thing for them.

Speaker 1: 12:08

And another big objection is turnaround time. If clients are worried about how long this process is going to take, they don't want to spend two years in court and paying retainers and et cetera. You could say something like need fast results. Our attorneys specialize in resolving cases quickly and efficiently. You've taken their concern and you've reframed it as a strength of your firm. It's something that you actually focus on rather than just running up the hourly fees. This is going to start building a lot more confidence in your ability to meet their needs and actually do things that are working in their favor, even though we all know that we're doing that in the first place.

Speaker 1: 12:44

And that's where we need to talk about trust again. Every line of our ad needs to instill some kind of confidence in potential clients that shows them that you're the right choice, and one of the best ways to do this is through social proof. We've talked about it before and we'll talk about it again because it's really important. We need to show evidence that other people trust us and have had successful outcomes when working with us. So if we have phrases in our advertising like 500 cases won or recognized by super lawyers or this organization, it immediately positions us as more credible and more experienced than other competitors. On the page, these statements give clients something tangible to hold on to and say my lawyer is, you know these one 500 cases. They provide reassurance to these clients and they you know it helps them understand or reinforces to them that they're making a smart, informed choice when they actually decide to reach out to you. And by addressing all these objections and building up that trust right away, right at the start, our ad copy is becoming a much more powerful tool when it comes to converting hesitant prospects into clicks and confident actual clients.

Speaker 1: 13:55

Now we've talked a lot about some of the core tactics for creating good advertising, but let's talk about when we actually have these advertising. We need to understand the difference between is this ad for a high intent user who is card in hand and ready to engage, or is this person still just sort of in the awareness stage and we need to, you know, just sort of coax them along and get them a little bit more engaged. This is really key to writing effective Google ads and our messaging needs to be tailored to where these clients are in their decision-making process. So let's start breaking down how we can craft ad copy that resonates with both the both groups of people and we can talk about how we can specifically address different users, but high intent users. Let's start with them because they're ready to act. They're likely searching for a lawyer with the intent of reaching out immediately, so our ad copy needs to reflect that urgency. These users are going to respond well to direct, action-oriented language with a focus on immediate solutions to the problem. So if we're doing personal injury, car accidents, something like that, our ad copy could say injured, call now for a free consultation with our top rated attorneys. This is speaking directly to a client that needs help right now and then pairs that with the compelling call to action call now, we've got a whole offer, we've got a question, all the pieces there. The sense of urgency is clear and the free consultation removes that potential barrier for the client to take action, and it's something that everybody wants really.

Speaker 1: 15:24

And when we're writing for these high intent users, we need to create this sense of immediacy. We let them know that we can solve their problem and we are available to do it right now. But, on the other hand, awareness stage users they're usually just beginning to explore their options. Maybe they've talked to somebody but they haven't Googled, or vice versa, they might not be ready to hire an attorney right now. So our ad copy needs to focus more on the education and the trust building element of things.

Speaker 1: 15:53

Instead of driving these users to act quickly, we want to nurture their interest. And when we're able to split up these audiences, it's great, and we can directly target them with the right ad text and make sure we're hitting them at the exact right moment with the right phraseology. But we're not able to do this. What we really want to do is combine some elements of both. So when we get into building trust and building up our reputation with a new user that's still effective when it comes to a high intent user, but it's good to work in some of those high intent headlines make sure we have some calls to action throughout our ads so that we can hit those high intent users right where they need to be hit and make sure that we get the calls we need.

Speaker 1: 16:33

But when we're talking about those users in the awareness stage, we might write a description for an ad that says learn more about your rights after a car accident, speak to an experienced attorney today. So we're putting it in somewhere slightly less prominent, but it's going to be on the page and it still has that element of urgency that can work for someone who is ready to call now. It offers the valuable information we need to offer to a user to plant the seed that were available when they need help, and it gives that call to action, albeit a little bit softer, and it's still framing us as a helpful resource. So we want to guide these potential clients through the early stages of this decision making process, but not skip those call to actions, so that we can still, you know, make sure we're positioned as the logical choice when somebody's ready to make a move, but explain that we are ready when they are ready to make a move.

Speaker 1: 17:24

As always, the key is to test, because more often than not we're wrong about what the clients are going to react the best to. Over time, we get good data and we start to understand. But at the very beginning we need to see what they're going to click on. But one of the things they often click on way more than I understand is ad extensions, and ad extensions can really play a pretty significant role in your messaging and in your Google Ads campaigns for both high intent and awareness stage users. So by adding call outs, site links, structured snippets, more photos, whatever kind of information you can add through Google ads, you can pack even more into your ad, create more urgency, more exclusivity and, most importantly, take up more real estate on the page. So usually we're adding information about our services and we're adding information about from our site and things like that. But if we think outside the box, just as an example, we could add something like a limited time offer. This extension could push high intent users to act more quickly while using some site links to give more educational resources, build trust with those awareness stage clients. These extensions not only take up that real estate, but they give our ad depth and they allow us to address a couple of different types of users all in one place, which makes our ads more dynamic and just more effective across the board.

Speaker 1: 18:46

And, yes, we want to tailor our messaging to where our audience is in the buying journey so that we can convert from you know, ready to act, to exploratory users. All of this with precision, but we do need to address everybody. So now it's time to do your homework. So we want to pick two or three of the tactics we've talked about today and we want to start testing them in our own ads. And yes, we've talked about keeping our number of changes, number of variables, small.

Speaker 1: 19:11

So be smart about that. And maybe what you're going to do here is experiment with a big, bold, curiosity-driven headline or something edgy, or just adjust your messaging a little bit to resonate better with the high-intent users in your practice. And whatever you choose here, the key is to take action, record your information, do your A-B testing, check out our episodes on that and see what works best for your firm. Start with two or three, then move on to the next and if you have questions you can always reach out to me. That's it for Legal Marketing 101. Check out RosenAdvertisingcom for more Thanks.