With the prevalence of newer marketing channels like social media, it seems like email marketing has become obsolete.
However, this assumption is false, as email marketing remains one of the most reliable and profitable marketing tools today. Email marketing’s return on investment (ROI) is $36 per dollar spent.
Email marketing can be beneficial for law firms. Private legal practitioners need a reliable and comprehensive marketing strategy to gain new clients and maintain relationships with existing ones.
While sending marketing emails might seem easy, it can be time-consuming to execute your campaigns manually. For this reason, an email marketing software tool could optimize your processes and improve your results.
Steps in Selecting an Email Marketing Platform for Your Law Firm
Law firms and other businesses executing email campaigns have different needs and resources. This means selecting the appropriate email marketing software requires careful consideration of factors surrounding your needs and available resources.
If your firm already has a software selection process, you can use that to choose an email marketing tool. You can also follow the steps below when selecting the best software for marketing law firms.
1. Know the types of emails you plan to send
Email marketing involves sending different types of emails depending on the circumstances. Here are some common email types you could use in your law firm practice.
- Transactional emails. Transactional emails get sent each time a client performs an action. For example, you could send an automated confirmation email each time a client books an appointment.
- Drip campaigns. Drip campaign emails get sent to a larger audience within a specific period. This series of emails could help onboard new clients, encourage further action, or nurture existing leads.
- Newsletters. As the name suggests, newsletters inform your audience about updates regarding your firm, such as changes in leadership, office location, service offerings, etc. You could also use these emails to inform audiences about relevant topics related to your legal practice.
A comprehensive email marketing campaign can include one or more types of emails to achieve specific goals. Knowing the types of email campaigns you plan to implement can help you choose the right software tool.
2. Identify must-have features
It’s essential to know what you’re looking for when choosing the right email marketing software. Identifying necessary features helps you sort through your options more effectively.
Here are some must-have features you can look for in your email marketing software prospects:
- A/B testing. In email marketing, A/B testing means sending different batches of emails to different audience groups. This practice allows you to gauge the effectiveness of each approach and optimize your marketing emails.
- HTML editing. This feature allows you to tailor your marketing emails to the smallest detail. To get into each marketing email’s underlying code, you may want to look for software that offers this feature.
- Templates. Ready-made email templates allow you to create well-designed emails quickly and efficiently. Choosing an email marketing software tool with a good template selection could help improve your campaigns.
- Automation. Automating different processes like sending emails and audience segmentation can free up a lot of time for your marketing team. This feature is handy for smaller teams or larger email lists.
- Email volume. Some email marketing apps charge depending on the number of emails you send. Ensure you use a software tool that can grow and scale with your firm and clientele.
- Customer service. Sometimes, apps crash or encounter issues. Good customer service helps you address these issues. Before settling on an email marketing software tool, check reviews and media reports about the company’s customer service quality.
3. Form a team
If you’re planning to prioritize your software selection process, it’s essential to form a team to make the decision. Creating a software testing team can help you see how each software tool performs according to different departments’ needs.
Your software testing team can include the following people:
- People who will use the software (e.g., members of your marketing team)
- IT department representatives
- People from your finance or management department who can approve the costs
4. Create a shortlist
Many email marketing tools are available, most with similar features. For this reason, it can be easy to get overwhelmed with your options and miss out on strong contenders.
Do your research and create a shortlist of email marketing tools that offer your desired features. You can put them on a spreadsheet, identifying their features, pricing, performance, and other relevant comments.
If you don’t know where to start, several email marketing software reviews are available online. These articles and publications can help you find viable candidates. Many of these reviews also detail the writers’ experiences and opinions on each software, which can help influence your decision.
5. Test each prospect
After developing a shortlist, it’s time to test your options. It’s best to work with your team on this step, as you will need email recipients that aren’t your actual clients.
Using each tool, create a marketing email. You can use stock text and templates. Incorporate text, images, videos, and other elements you want to include in your marketing emails. You can document the drafting process through screenshots or screen recordings.
Send the test emails to your team and see how they look on both web and mobile devices. Then, check the tool’s analytics section to see how it organizes and presents data.
When testing your software prospects, explore each feature. Click all the buttons, try the settings, and do everything you can with it. This way, you can better grasp what each tool can and cannot do.
Do this process for each app on your shortlist, then meet with your testing team to share your insights and make the final decision.
Examples of Email Marketing Tools for Law Firms
Your law firm won’t be at a loss to find email marketing tools that fit your needs. Many companies offer email marketing software for businesses and organizations at affordable rates.
Here are some well-known examples of email marketing software you can test and use for your legal marketing campaigns.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp is among the most popular email marketing tools for various industries, including law firms. They offer free and paid plans that can fit law firms of all sizes and budgets. Paid plans begin at $13 per month.
It includes several customizable email templates that lawyers can use and edit with little design experience. This feature eliminates the need for hiring designers or spending more time creating professional-looking emails.
Mailchimp also offers integrations with over 300 applications.
Hubspot
Hubspot mainly offers inbound marketing assistance, but they also offer email marketing functionality. This platform is also a customer relationship management (CRM) tool, which can help you save on subscription fees.
Hubspot is relatively user-friendly and allows your law firm to explore and manage different marketing strategies, including email.
The platform offers free demos and relatively affordable prices ($30/month) for small teams. Larger firms may also benefit from their Professional and Enterprise plans.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact is an excellent email marketing software tool for small to medium-sized law firms that want to launch email marketing campaigns.
Their free version offers several valuable features, including list building, contact management, social media integrations, and web tracking analytics. The tool also has free email templates to help law firms create and send professional marketing emails.
Constant Contact also has customizable and comprehensive automation features. You can set specific audience actions as triggers for automatic emails, which frees up much of your staff’s time and effort.
Choose the Best Software for Your Law Firm
Launching marketing campaigns while running a legal practice can be challenging, especially for smaller firms. However, the right software that fits your resources and needs can significantly boost the success of your email marketing efforts.
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