How Law Firms Can Win Free Publicity in Newspapers, on TV

Lawyers may be masters in the courtroom, yet they spend thousands of dollars on TV, newspaper and billboard advertising and miss opportunities to get free publicity, says a marketing expert.
"If you want to reel in newspaper, television and new media reporters, you've got to find a way to get their attention with a great story," says Glenn Selig of PressReleasePros.com, which specializes in writing press releases for law firms and getting lawyers established as experts for TV, radio and newspapers.Selig says law firms are chock full of stories. Think of product liability, unusual divorces, medical malpractice, intellectual property, immigration law and antitrust—just to name a few areas of law that could shape the news of the day.
"Lawyers have instant credibility with the news media and with the public," says Selig, "so if you carefully market yourself to the press you can get a great deal of free attention that money can’t buy."
And right or wrong, appearing in a newscast gives a lawyer much more credibility than a TV ad that can be bought by any attorney who has money.
PressReleasePros.com offers 5 tips to getting on TV, newspapers:1. Establish yourself as an expert.Lawyers are good at what they do. Yet many people have no idea who they are until they need a lawyer. Market yourself as the expert in your field: Whether it’s divorce law or eminent domain. Reporters are constantly looking for sources. You can become one with a proper press release.
2. Why should I care?If your pitching a case that you think would benefit from media attention, find an answer to this question and you'll be well on your way. Why should the reporter who's reading this release care? What makes your case worthy of attention?3. Why should the public care?Why would anyone be interested in what you're offering? Figure that out and make sure you spell it out in the press release. What may seem obvious to you may not be so obvious to the person reading your press release.4. This isn't an ad.Nothing is a bigger turnoff than press release writing that sounds like you've put together an advertisement. Reporters want newsworthy stories and ads are not generally newsworthy. 5. Send your release to the right people.Make certain you send your press release to the right category of reporters. If you're mass distributing your release on the Internet or through a distribution company via email, choose your target categories wisely. If you're sending out releases the old fashioned way, then it pays to send your release to a person rather than a generic department or news organization. Reporters are people and individualized mailing will get more attention than a generic version.
6. Hire an expert.
People shouldn’t represent themselves in court. Lawyers should not represent themselves to the media. Let an expert trained in this area figure out the way to sell your law firm and the lawyers.About PressReleasePros.com: PressReleasePros.com understands the law and specializes in writing professional press releases for law firms in the U.S. and Canada. Staffed by real journalists, the company produces captivating, conversational press releases that get reporters' attention.