Marketing Articles
Do you need a lawyer and how do you make sure you hire the best lawyer in Arizona
After an injury by a negligent party, you may have an injury claim. Many people understand that they may have a personal injury claim but they do not know if they need an attorney or not. Some consider hiring an attorney and some try to handle their injury claim on their own and later see that they should have hired an attorney at the beginning instead of wasting time dealing with the insurance company. Why is that?
Don't get me wrong. There are many instances when an attorney is not necessary. For example, if you have a fender bender and are not injured, it is most likely you do not need an attorney. If you even have a fender bender and sustain a little neck pain but it goes away within a week, you most likely still don't need an attorney. Other examples are if you trip over something at a store and take a big spill on the ground and get up and go about your business, you don't need an attorney. If you are walking through a store and something falls off the shelf and hits you, but it doesn't hurt you, or maybe you need just a couple visits to the doctor, and then you feel totally better, you probably don't need an attorney. These are just some examples of when you do not need an attorney. Of course, there are many others as well. Bottom line is, you don't really need an attorney when you have a minor injury. By minor I mean that the pain goes away completely within a couple of weeks. It is hard so say exactly when you don't need an attorney because every case is different. It is much easier to say when you do need an attorney and why it is important you look for the best injury lawyer.
Examples of when you need an injury lawyer are if you are in a car accident and you needed to taken by an air ambulance to the hospital. If you have broken bones because of the negligence of another individual. If you will have a long term wage loss claim. If you will require substantial medical care or future medical care. Obviously, if there is a wrongful death you probably need an attorney. If your loved one is in a nursing home and is not getting the best care and is injured because of the neglect of a care giver an attorney can help you. If you are working and are hit by a vehicle and seriously injured you would want an attorney. Deciding whether to hire an attorney is dependent on each case but these are some examples when you will most likely need an attorney. What is most important is that individuals who are injured in Arizona, understand that they lose nothing but consulting with an Arizona personal injury lawyer. It is important that the lawyer is licensed in Arizona because every state varies with laws. Why is it important to consult with an attorney? Even on potentially minor claims it is important to at least talk to an attorney. Why? Talking to an attorney will allow the injured individual to find out important things about your case such as the statute of limitations, other deadlines, if a notice of claim will be involved, how to deal with workers compensation, what to say and not say to the insurance company, tactics on what can hurt and help your case, and you will get a general overview on how a lawyer can help you or be told you do not need an attorney for your case. It is vital that individuals especially learn the statute of limitations for their personal injury case because the statute of limitations differ in each type of case.
Statute of limitations
All personal injury claims are different and have different statute of limitations. A car accident with a driver of a vehicle that is not employed by a government entity generally has a two year statute of limitations. Unless the injured person was working at the time of the accident. If you are working at the time of the accident, and this is true not just for car accidents but any type of personal injury claim in Arizona, then you have a one year statute of limitations. After the one year, the injury claim actually belongs to the workers compensation carrier. During the one year mark to the time of the statute of limitations, the injury victim if they have not settled their claim or filed suit within the one year statute of limitations, can ask the workers compensation carrier for what is called a "reassignment." It generally is not a good idea to put yourself in this situation because of the workers compensation carrier does not agree to the reassignment then the injured party has lost their claim forever as it now belongs under the law to the workers compensation carrier. If the claim involved the adverse party in some way as a government entity, the statute requires a notice of claim to be filed with the city clerk within 180 days and served on the appropriate individuals and then the claim must either be settled or a lawsuit must be filed within one year from the date of the accident. The notice of claim requires strict details to be met to be valid and if it is not served on the right people, the adverse party will request that the Judge dismiss the case for lack of a valid notice of claim.
Generally wrongful death claims, pedestrian accidents, bike accidents, trucking accidents, and motorcycle accidents follow the same statute of limitation laws as the car accident statute of limitations described above. If the injured party is a minor then there are different rules. A minor generally has until their 18th birthday plus two years from the date of birth, not the date of accident. The medical bills of the minor, however, are considered the responsibility of the parents so for a minor the case either has to be settled within two years or a lawsuit filed within two years or the legal guardian can reassign the rights of the case or medical bills to the minor to postpone the statute of limitations.
Dog bite claims have a one year and two year statute of limitations. It is best to file the suit within one year however because if you file within the one year then there are laws that will significantly benefit your claim. You can wait until the second year but you will lose many advantages of the "strict liability law" for dog bite claims.
Slip and fall accident claims follow the same rules of car accident claims as well unless you were working at the time that you had a slip and fall and then the workers compensation laws apply. For workers compensation laws in Arizona, you cannot sue or make a claim against a co-employee or employer so the adverse party must be independent of your employer.
Choosing an attorney
Once you consult with an attorney and find out if you need an attorney or not, the next decision is what attorney do you hire. Hiring the best Phoenix personal injury attorney to represent your Arizona accident claim is very important. If you do not hire the right attorney the consequences could be devastating. There are many attorneys who practice general areas of law and I would not recommend hiring an attorney like this for your accident claim. If you have a minor injury and decide to hire a family member or someone you know who handles all types of law, it may turn out alright; however, if you are seriously injured because of the negligence of another individual it is most likely that hiring the right attorney will be the difference between receiving a small settlement and a settlement you deserve. Many times inexperienced attorneys are not aware of the statute of limitations for different areas of law, they don't understand who must be sued and who must be served.
Experienced personal injury lawyers in Arizona understand all the ins and outs of injury law. Many people don't realize how much different angles there are to handling a personal injury claim. For example, health insurance plans will claim a right to reimbursement. There is a lot of law on ERISA plans, Medicare+Choice health plans, and federal Medicare plans that dictate whether or not the health plan is entitled to reimbursement. Of course the health plan can say they are entitled to reimbursement, but that is not the question. The question is has the health insurance proved under the law that they are entitled to reimbursement.
Hospitals and doctors often file medical liens now against personal injury settlements in Arizona. Many times these providers want money from the patient's personal injury claim. The law in Arizona differs with different providers and there are certain regulations that each provider must follow. If they do not follow these regulations then they are actually not entitled to any money whatsoever from the patient's personal injury claim. These are things that an experienced injury lawyer will know and these are things that will ultimately put a lot more money into the pocked of the injured individual, which is where the money should go, not to medical providers requesting extra money.
Hiring the best attorney
In order to hire the best attorney it is important to know the right questions to ask. Here are some questions that will help you determine if the attorney you are thinking about calling or hiring will be successful on your claim.
- How many years have they been in practice?
- Do they litigate cases?
- Are they a certified specialist in injury and wrongful death law?
- Do they practice just injury law or other areas of law?
- Do they deal with health insurance liens?
- Do they know the laws on Federal Medicare?
- Are they rated by national legal rating companies and what is their rating?
If the answer is yes to all of the above questions then you probably have found an experienced injury lawyer. Ask questions about the lawyers communication process. Ask about the staff. Ask questions to make you feel comfortable with the experience of the lawyer, the office, and then make sure you feel comfortable with the lawyer. When you have been seriously injured, you deserve to have the best attorney on your side and deserve to know that you will be taken care of and that all your questions will be answered. Usually you can't turn a serious accident case into something positive but if you hire the right attorneys, you can know that you are getting the best settlement possible for your Arizona personal injury claim and you can have as minimum hassle as possible knowing you have hired the best personal injury lawyer in Arizona.
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MARKETING SECRETS OF A POWERFUL WEB SITE
by Trey Ryder
SECRET #1: Your web site should contain information that achieves the six essential elements for marketing success: Credibility. Differences. Interaction. Urgency. Commitment. Loyalty.
SECRET #2: Your web site should be one place you display your entire marketing message. Your message should include
(1) a powerful title,
(2) substantive content identifying your prospect's problem, proving
it exists, identifying the solution, proving it works, and building
yourself into the solution,
(3) advice on how to hire a lawyer in the area of law you want to
promote,
(4) a call to action spelling out the action you want your prospect
to take,
(5) print articles that support your message,
(6) your photo and a detailed biography,
(7) articles you've written (published or not),
(8) results you have achieved or transactions you have completed for
clients,
(9) testimonials from past clients (if permitted by your bar's rules
of ethics),
(10) letters of recommendation from colleagues and professionals (if
permitted by ethics rules),
(11) references by name, or an offer to provide them,
(12) a detailed list of services you offer,
(13) a services letter that explains to prospects how to hire your
services,
(14) the many ways prospects benefit from hiring you,
(15) a list of your competitive advantages identifying how you differ
from all other lawyers,
(16) a list of your prospect's objectives, which they can mark by
priority and return to you by fax or email, or bring them to their
first meeting with you, and
(17) a written schedule of fees.
SECRET #3: Your web site should contain in-depth information about the area(s) of law in which you want to attract clients. Each field of law needs its own marketing message. Make sure you provide enough educational information so your prospect concludes you are a respected authority in that field of law.
SECRET #4: Your web site should answer every question your prospective client might ask. The more information you provide, the more comfortable your prospects feel. Don't worry about your message being too long. If prospects are genuinely interested in your services, they will read even a long message, providing the message is well written and relevant to their needs. Long marketing messages work, not because they're long, but because they're complete.
SECRET #5: Your web site should offer reliable information that will involve prospects for long periods of time. You want prospects to see you as an authority. Also, you want them to see you as the only source of information they need. The more information you offer, the more prospects rely on you, trust you, and feel they know you.
SECRET #6: Your web site should offer articles with attractive titles on your site's top level. Compelling titles seize your prospects' attention and draw them into your site. If you don't put these articles on the top level, your prospects might never see them because they might not navigate deeper into your site. So put articles on the top level where the titles will seize your prospects' attention immediately.
SECRET #7: You should put "calls to action" at many points around your site. A call to action invites your prospect to contact you for one or many reasons. Put a call to action at the end of every article or page on your web site because that one article may be the only article your prospect has time to read.
SECRET #8: Your web site should provide several reasons for prospects to interact with you through submit forms. You can use these forms to invite your prospect to (1) request articles not on your web site, (2) ask to be added to your mailing list, (3) request a copy of your seminar schedule, (4) ask you a question, (5) ask you to contact him, (6) request a case evaluation based on facts he sends, and so on.
SECRET #9: Your web site should offer prospects many methods through which they can contact you. Some prospects prefer to make their first contact by e-mail. Others prefer the telephone. And yet others might prefer to send a fax. Make sure you offer prospects many ways to get in touch with you because you never know which method will most appeal to a particular prospect.
SECRET #10: Your web site should project a dignified, professional image. Your web site projects an image, even if you don't want it to. Elements that affect your firm's image include your choice of colors, wallpaper textures, fonts, lines, designs and photographs. I encourage you to hire a professional designer who can help ensure that your web site projects the image you want.
SECRET #11: For your convenience, your web site should need only minimal maintenance on an ongoing basis. If your web site requires heavy maintenance, you'll soon grow tired of the time commitment and cost. Design your web site so it requires only occasional updating of things such as seminar dates, recent issues of your newsletter, and so forth. Otherwise, your web site will become so much trouble that your staff will grow to resent it and you'll lose the many benefits it could provide.
SECRET #12: Your web site should reach all of your audiences. Don't put information on your web site that appeals only to prospective clients. You can also post information that will appeal to current clients, referral sources, editors and even vendors. I have a link on my web site for editors and reporters. And while it doesn't generate a lot of traffic, occasionally an editor calls me in response to this information.
HOW TO GET PROSPECTS TO VISIT YOUR WEB SITE IF SEARCH ENGINES FAIL YOU
by Trey Ryder
With search engines, you face two problems, similar to those you face with yellow page ads.
PROBLEM #1: The lawyers who get the first few positions usually get the inquiries. The remaining lawyers are left paying for web sites that produce little.
PROBLEM #2: Even if you rank high, your search results are mixed among those of your competitors, so prospects can easily get distracted and miss your site altogether.
Fortunately, you can bring prospects to your web site without search engines and without the potential for confusion. Here's how:
STEP #1: Load your web site with educational articles that have teaser titles. People are drawn to helpful information written in list form. For example, I use 17 Fatal Marketing Mistakes Lawyers Make, Marketing Secrets of Superstar Lawyers, 11 Brochure Mistakes Lawyers Make, and many more. When you add educational articles, besides creating a desirable web site, your articles increase your relevance in search engine rankings.
STEP #2: Invite prospects to visit your site where they can read your articles. Offer the articles in every type of communication, including
-- Classified Ads. Invite prospects to your web site through classified ads. Your entire ad could be as simple as this: Discover 17 Fatal Marketing Mistakes Lawyers Make at www.treyryder.com. Or make it more attractive by including two or more titles: Discover How to Build Your Law Practice With Dignity and 11 Brochure Mistakes Lawyers Make at www.treyryder.com.
-- Display Ads. If you want more space than a classified ad -- or think your prospects may not read classifieds -- design a small display ad. Make powerful use of black and white graphics to seize your reader's attention. In addition, include a closely cropped photo of your face with good eye contact and a warm, engaging smile. (Nothing draws a reader's eyes to your ad faster than your eyes looking back at the reader.) Depending on the size of your ad, you could include titles of many articles. Each title acts like a fishhook in the lake. You can't be sure which bait will cause your prospect to bite, but all it takes is one good title to motivate him to visit your web site.
-- Yellow page ads. In your yellow page copy, offer articles that your prospect can read on your web site.
-- News releases to the media. Write a news release about a key issue in your area of law or the impact of a recent court decision. At the end of the news release, announce that you have published three articles listing each by title. Then tell the reader he can call your office to receive free copies by mail, or visit your web site at www.yourdomain.com.
--Newsletter. In every issue, invite prospects to read articles on your web site. You might say something like: Yours Free! Discover 15 Business Card Sins Lawyers Commit, Marketing Secrets of Superstar Lawyers, and How to Market Other Practice Areas Within Your Firm -- at www.treyryder.com.
-- Seminars. In your seminar materials, include a flier that lists articles on your web site.
-- Referral Sources. Send a mailing to your pst clients and referral sources alerting them to articles on your web site -- and inviting them to direct friends and colleagues to your site.
--Referral Card. Create a referral brochure with a reply card on which you offer various articles. Say that for a faster response, they can read these articles on your web site.
-- Feature Articles. At the end of every article you submit for publication, include an author's note that offers your articles, something like this: Trey Ryder specializes in education-based marketing for lawyers. He offers the following three articles at www.treyryder.com: 17 Fatal Marketing Mistakes Lawyers Make, High Pressure vs. Dignity Depends on How You Use the Three Cons, and 19 Secrets That Increase Response to Ads.
-- E-mail Signature. Consider offering an article and including its title in the signature to your e-mail. You might include something like: Visit www.yourdomain.com to read 17 Fatal Marketing Mistakes Lawyers Make. Your URL by itself may not motivate a prospect to go to your web site. But when you alert him to an important article that discusses one of his current problems, he has a good reason to visit your site.
-- Envelope Insert With Outgoing Mail. Prepare an insert about 1/3 the size of an 8.5" x 11" sheet that announces new articles on your web site. Include this in all outgoing correspondence and, on the insert, invite the recipient to pass it along to a friend or colleague.
In addition to offering articles, you can also use the above methods to invite prospects to your web site so they can (1) ask you a question by e-mail, (2) send you facts about their claim for a case evaluation, (3) subscribe to your firm's newsletter, (4) register for your firm's seminar, (5) read your latest newsletter, (6) request a consultation with you by phone or in person, (7) read comments from past clients - whatever you think will motivate them to visit your site.
Summary: Don't depend only on search engines to bring prospects to your web site. Also, don't depend on your web address alone to motivate prospects to visit. Instead, make your prospects an irresistible offer -- something they can't refuse -- which they'll discover on your web site. Then put the offer in ads, newsletters and announcements. This will erase the confusion factor from search engines and increase the number of qualified prospects going to your site.
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