Welcome to WRITING MATTERS, celebrating the value of good writing in the business world.

 

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VOLUME 4, ISSUE 5 – JANUARY 2011

Happy New Year!

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This Month's Case Study – Law Offices of Miller, Smith and Jones

 

The Company

The Law Offices of Miller, Smith and Jones was a successful law firm specializing in workplace law.  The firm had been in business for a few years and was slowly expanding its operations.

 

The Challenge

Although surviving the recent economic downturn in relatively good order, the three partners realized they needed to not only solicit new clients, but also keep in touch with their existing ones.  Their immediate plan was to publish a monthly newsletter featuring legal tips, updates on changes in the law, and offering their general expertise.  This sort of regular contact will help retention rates, and also potentially bring in new business.

 

The partners knew what they wanted in their newsletter, but how would they bring it to fruition?  With no marketing department and no time to work on it themselves, they needed some professional writing assistance post haste.

 

The Solution

Messrs. Miller, Smith and Jones were having lunch one day at the coffee shop downstairs when they were greeted by Mr. White, who worked at the advertising agency in their building.  The three partners presented their predicament to Mr. White and asked his advice.  Realizing they didn’t need a full-service firm like his, Mr. White suggested they hire a freelance copywriter for the newsletter project.  “I have a couple of names of people we’ve used . . . one in particular would be good as she’s done some newsletter work for us.”  “Excellent,” they said in unison, “Thank you, Mr. White.”  

 

That afternoon, the three partners reviewed Marie the copywriter’s web site and were very impressed with her work.  The next day, they had a conference call with her and discussed the newsletter project.  Marie’s background included newsletters (both print and electronic), and she had also done some marketing work for law firms.  After learning the details of the project, Marie recommended they go with an e-newsletter instead of a print version – that way, links to articles and new laws and regulations could easily be incorporated.  The partners agreed and asked Marie to work up a quote for them.  She said she would email it to them as soon as possible, no later than the next day.  “Excellent,” they said in unison, “Thank you, Marie.”

 

The next day, the partners received an email bid letter from Marie, outlining the parameters and timeframes, her terms, and project fee.  The partners felt her quote was fair and were impressed that she was true to her word in getting back to them.  As soon as she received their deposit check, Marie began work on the first issue.

 

The partners were highly organized and knew what content they wanted in the newsletter.  Marie offered her suggestions accordingly, and the process went smoothly.  She was quite pleased that the partners always seemed to be in agreement on what they wanted, which made her job a lot easier.  Among other things, the first issue would feature legal tips, links to current and new laws, workplace safety guidelines, and “The Partners’ Corner,” a regular monthly feature authored by Messrs. Miller, Smith and Jones . . . professionally edited by Marie, of course!  Within a couple of short weeks, the premiere issue was ready to be sent to all clients.

 

The Outcome

The response to the first issue was positive among both clients and the office staff.  Simple in design and content, the e-newsletter achieved its goal of providing valuable information to the firm’s clients, while also functioning as a useful reference tool to help them in the course of their daily business operations.  The partners retained Marie’s services on an ongoing basis not only to work on the e-newsletter, but also to help rewrite their web site and assist on other miscellaneous projects as needed.

 

Excellent, indeed!

 

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The next issue of WRITING MATTERS will be out February 1st.

 

Have a great month!

 

 

John Paul Tancredi, Copywriter/Consultant

Spectrum Copywriting Services

JPT@spectrumcopywriting.com

www.spectrumcopywriting.com

 

 

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