5 Simple Steps to Market Your Online Services

Here are five simple steps to get started on marketing your online services:

1. Generate buzz inside and out. E-mail and/or snail-mail a cover letter and brochure describing all of your new services. Use compelling language to describe the benefits of your services. RealLegal provides a letter template for you to start with. Enclose the cover letter and your firm's brochure with every completed work order. Educate your court reporters so they can promote the services while at depositions. Provide them with cover letters and brochures to hand-out.
2. Leverage other Web resources. Promote these services on your free DepoSchedule^TM page and on any other online schedule service you use. Here are some ideas:
   • "Ask for a Publisher BundleTM and get your transcripts, exhibits and synced video on a compact disc with its own viewing environment."
   • "Would you like to have 24x7 access to your transcripts, exhibits and video depos via our secure iBinderTM Repository on the Internet?"
   • Would you like information on how to use BinderTM to summarize and digest all of the discovery in your case?"
   Use your website to promote your iBinder, Binder and Publisher Bundle services. We have content on our website that you can simply copy and paste onto your own web pages. On your firm's website, please a link or button to your iBinder Repository. You can name the link something like "Client Login", "Transcript, Document & Video Repository" or "24x7 Access".
3. Launch a grassroots public relations campaign. Discuss your new services at every opportunity. Sign-up for paralegal luncheons and legal technology speaking events. Host an open house at your offices and invite clients to stop by for hors d'oeuvres and a preview of your services.
4. Develop a clever pricing model. Assess your clients' needs and then determine how to bill for the services they use. Structure your pricing and service packages to expose them to the myriad of services you provide. Here are some suggestions:
   • A package deal inclusive of Publisher Bundles, an entire digital library of their discovery, and iBinder access. Offer discounts if they purchase RealLegal Binder software from you.
   • A la carte: Charge your client separately for each service depending on their greatest need at the time. For example, if they don't really need Publisher Bundles right now, but need iBinder Repository access, focus on the costs associated with the latter. Publisher Bundles may be priced separately with a base fee (maybe $20-$50 per bundle) plus per-page charges on exhibits and/or transcripts.
   • Annual billing or monthly billing per user. Remember to find out how many users they anticipate accessing the iBinder Repository at any given time.
   • Evaluate the quantity, length and file size of the documents:
     • Scanning charges may include per-page fees that vary based on the complexity of the document (oversized, stapled), and they should reflect the hyperlinking and OCR services that you may routinely provide with Publisher Bundles.
     • Ask close friends or clients how much they are paying to outsource scanning. Price yourself to be competitive, but add a little extra for your hyperlinking and OCR services.
     • Consider the amount of file space that will be utilized on your iBinder Repository before you quote a monthly fee, or build that into their fee on a sliding scale. For example, RealLegal charges you $100 per additional gigabyte of space/month, so please take that into consideration when establishing your rates.
5. Let them experiment. Create a sample or demo project on your iBinder Repository for clients to view. Your clients will be able to experiment with how the service works and gain an understanding of how it will blend with their routines.