Getting Wired: Niche Alternatives for Distributing Your Firm's News

Consider the following scenarios that are regular happenings in the life of any law firm marketer charged with media-relations duties:

• A partner who never wants to do press sends you an e-mail, marked urgent, saying she's come up with a great story idea that she wants you to “get out to the media” ASAP.
• Your firm wins a huge case and the attorneys actually tell you about it while you can still get some media attention.
• You have an ever-increasing pile of new hire announcements sitting on your desk that you know only have a limited audience, but your marketing partner is breathing down your neck to “do something.”

Sound familiar? These are situations faced by every law firm marketing department. And, while it is obviously good to be in a firm that's proactively creating news ' and working with you to do so ' there's always that gnawing in the pit of your stomach as to what you're going to do with the news, and whether you'll be successful.

The knee-jerk reaction is usually this: Get this out. Now. By any means possible.

The solution might even seem obvious. Use one of the two large U.S. wire services.

And why not? They have impressive reach; you can hit any media outlet in the country ' even the world ' with your news in one easy step. You can print out the release when it runs and hand it to a partner and say, “See, we got it out!” You can even print out the list of media outlets reached by the wire and say, “See, here's who saw it!”

Is this effective? Well, you have accomplished your goal of getting the news out. Did it have an impact, however? Even though everyone in the media world technically saw it flash by on their wire terminals, did it get the attention of the right reporters? Will anything come of it or will you get lost in the press release chatter?

These are questions many industries have been asking themselves about the larger wires, and the legal world is starting to as well.

The large wire services definitely have their place in the world of media relations. They are great for public companies that have to meet SEC disclosure rules. They can send one release that hits all the media points to satisfy the SEC and keep them out of hot water with their shareholders.

But, let's face it, you're not Microsoft. And, the legal news business can be a small world. There are only so many legal trades. In the wider media universe, most reporters and editors do not go to the big wires looking for story ideas or sources. In general, those releases issued on the big wires spin a corporate message, and are too processed to be of assistance to a reporter covering a particular legal issue.

So, if the larger wires won't get you the media attention you want, what will?

One way to reach these reporters is to distribute your news through a trusted, focused e-mail service that they have asked to receive. The service must be opt-in, so reporters and editors do not view it as spam, but a valuable resource for their reporting that they look forward to receiving. The resulting distribution list might be smaller than that reached by the larger wires ' but if you only need to reach a very targeted group of reporters, why waste time and money getting your news to folks who will just ignore it?

While working on business development programs with our professional services clients, we recognized the need for a niche wire service for law firms and created the Jaffe Legal News Service (http://www.jlns.com/). Nearing its eighth anniversary, the service is one way for marketers to tap into a focused list of more than 650 reporters and editors who not only want to see day-to-day news from law firms, but also story and article ideas from top legal minds. The regular feed goes out weekly by e-mail, but firms can also use the service for breaking news, putting victory releases or contacts on developing stories directly into the hands of the right reporters.

Reporters and editors have come to trust the JLNS as a way to focus on getting legal news without all the chatter and noise of following a larger wire. Many reporters archive the JLNS items for weeks, even months, waiting for a slot to come up in their schedules so they can pursue a particular story highlighted on the feed. Some use it as a way to fill out their PDAs with solid contacts for future use.

Media relations will always be one of those marketing activities that you can't completely control. There will always be that gnawing in your stomach as to whether you will get results. But, you can go a long way to helping your chances by seeking focused ways to distribute your news. So, the next time an attorney comes barging into your office demanding you “do something” with whatever they've just done, consider a niche wire service. You might just find that the gnawing goes away

Consider the following scenarios that are regular happenings in the life of any law firm marketer charged with media-relations duties:

• A partner who never wants to do press sends you an e-mail, marked urgent, saying she's come up with a great story idea that she wants you to “get out to the media” ASAP.
• Your firm wins a huge case and the attorneys actually tell you about it while you can still get some media attention.
• You have an ever-increasing pile of new hire announcements sitting on your desk that you know only have a limited audience, but your marketing partner is breathing down your neck to “do something.”

Sound familiar? These are situations faced by every law firm marketing department. And, while it is obviously good to be in a firm that's proactively creating news ' and working with you to do so ' there's always that gnawing in the pit of your stomach as to what you're going to do with the news, and whether you'll be successful.

The knee-jerk reaction is usually this: Get this out. Now. By any means possible.

The solution might even seem obvious. Use one of the two large U.S. wire services.

And why not? They have impressive reach; you can hit any media outlet in the country ' even the world ' with your news in one easy step. You can print out the release when it runs and hand it to a partner and say, “See, we got it out!” You can even print out the list of media outlets reached by the wire and say, “See, here's who saw it!”

Is this effective? Well, you have accomplished your goal of getting the news out. Did it have an impact, however? Even though everyone in the media world technically saw it flash by on their wire terminals, did it get the attention of the right reporters? Will anything come of it or will you get lost in the press release chatter?

These are questions many industries have been asking themselves about the larger wires, and the legal world is starting to as well.

The large wire services definitely have their place in the world of media relations. They are great for public companies that have to meet SEC disclosure rules. They can send one release that hits all the media points to satisfy the SEC and keep them out of hot water with their shareholders.

But, let's face it, you're not Microsoft. And, the legal news business can be a small world. There are only so many legal trades. In the wider media universe, most reporters and editors do not go to the big wires looking for story ideas or sources. In general, those releases issued on the big wires spin a corporate message, and are too processed to be of assistance to a reporter covering a particular legal issue.

So, if the larger wires won't get you the media attention you want, what will?

One way to reach these reporters is to distribute your news through a trusted, focused e-mail service that they have asked to receive. The service must be opt-in, so reporters and editors do not view it as spam, but a valuable resource for their reporting that they look forward to receiving. The resulting distribution list might be smaller than that reached by the larger wires ' but if you only need to reach a very targeted group of reporters, why waste time and money getting your news to folks who will just ignore it?

While working on business development programs with our professional services clients, we recognized the need for a niche wire service for law firms and created the Jaffe Legal News Service (http://www.jlns.com/). Nearing its eighth anniversary, the service is one way for marketers to tap into a focused list of more than 650 reporters and editors who not only want to see day-to-day news from law firms, but also story and article ideas from top legal minds. The regular feed goes out weekly by e-mail, but firms can also use the service for breaking news, putting victory releases or contacts on developing stories directly into the hands of the right reporters.

Reporters and editors have come to trust the JLNS as a way to focus on getting legal news without all the chatter and noise of following a larger wire. Many reporters archive the JLNS items for weeks, even months, waiting for a slot to come up in their schedules so they can pursue a particular story highlighted on the feed. Some use it as a way to fill out their PDAs with solid contacts for future use.

Media relations will always be one of those marketing activities that you can't completely control. There will always be that gnawing in your stomach as to whether you will get results. But, you can go a long way to helping your chances by seeking focused ways to distribute your news. So, the next time an attorney comes barging into your office demanding you “do something” with whatever they've just done, consider a niche wire service. You might just find that the gnawing goes away