Marketing Ideas

NEWA offers a wide range advice on how to make the most of marketing yourself as an expert witness. Our marketing philosophy is that if an expert witness is to take advantage of the marketing potential of the internet, it is not sufficient to subscribe to one or two reputable expert witness directories however good these directories claim to be.

Once you have identified these two or three online companies, there are other marketing channels you can exploit to increase your chances of obtaining further instructions.

Register with your professional body

Many professional bodies can help you get expert witness work from their internal contacts. Usually free of charge to join.

Mailshot targeted law firms

Get your up-to-date CV to as many law firms who practice your kind of expert witness work. Many of them have internal databases. Make use of the NEWA’s Solicitor Search database located in the marketing section.

Your local law firms

There are about 150 local law societies in Britain today that can assist and point you in the right direction. Many of them contact the NEWA looking for experts like you. Identify them and build a relationship with them.

Reputable online directories

Like we mentioned before, identify a couple of reputable directories and no more. Many experts allocate to much of their marketing spend on too many online directories hoping to get work. The majority of them don’t actively market you the way you should be. Be careful. Give us a call at head office if you would like some advice.

Set up your own website

As well as listing your services on another on-line company, it’s recommended to also get your own website up and running. Many of your competitors will probably have this area covered. Getting a basic website domain registered and design is not that expensive.

Advertise in legal media companies

If your marketing budget can extend to display advertising then we also recommend taking out regular advertisements in legal publications such as:

• The Lawyer
• Solicitors Journal
• Law Society Gazette
• New Law Journal
• Your professional trade magazine/newsletter

Press Releases

One of the best ways in marketing yourself is PR. Get involved with writing interesting cases and submitting them to various legal titles. Call them up and make contact with their internal press release department heads. Once they publish one article, the chances are they will contact you again.

Expert witness conferences

There are many expert witness conferences held each year the largest gathering of which is held by Bond Solon in London every November. Not only do you get sound advise, networking yourself to other colleagues in the same profession is a must. Other good annual conferences include the Expert Witness Institute (EWI) again in London.

Client presentations

Another way in getting more exposure is giving presentations to potential clients in your sector. Great for building awareness!

Word of mouth recommendations

This area is underestimated. Get networking with your fellow colleagues and lawyers in your community. The goal is to build long term relationships. If your colleague is over worked, he/she my pass the instruction onto you.

Media contacts

Get to know producers of various radio and TV media groups (local & national). The same also for editors at newspapers. you may be asked to do a regular radio/tv spot or newspaper column. It’s free and the one of the best ways in maxmising your profile.

Updating your details

Many experts forget to update their details at various law firms they work with. Don’t be complacent. Always update your experience to as many legal professions as regular as possible. It may lose you an instruction (eg contact details, number of cases).

We hope these marketing ideas will help you secure more instructions. Please feel free to contact us to discuss any questions you may have. Remember, we have over 12 years experience in the business. Email us on [email protected] or call us on 01638 601110.