Many law firms across the country invest in their own lead generation efforts. There are many ways you can generate leads, but common efforts usually include paid search on Google or Bing, as well as SEO efforts. If you’re looking into lead generation for your law firm, you’re probably wondering how much it’ll cost. Here’s a little information on how your firm would need to budget for a lead generation campaign.
In-House Lead Generation:
Website Setup & MaintenanceIt’s impossible to generate digital leads without a decent website. Otherwise, where will you direct paid traffic? If you have a legal website that looks like a respectable resource, you’ll likely have more digital leads.
So how much does it cost to get a website up and running? Some sites are entirely free—companies like wix.com allow your firm to get a bare-bones site live. A nicer option with more features will cost more. Many web development teams cost $10,000 or more for a new website, plus monthly maintenance costs.
The option that gives you the most flexibility is hiring someone to handle your web development in house, but this is also the most expensive option. According to PayScale.com, the average web developer makes around $60,000 per year, but more experience and skills will cost significantly more.
Search Engine MarketerOn top of potentially hiring someone to create a strong website and landing page for lead generation, you’ll need someone to manage your marketing campaigns. Paid ads are volatile and require constant adjustments and monitoring. Organic lead generation efforts are highly profitable when done correctly, but poorly planned SEO campaigns won’t yield any new clients for your law firm.
Payscale lists the average search marketer salary at $45,000, but again—if you’re hoping to hire someone with a lot of experience with search campaigns, you’ll likely need to pay more.
Third-Party Lead Generation:
Per-Lead CostWhen purchasing leads from a third party you don’t pay for any of the marketing fees, you just pay for every lead you receive. These fees will vary depending on how many leads you receive per month, but will typically cost between $200 and $1,000 per month for a small and mid-sized firm respectively.
SoftwareIf you’re receiving leads from another company, you’ll probably need some kind of lead management system to update your leads when you sign them as clients, or send paperwork to be returned electronically. Some lead providers offer lead and case management software at no additional cost. eGen currently offers eLuminate, our own in-house CRM.
Everyone: Intake StaffRegardless of whether you’re generating leads on your own or through a third party, you’ll need to have someone on your team calling your leads to determine if they have a pursuable case or not.
Without a dedicated intake team, it’ll be challenging to follow up with leads. Lead generation is inexpensive, but the contacts aren’t usually as proactive as those who call your firm after watching a TV commercial. Persistent follow up is necessary for success with any lead generation campaign.
So How Much Are We Talking?
If you’re hoping generate your own leads in house, you’ll probably be looking at a minimum yearly spend of $50,000 for a search marketer and landing pages. To this you’ll need to add the costs of any paid campaigns you might run, as well as salaries for your intake staff. Third-party lead generation will bypass the expenses of hiring a marketer and a web developer, but you will need to pay for each lead of course.
To learn more about our lead generation services and pricing, simply give us a call today at 617.800.0089. We’d be happy to help make lead generation a good fit for your firm.