16 Fresh Approaches to Use in Your Bankruptcy Ads

Ditch the generic ads and go for glory

Let’s face it: there are only so many ways to phrase “Get a Free Consultation” in an ad. And when every bankruptcy attorney in the market uses this same, stale invitation, customers begin to see all attorneys as being the same.

 

What if your ads were truly unique? What if they were fresh, innovative, and different? In this brave new world, your ads will stand out from the crowd and gain the attention, interest, and action from your customers. As you brainstorm, develop, and test new ad ideas, you’ll find hidden gems that produce results that your generic ads didn’t.

Type #1: Ads that focus on bankruptcy itself

How well do your ads focus on the outstanding benefits of bankruptcy? Remember that your customers’ primary pain lies in their troubled finances, so focusing on bankruptcy benefits in your ads will lead to a solid response rate from your customers.
Try focusing on one or more of these benefits of bankruptcy in your ads.

 

• Automatic Stay – Customers are tired and scared of creditors calling them. In your ads, help them understand that with the automatic stay, their creditors are legally forbidden from continuing debt collections.
• Debt Elimination – The mounting debts of your customers lead them towards fear, depression, and anxiety. Give them hope that bankruptcy can help them eliminate most or all debts.
• Keep Home – Many customers are on the cusp of losing their home. Focus on how bankruptcy helps them keep their homes and you’ll increase the hope of your customers.
• Garnishments, Levies – Your customers are often feeling the pinch with forced paycheck reductions, so why not emphasize that this can stop immediately after filing bankruptcy?

Type #2: Ads that focus on what makes you unique from competitors

After your customers are convinced that bankruptcy can truly help them, the next thing they need to be persuaded of is why they should hire you instead of the other 20+ attorneys in your area. Here is where your ads should boldly explain the benefits of hiring you as their attorney and not Joe Schmoe down the street.

 

• Prices– You certainly don’t want to get in a price war with your competitors, but hey, if you’ve got better prices than your competition, show them off! Your customers are pinched with finances, which makes price a huge selling point as they decide who to hire. Your ads with deliciously low prices will entice customers to contact you instead of your competitors.
• Experience – If you are a seasoned veteran in the industry, highlight how your experience and track record of success makes you more qualified than your competitors to represent your customers. For example, if you’ve filed over 1,500 cases, let everyone know that! Your less experienced competitors simply can’t claim to have the wisdom and experience that you have, and your customers will trust your experience and respond to your ads.
• Success stories and testimonials – If you have gathered success stories and testimonials from your customers, why not use them to your advantage? Showcase anonymous past clients’ situations before and after bankruptcy. Show how you helped them dramatically change their lives. Your competitors likely won’t use this tactic, which will make you stand out.
• Convenience – Do you have a convenient office location? Do you have technology that allows your customers to do many steps from home? If so, tell the world that you offer conveniences that other attorneys don’t. Your customers want to spend as little time and energy on filing bankruptcy as possible. Help them see that by hiring you, they will have it easier than if they hire Mr. Competitor.

Type #3: Ads that focus on emotion

Aside from the specific, logical benefits of bankruptcy and of hiring you as an attorney, sometimes great ads focus more on emotion and feeling rather than specifics. Remember, your customers are going through an emotional roller coaster, meaning they are prone to respond to emotion-based ads.

 

• Afraid– Your customers are scared of losing their possessions, of never being debt free, and of countless other things. While you don’t want to increase their fear, you can channel their fears into action by focusing your ads on what can happen without filing bankruptcy.
• Hopeful – Your customers desperately need to see a happy vision of their future. Use hope to your advantage by showcasing how their world will be 100% improved and better with bankruptcy.
• Excited – Your customers don’t have much to be excited about. Help them feel excited to file bankruptcy because it will dramatically improve their lives.
• Alone – Many customers feel alone as they see the world pitted against them in debt collection efforts. To channel this in your ads, show that they are indeed not alone because they have you as their attorney, advocate, defender, and friend. They will be more than happy to have you on their side

Type #4: Ads that use vivid imagery

Bankruptcy is a rather intangible, confusing service for many customers. The more customers understand what you are actually doing when you file bankruptcy and how it works, the more they will feel comfortable getting started.

 

• Illustrate the process – Actually describe the steps in visual format (drawings, diagrams, stories, etc) as to how bankruptcy works and what is involved in each step from A to Z.
• Use an analogy – Just like the Pew Law Center did, use a clever analogy that relates to customers and highlights aspects of bankruptcy in a memorable way

Type #5: Ads that use a completely creative approach

Sometimes, you just have to stand out from the crowd by doing things that are unconventional. Bankruptcy isn’t by nature an exciting service to advertise, but you can make it that way through these methods.

 

• Attention getting – No more boring attorney ads, please. Do something that is truly unique and attention grabbing.
• Humor – There’s nothing funny about your customers’ situations, but you can use humor to lighten up your customers’ mentality and loosen them up a bit.

Hopefully by now you’ve overcome the urge to use generic, “Get a Free Consultation” ads and really think outside the box. Your efforts to truly stand out from the crowd in your ad messaging will help you get the attention and interest of customers who otherwise wouldn’t have responded to your old ads.