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Email Announcements: Too Casual or Efficient?

Firm,

I am contemplating sending announcements regarding the start of my practice by email to my social friends list and to former colleagues. My reasons for doing so are as follows: 1. Easy for recipient to store in inbox for future look up; 2. Easy for recipient to forward to others; 3. Easy for recipient to download v-card into contacts folder; 4. Harder for recipient to lose (although they could always press delete! *yikes*); 5. The recipient already knows who I am and it is easy to customize the email; 6. I have many more email addresses than snail mail addresses, so greater net; and 7. Email is time and cost efficient (no postage). The downside, as I see it, is that I cannot enclose business cards and/or personalized give aways. What are your thoughts on email announcements? Are they the way of the future or is our profession not yet ready for them? Thanks.

Opening a New Practice

Email is certainly an effective way to communicate, but I don't think I'd send out my opening announcements that way. IMHO, your emailed announcements would come across as very cheap, and would devalue your perceived ability as a lawyer. And, breaking from the trend of sending nice, formal announcements, I think other lawyers and professionals would not take you and your venture as seriously as I'm sure you'd like them to. Would you send an e-vite for a formal wedding? Certainly not. While they are not the same, there are some similarities. Spend a few hundred dollars and have some nice announcements printed.

That's my $0.02.

Joel Beck

I would send out printed announcements, then follow up a few weeks later with an e-mailed announcement w/attached v-card. You may even want to note at the bottom of the printed announcements that, for everyone's convenience, you will be e-mailing an announcement w/a v-card in a ffew weeks.

That way, the traditionalists are happy, and you've also made it easy for the tech-y folks to keep your contact information.

Obviously, if you have only an e-mail address, send only the e-announcement, but also try to get the recipient;s full contact info.

BTW, it's interesting that you have more e-mail addresses than snail mail addresses. I still get lots of business cards that don't include an e-mail address, and I sometimes (frequently?) forget to ask for the e-mail address at the time I get the card.

Lisa Solomon

I am in complete agreement with Joel Beck's response below.

Dondra Bass

I definitely would go with traditional announcements rather than e-mail only and include a business card (or two) in each one. Business cards still work, even in this technology age. Following up by e-mail with a Vcard, especially to fairly close acquaintances, is a good idea, too.

I also have to note that Anagram from http://getanagram.com/ is perhaps my most usful utility. It helps me easily make sure that my digital Contacts include addresses and phone numbers and not just e-mail addresses only.

Jim Calloway

Only send the e-mail announcement if you want to appear tacky, cheap, spam-ish and not ready for prime time. Sure, those v-cards are easy enough to download -- and they're appreciated as much as a stray cigarette butt. I'd appreciate that e-mail announcement about the start of a new law practice just as much as a meal-time call from a telemarketer.

Don't get me wrong. I like e-mail, and I use it every opportunity that I can. But opening a new law practice is a major event ranking up there with the birth of a child, a marriage, and a Bat Mizvah. It deserves something more than an e-mailed announcement.

jennifer j. "Emily Post" rose

I think it would depend on who you are sending them too. I toss all those announcements, sometimes stopping to ponder how much the more fancy ones cost. However, an email would be a lot easier and I would either save it or put the address in my contacts.

So...maybe I just lack all social mores, who knows? But I like the idea.

-- Amy Kleinpeter

I agree that emails are not a problem. Obviously it depends on the situation. I sent out almost two hundred e-mails (all of them individually addressed and personalized of course, did not want to look too much like spam) to all of my classmates from the MBA program at Marquette. I don't have any of their physical addresses, and I simply put that if any of them are interested, please send me their physical address and I will send them a card. I have yet to get any actual business from this, but it has only been a month or so. However, dozens and dozens of people responded favorably and about 10 or so responded with their address for a business card.

It is a choice to make, and if you have all their addresses send them your business card, but I do not personally think it is tacky if that is the only way you know to contact these people.

Sean M. Sweeney

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