The Web Marketing Therapy team with Ann Levine of Law School Expert at her book signing event in Santa Barbara

We are very proud of Ann, who has launched her own law school admission consulting business and excelled at helping students bring their best foot forward to get into the law schools they love.

At the book signing event, Ann was greeted by her students, friends, and avid supporters who exuded pride in Ann’s latest achievement–publishing an astoundingly informative book to guide prospective law students through the admissions process.

Of course, as Wild Web Women, we also love to see Ann blast off to web-lebrity status with her savvy usage of online marketing and PR tools such as BlogTalkRadio, blogging, and amazing website that resembles more of a web-solution than a web-site. Truly, Ann has established TWD (Total Web Domination)!

This time around, we will continue with our interview where we left off last time to get even more inspirational tips from a phenomenal woman!

…continued from part one:

9.    What is fun and what is difficult about working as a sole “wild web” entrepreneur?

Fun – the freedom! No one knows when I’m working or when I’m at the gym. Difficult- working from vacations and other moms not being able to relate to my life.

10.    You are a very self-driven individual who values productivity; which web tools helped you increase your productivity the most? Specifically, in what ways did they improve your productivity?

Basecamp – great way of communicating with clients, especially because we exchange a ton of documents and I like to create calendaring tools for them. I downloaded Markspace to allow me to sync my Blackberry Storm with my iMac and Entourage email. Skype is my friend – I have a lot of clients overseas.

11.    Do you have any personal “wild web” role models? If so, what do you admire about this person?

Umm, hello!!!! You guys!!!! Lorrie’s energy, passion, ability to make things happen and understand (innately!) what each client needs – she’s one hell of a role model. A take no-prisoners woman and I love that she’s even younger than I am! I would also pick Jen Loud, with whom I used to work at the University of Denver School of Law and she’s really created a great brand for herself in career redirection for attorneys (www.JenLoud.com).

12.    As far as dealing with competition in your line of work: do you pay special attention to their marketing strategies and adjust yours to stay ahead OR do you mostly focus on your individual marketing plan without worrying too much about your competitors?

Who’s to say my competitors know any better than what I do? I hate what they do and would never do it! They have cheesy email newsletters and use blogging ineffectively. Their websites are impersonal and basic. I check up on them, but I NEVER let them dictate anything – except my pricing.

13.    Being a successful professional embodies being an excellent marketer (so that people know your name and service!), how do you reach out to your wide range of customers to build a trusting relationship?

BLOGGING WELL and BLOGGING OFTEN and BLOGGING INTELLIGENTLY. Clients already know me, know my voice, know that I know that I’m talking about, before they ever even pick up the phone to call me.

14.    Do you utilize both traditional PR and new PR? What is the ratio of your web marketing to traditional marketing (print ads, local newspapers…etc)?

Ok, Emilia is going to hate this answer but I’m not really sold on old-school PR. I will be running my first-ever PRINT ads this fall – in a specially targeted magazine. I majored in advertising in college and I feel I have a little bit of understanding about marketing even though my education was so ancient it was pre-Internet.  So, I’ve dabbled in press releases and have been sending out some books to targeted sources. Oh – I also just created a mailing to 3,200 college and university bookstores (thanks, Kate!) so we’ll see how that goes.

15.    When marketing your business, do you find yourself more often seeking risks or avoiding risks? What are some risks you have taken on the web that resulted in positive outcomes?

I take risks, but they all seem to pan out (except commenting on law school discussion forum sites – that just brought backlash from disgruntled law school hopefuls who thought no one important would be reading their ramblings). Blogging, Facebook and Twitter are the best things I’ve ever done for marketing my business and all they cost is time. I had 94,000 people read my blog in 2008 just because my content is good – no gimmicks.

16.    Business-wise, where do you see yourself in ten years?

I love the “working less/making more” model but I also like to balance it with helping people who I really enjoy helping and whose lives are really changed through our work together. I anticipate I’ll still be doing the same thing 10 years from now, but using tools and technology I can’t even imagine now. Every year I change how I do what I do and the process is amazing. Every year I get smarter about what I do and set limits regarding my personal time. Every year I have more confidence that the clients will come and I trust my judgment more. So, I guess I’m going to be an egotistical, arrogant jerk in ten years; ) But, hopefully making half a million a year and selling my brand to some big test prep company for $5 million so I can buy my husband that house in Hope Ranch.

Ann Levine is a prominent law school admission consultant who has helped 1,000+ applicants nationwide achieve their admission goals since founding Law School Expert in 2004. Ms. Levine works one-on-one with law school applicants nationwide and speaks at Pre-Law Clubs and Phi Alpha Delta chapters. For more information, visit Ann’s website.

One of our favorite Wild Web Woman, Ann Levine, founder of Law School Expert and author of The Law School Admission Game: Play Like an Expert, has been kind enough to share some of her insights into starting her own business and taking a leap of faith in her career.

Fellow WMT blog followers-read on for inspiration from one of our most esteemed clients and one of the most successful entrepreneurs of the web!
1.    Why did you choose your current career and how did you get started?

I got kicked to the curb. Completely wrapped up in my seemingly high-powered career as a litigator, I spent my entire pregnancy with my first child paranoid I would be fired and then I finally was four months after she was born. I went home and had to fire the nanny, relying on my mother in law to watch the baby as I pounded the pavement looking for another job. I came up empty handed. Then, while walking the baby in the park with a friend, I said,  “I should help people applying to law school.” I spent a week researching “how-to” everything – how to get a website, design a website, accept credit cards, advertise on line, business licenses, second phone lines, etc. At the end of the week, I told my husband I needed $1,400 to start the business. He said, “How about $750?” I said I really needed $1,400. I made a profit within the first three weeks and quickly hit a six-figure income – within two years, I exceeded what I made as an attorney. Today, I am pretty sure I make more than any other attorney my age (or even 10 years older!).

2.    What is your favorite tech-y word? (i.e. “tweet”, “Facebook poke”…etc.)

Network. (Not tech-y but isn’t it what all that other stuff is all about?)

3.    As far as utilizing social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to communicate your business to your clients, what are some of the challenges and what are some of the benefits to your business?

Because of Facebook, I’m a real person to my clients and not just a stock photo. They see what I’m up to, pictures of my kids- they know I am a real and approachable person. Plus, I can find them after they are done working with me when I need referrals for new potential clients. Twitter gives non-clients (people in the market for my book but not consulting services) access to me. They have the opportunity to actually ask the author specific (personal!) questions. Through twitter I’ve met people in related fields who have promoted my blog, book, expertise, and value to their clients.  Linked In isn’t something I use very often because I don’t work in the corporate world and most of my target market isn’t there; the folks who I use as networking and reference contacts are on Facebook and Twitter so I concentrate on those networks.

4.    Out of all the social media tools on the web you use, which one (if any) are you most “addicted” to just for fun?

Facebook. Facebook. Facebook. I spend more time there than on Saks.com and NeimanMarcus.com combined – and that’s saying A LOT.

5.    What are some of the valuable mistakes you have made in the past regarding online marketing and what have you learned from these past setbacks?

I spent way too much on PPC Campaigns not knowing what I was doing. I hired companies to handle my website and PPC campaigns and felt like I was coaching them and they were merely executing. What a waste of time and effort!

6.    Looking at your history of great professional achievements, what are some of your proudest accomplishments? Reflecting upon these, what skill or personal factor do you believe helped you the most in achieving this accomplishment? (i.e. What motivates you to your success?)

Whoa. This is heavy stuff. Ok, I guess I have to pick self-publishing my book (“The Law School Admission Game: Play Like an Expert”). I wrote it and published it in about 4-5 months.  The personal skills that allowed for this? I enjoy writing and I think I’m pretty good at it and I am EXTREMELY self-motivated. I also work very quickly and type faster than the devil.

7.    Do you have a personal mantra that you would like to share with other Web Marketing Therapy readers?

Don’t let the bastards grind you down. (My dad taught me that one – he says it in Latin, but I think the English version is pretty darned effective too).

8.    If you were shipwrecked on an island and had to run your business from there, what three web tools would you bring with you to use?

My iMac, Blackberry, and a direct line to Lorrie and the WMT team.

Please stayed tuned for the rest of Ann Levine’s answers! Featured Wild Web Woman Positive Role Model Ann Levine Part Two will be live shortly.

Ann Levine is a prominent law school admission consultant who has helped 1,000+ applicants nationwide achieve their admission goals since founding Law School Expert in 2004. Ms. Levine works one-on-one with law school applicants nationwide and speaks at Pre-Law Clubs and Phi Alpha Delta chapters. For more information, visit Ann’s website.