Stale websites. Unrealized social media plans. Firm news that falls on deaf ears. May the law firm with the perfect marketing plan cast the first stone. 

For all the rest, the new year offers a chance to wipe the slate clean, step back and take a broad look at marketing plans for year ahead. To that end, Androvett Legal Media & Marketing has created “Legal 11 for 2011,” a practical marketing checklist. 

The idea behind “Legal 11 for 2011” is to begin the year right by putting a firm's marketing house in order. There’s a raft of ideas for optimizing a firm’s Internet presence such as refreshing online bios and photos(No. 2) and promoting the firm’s good work online(No. 1). Search Engine Optimization(No. 5) starts with identifying the keywords that potential clients will use to find you on the Internet, and then using those keywords to build an online presence. Coming in at No. 7 is the reminder that social media networks are not going away and there is a variety of ways to engage social media ethically and effectively.

The “Legal 11 for 2011” also includes old-school axioms like taking stock of your competition(No. 10), cleaning up client contact lists(No. 8) and evaluating brochures(No. 9). Perhaps No. 11 is the most valuable takeaway, a reminder that you’ve got to have goals in order to achieve them. Commit the goals to writing. When relevant and necessary, get expert help to achieve your goals and objectives. View the entire list here.