If your law firm is looking to draw more traffic and maximize its marketing efforts, consider starting, or improving your existing, legal blog. A website with an accompanying blog is an ideal way to increase your rankings, confirm your credibility and engage prospective clients. Maybe starting a blog sounds like a smart idea, but it feels like an additional burden to add to your current workload. Perhaps you have already jumped in and started one, but your motivation and blog ideas are wearing thin. Whatever the case, here are some reasons to begin, tips to stay on track and ways to ramp it up!
Legal Blog Benefits
Realistically, most individuals browse law-centered articles because they need fast answers to legal problems. This is why, of all business types, law firms gain from what a blog has to offer in marketing benefits. Blog posts and articles give the target audience of a law firm what it needs: concise answers to urgent legal issues, and ideally in their own language (without legal jargon.) The legal system intercepts people often unexpectedly, so individuals who search for legal information really do want to learn something about their unique situation. Legal blogs inform prospective clients, spotlight your law firm’s expertise and add to your body of valuable, rank-worthy content.
17 Quick Tips
Dispensing information for free is one way to let potential clients get acquainted with you and come to trust your authority in legal matters. Consider the following tips to start, continue or ramp up your blogging endeavors:
Harvest Ideas Daily
Some days your writing inspiration will run dry, so prepare for a drought by keeping a running list of ideas. Whenever you hear a client question or have an idea, write it down. Set aside ten minutes a day to expand your jottings, or write brief comments on current issues. Your regular writing habit may one day help you turn scribbles into posts and comments into articles. Do a small amount every day, and watch it add up. Schedule dates for new blog posts to be published; reports say that blogs who add content regularly are more successful.
Add to Previous Content
This type of content is called “skyscraper” content. You are building on what was on your blog before. If you already manage a legal blog, perhaps you struggle with new content ideas. You can fill in gaps with previously published content by reworking it and adding new material. You may choose to write part two of an old blog post. When rewriting old content, take care to avoid self-plagiarism, which can damage your SEO efforts.
Watch FAQs
What are your clients asking? The answer to this can fuel your future blog posts. Using contact forms, FAQ pages, and phone calls, you can gain insight into what would be helpful ideas for new blog articles.
Write Summaries and Guides
Law can be complicated and confusing, with all of its terms and jargon, but your blog can translate complex issues for your audience. Summarize and discuss legal matters that your clients typically encounter, such as “Employee Rights” or produce a guide such as “10 Steps to Estate Planning.”
Outline Courtroom Etiquette
The general public does not have a handle on proper courtroom behavior and procedures, and people are sometimes unaware of what to expect. In a helpful post, outline what a normal court proceeding might look like for clients within your practice area, and offer helpful hints that make potential clients feel more at ease in the courtroom.
Offer (General) Legal Advice
When people browse the internet for legal advice, they are usually targeting a distinct problem. Your blog can offer general legal advice in a user-friendly way, while also maintaining best practices. Be sure to make your information as permanent as possible, so it can stay on your blog for the long term. Remember to regularly update your blog as the laws change and confirm your state’s rules about adding a standard disclaimer, which exempts your blog information from being used as bona fide legal advice.
Discuss the Latest News
Blog posts can update your audience on law-related current events. Comment on the news from your trained legal perspective, and expand on issues that your typical clients may encounter. These highlights inform individuals and place your law firm as a reliable authority.
Include Case Studies
Client case studies are one form of “social proof” that you can offer to potential clients. Case studies (or testimonials) confirm to your unacquainted audience that your law firm is reliable and has proven success with others just like themselves. You can publish client stories as a third person account, as an interview, or insert a video testimonial within your blog.
Search Social Media
Social media is a great way to see what people care about and what is going on inside their heads. What are popular concerns or current fears? Address these issues with informative posts, summaries or guides.
Mine Your Competition
The websites or social media platforms of your competitors are smart places to search for ideas. Drop in and see what they are up to, gathering inspiration from their blogs, FAQ pages and social sites.
Address Your Ideal Client
If your law firm has not created its ideal client, perhaps blogging is a good reason to do it. The best blog posts and website articles target and speak to a particular client, so choose yours. If stumped, consider your current clients and decide which ones are your favorites. To whom are your services especially tailored? Start there, and through blogging, show them what they need to know.
Start Strong, Stay Strong
Blog posts that capture attention with a compelling title and first sentences will create interest in your readers. Most people will read a headline, but most drop off after the first few sentences — unless they are totally engaged. Once you have grabbed attention, keep it with concise and meaningful text that sounds great when read aloud to yourself.
Go Easy on Your Readers
You can make your blog more attractive and engaging by considering the following tips:
- Write without legal jargon
- Speak in a conversational tone
- Use short, concise sentences
- Use more white space
- Add images and graphics
- Use headings, numbered lists and bullets
- Write for readers in a hurry
- Offer truly valuable information
- Answer a question or teach them something new
Optimize for SEO
You probably have SEO goals in mind, and your blog can support these. Some find it easier to write fluently and quickly what they want to say, and then return and tweak the blog post to accommodate keywords and phrases. Try to answer common questions that clients have, and just doing this should increase your SEO success.
Call Them to Action
While it is magnanimous to give out free information, your core reason for a legal blog is to woo your readers to action, enabling them to become new clients and contacts. End your blog posts with a suggestion to the reader — a step to take, a contact form to complete, or a phone number to call.
Spotlight Your Law Firm Locally
Local connections are crucial to marketing efforts, and when your law firm is active in a community event or sponsorship, be sure to spotlight this on your blog. Media features, volunteer efforts, and staff awards are all great subject matter for upcoming blog posts.
Stay Motivated
Do not lose sight of the vision you had when you started the blog. Like other challenges you face, the benefits of blogging are exponential compared to the efforts you make. Consider hiring an experienced legal marketing agency to supplement your blogging duties, or get a colleague to fill in with a guest article. Stay focused, get help when you need to, and remember that your work will pay off in the end.
This Week’s Digital Marketing Action Step:
A legal blog is becoming an essential element of any law firm. Its content can touch your audience personally, answering their questions and informing their concerns. It can speak to individuals at any time of day. A legal blog is a key way to display your law firm’s expertise and confirm your reliability.
- If you feel overwhelmed at the thought of writing and keywording your law firm’s blog, or if you feel as if you want someone with experience to take this task off your plate, consider contacting a digital marketing agency experienced with legal blog writing.
- Make a game plan and a content calendar for what you want to write about on your legal blog and set aside dedicated time to place towards your goal.
Annette Choti graduated from law school 20 years ago, and is now the CEO & Owner of Law Quill, a legal digital marketing agency focused on small and solo law firms. Law Quill is the only legal digital marketing agency that provides unique, SEO-optimized content, pre-packaged content, and courses for lawyers to learn SEO themselves through Law Quill Academy. Annette used to do theatre and professional comedy, which is not so different from the legal field if we are all being honest. Annette can be found on LinkedIn or at annette@lawquill.com
