One of the hardest parts about getting your Law firm blog started is figuring out what to write about. Do you talk about legal issues? Client testimonials? Or maybe your firm? Or local legal events could be an easy source for content. You need to choose legal blogging content that will help you rank better with search engines, is sharable on social media, and furthers your marketing strategy.
This means dropping the legal jargon and focusing on providing legal information that’s relevant to your practice area. This will help you stand out among other law firm websites. Your target audience will appreciate that your website is easy to understand and relatable.
This post is going to tell you everything you need to know about getting your law firm’s blog up and running.
Be Original
The first thing you need to do is create a personality for your firm. This should relatively easy. Take a look around and determine what the culture is like. When you give your law practice a voice that’s unique while also relatable to your prospective clients.
Maybe your law firm is formal, so you need your blog to have the same sense of elegance and conservative nature. Or perhaps your law firm is less formal and more modern. If that is the case then you can adopt a more casual voice for your blog.
Avoid this Mistake
One mistake I find lawyers making is that they forget who their audience is. Law school is quite effective at teaching us how to speak and write for other lawyers and the court. However, this style of writing is not conducive for blogging. In fact, it’s kind of the exact opposite of what you should be doing.
You want your blog to relate to your current and potential clients. The average American reads at eighth grade reading level. So your “lawyer speak” is talking right over their head.
Do This Instead
Pretend you are explaining the law to your cousin’s boyfriend who is a high school dropout. This will enable you to put the law into layman’s terms that anyone can understand. Even those who have graduated college will relate to this simple, easy to understand approach to the law.
Answer the Legal Question
So what do you write about? You already have the answer to this question. What are the most common questions you answer? Maybe you are an estate planning attorney. A common question might be how to prevent someone from inheriting.
Or you could be a criminal defense attorney. Isn’t the number one question about what kind of punishment the client is facing? Personal injury attorneys can talk about what a victim can and cannot claim in recovery.
The questions you continually answer from one client to the next won’t change. So why not develop trust with future clients by answering their questions before they ask them?
Avoid This Mistake
One common mistake I see with many law firm blog topics is making them all about the firm. This comes off as promotional, sales, and ingenious. These are all bad qualities to have. A blog post about your attorneys or firm is ok every once in a while. You just need to balance out these self-promotional posts with useful information posts.
Think about it through the eyes of your audience. How does you winning a case help them? There are better ways of letting potential clients know your firm’s worth. We even specifically state that there are no guarantees to the outcome of any case. So that post about you getting a $5 million dollar settlement just look like your tooting your own horn.
Do This Instead
Celebrate the attorneys in your firm. Or highlight a noteworthy client. You don’t have to speak to case specifics, but these humanistic features will connect your audience to your firm without you having to brag about winning.
Use Keywords And Correct Length for your Legal Blog
Writing a blog post is nice, but it does nothing for you if it doesn’t target a keyword or isn’t long enough. Did you know that Google wants your post to have at least 500 words to be deemed worthwhile? Otherwise, your post looks like spam. Plus let’s be honest, name a legal topic could you effectively discuss in less than 500 words? You can’t.
Working with marketers is a smart SEO approach because they look at your blog from a marketing point of view. However, do not completely hand over the reins to a digital marketing agency. They may not be aware of the legal intricacies that you need to abide by. For example, you don’t want potential new clients to think that by reading your blog they are now your official client. Always include a disclaimer that states you are not providing legal advice.
Avoid This Mistake
Of course, we’d all love to rank for the most searched terms. But going after these terms with a brand new blog is a mistake. The organic search results space is shrinking.
If you are starting a blog now, you already have competition. I find that lawyers who go after the highly competitive terms right away get frustrated and discouraged by the entire process. They want to see results right away, but this is a long game. Then going for those highly competitive terms make the game even longer.
Do This Instead
Focus on search terms that have a decent search volume but less competition. This will help you gain traction sooner. Then you can rank in the top for several terms instead of focusing on those select competitive ones.
While you write your blogs, aim to use your keyword a few times. DO NOT STUFF YOUR KEYWORDS. Over search engine optimization is a real thing and it hurts your blog just as much as not doing any SEO work. Cramming your keyword in a ton of times will get you flagged as spammy, so just don’t do it.
The longer your post though, the more times you can use the term. I like to aim for 1,000-word minimums when it comes to legal topics. Often I find 1,500 or even 2,000 words can be a good length if the topic is particularly meaty.
Let the Pros Handle Your Law Firm Blog
As lawyers, you of all people know that sometimes it is best to let the professionals handle the task at hand. That’s why people hire you, isn’t it? So why not let a content marketing professional handle your blog? This lets you get all of the benefits without all of the work.
By working with me you get the benefit of someone who not only knows and understands content marketing but also knows and understands the law. This means I can competently speak about the intricacies of the law in a way the average person can understand.
Let’s get your law firm blog started today.