Blogging and other forms of inbound marketing are essential for all kinds of businesses, and especially law firms. Unfortunately, it can be easy to fall into a pattern of creating legal blogs that don’t provide readers with the information they need. Attorneys are often busy handling clients and litigating cases. With a desk full of complex legal matters needing your constant attention, deciding what topics to cover on your law firm’s next blog might be near the bottom of your to-do list. Blogging may not seem like a big deal to many attorneys, but it is. Law firms get three times more business from content marketing than they do from paid advertising. Furthermore, small businesses with blogs, including law firms, get 126% more lead growth than businesses without blogs connected to their webpages.

Regularly creating and sharing useful, original, and valuable content establishes you as an authority in your practice area. Producing fresh content on topics that people want to know about or that help them solve a problem is a good way of putting your law firm on the map, engaging with potential clients, and building your brand.

Ideally, when people search online for local attorneys, your law firm will appear near the top of their Google search results. Your firm’s name may also appear when individuals search for specific legal advice or ask Google to answer a particular legal question. However, this only works if your law firm is regularly producing quality, searchable content. Simply understanding the importance of content marketing for growing your business isn’t enough on its own, though. For many attorneys, knowing what to write about can be one of the biggest hurdles. It can be challenging to create fresh, useful legal blogs regularly. Following these tips should make it easier.

1. Create a Potential Client Persona

The whole idea of inbound marketing is to attract potential clients and inspire them to take action, like joining your mailing list or scheduling an appointment. Essentially, great content will convert readers to clients. For this to happen, you need to be aware of who you want to attract as a client. Once you have a good understanding of who your ideal client may be, you can start creating content that speaks directly to them. To do this, start by creating an ideal client persona. When creating your firm’s ideal client persona, try answering basic questions about your imaginary clients, such as questions about:

• Demographics (location, age, sex)
• Backgrounds (work, family)
• Goals (work, family, lifestyle)
• Challenges and difficulties

Creating several client personas is a good way to ensure you are creating audience-driven content that meets the specific needs of the people you serve. It’s a good idea to create several client personas or even one persona per legal service you offer.

2. What to Expect From Various Legal Situations

One of the most valuable ways to generate traffic on your website and engage with potential clients is by writing about what people can expect from various legal situations. If you are a personal injury lawyer, you could write a blog explaining the process of filing a slip and fall accident claim. For inspiration, you could write about issues some of your current clients are having. If you tend to handle many similar cases, you could write a detailed account of what someone should expect from that type of legal situation, the steps they should take, and who to contact for legal advice.

3. Answer Frequently Asked Questions

If it’s a question you hear a lot, it’s probably a topic more people want to know about. For example, if you have heard the same question repeated by multiple clients, it could be a common question or a problem many people face. Write out a clear and detailed answer to the questions you’ve been hearing and post the answers to your blog.

4. Visit a Forum

Another way to learn what information people are looking for is by visiting a forum. Many people try to find answers by posting their questions to legal forums and hoping for a useful reply. By scrolling through one of these forums, you can begin making a list of what you find. Keep track of the commonly asked questions relating to your practice area. Turn each answer into a blog post.

5. Read Other Industry Blogs

Reading blogs by other industry experts can be another valuable way of generating ideas and staying up to date. Of course, it is not beneficial to you or your potential clients to copy another lawyer’s blog content, but it can help using that blog as a sounding board or a starting point. If you find a piece of interesting content relating to your practice area, you can expand the idea, make it better, and make it uniquely your own. Add personal experience, commentary, and your own thoughts or opinions.

6. Look at the News

Staying up to date on the news and current affairs can help you know the kinds of problems your potential clients may be facing and how you can help. Your potential clients will appreciate reading your commentary and expert advice on current issues and topics related to your practice area.

7. Perform Keyword and Topic Searches

Keeping your client persona in mind, think about what topics and keywords they would likely be typing into Google. For example, if you are a divorce lawyer, your potential client might be searching “divorce lawyer” or “how to file for divorce.” After making a list of the various services you or your law firm offers, you can start imagining what questions people may be asking Google about each of those services. Try typing some questions into a search engine and see what similar suggestions come up. This will help you understand what questions people are asking and how you can address them. It can also help you create content that is easily searchable and include keywords relevant to your practice area.

Remember, when writing your next legal blog, provide enough information and detail to establish you as an authority on the topic, but keep it general enough that your readers will want to come to you personally to learn more.

RizeUp Media uses digitally-driven marketing strategies to help you attract more clients and set yourself apart from competitors. Contact us today and request a free strategy session.