“People aren’t interested in what I have to write!”
Wrong. Absolutely wrong. If your prospective clients aren’t interested in what you have to say it’s either because 1) you don’t currently have content, so they have no reason to trust you or 2) you have the wrong clients.
With the right strategy, clients will be begging you for more info, paying thousands just to hear your thoughts.
You don’t believe this is possible? Look to Anderson Advisors. They’re an asset protection law firm focused on real estate investors and business owners. They regularly host live live workshops with tickets ranging from $299 to $1000.
And guess what? Their upcoming event’s $1000 tier is sold out.
This price is for the event only. It doesn’t include any legal work.
What are they charging for legal work? Well, a Wyoming LLC formation with them costs $2750. Enrollment in their maintenance package is $2500 and then $795/yr after that.
What’s the difference between you and Anderson Advisors?
They have hundreds of blog posts. Between their attorneys, they have several YouTube channels with hundreds of videos each and 7 books. For years, they’ve pumped out super high-quality content targeting a niche audience. As a result, they’ve built a highly specific community around their firm. That is great content marketing.
That amount of content can sound overwhelming to produce. Anderson is a large firm with massive volume. You don’t need to exactly replicate the Anderson strategy to achieve massive results for your small firm or private practice. I’ll explain step-by-step how to create a sustainable content marketing strategy that will become a lead generation machine that runs in your sleep.
What is Content Marketing for Law Firms?
Content marketing is a marketing strategy where you share informative and relevant content tailored to your prospective clients' needs and interests. As an attorney, this could involve writing articles, creating videos, or hosting webinars that address common legal questions or concerns.
Your aim is to:
- Provide value to your audience
- Establish your expertise and trustworthiness in your field
- Build a community of raving fans who trust your word above anyone else in your field
This strategy turns your marketing into a magnet, pulling in prospects while you sleep, without any hard selling. Over time, this nurtures a relationship with your audience, making it so they wouldn’t dream of going to anyone but you when they need advice or services. It's a savvy, no-nonsense path to elevating your firm’s stature and expanding your practice without the hustle.
Benefits of Content Marketing for Law Firms
In today’s internet landscape, cluttered with dubious advice and fly-by-night experts, the bar association's stamp of approval doesn’t cut it anymore. People are skeptical, and frankly, they have every right to be.
If you want prospective clients to trust you, you need to prove yourself and your expertise. But here's the silver lining: this situation hands you a golden opportunity to stand out from the crowd. By positioning yourself as a beacon of reliability and truth, you not only rise above the noise, but also turn this challenge into your strategic advantage.
Clients are staring down the barrel of real-life nightmares – custody battles, bankruptcy, probate disputes — legal troubles that threaten their bread and butter, the well-being of their kids, their entire existence!
They're not in the market for impersonal legal jargon. What they're craving is a voice that echoes their concerns, someone who gets them, their struggles, and their needs.
By crafting razor-sharp, client-centric content, you build a fortress of credibility around your firm. This is about translating legal jargon into a language your clients grasp, feel, and trust. Each article, video, or guide you deploy serves as a beacon, guiding lost prospects through the fog straight to your doorstep. Forget interruptive ads or subpar websites; content marketing turns your expertise into a client magnet. The result? A bustling practice, clients who see you as the go-to authority, and a healthy bottom line.
5 Steps to a Killer Content Marketing Strategy
But how do you develop this aire of expertise? You need to get focused on what your clients need and what you can offer them then build your strategy around that. When you look at a strategy like Anderson Advisors, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Written content, videos, books, webinars, live-events: their marketing department is running a media company! No need to worry, it’s more than okay to start small and, depending on the goals of your business, there’s no need to expand beyond a couple of mediums that really resonate with your clients.
One thing I have found works really well for small firms that want growth is website content. So, let’s start our content marketing journey there with this step-by-step guide.
1. Start with your offer/consider your client journey
First, we have to lay the groundwork. Without establishing your offer, your unique selling proposition, and laying out a clear client journey, your content strategy will be taking shots in the dark. You can’t start building relationships if you’re not sure who you want to be sitting on the other side of the screen.
What makes the content strategy of a firm like Anderson Advisors so special is the size of their target audience: real estate investors and small business owners. These groups have similar concerns, namely privacy and asset protection. Anderson is able to tailor each piece of content to speak to the fears of their niche audience, meaning with every post each client feels like Anderson is speaking directly to them.
This is why a crucial first step to creating a content marketing strategy is defining what you’re selling, who you’re selling it to, and what that person wants to see.
2. Do keyword research
With our offer crystal clear and our client persona nailed down, it's time we dive into keyword research.
A keyword is what we in the marketing world call a term people search for online, guiding them to relevant content like your website.
Keyword research is discovering what potential clients are searching or asking about legal matters online using data collected by Google. We are trying to find the most common questions or terms people use when looking for legal assistance. By knowing these terms, you can tailor your website and content to answer what people are actually asking which improves your website’s user experience and the likelihood google will favor your content, making it easier for those seeking legal help to find you and more likely that they’ll choose your services.
The graphic below illustrates a sample customer journey and suggests relevant keywords for each stage of that journey.
The steps to conduct keyword research are as follows:
- Brainstorm topics. These topics will act as a list of “seed” keywords to start your search.
- Use keyword tools. Put your list of seed keywords into a tool to help you find exact phrases people are searching for related to your services.You can use a free tools like Google keyword planner or a paid tool like Ahrefs. I personally use Ahrefs.
- Analyze search volume. Search volume is the number of searches for your keyword monthly. You usually don’t want to spend your resources writing on topics that have no volume.
- Consider Relevance and Intent. Choose keywords that are not only popular but also closely related to your services. The intent behind the search is important – are they looking for information, or are they looking to hire an attorney?
- Check the Competition. See how many other law firms are targeting the same keywords. High competition might mean you want to niche down on your topic so you can offer higher value and stand out to potential clients.
- Select Your Keywords. Pick a mix of broad and specific keywords to target that are in line with the stages of your user journey. Broad keywords in the awareness stage might be "immigration lawyer," while specific ones in the consideration stage could be "immigration lawyer for spousal visa in Portland."
3. Write the content
Now that the planning is done, it’s time to get to work! Writing the best content for your clients necessitates a blend of legal expertise to ensure accuracy and user-friendly writing that addresses pertinent questions and smoothly navigates users through their journey. There are two options: write the content yourself or enlist a legal content writer who excels in merging these elements effectively.
- Write a content brief. Regardless of whether you’re writing the content yourself or hiring a writer, having a well made content brief will improve the end result. In the brief, you want to define your user intent and all of the keywords relevant to the topic at hand. It will also be helpful to do some competitor research on your targeted terms to determine how long the articles preferred by Google are (usually longer is better) and which sub-topics should be covered. Your brief should also include the client’s intent so we can make sure we’re providing them with relevant information which will help push them toward the next step in the client journey.
- Write or Commission the Content. If writing yourself, keep your audience's needs and search intent in mind. Use clear, concise language. If commissioning, choose a writer familiar with legal topics and SEO. Provide them with the keywords, topic, and outline.
- Incorporate Keywords Thoughtfully. Keywords should be included in the title, headings, and throughout the content in a way that feels natural.
- Include Calls to Action (CTAs). Calls to action are very important to guide readers toward the next step in the customer journey. What should they do next? Should they qualify themselves through reading the next article “how to prove wrongful termination”? Should they sign up for your free webinar “Winning Your Rights: Navigating Wrongful Termination Claims"? Should they contact your firm?
4. Don’t ignore SEO
Don't overlook the pivotal role of SEO. SEO will amplify your efforts and ensure your content reaches its intended audience for one of the lowest customer acquisition costs you can get.
We’ve already covered some important aspects of optimizing SEO through keyword research and writing. It is also very important to focus on on-page SEO, technical SEO, backlinks, and demonstrating EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness).
5. Implement tracking
Proper website tracking isn’t just smart; it’s non-negotiable. This step is about holding your content accountable so we can optimize performance and make sure your marketing dollars produce a real return.
Good tools include:
- Google Analytics - Comprehensive web analytics service.
- Figpii - An all-in-one optimization platform that leverages tools like heatmaps, polls, and A/B testing to deeply understand user behavior and preferences. Figpii helps in identifying the most engaging parts of your website, gauging visitor satisfaction, and implementing data-driven improvements to enhance user experience and increase conversion rates.
- Hotjar - Visualizes user behavior and feedback with heatmaps and session recordings.
- Ahrefs - Provides tools for SEO audit, backlink research, and competitive analysis.
- SEMrush - Digital marketing tool that includes website performance and SEO tracking.
- Google Search Console - Helps monitor website's search performance and health.
How to hire best legal content marketing agency
If the idea of transforming your website into an unstoppable lead-generating machine gets your heart racing, let’s chat! Schedule a no-cost consultation with me, and I'll throw in a complimentary content plan. I am not aiming to inflate your visitor statistics or add a few names to your client list. Oh, no. I want to help you double your revenue!