7 Blog Posts You Should Be Writing
If you're keeping a blog as an attorney, odds are that your entries started off strong, but after a few months, you may not know what to talk about to keep your blog fresh. Your law firm's blog thrives on new content, and blogs that have grown stale or unused won't attract fresh visitors. In order to keep your blog current and helping your search engine rankings, you need a steady flow of new posts. This guide will give you some good ideas for posts that you may not have made yet, but that almost every attorney can write in an interesting way.
#1: “How I Got My Start In Law”
While it's likely that your law firm website already has some information about how you got your start in the legal field, it's just as likely that this website version of the story is a scaled down, watered down version of how you really got there. Consider telling the real stories of what made you become a lawyer. Did people say that you should be an attorney even when you were very young? Did you expect all your life that you'd be doing something else, only to suddenly find yourself receiving a J.D. at the end of three years of law school?
People like origin stories—it's why superhero movies keep going back to superhero origins. People like knowing where you came from, it humanizes you in spite of the fact that you're in a profession that is often dehumanized in popular media portrayals. By telling people about your earlier history, you ensure that it they can relate to you on a deeper and more real level than if you just tell the story of your academic history.
#2: Changes To Your Field Recently
While this topic can seem a bit like inside baseball, and it is, there's a good reason for taking the time to discuss some of the changes to your specific field of law and things you've observed recently. One of the best of those reasons is that you can then share this post on LinkedIn, where it may find an audience of other attorneys. Why does this matter? Because that's how you get not only guest blogging spots, but also attorney referrals from lawyers who know that you can handle a specific type of case better than they can.
Cultivating an audience of both attorneys and potential clients is the holy grail for lawyers, so consider making your post understandable for regular people while still interesting and unique enough for attorneys to read without feeling like they've read the same thing ten thousand times before.
#3: Client Myths and Misconceptions
Every attorney knows about misconceptions that people have about their specific legal specialty area. Myths and misconceptions are rampant in almost every legal area, and when you start hearing a large number of clients reciting those myths, it's a great time to dispel them via a blog post.
When you do this kind of blog post, make sure not to make fun of people who believe these myths and misconceptions. After all, they're generally propagated by people who simply don't know any better, because they haven't been exposed to the law as much as you have. Don't assume that people are stupid or uneducated just because they don't understand the law. The law can be very confusing to laypeople, and potential clients value an attorney who can explain myths and misconceptions in a way that is clear without ever veering into condescension.
#4: Walkthrough of an Initial Consultation
One thing that scares many people—often to the point where they put off contacting an attorney for days, weeks, or even months—is that if they've never hired an attorney before, they don't know how the whole process works. By having a blog entry that details what a typical first consultation with your law offices looks like, you can make sure that potential clients feel at ease. Essentially, you're giving them a road map that tells them what to expect from the first moment that they start onto their attorney/client journey with your firm. Any journey is a little bit easier with a map, so provide your clients with one and they'll start walking through your door with a little more spring in their step and less nervousness.
#5: Advice on Choosing a Lawyer
While this blog entry will undoubtedly be a little bit self-serving, it shouldn't read like an ad for your firm exclusively. Try to keep in mind that many of the people reading your blog probably aren't from close enough, geographically, to pick your firm. Consider when you write this entry how you'd tell your mother or sister to choose a lawyer, rather than thinking about what would serve your firm absolutely best. People will trust you more when your blog entries about topics like this don't just push people into your firm, whether or not it's the best fit.
#6: Understanding Attorney Client Confidentiality
Many people who are hesitant to talk to an attorney wait because they are not sure about what a lawyer is and isn't required to keep confidential. You can dispel some client fears ahead of time by discussing confidentiality issues on your blog. It's a good idea to link an entry like this from some part of your main website, potentially the parts that talk about an initial consultation. When people have a better grasp of the attorney/client relationship, they'll be more likely to come away from their experience satisfied.
#7: What to Do in the Worst Case Scenario
There's usually a worst case scenario that clients in your field worry about, if you're an attorney. In criminal cases, it's being accused falsely of something that you don't have easy proof you didn't do. In divorce cases, it might be a messy divorce in which a spouse is determined to go to trial even if it costs an arm and a leg. Whatever the worst case scenario is, being able to talk about it lucidly and help people understand how to mitigate the damage is a great trait for an attorney to have. When clients see a blog entry about the worst case scenario and how much you can help in those situations, they'll know that their situation isn't the worst you've seen and that you'll be able to help them, too.
