Writing articles is not just one way to do some form of marketing for small law firms, but it’s one way to establish authority, educate clients, and even build a potential lead pool. However, taking that flash of an idea to an actual professional-published article can be somewhat overwhelming. Such will be broken down into steps, easily manageable to have your firm consistently produce a high-quality impactful article.
Understanding the Importance of Article Writing to Law Firms
Article writing has various important benefits to a small law firm including but not limited to:
- Establish Credibility: Evidence of your expertise in legal matters.
- Gain Trust: When you can provide insight into what potential clients are looking for, they will more than likely view you as an advisor.
- Improve Online Visibility: A well-written article improves your search engine rankings.
- Educate Clients: Articles are a very good starting point to answer the frequently asked questions or problems your target audience may have.
By knowing these benefits, your firm can write articles as strategy and not a chore.
Step 1: Define Your Goal and Target Audience
Before you begin to write your article, ask yourself the following:
- Who is your audience? Is it the business clients, individual clients looking for legal representation, or other professionals?
- What is the purpose of the article-to educate, inform, persuade, or generate leads?
Having clarity on those questions ensures that your article speaks to the right readers and in the right key, while it meets the goals of your firm.
Tip: Use reader personas to know who your audience is. A typical example might be “Small Business Owner Seeking Advice on Contracts.” This will ensure that your content suits their needs best.
Step 2: Find an Interesting Subject
Choose the subject carefully. Strike for topics which are:
- Relevant: Write about issues your audience can relate to. For example, how employment law affects a startup.
- Timely: Relate to the latest legal trends or recent changes in legislation.
- Unique: Provide new insight or knowledge within a niche that will make your firm stand out.
Tip: Use tools like Google Trends or AnswerThePublic to understand the trending questions within your legal niche.
Step 3: Research Thoroughly
The backbone of any well-written legal article is well-researched and accurate information. Here’s how to ensure that your content is credible:
- Use reliable sources only: Reputed legal databases, case studies, and academic journals.
- Cite sources appropriately: Give citations for the laws, statutes, or precedents referred to in your article.
- Keep current: Legal environments change very fast; ensure that your information reflects the latest development.
Tips: During the research stage, maintain a list of dependable sources that one can draw upon.
Step 4: Prepare an Outline
A good outline organizes your thoughts and provides a logical flow. Consider this basic structure:
Introduction:
- Hook: Engage the reader with an astonishing fact, question, or anecdote.
- Purpose: Explain what the article will cover.
Body:
- Divide content into sections with subheadings.
- Use bullet points or numbered lists for clarity.
- Include real-life examples or case studies to illustrate points.
Conclusion:
- Summarize key takeaways.
- Include a call-to-action, such as contacting your firm for more information.
How to Do It Tip: Outline the article with your team so all of the main points are covered.
Step 5: Write in a Style Friendly to Your Readers
Legal writing does not have to be dry or too technical. Hold readers’ interest with the following:
- Use Plain Language: Keep overly legalistic phrases to a minimum.
- Be Brief: Make your points directly yet briefly.
- Break Up Text: Use subheadings, short paragraphs, and white space to make your article scannable.
- Storytelling: Real-life examples put a face to your text and make it relatable.
Tip: After writing, read your article out loud to find instances of awkward phrasing or convoluted sentences.
Step 6: Optimize for SEO
SEO means your article will be far more likely to reach a wider audience. Here’s how to go about it in steps:
Keyword Research: Identify what searchers might put into that rectangle looking for information on estate planning or small business legal advice.
- Apply the principles of natural writing when adding your target keywords to the title, headings, and text.
- Use meta descriptions and alt text for your images.
Internal/External Links: Add links in to other posts on your website and out to credible sources
Mobile Optimization: Ensure that this article is mobile-friendly.
Good to Know: You can refine any of these with Yoast SEO or SEMrush.
Step 7: Editing and Proofreading
Editing will help make your article polished and professional. Steps to undertake are stated below:
First Review: Clarity, structure, and tone.
Second Review: Grammatical, spelling, and punctuation.
Final Review: Accuracy of legal information and citations.
Tip: Grammarly does so much of the basic proofreading work. However, nuances in legal content need to be reviewed personally.
Step 8: Publish and Promote
Now that your article is written, make the most of its value by publishing it strategically.
- Publish on Your Website: It should be easy to find and accessible.
- Social Media: Publish snippets or highlights on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter.
- Email Newsletters: Attach the article in regular firm updates that are sent out to clients.
- Collaborate: Collaborate with other professionals or organizations through cross-promotion of content.
Tip: Keep an eye on the success of engagement metrics-page views, shares, comments-to help inform and improve future pieces.
Final Words
Writing an article is not a daunting task. If one takes a process-oriented approach-from conceptualizing your intent down to promotion-your small law firm will create effective and authoritative content that will see results. Done with persistence and determination, your firm’s reputation will get better, as will its relationship to the target audience. So get to work and let the ink flow!
