How Lawyers Can Get More Clients from Blogging

Every attorney’s ultimate goal is to amass a following strong enough to support the firm while simultaneously attracting new clients. Gone are the days of turning to the Yellow Pages for a lawyer. Off the street walk-ins are few and far between. In order for a prospective customer to retain your firm, they’ll first search on the internet, and if they see you have a prominent online presence, they’ll reach out to you for more information. So, are you blogging to get clients?

A well-crafted legal blog does more than just link to your website and list your areas of expertise. While it’s true that these are important components to include, if you really want to  establish your law firm’s credibility you should publish valuable content. In addition to that, incorporate the following practices:

–Post blog articles or updates frequently.

–Make yourself stand out from other firms by publishing interesting and up-to-date news.

–If done properly, this will make you a leader within your particular field and visitor will return to your blog in search of information.

–Be consistent above all else.

Post Updates Frequently to Get More Clients from Blogging

The frequency of your posting can have a significant impact on the number of new clients generated. According to a recent report by Hubspot, the numbers indicated that 79 percent of companies who blogged regularly noticed a positive return on investment (ROI) for inbound marketing. 

Hard-pressed to find relevant topics? There are a number of approaches to take when blogging.

Create articles focused on timely news

If you’re an immigration attorney, for example, include news updates on your blog like a recent immigration reform passing or changes in legislation. It’s important to keep readers informed on local as well as national updates that way they see your blog as a central hub.

Post blogs on frequently asked questions

Does your firm receive the same questions over and over on certain topics? Keep track of these FAQs and use them as topics for blog posts. This is a great opportunity to not only generate traffic but address important themes your clientele is interested in.

Prediction posts generate traffic

Articles that offer some predictions or insights into the future are typically effective at generating buzz and increasing site traffic.

Guest posts from prominent figures

Allocating space for guest posts and contributors to comment on important issues is another effective approach. These posts can be written by other professionals in the industry, advocates for a cause or even open the space for public commentary.

Inbound Marketing to Get More Clients

Inbound marketing’s primary goal is to create quality content that attracts visitors to your site and keeps them coming back to read more. Law firms have an advantage because there’s a nearly infinite pool of potential topics to cover when blogging to get clients. Take for example immigration law. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) frequently makes changes to employment-based visa processes, caps and a number of other immigration matters. Hence, it’s even more important for an area of law like this to publish articles recapping the latest news.
Okay, so you’ve acknowledged that frequency matters and the power of inbound marketing but how often is enough in terms of posting? Once a month? Twice a week? While there’s no hard and fast rule we can say that posting every single day is beneficial. How beneficial? Well, that same report we mentioned found that 82 percent of marketers who posted daily gained a customer through their blog while only 57 percent of monthly (1x/month) bloggers saw parallel results.

• New blog posts not only keep your content fresh but suggest to visitors that you’re proactive in the field and up-to-date on the latest developments.
• Companies who blog at least 15 posts each month receive 5X as much traffic as non-blogging organizations.
• If you post less than once a week or your posts are more than a week apart it has the same effect as not blogging to get clients at all. So stick to those editorial calendars!

Do You Have a Positive ROI?

We’ve covered the purpose of inbound marketing for a law firm but now let’s take a look at whether yours is positive or negative. A study conducted by LexisNexis revealed that on average, small firms spend somewhere between $15,000 and $30,000 on online marketing each year. That means to come out with a positive ROI, you should be spending 10% of your client lifetime value on client acquisition. Let’s say you’re a litigation lawyer that handles cases where every new client is about $20,000 per case. That means your marketing efforts should produce one new client for every $2,000 you spend.

–Firms that rely on the value as the result of inbound marketing (blogging) have an average cost per lead 61% lower than firms using other marketing efforts.
–Stay on top of your ROI一client lifetime value × 10%=client acquisition cost.

Stand Out from the Competition When Blogging to Get Clients

Any law firm can claim to be ‘efficient’, ‘professional’ and even ‘client-focused’. To truly stand out from the pack when blogging to get clients you should highlight your results. If you’re a litigation firm, for example, link to a handful of cases you’ve won. That, in many ways, is more powerful than saying, “our law firm has a high success rate.” Another way to display credibility is through client testimonials and reviews. These unbiased sources serve as social proof and help form trust between the firm and potential clients. 

–Demonstrate your aptitude in your field by accentuating accomplishments whether that be cases won, clients served, etc.
–Testimonials and reviews are a genuine way to build trust with prospective clients.
–Make your firm stand out from the pact by going beyond vague terms like ‘efficient’.

Enlarge Your Circle Through Social Media Platforms

While most attorneys find it to be a necessary evil, sharing your posts on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn is another form of  social proof. If an article receives 600 likes, it’s much more likely to be shared than one of equal quality but with no ‘social validation’.

Based on information gathered by the 2013 ABA Technology Survey, use of social media by attorneys is on the rise. In fact, 58 percent of law firms maintain networks on sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. And of the firms who regularly use social media, the study found that 19 percent of them said yes when asked if their efforts ever resulting in the retention of a new client(s).

• When blogging to get clients, share new posts or articles on social media sites to increase your audience base and connect with existing clients.
• While it may seem like additional work, the payoff is worth it if you can retain new clients through this channel and simultaneously stay in touch with current customers for future help.Blogging to get clients is a balance between consistent quality posts and effective outreach.

Blogging to Get Clients–Devise a Blog Strategy

The first step in blogging to get clients involves devising a clear strategy. Since quality is key above all else, think about what appeals to your readership. What is relevant, timely and of interest to them? An editorial calendar can be a great tool to use if more than one individual is responsible for producing content.

When blogging to get clients, your brainstorm session can include:

Article topics: When blogging to get clients, set a goal for how many times you want to publish a week based on available time and manpower.
Target audience: Who are you writing for? Get as specific as possible so you can write your posts accordingly.
Keywords & tags for optimization: Research what keywords you’ll be aiming for.
Publishing dates

Excel is a popular platform to create editorial calendars because  it can easily be shared among a small group and it allows for simple edits.

The Takeaway

Blogging to get clients may seem tedious but it’s a worthwhile undertaking to aid in client retention and gaining new ones. Alongside a solid social media presence, blogging can improve your ROI and leave you firm in a better overall position. Remember, that to effectively retain clients from your blogging efforts, you must provide some substantial value. Simply rehashing the same content that’s been published over and over again is not an effective strategy for retaining leads.