You know that high-quality content is the key to keeping your law firm’s blog at the top of Google results, but how do you come up with new posts? Your initial burst of ideas may have run out already, leaving you panicking at the keyboard. However, there’s a lot you can do to keep your creative juices flowing and provide your legal blog the fresh content it needs.
The Importance of Regular Posting
To start, don’t underestimate the importance of regular posting. Some people get caught in the trap of putting quality so far above quantity that they spend weeks on a single blog post before they move onto another one. High-quality content is important, but you have to balance that with consistent posting. If visitors land on a blog that hasn’t been updated in three weeks, they will wonder if you’re still active. Google will be less likely to put you near the top of the search results if your direct competitor is consistently posting every single week.
What is the ideal posting schedule? The goal is to post once per week. If that’s too much for you at the beginning, make it a habit to post every two weeks. Once you get used to this schedule, going to once per week may not seem so unachievable.
Brainstorming Different Content Approaches
You want your blog to be diverse and to appeal to different cross-sections of your audience. Rather than posting, for example, “top five tips” for two months in a row, keep one “top tips” post and mix it up with other angles. Some content approaches you may want to try to include:
• Relevant laws. As new laws are passed, update potential clients on the ones that impact your work. Your ability to explain these concepts can increase consumer confidence.
• Recaps of your previous cases. While protecting a client’s privacy, you can provide a brief overview of a recent case you had, how you handled it, and what the outcome was. Potential clients may be motivated to choose you when they see your management of other cases.
• Frequently asked questions. You can use Quora and recommended Google search terms to figure out which questions people are asking about your area of law. Answer those questions in an easy-to-read blog post.
• Myths and misunderstandings about your area of practice. There are lots of misunderstandings about the practice of law. Help people understand your area of practice better.
• Updates about your firm. When you bring on new team members, move to a new location, or extend your hours, make sure people know about it.
• Seasonal news. Are there legal issues that need to be taken care of on a seasonal basis? Give clients a gentle nudge. Remind them to check their custody agreement before claiming their child on their taxes or remind visitors to schedule their annual estate plan checkup.
• National news. If there’s any national news that can be spun to relate to your area of practice, draft a blog post about it. The latest celebrity divorce can be a good jumping off point for you to talk about custody agreements for high-net-worth couples.
Tracking and Scheduling Your Ideas
Do a rapid-fire brainstorming session and get all your ideas out. Categorize them into different types of content. From there, you can create a writing and publishing schedule that will keep you on track and allow you to rotate different types of content.
The more you add to your blog, the easier it will be for potential clients to find you through organic search. Create a blogging habit and reap the benefits for years to come.
