The 7 Secrets to Writing a Blog for Your Law Firm Website that Converts
The majority of successful law firms today implement writing a blog into their content marketing mix, because blog posts can stimulate social media and search engine interest. But how do you write blog posts that actually convert lookie-loos into prospects, prospects into leads, and leads into clients to produce a 
financial return on the investment for your firm?
Legal Blog Writing Secrets That Few Attorneys Know
There are the obvious ways to improve blog post related conversion rates, and there are not so obvious methods. Let’s discuss a few bold strategies — that are not without risk! — that can allow you to truly engage with your readership, stimulate interest and win the SEO game:
• Address issues in your field other lawyers won’t touch. While the lawyer in you may say “avoid controversy at all costs,” the webmaster in you should resist the temptation to play it safe. Be willing to blog about issues that draw attention. That isn’t to say you should make statements that will compromise your integrity or turn people away, but you can strategically address a controversial issue and benefit from the discussion.
• Create juicy headlines. As important as the actual content in your blog posts may be, your headlines are arguably more valuable. Just think about the titles you see on websites like Facebook and Buzzfeed. Consider why you clicked on THIS post. Did the title capture your attention and stimulate interest?
Here are some examples of actual blog titles that have gone viral:
• A Cockroach Crawled On My Face And I’ll Never Be The Same
• If Celebrities Had Teenage Email Addresses…
• 24 Crazy Things You Never Imagined Saying Before Kids
• Here’s How Many People Have Died From Ebola So Far
While your titles can be tied to legal matters, you still have plenty of flexibility to create juicy headlines. Instead of writing something blah like “How To Choose A Lawyer,” push the limits with a title like “How To Avoid Lawyers Who Will Land You In Jail.”
• Use multimedia. Do your blogs have to be monolithic blocks of text? No way! It’s 2014. Live large, and get creative with your media. Some of the most viral and high-converting blogs use images, gifs, videos, and infographics to break up the monotony of text.
• Steal ideas. The lawyer in you is probably crying out: “No, don’t steal!” But we’re not talking about actually pilfering IP. You obviously don’t want to copy someone else’s work without giving credit. But there are ways to benefit from someone else’s legwork. First off, you can always ask for permission to link to another blog and use its content (while giving credit, of course). Secondly, you can use someone else’s idea or concept to stimulate a very cool title or post idea. Look outside the legal blogging world for inspiration. Browse science and literature sites (and journals) to get inspired.
• Utilize creative CTAs. In the blogosphere, calls-to-action (“CTAs”) are extremely important. However, instead of the traditional “Click here to sign up for our monthly newsletter” CTA, do it big! Stay within the bounds of what’s acceptable, but get eccentric. For instance: “Like what you’ve read? Sign up for our newsletter, and we’ll send you compelling content each week plus a cartoon that’s guaranteed to make you laugh.”
• Ignore the experts. How many times in life have you found that the experts are wrong? Blogging and SEO experts claim to use all kinds of algorithms, statics, and formulas to prove that it’s “best” to publish posts between the hours of X a.m. and Y p.m., for instance. But this kind of advice isn’t always reliable. If everyone else is posting during those hours, maybe going outside the timeframe can give you additional exposure. Break the mold, and measure what happens!
• Play to your audience. As any musician, athlete, or performer will tell you, success is based on appeasing your fans. Don’t stray from their interests. Find out what they love and crave through a feedback mechanism, and give it to them!
How often do you share content? Blogging is a great way of sharing content and your expertise. If you are not blogging you should consider it. Take baby steps, start writing and you soon will get the hang of it. Thank you for reading our blog and be sure to stop by my immigration blog as well at http://www.visalawyerblog.com/ . We we love hearing from our readers, please share your comments below and do not forget to share your blog url so we can check it out!
