Earn More Legal Leads using Content Marketing

It’s a myth that content marketing is only good for building awareness.

An effective content marketing strategy, done in the right way, can help you attract quality potential clients.

You need to know who you want to reach with your content, the type of searches they’re making just before they become leads, and the searches they make at the start of their journey.

Some people may go from cold leads to making an enquiry through one piece of content, whereas others will need a few more touch points before they take that leap.

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Front cover of "Earn 10x More Legal Leads".

This blog will help you determine the different types of content you need for each stage to help people become leads quickly.

How Can Content Marketing Get You More Legal Leads?

There are several key reasons that content marketing is so helpful for getting more leads.

It builds credibility and trust. By consistently providing free, valuable legal information and education, you position yourself as an authority and helpful resource for potential clients. This makes them more likely to contact you when they need legal services.
It improves visibility and discovery. Quality content, optimised for SEO and promoted across channels, helps your law firm be found more easily online. This introduces your expertise to people searching for legal help.
It nurtures prospects. People consume a lot of information before contacting a lawyer. Content keeps you top of mind while allowing you to nurture leads until they are ready to become clients. This could take minutes, days or weeks. It all depends on the client.
It converts visitors into leads. Calls-to-action within content invite visitors to sign up for email newsletters, download guides, request consultations, etc. This gives you their contact info to continue nurturing.
It qualifies leads. Your content showcases your knowledge and specialities. Prospects that resonate with your content and brand are more likely to be a good fit as clients.
It builds relationships and loyalty. By educating and advising, you provide value to prospects even before they hire you. This makes for satisfied, lifelong clients.

Content marketing isn’t just something your law firm should do to rank at the top of Google. It’s a great tool for moving potential clients down the sales funnel and should be a key part of any law firm’s marketing strategy.

How to Create a Content Marketing Strategy for Your Law Firm

You know how important content marketing is. But we can hear you already:

“Where do I start with my content marketing?”

Don’t worry, we’ve got you.

This section covers building a content marketing strategy for your law firm from the ground up, starting with goals.

Goals

Content marketing has many goals. It could be to become a thought leader, increase your ranking on Google, improve your social media presence or get featured in more publications.

The main goal we’ll focus on in this guide is getting more leads for your law firm.

That doesn’t mean that the other goals won’t be included here, though. Becoming a thought leader can get you more leads. Getting to the top of Google will definitely get you more legal leads.

This content will be written to get more leads and clients as the main focus.

A popular goal-setting method is using SMART goals. It helps you set sensible goals which will help you make real progress with your content marketing. This speedy video explains exactly what SMART goals are.

Once you’ve set your goals, you must identify the best channels to achieve them.

Types of Content Marketing

Content marketing refers to lots of different types of marketing. It includes;

Blogs
Social Media
Video Content
Podcasts
Guest Posting
Webinars
Downloadable Guides
and more.

When earning more legal leads using content marketing, you need to think about these different platforms.

Some are better for raising awareness of your firm or building a relationship with your potential clients.

Others are best for lead generation.

Blogs, video content, podcasts, webinars and downloadable guides are some of the best platforms for generating more legal leads.

Blogs meet your audience when they’re searching for things that make them ideal clients.
Videos and podcasts are great for educating your audience in a more personal way than blogs. They can answer the same questions as your blogs but in a different format.
Guest posts help you connect with your audience on another website. If you specialise in helping small businesses with legal problems, you may want to write a guest post for a publication aimed at small business owners.
Webinars allow your ideal clients to interact with you in real-time and ask questions about common problems they have.
Downloadable guides are a great way to educate your audience and reassure them while also getting them to sign up for your mailing list, helping you move them towards converting in a more personal way.

Multi-channel Marketing

Multi-channel marketing is using multiple channels or platforms to distribute marketing content and reach customers.

This is in contrast to single-channel marketing, where a business focuses on only one platform.

For content marketing, a multi-channel approach typically involves creating content like articles, videos, podcasts, etc. and distributing them across several online channels.

A multi-channel content approach aims to distribute content across the channels where your target audience is most active.

This increases the chances of them engaging with the content across multiple touch points, which can build awareness, trust and loyalty.

The key is to create omnichannel experiences so the journey is seamless between channels.

The mistake most businesses make is trying to make brand-new content for every platform and channel.

You should create one big piece of content that you can then use on other platforms.

This is called omnichannel marketing.

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Omnichannel Marketing

Omnichannel marketing refers to providing customers with a seamless and consistent experience across all channels and touchpoints.

The goal is to create a unified brand experience instead of fragmented, isolated interactions on different unrelated platforms.

Creating content tailored for specific channels. Content is customised for each channel’s unique formats and consumption habits like social media, website, mobile, etc.
Consistent messaging across channels. While content may differ, the broader messaging and branding align across channels.
Cohesive user experience. The transition between channels is smooth through user-friendly journeys and integrated platforms.
Centralised data and insights. Data and analytics are integrated across channels to provide a complete view of the customer. This allows for personalised experiences.
Ongoing optimisation. Content and experiences are continuously improved based on cross-channel data and testing.

For example, you could create a big guide to a specific type of legal issue, then cut that guide down into different blogs, and then use those blogs as scripts for YouTube and podcast content.

Then, you can cut that YouTube content down into short-form videos and social media posts.

If it’s only relevant to one part of your audience, you can target them through email segmentation.

This is much easier than creating something bespoke for every platform, meaning everything you produce will be of higher quality.

The goal of an omnichannel approach is to put the customer at the heart of the experience and meet them wherever they are.

This provides a more relevant and engaging brand experience across touch points.

How to Create Content for Your Strategy

Now you know the channels you want to use and understand that the best strategies involve connecting content across different channels and platforms.

Next, you need to actually create this content.

No matter the type of content, there are some fundamentals you should follow and some elements you need to have in place.

Starting with the topic of your content.

Topics

Your content topics should match up with any keyword research you’ve done.

If you’re new to keyword research, you can learn more in our keyword research guide or our law firm marketing playbook.

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We see many law firms fall into the trap of posting firm news or news about the legal industry on their blog. This can be informative to some, but more so to others in the legal space than potential clients.

So, the topics for your blogs need to have your ideal clients in mind.

You can find these topics through speaking to existing clients or reflecting on common questions clients ask you. Especially the questions they have before they become a client.

By answering these questions in blogs, you can shorten the client’s journey and get them the help they need faster.

Reader Intent

Once you have your topics, you need to identify the reader’s intent before writing.

Their intent could be to hire a lawyer as soon as possible, or their intent could be to find the answer to a question they have.

The second person looking for answers could turn into someone who realises they need to hire a lawyer as soon as possible, but they’re unsure to start with.

Understanding this intent will help you create the best content and convert more leads.

For example, someone searching “lawyer near me” is likely looking to hire a lawyer and will be best served by a service page.
Someone searching “How are assets divided during a divorce?” will likely want a short guide explaining this to them in simple, understandable terms, with a CTA directing them towards speaking to a lawyer.
Someone searching for “Do I need a lawyer when renting a property?” may not need a lawyer right now, but their question can be answered with a short blog, with a CTA directing them to download a guide to handling any disputes with their landlord if anything goes wrong with their rental agreement in the future.

All these searches show different intent and will need different types of content.

Another way you can check reader intent is through competitor research. By searching your term on Google and reviewing the content in the top 10 results, you can get an idea of the search intent.

What kind of content are your competitors using for the search term? It’s likely you’ll want to replicate that in your own content marketing strategy.

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Credibility

Credibility is one way you can stand out from other law firms, especially regarding blog content.

It also gives potential clients more reason to trust and hire you.

People want to know their information is coming from a credible source, especially when it comes to legal matters.

If a lawyer from your firm writes your content, you should add a writer’s credit and a bio next to the article.

Another way you can prove the credibility of your content, even if a lawyer does not write it, is by adding a line at the top of the content, letting readers know a lawyer has checked it before being published.

Niche Terms

Niche search terms should always be included in your law firm’s content marketing strategy.

These are search terms that SEO tools tell you have a volume of 0, but you know that your clients are searching for them.

For example, the term “falsifying log books” has a low search volume according to SEO tools, but we knew that our client would be able to get high-value traffic for this term.

Because of this, we had the opportunity to get them the featured snippet for this term, landing them at the top of the search results and putting them right in front of this high-value traffic.

The Best CTAs to Convert Potential Clients

Another essential element of law firm content marketing is the calls to action (CTAs) you use.

After all, your content is here to get you more clients and help people. CTAs help guide the reader to the next step.

CTAs should also keep in mind their readers’ intent.

If you write a blog about an update to the human rights bill but include a CTA to speak to a lawyer, your reader is unlikely to click that button. They’re just here to learn about this new bill.
But, if you invite them to join a mailing list to keep them updated on legal changes in the public sector, they’ll be more likely to convert. That way, you connect with them even if they don’t need legal services right now.
If someone searched for “how to start the debt recovery process” and landed on your blog, they’re more likely to want to speak to a legal professional, so a CTA offering a free consultation would be a good fit here.

Make sure each blog has the best CTA by considering the next step the reader will want to take and what they’re ready for.

So, how do you create a good CTA?

Be clear and concise. The CTA should communicate what action you want the user to take in a simple, straightforward way. For example, “Sign up today” or “Download now.”
Make it prominent. The CTA should stand out on the page through size, colour, placement, etc., so it catches the user’s eye.
Personalise when possible. Using “you” or “your” makes it feel more like you’re speaking directly to the reader.
A/B test different CTAs. Try different phrases, designs, colours, etc. and use analytics to see which CTAs have the most conversions.
Make sure it stands out. Use contrasting colours from the rest of the page so the CTA pops. Using the same general colour scheme but darker/lighter versions also works well.
Reduce friction. Don’t make users click through multiple pages to convert. Have the CTA link directly to the desired action.

Keep in mind that not everyone is ready to “Speak to a Lawyer”. A better CTA for some people may be “Get a Free Consultation” or “Learn If You Have a Case”.

The below CTA from Lawhive is a great example.

It tells you what will happen — you’ll find a solicitor in five minutes, and when you press the pink button, you’ll get legal help.
It makes it clear that the help is fast, convenient, and affordable, and all their solicitors are licenced.
They reassure you that this will be an online process and you won’t need to visit a solicitor in person.
There are suggestions below the search bar in case you’re not sure what to type.

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If this CTA still doesn’t convince the user, there are multiple things to reassure them on the page.

They offer a price guarantee
They claim to be up to 60% cheaper than high-street firms
They offer fixed price quotes with nothing hidden
They have fully regulated and better solicitors
They offer fast responses.

All these things work together to put the user’s mind at ease and nudge them towards conversion.

You don’t need this much credibility on a smaller CTA within a blog, but if your CTA is the main feature of the page, like on your homepage, for example, you should add as much credibility as possible.

Below is a more simple CTA included in a blog. It doesn’t ask the user to take too many steps, and it’s clear what you’ll get from handing over your information — a free consultation.

Using AI in Your Law Firm’s Content Marketing Strategy

AI is becoming more popular with marketers as a tool to help with marketing tasks.

It’s tempting to get AI to write all your content for you, but there are some big risks here.

AI can hallucinate, meaning it will come up with facts and figures that don’t exist. Sometimes, it even gives them a fake source which sounds legitimate.
Some AI tools, like ChatGPT 3.5, are only trained up to a certain date. So if you ask it to write about new laws that were put in place after that date, it won’t be able to write about them.
AI-generated content often has a different tone of voice than the rest of your law firm, making it stick out and feel out of place on your website.

If you want to use AI in your law firm content marketing, then you need to use it as a brainstorming tool or an assistant rather than a tool to write the entirety of your content.

Law Firm Content Marketing (Recap)

An effective content marketing strategy can help your law firm attract more quality leads by:

Building credibility and trust to position your firm as a helpful legal resource
Improving visibility in search engines to get found by people seeking legal help
Nurturing prospects through the buyer’s journey by sharing useful information
Converting website visitors into leads through calls to action.

Don’t forget, when creating content, the main elements to focus on are:

Picking topics that align with keyword research and address common client questions/concerns
Understanding reader intent to provide the right information
Establishing credibility through lawyer-written content and bios
Incorporating niche long-tail keywords to reach highly targeted searches
Crafting effective CTAs that move readers to the next step.

If you want to learn more about marketing your law firm, download our free guide.