7 ways to get new ideas for your law firm blog

1. Answer client questions you hear frequently

You speak to clients all the time, and in your practice you undoubtedly hear the same questions time and again. It may be on the definitions of certain legal terms or questions about how the legal process works.

Take those questions, in the words your clients use, and answer them in a new post. While you can’t give legal advice, simply describing and explaining areas of the law in plain language can help build trust with potential clients and demonstrate your expertise.

2. Write about changes in the law

This tip may seem obvious, but it does require a new way of thinking about your practice. You may hear about changes or discuss them with your peers frequently. But is your next thought about how to work it into your marketing? It should be. Once you shift to this perspective, you can regularly generate new posts for your blog.

3. Write about a client experience (hypothetically)

Without permission, you know you cannot discuss your clients’ cases. However, you may be able to write about client experiences as hypotheticals. This is a tricky line to walk, but it can truly help potential clients understand your experience and what you can do for them, which are strong selling points for your firm.

Additionally, storytelling is an essential part of content marketing. Stories resonate with readers and stay in readers’ minds far longer than cold facts. Writing hypothetical client stories is a way to engage your readers and stay top of mind when they need your services.

If your story is too close to a client’s actual story, tread lightly to avoid ethical issues. Most bar associations have ethics hotlines you can call to get a second opinion to ensure you don’t cross a line.

4. Use Google's “People also ask" and autocomplete

This trick is used by SEO professionals regularly to generate ideas and complete keyword research. But it does require that you have a topic in mind to write about. You could start by picking a part of your practice and trying to mimic what a client may type into Google. When you start typing, Google will try to guess your search, using data about what other individuals have submitted. This can help you come up with ideas based on actual searches.

Additionally, some Google search results have a section titled “People also ask.” This area has questions and answers that are frequently searched. These are questions that real people have typed into Google and can give you ideas for Q&A blog posts.

5. Create a simple how-to guide

People enjoy clear instructions and how-to content. If there is an area of your practice where a client can do it themselves, consider writing instructions. This might be something as simple as “How to dress for court” or “What to bring when you first meet with a lawyer.” While these posts should obviously not give legal advice, they can demonstrate your ability to clearly explain processes to clients and the care you take in everything you do.

6. Give your take on recent legal news

Legal topics often become a part of the news. If you practice criminal law, there may be a celebrity who was arrested for a crime. If your practice is product liability, there may be news of an individual injured by a top-selling product.

By writing on these types of timely topics, you may be able to get a quick burst of traffic to your site. You may also get picked up by local news for interviews, which can help promote your practice. At a minimum, it can help you develop trust with potential clients and build your brand.

7. Update older blog posts with new legal insights

You may work in an area of the law where changes are rare. You may also have been writing for years, and like the long-running show The Simpsons, every topic may seem like something you already covered. That’s okay. When this happens, you can go back and update older posts to refresh them. Over time, your thoughts on a particular topic may change or there may be a new aspect of a topic that you want to add to an old post.

When you update an older post, be sure to change the date on the post and add a line about it being updated to the end of your post. This clearly shows readers (and search engines) that you updated the content with new information and are still adding fresh content to your site regularly.

Get help with blog writing

If you continually find it difficult to generate new ideas, it may be a good idea to work with a professional writer. A content writer with experience writing for law firms can help you ensure your messages are optimized for search, tailored to potential clients, and tell a compelling story.

Set up a free consultation to learn about the blog writing solutions at FindLaw.