According to Headstream’s research, when customers love your brand story:

55% are more likely to buy the product in the future;

44% will share the story; and

15% will buy the product immediately.

In the words of famous poet Maya Angelou, people may forget what you say and even what you do, but how you made them feel leaves a permanent marking in their memory for years to come.  There’s no shortage of law firms specializing in your selected practice area with equally qualified attorneys and experience. If your attorney bio is simply a regurgitation of your law experience or reads like an instruction manual — dry and emotionless — you’re missing out on valuable opportunities to engage potential clients with your brand.

Why Your Story Matters Now More Than Ever

The legal world under COVID-19’s spell looks a lot different than a few years ago. The most significant change being how businesses interact with consumers. While in-person engagement has declined over the past year, internet usage continues to climb, which means having a robust online presence is even more critical.

So, how do you accomplish this?

Tell your audience a story. Stories can shift our perspective, bond us to others, and push us into action all in one motion. While citing the number of cases you’ve won, money recovered for your clients, and where you obtained your law degree have their place in your narrative, these facts only provide a partial picture of your legal ability. Stories, on the other hand, fill in the emotional gaps where facts and figures fall short.

But not just any story will do.

You must communicate a memorable story that will connect with prospective clients on an emotional level. Your audience is bombarded by thousands of marketing messages a day. The only way to break through the internet noise is to have something unique to say. Your bio is the perfect place to showcase who you are beyond your job title.

Why Your Lawyer Bio is the Single Most Important Tool in Winning Cases

After the Home Page, lawyer bios are often the most viewed page on your law firm’s website. Miss the mark, and you risk losing the attention of your audience altogether.

People buy from people they like has been echoed throughout the marketing and sales industry for decades. But above all, people buy from people who are relatable; people buy from people they can trust. Most consumers care little about where you obtained your law degree or what firms you’ve worked at throughout your career. When selecting an attorney, their primary concerns are whether you can help them resolve their legal issues and if you’re trustworthy.

Five Questions to Ensure Your Bio Attracts Clients

A bio can be an invaluable marketing tool for securing clients when crafted correctly, so before you put pen to paper or hit one stroke on your keyboard, take a few moments to answer the questions below.

● What was the moment that cemented your decision to practice law?
● What is your favorite part of being a lawyer?
● What drew you to your specific practice area?
● How do you want to be perceived in the legal industry?
● Name your greatest strengths and describe how they have contributed to a favorable case outcome.

Once you’ve reflected on the questions above, it’s time to start writing your attorney bio. Here are five tips for writing a compelling narrative.

1. Introduce who you are, not what you do. Have you ever met someone at a networking event and still have no clue as to what that individual does for a living? This is the situation clients find themselves in when they come across your About Us page and face a bunch of legal terms and facts they can’t comprehend. But unlike at a cocktail party where you have to smile and be polite, there’s no room for niceties online. Your audience will immediately click off your law firm’s website, never to be heard from again.

To prevent this, instead of writing:
“I’m an associate attorney at XYZ law firm.”

Try something like:
● “I help auto accident victims get the medical treatment they need without the hassle of having to deal with insurance companies so they can focus on their recovery.”
● “I help protect the rights of sexual harassment victims so they can reclaim their power and feel safe at work again.”

2. Make your clients the focal point of your story. Naturally, you might assume your bio is all about you. However, in terms of marketing and persuading clients to do business with you, it’s not. Your bio’s objective is to demonstrate how you can use your experience and qualifications to solve legal problems, so avoid focusing heavily on your accolades or memberships in legal associations.

Instead, highlight the results you’ve produced for past clients. To achieve this, you may want to reference a case you’ve worked on and how your commitment to helping sexual harassment victims caused you to keep going when other lawyers would have given up. Another example of putting your audience front and center in your content could be discussing how you won a settlement with less than favorable odds due to your passion for children.

3. Structure your experience with the most relevant information first. Many attorneys make the mistake of leading with their education or awards. While this information is impressive, it does little to sway the reader to take action. As mentioned earlier, your bio’s emphasis should be on communicating how you can help prospective clients, so don’t leave this crucial information until the end. More than likely, your audience will have clicked off your attorney bio page before they’ve had a chance to read it.

4. Make your brand relatable. The quickest way to connect with your audience is to relay why you do what you do. As human beings, we can all identify with having something outside of ourselves driving our daily actions, whether it’s a childhood traumatic experience, witnessing injustice, or advocating for our children. Passion is contagious and makes others want to climb on board.

5. Allow your personality to shine through your writing. The best way to attract clients and increase engagement with your firm’s brand is to imagine you’re having a conversation with a prospective client. Allow your authentic voice to come through your writing. For example, if a strong sense of humor is your strong suit, don’t be afraid to infuse some comic relief into your bio.

On the other hand, if you have a more emotional nature, make that your narrative’s backdrop. In this instance, you might discuss how a specific case influenced your evolution as an attorney, either in your overall legal approach or practice area. If being a parent provides you with a unique perspective in handling child custody cases, be sure to mention that in your bio. The point is for your clients to get to know you, so make sure you lead with your personality instead of your credentials.

Don’t become a one-click wonder. Come from behind the legal curtain of your degree, awards, and professional associations to unveil all you have to offer potential clients. Crafting a compelling narrative for your attorney bio helps your law firm’s website visitors understand who you are and how they can benefit from your legal services, so you spend less time prospecting, and more clients seek you out.

Need some help humanizing your attorney bio or creating a captivating storyline that will have clients lining up to work with your firm?

That’s our bailiwick! Let’s schedule 15 minutes to talk today — — (800) 862-0361.