When you’re marketing your law firm, it’s easy to get caught up in the visuals. You probably have a website and business cards ready to go. You might even have a logo and marketing collateral to drop right into your printed materials. Those things are all critical, of course. Still, another element of your marketing strategy can be just as impactful: the words you use to market yourself and your services – especially if you want to stand out from the competition.
While this type of writing might seem like a small detail, an unprofessional, cliché or uninspired marketing message can be a huge turnoff for potential clients or current ones, particularly if your firm hasn’t built brand equity yet.
WHAT IS A COPYWRITER?
A copywriter creates content that sells a product or service. They know the psychology behind why people click on ads or buy a product.
WHAT IS LEGAL COPYWRITING FOR LAWYERS?
Legal copywriting for lawyers is an essential component of a firm’s marketing strategy. It is the process of writing persuasive marketing and promotional materials that motivate people to reach out to lawyers. That action can include anything from sticking around a website long enough to check out other pages on your website or taking steps such as:
- downloading helpful content from your social media page in exchange for their contact information;
- emailing or calling your office to schedule a consultation;
- filling out a form on your website for further information; or
- watching an informative video.
Legal copywriting isn’t just about taking some nice-sounding words and throwing them on a website or printed marketing materials. It’s about understanding your business, knowing your target audience, and then taking all that information and artfully creating nuanced messaging that connects with that audience.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A COPYWRITER AND A LEGAL COPYWRITER?
Now, of course, hiring someone who understands the elements of English and knows how to put the commas in all the right places is fine, but here’s the thing:
(1) Unpacking the legal consumer’s mindset and behavior is not in the wheelhouse of a general copywriter. It’s not necessarily the audience you can read about, then expect to be able to appeal to in a granular and meaningful way. The copywriting challenge arises because attorneys must include certain information in their marketing material. At the same time, they are prohibited from including other information, which brings me to my next point.
(2) General copywriters are unaware that lawyers have ethical obligations. For example, a general copywriter wouldn’t know that something as innocuous as calling oneself an expert or specialist in a practice area can get a lawyer into trouble. Furthermore, each state has its own Rules of Professional Conduct that require lawyers to follow legal advertising rules.
WHY IS QUALITY COPYWRITING IMPORTANT FOR LAW FIRMS?
Good legal copywriting can have many benefits, both for you and for your clients. Here are a few examples. Quality copywriting can:
- Improve your firm’s brand – A strong marketing message can help boost your brand and reputation, even with clients who have never worked with your law firm.
- Convert more leads – If you have a marketing message that resonates with your target client base and it’s straightforward, you have a much better chance of converting leads into paying clients.
- Create a long-term relationship with clients – Well-thought-out marketing messaging works to build long-term relationships with potential clients. Get it right, and you can promote a firm’s complimentary educational and authoritative content. By offering excellent and fresh content, readers will come back to the site time and time again. It allows them to see the firm as an authority in their practice area. Creating an environment for clients to feel comfortable establishes trust. It makes them more likely to contact your attorneys for advice and information.
HOW TO WRITE GREAT MARKETING COPY FOR LAWYERS
The best way to write excellent marketing copy for lawyers is by clarifying the answers to spot-on questions relating to your law firm branding and your ideal clients.
Law Firm Branding – Operating a law firm is not about simply surviving to meet the monthly nut. In today’s fiercely competitive climate, law firms need to flourish. Thus, they must create ongoing emotional connections with clients to increase their reputation and promote growth. In figuring out your brand, consider the following:
»What are your law firm’s goals?
»What are your law firm’s core values?
»What are the advantages of choosing your law firm over a competitor?
»What are your strengths and specialties as a law firm?
»What do you want to be known for?
» What is the personal brand of the “top brass” or founding attorney at your firm – pitbull, honest, but capable, etc.?
Ideal Clients – Create personas for your clients. Even though diving right into writing is tempting, this process takes patience and thoughtfulness. If you rush, you’re far more likely to come up with copy that doesn’t work or writing that doesn’t represent your firm well.
»Who are your potential clients?
»What are their needs?
»What are their pain points?
»What is your firm’s brand promise? Then ask, what type of client benefits most from that promise?
This will help you understand who your clients are and what they need.
Then take all that information and use it to create a marketing message that sounds professional and holds your clients’ attention.
THE LEGAL COPYWRITER’S WORK . . . HERE’S A LITTLE CLARITY
- A legal copywriter revamps an attorney’s bio or firm’s About page so that the text is no longer just a laundry list of experience, descriptions, education, credentials, and clichés. A seasoned legal copywriter assesses your clients and pinpoints and addresses what keeps them up at night. She maps out language to awaken potential clients’ sensibilities and buying triggers – not because it helps the attorney or the firm, but because it mobilizes the ideal client who is best served by reaching out to your law firm. Upon reading the content, the client pictures working with the attorney. The client will already know how it feels to be represented by this person. Their imagination will take them there because the legal copywriter weaves emotion into the message, leveraging genuinely relatable connections that hit home for that prospect’s unique experience. Why would a legal copywriter do this? Because people buy based on emotion and justify the purchase with logic.
- A legal copywriter creates email marketing messages that keep your law firm top-of-mind. She crafts copy that invites inquiries from clients who benefit from consulting further with counsel on various matters or new developments. For example: (a) when a new law can potentially impact a subscriber’s situation, your legal copywriter nudges them via email; (b) when “that time of year” approaches that can legally or financially impact your clients, your legal copywriter nudges them via email; or (c) if you give a webinar that your email subscribers would find important, your legal copywriter can boil it down to a one-page cheat sheet so you can email it to them, along with the webinar link.
- A legal copywriter breathes life into your law firm website’s Homepage language to stop website visitors in their tracks. She creates a headline that prompts the visitor’s curiosity so that he reads the following line on that page and then the following sequence until the ideal visitor does what you want them to do after they get to your call-to-action.
WHY DOES LEGAL COPYWRITING MATTER FOR MARKETING LAW FIRMS NOW MORE THAN EVER?
Let’s face it. Clients have options, many, many viable options!
As a result, to acquire clients, you need to show people that you’re the legal brand, that expert in your field, worth investing in. It would help if you routinely built trust and credibility to position yourself as the optimal choice. This is not always easy to achieve when you have equally qualified competition, and everyone looks the same online.
It’s getting even more challenging because, like you, other attorneys are beginning to realize the value of revamping their messaging. Consequently, they are taking steps to do just that. Your ace in the hole requires you to:
- Stay a step ahead of those attorneys;
- Understand how to tap into the mindset and buying triggers of today’s legal shoppers and referral sources; and
- Craft copy that always aligns with this knowledge.
This is especially true if, like many attorneys, you are networking less than everyone did before the pandemic.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Legal copywriting is vital. It’s key to effectively communicating your message to clients, potential clients, and referral sources. Moreover, it can make or break your marketing efforts. Start by getting clear on your core values, core promise, your business goals, and who your clients are. Then, use that information to create strategic growth for your law firm.