Many attorneys do no content marketing. No blog, no newsletter, no articles or videos or podcasts. The two primary reasons they give are (1) They don’t have enough time, and (2) They don’t have enough to write about.

As someone who initially resisted creating content for those same reasons, I do have something to say about this subject.

“No time” does not compute. If writing a blog or newsletter brought you twice as much new business as you get now, and it could, or brought you bigger cases or better clients, and it could, you’d find the time. Or hire someone. Or both.

Content marketing works—if you work at it.

Besides, if you follow my “system,” you can write something people want to read in under an hour. 

One hour a week to double your client intake? Even if it “only” brought you one additional client or case a month, would that be worth it? 

Now if you don’t want to do it, fine. But if you do want to, you do have enough time.  

What about not having enough to write about? 

That’s also a non-starter. As long as you’re practicing, you’ll never run out of things to write about. 

Write about your practice. Your cases, your clients, the laws you work with every day, problems, solutions, questions and answers. Write about what you say when you give a presentation, what you tell people who ask about what you do and how you can help them.  

You want ideas? Go through your email. Think about the last case you settled, the last brief you wrote, or something opposing counsel said or did that made you roll your eyes. It’s all fair game. It’s all something your clients and prospects, readers and followers, want to know.

Besides, there is a never-ending parade of new people finding and following you who haven’t seen anything you wrote before. That means you can write about something you wrote before.

You might have noticed that I do that, in spades. 

I use different words and different examples, at least I think I do—I can’t remember what I wrote months or years ago, can you? New subscribers don’t know, old subscribers don’t remember (because if I can’t, they can’t), but even if they can, good ideas are worth repeating. 

Good ideas are worth repeating. (See?)

So, re-read your old blog posts or articles and update them, re-write them, or say something different about the same subject. 

Now, if by some miracle you really are fresh out of ideas, the Internet is your friend. Go see what other attorneys have written about in their blog or newsletter and steal their idea. (The idea, not the words).

Yes, but what I run out of attorneys? Are you serious? Okay, you can do the same thing with business blogs or consumer blogs and anyone else who said something that might interest your readers. 

The world is awash with ideas you can write about. Too bad you don’t have enough time. 

Ideas

You want ideas for subjects to write about in your blog or newsletter. You want to show readers what you do, how you can help them, and why they should choose you as their lawyer. 

And you want it to be interesting.

Okay, here you go: 

• FAQ’s: About the law, procedure, how long it takes to X, what should I expect when Y happens, what are my risks, what are my options, how much is my case worth?
• News: Cases, legislation, trends, changes at your firm, news about your business clients’ industry
• DIY: How to research, prepare (simple) documents, file, negotiate, go to small claims court, check my credit, refinance my loan, find a good deal on insurance 
• Announcements: Seminars, upcoming events, new hires, new office, special offers from your business clients or professionals you work with
• Interviews You, your clients, other professionals or centers of influence in your market 
• Profiles and bios: Your employees, partners, vendors, business clients, and families
• Client success stories
• Downloadable content: Reports, forms, checklists, sample letters, glossaries, lists of recommended resources
• Recommended: Books, videos, channels, podcasts, websites, blogs or individual posts
• Why you? What do you (your firm) do differently or better than others? Features, benefits, notable testimonials, reviews, endorsements, awards.

Use this list to brainstorm ideas and keep them for a rainy day. Or, you can ask your favorite ai to come up with ideas for you.

It’s happens to everyone. They need to post an article on their blog or in their newsletter, but don’t know what to write. And the clock is ticking. 

No problem. 

It’s okay to write about subjects you’ve written about before. Your “go to” topics. Things you know well and can talk about with ease. 

It’s also okay to grab something you’ve written before and use it again. 

Yep.

An article, part of a presentation or report, any content in your archive. 

Re-post or re-publish it, as is. With no changes or additions. 

I do it. Everyone does it. And guess what? Your readers either won’t notice or won’t care.

You have new subscribers or visitors who never saw it. You have old subscribers who saw it but didn’t care about it because they didn’t have that problem (but now they do). Your article might be precisely the thing they need to see today and they will marvel at how you must be reading their mind, and be grateful that you are.

Or forward it to a friend who just told them they have that problem. 

And guess what? Even if your readers have seen it before, that doesn’t mean they paid attention. (How many times have you reminded your clients not to do something or say something? Or to come in to talk to you about something?)

Remind them again in your newsletter. 

Of course, if you have a little time, go ahead and update your old post. Re-write or re-edit it, change the headline or title (or keywords), emphasize different points, add new examples, add a different graphic if you want to, or shorten or lengthen the post. 

Your newsletter, your rules. 

Okay, maybe don’t re-use posts you published last month; give it some time. 

And relax. Be easy about this. You won’t get a knock on the door from the blog police hastling you for reposting something. 

After publishing thousands of articles and blog posts, and endlessly repeating topics, I’ve never once had anyone say, “Again? Don’t you have anything else to write about?”

Of course, there’s always a first time

More easy ways to create content for a newsletter or blog

I usually write short blog posts because long posts often get skipped (because readers are busy) or postponed (and then skipped). 

I’d rather show up in your inbox frequently and give you something you can read in a couple of minutes. 

But there are advantages to longer posts: 

• Longer, more detailed posts tend to get more traffic than shorter posts because they often rank higher in search engines.
• Longer posts give you room to provide more tips and more thorough explanations of complex or abstract concepts, providing more value to visitors looking for help, and to find an attorney.  
• Longer posts are generally more authoritative than shorter posts because there is room to provide more examples, citations, graphics, and links to other posts (yours and other authorities). 
• Longer posts keep visitors on your blog longer, making it more likely they will read your other posts, as well as pages about your services, your upcoming events, and other content, and more willing to sign up for your newsletter.
• Longer posts tend to get more Likes from readers and links from other blogs. 

In short, longer, more detailed posts provide opportunities to get more readers, subscribers, and clients.

But none of that happens if people aren’t reading your posts because they look too long to read. In addition, longer posts take more time to research, write, optimize, and format, which means you can’t publish as often. 

What’s the solution? A combination of long and short posts can give you the best of both worlds. Long posts for traffic, authority and engagement, short posts to get more people to read what you write, creating a gateway to your longer content.

 If you’re new to blogging, you might write 1000- to 1200-word posts once or twice a month, and 300- to 500-word posts, once or twice per week. On the other hand, if you’re new, it’s better to write anything, because building the habit of regularly creating content is more important than how long it is or often you publish it.

How to write a blog people like to read

When I started writing a blog, one of the first things I did was to find other blogs in my niche, to see what they were doing. I learned a lot and was convinced I could do what they did. If you’re thinking about starting a blog or newsletter, or want to re-start or re-invigorate yours, I suggest you find blogs and newsletter published by other lawyers and use them as a model for your own.

It doesn’t matter where they are located, or even their practice area. You can learn something from each blog you follow or subscribe to. 

Study them and take notes:

• How often do they publish? 
• How long are their posts, articles, episodes, etc?
• What is their writing style? Formal? Informal? Somewhere in between?
• Do they write about news or evergreen topics? 
• Do they advocate or educate?
• Do they write detailed posts, with citations, or something more beginner-friendly?
• How are their posts structured? What formatting choices have they made?
• Do they do interviews? Guest posts?
• What do they offer as an incentive to sign up?
• What calls-to-action do they use? 
• Do their blog posts get comments? Shares? Or is that function turned off? 
• Do they use images or mostly text? 
• Do they promote their services directly or just a provide a link to their website? If they promote their services, do they “pitch” hard or less so? 

What do they do that’s working? What do you like? What would you change?

Also note ideas for topics you could write about. 

You’re not looking for the perfect newsletter or blog to emulate, you’re looking for ideas and inspiration. You might like how one blog structures its content but prefer another’s writing style. You might like how one blog is consistent or how another uses a variety of detailed and lengthy posts mixed with brief and lighter fare. 

Guess what? You get to choose.

This exercise might get you excited and ready to start or re-start your blog or newsletter. On the other hand, it might convince you that you don’t want to do this, at least not right now, and turn your attention to something else. 

Before you decide, try something. Put some content out there and see what happens. Content marketing might not be your favorite marketing method (now), but if it makes your phone ring the way I know it can, you might just change your opinion.

How to start a blog that makes your phone ring