8 Steps to Ace Legal Content Writing [Expert Tips]

Law firms face two problems when dealing with legal content writing – they don’t have time to write quality blog posts. And even if they do, they just don’t know how to NOT write like a lawyer.

In this post, we will show you how to write quality legal content that engages your readers and gets them to reach out for your services. We’ll also suggest some tools to streamline your writing process.

TL; DR – How to do Effective Legal Content Writing

Effective legal content writing can be broken into these 8 steps:

1. Define your target audience
2. Set clear SEO goals
3. Write in simple and conversational English
4. Be authoritative  
5. Use a logical structure
6. Optimize your site for search engines
7. Measure your legal content marketing efforts
8. Include a strong call to action (CTA)

We’ll go through them in detail one by one.

One important thing to note before starting is that the legal field is highly competitive.

For your content to achieve high rankings on SERPs, Google needs to see you as a trusted, credible source in your domain, and that requires consistently publishing helpful content at least 2-3 times a week.

We understand that this can be time-consuming. TrioSEO exists to smooth over your publishing workload. We offer article writing services to help you grow your blog and generate qualified leads through organic traffic.

Contact us today for a free SEO audit and get expert insights on how you can turn your website into a traffic generation hub.

What is Legal Content Writing?

Legal content writing is producing accurate, clear, reader-friendly written content (such as blog posts, FAQ pages, and whitepapers) about legal topics, issues, and processes. The goal is to make legal topics accessible to the general non-expert audience and educate them about their rights and responsibilities using simple English.

When done right, law firm content writing can help you establish trust with your audience and convert readers into clients. Every piece of content you produce is an opportunity to showcase your professionalism and values as a lawyer.

Law Firm Content Writing vs. Law Firm Copywriting

Simply put, the legal copywriter’s goal is to sell your services and brand. They create a sense of urgency in your readers, evoke their emotions, and get them to take action right away (schedule a consultation, reach out to learn more about your services, fill out a form, etc).

Law firm copy is usually short and to the point, such as:

• Ads copy
• Landing page copy
• Social media
• Web page copy
• Email campaigns
• Billboard
• Video sales script

The legal content writer’s role, on the other hand, is to educate your audience through longer-form articles, guides, reports, and other substantive legal explanations. The goal is to highlight niche expertise, build awareness, and establish your firm as a domain expert.

Legal content writers typically create:

• Article
• Blog post
• Press release
• Whitepapers
• Case studies
• Newsletter

What are the 3 C’s of Legal Writing?

The 3 C’s of legal writing are clarity, concision, and coherence. You have to make sure every piece of content is:

• Clear: Avoid unnecessarily lengthy, complicated sentences and legalese, along with terms like “theretofore,” “herein,” and “thereafter.”
• Concise: Your focus should always be on delivering the essential information and getting to the point quickly.
  
• Coherent: Your work as a whole needs to make sense to the reader and be logically chained from the beginning to the end.

How to Write Effective Legal Content

Convert your readers to clients by following these 8 steps.

1. Define Your Target Audience

Defining your target audience is important because it will help set the tone of your content and ensure your message is tailored to the right reader.

That said, your target audience comprises the individuals you want to represent.

Say, for example, you’re a real estate law firm specializing in commercial property transactions. Your target audience could be investors, individuals, or businesses who need legal help with lease agreements, financing, and zoning regulations when selling, developing, or buying commercial properties in [the geographic area you practice law in].

You could get even more specific with your targeting and only target healthcare businesses looking to rent or buy new medical office buildings. You could also focus solely on commercial property landlords seeking legal assistance with evicting tenants. The choice is yours.

Ideally, you want to find the “sweet spot” target audience — not too narrow, not too broad.

If you go too broad, you’ll likely spend more money, and your message may not be as effective. However, if your reach is too narrow, you’re unlikely to see a positive ROI on your content marketing efforts simply because the market size is small.

2. Set Clear SEO Goals

Legal content writing goes hand in hand with SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

Before starting writing, be clear about your primary goal for SEO. Do you want to increase traffic, generate more leads, or both? Are you looking to cultivate great relationships with other lawyers and build a solid referral base?

There isn’t a right or wrong answer. Whatever your goal is, you have to be intentional about it because it significantly impacts your keyword strategy.

For instance, if you’re looking to raise capital through new partner equity investments and want some exposure or mind-share, you’d be better off targeting informational keywords relevant to the types of investors you seek for brand awareness.

But a traffic-focused strategy alone won’t be enough if you want more leads.

You may also need to implement a high-intent keyword strategy (keywords indicating a strong interest in hiring a lawyer, e.g., “Free consultation with a real estate lawyer near me”).

3. Write in Simple and Conversational English

Implementing an SEO strategy often means you’re writing for ordinary people. People who don’t understand the law, legal concepts, or legal technical terms the same way you do.

You have to take a human-first approach in your writing, simplify things for your readers, cut unnecessary information, and ensure they can understand your content after one reading.

The same principle can also be applied when writing for other lawyers in the hope of referrals. In their study, an MIT professor, Edward Gibson, said, “No matter how we asked the questions, the lawyers overwhelmingly always wanted plain English.”

Here’s how to write in plain English:

• Know who’s your reader
• Use the active voice
• Simplify your writing
• Focus on delivering the main message quickly in a reader-friendly language
• Use the first and secondary person
• Guide the reader to the next step

4. Be Authoritative

As a law practitioner, whenever people come to you for answers, they expect reliable, valuable, and accurate content delivered with some degree of experience.

These people will trust you to explain their complex legal issues, develop a plan, and execute.

You have to show potential clients in your writing how familiar you are with the law and what sets your law firm apart from every other law firm in your local area.

You can do this by:

• Sharing relevant case studies
• Doing legal analysis on current legal issues
• Back up any claims you make with strong evidence
• Show a nuanced understanding of how the law can be applied to different scenarios.

5. Use a Logical Structure

Why does every standard legal brief follow a basic structure: introduction, table of authorities, parties involved, statements of facts, legal argument, and conclusion? Ensure stakeholders can easily understand your case and weigh all factors judiciously.

The same idea applies to law firm content writing.

A Logical structure makes it easier for readers to follow your train of thought and find the specific information they’re looking for quickly. It also helps search engines like Google better understand your content’s structure and discover new pages.

To ensure your content is well-organized:

• Use proper headings and subheadings
• Prioritize information per order of importance
• Keep your paragraphs short and to the point
• Vary sentence lengths
• Use bullet points
• Link to additional relevant information

6. Optimize Your Site for Search Engines

Making your site search engine-friendly can help you gain high rankings on SERP, increase traffic, build brand awareness, and establish your firm as a thought leader in the legal field.

SEO is also usually more cost-effective compared to paid ads. One valuable piece of content can continue to generate organic leads years after publication.

An essential On-page SEO checklist includes:

• Creating high-quality, helpful content
• Using the H1 tag as the title
• Proper formatting with H2-H6 tags
• Crafting keyword-rich meta-description
• Satisfying search intent
• Naturally weaving in the target keyword in the first 100 words
• Avoiding keyword stuffing at all costs
• Using descriptive URLs
• Alt text to images
• Internal links

In addition to on-page SEO, technical SEO, like mobile friendliness and website speed, can also impact your search engine ranking.

7. Measure Your Legal Content Marketing Efforts

Usually (depending on your content marketing goals), the KPIs to track are website traffic, lead quality, and conversions. Measuring your legal content marketing allows you to spot strengths and weaknesses in your website content and make changes accordingly over time.

Tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, and Google Analytics offer a variety of ways to keep track of your content performance.

8. Include Strong Call To Action (CTA)

A CTA doesn’t have to be something complicated. It could be inviting readers to get in touch with you, follow you on social media, or read other additional posts that may be helpful.

The most important thing is to guide the reader on what to do next. Remember, every piece of content you publish has to bring you close to your next case.

How to Ensure Compliance and Avoid Legal Pitfalls

Neglecting compliance has several consequences. They can range from imprisonment, lawsuits, revoked licenses, and fines to damaging your brand reputation and customer trust.

Here’s how you can avoid legal pitfalls and ensure compliance in your business:

• Stay on track with changing laws and regulations
• Create internal policies
• Be aware of what is and isn’t confidential
• Conduct regular compliance audits
• Document diligently
• Continuous improvement
• Hire a legal specialist

Don’t hesitate to consult with a legal professional for complex legal issues as well.

How to Make the Most of Legal Content Writing Services

To make the most of legal content writing services, be sure to:

• Check the portfolio: Look at the agency’s past work and what other clients are saying about their services. You want to partner with an SEO content writing agency with a track record of success in legal content.
  
• Know who you’re writing for: Without an ideal reader persona, your message may feel generic, turning off potential clients with specific problems who could benefit from your services.
  
• Set clear expectations: Be explicit about content formatting requirements, word counts, deadlines, topics needed, overall business goals, etc.
• Provide thorough background information: The more information you can provide about your firm, the better the agency’s work.
  
• Be open for communication: You must be available to answer questions and review drafts for feedback.
• Decide the type of content: Is it blog posts, case studies, service pages, local landing pages, social media posts, press releases, or something else?
  
• Consider long-term partnership: It’s hard to find a good SEO blog writing agency that will deliver the results you want, especially with the rise of AI. If you like their work, discuss a long-term partnership for ongoing work.

At TrioSEO, we want to free your time so you can focus on winning more cases.

With 10+ years of SEO experience, we manage the planning, writing, uploading, optimizing, and reporting part of your legal blog/service page production.

Get started with a free audit today!

Frequently Asked Questions

Let’s address some common queries regarding legal content writing.

What Are the Key Components of Effective Legal Content?

The key components of effective legal content are clarity, comprehensiveness and accuracy, credibility, and relevancy.

What Strategies Should Legal Content Writers Use to Engage Their Audience?

Write for your audience, not for yourself, avoid legalese, and get to the point quickly. Earn your audience’s trust, and show that you’re a credible source. Write clearly without ambiguity, keep your paragraphs short, and always guide the reader to the next step.

How Can Legal Content Writing Improve SEO for Law Firms?

Quality legal written content can help you:

• Bring in more organic traffic
• Build trust with your audience
• Establish brand authority
• Achieve high rankings on SERP
• Earn quality backlinks
• Generate more leads
• Increase conversions

What Are the Ethical Considerations in Legal Content Writing?

As a legal content writer, all provided information must be accurate and from credible sources. You must ensure transparency about your qualifications, avoid misleading information, comply with law firm rules, and assure confidentiality for your clients.

What Tools and Resources Are Essential for Legal Content Writers?

Law firm content writers use different types of tools and resources. The most common ones include:

• Legal research resources (ABA Journal, Congress.gov, GovInfo, etc.)
• Editing and writing tools (EditMinion, Grammarly, CorrectEnglish, Hemingway Editor, etc.)
  
• SEO tools (Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, AnswerThePublic, etc.)
• Content management software (Wix, Magento, Shopify, Optimizely, etc.)
• Project management software (Trello, Airtable, Click Up, etc.)

Conclusion

Legal content writing is not a one-time thing. Marketing efforts will only pay off when you’re consistent.

Keep showing up with high-quality, valuable content that appeals to prospects at various stages of the buying cycle, and you’ll clock an uptick in traffic and targeted leads.

Want more traffic and leads but don’t have time to commit to writing blog posts? Connect with us now and get a free SEO audit — we’ll help you turn your law firm website into a traffic hub.