Every so often, a blog writer spends hours banging their head against their computer monitor searching for good law firm blog post ideas. Unfortunately, it can be challenging to publish relevant topics that provide readers with exciting and engaging content. However, we at Blue Seven Content have found a few ways to maintain a steady stream of quality law firm blog posts for our clients.
Look at What Others are Doing
We were all taught in 5th Grade English that plagiarism is wrong and copying someone else’s work would land you in big trouble. However, effective legal advocates identify and utilize tested cases, arguments, citations, and strategies to serve their client’s interests. Blog writing is similar, but with a few caveats.
No, this post is NOT encouraging you to copy/paste someone else’s writing and pass it off as your own. Unlike in law, plagiarizing blog content can cause many issues, including copyright strikes, legal action, and search engines diminishing traffic to your website. Oh yes, many search engine algorithms can identify and flag blogs and web pages that consistently plagiarize other sites to decrease their overall ranking when users utilize their search engine.
Instead, blog writers can look to other blogs for ideas and create their own work based on their unique specifications. In addition, many popular legal databases and legal news sites do an outstanding job of keeping readers informed in nearly every practice area. Although directly using this content is highly discouraged, using these resources as a jumping off point for ideas, can help clear writer’s block.
Talk to Your Colleagues
If you are the designated blogger at your firm and you are looking for new law firm blog post ideas, tap your best resource: an attorney. Many practitioners keep updated on relevant topics that impact the areas of the law they practice. Whether it is a notable appellate court case poised to change a substantive issue relevant to your client base or a new bill making its way through your state’s legislature, there is bound to be someone at your firm keeping tabs on these developments.
Scan the News
At Blue Seven Content, we work very hard to line up our clients practice area pages with news and updates from their specific area. If the client focuses heavily on commercial truck accident litigation and there was a recent crash in their area caused by a negligent trucking company, we have a blog.
A good starting point is Google or other major search engines. If your client wants a work injury page for their Charlotte law firm, type “Charlotte work injury” into the search engine and click the “news” tab at the top of the page. Check to see if there are any new current stories related to the topic.
This strategy works for most practice areas, though you may not find a “hot news story.” You can check and see if there are any new laws that would affect the client’s legal practice. Sometimes, you may have to pull out to the state or national level to get a current story, and that is okay. Blogs are meant to be timely, and they could help the law firm website pick up current traffic surrounding the news story.
No matter what you do, make sure you only use and link to credible sources for your blogs. If you link to less-than-credible sources, other law firms, or sites like Nolo, you’re going to hurt your blogs more than help them.
Listservs, Listservs, and More Listservs
One of the best inexpensive resources for many attorneys is access to a listserv. Sure, we all have found ourselves spending hours a day unsubscribing to mailing lists because that 20% off coupon for bath towels has clogged up our inbox for far too long. However, listservs provide invaluable insight into new laws, cases, and regulations that impact various areas of law.
Further, some listservs encourage engagement among subscribers allowing attorneys and legal experts to converse about updates in law and technical questions not readily available through traditional research methods. Many bar associations have accessible mailing lists for subscribers, and there are numerous legal news websites, legal search engines, and advocacy groups updating subscribers with lots of content. Listservs are your friend—trust us.
Blue Seven Content Has Good Law Firm Blog Post Ideas
Our blog post writers at Blue Seven Content have vast experience researching and publishing blog posts to provide readers with relevant and engaging content and help boost traffic to your law firm’s website. Do not hesitate to contact us for a free consultation by clicking here or calling us at 843-580-3158.
