Around 80% of my work is writing regular blogs for law firms.  I am usually engaged by a firm to write one or two blogs per week, and it takes around four hours to research and create a 600-800 word post.  As you can imagine, most law firms to not have someone in-house who can dedicate this sort of time to blogging, even though firms that are posting regular blogs are finding they add tremendous value to their website and attract new clients. However, there is another reason, aside from lack of time, that legal professionals ask me to write their content. The fact is, it can be very difficult to make legal topics interesting and understandable to an ordinary lay person.  Lawyers are used to writing intelligent, wordy articles for legal periodicals, newspapers, client newsletters and their firm’s website.  But blog writing and legal article writing are quite different.  A legal article is often aimed at learned colleagues, or well-educated, high-income business people.  However, a high street general practice can benefit greatly from including well-written, interesting, witty blogs on their website, which will appeal to the general public.  After all, these are the people who you want to entice in at the start-up stage of their small business, or purchase of their first home, and keep them and their friends doing business with your law firm for a lifetime. Here are a few simple tricks you can use to turn a dry, legally complicated article into an engaging, easy to read blog, without losing any of the legal technicalities of the piece.

Make it Conversational

A blog ‘talks’ directly to the reader.  Much like I am writing here.  I am using the words ‘you’ and ‘your’ and I am writing in a casual style which is similar to how I would talk to you if we met in person at a networking event.

Use a Little Humour

A little humour or self-deprecation can go a long way towards developing warmth in your post that is communicated straight to the reader.  For example, when describing why 50% of the UK population do not have a will you could state: “Everyone knows they should make a will, but it gets put a long way down most people’s ‘to do’ list, alongside things such as cleaning out the under- stairs cupboard”. 

Minimise the Use of Big Words

To gain maximum readership, it is best to write your blogs in a style that can be easily comprehended by a high school leaver.  Use simple words where possible and never use a Latin phrase without providing a lay definition. By complimenting your legal articles with simple, engaging, regular blog posts, you can attract a wider variety of visitors to your website and, over time, convert many of them into lifelong clients.