Many law firms approach their legal marketing like a legal brief. It’s dry, dull and humorless. While marketing for lawyers shouldn’t read like a Jim Carrey movie script, it’s okay to include some levity.

Legal marketing, like any form of marketing, is about building connections with the people you want to recruit as your clients. Humor can go a long way toward establishing those relationships. In reality, including a few smile-worthy lines in your copy makes you relatable, not unprofessional.

How to Use Humor in Legal Marketing

Humor can help humanize and personalize your brand. But it’s important to remember that there’s a fine line between personable and cheesy. Here are a few tips for using humor in your legal marketing:

• DO make jokes about the process of finding a lawyer, which can be time-consuming and frustrating.
• DO be careful about what type of humor you employ. Avoid:
  • Ethnic slurs
  • Dirty jokes       
  • Sexist jokes
  • Jokes about your competition
• DON’T bring up current events. Politics are a turnoff no matter what sort of business you’re in. You risk alienating at least half your potential client base with whatever side you’re on.  
• DO use clever word play when appropriate. A pun never killed anyone.
• DON’T joke directly about any case you have been involved in. It makes your firm seem uncaring. 
• DO exercise restraint with humor. There’s a time and a place for it, but too much is overkill. You’re not auditioning to become a standup comedian — you’re trying to win new business through clever marketing.

But What If I’m Not Funny?

If you’re sold on the idea of using humor to balance out the more serious parts of the marketing campaigns for your law firm, but worry about how humorous you actually are, it’s important to consider who will be the best writer for the job.  

Not everyone can write humor well. It takes experience and an understanding of how to balance personality with the real sales pitch. That’s why it’s a good idea to outsource your copywriting to a team that understands the balance you need, as well as the facts you need to present within your legal content.

At Lawyers Writing for Lawyers, our experienced copywriters have a background in law and can help you find the right balance of humor and the perfect voice for your firm. Contact us today to explore all the options for legal content writing.

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