You wouldn’t read a Stephen King book to a four-year-old as a bedtime story, and you wouldn’t invite a neighbor who doesn’t have kids and refuses to recycle to a seminar on the joys of using environmentally friendly diapers. Any marketer must know their audience in anything they do, and that includes legal content writing.

Having a strong understanding of your audience can help you focus your legal content in order to engage people in your website, newsletters or press releases. Each audience requires a slightly different writing style, because often you’re aiming for different outcomes. When you’re looking to gain coverage for your law firm’s upcoming benefit in the local paper, for example, you should be using a different approach than you would for a blog on dividing assets after a divorce.

Read on to help determine who makes up your legal content audience and how you should write to them.

Understanding Your Legal Content Audience

First, make a list of everyone who you might want to reach with content writing. This could include:

• Potential clients
• Current clients
• Local media
• Social media followers

Next look at different ways you can target these people, while still producing content other people can enjoy as well.

Potential Clients

Potential clients’ main interest is in how you can help them. You should shape your writing to answer these questions.

Example: A page stacked with testimonials that speak to how you have helped past clients is a great way to convince a new client to sign on.

Current Clients

Current clients want to know what you are doing for them now and how well you understand the legal battles you’ll be fighting on their behalf in the future. You should demonstrate confidence and knowledge.

Example: A blog post that breaks down an issue is a huge help to current clients. For instance, if your firm specializes in estate law, you might write a post about whether a parent can disinherit a child over age 30.

Media

Getting press coverage for your law firm is an important way to market yourself to potential new clients. You want to draw reporters’ and bloggers’ attentions quickly with press releases that contain little fluff.

Example: An effective press release will lay out the who, what, when, where and why that reporters need to do their job. Make sure to address press releases individually and get the correct spelling for recipients’ names.

Social Media Followers

Followers on social media may actually have no intention of using your services, but they can still be valuable because they will retweet your messages, giving you free advertising. Post more general information on social media to catch their attention.

Example: You might tweet a summary of an interesting study or wish the local high school football team good luck in a playoff game.

Get Help With Legal Content Writing

Feel overwhelmed by keeping track of these audiences? Lawyers Writing for Lawyers can help. Contact us today to discuss how to target your unique audiences in different marketing formats.