Content Begins With Content Strategy

By: Peter Darling
Long ago, when I was in sales, my boss told me something seemingly simple and obvious, but critically important: sales is farming, not hunting. In other words, from prospecting to closing the deal, selling successfully meant understanding that you were engaged in a long, patient process. The key to the process is to be consistent -- and to have a strategy.

Writing works exactly the same way. It’s called “content strategy.”

Content strategy, in a sentence, can be defined as developing a broad plan for the content you create, and writing against that plan. Another variant of this definition is “getting the right content to the right user at the right time.” A lot of lawyers, particularly at small and midsized firms, don’t do this. The result is wasted effort, and content that underperforms.

Whenever you write anything that will be read by clients, or prospective clients, you should be guided by a thought-out understanding of what you’re attempting to accomplish, and how you’re going to do it. Not just with the particular piece you’re preparing, but over the long haul, say, a year. Remember: content is farming, not hunting. One piece is not going to bring in business, but a steady, consistent series of them will.

Everything you write should fit and work together. It should work in concert. If you write ten JD Supra pieces over the course of a year, they should collectively communicate a planned message to a defined audience. It’s the equivalent of the carpenter’s adage to “measure twice, cut once.” By thinking and planning ahead, you can ensure that every word tells.

This requires, from the outset, answering a series of questions. The answers will guide your work. A complete listing is way beyond the scope of this article, but here are some basic ones to get you started:

Who is your audience? Are you writing for General Counsel, other attorneys (as referral sources), individuals? Content for a family law practice has a very different audience from that for an IP practice.
What problem does your firm or practice solve for your audience? We’re not talking about the legal questions, but the business or strategic issues that underlie them. Do you help your clients save money? Maximize the value of their IP? Efficiently manage bankruptcy filings?
What is the best way to reach them, and how do you know? LinkedIn? Your blog? Email newsletters? Published articles? Don’t just pick an outlet, but have a defensible reason for your choice.
What makes your firm, or your practice, unique? The legal market is a crowded one, and there is an enormous amount of content being distributed every day. Effective content differentiates, and clearly communicates a preference value.
What do you want your audience to take away from your pieces? We’re not talking here about the legal or technical information, but rather, the impression of your firm the piece creates. Obviously, you want to be perceived as knowledgeable. But what else? Cost-effective? Aggressive? Strategic? You need to decide these themes at the beginning, and stick to them.
How will you produce your content? You need to develop a workflow plan, including specifying the authors, determining who will review and approve it, and who will make decisions in the case of close or judgment calls.

To return to sales for a moment, it’s well-known among professional salespeople that closing business, particularly with a new customer, requires a certain number of “touches” along the way. It will take, on average, say, three phone calls before you succeed in having a telephone conversation with a prospect. You will have to meet with the prospect two or three times before you can present a proposal. Following the proposal, you’ll need to have more meetings before they give you a “yes” or a “no”. Good salespeople know this, expect it, and plan for it.

In the era of COVID, content works the same way. Content is now your most important, and perhaps your only, way to communicate with prospective clients. To ensure they receive and understand your message, they’re going to have to see, read, and digest, more than one piece of content. Plan for this, build a strategy for it, and your content will be much more effective.

One more time: farming. Not hunting.

Peter Darling is a freelance writer in Northern California who specializes in creating content for law firms. To learn more, visit his website at www.peterdarlingwriter.com