How to Build a Successful Content Marketing Strategy When Your Client Base Is Flat Broke

Some lawyers’ jobs are one economic downturn away from oblivion.  If your job is to draft real estate sales contracts, prenuptial agreements, and collaborative divorce agreements for folks in the Hamptons or in Beverly Hills, you are in a more vulnerable position than you think, even though your clients pay you so much that, if push comes to shove, you can just retire and move somewhere cheaper.  That is not the world where most lawyers live and work.  If your job is to contest unfairly denied Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) claims or to tell clients that it is inevitable that they will have to sell their late parents’ house during probate due to Medicaid estate recovery laws, you don’t have to wait for things to get worse before you and your clients begin feeling the financial strain.  Bankruptcy lawyers rank highly among practice areas where an initial consultation is most likely to include the words, “If I could afford that, I wouldn’t need to hire you.  For bankruptcy lawyers and others with a low-income client base, legal marketing content is less about persuading your clients to part with their nonexistent money and more about building a reputation for being knowledgeable and helping your target audience save money.

A Good Reputation Is Priceless, Even When No One Can Afford Your Hourly Fees

Conventional wisdom says that the goal of law firm marketing is to get Google users to visit your site, fill out an online contact form, schedule a consultation, and start paying you to represent them in their legal case.  If bankruptcy lawyers built their strategy that way, they would miss out on a large segment of their audience, the ones who already know that they can’t afford to hire a lawyer.

Bankruptcy lawyers should focus on building a website that enables visitors to complete the bankruptcy filing process on their own.  Include how-to guides in written and video form; bankruptcy can happen to anyone, from old fogeys who like written lists to digital natives who prefer to get information from videos.  As with any kind of video marketing content; someone out there just got a horrifying bill and wants to watch a 90-second video about filing for bankruptcy before getting back to work on gigs to earn money to pay down the bill, while someone else has fallen behind on a mortgage and is trying to choose between bankruptcy, surrendering the house to the bank, or both; this person wants a 20-minute video with greater detail.  As with any practice area, you need an FAQ page.  One of those questions should be about when it is advisable to hire a bankruptcy lawyer.  The complex cases that need you will hire you, while the simple cases will represent themselves in bankruptcy court, but don’t hesitate to end your video by asking them to write a positive review of you online if they found your video helpful.

Law Firm Marketing Content for Bankruptcy Lawyers and More

The professional law firm content marketers at Law Blog Writers, LLC can create valuable website content for lawyers in any practice area.