January 3, 2017

Ghostwriting: A Valuable Asset for Law Firms

Content creation is an undeniably integral component of law firm marketing. Writing thoughtful and informative articles is a useful way to demonstrate knowledge and expertise in one’s practice area, get on the radar of potential clients, and build a solid online presence. Because of this, more and more law firms are turning to ghostwriters, anonymous third-party writers, to create content. While many attorneys see the value in creating content for marketing purposes, the majority of them are pressed for time. Everything from trial dates to rainmaking can prevent even the most committed of lawyers from being able to spend the requisite amount of time on writing. By hiring a professional ghostwriter, a higher volume of content can be created and posted consistently, not just when a lawyer has rare spare time in between caseloads. When quality articles are completed quickly, this enables law firms to keep a finger on the pulse of trends in their practice areas.

Effective ghostwriting can play a vital role in a law firm’s overall content strategy. When a law firm or an attorney publishes consistent and accurate pieces on trending legal issues, they establish themselves as thought leaders in their industries. In addition, if a well-received article receives enough traffic, especially on a prominent site such as Forbes or The Huffington Post, it goes a long way in improving search engine optimization (SEO). Building a concrete, and positive, web presence is essential in being seen as a credible source or authority for your practice area.

Needless to say, hiring the right ghostwriter is key. It is important to hire a person with great writing skills, who can provide links to previous works. This ensures that you and your firm will be presented in the best possible light. You need to find a writer who knows about legal issues, or at least has experience writing for attorneys with measurable success. For topics in a number of practice areas, such as estate planning or intellectual property law, superficial research on Google won’t cut it. Highly technical areas of the law require an author with a thorough understanding of the nuances of those particular areas. Finally, make sure to review any pieces written by a ghostwriter before publishing. After all, it will be your name on the final product.