Law Technology Today From the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center
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Content marketing is extremely important nowadays but it can also get quite expensive. If you are running a small law practice that isn’t making much money still, content marketing might be a great opportunity for raising awareness about your business. Doing it on a budget, however, will require some creativity.
Here are some of the tips that could help you have a killer content marketing strategy on a budget.
1) Start a Blog
Starting a blog could cost you nothing if you decide to use some free online platforms as your host. This is great for beginners. Platforms like WordPress are not hard to use and they don’t require any coding knowledge. You could have a professional looking blog in one afternoon. If you already have a website, just add one more page to it and call it “blog.” You could write about your expertise, give various tips on finding a good lawyer, and so on. People will like having an expert lawyer sharing their knowledge with them. Don’t forget to share your blog with social media channels—you can use social media apps like DrumUp to save your time and budget.
2) Write the Content Yourself
The cheapest way to handle content marketing is to write all of the content yourself. After all, you are the one that knows exactly what you need. It will take you an hour or so a week, or more if you decide to post more often. But it’s the cheapest option and you, as a lawyer, have the best insight into your job and the specifics of it so you’ll be able to give the most relevant information. Keep in mind that writing is a skill and as such, you can learn how to do it.
Here are some tools that can help you if you are not a professional writer but you still want to write your own content.
- StateOfWriting and AcademAdvisor are content writing guides that you’ll be able to use to get all the necessary tips on writing.
- Via Writing is a plagiarism guide that will teach you how to stay away from plagiarism.
- Boomessays and Essayroo are there to assist you with writing catchy headlines that will grab your reader’s attention.
- My Writing Way is an online proofreading tool that can help you catch all of those mistakes that could make you look unprofessional.
- Big Assignments is a grammar checker and it can be of assistance when it comes to grammar mistakes.
3) Hire a Freelancer
If you are not a good writer—or at least you believe that you are not—it might be a good idea to hire a freelancer. They are usually highly skilled and great at their job, yet their services are not as expensive as the services of an agency. However, the more you pay, the better quality you’ll get.
You can find freelance writers on job platforms like UpWork or sites like Craigslist. There, you can either search for freelancers that would suit you or create a job advertisement. The latter will be quicker.
Hiring a freelancer could save you a lot of time since you wouldn’t be writing the articles but it would cost you more. Keep this in mind if your law practice isn’t making you a lot of money yet.
4) Have the Members of Your Team Write the Content
If you are not a great writer yourself but you don’t want to hire a freelancer, it might be a good idea to get someone from your team to do it. Talk with your team, see if anyone has any previous experience with writing or if someone would like to do it. This is also one of the cheapest and most reliable ways to get content for your site or a blog. Your team member will also have a good understanding of what you need from that content.
Likely it would be a lawyer or someone familiar with the business so they will be as competent as you are to write your content.
5) Monetize Your Content
This is a great idea if you want to cover all of the costs of your content marketing strategy and spend more money on freelance writers without hurting your law practice. “There are plenty of ways to monetize your content—there are affiliate marketing programs, ads that could go along with your text, some sponsored content, etc.,” explains Anna Snowden, a Content Marketer at Assignment Help and Studydemic blog.
6) Use a Content Services Provider
Websites like TextBroker.com offer lower prices of written pieces. They are expected to have some errors and you’ll have to do a bit of the work on your own, but you will be able to get the content you need for a fraction of the price. This might be a good choice if you really can’t find anyone to write for you. But keep in mind that as a lawyer, you need to offer valuable information in your niche instead of offering something generic.
Final Thoughts
Having a great content marketing strategy on a budget isn’t easy but it can certainly be done with some creativity. Lawyers who own their own company could do much more with content marketing and help their business grow. Follow some of these tips if you want to save your money and still get some good content.
