My Friday Rant: Your Law Firm’s Website Copy Shouldn’t Be About You

I see a common mistake made on countless law firm websites. All of the content on the site talks about the firm, the lawyers, their accomplishments, and what they do. You may say to yourself, isn’t that the point of a law firm website? To talk to the consumers about what we do and who we are? The answer is yes and no. It’s important that your potential clients understand what the firm does and who you are, but the way that message is delivered is important. Most firm sites I see talk about themselves, not about the clients. This is a fundamental mistake.

The Date Analogy

Have you ever been on a date or even just out with someone socially who talked about themselves the whole night? They didn’t ask questions, they didn’t engage in dialogue, they didn’t try to understand you at all. They simply talked about themselves and how great they are. They told you about their job, their hobbies, their accomplishments, etc. Did you enjoy the conversation? Did you feel connected to this person at the end of the night? Chances are, I would guess, it was a frustrating experience.

The Way It Is

People like to talk about themselves. We are all self-interested beings, it is a part of our make-up. Even altruistic, giving acts make us feel good inside and because of this……there is something in it for us. Your potential clients are no different. It’s not that they don’t care about your skill sets and capabilities, it’s just that they are more interested in how this helps solve their problems as opposed to how great it makes you. If you think about your website copy in these terms, it should take on a very different structure.

WIIFM (What’s In It For Me)

When you are writing about your firm, your practice areas, and your accomplishments it needs to be framed in the context of how these things help solve your client’s problems. What benefits does your past experience provide to them? How does your specialization in a niche area of practice benefit the client? Don’t talk about why it makes you great. Communicate to the client why it makes you better able to service them. This is an extremely important distinction to make. Write with the goal of telling the client how everything about your firm is a benefit for them. Write about what’s in it for them to hire you.

Photo by Zach Klein