How to Outsource Your Law Firm’s Legal Blog Content

Lawyers have a lot to juggle, from client meetings to research to court appearances. For this reason, it may be a good idea to outsource legal blog content to third-party services to save time and focus on billable hours.

The concept is simple – law firms hire a writer or a team of writers to manage the writing and publishing of legal content for the blog. These may be freelancers or agency writers, but either way the idea is to outsource some of the work and free up lawyers to focus on the law.

Outsourcing legal content has many advantages, including expert writing and freeing up time, but it also has downsides. How does a company know when it’s the right time to outsource?

The value of a legal blog

Content marketing for a legal blog or guest posts for thought leadership is a valuable part of a digital marketing strategy. Done right, it can be a persuasive tool for increasing conversions, driving more website traffic, and building brand awareness.

There is a catch, however – legal blog content should be well researched, well written, and aligned with the goals and objectives of the law firm. Poor quality drafting does more harm than good, so it is essential that the firm hires drafters who are familiar with drafting and legal concepts.

This is a big motivation for many companies that handle their content writing in-house. But adding content writing to an ever-growing list of duties and requirements for a firm takes away from what lawyers are meant to do: practice law.

Options for outsourcing legal blog content

Internal Hires: For the best of both worlds, law firms can hire in-house legal content writers as part of the full-time team. These writers can tackle the legal blog and other content writing, ensuring the content is high quality and available, but it can be expensive and inefficient.

Professional content writers: Legal marketing agencies, SEO agencies, and other agencies have access to teams of professional content writers and manage law firm campaigns. This option offers a lot of expertise and less upfront effort and investment than hiring in-house, but it can also be expensive.

Contract writers: If the law firm does not need a full team, either in-house or from an agency, a contract writer is an attractive third option. With only a few contract writers, law firms can outsource blogging and guest posting to skilled, knowledgeable writers who are more flexible than full-time writers.

Benefits of legal blogging outsourcing

Hiring an agency or contract writer has several advantages, including:

Win time

Writing content takes time. Most writers take a few hours to write a standard 500-word blog post. If a law firm tries to have a consistent content marketing strategy with lots of blog posts, it can add work days to the month and remove critical tasks. Hiring a content writer not only saves time directly, but professional writers are also much faster than non-writers.

To save money

Hiring a writer or agency can be expensive, but it’s worth the money a law firm can save over time. A full-time in-house copywriter will cost more than outsourcing, and working with an agency or contract copywriter guarantees professional results and a better return on investment.

Skill

Writers at a law firm may have all the legal knowledge necessary for the blog, but may not know the ins and outs of marketing and content writing effectively. An agency or contract writer understands SEO, content marketing best practices, and other details that help content work better.

Scalability

Agencies usually have multiple writers who can be drafted for your project. As the law firm grows, agencies can provide more writers to meet growing content needs. Many agencies also offer tiered plans or packages, so outsourcing is accessible to new and established small businesses alike.

Consistency

Consistency is key in content marketing. Agencies have standards or formatting that their content must follow, ensuring content is consistent across the board. Agencies also have editors to do a final check on articles before publication, so law firms can count on quality content that reflects their brand well.

Disadvantages of outsourcing legal blogs

Outsourcing is a great option for many law firms, but it’s not for everyone. Agencies and contract writers have drawbacks, including:

Quality issues

Not all agencies are created equal. Law firms can find a virtually unlimited choice of agencies, contract writers, and freelancers, and they can range from experts and professionals to inexperienced and shoddy people. Some agencies do not maintain high quality standards, which will be reflected in the content of the law firm. It is essential that law firms carefully consider possible agencies before choosing to partner.

Reliability issues

Reliability is important for content writing, especially if a law firm outsources to ensure content is always available. Reliable writers can be hard to find, especially as entrepreneurs, and can lead to inconsistencies and poor quality. Agencies are generally more reliable than freelance writers, but not always.

Lack of ownership

Even when time is tight, lawyers can take pride in writing their own content and promoting their own firm. While agencies and writers are invested in a company’s content, it’s not quite the same as what a speaker brings to the table. For this reason, law firms may prefer to handle drafting in-house rather than outsourcing it.

High initial costs

Law firms that write the content themselves have no upfront investment – ​​just time. Agencies and contractors have upfront costs that can be difficult for some businesses, especially when starting out. Content marketing is a marathon, not a sprint, and it can take months for that investment to pay off.

When should law firms outsource legal blog content?

If the task of writing content in-house becomes too much for a law firm, it might be time to consider outsourcing. Here are some ways law firms can determine whether to outsource:

• Workload builds up and important deadlines or tasks are missed

• The staff is short

• The business is a solo operation or a small start-up business

• Content writing takes non-billable time

• Current content writing is of poor quality or inconsistent

If any of these apply, it may be time for a law firm to consider outsourcing content writing to an agency or contract writer. Writing legal blog content is a valuable marketing strategy, but it takes time. With the right content writers, however, legal content can yield incredible returns for a law firm.