The Whitespark Local Pulse

The Whitespark Local Pulse for 08/29/2021

August 29, 2021

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The Whitespark Local Pulse

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By Matt Green on Aug 27, 2021 11:17 am

“Why should I hire you?” Anyone who is responsible for bringing on new clients knows about this bone-chilling question. After all, there are a lot of other lawyers who can do what you do, right? That’s where case studies come in. A well-crafted case study can answer this question before you even speak to a prospective client. Furthermore, most law firms won’t publish case studies (or the ones they do publish are so poorly done that their value is near-nothing) making them a differentiating factor that could win you new clients simply by virtue of simply having done it. Our clients often express surprise when they have achieved high search rankings for their main keywords and they are getting solid levels of qualified traffic, but they still aren’t signing up quality cases with consistency. We have found that investing in case studies is an effective way to solve that problem. I’m going to walk you through how to create compelling legal case studies that help you earn more of your best clients. Let’s go. Before you write a word… The Two Musts for Writing Effective Legal Case Studies I am going to get into the weeds and give you tactical advice for writing, designing, publishing, and distributing your case studies. But first, let’s look at what I consider to be the two “must-haves” for writing effective legal case studies: Make sure that you highlight cases and clients that you actually want more of, and; Make sure you get consent from the client before writing the case study. 1. Write About Cases and Clients That You Want More Of The sure-fire way to make sure your case studies don’t produce more of the clients you want is to write about cases you don’t actually want. In his excellent post 3 Steps to Writing Case Studies That Compel Clients to Hire Your Law Firm attorney and entrepreneur Wayne Pollock explains that: “Compelling case studies are mirrors, not windows[…] When prospective clients learn that another client who’s been in their shoes turned to your firm to help them successfully resolve their legal issues, those prospective clients are going to, naturally, believe your firm can do the same for them. For that reason, your firm’s case studies should strategically spotlight the clients you want to attract.” This is exceptionally good marketing advice for lawyers. In fact, we just published the results of a focus group that found that specialization is one of the most important factors that folks consider when looking for an attorney. And what better way to show that you specialize in your prospective client’s matter than by telling them a story about someone you helped who was faced with an issue similar to theirs? At Juris Digital we are always asking our clients one simple question: What does your ideal client/case look like? We ask this question because we need to know the answer to create content marketing strategies that actually produce the sort of leads our clients want. Even if you are a young lawyer and perhaps you’ve only worked on a single case that you consider to be your ideal case, you ought to write your case study about that case, rather than focusing on cases that are a dime a dozen (even if that’s where the bulk of your experience lies). 2. Get consent and buy-in from your client to tell their story It’s crucial that you get consent from your client before telling their story. It’s important from an ethical standpoint, obviously – you don’t want to run afoul of the rules. But getting consent and buy-in from your client is equally important for the efficacy of your final product. In the absence of quotes and anecdotes that come directly from the client, your case study will fall flat. A Step-by-Step Process for Creating Effective Case Studies for Your Law Firm From this point forward we are going to assume that you have already chosen the right clients/cases to highlight and that you have received consent and buy-in from your client to tell their story. Here’s how to take action and produce and distribute effective legal case studies. Choose a Single, Concise Story to Tell You have chosen which client and case to spotlight. Now you need to find the right angle – you need to choose a single story or narrative that you want to tell. This is important because the impact of your case study will largely depend on people being able to follow the story. It may well be the case that your representation of your client was complex and that you achieved wins and overcame adversity at many points along the way. But your case study isn’t a novel. Don’t confuse your potential clients by telling them 10 different narratives. Instead, chose the one story you want to tell and hammer it home. This will make for a more compelling case study that is accessible and comprehensible by your potential clients. Interview the Client (Before/During/After) You’ve reached out to your client to get them on board. Now you need to collect interview responses from them that will enrich the story you are telling, and lend the social proof required to sway potential new clients in your direction. Keep in mind the primary goal of the interview: To collect compelling quotes and anecdotes from the client which enhance the credibility and the ethos of the story. The key to asking effective interview questions is to keep in mind the concept before, during, after. That is: What were you going through before you hired our law firm? What was your experience like while you were working with our law firm? (and why did you chose us?) How has your life changed (improved) since your case was resolved? The specific questions you ask the client should be crafted on a case-by-case basis and should be informed by the details of their actual experience and by the story that you are telling. In general, I suggest that...

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