Oftentimes the trickiest thing about writing blog posts isn’t actually writing them — it’s thinking of something to write about. Topic choice trips up a lot of lawyers. With so much legal knowledge rattling around in your head, it can be tough to know what would appeal to the average reader. But it’s not impossible. If you’re struggling to pin down blog topics, try the approaches below.
1. Reverse engineer a common scenario.
Think of a situation that your average client might find themselves in. If you’re a tax attorney, this could be receiving a letter from the IRS. When that letter comes in, what’s the first question your client would have? Maybe it’s, “Is this letter really from the IRS?” Write that question down and BAM!, you have a blog topic: “3 Ways to Tell if Your IRS Letter Is Legitimate.”
Admittedly, that topic sounds extremely elementary…and it should to YOU, the lawyer who can spot an IRS letter in their sleep. But to your audience who knows next to NOTHING about the legal world, this is a legitimate question.
This topic generation strategy also works in every practice area of law, from business to family to estate planning and so on. Simply imagine yourself in your clients’ shoes and answer their burning questions. This will reassure your readers you’re the right lawyer to clear up their confusion and allay their fears.
2. Rely on the multiplier effect.
Once you have a single question or scenario in mind, you can easily spin it into more! Take the IRS letter example — surely, your client won’t only be asking themselves if their letter is legitimate. Once they open the letter, they might have other questions, like, “What type of IRS letter is this? How many kinds of letters does the IRS send? Why does the IRS use this particular language? What does this term mean?” Any of those queries could become a relevant blog post. Don’t worry about your topics overlapping, either — repetition just reinforces your expertise.
These topics might seem basic, but ultimately, the basics are what people care about most. They want to know that you’ve mastered your field and can help people in common situations like the one they’re in. Hopefully, these strategies help you puzzle out interesting blog topics.