Better Law Firm Copy, Part 2: How to Write a Landing Page

Previously in this series I talked about how to give your firm a strong voice. This time we tackle one of the most important pages on your site: a landing designed to get clients. These pages are notoriously hard to write, but when done well they bring in lots of new business.

How Landing Pages Work

A landing page focuses on one problem and how you can solve it. In a law firm, that means you have a landing page for each of your practice areas. Sometimes you’ll want several that focus on different types of cases—perhaps one for construction accidents and one for car accidents. These landing pages often correspond to high value search terms. That’s because you want people searching for that term to find your page and become your client.

At its heart a law firm landing page is really just a sales page. Legal practice is far more complex and important than most products, but the process of selling it to someone is exactly the same. And fortunately, there’s a format for sales pages that makes the selling very easy. This format basically does three things: it identifies a client’s problem, it gets them to trust that you can solve the problem, and it cranks up the urgency so they want you to solve it now. When you follow the format, readers feel the need to ask for a consultation right away.

The format of a sales page breaks down into five steps, each taking one or more paragraphs on the page. Let’s take it step by step and see how it’s done.

Step 1: Focus On Your Client’s Problem

This is the most important step, and it’s a theme you have to carry through the whole page. A landing page is not the place to start off with your firm’s credentials or experience. Focus on your client’s problems instead. Even the title should reflect this. “Are You Facing Jail Time for Drunk Driving?” is a great landing page headline, because it speaks directly to the client’s problem and fears.

The entire intro of the page should focus on the problem as well. You’re not just establishing that you understand your client’s situation, you’re reminding them that it’s a serious situation. Your copy should go into the details of all the problems they could encounter. If it’s a personal injury page, talk about big medical bills and missed work time. If it’s a malpractice page, discuss how they trusted their doctor to make their life better and now instead it’s made their life worse. Talk about the physical pain.

The same goes for any other practice area. People come to lawyers because they have a problem. Emphasize that problem. Show them how serious it is. People want to close their eyes and hope things get better. Your landing page says: things aren’t going to get better unless you have good representation.

Step 2: Offer a Solution

Just as important as emphasizing their problem is emphasizing your solution. This is the fundamental reason people buy things: because you can solve a problem that they can’t solve on their own.

But a good landing page does more than just say, “I can fight the insurance company for you,” or, “I can defend you in court.” They have to believe it. They have to see that your solution is real and that your legal representation is what they need. This is hard with any product or service, because people are naturally wary of sales pitches. But it’s especially hard with law practice because you cannot promise them a result. But you can still make them believe in you.

The way to do that is by explaining exactly what you’ll do to help them. Often, the first section after the intro is informational, with a header like, “What Happens After Your DUI Arrest” or “How Worker’s Comp Works.” You can talk about the process of their case—something most people don’t understand—and it immediately makes you look like an expert. Plus, explaining how a case works isn’t a sales pitch, so people relax. This is why a good lawnmower salesman starts off by explaining the difference between two popular models.

In explaining their case, you also get to show off a little. If you have a unique tactic, like having two lawyers review every file or subpoenaing 3 years of breathalyzer data, that’s a great selling point. You’re showing that you can do something other lawyers might not do. You’re the solution.

Step 3: Show How You’re Different

By now the reader should know that you can solve their problem. But so can other lawyers. That’s why you need to show that you’re different—a natural extension of the section above. Explain the approach you take to cases and what makes it so effective. Tell the client what you will do for them that no one else does, and connect it directly to the outcomes you get. Say something like, “because of this approach, we have gotten XYZ results.” That could be a high acquittal rate or five of the biggest verdicts in your state or anything else impressive. You’re showing that the proof is in the proverbial pudding.

You also need to show proof, including social proof. Proof comes in many forms:

• Quotes or testimonials from clients, within the bounds of what your state bar association allows
• Specific verdicts or settlements you’ve won
• Awards and ratings, especially those that come from consumers, like your AVVO rating (although be careful with the badge)
• Board certified titles such as specialist or expert in your field
• The number of years you’ve been in practice, especially if it’s 15+
• A track record of happy clients or good outcomes, especially if you can quantify it.

Step 4: Reduce Risk & Create Urgency

If you’ve hit all the points above, in order, you’ve left your future client in a predicament. That’s because they now know that they have a problem and that you can solve it, but they’re still hesitant and afraid because of the cost involved. And their natural response to that hesitation is to put off the decision and say, “I’ll think about it.”

You have to help them overcome that hesitation. That requires two things: you have to reduce the risk involved and you have to create a sense of urgency that they need to act immediately.

In the practice of law, the urgency is generally very real. There is usually a strict deadline by which to file a suit, file an appeal, or get your defense together for a criminal trial. Explain this to your potential client. Talk about why this area of law moves quickly and what happens if you drag your feet. In personal injury cases, talk about the importance of getting the money you need right away.

And then take away their one remaining fear. The fear is always this: lawyers cost too much. Accept that this fear exists and meet it head on.

How you do this depends on the case type:

• In personal injury firms, emphasize that you can work on contingency, and explain that this means they pay NOTHING unless you win them money. It’s risk free.
• In a criminal defense case you have less options. However, you can underscore the high cost of fines or the severity of the penalties involved. You’re making the cost of representation seem small by comparison.

No matter what your practice area, you also reduce risk by offering a free consultation. Emphasize this early and often.

Step 5: Call to Action

Once all the other steps are in place you can make the ask. And you should. You’ve created the perfect conditions for a potential client to call you, and they need one last nudge to make sure they do it. This is also your final chance to re-state the urgency of their problem. It goes something like this:

“If you’re injured, don’t wait until it’s too late. Call us for a free consultation and get your case started today.”

Which reminds me: if you want more new business for your firm, don’t let your website work against you. Call EverSpark Interactive for a free digital marketing consultation today.

Or, of course, stay tuned for Part 3, when we talk about all the other pages on your site.