Lawyers pride themselves on their ability to write well, to communicate and sell a case. They’re smart. Their stock in trade is communicating with judges and juries and clients. Their job is to persuade judges, juries, clients and staff.

So, it logically follows that lawyers are good sales copywriters, right? Wrong.

And, why is that? It’s because lawyers haven’t been taught how to sell in their marketing. And, since they don’t know what to do, they allow others, “professionals”, to do it for them. Maybe you’ve heard your Yellow Pages rep say things like, “White space attracts attention.” Yeah, right. What does the white blankness of an empty piece of paper have to say to you? Nothing.

Persuasive copy sells, not white space.

Learning to write good copy can be the difference between success and failure in your marketing. Here are some basic rules.

1. Give your market something just for reading your ad– that is, give them information. If you look at ads in lawyer publications and yellow pages, and even ads in mass media, mostly what you see are slogans and the names of the firms! Those ads don’t provide any useful information to help someone who is looking for a lawyer find the right lawyer for her.
2. It’s not about you.It’s all about “them”, whoever the “them” is you’re trying to persuade to become your clients. Instead of bragging about your accomplishments or listing your qualifications (“named best lawyer in the universe, law clerk to prestigious judge, top 1% of law school”), fill your ad with copy proving that you understand what they’re going through and you can fix their pain. I sometimes see a “formula” that goes like this: Identify the problem, agitate the problem, solve the problem. That is, first you get their attention with something that worries/scares them; then you enhance their discomfort; and then you explain how you can solve that problem for them.
3.  Be a human being.Be sure you’re talking to the right market, and then talk to them “real”. Don’t write like you’re writing a brief. Write like you’re talking to real people.

And, just like the practice of law, writing good copy takes practice, practice, practice. You’ll see. It’ll work.