Lance and Linda Lawyer of L & L Law
are sitting in their conference room early Friday morning for their
monthly business meeting. The topic for today’s meeting is marketing.
“I’ve been reading Aesop’s Fables to
the children,” said Linda. “I’m amazed at how easily they get the
message. The story helped them understand the moral.”
Lance looked at his twin sister. “What does that have to do with marketing?” he said.
“We faithfully write a blog post each
week. We present new information but we don’t get many hits and
according to the analytics, many times the readers don’t stay past the
first sentence or two. I realized what we are writing are like the
fables, except we start with the moral or statute and don’t tell the
story that describes it. I think we should write stories to explain the
information we are presenting.”
Linda is right. Stories can keep readers on the page.
Since the beginning of time, stories
have been used to teach lessons and pass on the values of a culture.
Today, businesses and professionals use stories to connect with their
audience. Readers appreciate a story that can make complex laws or court
decisions understandable and relatable. Simply stating the facts loses
readers, but stories with characters experiencing legal problems keep
the reader on the page.
Why use stories?
- Stories can simplify complicated issues.
- Stories help consumers adopt a new idea.
- Stories make concepts memorable.
- Stories can inspire consumers to act.
What makes a good story?
Here’s where the realm of fiction comes to the aid of non-fiction.
Each story has a beginning, a middle,
and an end. The main character is challenged in the beginning, tested in
the middle, and solves the problem in the end. In this article, I
started with Lance and Linda Lawyer sitting in their conference room
discussing a problem common to all lawyers—marketing. Linda presents a
challenge: their blog posts have poor readership. She suggests they use
stories to help explain the information they are presenting.
From there, I move into the discussion of stories as a marketing tool.
In the world of the law, all cases
start with the facts, the story, or problem the client brings to you.
You take those facts and search the law to find resolutions to the
client’s problems. For example, many of your clients ask about estate
planning. On your blog post for your website or the blog section of the
SBM member directory, create a fictional couple in their late 50’s with
grown children who want to know the difference between a will, a trust,
and powers of attorney. You set up the problem using a story format,
now you can define the documents in general terms, helping readers
understand what they are and when each is used.
Not all blog posts should start with a
story. Every once in a while, give it a try. Stories can build trust
around the writer, draw the reader in, and motivate consumers to call
you.
Roberta Gubbins has served as the editor of the Ingham County Legal News.
Since leaving the paper, she provides services as a ghostwriter editing
articles, blogs, and e-blasts for lawyers and law firms. She is the
editor of Briefs, the Ingham County Bar Association e-newsletter, and The Mentor, SBM Master Lawyers Section newsletter.
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