Should Your Law Firm Have A Podcast?

Hi, I’m Annette Choti, an attorney of 20 years that created LawQuill, a marketing agency for small and solo law firms. Join me to learn how to grow your law firm through digital marketing strategies, SEO, social media, and more. Let’s get that law firm of yours more online visibility, a larger digital footprint, tons of organic traffic and more clients. I’m so excited. You’re here, click that subscribe button and join me in the legal marketing lounge.

Hello, friends, how are you? Are you having a good day? I hope so. I hope I can make it a little bit better. Because we’re going to talk about something really exciting. Today we’re going to be talking about podcasts. I know that’s a little meta right? To talk about podcasts on podcast. But before we get to all of that, I want to thank our sponsor, which is Click Magnet, The Ultimate Digital Marketing Guide for Law Firms. It’s a bestselling book that I happened to write and just listen to what one review says. This is from Vanessa Shaw, CEO and founder of the business growth Academy. She says if you read one book about legal marketing, make it this one. Well, that’s a short review. But it’s a pretty good one. Again, you can check that out on Amazon. It’s in paperback. And now it’s actually on Kindle. So you can get that and read that on your Kindle, or your other device. So let’s get right into it.

Today, we are going to be talking about podcasts and not my podcast, we’re going to be talking about your podcast, the one that you should create now, give me a hot minute. And let me try to convince you why your law firm should start a podcast. A well-executed podcast is a really effective way to deliver content. You see what I’m doing here, I’m also delivering content to you in a podcast. Some people like to read the articles that I have on my website, and I’ve got 150 of them so far, depending on when you’re listening to this, this was recorded in the fall of 2022. And I already have 150 articles on my website. And they are fantastic for SEO. But a lot of people don’t spend the time to just read those articles.

Sometimes they like the infographics that I include with them. So I will put those on social media. Some people are visual learners, or they just enjoy something in a graphic format, or they want to read content and other people. They want their content in audio. So maybe they’re driving in the car, maybe they are having a workout, maybe they are cleaning their house, and they’re sticking their phone in their pocket. And they’re listening to a podcast. So it is a really effective way to deliver content. And if you are going to speak directly to your audience, you can inform them and actually build relationships with potential clients, with colleagues with your network in a way that it really does reach them personally.

I’ve had a lot of people tell me that they kind of feel like they know me now. That’s strategic because I don’t take my podcast and make it completely perfect. You hear pauses, you hear me laugh, you hear me do those things because I want you to feel like you know me, this is just the way that I talk in real, real life. So you can choose and strategize whether or not you want a very buttoned up professional type of podcast.

Or if you want one that is a little bit more familiar. One that is a little bit more, grab a cup of coffee, and let’s sit and talk. Now either way, you are still building a relationship with the people in your audience. And podcasts are becoming increasingly popular. Now. We already know that they’re popular, but it’s not going anywhere. The podcast scene is just exploding exponentially. Why? Well because users can choose a topic just like you did with this one. And listen whenever and wherever they wish.

Why Podcasts are Relatable and Powerful

So is this the year that you start a podcast or is next year you put this on your schedule on your to do to start a podcast? Let’s really talk about what a podcast is not what it is, you know what it is you’re listening to one, but what it is, and why it’s so relatable, and so powerful. Basically, it’s kind of like a radio show, except that because it’s focusing on a particular theme or topic that the audience listener will know ahead of time, they have already made the decision to listen to you. So maybe there’s some podcast episodes of mine that you listen to, maybe you skip other ones, hey, don’t skip my episodes. No, I’m just kidding.

But you know, there’s certain things that may intrigue you more than others. And you know, what you’re going to get, your audience will know what they’re gonna get. And usually what statistics say is that people start a podcast episode, and then put their phone in their pocket, or they start driving their car. And that’s it, they leave that podcast on, for really the duration of the podcast, it’s very different than someone skimming an article, it’s very different than someone watching a YouTube video and skipping forward to try to get to the parts that they want to see.

People Can Listen Anytime

Instead, a podcast episode is something where people really just kind of set it and let it go. And because they’re connecting with you, because they’re learning from you, this can really increase your network, your business network, it can showcase your authority, your trustworthiness, your expertise in a certain area, and you’re sharing your message then with the public. So podcasts, as you know, are broken up into different episodes. And then you can even organize your episodes into seasons. Now, I don’t do that. But a lot of podcasts do that. So you can organize your podcast into seasons.

You Can Curate It in Your Own Way

Let’s say you are an estate planning and attorney and you want to have a season or, you know, a series on just the most popular, or the most commonly used estate planning documents. And then you have another series or season on business succession planning. So you can have these series where if someone is interested in a particular sub topic of estate planning, they can listen to all of that. And you can see how that would translate into other areas of the law, intellectual property, business law, personal injury, whatever it might be.

Podcasts Can be Any Length

Now, Podcasts can be any length, typically, they are between 20 minutes and an hour. But you know, there are podcasts out there that are like five minutes. They’re just these short little bytes of information that they give people in a very quick amount of time. Now those podcasts typically, are daily podcasts. But it’s your podcast, you can do what you want. But typically, they are between 20 or 30 minutes in about an hour. So again, the benefits of a podcast for your law firm. It’s basically a free talk show where you are the host, and the consumer, again, the potential client or the people that are in your network, they’re going to choose a topic and find it really easy to get that information quickly.

Podcasts are Easy to Start

Speaking of easy, podcasts really are easy to start and inexpensive as well. It’s an extremely good marketing strategy for your law firm, because they’re very powerful. They can boost your business in a variety of ways. So let’s talk about that. How can a podcast multitask for you? Podcasts are audio based, that’s true, we know that but they can be used for other purposes. They can be visually recorded. There are people and you may know them that actually will videotape themselves as they’re giving their podcast and then they use that video later. Maybe they make a YouTube channel out of it. Maybe they just cut little snippets out of it and use it on social media.

Podcasts Can Help Repurpose Content

Also, you can take your podcast and have it transcribed. So now basically you have a blog post that goes along with your actual podcast if you decide to host that on your own website. You are getting SEO juice off of that as well. Because you’re getting you know I don’t know 1000-1500 words of your written transcription, along with your audio podcast. And many podcasts are linked to websites.

So I’m not sure where you’re listening to this, you might be listening to this on iTunes, or a different podcast player. But I host all of these podcasts on my website. And I do that through a platform known as Buzzsprout. But you can use other ones, there’s, there’s many out there, I find that Buzzsprout is sort of easy to navigate, frankly. And it’s very easy to put my podcasts onto my website. So once I’ve got it on my website, I can now have the entire transcription there along with the podcast. And then I can also email my subscribers on my email list that hey, a new podcast dropped in, I do that. And then you can also make little tiny audio snippets, not video snippets, but audio snippets. And you can add those to social media.

Also, you can just mention that you have a new podcast that’s dropped on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google business profile. Don’t forget about Google business profile, because now you can have many blog posts on Google business profile. And this would be another place where you could showcase your authority. So just know that a podcast, even though it is an audio form, can really be a versatile marketing tool to incorporate into your digital marketing strategy.

Now, like I said before, the reason that podcasts are so powerful, are because most users listeners, do not just flip casually through, they very purposefully select and download a podcast to listen to either now, or later. Or they may subscribe to your channel, and then get notifications that a new podcast has come out. So it’s very intentional. Podcast listeners are usually invested somehow in the topic, and they are fully engaged in the material. If you have a business law firm, and you are offering rich pieces of advice for business owners, especially maybe startups or entrepreneurs, they are going to really want to hear what you have to say, because it’s basically in a way free legal advice.

Now, you obviously cannot give legal advice on your podcast, but you can discuss the statutes and the laws that already exist. You can talk about, you know, obviously, anonymously, maybe some of the cases that you’ve worked on, depending if you can sort of redact those so that that it is anonymous, you can also incorporate new legislation or new laws that are coming out. These are really great, and people really want to hear about this. So again, listeners are really fully engaged typically, with the material because they’re interested in it right now, you are listening to this, probably because you are interested in legal marketing, you know, my guess is you’re not here for a chocolate chip cookie recipe.

If you are, you’re probably really disappointed. So I’m sorry about that. But at the end of the day, because podcasts really engage listeners, it makes it easy for a law firm or a business to match their service directly to their ideal audience and then promote their brand and establish credibility.

Podcasts are Portable

Here’s another great thing about podcasts. They’re portable. Podcasts, consumers really only need a smartphone to access the content of their choosing. One of the biggest perks of podcasts is that they’re portable. They often become part of a listeners daily or weekly tasks.

Again, maybe you’re cleaning your house, maybe you’re on the elliptical machine, maybe you you’re in your car driving, maybe you’re doing some sort of mindless work at your desk and you’re listening to a podcast. In the meantime, maybe you’re cooking dinner, whatever it is a podcast can sort of fill up that time and allow someone to do other activities while they’re absorbing the content that you as a law firm are providing them just like what you are probably doing right now.

Another great thing about podcasts is that they tend to attract loyal listeners. So someone might listen to your podcast, if they don’t really like it, they’re kind of out. And if they do like your podcast they are in. And they are usually all in podcast listeners are usually very dedicated audiences. They engage with the content personally. And often they’ll leave you really good reviews. Hint, hint, please leave me a good review on iTunes that really showcases their love of the material that they’re getting, and the fact that they are getting value from what you’re saying.

Podcasts Help Make a Connection

It’s really common for podcast listeners to feel a connection when subscribing to a certain podcast. I know I do. I subscribe to podcasts. And I do feel a connection with those people that are hosting or presenting that podcast, it really makes a listener sort of feel like a loyal and supportive fan. And frankly, I’ll be honest, as a podcast host, I love it. When people email me and they talk to me about how something that I said on the podcast, really hit them exactly at the time that they needed it.

It’s just a great feeling or that something that they heard from me really move the needle on their marketing, and now they have more clients and, and more money in their bank account. That is the whole point of what I do. And it really does create a connection with my podcast listeners. I love all you guys. So it says that the statistics say that 93% of podcast consumers complete the entire episode of listening. So that’s crazy. Almost 100% of people that start a podcast episode will finish it. So the other crazy statistic is that the average podcast listener listens to about seven podcast episodes every week, maybe not of yours. But just in general. That means that if someone likes podcasts, they really like podcasts. And that’s their jam. That’s the way that they’re going to consume information.

And here’s the great thing. You know, who’s not doing podcasts, your competition. Most law firms are not doing podcasts. This is just such great real estate for you to be in. Because your competition is really, really low. I mean, it’s completely different than SEO or you know, trying to get a Google Adword of lawyer or attorney, or even trying to start a YouTube channel, which is great, by the way.

Podcast For Law Firms

But podcasts, how many law firms do you know are starting a podcast and I will tell you, you will get listeners if you do it. Now, if you do it for a little while and you find that you’re not getting listeners, you know, you can just stop your podcast, you don’t have to completely invest years of your life into this. But I think you will be pleasantly surprised that you will find that if you truly provide really great content that is entertaining to listen to, informative, and really helps someone have a takeaway.

At the end of the episode, you will start to get some really loyal, loyal viewers see, see how I just messed up there. I’m not going back and changing that. Because that’s just how I operate my podcast. I want you to feel like you’re just right here with me in this room, and we’re drinking a cup of coffee.

Attracting the Right Customers

Now let’s talk about again the crowd that you are going to attract having a podcast as a law firm. Typically, podcast listeners have a higher education level, they rest in an upper income bracket. And because they often develop a connection with the host, they are more likely to make a purchase after hearing a podcast advertisement or maybe an explanation of your services.

Typically, podcast listeners tend to be active on social media, which means that if you are promoting your podcast on social media, they will find you and 94% of podcast consumers are active at least on one social media channel and the average for that is 81%. So they far exceed that. This is important to know because it means that the crowd of people statistically that would be listening to your website are ones that would be eventually in the market for your services.

Let’s be honest, a business law podcast is not going to attract someone who doesn’t have a business. So you are already speaking directly to the specific crowd of people that are your potential clients. And not only that, because they’ve made a connection with you, they are more likely to engage your legal services.

Establishing Credibility

Talking about establishing credibility. Let’s dive deeper onto that. A podcast and a listener, really, there’s nothing that gets in the way there. Right, except for the fact that you cannot directly ask a question right now of me and get an immediate answer. However, if there’s something you hear on my podcasts, you can absolutely and I encourage you to email me at annette@LawQuill.com. And I will answer that question for you.

But other than that, there’s nothing that’s getting in the way between me talking right now. And you listening well, unless you’re doing the dishes, but you’re just doing that while you’re listening. So really, in a way Podcasts can establish credibility, and a really strong relationship, I hope between hosts and fans, attorneys like you can use podcast to share your knowledge with a bit of a personal touch, and you can position yourself as that buzzword, a thought leader, because again, you will be a thought leader, you will definitely be a leader in even having a podcast because most law firms don’t. And again, podcasting for law firms podcasting for lawyers, it’s really an ideal way to establish a sense of trust. And people need that trust, before they are going to hire a lawyer.

Inexpensive Marketing

Let’s talk about the expense of podcasts. They are super cheap. Okay, thank you for coming to my TED talk. No, really, they are very inexpensive. Producing a podcast is a very inexpensive means of promoting your law firm brand. They reach a large, targeted audience. And they provide a high value result for your marketing dollars.

These podcasts are delivered digitally. And so it eliminates the cost of printing or paper or postage, or even involving a marketing firm. If I’m being honest, the exclusive nature of podcasts is not like a general broadcast, where listeners are subjected to a multiplayer field of advertising and all of those things. Really, when consumers are tuning into your show. They’re really only hearing your message.

Podcasting Tools

So what are the expenses? Well, you need a good microphone. And you need some sort of platform, I use GarageBand. But there are others, these come free with Mac with my MacBook. So that’s the first step, then you need something like Buzzsprout, which is a hosting platform, which will hold all of your podcasts. And then you might need something like Otter.io, which is a transcribing tool. And you will still have to clean that up at the end of the day, even if you use a tool like that. And really, that’s about it.

Getting Started

Now, I do recommend and I don’t get a kickback for it or anything. There is a great guy named Pat Flynn. And I will link to this in the show notes. But he has a program called Power Up Podcasting. And I’ll be honest with you, I purchased this before I started my podcast because when I first started, I didn’t know what I was doing. And Pat is really great. Because his power up podcasting course is a few $100 and it takes you step by step. I mean literally on his videos, he’s like, okay, get your microphone.

Now we’re going to take the microphone out of the box. So he is step by step and he makes everything so easy and so accessible. I promise you, you can do this yourself. You do not need to go to a studio, a podcasting Studio, you do not need to hire anyone to even clean up your recording for you. You do not need to hire anyone to mass produce this for you. Maybe you can hire a VA or have your VA help you with the transcription cleaning up the transcription or putting it on your website and things like that.

But really, at the end of the day, the actual recording of the podcast and getting everything together is quite simple. Well, you know, it’s like my boss always said everything’s simple once you know how, but I do highly recommend Pat Flynn’s power up podcasting course because it really does make it easy from start to finish. So, how to actually create a podcast. I talked a little bit earlier about how podcasts are SEO friendly. And what I just said reminded me about that that it will go on your website. And the potential for high SEO value is really one of those added benefits of producing a podcast.

Your law firm can really advance marketing goals with a podcast that is really rich in relevant keywords and phrases. So as I’m talking right now, I keep saying words like podcast for lawyers, or podcasting for law firms. Eventually, when this gets transcribed and put on my website, that entire transcription will be read by the Google bots. And those are keywords that they’re looking for to understand what this content is. And it’s really great for your SEO. And not only that, it helps Google understand exactly where to place you in the rankings.

Challenges Of A Podcast For A Law Firm

So now let’s talk about some challenges of a podcast for a law firm.

Finding the Right Target Audience

Because while this is a very potent, medium for reaching a target audience, you have to find that target audience. Now there are millions of podcasts available, but again, not many, but law firms are doing. So it can still be a challenge to rank high enough to be found in searches. So you can’t just build it and they will come you really do have to invest a bit of time and commitment into not only creating your podcast, but also promoting it.

Because if you simply make your podcast and hope that you will get 1000s and 1000s of listeners, you might be disappointed. And that would be discouraging. So it does take a bit of time to find your niche, and your ideal listener base. And it is important to know that just like anything else, this does take time. But again, if you promote this on social media, that movement, and traction will happen faster.

Anyone Can Steal Your Content

Another downside is that anyone can easily duplicate your content, frankly, and pass it off as their own. Unfortunately, this is the case with anything that you put out into the world now. So many of my blog posts are oftentimes just copied and pasted. On other marketing sites, there’s really just nothing you can do about it, you can go to Google and ask them to D index that other site, which will help your SEO and won’t harm you anymore.

But you can’t forcibly make someone take something off their website, unless you invest in a very costly lawsuit. So one of the downsides is that someone could steal your content that’s possible. But you know, it’s kind of a rarity when it comes to podcasts.

Time-Consuming Way to Get Clients

Another downside is that it does take time, right don’t most good things take time. But I’m just I would be remiss if I didn’t say that most audiences expect new content on a regular schedule. And you have to meet those expectations. Now, sometimes you can take a break, I did. I had cancer, and I had surgery, I had to remove my thyroid. And so I had to take a little break. And now I’m restarting my content again. So if you’ve missed me for a while, thank you for hanging in and coming back and listening to me again.

But if you are going to be on a regular schedule, people will kind of start to expect that. And if you don’t provide that content, people will send you emails like, Hey, where’s your podcast? But at the end of the day, that’s a good thing, right? You want people to be asking and wondering where you are. And the last thing I’ll say about challenges is the fact that just like anything, if you don’t know how to do it at the beginning, it does. There’s a bit of a learning curve. So but that’s true with anything right? So that shouldn’t discourage you too much. So at the end of the day, the question is, should your law firm start a podcast?

Should Your Law Firm Start A Podcast?

People in the United States consume 21 million podcast hours, daily, daily. And again, most of these listeners develop a loyalty to their hosts. They invite these podcasts into their private spaces into their routines, and the benefits of a podcast. Really, at this point in my show, you may be wondering if you should start one for your law firms.

So really think about why would your law firm want to start a podcast? Who would be your target audience? What would be the purpose of your podcast? How often would you create a new episode? It doesn’t have to be weekly. It can be every two weeks or even once a month, but the more you do it, the more loyal followers would be I would always suggest at least weekly or at least twice a month? Who would be the host of the podcast? Is that going to be you? Is that going to be someone else from your team? Are you going to rotate that type of responsibility? What will be the subject matter? And then are you going to have guests, so I don’t have guests on my podcast, because I’m really trying to showcase exactly what I believe as an expert and authority in digital marketing what you need.

So that’s the way that I have decided to develop my podcast, but there are many other podcasts that have guests on so you could do one or the other or a combination of both. So at the end of the day, I hope that I have given you a lot of valuable information regarding podcasts.

Speaking of podcasts, it’s really great when you get reviews for them because it helps that iTunes algorithm showcase my podcast or your podcast in the future, to even more people. So if you could just take a hot minute right now. And leave me a review saying that you enjoyed this podcast, I would really appreciate it. If you ever have any questions. Of course, you can reach out to me at annette@LawQuill.com you can find me on LinkedIn as well.

And again, I want to thank the sponsor of the episode, ‘Click Magnet, The Ultimate Digital Marketing Guide for Law Firms’. You can find that on Amazon and think about it. Think about a podcast. I think it might be good for you. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to always reach out to me, and I’ll see you the next time in the legal Marketing lounge.