In the 1970s, Louise Lasser starred in a satirical soap opera, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. The name was repeated because Producer Norman Lear and the show’s writers believed that dialog in a soap opera was always said twice. 

Satire notwithstanding, that’s not much of a stretch.

It’s not because soap operas have a lot of time to fill and a set of storylines where not much happens. It’s because repetition is an effective way to build tension.

It’s the same in marketing a product or service. You want to create or recognize tension, and build it, so you can get readers or listeners to buy your product or service to relieve that tension.

So we repeat our marketing messages by running multiple ads or writing multiple articles or doing a series of presentations that deal with the same issues.

Some say it takes seven impressions to get someone to buy. The first time, they don’t notice it. The second time, they may notice it but not really listen. The third time, they listen but may not believe. And so on, until they are persuaded to take the next step.

Accurate or not, there’s value in repeating your message.

If you’re writing a blog post or article, it’s okay if you’ve written about the same subject before. Somebody will be hearing it for the first time; others, are on their fifth or sixth time and need to hear it again.

Besides, you may present the same message but you will probably write it in a different way. Different lead, different examples or stories, different call to action.

So don’t fear repetition, embrace it, embrace it.

Here’s the formula for marketing legal services

There are those who say we should give away lots of information to show prospective clients how much we know and thus, how much we can do. Others say that we shouldn’t give away our knowledge and experience, that’s what we get paid for.

Who’s right?

Should we deliver “massive value” via a plethora of blog posts and articles and free seminars, to demonstrate our skills (and generate leads), or should we play it close to the vest and make people pay to learn what we know?

Content marketing makes a lot of sense. The information we share does attract prospective clients and shows them we know what we’re doing. It’s also an effective way to attract traffic and generate leads.

And, general information isn’t advice. The client still has to hire us to find out what we think about their specific situation. To the extent the information we give them demonstrates the risks they face and the benefits of hiring us, that information makes it more likely that they will do that.

So, score one for free information.

On the other foot (hey, why should my hand get all the glory?), many top lawyers and other professionals do little or no  “content marketing”. They may do some speaking and publish the occasional paper but they build their practice primarily via their reputation and their contacts.

If you need brain surgery, you hire the surgeon that other doctors recommend, not necessarily the one who has the most videos on YouTube.

If you’re tops in your field you may not have to do any content marketing. For most lawyers, however, giving away information is a simple and effective marketing strategy with no discernable downside because we sell our advice and services and solutions, not information.

Your website is made for content marketing