Let’s say you work with an attorney who is firmly planted in the, “I don’t trust content marketing for law firms” camp. You spend months sharing with them thought leadership successes by others (maybe even others within your firm): the readers and direct engagement with online content; the interactivity of robust webinars; the connectivity of a LinkedIn presence and value of sharing the firm’s content on that social network.

Finally, your skeptic writes a few posts. And? It’s a success! They see positive results and are pleased with the decision to invest time in content. A great start! But then [insert ominous music] … their reach and visibility experiences a down month, or few down months in a row.

...readership is not something you can simply take for granted

Suddenly, that early enthusiasm your happy thought leader felt about online marketing is channeled back into their default view: apprehension, doubt, concern. Perhaps even worse yet, the good vibes you shared, working together on building an audience and sharing insights, become angst and frustration … directed at you! Trust is rapidly eroding. “What happened to all of my readers?!”

How can you keep your authors excited, motivated, and – most importantly – willing to keep writing after you’ve managed to convince them to participate in your firm’s content marketing program and then, after early successes, you hit an inevitable dip in readership?

Big Picture: “The Conversation” About a Decline In Readership Is a Positive

I have gathered together a number of questions, shared below, that can help you to discuss, collaborate, and uncover what might be happening, specifically, with a writer in your firm, but I want to start with a big picture point:

Frequently, I talk with marketers in firms who simply cannot get their attorneys interested in metrics. These attorneys are understandably busy with a million other concerns, but things are going well with their content and they don’t have the time to focus attention on one critical aspect of thought leadership that turns writing from a marketing activity to business development: analytics! With this in mind, as you go into any conversation about declining readership, know that this is actually a positive development.

Your upcoming conversation is an opportunity to steer the discussion into next questions about analytics...

Your new attorney-author is indicating real interest in the next phase of content marketing: measuring the impact of their writing among target readers.

Your upcoming conversation with them is an opportunity to steer the discussion into next questions, strategic and tactical, like: who are you trying to reach with your insights and commentary? What do those ideal readers care about most? In which industries do you want to be more visible? In which industries did your first writing earn actual readers? Among many others.

With this in mind, here are three questions you might consider asking and answering together to help understand why readership has changed. Within this process, the two of you should have the ability to focus energy towards a positive solution, regaining trust in the process, and understanding that readership is not something you can simply take for granted online. It is earned through focus, intention, and editorial finesse (matched to business strategy).

1. Has your author’s output declined?

Earning readers takes consistent effort over time. A drop in readers usually correlates with a drop in content volume. So, investigate the rate at which your author has been writing within the given timeframe.

The word “rate” matters here.

It is not always as simple as comparing their total number of articles in proportion to their total amount of readership during the last quarter. We see a significant difference in readership based on the actual rate (as marketers would say: the cadence) of ongoing writing, over time. What rules the day? Slow and steady, ongoing writing on a regular schedule that enables readers and search engines to trust you as a source of valuable information. This cadence makes a difference.

Related: we also see significant increase in readership when a source of content hits a certain threshold. Showing a good amount of posts under your belt (back of the envelope: I’d say about 20 posts) also signifies that you are a steady source of insight and expertise. But you can’t rest on your laurels. If you have 100 articles in your portfolio online but your most recent dates to 2019 … not good enough. The competition is writing, today.

2. Has their subject matter shifted?

The first two years of COVID have shown, more clearly than any other moment in recent history, the essential role law firm thought leaders play in making sense of the regulatory, business, and personal landscape for readers during our age of mass information.

However, today, in late 2022, an article about force majeure and the implications of canceling conferences, events, etc. simply won’t get the same amount of attention it received in 2020 when – well, when everything started shutting down and that legal consideration really really really mattered to everyone.

It’s important not just to be noticed, but to be noticed by the people who will hire you...

If, as is likely, your new author started writing during the COVID shutdown and has shifted their focus to more specific concerns within certain industries or practice areas, inevitably their readership numbers will change, as well. But this, too, is likely a positive. As a wise marketer once said to me, “I’m not trying to reach 5,000 people; I am trying to reach the 100 that will hire my boutique firm.” (Per my above example, you may get fewer readers interested in force majeure today, but they may well be the readers you need to grow business.)

All of this to say: if your author has shifted their focus to something more specific, something in line with being noticed by the actual readers in a position to hire them for their expertise, this is a good thing. Law firm thought leadership works when you are being read by target readers; that requires writing for those target readers. And, equally: if your author started their foray into content writing about something with mass appeal, a topic du jour, or pervasive pop culture reference and haven’t yet shifted their focus to the more granular, they probably should. It’s important not just to be noticed, but to be noticed by the people who will hire you.

A thought leader’s ongoing conversation with readers is fluid, driven entirely by reader needs, concerns and interests at any moment in time.

Action item: look specifically at the topics covered in your author’s writing over time, evaluate how they have changed, and compare that to what you are seeing in analytics (specifically focusing on your readership within important industries, sectors, practice areas, or companies).

[Related to this, ask: Are your topics seasonal? This may seem obvious but it makes a difference: certain topics, like taxes, are seasonal. Their readership follows a seasonal pattern.]

3. Is Your Author Delivering On Their Promise?

Occasionally, when discussing declining view counts with a marketing or BD professional, I see a particular scenario that is typically caused when a firm or practice group frames their thought leadership in generic terms. For example, your firm may produce a newsletter that is some combination of your brand name + “Higher Ed Today.”

Your first readers are likely coming to you because they see the reference to “Higher Ed.” So, your new newsletter earns a certain amount of discovery by new readers based on its generic promise: “this content discusses legal considerations within higher education.”

However, someone in the HR department of a higher ed administration needs to read about labor and employment considerations; whereas someone focused on the school’s numerous privacy concerns … or immigration developments around foreign students (and faculty) … or tax matters … or … you get my point.

Early readers will likely make their way to your generically titled newsletters if they feel they might contain information that helps them to perform their role within a specific company or industry. If these same readers don’t find anything of actual importance or interest to them, specifically, they won’t become habitual readers of your publications. This explains the drop-off.

Action item: if you’ve seen a decline in readership for a large, monthly newsletter that consists of targeted, on-point analysis and commentary for specific readers, but is generically packaged, consider breaking out each part of the newsletter, titling each piece with that audience in mind, and releasing/publishing separately. Revisit your analytics three to six months from now and don’t merely look at view counts for comparison, also look at who, exactly, you are now reaching with this new approach.

A Long Term Investment: Guidance & Next Steps for Authors

If, after asking and answering these questions, nothing obvious stands out, remind your author that content marketing is a long-term play. Many of the most well-read authors across JD Supra spend many months and years contributing content, learning from data and persisting in audience development. Building a personal brand is much like building a corporate brand in that regard, it takes many impressions over a period of time.

Encourage your author to look at how others are succeeding. Specifically:

What is everyone else writing about?

Ask your author to set up an alert to follow other thought leaders/competitors in their field of practice. Consider following industry journalists and publications to discover what’s driving the current conversation. (And, speaking of current interests: convert latest questions fielded from clients into new content.)

How do other attorneys use their thought leadership?

Share how other successful authors (within and without the firm) think of content marketing, use analytics, and leverage content marketing in their overall business development strategy.

In other words, focus on what you can help your authors control. It comes down to what my mother said many times after I was literally kicked off many horses, “You have to get back on the horse if you want to learn how to ride it.” Dust off yourself (and your data) and get right back in that saddle.

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Paul Ryplewski is JD Supra's VP of Client Services. Connect with him on LinkedIn