Evergreen content: For some legal bloggers, it’s what to write about when their field has become boring and there’s nothing new and interesting to talk about. For the pros, though, evergreen content is the glue that binds a blog together, generating views and then convincing incoming traffic that this is the site they’ve been looking for. Evergreen posts are to legal blogs what index funds are to investing – possibly the least flashy option out there, but a good source of safe revenue, especially if done properly.
What Is Evergreen Content?
Evergreen articles are posts that will still be relevant months, or even years, after it gets posted. In the context of law firms, evergreen content tends to be about the timeless aspects of your practice that aren’t about to change, and that provide important information that won’t become stale. The long shelf life of evergreen content allows the article itself to gain its own online reputation. This then spins off into the site hosting it.
In contrast, topical articles are posts that are highly relevant for a period of time, but then become stale. While topical articles get plenty of viewers before losing their spark – often more traffic than evergreen articles ever get, in the same timeframe – once topical articles become irrelevant they hardly matter. Topical articles can become popular enough to trend or go viral, but the boost to your site’s reputation is fleeting.
Examples of Evergreen Articles
Evergreen articles are often those that deal with the aspects of law that your firm handles. If you run a criminal defense firm, they could be posts detailing how bail works, several of the ways that police can violate the Fourth Amendment after pulling over your car, or how a criminal defense attorney can protect a client by using the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine.
How to Write Effective Evergreen Posts
Not all evergreen content is the same, though. Weak content is still weak content. To get viewers, reputation, and search rankings, evergreen content has to deliver some sort of value to its readers.
Isolating a problem that people are sure to be curious about is the first step to penning a quality evergreen post. No matter how well researched and written an article is, if it deals with an unknown situation, few people will read it.
Once you’ve picked a topic to write about, the content has to be useful, compelling, and well-written. Stylistically, poor grammar or typos can ruin the credibility of an otherwise worthwhile piece, and sloppy writing can confuse readers and make it difficult to read. Logically, the article needs to lead readers from problem to solution, bringing them to the finish line with the knowledge that they were looking for.
Even the best evergreen articles need a boost soon after their published, though. Coming up with a compelling headline will draw that first round of clicks to get the interest rolling, and using search engine optimization (SEO) tactics will help give the article a solid initial rating in search engines.
Myers Freelance’s Legal Blogs
Myers Freelance is a firm of professional legal bloggers. Our team of legal writers understands the best ways to craft evergreen and topical content for your firm’s blog. Contact us online to get started, and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ for ideas for blogs, writing tips, and other developments.