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Best practices for legal email campaigns that drive action

Written by Henry Kilshaw | Aug 7, 2025 8:53:52 AM

Email marketing remains one of the most powerful and cost-effective tools for law firms looking to engage prospects, nurture leads, and maintain client relationships. But standing out in an overcrowded inbox requires more than sending the occasional newsletter. To truly drive action, whether that’s booking a consultation, downloading a resource, or simply building trust, law firms must follow proven strategies tailored to how legal clients make decisions.

Here are the key best practices for building legal email campaigns that convert.

Define a Clear Goal for Every Email

Every email should have a single, well-defined purpose:

  • Drive traffic to a blog post
  • Promote a service area
  • Encourage a consultation booking
  • Deliver a valuable resource

Avoid overloading one email with multiple CTAs. A clear objective leads to a clearer message and better results.

Segment Your Audience

A client interested in conveyancing has very different needs than one exploring clinical negligence. Segment your email lists by:

  • Practice area
  • Buyer journey stage (prospect, active client, past client)
  • Engagement level (new contact vs loyal referrer)

Tailored emails improve open and click-through rates and make your firm feel more relevant.

Write with Clarity and Purpose

Legal emails don’t need to be full of jargon. In fact, the best-performing emails are:

  • Written in plain English
  • Scannable, with short paragraphs and bullet points
  • Focused on benefits, not just features

Use friendly but professional language. The tone should reflect the approachable, trustworthy nature of your firm.

Design for Attention and Action

Even in the legal sector, presentation matters. Use branded, mobile-responsive templates that look professional across devices. Include:

  • A clear subject line (under 50 characters)
  • A strong preview text
  • One main call-to-action button

Visual hierarchy matters: bold headlines, clear spacing, and eye-catching buttons lead the reader’s eye to the action you want them to take.

Educate Before You Sell

The most successful law firm email campaigns lead with value. Offer useful content that solves a problem or answers a question:

  • “What to know before buying a home”
  • “Steps to take after a medical error”
  • “Your guide to starting a will”

This positions your firm as a trusted authority, not just a service provider.

Choose the Right Timing and Frequency

Avoid bombarding your contacts, but don’t let them forget you either. A good cadence is:

  • Monthly or bi-weekly newsletters
  • Targeted emails triggered by behaviour (e.g. downloads, enquiries)
  • Follow-ups after key actions

Test different times and days to find when your audience is most engaged. Tuesday and Thursday mornings often perform well.

Track, Optimise, and Test

Use your email platform’s analytics to monitor:

  • Open rates
  • Click-through rates
  • Unsubscribes
  • Conversions

A/B test subject lines, CTA wording, and layouts to see what performs best. Over time, these small tweaks lead to significant improvements in engagement and conversion.

Stay Compliant with GDPR

Always gain explicit permission to email contacts. Include clear opt-in language, easy unsubscribe options, and privacy policies. Reputable email platforms (like Mailchimp or HubSpot) make it easier to stay compliant.

Email That Builds Trust Drives Results

For law firms, email isn’t just a promotional tool, it’s an opportunity to build relationships at scale. By delivering valuable, relevant, and timely content, you can position your firm as the natural choice when a client decides they’re ready to act.

Done right, email marketing becomes not just a communication channel, but a steady driver of enquiries, trust, and long-term growth.