Every Word You Write Has Value and a Price in the Digital Economy
Every word you write has value, and it may have a price in the advertising, targeting, and search-engine markets. So why shouldn’t you have a share of the value you created?
This is the idea I want to put before lawyers.
When a lawyer writes an article about “corporate law,” “employment contracts,” “divorce,” “real estate,” “investment,” or “cybercrime,” they are not writing these words merely so that someone else can read them.
These words enter a digital world with a complete economy of its own.
Search engines process words and phrases to determine what people are searching for and what subjects interest them. Platforms use content and engagement to understand the interests of their audiences. Advertisers look for audiences interested in particular subjects and allocate their budgets to reach them.
This is where the words written by a lawyer become part of that system.
The legal words you write can help reach an audience. An audience has value, targeting has value, and advertising has value.
So why should a lawyer’s writing be viewed merely as free content?
You Produce the Words, and the Digital Economy Benefits from Them
Let us take a simple example.
A lawyer writes an article about “company registration in Jordan.”
The article contains words and phrases searched for by business owners, investors, and entrepreneurs.
Someone goes to a search engine and enters that phrase.
They reach the article.
They read it.
Then they read another article.
The platform or search engine, according to its systems and policies, recognizes that this user is interested in companies and investment.
The user may then see search results, content, and advertisements related to those interests.
At this point, the words written by the lawyer are no longer simply words.
They have entered a digital economic cycle.
The lawyer created the content, the search engine benefited from the search activity, the platform benefited from the user, and the advertiser benefited from access to the audience.
So where does the lawyer stand in relation to this value?
That is the question we should be asking.
Advertisers Pay to Reach Interest
An advertiser does not pay merely for an advertisement to appear on a screen.
The advertiser pays to reach a particular audience interested in a particular subject.
Words and content are among the means that help the digital environment understand that interest.
When content concerns real estate, it has a different value from content concerning sports.
When content concerns investment, its advertising value differs from that of other subjects.
And when content is specialized in a legal field sought by business owners, it becomes part of a specialized audience that may be of interest to different commercial entities.
Here is the reality lawyers need to recognize:
The words you write do not remain inside the article; they move through the digital economy.
Search Engines Understand the Value of Words
The words a lawyer writes help people find content.
Good content can appear in search results, attract visits, and increase the visibility of a website or platform.
That is why words, phrases, and topics have become an essential part of digital content creation and search-engine marketing.
When a lawyer writes dozens of articles answering questions that people are searching for, they are not merely providing legal knowledge.
They are producing content that can be discovered, accessed, and circulated.
And that has real value.
Do Not Say: “I Published It for Free”
A lawyer might say:
“I did not ask anyone to pay me for the article.”
That is true.
But the question is not simply: Did the reader pay you?
The question is:
Did the content you created generate economic activity from which others benefited?
Someone may read your article for free and then see an advertisement.
A user may come to a platform because of the content you created.
A user may search for a word you wrote and receive search results and advertisements.
The content may be shared and attract additional users.
All of this is part of the economic environment in which digital content operates.
Therefore, the fact that the content is free to read does not mean that it has no value.
Lawyers Need to Understand the Value of What They Produce
I believe we need a change in the way lawyers think about their content.
A lawyer should not look at an article they have written as merely a free service being provided to the internet.
They can provide knowledge free of charge, and that is important to society.
At the same time, they should understand that the content they produce enters a real digital economy.
For this reason, they should ask:
- Where should I publish?
- Who should I work with?
- What are the platform’s terms?
- What rights am I granting?
- How does the platform benefit from the content?
- Is there a mechanism for generating revenue?
- Is there a way to measure reach and engagement?
- Can I license or reuse my content?
- How can my writing become a source of income?
These are legal, economic, and professional questions at the same time.
Do Not Let Others Be the Only Ones Benefiting from Your Work
If platforms, search engines, and advertisers understand the value of audiences, words, and content, lawyers should understand that value as well.
The point is not that a lawyer should demand payment for every individual word they write.
The point is to recognize that their work has value that can be commercially utilized, and to look for a model through which they can receive a return that corresponds to what they produce.
That may be through a platform that pays for content.
It may be through subscriptions.
It may be through a book or a course.
It may be through legal services generated by the audience they have built.
It may be through licensing or distributing their content.
Or it may be through other legitimate models.
What matters is that a lawyer should not spend years producing content while the value of that work becomes revenue for others alone.
In Difficult Economic Times: Benefit from Every Dinar
In the economic circumstances we live in, I do not believe it is wise for a lawyer to overlook any legitimate source of income that can come from their knowledge, experience, and work.
A lawyer has knowledge.
They have analytical ability.
They have the ability to write.
They have professional experience.
And today, they have the internet and digital platforms, which enable them to reach a broad audience.
This is a real opportunity.
The objective is to benefit from it.
Every dinar generated from your legal work is a dinar derived from your knowledge, experience, and time.
We Need Platforms That Value Lawyers’ Work
I am not calling on lawyers to stay away from platforms.
I am calling on them to deal with platforms as legal professionals.
They should choose platforms that value content.
They should read the terms.
They should understand how revenue is generated.
They should know how their content is used.
They should know their rights.
And they should choose relationships whose terms are clear, transparent, and fair.
A platform that benefits from content should be clear about how it benefits from that content.
The lawyer should also be clear about the rights being granted.
The clearer and more transparent the relationship, the greater the opportunity for both sides to benefit.
An Author Does Not Cease to Be an Author Simply by Publishing
This is where the legal dimension becomes important.
When a lawyer creates a work that meets the requirements for legal protection, the lawyer is its author under the law. The mere absence of registration or deposit does not make the author a person without rights.
Jordan is also part of an international framework for the protection of copyright.
But in the digital environment, it is not enough for a lawyer simply to know that they are an author.
They must also know what to do with that right, how to document their work, how to grant licenses, how to deal with platforms, and how to turn their work into economic value.
We Need to Teach Lawyers How to Invest in Their Words
For this reason, I believe there should be practical training programs for lawyers on using the internet, computers, and smartphones, but from a different perspective.
Not simply:
How do you publish?
But:
What happens after you publish?
How do your words appear in search engines?
How does advertising targeting work?
How do platforms benefit from content?
What is the value of the audience you are building?
How do you protect your rights?
How do you choose the platform?
How do you generate revenue?
How do you license your content?
And how can you make your legal work work for you?
This knowledge has become part of the professional work of a lawyer.
Conclusion
A lawyer today does not write in a vacuum.
They write within a vast digital economy.
Every word they write can help their content appear in search results. Every phrase can be connected to a user’s interest. Every topic can attract an audience, and that audience has value for platforms and advertisers.
This is the economic reality we need to recognize.
I am not telling lawyers to stop publishing.
I am telling them:
Publish more, but understand the value of what you publish.
I am not telling lawyers not to use platforms.
I am telling them:
Use platforms that value your work and offer clear and transparent terms.
And I am not saying:
Put a price on every individual word.
I am saying:
Understand that the words you produce enter a market with value, and that you have the right to seek your share of that value.
Ultimately, a lawyer who creates legal content is not only producing knowledge for society.
They are producing content that enters the economics of search, advertising, targeting, and digital marketing.
Others understand the value of this content.
It is time for lawyers to understand its value as well.
Your legal writing is real money.