Five Blogging Tips For Attorneys

A blog on a law firm's website provides an unparalleled opportunity to both attract and impress potential clients. However, if you don't get it right, your blog can be a waste of time or, worse, a resource that detracts from the value of your company.

You have control over the output, whether you write your own content or work with a legal marketing firm to produce blogs as part of your content marketing strategy. So keep the following suggestions in mind:

1. Choose relevant blog topics.

Writer's block affects more than just novelists. If you know you need to come up with a blog topic but only have a limited amount of time to do so, the blank page may appear insurmountable. It's tempting to write anything just to get it out of the way.

However, you are wasting your time if your content is not relevant to your target audience. You may actually turn away some potential clients if your content is completely irrelevant and focuses on the firm rather than the needs of the clients.

Looking at the blogs written by your competition in the last six months is one of the quickest ways to find topics that your clients care about. Alternatively, look at the websites of firms in your practice area in other jurisdictions.

Your clients can also be a great source of blog topics. Make your staff write down every question they receive from current and potential clients, and then go over that list whenever you need a blog topic.

Writing a blog about the firm is acceptable on occasion, such as when introducing a new employee or announcing an award. Make sure to explain in these announcements how the news will help your company better meet its needs in a specific area. It's probably not a good idea to write a blog about how your company's softball team won the championship game. Yes, it makes you look more human, but you can achieve the same effect with a photo and a brief blurb on your social media pages. Keep the blog for serious matters.

2. Provide an answer to a question.

Potential customers look for answers to one or more questions on the internet. Answer frequently asked questions, and search engines will direct customers to your website.

When discussing a legal topic, keep in mind your audience's needs as well as their level of understanding. Legalese should be avoided. Where possible, try to keep sentences short. At the same time, avoid speaking down to your audience. No one, including men, enjoys being "mansplained."

3. Be the best (because we're not lawyers, we can say that).

While brevity is the spirit of wit, it isn't always the mark of the best blog post. While you want to keep your blog brief and to the point, you also want your response to be comprehensive and based on sound principles that are thoroughly explained. Search engines are looking for the best answers, which are usually the most comprehensive answers.

If you want to see if a draft contains enough information, compare it to other high-ranking pages on the same topic. If those pages have a lot more high-quality data, consider beefing up your post before hitting "publish."

4. Add images or video.

Your words are clearly the most important aspect of your blog. However, visual images are required to draw attention to those words or they will be missed. A picture is literally worth a thousand words in this case. The more compelling or intriguing your image, the more likely it is to catch the viewer's attention.

5. Market your content.

Search engines will find your blog if it is well-crafted and includes relevant imagery. However, in order to achieve the best results (and to encourage search engines), you should also take steps to promote the content you've just worked so hard to create. Share your image along with a catchy blurb on social media. Include some of the content in a newsletter sent to your mailing list. If you are an active member of a forum and your blog addresses issues that are important to the members, share a link there if the rules allow.

Keep in Mind Why Your Blog Is Important.

When done correctly, your blog draws attention to your company and positions you as an "expert" in the field. While creating a high-quality blog takes time, it is a task that can be outsourced on an as-needed or regular basis to provide you with all of the benefits with minimal time and financial investment.