For high-growth law firms, blogging is the single most important online business development tactic – it is more effective than search engine optimization, social media, and email marketing.
Nowadays, writing frequent blog posts is called “content marketing.” Potential clients are looking for practical information and new developments to engage them. A website containing your bio, practice areas, and firm description is not enough to attract new business.
Because 80 percent of potential clients will check out lawyers by visiting their websites, it is essential for lawyers to have a blog that is updated frequently with unique content.
Research by Hubspot in 2012 discovered that the more you blog, the more clients you will get. I recommend that a law firm website be updated two or three times per week, and that a blog post or article be 300-400 words long.
A vibrant blog will increase a law firm’s visibility, bolster its reputation and brand, and communicate the firm’s expertise. What makes a blog successful is a consistent flow of content, educational posts relevant to the target clientele, and a “conversion” offer – meaning an offer of something free, such as a download, in exchange for the visitor’s email address.
Tips for Effective Blogging
Here are a few tips for creating an effective online presence via your blog:
Create an editorial calendar for the blog, so that you plan out blog posts in relation to conferences and other events that are important to your audience.
Avoid writing about your law firm. Instead, tell stories about successes you achieve for clients.
Promote two-way communication, by making it possible for visitors to comment on your blog posts.
Consider adding video, which improves search-engine results.
There are many sources of inspiration, including questions from clients, news stories, public statements by firm leaders, trade magazines, conferences, webinars, and Twitter hashtags.
Hire a Professional
Because it can take two to four hours to write a blog post, for many lawyers it makes sense to outsource the writing, for example, by retaining a professional service to provide drafts of blog posts. The busiest people in your firm should not be doing a lot of blogging.
To increase the number of leads generated by a blog, consider doing the following:
In blog posts, include links to an e-book or free report that can be downloaded.
Measure which topics convert the best, and make a point of blogging on those topics.
Repurpose past blog posts by editing them into “best-of” e-books and special reports.
Optimize posts as you write them by including keywords and links to previous blog posts.
Get a free content review of your website.Visit http://bit.ly/lawblogguru or send an email to LarryBodineNow@gmail.com and include the URL of your website for a no-obligation content evaluation.
