3 Reasons Why Carolyn Elefant Is Wrong About Guest Blogging

First, let it be known that I love Carolyn Elefant.  She’s smart, knows her stuff, and is a valuable resource for any solo or small firm lawyer.  I have counted Carolyn as a friend for a long time, and I hope to continue to do so for years to come.  Unfortunately, even friends disagree from time to time.

A little while ago Carolyn railed against Huffington Post for taking AOL‘s money without letting their writers share in the spoils.  Her article Just Say No To Free Use of Your User-Generated Content bemoans the plight of the guest blogger who is uncompensated for his or her efforts.

She just doesn’t get it.

Creating content on someone else’s platform is richly compensated if done correctly.  Just because money doesn’t change hands doesn’t mean compensation doesn’t flow freely.

In fact, I’m a huge fan of guest blogging as a way of promoting your online legal marketing efforts.  In fact, I’m willing to provide content to just about any legal blog that will give me the opportunity to do so.  I ask for no money – now or in the future.  In fact, the ability to create content on another platform is, in many ways, compensation enough for me.

Why?  Because it’s not the money that provides the compensation.

Content For Exposure. If I had the chance to create content for a highly-regarded online publication, I’d be doing so for the exposure I would receive to that publication’s readership.  My words would reach eyes that would otherwise never hear of me, and my thoughts would be exposed to a new audience.  If my writing was good, some of those people would check out my blog and stick around.  That audience growth is a tremendous boon to anyone engaging in a content-marketing strategy.

Content For SEO. When I post on someone else’s blog I get a byline.  That byline typically includes a link back to my site.  Those inbound links are the most honored cornerstones to search engine optimization, that race to the top of the search engines we all crave.  In our link economy we need to recognize the value of those links and how they play a part in our own online success.

The Platform Is The Value. Huffington Post built itself on quality writing, most of which was uncompensated.  But as a news site, most of the content disappears from the public’s eye fairly quickly.  In fact, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that most of the content older than 48 hours gets pretty much no traffic – once it’s gone from the front page, it’s history.

The value of HuffPo isn’t an individual article, it’s the sum of all of the content plus the platform itself.  Surely the’re value provided to the writer who is presented with the opportunity to work in a maintenance-free environment, gain access to millions of readers, and in turn grow his or her own fan base off the back of an established platform.

Carolyn says that one of the reasons she doesn’t take guest bloggers that often is because she doesn’t pay them to contribute.  Speaking as someone who did a guest post on MyShingle a bit of time ago, I can tell you it was an honor and a privilege to do so.  Carolyn’s got an audience who had never heard of me, a well-established site with terrific credibility, and I got a link out of the deal.

Sounds like I got paid more than the value of my 500 words of content.  My hope is that Carolyn will realize the true value provided by and to guest bloggers.

Oh, and by the way – if anyone feels like writing something awesome for this site then by all means, let me know.

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Knowledge, Information And Why Your Law Firm Blog Won’t Create A Pro Se Army

knowledge information law firm blogA law firm blog is the cornerstone to an effective content market strategy.  Yet for many lawyers, the prospect of putting so much information online creates the irrational fear that overnight, hordes of would-be clients will decide to go it alone.  But that ignores a few basic facts of human nature.

We assume that when presented with enough information on a topic, you become an expert.  Read enough of this blog, for example, and you can become an ace at content creation, search engine optimization, and connecting with clients.

That’s true to some extent, but completely false overall.  In fact, it’s the big secret that most of the big bloggers use every single day.

When you publish something on your law firm blog you’re putting information online – not knowledge.  And that’s the difference that keeps your readers from forming an army of pro se litigants.

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Why Your Law Firm Blog Doesn’t Need A Professional Design (Until It Does)

law firm blog design

The lawyer who is new to blogging is told that a professionally-designed law firm blog is critical to ensuring long-term success in marketing a law firm online.  That’s true, but it’s only part of the story.

Starting a law firm blog is a daunting task, isn’t it?  You’ve got to think about platforms, how to write content, search engine optimization, and finding the time to get it all done without sacrificing your practice.

Not only that, but statistically there’s a good chance that your first blogging effort won’t be the successful one.  I’m not the only lawyer who started a few blogs before finding my groove.

In spite of the uphill battle you’re facing, there are a bunch of well-meaning designers and blogging companies who are going to tell you that you must – MUST, I tell you – have a professionally designed blog for your law firm.

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6 Ways To Market Your Law Firm Online Without A Blog

online legal marketing without a blog

When lawyers think about content marketing the default ideal is a blog.  And when most lawyers think about blogging, they begin to get heart palpitations and sweat profusely.  Blogging, after all, conjures up that overwhelming fear of technology we just talked about.  But if you’re not interested in blogging that doesn’t mean you’re shut out of the content marketing game.

Web hosts, domain names, WordPress installations and graphic designers cause confusion and difficulty for lots of lawyers.  But when it comes to content marketing options, the blog is a good but not necessarily critical piece of the puzzle.

Content Marketing Takes Many Forms

Your online legal marketing must involve the creation and promotion of content.  It’s what leads people to your doorstep, enables you to expand your influence, and showcases your expertise.  But it need not occur on your own domain.

Sure, having your own domain and blog is preferred.  You own your content, control the way it’s handled, and can maintain the visitor experience to accomplish all of your law firm marketing goals.  If you can do it, you should.  But if the technology is getting in your way, you should know there are other options.

I’m a huge fan of Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn as a way of connecting with others, promoting my content and getting the conversation going.  That’s a part of content marketing, but not all of it.  You’ve still got to create content as part of your online legal marketing efforts.

The good news is that you’ve got options.  Plenty of them.  Here are some of my favorites.

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6 Non-Sleazy Ways To Promote Your Law Firm Blog

law firm blog promotion tips

You can create a law firm blog with real value, but if you don’t let people know it exists then it’s all wasted.  How can you promote you blog posts without being sleazy?

We’re uncomfortable with sales and promotion; that goes for the attorney marketing a law firm just as much as any other profession, but I think lawyers are hit particularly hard in this respect.  We’ve been trained to behave conservatively, and in our minds the notion of promotion (hey look, I made a rhyme!) is distinctly NOT conservative.  Add in years of being compared to hucksters and you’ve got most lawyers believing that promotion of any sort is unseemly.

Done the wrong way, promotion can make you feel dirty.  If you look at most of the marketing online you’ll see scads of yellow highlighter and exclamation points that tell you to BUY! BUY! BUY!!!  Is it any wonder why some fairly prominent legal bloggers think that marketing is a word to be expunged from the next edition of Black’s Law Dictionary?

But there’s another side to this coin, and that’s the realization that marketing need not make you want to take a bath in lye and burn your clothing.  If you’re marketing a law firm you want to be not only ethical, but mindful of your professional standing in the community.

Your law firm blog is a marketing tool, no matter how you slice it.  A law firm blog showcases your capabilities, exposes people to your message, and enhances your standing.  It informs, inspires to act, and serves as your online face.  You need to promote the content in order to gain an audience, and you want to do so without being sleazy.

Send Links to Select People Who May be Interested. If you read an article about the foreclosure crisis and are doing a post about TILA, RESPA or any of the real estate-related “alphabet soup” of statutes, send an email to the author of the other article to let him or her know what you’ve done.  Be polite and offer up an invitation to visit the link.  Three lines should do the trick, and it will help to gain one more viewer.  That viewer may send the link along to others if it’s a good enough post.  One thing you need to know, though – do not spam your email address book.  I’m talking about sending the article out to 1-3 people who you know will be interested in it.  If you spam, you suck.

Post the Article to Facebook. 500 million people are registered on Facebook as of this writing; when you post a link it shows up on the stream of all of your friends.  If something interests you enough to write about then it’s probably interesting to the people you know and connect with on Facebook.

Tweet a Link. Twitter is a hive of activity, with people sharing links to content that interests them.  Though you may choose to post your links automatically (I do this), the secret sauce is to create a compelling question rather than sending out the title of the post (which should be compelling anyway, but I know sometimes you just can’t make it sexy enough.  For example, I recently sent out a tweet to someone else’s blog post.  Her title was, “Is Bankruptcy Right for Me?”  My tweet was, “Is bankruptcy a good idea or best left to others? Ask yourself these 22 questions.”  Which one looks more interesting?

Hit The LinkedIn Group. If you’re a member of a LinkedIn group associated with your field of law then you’re already associated with a bunch of people who are interested in the topics you’re blogging about.  When you’ve got a particularly interesting post (not one of those, “who is the Chapter 7 trustee in my area,” ones) head over to the LinkedIn group and post a link with a description.  Your colleagues may find the content interesting enough to pass along to others.

Comment On Related Blogs. Blog commenting is an excellent traffic generating tactic for your law firm blog because it gives you exposure to the other blog’s audience.  But let’s say you’ve got a meaty post on your site that you’re itching to share.  Chances are pretty good that there is another blog out there talking about the same issue.  In fact, I’m going to go so far as to say that your article may be yin to another blog’s yang.  Go to the other blog and comment appropriately (again, no spamming please); in the area where you enter your URL, paste the URL of your article rather than the main law firm blog URL; in this way, when people click to learn more about you they will be taken directly to your related post.

Ask Your Readers To Share Your Law Firm Blog Content. Using blog plugins such as Sociable, Tweetmeme and the FBLike you’ll make it easier for readers to share and pass along your law firm blog posts to other people.  Good content has a way of traveling fast, so if you’re providing real value to readers you should expect the traffic bump.

Your law firm blog isn’t going to take off into the stratosphere overnight.  It’s a slow build, but when you consistently use these promotional techniques you’ll have a greater chance of reaching more of the people who may find your content interesting.

Image credit:  victoriafee (Flickr)

The Easiest Way To Blog By Email Using WordPress

You want to blog, but it’s such a pain in the ass to go to WordPress, enter the post, and click “publish.” And though there are some excellent programs to enable you to blog from your desktop (MarsEdit for the Mac, or the ScribeFire extension for Firefox), what if you’re sitting at a public computer and just want to get out some thoughts?

I’ll sidestep the issues of using Posterous or Tumblr to do your mobile blogging, as well as using the WordPress applications for your mobile phone, in favor of something more straight-forward.

That is, just sitting down at a computer, firing up an email client, and typing out an email. Coincidentally, that’s exactly how this blog post is being done – by sending an email. And it’s easier than you think.

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Lawyers Who Blog (And Those Who Want To) Should Buy ProBlogger

I have a confession to make – I read a lot more than normal people.  In fact, I read more than abnormal people.  It’s a habit I picked up when I was a kid, and it kept me from learning how to play sports (my wife tells me she likes the fact that she’ll never be a football widow) and getting a proper tan (lower risk of skin cancer is good, but I’m pretty pasty).

As a lawyer who blogs, much of my legal marketing reading comes to me in the form of other blogs.  Also podcasts, which are really nothing more than blogs for my ears.  Television bores me for the most part, though I’m a treasure trove of Family Guy references (my dog’s name is Griffin because my wife refused to let me name him Brian).

Last year I was listening to a podcast where someone was talking about his goal of reading 52 books in 52 weeks.  Kindle in hand, I set about the same goal.

Today’s purchase was ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income (that’s an affiliate link), the second edition of the excellent book by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett.  Both of these guys are successful bloggers in their own right, as well as social media icons.  Darren is heavily involved in Third Tribe Marketing, and Garrett is new media consultant.

First, a confession (well, I guess this is the second) – I never read the first edition of the book.

Second confession (which is really the third) – I am currently zipping through the new version.  I even bought it in (gasp) physical paper form because the Kindle version won’t be out until after I’ve gone to San Francisco for the weekend and was going to read it on the plane there.  At this rate I’ll be done long before then.

I can’t tell you if it’s better or worse than the original, but I can tell you that this is good stuff for anyone who wants to use a blog to make money.

In the book they discuss tools used for blogging, and there are a bunch of screenshots and descriptions to help you along. There’s also an excellent chapter on using social media for your blogging efforts.

The really nice thing for lawyers is the back story Rowse brings to the table. He began blogging out of passion, not as a business. In fact, his Digital Photography School had nothing to do with money when he started it. What he had, however, was knowledge about a core topic and a desire to get his information out to the public.

That sounds a lot like lawyers, doesn’t it? Lawyers have information about a niche subject and can use that knowledge to begin their online legal marketing efforts using content generation.

The title is obviously a huge draw for people who are looking to blogging as a way to build a business, and most lawyers aren’t going to use some of the monetization strategies used by that crowd.  But the underpinnings of social media and content marketing for lawyers is compelling and cuts across industries – right to ours.

Guest Posting – The Dark Side

Legal Marketing And Guest Blogging

Guest posting is important for blogging, search engine optimization, and legal marketing in general.  When you guest post you have the ability to reach a new audience, expand your reach, and spread your message.  You also get the chance to add a quality backlink to your arsenal, which is a major SEO boost.

That having been said, not all guest posts are created equal from a legal marketing standpoint.

Two weeks ago I undertook a familiar legal marketing tactic by doing a guest post on the subject of estate planning as it relates to bankruptcy.  Rather than ask, I did the guest post and sent it off to the firm for which I wanted to see it appear.  This particular firm has a nice blog and I assume it does well for their legal marketing efforts if for no other reason than the fact that it ranks well for a particular search term.

My post was about 450 words of solid content, and well written.  Within 12 hours I got a response from the lawyer that he thought it was very good post and he’d get it up immediately.

About 10 minutes later I got the following email, sent to me by a “Legal Communications” person who apparently didn’t understand the concept of “reply all.”  The email said:

This is how it works. Nice tie in. Now, we can identify some bloggers for <name of lawyer’s paralegal> to write the same kind of email to.

I’m not worried at this point.  It’s good that someone who gets paid for this sort of thing has been taught the “hidden secret” of guest blogging as legal marketing vehicle.

The following day I get an email from the lawyer saying:

It looks like it needs a partial rewrite now that I have reviewed it (since there are some other alternatives) so I will simply borrow most of it, give you attribution and link to your site.

A partial rewrite?  OK, no problem.  A little editorial control in the interests of clarity is a good thing.  After all, I’m not an estate planning lawyer.

Now remember why we guest blog, people – to increase our reach and audience, to provide value, and to get noticed in a field in which that may not otherwise be the case.  Legal marketing in the online world, this is.  Tried and true content marketing.

In hindsight my mistake was clear.

Fast forward to the other day.  I get an email from the “Communications Director” of this law firm (my oh my, they do have a lot of people working in the field of communications) telling me as follows:

Sending you a link to the blog with <lawyer> did based on your recent email.  Please note that you are quoted in the blog and we have provided a link to your website.  Thank you for the suggestion.

The content is noted as having been written by the attorney, and encompasses the content I provided.  Of course, it’s wrapped in pure promotion for this attorney’s firm and not offered as a substantive piece of content written to inform and educate.

I am quoted with a link to one of my sites, but it is not my post.  I did not give this attorney an interview, and I did not agree to ghostwrite a post for him.  I did not offer to feed him ideas, and I certainly did not knowingly give him a “suggestion.”

What this proves, however, is that this attorney does not necessarily control his own content.  His “communications” people are handling that, thank you very much.  And rather than either accept or reject a guest blog post they chose to co-opt the content for their own purposes.

No, I’m not telling you the name of the other lawyer.  It’s not relevant.

What is relevant is this – guest posting is a valid form of legal marketing.  I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again.  But before you submit a proposed guest post you need to remember that it is your intellectual property.  You need to retain full editorial control or, at the very least, final say on the content being published.

Photo courtesy of chick pea pie.
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