There have been numerous postings this month on the subject of “why write a blog?” I think a better question to ask is why NOT. Some of those post have been on LexBlog, Webpronews.com, Clamblogger and some others.
Why not write a blog? One excuse I hear way to often is, it takes too much time. Surely you can find 30 minutes to an hour a day to devote to the marketing of your firm or business. Posting to your blog does not have to take a lot of your time. The key is posting. You don’t have to do it everyday. The biggest advantage of blogging over a static website is its ease of updating. Posting is updating your blog. There are bloggers that have been successful who only post once a week to a couple of times a month. I post a lot. Two reasons, I enjoy it and I am getting results. (LexBlog, My Shingle). But, you don’t have to. Just post some and you will see results.
Posting and updating your blog is what attracts the search engines. This is one key reason why blogs almost always place higher in searches than a static website in Web users google searches.
Blogging not only is a great way to market your firm or business, but it also can be a tool to get your clients or customers involved. Everyday, I receive comments and emails from my readers. I use those comments and emails to come up with topics to post about. Those comments and emails are telling you what your clients and/or customers are interested in and what questions they are asking. On that same note, I use my TypePad stats to know what people are looking at on the Web. One feature of TypePad that I use everyday is the stats page. You can actually go to the search request people are doing and see the questions they are typing into the search engines. Look for patterns of questions and post on that subject. I did that a lot when I first started my family law blog and continue to do it today. You are answering questions that are being asked and you will see results in your placement in search engines.
Blogging keeps you informed on the services you provide or the business you run. You will actually be better informed because you are reading more about your own business or service area. You have to, if you are going to blog about it. I use RSS to keep up on topics I am interested in and topics which I blog about. You will be better informed and it will show, not only on your blog but in your everyday dealings with your clients/customers and your peers.
One other advantage of blogging over other forms of marketing is the community you build and become involved with. For example, I have developed friendships and associations with other bloggers in the family law area. As such, we follow each others blogs on family law. This allows us to link to and post about each other’s information which is being provided. This, in and of itself, drives traffic to each other’s blog. Kind of like an indirect referral source. People will find you just by going to a fellow bloggers blog. Are you and the other bloggers competing against other. NO!!!!!! You are working together. You both will see an increase in traffic and this will in turn give you more exposure and results. After all, where is the best place to put a fast food restaurant? Next to a McDonalds. The success of other blogs you link to will indirectly cause your blog to become successful. Try that with a static website or the Yellow Pages.
Why write a blog? You should be asking yourself, why am I not writing a blog.
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