Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

For new business, blogging is king — so give it the royal treatment

By: DOLAN MEDIA NEWSWIRES//September 24, 2014//

For new business, blogging is king — so give it the royal treatment

By: DOLAN MEDIA NEWSWIRES//September 24, 2014//

Listen to this article

By Larry Bodine
Dolan Media Newswires

It should come as no surprise by now that, for high-growth firms, blogging has become the single most important business development tactic — more effective than media or email marketing.

When it comes to search engine optimization, Hinge Marketing managing partner Lee Frederiksen may have put it best on a recent webinar when he said, “Blogging … will, by itself, help you with your SEO.”

Combined with the fact that 80 percent of potential clients are checking out lawyers by visiting their websites, it’s essential for attorneys not merely to have a blog, but that it be a vibrant one that stands out and is updated frequently with unique content.

According to Frederiksen, a blog’s success depends on three key major ingredients:

  1. A consistent flow of content
  2. Educational posts relevant to the target audience
  3. A conversion offer (something free, such as a download, in exchange for getting the visitor’s email address).

blogHe offered several specific tips:

  • Create an editorial calendar for the blog, so that you plan out blog posts in relation to conferences, dates and events that are important to your audience.
  • Avoid writing about the firm. Instead, tell stories about successes you achieve for clients.
  • Promote two-way communication by letting visitors comment on your blog posts.
  • Consider adding video, which improves search engine results.

There are many sources of blog inspiration, including client questions, news stories, public statements by firm leadership, trade magazines, conferences, webinars, Twitter hashtags and LinkedIn answers.

Frederiksen notably added that it makes sense for many lawyers to outsource the writing and retain a professional service to provide drafts of blog posts, which can take several hours to write, depending on the subject.

“You are not going to have the busiest people in your firm doing a lot of blogging. For senior people, work with a writer who can interview them and turn their notes into a blog post,” he said.

He offered several ways to double the volume of leads generated by a blog:

  • Include links to an eBook or free report that can be downloaded.
  • Display offers about downloads into the sidebar.
  • Add italicized offers at the bottom of a blog post.
  • Measure which topics convert the best and make a point of blogging on those topics.
  • Repurpose past blog posts by editing them into eBooks and special reports.
  • Optimize posts as you write them by including keywords and links to previous blog posts. WordPress offers plugins that prompt a writer with tactics to optimize a post.

If, after following the guidelines above, your blog just isn’t pulling in as many leads as it used to, consider a total redesign. Remember, it’s almost 2015. To boost your traffic, you can’t get left behind in the gridlock of the ’00s.

A former litigator, Larry Bodine is editor-in-chief of Lawyers.com.

Polls

Should Steven Avery be granted a new evidentiary hearing?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Legal News

See All Legal News

WLJ People

Sea all WLJ People

Opinion Digests