LexBlog to compete with LexisNexis and FindLaw via quality products and viral marketing
Online viral marketing is more powerful than the old way of big and expensive marketing campaigns for inferior services and products is the essence of Seth Godin's latest post.
The bottom line is that it's way way easier to start things than it used to be (opening a movie big costs a tenth of a billion dollars, while opening a blog costs about twenty). The natural, user-driven networks that make a product succeed or fail rarely hit all at once. But the snowball effect online is far more powerful than the old-world scream & dream approach.So, what's it mean to you?
- Make something worth making.
- Sell something worth talking about.
- Believe in what you do because you may have to do it for a long time before it catches on.
- Don't listen to the first people who give you feedback.
- Don't give up. Not for a while, anyway.
Next week, LexBlog takes its next step in the growth of the company. We'll open our Bozeman, Montana office with a heck of a team I'll be introducing soon. LexBlog has attracted such talented folks because we're making something worth making, we believe in what we do, we don't listen to the blog naysayers and we're not going to give up.
Best of all, the growth of this profitable company is the result of this blog and the support of our clients. We don't have offices and cubes filled with marketing, advertising, PR and sales people. I started talking about using blogs for marketing legal services to an audience of one - me - back in November, 2003. Now, almost 1,000 posts later, many of the largest law firms as well as skilled small firm practitioners across the country are using blogs produced by LexBlog.
Now FindLaw, a web developer for lawyers among other things, is selling something that with a long stretch could be described as a blog product. LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell, a lawyer directory which foolishly boasts to be the leading client development company for the legal profession, will surely follow with a blog product driven by profits and not quality. Other developers who pooh-poohed blogs earlier this year will jump on the blog bandwagon to keep up with the Joneses.
It'll be a good fight but for the reasons Seth cites, I like LexBlog's chances of remaining the leading provider of professional marketing blogs to the legal profession.
Now I have to get back to playing catch up on serving our existing clients. We're not bringing on more troops for nothing.
Kevin spends a lot of time bashing Lexis and other competitors. He's even resorted rumor-mongering on other listserves.
I wonder why?
I mean, competition is competition. But why clearly signal such fear and insecurity?
Does Kevin coach his clients to viciously and tastelessly attack their competition? In creating the right voice for marketing, is this an effective approach?
I like Kevin more when he's offering pure education and counsel. This seems a better approach to position one's self as an authoritative and competent source for marketing education.
But that's just me.
Butch Freeze? I'd hope for a better name when making up something about rumor mongering on listservs. Unfortunate that no email, web site or blog link is left as is usual with comments.
As to LexisNexis and FindLaw, there are times when I may be too hard on them. I have given thought to being more positive in that regard. I also know they offer good value to lawyers on a number of fronts.
However, a number of their Internet marketing products really under deliver. Lawyers and law firm marketing people don't often have the time to educate themselves on Internet marketing. The result is many uninformed buyers.
Criticism of legal services products is always called bashing. Look at the blogs in the technology, web development and design field. Criticism and critique is rampant. The same is true at their seminars and conferences. That's likely the reason the legal arena is light years behind other industries as far as innovation.
And you sure aren't going to see critique of the big two by the major publishers who are heavily supported by ad dollars from the two.
I would welcome a healthy discussion on the Internet. But FindLaw, who is going to be selling blogs, does not have a blog and I do not believe anyone from LexisNexis does. They do not get out and discuss things openly on the net because they have not had to. I think that's unfortunate and has cost the legal profession a lot.