6 reasons a lawyer should turn their website into a blog
Lawyers ask me all the time, 'blog or website?' I also hear 'I have a website, but it's not getting me any clients.'
From Darren Rowse at Problogger, with my added commentary, here's 6 reasons to replace a website with a blog.
- Blogs give individuals, companies and brands ‘voice.' Professional services providers, lawyers included, build their brand by getting out and talking - sharing their intellectual capital and showcasing their philosophy.
- Blogs are conversational - both in the style of writing, the way they interact with one another and the way that they are designed with comments at their heart blogs are all about the conversation. Interaction also ensues from citing other thought leaders and them citing you.
- Blogs build Trust - as a result of being a relational/conversational medium a blogger can build trust with their audience. Is there a profession that could benefit more from trust building than the law?
- Blogs build profile - looking to become an ‘expert' (or at least be perceived as an expert) in your field. Blogs have the ability to showcase your expertise and help you become the ‘go to' person in your field. LexBlog's clients are seen as the 'go to' person on issues ranging from Connecticut Employment to California biotech law to Maryland IP law.
- Blogs are immediate - blogs are a great way to communicate with people because they are so quick to use. Have a thought, write it down, hit publish and within minutes it can be being read and commented upon by your readers. Impossible with law firm newsletters and articles.
- Blogs are a doorway to search engines and social media - one of the great things about blogs is that they are indexed so well by search engines which love sites that are focused upon a topic, updated regularly etc. Social media sites (particularly bookmarking ones) also love blogs.
Of course there's reasons a blog is not a right for everyone. Darren even goes through a number of them in his post.
And in the case of a large firm, or a firm with diverse practice areas, a niche focused blog cannot replace a law firm website.
But for solo's and small firms with a focused practice area, a blog has it all over a website.
You've hit a major opportunity on the head, Kevin.
The distance between a full featured CMS (Content Management System) site and a blog isn't as great as you would imagine. Why should I pay six figures for a Web site?