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3 keys to being the best law blogger in your niche

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August 22, 2014

The door is wide open for lawyers to become the best blogger in their niche — or at a minimum to become one of the best. Getting there doesn’t require journalistic writing, proper grammar, or loads of content.

In a post this week, Seattle’s Neil Patel (@neilpatel), Co-Founder at Crazy Egg and KISSmetrics, said three things were required to be the best blogger in your niche. Knowing your audience, being consistent, and being transparent.

I’m sure there are other keys to success, but these three will take you a long way. With a lot of my commentary on Patel’s points, here are the three.

Blog for your audience

Lawyers, like all bloggers, tend to write about a subject rather than for someone. They’ll ask how can I be interesting, what can I write, or what will make this post more engaging.

Rather than what, think who. Who is my audience? What would they like to hear from me? What insight can I offer which will help them? What will they be thinking when they read my post?

When responding to a reporter or blogger in a post think about them listening. Think about how they will respond? Think about how you are advancing the discussion on the topic.

Patel ran across a good line that I think brings home the point.

When you blog for someone, you will have plenty of things to write about. What’s more, you’ll communicate in the right way — you’ll be more “human” and familiar if you treat your audience like real people.

Think who, who, who, not what, what, what and you’re heading in the right direction. If it helps, do what I did when I started. Think of being a late night call in radio show host wondering if there is anyone listening, but still talking with folks.

Your audience will be pretty small at first. It may even stay small if you are focused on a tight niche. Do not get too wigged out about this.

What will grow your audience is a community of people who follow your blog, share its content, give you feedback via comments or social media, and whom you meet in person.

The more you talk to or with your audience in blog posts, the more your audience will grow. It’s the human voice, your desire to listen, your desire to help, and your desire to lead which attract audience members.

Be consistent

Patel cites Bruce Springsteen, of all folks, on consistency.

Getting an audience is hard. Sustaining an audience is hard. It demands a consistency of thought, of purpose and of action over a long period of time.

Being the best blogger in your niche is not an overnight sensation. It may take a year or two.

You need to learn what blogging is all about. God knows it’s not writing articles and email alerts. You’ve got to develop your style. You need to build a following so you get the feedback you need.

Fortunately, it doesn’t require blanket bombing lots of content. Blog post quality is more important than quantity.

Having said that, I’d suggest blogging no less than once a week. Once you get the hang of it and realize a blog post can take 45 minutes, you may want to post a couple times a week.

Peter Mahler (@PeterMahlerEsq), publisher of NY Business Divorce, after writing his post on Saturday morning posts each Monday morning at 6:30. He’s built a national audience over the years and now receives the majority of his work from relationships built through blogging.

Be totally transparent

You need to be open and transparent to build trust, develop relationships and build an audience.

From Patel:

Transparency engages readers and turns your blog into something that readers love. As I’ve studied many blogging niches, I’ve discovered that the bloggers with the greatest degree of personal disclosure are the most successful. So if you want to be a successful blogger, you’ve got to get personal and transparent.

I understand that as lawyers we cannot disclose confidences and talk about matters involving clients or sensitive affairs. We cannot speak our minds all the time – we have partners, business associates, clients, and referral sources. We’re professionals with a reputation to maintain and a profession to uphold.

But we can do more than write a “reactionary blog” that does little more more than publish legal summaries. I call it milquetoast. A reader will call it boring. You’re offering no value. I can buy summaries of the law.

You become a great blogger by sharing what’s between your ears on this question, this issue, or in responding to this piece you’ve read.

Give me some context based on your education and life experiences. There is only one you. What do you think this development means for me? How have you seen folks address this issue?

If you can weave in some life and business experiences you’re doing even better. I like to share personal information when appropriate.

I’ll confess among the almost 4,000 law blogs out there, the number of good ones is pretty low. That’s an opportunity for you.

As Patel says, “If you are the best blogger in your niche, you can be the most successful in your niche.” Not necessarily the best lawyer, you of course need to work on that separately (though blogging helps), but one of the most successful in developing business in your niche.

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