5 tips for running a law firm blog

Steve Rubel has a piece in Wired on ‘How to Run a Corporate Blog.’ Steve’s 5 points apply equally well to a law firm blog.

Here’s his paraphrased points with a few additions.

• Be passionate and add value. You need to tap into your passions and expertise and use them to add value to the conversation. Helps you build not only your profile but the organization’s too. I am always telling lawyers to begin with the end in mind – what type of work do they really like and who do they like representing. Set your bar high. Your passion will carry you over the top.
• Know where your bread is buttered. It isn’t just your employer that pays your salary, but rather your entire circle of stakeholders. In the case of lawyers, it includes clients, partners, judges, business associates, referrals sources, program coordinators, and the press. Don’t make any of them angry.
• Color in the lines. Determine your blog’s mission and know where you can and can’t go. For lawyers, you can’t blog about specific clients, can’t give specific advice, and cannot get into any exchange where an attorney-client relationship could be established. May also want to consider staying away from positions that could come back to bite you.
• Think before you post. When it doubt, throw it out. When I practiced law, I wrote my share of letters when angry. I got in the habit of sliding them to the front of desk until the next morning. If I still thought worth sending out, I did. If not, tore them in half and chucked them into the garbage. Blog the same.
• Have a thick skin and a sense of humor. If you can’t have fun as a blogger, then it’s not worth it. Always be open to being mocked.

Add Steve’s Micro Persuasion blog to your RSS feeds. Micro Persuasion has not only generated discussion which has advanced PR and communications, but personally taken Steve to the heights of PR with his position as a senior vice president at Edelman, the largest independent global PR firm. Now that Steve’s back posting more often, you’ll pick up a lot.