Blog publishing need not take a lot of time

Stacey Merrick, LexBlog’s Client Services Director, tells me the number one concern she hears when teaching lawyers to blog the right way is ‘That sure is going to take a lot of time.’

But as media consultant, Amy Gahran, explains you can blog without the time sink. The key:DO NOT treat it like writing an article or report. That is, make blogging part of your ongoing processes for research, notetaking, and communication.

A blog post is not (or at least, it shouldn’t be) a writing assignment you must prep for and deliver as a finished package. Let go of the idea that you must have everything nailed down, organized, and edited before you publish.

Amy offers some techniques to accomplish that mindset. I’ve added a few comments as it applies to the legal profession.

• Blog your initial brainstorming. At the point that you start to get intrigued by a topic or question, blog it. A post can be as simple as, ‘I’m starting to learn more about [X], and I’m wondering [Y]. Here’s why I’m curious about that. Do you have any information or views on this? Please comment below.’ Excellent way to start discussion among leaders in your niche area of the law or the industry or group of consumers you represent.
• Blog your research & discovery. Did you just pick up an interesting tidbit about a topic you introduced in an earlier post? Blog it. As a lawyer, drawing attention to yourself as a center of discussion on a subject, establishes you as an authority.
• Blog your interactions. Did you just have an interesting conversation relevant to a topic you’ve been blogging? Ask the person with whom you conversed if you can blog the relevant portion, and whether you can identify them. If not, have them be anonymous. This is especially easy with e-mail or IM conversations, since you can just copy and paste.
• Use your blog as your backup brain — or at least as a public notebook. Get more mileage out of work you would have done anyway by managing information and communication publicly? Instead of keeping your thoughts, notes, and conversations to yourself, post them. Why let good legal ideas you’ve read be the victim of post it notes on magazine and outline pages on your credenza. Blog them and show people you stay up to speed with developments in the law. Not only will this information be useful to others, you’re more likely to find it.

I know some lawyers spend far more time, but believe it or not, there’s a lot of good law blogs being published on a half hour a week. Try some of Amy’s ideas and you could join the club.