Five blogging rules to make a great first impression

That’s the title of a guest post at Problogger from Andy Beal, author and recognized expert in online reputation management.

Unlike your law firm website, your blog will get discovered immediately by people subscribed to relevant key words and key phrases from Google Blog Search, Technorati, and Ask.com Blog Search.

And these folks may be the most important visitors your blog will ever receive. They’re the amplifiers of your message – other bloggers and reporters. If they like what they see, they’ll subscribe to your blog and share your posts with their readers from time to time.

So take Beal’s rules (with a few modifications by me) to heart.

1. Dress your blog to impress. That free WordPress theme you’re using on your blog might be enough to impress a few readers, but if it’s the same theme used by dozens of other blogs, you’ll blend into the crowd. Just as you’d consider a new suit a great investment for an upcoming trial, you should consider a custom design a great investment for your blog. When I first started Real Lawyers Have Blogs, I used an off-the-shelf TypePad theme. I was afraid that for every prospective law firm client who contacted me, three others were turned off by my unprofessional appearance.
2. Mind your blog language. Blogging lends itself well to a casual attitude. What does it matter if you don’t spell-check your post? Why worry if you happen to insert an expletive here or there? Well, if you were to cuss throughout your first meeting with a client, or utter sentences such as ‘I is very smart,’ what do you think you chances would be of keeping the client? You’ll be judged by what you say in your blog posts.
3. Always bring a gift. If you want to make a great first impression, bring a gift on your date. Likewise, if you want to build your reputation as blogger, give your readers ideas, tips, and insight they’re unlikely to observe on their own. Be an intelligence agent. While it feels unnatural to many lawyers to be so giving, look no further than successful law bloggers who do not hold back in the information they share.
4. Listen as much as you talk. Do you know what happens if you spend your entire date talking about yourself? You don’t get a second date. The same is true with your blog. Sure, your readers want to hear your advice, thoughts, and opinions, but you’ll build your reputation as a blogger by learning to listen to them and engaging in conversations with them. Not necessarily in comments, but by subscribing to their blogs and referencing their posts in your blog.
5. Don’t let the flame burn out. What do you think would happen if you went on a dozen great dates, then didn’t phone the object of your affection for two months? Do you think they’d readily come back to you? So why would you blog consistently for a month, then not update you blog for 8 weeks? Your readers will become comfortable with the frequency of your posting. If you post twice a week or twice a month they’ll get used to that schedule. Stick with it, it’ll pay off in an enhanced reputation and more work.

Source for post: Stark County Law Library Blog