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BlogHer ’08: blogging tips from Amy Gahran and Elise Bauer

July 24, 2008

Now that BlogHer ’08 has come to an end, LexBlog’s director of client services Stacey Merrick – who gave readers a brief update from the conference last Friday – is back in Seattle and sharing what she learned with the rest of us here at the company. While the conference itself wasn’t geared at lawyers, Stacey returned with some material that’s worth sharing with the legal blogging community.

On how frequently to post:

One of the main points she came away with was that bloggers should never burn themselves out from trying to do too much at once. Some folks post on a daily basis just for the sake of having something new for readers to see every day. This is a mistake, said former journalist Amy Gahran at her panel. She was among the many attendees who believed that successful bloggers post frequently, but not at the expense of quality.

“Amy brought up the issue quality versus quantity when writing a blog,” Stacey says. “And quality is always more important. If you’re blogging a lot but churning out a lot of garbage, the frequency of your posts won’t be able to mask the fact that the content is still garbage.”

On crafting effective blog posts:

“Remembering to think about how much time your audience is going to give you was another important point Amy made,” says Stacey. “Amy stated the reading rate of an average person is between 200-300 words per minute,” she reports. “On the Internet, people will give you maybe 1 minute – so catch their attention quickly.”

Another presenter, Elise Bauer, designated three main components of good blog content: material must be useful, entertaining and timely. Shorter posts are easier to read than longer ones, Elise claimed, and should be accompanied by a well-written headline that accurately describes the content of the post.

There are a variety of posts that can be both brief and meet the criteria outlined above: top 10 lists, contests, how-tos, and even controversial stances can be beneficial to increasing readership. “As long as you’re being authentic and showing a sense of humor (when appropriate), you’re heading in the right direction.”

On the value of online communities:

Both of these presenters, who spoke at different sessions, had plenty to say on the value of online communities. For Amy, use of the term “target audience” – heard so frequently in all corners of the blogosphere – is misleading and inappropriate for blogging. But what term does she prefer instead? ” ‘Core community,’ ” answers Stacey. “And it’s true: you’re not just spewing content out at people…you’re joining in community discussion.”

Elise is also an advocate of writing to your community: they’re the group that keeps you nourished and supported, and are ultimately who will determine whether your blog succeeds or fails.

“Elise relayed a number of ways to get involved with your online community,” Stacey says. “Being generous with the links you give out to other bloggers, leaving insightful comments on the blogs of people who comment on yours, and planning events that encourage community members to get involved – either online or in the real world – are all great ideas.”

These tips may not be geared specifically at lawyers, but that doesn’t mean they lack value for bloggers in the legal industry. In fact, many of these points are similar to what we advise attorneys when they ask us about increasing their blog’s presence on the web.

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