In Black And White : Legal Marketing Strategies & Insights : Paula Black & Associates : Law Firm Marketing, Branding and Positioning

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Stop overthinking and speak your mind. Your blog is the perfect place to let your personality shine.

This week we asked: If you blog, how often do you incorporate stories from real life, the daily news or pop culture?

1. Often - 10%

2. Sometimes - 56%

3. Rarely - 32%

4. Never - 2%

My Thoughts: This week 34% agreed that you rarely or never incorporate timely news and events into your blogging. Why? With the plethora of information available on the Internet, why not use it to your advantage? Commenting on top headlines can make your blog more relevant, give great examples for potential clients and, sometimes, even garner you national attention. A few months ago one of my employees happened to turn on “The Today Show” as she was making breakfast. The segment that was on? Personal branding. Rather than laugh and move on, we threw together a last-minute “special” post and used it to illustrate the points we had just been blogging about (you can see it here.)

The point is that it doesn’t have to be all business all the time. As long as it’s relevant to your overall strategy and has a connection to your practice area or specialization there’s no harm in having a little fun now and then. If something strikes you…write about it!

I think this quote from Evan Schaeffer really does a great job of summing it up:

“It often feels uncomfortable to provide personal details on a professionally-oriented weblogs, but you'll gain a lot if you do. Readers are more likely to return if they feel like they know something about the weblog's author. Think of yourself not as a reporter but as a columnist. The ability to easily provide personal details is a feature of weblogging that's easy to use and free for the taking to anyone who recognizes its value.”

Black Pearl: While it may be extreme, Russell Wetanson’s blog Popsquire (“where pop culture and law collide”), combines commentary, legal opinion, celebrity and pop culture all in one. Here’s how he got there.

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For all of my yelling and shouting about consistency and repetition, there are some (but only some) exceptions to the rules. A good place to break from the norm? You guessed it—your blog. While keeping on topic is still important, a blog is a place to get creative in the way you communicate with the outside world. It’s a place to show your personality and occasionally your humor, interests and view of the world. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and draw inspiration from everyday events, news and pop culture.

Question of the week: Are you breaking from the norm?

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Working with a ghostblogger can be a great, collaborative experience for many busy attorneys--but the key is just that... COLLABORATE!

This week we asked: Do you write your own blog?

1. Yes, every word comes from me - 55%

2. Somewhat, I collaborate with a ghostwriter - 35%

3. No, I give direction but the writing is done by someone else - 10%

My Thoughts: Almost 90% of you either write your blog yourself or collaborate closely with your ghostwriter. Fantastic.

My main advice to clients who want to work with ghostblogger is just that…be involved! No matter who puts the actual words on paper (or on screen), the voice, tone and ideas should come directly from you.

A few of my clients have recently begun working with ghostwriters with great results. Though you must still dedicate your time to overseeing the content, these professionals can help shape your words and post on a regular basis. My advice if you’re planning to go this route? Stick with someone in the legal arena, whether it be a lawyer, former lawyer, paralegal or law student; find someone you connect with—even though it’s someone else writing it should still reflect your tone and your opinion, and all content should be directed by you; and be clear on the arrangement from the beginning by setting a schedule for how many posts you expect per week or per month. I also think the lawyer needs to be the one fielding comments and responses, and generally connecting with readers.

On the other end of the spectrum is LexBlog’s own fearless leader Kevin O’Keefe, who his own definite view of ghostblogging. I recently read a post by Kevin that included the following statement:

“But the very essence of social media precludes ghostwriting. Social media is not about producing content. Social media is about engaging others so as to build and nurture meaningful relationships. Engagement that requires listening to your audience and offering value to the conversation.”

I agree with the statement, but not the context. I truly believe that you can engage and nurture relationships even if you are not the only hand in the blog. In fact, I called Kevin and had a discussion about this very issue. My point? Rather than negate the power of a ghostblogger, we should look at the ways to make that arrangement work to the benefit of the lawyer. If the question is: "to blog or not to blog?" the answer is simple... do what you have to do to blog. 

Black Pearl: For more thoughts from Kevin, read the rest of his post on ghostblogging.  

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Ghostblogging has come under a bit of scrutiny lately (we’ll discuss that on Thursday) but in my mind it’s a great alternative. Better to be a part of the social media world than write off all the opportunities that can arise from it simply because you are afraid of the time commitment. Working with a collaborator can be a great experience, but (of course) there’s nothing like your own ideas going straight from brain to paper (or screen in this case). The true challenge is finding the right balance.

Question of the week: Do you write your own blog?

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From business opportunities to PR for your practice, making the connection is an important part of your blog.

This week we asked: What are you doing to make connections?

1. Nothing, I'm just writing my blog - 45%

2. I’m asking questions and engaging my audience - 30%

3. I’m promoting my posts on Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media - 25%

My Thoughts: The good news is that a little over half of you (55%) are actively engaging your audience via social media or simpy asking questions and encouraging discussion. The bad news? Almost half of you (45%) are not.

As I mentioned on Tuesday, a focused, smart blog can open doors to a wide variety of opportunity…whether that be new business (which we’ll discuss in 2 weeks) or just connecting with other professionals in your industry. At the very least it can open up a forum for discussion, at its best it can draw regional or national attention for its commentary. The key is to keep your posts relevant and interesting enough to draw comments or re-posts from others. I can’t tell you how many books I’ve sold or how much traffic I’ve driven from a simple link to a post I’ve done on this very blog.

A few ideas for connecting? Don’t hog the spotlight. Feature other bloggers and link to interesting or insightful commentary they’ve posted. Then let them know about it! It’s a great way to build relationships. Also, promote your posts to others via social media—whether it be LinkedIn, Twitter or if it is appropriate Facebook.

I came across this great quote on connecting from Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh. He was speaking about Twitter but I think it applies to blogs as well…

“We’ve found that Twitter has been a great way for us to connect on a more personal level with our employees and customers. We use it to help build our brand, not drive direct sales. It’d be like asking how does providing a telephone number for customer service translate into new business when they are mostly non-sales-related calls.”

Black Pearl: I pulled the quote above from this great Copyblogger post about using Twitter to connect. It’s a great summary of who’s using social media and how they’re doing it in new and interesting ways.

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One of the greatest things about putting out a truly engaging and thoughtful blog is the opportunity to connect. A focused, smart blog can draw attention and comments from potential clients, industry colleagues and even local, regional and national media; it can help you develop your personal brand (as we discussed previously); and can open the doors to other opportunities via the reputation you build. While having a blog is obviously step one, there are many more ideas to consider when understanding just how to make those connections.

Question of the week: What are you doing to make connections?

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While templates may seem the simplest route, adding a little personal brand to the layout can take your blog to the next level.

This week we asked: Does your blog design gel with your personal brand?

1. Yes, it’s obvious that it’s mine - 2%

2. Somewhat, I think it’s a decent reflection - 58%

3. No, it’s just a generic template - 40%

My Thoughts: It seems the majority of you (about 60%) have put at least some thought into your blog design. Good for you. It’s important to remember that as much as content might be king, design should never be overlooked.

The biggest missed opportunity in blog design is the lack of branding. It takes only a few extra minutes to incorporate your logo or signature colors into the banners and headlines (same with your Twitter page—if you have one) to set yourself apart from the competition. A few other suggestions?

• Make sure your logo or tagline plays a prominent role as soon as the page appears.
• Stick with the same colors and fonts as your website, brochure or business cards, (no need to look like a twin sister, but it should look like a family member).
• Be organized in the way you think out placement of buttons such as “search” or “archives” and make sure they are easily spotted.
• Make sure headlines look like headlines and not simply blocks of copy and use links or quotes to enhance the readability of your posts. 

I recently came across this quote from Michael Martin of Pro Blog Design and thought it made a great point about balancing content and design:

"People come to your blog to read articles and the easier they are to read, the better. A design that obscures the content will only turn visitors away."

Black Pearl: For more on increasing the readability of your blog from a design point of view, here's the rest of Mr. Martin's article "30 Ways to Improve Readability." It's a short post but includes a lot of solid, smart, simple advice for bloggers.

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Though most blogging platforms offer up templates of how a blog should look, it’s up to you to impress your personal brand on the page. The true test: Can someone easily identify the blog as YOURS upon first glance? That doesn’t mean intricate design or flashy graphics, it simply means bringing a sense of organization to the visuals and reflecting your brand in the color, fonts and logos used.

Question of the week:  Does your blog design gel with your firm or personal brand?

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Whether you devote one hour a day or one hour a week, making time for blogging is an integral part of your business development success.

This week we asked: How often do you post or plan to post on your blog?

1. At least 1-2 posts a week - 75%

2. At least 3-4 posts a week - 15%

3. 5 or more posts a week - 10%

My Thoughts: It seems most of you (about 75%) seem to hover around 1-2 posts a week, a respectable goal for any good blogger. 15% of you post 3-4 times per week, which is very good.  5 or more posts a week is reserved for the truly dedicated (10% of you).  If you're posting less than once a week, you need to either step up your blogging or don’t bother.
 
It may sound harsh, but if you’re not willing to dedicate your time and your focus you may as well not embark on the journey. While once or twice a month is often seen as a bare minimum, to truly reap results from the blog you should plan on posting at least once a week. It will help you build a following and get readers on board to follow you and keep up with your posts. If it’s impossible to find time during the day, think outside the office. Keep a voice recorder in your car and dictate ideas during your commute; give up 2 hours of your weekend to work on posts, or even use part of your lunchtime to do research and jot down ideas.

As my colleague Juan Antunez of Stokes McMilan Maracini & Antunez (and FLProbateLitigation.com) says:

“I spend about 2 to 4 hours a week on the blog. Most of that time is at home, writing on my laptop while the kids run around me. I’m the only obsessive compulsive at my office, so the blog is a solo affair.”

Black Pearl: Here is a great post from Cordell Parvin on the importance of making time for blogging, with input from one of his actual (overworked!) clients.