That’s the first reaction I used to get when I would talk to people about blogging. Most lawyers aren’t really sure what value a blog has to offer. There are plenty of commentators out there regarding types and styules of blogs, but once I had my own website and once I started Tweeting (which is just a blog with 140 characters), I wanted to find out about blogging.
Since I was using Yahoo Web Hosting, it was relatively easy to start blogging through bloggerspot.com. I went to the website and, by now, understood a little, but not a lot, about setting up a profile and layout. I experimented with different looks, but have to admit that my eyes glazed over when confronted by the many gadgets that were offered. I decided to just skip that until later. Once the blog was set up, then it was time to start writing.
So I pulled up my chair and came face to face with the blank page. Me and my blank mind. I thought and thought. Should I talk about being a family lawyer? No, too boring. What should I say? I wanted something useful for clients. I scoured the internet to see what others were saying. There were some amazing blogs out there that spelled out in great detail the ins and outs of divorce practice. They were informative and on point. Maybe another blog was the last thing they needed. Then I realized a very important point.
The point of the blog had to be the content. I had to think about and develop a reason to have a blog. Anyone can have a blog, and many lawyers don’t. So it was important to figure out what the blog was supposed to be. Was it to toot my own horn? Having read many blogs that did that, I knew that I really wasn’t interested in doing that. What I wanted was to have the same conversation that I have every day with clients; I wanted to engage in a dialogue that would help my clients understand what was going on in their case. I knew that there were certain things that I said over and over again to clients. Whether it was an explanation of how spousal support is calculated or what paperwork is needed to start a divorce, I knew that this was the kind of information clients were asking, even when there was so much already available on the internet. After giving it some thought, I also decided that it was important to explain it in my voice, in my terminology, using my personality. That is what would set my blog apart from the other very professional sounding blogs that could have been written by any legal scholar. I wanted my blog to be an extension of myself. I wanted a client to come to me after reading my blog and feel like we had already talked before. I wanted to sound familiar to them.
So after I identified what my voice would be, I picked a topic. I decided that I could not do one blog that covered everything there is to know about family law. So I picked a topic that had come up frequently in the previous week. I wrote about it, provided the detailed statutory language and put my own spin on the explanation. I wrote it as if I was saying it to the person sitting across the table from me. I tried to make it conversational rather than scholarly. This is what I believed for me was the reason that I should do a blog, rather than just linking people to other blogs off of my website.
Again, this was one of those experiences where you just have to drop in. Unlike Twitter, I could not really lurk, but I could look at other blogs, see what comments people were making and get some good ideas. And over time, I have learned so much more. For example, I think it is important to let people comment on your blog. My blogs, in general, allow foe people to post comments. I make sure I get an email to tell me that someone has commented, and, except for those comments that are clearly self serving, such as lawyers commenting by saying that you can contact them for more information, I let the comments stand. The idea is to engage in a dialogue. By asking questions and sharing information, I become a better lawyer and clients are better served.
Of course, you have to remember to abide by the Code of Ethics, don’t give legal advice, make sure that you have appropriate disclaimers, avoid slander or other bad behavior. In other words, play nice.
Since my first blog, I have started up four additional blogs, I have another one on the way, and I have used different blog services. Currently I am a big fan of WordPress, especially since for only $25 a year, you can set it up as a website by getting a distinctive url. It also might be worth paying a little more for web design, or taking the time to learn html so you can really spiff the thing up.
The most important thing about the blog, and any social media that you use, is to remember that the number one thing to do well is content. You can have the most fabulous design, but if the content is blah, blah, blah, you won’t really add to the dialogue, you will not get quality followers and your blog will likely die a slow death. Also, because I did focus on content on my family law blog, I have found that I can ignore it for long periods of time, because the content is still sound. On the other hand, on some of my blogs, all I am doing is introducing and idea and asking a question. I am so please with the feedback that I get, which often includes ideas or answers to my questions. Again, social media, whether Facebook, Twitter or your blog, works because it is like being at the largest cocktail party. You can overhear what others are saying and they can over hear what you are saying. Just jump in and engage in the conversation.
Tell me about your experience.
Pam is working on a manual to provide more details to get small family law firms on board with social media to improve their marketing. She blogs regarding marketing for small family law firms at Connecting-With-Clients.com. For more details or information, feel free to email her at connectingwithclients@gmail.com.
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