Why some attorneys shouldn’t blog (and most attorneys never will)
The evidence is apparent: content is still king and blogging does work. The more (quality) content you have on your web site, the more traffic and leads and clients you get.
The August issue of Industrialist Magazine, intelligence that, "sites that have 401 to 1000 pages get nine era more visitors than sites with 51 to 100 pages". Hubspot intelligence that consistent bloggers saw a 4.2x increase in the number of leads without four months, and reduced their lead costs by 60 percent.
The reasons are equally apparent. Search engines like fresh content and so do readers who use those search engines to find that content. When someone has a legal issue, they're not looking for an attorney's "about" page, they want information that will help them know their problem and their options for solving it. The attorney who provides that information is the attorney who gets more traffic, more leads, and more clients.
But it takes time to write excellent content and doing it consistently is hard work. That's why so many people who start a blog don't keep it up. (95 percent of blogs are abandoned, according to Technorati, long before they see an appreciable return on their investment.)
But you're not like other people, are you?
"If you knew you could earn an extra $20,000 per month by blogging, and it would take you an hour a day, five days a week, would you do it?"
Let me question a question: "If you knew you could earn an extra $20,000 per month by blogging, and it would take you an hour a day, five days a week, would you do it?"
If the answer is "no," stop reading.
Of course I don't know how much you will earn by blogging any more than I know how much the attorney-bloggers in the top 5% earn through their blogs. I'm pretty sure they are pleased with their "top 5% results," but.
And here's some excellent news: you don't have to spend an hour a day on your blog for it to be effective. An hour or two a week will probably be sufficient. That's because:
- You're already reading in your field; you don't have to invest a lot of extra time for blogging purposes.
- You can write. If you can pass the essay part of a bar exam, you probably write well sufficient to write a blog (although you might want to have someone edit out the legalease).
- You can get help. Your staff can do research, find articles you can incorporate into your blog, write first drafts and even write finished posts. If you don't have staff, you can outsource.
- You don't have to post every day; once or twice a week, done consistently, is sufficient to place you in the top 5%. Even once or twice a month can bring you more business.
What are you doing now to market your practice? Could you use some of that time for blogging? If you're not doing whatever business right now to market your practice, don't you reckon you should?
In the past, my blogging has been sporadic. Stretches of consistency followed by stretches of "I'm busy with other projects and I'll get back to blogging when I can". Recently, I chose to take my own medicine. Not only have I started posting consistently again, at my wife's urging I've been doing it every day. Even though it's only been a couple of weeks, I'm already seeing a lot more traffic, subscribers, and new business.
Is blogging for every attorney? No. If you have other ways to build your practice and they are working, you don't need a blog. It is hard work and it is a commitment. (Really, the writing really isn't hard, what's hard is the commitment.) But if you're looking for something to bring in more business, if you have more time than money or you're willing to make the time because you can see why it would be value it, if you like to write or have someone on staff who does, then blogging is a fantastic way to rise above the competition and get into the top 5%.