Larry Bodine Law Marketing Blog : Law firm marketing, legal editor, legal marketing, attorney marketing, business development, marketing consultant, legal consultant, business development

I talk to a lot of lawyers who would like to launch a blog, but they're held back because they don't know where they'll get ideas for what to write about. Here's a terrific list of suggestions from Robyn Raybould Schmidt, Director of Product Management of LexisNexis:

1. Google Alerts, newspapers and magazines. Use current events as a springboard for your blog entries.
2. Ask yourself,“What’s the next big trend?” or “What’s next?” Everyone wants to know what's over the horizon.
3. Read your competitors’ blogs and comments.  Seeing what other lawyers are writing about will prompt you to think of a blog topic.
4. Ask yourself, “What is my client’s biggest fear or concern?” Writing about what keeps them up at night will always be a well-read entry.
5. Conduct an interview. Spend a few minutes on the phone with the head of a trade association, an author in your field or event a client. People enjoy when you put them in the spotlight and you will share in their credibility.
6. Write a sequel or follow up to a past post. Look over your greatest hits, using your blog traffic reports. If a topic was worth writing about, it will probably be worth returning to.
7. Ask a question. Is there an issue in your area of practice that you’re tackling? Discuss your mixed feelings. You can use Zoomerang to insert a reader poll into your blog for free.
8. Make a prediction. You don't have to be right and no one will hold you to account. But it's interesting to read what people think will happen.
9. Review the past. How has your area of practice changed over the past year?  Five years?
10. Create a regular feature. Focus on a recurring basis on a topic of continuing interest  -- like a high profile trial.
11. Read your comments. If a reader took the time to give their opinion, it could be a topic worth exploring.
12. Read your social media group’s questions. What are people chatting about on LinkedIn? Answer on your blog, then go back and provide a link.
13. Recruit a guest. Or two. When all else fails, call for backup. Sometimes you just need to take the pressure off so your post-generator has a little time to recuperate.

Check out Robyn's excellent video below for more ideas.