Lawyers.com Editor in Chief : Larry Bodine Law Marketing Blog : Law firm marketing, legal marketing, attorney marketing, business development, sales training, practice development, training, marketing consultant, legal consultant, individual lawyer coaching, business development, client team, practice development, business development, law firm coach

Following are the points I made at Legal Tech New York today on the program "Growing and Retaining Your Client Base through Technology & New Media."

I'm speaking from 10:30-11:45am on a panel discussion with my colleagues Len Gilbert, Vice President, Promotional Solutions and Customer Experience, LexisNexis, Samantha Miller, Director of Product Management, Website Services, LexisNexis, and Adrian Lurssen, Co-Founder, VP of Strategic Development, JD Supra.

Research has shown repeatedly that blogs are the most effective, lowest-cost form of online marketing for lawyers. Companies that blog have far better marketing results. Specifically, the average company that blogs has:

• 55% more visitors
• 97% more inbound links
• 434% more indexed pages

3. Subscribe to the free newsletter "Best Practices in Lawyer Blogs." We started publishing this every two weeks in November, and you can get your own free subscription. Each edition features five of the best articles from across the web on writing a killer blog. Check out the most recent issue.

Hat tip to Hubspot for this concise video. To develop topic ideas for your blog:

1. Take a question from a conversation and answer it.
2. Find an interesting news item, give it an industry spin and write about it.
3. Answer a question that is posted in LinkedIn.
4. Teach someone something.

LexisNexis just published the latest edition of the new newsletter, Best Practices in Lawyer Blogs. It's chock full of practical information, it's free and you can get your own copy by signing up with your name and email address.

Here's what's in the latest issue:

How to Deal With Negative Comments on Your Blog
At some point, all bloggers get negative, critical comments (often anonymous!) on their blogs. But how do you handle the criticisms? Kevin O’Keefe of Real Lawyers Have Blogs explores your various options for dealing with the naysayers.

26 Reasons Why Social Media Should Be Part of Your Law Firm Marketing Program
Blogging is but just one of a number of social media strategies you can use to market and sell your professional expertise. But maybe you’re having a hard time convincing others in your firm that blogging—and other forms of social media—are delivering value. The Rainmaker Blog’s Stephen Fairley offers a host of reasons why your firm should incorporate social media into its marketing plan.

Copyright Fair Use and How it Works for Online Images
A blog is the sum of its parts: A headline that grabs the reader’s attention, an article that informs, educates and entertains, and an image that helps tell the story. You’re probably not commissioning custom photos or artwork for your blog, so how can you find appropriate images? And once you find them, how do you know if you have permission to use them. Sara Hawkins demystifies copyright law and fair use.

10 Killer Apps for Freelance Bloggers
Now that you’ve gotten the hang of blogging, are you ready to take your blog to the next level? Blogger Anna Kovaleva offers 10 great tools—many of them free—that will help make your blog stand apart from the rest.

The Key to Becoming a Better Writer
Writing doesn’t come naturally to everyone. Some people are gifted and others practice until their writing improves. If you've decided to become a legal blogger, then you owe it to your readers to be the best writer you can be. Mike Mintz of the martindale.com® team offers six basic rules guaranteed to help improve your writing ability.

Again, it's free and you can get your own copy by clicking on "Join Our Mailing List" with your name and email address.

Lawyers have a hard time coming up with new content for their blog entries, and I found this teriffic list of ideas on Hubspot, posted by Kipp Bodnar

1. The Problem Solver - Name the biggest problem your clients have. With that problem in mind, write a detailed blog post that provides practical and non-service focused solutions. Solve your clients' problems with content.

2. The Data Story - As a business, you are working on selling an idea as well as a service to your clients. Use data to help you. Gather data either internally or from third-party sources. Use this data to sell your big idea using your business blog.

3. The Controversial Stand - Sometimes you have to take a hard stance on an issue to get attention. In a blog post, argue one side of a controversial industry issue in an effort to get prospects and industry thought leaders talking about your business.

4. The Big List - Sometimes readers don't want to read through endless paragraphs for practical advice. Instead, they want a long list of industry resources that they can bookmark and easily access again and again. Aggregate practical advice and resources for an important industry topic, and compile it into one long and easy-to-scan list. 

5. The Visual Story - People learn in different ways. Some folks are visual learners. Understand that you'll need to provide information and data to them in a way that is easiest to consume and understand. Create an infographic, cartoon, or series of charts to help tell teach your prospects in a visual way.

6. The Breaking News Angle - Every industry has news and events that can have a major impact. Write a blog post about a major news story for your industry. Include your  perspective as well as actionable takeaways about what this news means for your readers.

7. The Third-Party Commentary - Identify a major expert in your industry. Conduct an email interview with him or her for your blog. Ask a series of questions that your readers would be interested in learning about. Review the answers and publish them on your blog.

8. The Unexpected Connection - Standing out and driving traffic and leads with inbound marketing is often about doing the unexpected. Think of something that your readers enjoy that is not related to your industry like a sport, a movie, or something from popular culture. Once you have identified that, find a way to connect it back to an industry best practice, and write a blog post about the topic.

9. The Keyword Post - What is the most important search engine keyword that you have not yet blogged about? Take that keyword, and write a blog post about it. Blogging is a great tool for driving search engine traffic. Take advantage of it!

10. The Reader Survey - You aren't a mind reader. However, you do need to understand what your audience wants. Ask them for their ideas. Create a short survey for ideas for future blog posts, and publish the survey in a blog post for your readers.

This is a guest blog post by Michael Mintz, lawyer, Martindale.com blogger, and online strategist.

I recently came across a letter I wrote as a first year attorney.  I was shocked at how poorly written it was.

Today, I read an excellent Lexis Communities article on Orwell’s rules for clear writing, called “Inside Baseball and Orwell’s 6 Rules for Clear Writing.”  In his 1946 essay, Politics and the English Language, Orwell, provided 6 rules for clear writing:

1. Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech, which you are used to seeing in print.

 

2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.

 

3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

 

4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.

 

5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

 

6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything barbarous.

If we all adhere to these six rules, we are sure to become better writers.  As the writer of “Baseball” correctly states, “If we can think and convey ideas with precision through simple words, then that’s the way to go.  It’s the precision of our language, not the number of syllables, that matters.”

Read here for Mike's full blog post.

The infographic below from Mashable describes:

1. What's an e-reputation.
2. Why your online reputation matters.
3. What potential employers are looking for.
4. What you can do about it. Feel free to check out my PowerPoint slide show "How to Monitor & Enhance Your Reputation on the Internet as a Lawyer."

My friend Russell Lawson, the brilliant Marketing Director of Sands Anderson in North Carolina and Virginia, has developed an excellent list of tips for his firm's lawyer-bloggers. He is generous enough to share them with the readers of the LawMarketing Blog:

1. Post on a regular schedule. Consistent posting is what drives readers to return to blogs. Blogs should not go dormant for more than two weeks at a time. Posting first thing in the morning is a good general rule of thumb. Authors should avoid posting on historically low traffic days like Mondays, Fridays, weekends and holidays.

    

2. Pay special attention to writing headlines. Headlines can be catchy but must be clear. They should grab the reader's attention in ten words or less. Use active verbs, and include keywords in the title of the post and the first paragraph of the post.

    

3. Grab readers' attention immeditaely. The first paragraph of every post should be your strongest paragraph. Keep blog posts at 800 words or less.

    

4. Invite guests to post. This a great way to freshen content and drive new readers to your blog.

    

5. Show some personality. Let your personality and interests come through in your writing. People are drawn to the personality behind the blog.

    

6. Consider writing short question-and-answer topical posts. These could cover a common question the author is hearing from clients and what the general answer is (with a disclaimer that one should seek counsel on all legal matters).

    

7. Write "tips" and "lists" posts. Numbered articles historically drive traffic. List posts also work very well when you ask your readers to add to the list in the comments (and you purposefully leave the list incomplete).

    

8. Link to other blogs sharing interesting content. If you read an article that is particularly thought-provoking, write a response to the article and detail your opinion. Link to the original article. Authors will likely repay the favor.

    

9. Consider blogging live at conferences or relevant industry events. This is a great way to gain new readership.

    

10. Ask questions. At the end of a post, elicit more comments by asking a direct question, i.e., "Do you agree?" or asking open-ended questions, such as, "Have you experienced this before and what happened?"

Secrets of Blogging Superstars

1. Respond to comments within 24 hours. That way, you are showing your readers that you value their feedback and encourage dialogue.

    

2. Encourage colleagues and friends to comment. If readers come to the blog and see that there are already a few comments, they will get the sense that there is a dialogue/ conversation going on and will be more inclined to take part.

    

3. Regularly comment on blogs and forums in your niche. Be sure that you provide thoughtful (non-promotional) comments, not just, "Great post" or something similar.

    

4. Thank those who link to you. Once you realize that your blog has been mentioned in another article, immediately find the mention and comment to thank them for linking to your blog. If possible, reciprocate by linking to some of their content in a future post.

    

5. Develop a blog roll. All blogs should include a blog roll (that is regularly updated) where the author links to blogs in their same niche. This helps encourage cross-linking.

    

6. Share the link love. Link to other bloggers' information in your blog posts and use "hat tips" or quotes to attribute accurately.

A disciplinary committee of the Virginia State Bar on Tuesday ruled that a Richmond, VA, lawyer violated a rule requiring a lawyer to get a client's permission before blogging about their  legal cases.

The committee said that Horace Frazier Hunter violated rules by disclosing detrimental or embarrassing information about clients without their consent. He received a public admonition and was told take corrective action within 30 days.

"Although I adamantly disagree with the panel's decision, I do respect it," said Hunter at the conclusion of the nine-hour hearing. The public admonition was the lowest sanction he could have received.

He said later that he will appeal and that in the meantime he will likely comply with the 30-day order to remove offending information from his blog and post a disclaimer.

But on Tuesday, Renu Brennan, assistant bar counsel, told the eight-member committee that "the First Amendment has no bearing on this violation. … It doesn't impact journalists, it doesn't impact bloggers, it doesn't impact the general public."

"The bar does not seek to ban his speech," she said. It simply wants a disclaimer putting the blog information in proper perspective. The intent, she said, is to protect the public from deception.

Brennan said his disclosure of information about his clients on his website and the ensuing bar's disciplinary proceedings is not analogous to censorship of the press covering criminal trials.

Can newspapers report on criminal trials? she asked. "Yes, absolutely, they can. Can (Hunter) then go back and report on his own cases? No, he cannot — absolutely not. Not without his client's consent."

"It doesn't matter if the information (he) reports is already in the public domain," said Brennan.

Hunter's lawyer, Michael L. Rigsby, argued for dismissal for exceptional circumstances: "He's passionate. He's bright. He's enthusiastic. … He had a good-faith belief that what he was doing was right."

Hunter testified Tuesday that he did not want to publish the disclaimer because "it's not what I want to say. It cheapens the speech when I have to put in front of it, 'Oh, by the way, this is for advertising.'"

Hunter conceded on cross-examination that one purpose of the blog was marketing and that he had not sought the consent of his clients before posting information about the cases — cases he had won, not lost.

Brennan presented evidence that at least two people represented by Brennan said they did not want their cases posted on his blog after learning they were there.

I recently got an email from a law firm asking, "Can you provide guidance for a group of 20 lawyers who wish to develop a unified style of expression in our status updates, tweets, posts, etc?"

Here's what I recommended.

• Don’t take yourself too seriously. A funny answer is a good answer. Be informal: use informal language like “You rock!” or “That’s awesome” or “LOL.”
• Be informative by spotting a business issue and factually starting a discussion on LinkedIn, or sending a Tweet and including a link, such as “NLRB alleges Target violated labor laws – see http://bit.ly/qzXbfx
• Pose questions to stimulate comments, such as “Have you been affected by the new rules regarding employees vs. contractors?” or “We see businesses offering offer comp time instead of paid overtime. How has this worked for you?”
• Strive to engage in conversations. The interaction with people who send messages on social media is what generates new business.  (It is a remote, attenuated risk that you’ll inadvertently create an attorney-client relationship. You can discuss current events and state what the law is without any danger, IMHO. Just don’t express opinions on a specific set of facts.)
• The best use of social media is to lead to a face-to-face meeting with a prospective client. Get to know people online and strive to meet them IRL (in real life).
• Turn on the commenting function on your blog, but set it so that you can approve comments. If a commenter asks a question, give them a succinct answer.
• A blog post should be short, address a business need affecting clients, stick to one point, and link to further information (preferably on your website).
• Other sources for you are The 4 Steps to Finding Your Voice and Finding Your Voice For Your Legal Blogging Efforts

What ideas would you add?

"I’m burning out on all this moderation. I’ve been trying to help save my groups, but this is just ridiculous," said Alexander Lawrence, a Technical Recruiter who actually works at LinkedIn in San Francisco. "I had thought that the volume of spam was dropping, but after weeks of steady effort on my part, the volume of spam is still just totally overwhelming."

"I quit! I’m done with volunteering my own valuable time to constantly filter out all this spam," wrote Lawrence, the moderator of the LinkedIn Groups Product Forum. "It’s a tedious, thankless job and no one is paying me to do it. Unless I can think of a better idea, I’m going to have turn off all the moderation queues, and just walk away. Any quality discussions will once again drown against this relentless river of spam."

Carl Whalley bemoaned, "It's the age old problem - you've got the numbers, so that's all spammers see."

John-Patrick (JP) Skaar advised that moderators should not convert their groups to open groups from "members only" groups where anybody can join. William Jeansonne, MBA said the solution is to carefully screen new members.

I personally moderate the Chief Marketing Officers Forum and I carefully screen out members with no photo, few connections or no relation to the legal marketing profession. Profiles with no connections are generally bogus accounts. I also delete posts that are merely links to a vendor's home page.

A tough stance was advocated by Ian McCarthy: "The junk content is coming from members of the group - which underscores the importance of taking a very firm line on junk content and using the Block and Delete option on anyone who has degraded the quality of the group's conversations." Barnard Crespi agreed, saying he screens out 30% of new members from a group he runs.

Lawrence responded, "I think it's pretty sad that we've been reduced to a policy "guilty until proven innocent" with respect to which sets of members are allowed to enter a group."

Joseph Higginbotham said, "I have always been ruthless in dealing with spam. The worst spammers are ejected immediately. I've always rejected a lot of applicants and the percentage is rising. Lately, I have to reject nearly half the people who request membership because there's something about their profile that doesn't add up. The people you kick out of the group will tell everybody else in their other groups which gives you a reputation for being tough on spam, therefore, some spammers will simply avoid your group. That's fine with me."