Archive for November, 2013

Creative Ways to Promote Your New Legal Blog

Friday, November 22nd, 2013

When launching a new business blog there are many ways to promote it, some more apparent than others. The following are some helpful tips to get you going. Lets get started with the more obvious tips. Here is a checklist of those you should consider implementing first:

• Syndicate your blog content, i.e. your Twitter page.

• Link your blog to your other personal social media accounts, i.e. your Facebook page.

• Link your blog to your professional social media accounts, i.e. your LinkedIn profile.

• Consider submitting your blog to blog directories.

• Write and post a social media press release for your new blog.

• Announce the launch of your blog via your email contact list.

 The following suggestions are less obvious:

• Use offline marketing. Ask both new and existing clients to promote your new blog to their contacts. Give your clients an incentive to promote your new blog by rewarding them if they do.

 • Use video to promote your blog. Create a video about your blog and post it on you YouTube, your page Facebook and Twitter accounts. You can also send the video link to your email contacts.

 • Utilize experts and guest speakers. It’s always a great idea to feature other people on your blog. Create an interview series with focused content that features experts and credible speakers. Invite interesting, relevant people to participate in interviews and discussion that ask creative and insightful questions.

 • Link to other blogs in areas of similar subject matter. Commenting and sharing outside blog content, form other blogs, can provide insight and create interest in your blog in the minds of other readers. More importantly, they help to develop a network of links and associations.

 • Engage in guest posting. There are two aspects to consider when doing this–inviting others to guest post on your blog and offering to post on others’ blogs. There are benefits to both in terms of generating visibility for your own blog and business. Links and associations will support your blog launch undoubtedly.

 • Consider hosting a webinar. A webinar resembles a live video chat. You can create a webinar or to launch your blog into the blogosphere, rather than simply introducing your blog in a more conventional way, for example, and email blast. You can also post content to your blog utilizing a webinar as another way to keep things fresh for your audience.

 • Create a theme of special reports. Providing viewers additional access to information and topics already covered in your blog, can be a great way to maintain reader interest. For example, by releasing a extended material in the form of a PDF memo or video tutorial on your blog. Although the additional information may be valuable in its own right, it also acts as a source of credibility for you amongst your viewers, due to your commitment and intent to expand and educate others on interesting and relevant topics associated with your field of work, by presenting specific subject matter in greater detail. It’s also a great way to attract long-term subscribers.

 • Advertise Your Site. Create greater awareness of your new business blog by advertising on Craigslist, Facebook, and other forms of social media that allow for cross marketing. Although this may require an outside budget, it can be highly lucrative with generating traffic to your site.

 To speak with an expert regarding your law firm blogging needs, call us toll free at (800) 877-2776 for more information. Don’t wait- contact us today to get started!

How to Build an Interactive Blog

Friday, November 15th, 2013

By its very nature, blogging is conversational in nature; unlike websites which typically offer unchanging copy, blogs are more like journals detailing a particular topic, continually updated by the author. An interactive blog goes even a step further than a “regular” blog in that it allows visitors to the site the opportunity to add their own feelings and ideas about the topic. If you write in a manner which invites others to add their own comments to your site you will end up with a more dynamic blog. You can’t simply expect others to comment without a little prompting from you. Aside from having a comments link, you can add a comments widget as well as asking readers within the blog itself to comment afterwards. A good place to add your request for comments is in the final paragraph, making it a call to action inviting comments.

Ask Questions to Get Comments

If you want others to comment on your blog, ask questions. Asking a question in the title of the blog is a good way to get additional comments. If your blog is titled “Are Younger Doctors More Compassionate?” then after reading your blog your readers are likely to either dispute your findings or agree with you, adding in their own insights and feelings. You can add a forum to your blog which extends the comments section and allows your readers to communicate with one another as well as with you. When the readers are answering your title question, they have more opportunity to interact with one another.

Leave Some Things Unsaid

If you cover a topic so thoroughly there is no room for your readers to add their opinions you will have severely limited the interactivity of your blog. Cover your subject, but leave at least a few things unwritten. This gives your readers room to respond to your blog by adding their own feelings and opinions. Don’t forget that if you are not willing to use your comment blog others may not be either. Once there are comments left, make sure you reply to those comments or you will leave the impression that your readers’ comments are not important. Interactivity includes you, the blog owner, so interact with your readers to the fullest extent.

Show Your True Self

Readers are most likely to respond to personal tidbits about you which show your human weaknesses or failings. For instance, married people want to read about the marriage problems of others in order to determine whether their own marriage is “normal.” Be humble and allow your readers to gain some insight into your life or your personality. Once they have a personal connection with you, readers are much more likely to continue to follow your blog. This doesn’t mean you can’t be controversial from time to time, simply because your readers now “know” you, however controversy brings risk so be aware. If you decide to use controversy to increase the interactivity of your blog, establish boundaries as to what is acceptable and what is not acceptable or you could end up with constant squabbling.

Encourage Others to Comment

When a particularly good blog comment comes along, highlight it in your next blog. This encourages others to continue to comment in hopes their own comments could be highlighted in a future blog. Don’t forget that you are the person who will set the tone for your blog; if you continuously write ranting posts, you can expect to receive rants in your comment section. If your tone is inclusive your readers are more likely to respond in kind when they comment. If you are having trouble getting readers to comment at all, include a survey regarding a particular topic of interest. In the end, exercise patience and your blog will be well on its way to interactivity.

Want to speak with an expert, not a sales rep? Call (800) 877-2776 for real answers to your important law firm blogging and lead generation questions.

Essential Tips For Starting A New Law Firm Business Blog

Saturday, November 2nd, 2013

It’s a common to feel uncertain or struggle with creating a strategy to implement a new business blog. Blogging should be all about your viewership and what your readers want, not necessarily self-promotion. It is tempting to throw in a few promotional lines or stray from your content, which is perfectly fine. The primary objective is to have a clear plan of action for your blog, balancing educational, informative articles with marketing and promotion. Some questions to ask yourself:

  • Who is my customer, and target audience?
  • What type of content would my visitor want to read?
  • Should I consider allowing guest bloggers to post on my blog?
  • How often should I update content on my blog?

Creating a plan will allow for greater time efficiency and give you better direction to execute your strategy. Understandably, there will be a little bit of uncertainty, and trial and error. As with anything else, you’ll slowly begin to create a clear vision of your goals and objectives and implement your plan successfully.

The following are some helpful steps you can take to ensure your new blog is headed in the right direction:

The Right Visitors. Part of starting a great blog means knowing your audience and generating the type of traffic you want. You want to attract an audience for the kind of services and issues your firm sells and deals with. Google is likely the common way to find a large portion of your customer base, so SEO plays a big role in establishing your viewership. Utilize key words and phrases to determine what your visitor may be searching for.

Appealing Titles. Titling in general is all about attracting a reader. The same goes for titling your blog. Take the time to think about a relevant title related to your area of practice, not one that necessarily includes simply your law firm name. Try and get creative to find a way to capture your audience. When it comes tot titling blog articles, keep a similar open mind about your audience and gaining their attention.

Communicating With Your Audience. It’s important to make sure a blog visitor, once they read a post on your site, can continue to go further and explore additional information about the subject matter. A good idea is to add links to other related articles, or make it available for them to contact you for more information.

Guest Bloggers. There are many points of view about guest blogging, and whether or not it’s a good idea to allow them on your site. In general, including guest bloggers occasionally is not a bad idea. However, if you choose to do this in the beginning, be selective about your choices and giving permission. Remember to always review and proof their content before you post it. It’s ok to be questionable about other’s work, in terms of opinions, style, or tone. You want to make sure everything is as right as possible for your blog audience. For the most, its best to produce most of your own blog content, so you can establish a look and feel, content-wise and stylistically for your readers to become familiar with.

Updating Posts. Updating your blog posts is really about how much time you have to dedicate to it and creating a consistent schedule for your readers. Ideally, if you can update it once a day, you’re in good shape. However, three times a week works as well, especially if you are in the early stages of starting your new law firm business blog and your are familiarizing yourself with the entire process. Consistency is the key. Also keep in mind, the more content and variety of content you can produce, the easier it will become to promote yourself and your business online.

To speak with an expert for additional help or information on how to get started with your new law firm blog, call toll free (800) 877-2776. We are here and ready to assist you with all of your blogging needs!