LexBlog announced it latest incarnations. One is the Marketing Technologies For Law Firms blog. It has an interesting post that got me to thinking, entitled Invite People To Your Site.
I think a good many of us, especially those with expert niches, think that we can throw up a blog, post some script, a few thoughts, and the people we need in order to make a living will come a calling. Then the enthusiasm diminishes, the posting falls off, and eventually all is for naught.
I tend to think that the problem is that we had the wrong expectations for the blog. We thought it would replace advertising, and save us shoe leather, and bring clients in by the droves with very little effort. And do not get me wrong, I have seen this happen. It just does not happen as much as you would think. It is often more complicated than this, and traffic takes a while to build.
But, there is probably a better way to look at a blog and to build a good and reliable audience. It is called inviting people to view it.
Now there are a number of ways of doing this. Marketing Technologies suggests email newsletters. There is also the possibility of other social media sites, such as Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter, as well as the bottom of your emails. All good. All somewhat effective. All inexpensive. All doable. Yet, I think it only answers one part of the equation.
All you must do is remind people of your posts on these these social networking sites. They will go and give it a look see. It will build your presence on the web, increase your traffic, and give you an opportunity to shine as an expert in your field. I get emails from all over the country about my StayViolation.Com practice blog all of the time. It makes me feel good and I am always grateful. The only problem? It does not bring me business, or as we say in Texas - bidness. For this you need something more focused.
Instead of using my practice blog as the engine to generate business, I use it as a hub to personally refer people who I want to refer me business. I make it a part of my introduction. When a referral source calls me for some friendly advice, I refer them to a prior post when I can. Of those on my referral list, I sent out an email newsletter periodically, part of which cites them to recent settlements or recent posts or opinions, all contained on my blog. When I visit lawyers or referral sources I remind them of my blog, tell them they can refer people online by just clicking on an icon on my blog. If I do a mailing (remember those), I refer to my blog. The point is that I practice in such a narrow niche that I am better able to use my practice blog as a hub, that is easy to remember for my referral sources to go for information and to refer a source. The URL is easier to remember than a business card stuck somewhere, or a phone number. It is both a referral source and resource, and I promote it as such.
My point is, I guess, if you come to think your blog is going to change the world over night, and bring a lot of attention to your practice, you might be right. But, the real key is to reach those that can specifically refer you the cases you want and need. That is a different matter often times. Not everybody needs to know about your blog. You do not need thousands of people a week viewing your posts. You need a smaller group of the right people referring to your blog, referring others to your blog, and most importantly referring clients to your firm.
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