How has your week been going? Hope it’s been good and you have been implementing the different things you have been learning. Today, I want to take a little detour and talk on blogs. Yes blogs.

What do you know about blogs? Does your firm have a blog? This is quite fundamental and that’s why I want to talk a bit about it before we go any further.

A blog really is a type of website made up of short, frequently updated ‘posts’ written by you or by someone appointed to do that.

‘Blogging’ which is the act of writing and publishing posts has had a huge impact on the way information is presented, published and consumed. Blogs are so important that they are created every second of everyday.

Blogging allows everyone without any special skill to have a voice online. This has ‘broken’ the dominance of big firms and sites on the internet and made it a level playing field for everyone. Blogs have really caught on because they are a means for anybody to share opinions, knowledge and advice on topics that interest people.

Using a blog allows you as a legal practitioner to have a voice and because blogs are so popular and search engines like Google love blogs, you can position yourself in such a way that your voice is heard on the world wide web as one who provides a wealth of knowledge and resources about the things that you already know about.

This positions you as an authority and draws potential clients and customers to you for value. Remember the secret is in providing the value. As you provide value it attracts people from all over to ‘stop by and visit’ you.

Once your content is valuable and relevant, guess who is likely to drop by for another visit? Blogs attracts repeat readers. Where it gets really powerful is, using your blog to implement the different things we have been talking about like your opt-ins, lead magnets etc.

Blogs are an easy way to create a relationship and capture contact details for more conversations, in order words, to start off an ‘online relationship.’
It allows direct and personal conversation with your clients.

Your Blog is the meeting place where it all begins; where you and your potential clients make the initial contact. Pretty much like going for an event and meeting some great people that you exchange contact details with and build a business relationship. Your blog is where you meet and this exchange takes place.

With blogs, you can:

Reach a wider audience. Make your content really relevant to your target audience and you will reach a much wider audience than you can through any other means. Blogs really work because almost everybody is online searching for information. By providing value, you increase your credibility as an authority and being trust worthy. It really positions you to converts these ‘followers’ to paying customers and clients.

Develop deeper relationships. With a blog, communication can be two way. Readers can post comments and you can reply. It makes you human. People want to know the human side of a business, in this case, your firm or practice
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Establish yourself as an authority, a leading expert in your field. This comes through the value you provide. If you do this right, you will attract a ton of traffic/visitors to your site looking for relevant content. Encourage debate in the comments. Do not be afraid to take a position on controversial topics. All may not agree with you but they will still visit your blog and the conversation continues. It will make your blog active and attract more visitors as your rankings go higher on search engines like Google. Put up educational content. Educate, enlighten and empower through your blog.

Do this well and implement all the things you have been learning and you will be amazed at the results.

Want to start a blog today? Check out www.wordpress.com, www.blogger.com for starters. Want a more professional blog? Get in touch. Send me a reply with
all your questions.

This post on blogs is by no means exhaustive. Hit the comment button and ask me your questions. Let the conversation continue!