Press Office

Publication Date: August 05, 2003

Publication Name: Marketing for Lawyers

Author: Barbara Weckstein Kaplowitz

Blogs have made it into the mainstream. Dear Abby, earlier this month,offered her opinion to teens on whether or not to blog. A Google search for "blogs" garnered 1,680,000 results. A similar search just for "web logs + law firms" offered 18,100 matches.

For law firms, blogs seem a natural progression in using the Web for marketing and communications purposes. Once firms were considered behind-the-times if they didn't have a Web site. Then the next great "must have"wave brought us e-zines, e-letters and e-mail alerts. Now, the race is on to launch law firm blogs.

And therein lies a problem. Blogs [or blawgs as they're often referred to in law firm marketing lingo] are at their very essence, personal. And the tendency in law firms is to try to institutionalize communications to match management's edicts on brand, image and reputation. Whether your firm already allows or encourages blogs, or is contemplating the use of this tool, we'll share some advice on how to move forward and some cautions on problems to avoid.

What Are Blogs And Why Is Everyone Writing Them?

Blogs are basically online diaries. According to Denise M. Howell, a member of Reed Smith's appellate and intellectual property practices in Los Angeles, "Web logs, also known as 'blogs,' are online publications which can include links to news stories, opinion pieces and commentary. Because they can be updated throughout the day, blogs enable immediate, virtually effortless Web publishing. With a minimum of technical know-how, a Web log author or 'blogger' can publish and maintain an ongoing, informative dialogue with an unlimited number of readers." Howell should know; she has her own blog, called Bag and Baggage [http://bgbg.blogspot.com/].

What draws readers to a blog is its personality. Blogs are almost always written in the first person, by individuals with a passion for communicating on a specific topic. Anne Holland, president of Rhode Island-based MarketingSherpa.com, and an expert on online marketing tactics and techniques, says that at its base a blog is nothing more than a content management tool for a Web site. "Blogs are a way to stick text information onto a Web site without having to build a fancy system for it. People use [them] for diaries. People use them for ... collecting the best of the Web down to very personal stuff. Entertainers giving behind the scenes real life stories of what it's really like. [Blogs can be] short dashed-off notes linking to other stuff with your analysis."

This, Holland adds, can be a problem for law firms. "Do people expect formality from your e-zines or blogs? The public can sniff out the faux stuff really easily. You have to avoid being too salesy. You can't be transparent."

Why Should Businesses Blog?

In a recent article, Debbie Weil of WordBiz Report.com says the answer is simple [www.wordbiz.com/signup.html]. "No one listens to sanitized marketing messages. If you find the right person in your organization to blog about your products or services you'll brand your company as authentic and knowledgeable.

Every company has a closet writer, whether or not that's part of his or her job title."

Blogs, says Holland, should be exceptional for law firms, "depending on your area of law. Legal stuff for small business owners won't likely be a hit. If [it's your] full time job to follow legal developments in your area, I'll read it. Consumers with passionate interest in your topic will read it and be all over it."

Holland believes your firm should give the green light to blogging if: "You have people passionately interested in information in the area you're in. If you do and there are a lot of articles put out every day, this is good. If there's very little information on the Web in your niche area you'll show up in the search engines. You'll gain notoriety and fame in a good way that you'd never have gotten any other way. Basically blogging is an incredibly easy way of building an informational Web site that's personal and that people really enjoy."

The Difference Between Blogs And E-zines

So what's the difference between e-zines [or e-letters] and blogs? Plenty: delivery mechanism; publishing schedule; tone and voice; length; and features. First, e-zines are "pushed." You're delivering information to a list of people who've said they want to receive it. Blogs rely on "pull" technology readers actively seek out your information. Here's where it gets a bit confusing, though. A blog can be an e-zine, with sign-up lists and delivery by push e-mail.

What differentiates a blog is this second point: blogs are generally less formal, more newsy and always written in the first person. By contrast, e-zines often have articles specifically written for an issue, may have regular features and carry more "evergreen" content. Blogs are much more unruly which is what makes them more fun to read.

And then there's the delivery schedule. Most firm e-zines come out on a specific publishing schedule. Blogs, on the other hand can be updated as often as your blogger desires. Although, updating too infrequently will cause readership to decline.

According to Holland, a lot of smaller firms do very blog-like e-zines. "One partner who dashes off personal notes to the reader ['I was at the conference this week' ... or, 'Someone called with a question']. [That is] exceptionally powerful. That may not work for larger firms. If you want a more corporate image, with proofreading, we vs. I, blogs may not work."

Are There Other Advantages To Blogging?

Yes, says Jerry Lawson, who runs netlawtools.com, a Web site that assists firms in online activities. In a recent posting to the lawmarketing.com list, he described the cultural side to blogs that may be more significant than the technical advantages:

"Expectations for blog content are lower. Many law firms don't think they can update their conventional Web site unless they have something like a law review article." The result of this is a static Web site. "The blog format makes it easier for people [at least those who are good writers] to come up with content that will be attractive to visitors. It doesn't need to be long or scholarly, it just needs to be interesting. Further, if there's a typo or grammatical infelicity here or there, it's not considered the faux pas that a similar error would be on a conventional Web page. People evaluate blog content using a different standard, one that is more favorable to bloggers.

The blog format has proven itself to be more attractive to visitors, so long as the content is professional. Have you ever seen a conventional law firm Web site that was actually interesting to read? If I have, I can't remember. By contrast, blogs tend to have a human face, and other human beings prefer reading them instead of yet another boring description of your practice groups or another declaration of how dedicated you are to client service.

Blogs make it possible for lawyers to do what I call 'self-validate.' Instead of telling people that you are a great legal expert, a focused, well-done blog lets you show them you know your stuff, and that you are an engaging personality and writer. It can let you develop a national reputation for expertise. Howard Bashman, the Philadelphia lawyer who does the very successful How Appealing blog on the theme of appellate litigation..[http://appellateblog.blogspot.com], is being touted as a candidate for appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Is he likely to be appointed? I have no idea, but I do know that before he started blogging, no one I know had ever heard of him. Now he is nationally known, and has been sought out by reporters looking for his opinions on litigation.

There is a community spirit about bloggers. Bloggers tend to build links to other good blogs more frequently than they do to other Web sites. This both funnels visitors to you directly, and causes your blog to rank higher in search engines. Dennis Kennedy, a St. Louis attorney who blogs about legal technology and technology law [www.denniskennedy.com/blog] tells me visits to his Web site are up 50% after only about 4 months since adding a blog to it. I don't keep track of my total number of visitors as closely as Dennis does, but I estimate my blog gets easily twice as much traffic as my conventional Web site, probably more."

Costs and Technology

Unlike building a Web site, the barrier to entry for blogs is low. While a number of technology companies offer blogging software, the two most popular ones are MoveableType [www.moveabletype.org] and Blogger [www.blogger.com]. You can set up a blog in less than an hour, and for less than a few hundred bucks. There are some issues you will want to discuss with IT before you launch a blog, says Holland. Determine who'll host the blog [she recommends doing it yourself if you can. That way if a vendor's server goes down, you're still okay] and what format you want. You should also talk with your e-mail newsletter vendor [if you have one]. If you want to create a secondary list to push deliver your blog, your newsletter vendor can often set this up for less than $100. If you go this route, ask the vendor to give your IT department the "send to" addresses.

Nuts and Bolts of Blogging

It's hard for lawyers to overcome their instincts and avoid over-editing and equivocating. Holland suggests that an attorney might turn a blog personal, and talk about golfing, for example. Such blogs bring clients to your Web site for more social than business reasons. If your firm's doing a lot for a charity, or has pro bono work worth spotlighting, focus on it.

If your attorneys say they're too busy to blog, consider this option: Have a clerk or intern constantly pluck appropriate news items and send links. Then ask your attorneys to write about the legal aspects of the item. They only need to add a sentence or two. People don't like long sentences in blogs anyway; go for short, quick takes.

Holland cautions: "Don't write boring. It's people's decision on whether they want to read you or not. Be engaging, entertaining or have something of huge value. They won't come back if it's something that's not of value, use or interest." Expect your readership to start small and grow slowly. If you're doing your job, your readers will turn into fervent fans. "People like the feeling of smart human beings who they might want to call up," she says. "The more human your blog, the higher level of e-mail you'll get." The downside is you have to answer the e-mails. Be sure either your attorney blogger or marketing or administrative staff are ready to react. People expect to be able to chat with a blogger. You'll need to answer e-mails within a couple of hours if possible, or within 24 hours at the latest."

Here are some other tips to consider when creating a blog:

One person blogs tend to work extremely well. Multiple person blogs only work if all the writers share a similar style and post things of equal interest. On the flip side, a trio of bloggers might be a great way to make sure you have content posted consistently.

Have your entries available for viewing in chronological order. Put the most recent blogs at the top of the page. Be sure to include the date and time of each posting.

With each link, note whether there's registration or payment required for access. Link to government documents, to other bloggers, to stuff in your own site, to press releases on someone's site and to a featured company's home page. Links are considered good blogging practice.

Decide whether to allow readers to post comments. Many sites do, but Holland suggests you only do this if you have a huge amount of traffic, because a small number of comments might make your blog look lame. If you are concerned about accepting comments for legal reasons, a recent decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals offers protection for bloggers and Web site operators for now.

The court, in Batzel v. Smith [available at http://tinyurl.com/fovq] found that posters are responsible for any defamatory, fraudulent or otherwise actionable information, not those who "publish" these posts. This ruling offers protection for any bloggers who are not traditional media companies.

How Long Does It Take?

It all depends upon how fast a writer the blogger is. To be good at blogging you need to:

- Make the time to write it.

- Keep up with your schedule. Hint: set a goal of at least twice a week. If you're keeping things short and newsy, expect to spend about a half-hour per publishing day blogging.

- Keep a running folder of ideas for blogging.

- Have a steady stream of information to support your blog.

- Be dutiful about searching the Web.

Blogs For Less Than Public Consumption

If blogging for the general public doesn't fit your firm's strategic plan, Holland suggests you consider blogging for another reason: client support. She reports that many major companies such as IBM have individual Web sites for major clients. Others, such as Franklin Covey, offer custom newsletters for their sales reps. She suggests you create a private blog for internal use among the lawyers in a client-centric group. This gets them to know each other and the material can naturally be re-purposed for the client as a private blog.

Selling Top Management On The Idea Of Blogging

To get firm management to buy into this idea, start with a pilot blog. Holland says you shouldn't pick the one attorney who would do this in his spare time anyway. Instead, work behind the scenes. Choose as your test attorney someone who belongs to e-mail discussion groups on his or her topic, and  posts to e-mail groups regularly. Approach the attorney with "Let's do a little blog for you." This is how e-mail newsletters spread through big accounting firms and investment banking groups. Work with this one attorney to create a sample blog and then keep it going. Start out in a grassroots way, with a budget of $500 including IT time. The rest, says Holland, will be history listed in chronological order of course!