Your Blog Could Be Your Ticket Out of Practicing Door Law
One of the most common mistakes lawyers make, especially when they are just beginning their careers at a very small law firm, or even a solo practice, is trying to be all things to all people. In some industries, being willing to take on projects outside your comfort zone and to view them as learning experiences is a plus. For example, you might know someone who graduated with an MFA, determined to make a living writing various iterations of the Great American Novel and nothing less; that person probably now has an impressive resume as a freelance writer, having written product description, mercenary guest posts on someone else’s lifestyle blog, and whatever the clients at the content mills were requesting.
Saying “yes” to every request for a task that requires legal expertise is not a good idea for lawyers. It means you are always learning to do your job from square one, and the more negative reviews your customers write, the more burnt out you feel. Marc Cerniglia of the Legal Marketing Blog calls this practicing “door law,” meaning that you jump at the opportunity to take on every client that walks through the door. You need to develop a brand identity to help you attract the kinds of clients you most want to work with. Updating your website with high quality legal blog content is one of the most effective ways to do this.
How a Blog Can Help You Find the Client Base You Want
You probably already know which cases you like working on and which ones you only accept because they are better than nothing. You also already know that it is not possible for one person, no matter how knowledgeable about the law, to be a first-rate lawyer in multiple practice areas. (It is possible for each lawyer in a small law firm to focus on a different practice area, but that is not the same as practicing door law.) Once you have decided which practice area you find the most rewarding or which one is most conducive to reaching your career goals, you should focus your marketing efforts on that practice area.
A blog is a very cost-effective marketing tool. Regularly updating your blog shows Google that your website is active. The frequent updates, the contact information that indicates your practice area and geographic location, and the density of practice area-related keywords in your blog content create the perfect storm for making your site rank highly for the kinds of searches that will turn into leads. (Don’t stress about the keywords; they will write themselves if you write blog content about your practice area.) Even better, other law firms will begin to associate you with your chosen practice area and refer clients to you, so that the other law firms can focus on their own practice areas.
Who Has Time to Write in These Circumstances?
Even if your marketing budget is modest, the legal content writers at Law Blog Writers can produce custom-written, engaging content for your blog at an affordable price.