Having a Law Blog Is Different Than Blogging

One can own a race car, but that doesn’t mean you know how to drive it.

The same is true of a blog in the case of lawyers. Law firm websites everywhere have a page titled “blog.” Large law firms have multiple blogs.

But are the lawyers blogging? Do they know how to blog?

It’s a question being kicked around a lot at LexBlog of late. If we’re going to sell a law firm a professional turnkey blog solution, we have the obligation to make sure the lawyer(s) know how to blog.

My COO, Gary Vander Voort, put it well in his post about customer success this afternoon, in reflecting  on the state of blogging and LexBlog’s place in it.

“We need to make sure that we are not just giving people a spaceship, but are showing them how to use it. Because anyone can give someone a blog, the internet is full of solutions, but not everyone can make someone a blogger. So if someone has the right stuff, we need to be able to help them slip the surly bonds of earth, and dance the skies on laughter-silvered wings.”

Blogging, versus having a blog, includes an appreciation of some of the following:

• Clear goals
• Role of passion
• Blogs are the unedited voice of a person
• Tight niche
• Listening to leaders and influencers in your niche
• Engaging those influencers in your blogging
• Using social media personally so as to build trust and an audience
• Understanding that blog posts are merely currency to be used in networking through the Internet, not the end goal
• Success is measured in reputation, relationships and revenue, not web statistics and distribution

There is so much to be gained by lawyers connecting to people – consumers, small businesses, and general counsel – in blogging. The key is going beyond having a blog.