How to Build an Effective Blog as a Lawyer

With the increasing prominence of the Internet, there is a greater demand for public servants, like lawyers, to maintain an online presence. When someone needs a lawyer, they aren’t going to go to the YellowPages. And while word of mouth still works, most people will head to Google before they even call a friend. The convenience of the Internet means that smart lawyers will take advantage of the opportunity available through the Internet. However, building an effective blog is about more than writing a few words every now and again.

Set Up a Professionally Designed Website

While your content is important, you must also present a great design to your readers. They will judge your professionalism within the first few seconds of viewing your website. How? Based on your design. If you have a lousy design people will translate that to mean you’re a lousy lawyer. It does not take much money to find someone that can create an outstanding platform for your blog. If you want to be effective, you need an effective design.

Blog About Things Relevant to Clients

Find questions that your readers will need to know the answer to when they come to your blog. Things answer the five basic Who, What, When, Where and How questions can make great blog topics. For example, if you’re a personal injury lawyer, one of your topics could be,  “When to Hire a Person Injury Lawyer” or “How to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?” Make sure to include links to your contact information in your posts. If you’re providing free, helpful advice through your blog, your readers will know your name when they need to find a lawyer for real.

Make it Personable and Easily Digestible

You graduated from law school, which means you’re very educated. However, your potential clients likely didn’t graduate from law school. Speak to your audience. Using simple language and explaining difficult law terms will bring things down to their level. They will appreciate you taking time to explain complicated phrases and situations. Remember, this is a blog, not a legal document. Make it interesting and easy to read.

It may seem like too much work to create an effective blog, but it’s really not. You have the time. If an influential and industrious lawyer like Morgan Chu Ph.D can create his own blog, then so can you. It doesn’t have to be anything over the top, but it needs to be there.

Spend some time, money and energy into creating a great, helpful blog and you won’t regret it. You will automatically build trust between you and a potential client before you’ve even spoken to them. That alone should be worth it all.

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