Blogging: The New Black
More than an e-mail, not quite a website, blogs have taken their rightful place in the online universe. New tools have made blogging both more professional and truly user-friendly. Any one can blog, and millions do. Law.com reports 19.6 million blogs on the Internet, with 70,000 more showing up each day, according to blog-tracker Technorati. That's a lot of eyeballs.
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton launched its first blog in March (AntitrustLawBlog.com). It was quickly followed by five more, each addressing a particular legal specialty. Blogs work--to build reputation, niche specialties, and client confidence. And they work fast. Sheppard Mullin's monthly newsletter used to reach about 3,000 readers. AntitrustLawBlog.com gets that many hits per day.
Moreover, new spamming laws and better spam blocking software prohibits distributing a monthly newsletter via an e-mail blast. Staying in touch via blog url keeps tech snafus away from the firm's contact database, so priority client email can continue without the hassle and embarrassment of "blacklisting".
Because blogs get preferential treatment on Web search engines, they are even more efficient than a formal website, says Tom Baldwin, Sheppard Mullin's chief knowledge officer. And blogging software automatically tracks and feeds back efficacy stats, so you always know how you're doing with your target markets.
Many blogs have already become powerful professional forums--multi-linked, archived, and searchable--even in technologically conservative professions like law. In blogs, legal practitioners are freely sharing reliable intellectual capital online, for which billable clients are willing to trade a small fortune.
Just keep in mind a few basic rules of blogging. Keep it simple. Keep it short. Link to news. Encourage interaction. Implement tech tools to let your readers efficiently find every bit of what you have to offer. For fun--and profit.
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton launched its first blog in March (AntitrustLawBlog.com). It was quickly followed by five more, each addressing a particular legal specialty. Blogs work--to build reputation, niche specialties, and client confidence. And they work fast. Sheppard Mullin's monthly newsletter used to reach about 3,000 readers. AntitrustLawBlog.com gets that many hits per day.
Moreover, new spamming laws and better spam blocking software prohibits distributing a monthly newsletter via an e-mail blast. Staying in touch via blog url keeps tech snafus away from the firm's contact database, so priority client email can continue without the hassle and embarrassment of "blacklisting".
Because blogs get preferential treatment on Web search engines, they are even more efficient than a formal website, says Tom Baldwin, Sheppard Mullin's chief knowledge officer. And blogging software automatically tracks and feeds back efficacy stats, so you always know how you're doing with your target markets.
Many blogs have already become powerful professional forums--multi-linked, archived, and searchable--even in technologically conservative professions like law. In blogs, legal practitioners are freely sharing reliable intellectual capital online, for which billable clients are willing to trade a small fortune.
Just keep in mind a few basic rules of blogging. Keep it simple. Keep it short. Link to news. Encourage interaction. Implement tech tools to let your readers efficiently find every bit of what you have to offer. For fun--and profit.
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