As a group, attorneys don’t seem to post a lot of comments on blogs. It’s not that we don’t have anything to say. We’re friggin blabbermouths when we’re getting paid for it.
Guess what? If you do it right, you CAN get paid for posting comments. You’re paid in the form of traffic back to your web site from people who read your comments and think you have something intelligent to say.
If your web site is doing it’s job, those people see something they like on your site, opt into your list, and let you court them. Eventually, they hire you.
The key to getting targeted traffic is to choose the right blogs to add comments. You might have an opinion about the legality of claiming a fake girlfriend, but unless you market to a sports niche, your comment on ESPN.com isn’t going to do you much good.
To get started, here’s all you have to do:
- Make a list of blogs in your target market. If you target Enterprise software developers, American couples seeking to adopt Russian babies, or diamond brokers in New York City, Uncle Google will help you find the blogs they read.
- Note the blogs that accept comments and a link back to the poster’s web site. Not all do. The ones that don’t accept comments might prove useful, however, if they accept guest posts, that’s another way to get targeted traffic.
- Subscribe to the RSS and comment feeds. Learn what you can about the kinds of articles posted and the frequency and nature of their comments. A blog with lots of comments is probably going to have more people reading your comments. Also pay attention to the style of the comments and the sophistication of their readers.
- When you read a post that is worthy of your two cents, add a comment. Reference the post, tell why you agree or disagree, and offer something of value to the discussion. Tell readers about resources you have found on other sites. Demonstrate your expertise, knowledge, and especially, your experience in the particular niche. When you say, “I represent several diamond brokers. . .” within your comment on a blog for diamond brokers, you will get noticed.
- The best way to link back to your site is to link to an article you wrote on the subject being discussed or something related. Tell readers why they should click through to read your post, e.g., “I just posted an article with 27 do’s and don’ts for adopting Russian babies.” If nothing else, your web site link appear when readers hover over your name above your comment.
Post a comment a few times a day or a few times a week and you should see traffic coming to your site from these blogs. And because it is targeted traffic, it doesn’t have to be a swarm to be profitable.
Marketing is easy. Clients are waiting. Start here.
David- As usual, great tips! In addition to leaving comments to get traffic back to my website ( http://jacksonandwilson.com ), it’s also a great way to start building new relationships and help others. After all, building value and trust starts with effective communication skills ( http://mitchjackson.com ) and good intentions and what better way to connect with people you enjoy talking to and doing business with then by starting with comments. Mitch http://about.me/mitchjackson (see what I did here 🙂
Hey, quit spamming my blog!
🙂
Great post. This is exactly what I was looking for. I was doing research on different lawyer marketing techniques for an article that I am writing. I think writing guest posts is an amazing way to get targeted traffic. Thanks so much for sharing, this was very helpful.
Credit will be given.
I agree with you and with the other commenters. As attorneys, we are all in the business of being commentators on legal topics. It only makes sense to do so on other attorney’s blogs to both add to the conversation and content of their site as well as draw some traffic back our way. Seems like a WIN-WIN!
With all the algorithm updates, many people feel that blog comments are a bad thing. I’ver heard this many time from so called seo guru’s. While this can certainly be true if done poorly, writing comments on reputable legal sites (like this one) can certainly help add quality discussion. This is something I have gotten away from, but plan to do some more in the near future thanks to this article. Good Read!
I can’t see how intelligent comments could hurt anyone. I’ve heard the debate about follow/no-follow links, but that pertains to the blog hosting the comments, not the destination site.
Thanks, David.
I agree with David on this one. Leaving a useful and insightful comment is something that cannot hurt your website. Using automated software to blast 1000`s of same(similar) comments will get you in trouble.
As for the follow/no-follow links debate, I found that even no-follow comments will have an impact on your rankings. Of course, no-follow comments on real, legitimate websites that are well looked out for.
Regards,
Bram