Many attorneys tell me they don’t write a newsletter or a blog because they don’t have anything to say.
I cry foul.
Have you ever spoken to an attorney?
Give them a minute and they’ll talk non-stop about their latest case, complain endlessly about a client who drives them crazy, or tell you all about a jerk attorney who makes their life miserable.
They’ll brag about a big case they just settled or a prestigious client they just signed up. They’ll opine about the law in their field or about an appellate case that is about to be heard.
If they’ve been ill or injured, they’ll share all the gory details. If they bought a new snowmobile or boat, they’ll go on and on about their new toy. If they just came back from Italy, they’ll tell you why you need to go.
Blah blah blah–it’s almost like they’re getting paid by the word.
No, attorneys have lots to say, about a lot of subjects. Fortunately, we can use our verbal alacrity to write a newsletter.
The trick is to have something to say that your clients and prospects want to hear.
Here are some ways to find out what that is:
- Go through your email inbox and see what they’re asking you
- Send them an email and ask them to submit questions; invite them to do the same thing on social media
- Visit sites like Quora where people ask questions and lawyers answer them
- Visit other lawyers’ blogs and see what they write about
- Visit other lawyers’ blogs and social media profiles and look at comments and questions posted by readers and followers
You can supplement this by writing about things like what you like about being a lawyer, and what gives you pause. You can educate your readers about the law and procedure in your practice areas. You can share news about their industry or local market.
You can write profiles of your business clients. You can interview other professionals who work in your niche market. You can comment on articles and posts written by others who write about topics similar to your own, agreeing or disagreeing with them, and sharing your experience with the same subject.
You can also share a smattering of personal information about yourself, your hobbies and outside interests, movies you like, restaurants and books and software you recommend. Your readers want to know about you, the person, not just you, the lawyer.
There is no shortage of subjects you can write about that your clients and prospects would like to know.
If you ever feel that you’ve run out of things to say, you can repost what you’ve written before. You can do that because you will always have new people joining your list who haven’t read anything you wrote in the past. And because the people who have read your previous posts won’t remember most of the details. And because your prior opinions, experiences, and observations may have changed.
I don’t buy the “nothing to say” argument and you shouldn’t, either. Pretend you are getting paid by the word and I’ll bet you never run out of things to say.
How to build your practice with a blog and/or newsletter
