Ask anyone involved in legal marketing, and they’ve probably been face-to-face with a lawyer who insists on using bad fonts.  Last night it wasn’t a lawyer making this kind of bad choice, it was the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team.

His mistake wasn’t a mild one.  It wasn’t a bad call between sans serif or serif, or even an overly conservative fixation on Times New Roman.  No, instead  Mr. Gilbert’s choice was the ever mockable Comic Sans.  The design pundits on Twitter were chuckling about it so much, CNN was compelled to cover the story. Really. Over a font choice!

It’s a mild-wakeup call for all of us.  Not in terms of a potential embarrassment like this, but rather to reconsider the impression that different type face choices can make.  That while some font choices support the credibility of the writer, making the wrong one – Comic Sans topping that list – can do real damage to the message.  Need a refresher?  Check out the website Typography for Lawyers.  I can’t say I agree 100% with the advice, but a lot of it I do.

I’d also like to add a couple of my own tips:

1. Establish management buy-in first. Who stands up to the Partner that wants to choose their own font?  Or worse, wants to choose a new font every month? If the answer is ‘who cares…’, don’t bother investing your time creating standards.
2. When possible, however, creating approved firm standards for font face style & typography can help. Embedding those standards into printed work, forms production, templates, etc. can save a lot of headaches. It can also reduce internal bickering; and support those individuals tasked with maintaining consistent application.
3. For firms with a visual identity guide or style guide, be sure to include these font & typography standards. Define the font face usage not only in print materials, but also in digital placements. What are the acceptable line heights, kerning (space between letters)?
4. Delete Comic Sans off of every new workstation your firm purchases.  Nip those unsightly system fonts before they cause problems! :)

My newest column was published at Slaw.ca today, titled: Injection Marketing Undermines Credibility.  Within this piece, I’m trying to deliver two central messages.  The first is pretty straight forward: that embedding  links or messages about your services within web conversations is not only ‘tacky’, but it reflects terribly on you and your business.

For the generations of lawyers who’ve spent the better portion of their lives absorbing marketing and advertising, especially via unidirectional channels such as television, there’s a real need to disconnect from that experience.  Those who grasp the concept of “paying it forward” early (think altruism, educating, and connecting) will most often develop a large and mature network of web-based relationships. Those that don’t…  are destined to invest hours into the tools, and gain little traction.

Point being? If you’re not obtaining new relationships with your web marketing efforts, it may be time to work a little harder on ‘outreach’; and ease off on the frequency (and intensity) of your marketing message.  Relationships are the number one objective for your marketing success online; which brings me to the second central message of the column, SEO without spam.

Great SEO is dependent on these relationships, especially relationships with other online publishers. Let me spell it out in SEO terms:

• a large social network translates into reciprocal linking (linking to and from others in your online social circle) ;
• that network of links will grow in size boosting your link popularity (Google PageRank, and the like);
• link networks are not only valuable when in sizable number, but also in terms of domain diversity (not the same people always linking in – new relationships help shape this diversity);
• websites that link in based on similar topic coverage are better aligned and authentic (also valued by the search engines);
• similar subject websites also generate links within the body of the page’s text (valued more by the search engines, compared to blogroll links or footer links).

Websites that are really great performers in the search engines – call it ‘link juice’, call it what you will,  have this kind of link network behind them. On-page SEO tactics aside, the real “silver bullet” to SEO rankings is relationships.  Kill those, and you kill your SEO potential.

Unsolicited (or unexpected) commercial messages (a.k.a. spam) kills marketing – good SEO & credibility are just the first casualties. Fortunately the answer is very simple: hang out your shingle and do your business on your website. If your web travels take you elsewhere…  be yourself, be professional, and leave the salesman at home.

Michelle Golden has released her slides (embedded below) along with a great mind map from a recent presentation on personal marketing plans.  Michelle works primarily with CPAs and accounting professionals, but has also been known to dabble in the legal field. :)

These are both great resources, and I highly recommend them, but two important points caught my eye:

1. The tactical relationships between the stakeholder groups — Firm > Practice Groups > Professionals (or in our case, Lawyers). Each may have unique interests, but are also aligned to the organization’s business interests, such as client satisfaction and the marketing cycle.  Nothing exists in a vacuum – even individual marketing, and personal marketing plans, or PMPs, need to reflect this.
2. Web marketing tactics (obviously my primary interest) are much more valuable when dictated by business planning.  If the connections between PMPs and practice marketing or firm marketing is established early, the process of raising profiles at an individual level is much easier. And more so, the end result of those operations will be more satisfying to the company as a whole, because more stakeholder groups were considered earlier.

Congratulations to Michelle on what looks like a great presentation. And to this blog’s readers, enjoy her shared materials!

Designing a new logo and looking for new ideas? Try SeekLogo.com, a new search tool that indexes 200,000 downloadable vector graphic logos.

The term ‘law’ produced only 59 logos, so it’s not particularly heavy on legal examples;  but a database of 200K operational logo designs may help your next brainstorming session.

I’m about a week late with this post, but it’s always a good time to plug ABA Techshow! Right?

The paper I wrote with Reid Trautz last year, titled Supercharge Your Referrals With Technology, has been released as part the Best of ABA Techshow series. It’s the full version of the paper that was given out to attendees, in PDF format & around 15 pages.  I just re-read some of it, and was reminded of some of the great ideas we covered.

You can download more presentation papers from ABA Techshow, which runs again March 25-27th, by clicking over to the newly created section on the conference website.

And speaking of Mr. Trautz … Every year Reid publishes his guide on holiday shopping for lawyers. Reiding Reading his blog a few minutes ago, I notice the 2009 Gift Guide went up a couple days ago. It’s great fun, as usual!   Where else would I find an online store for a gas-powered blender! (seriously, near the end…)

Taglines as branding devices have been a subject of  interest for some time now.  Jeanine Magsitza compiled a list of 100 law firm taglines in 2002;   Nathan Burke analysed AmLaw 200 firm’s use of taglines on their websites in 2005; and a few months ago, Carolyn Elefant advised on how to write a good tagline.

Curious to see whether taglines have changed much since 2002, we decided to update the list and see if we could find more. We compiled the list by scoping out hundreds of US, Canadian, and international law firm websites, starting with the AmLaw 100 2009 and  Lexpert’s 30 Largest Canadian Law Firms and Magsitza’s big list from 2002. If we could quickly discern a tagline, we made note of it here. We left out generic-type taglines that really only refer to a state or city, or simply to the number of years the firm’s been around.

Taglines follow a variety of formats and styles; repetitive pairs, patterns, puns, and wordplay all figure prominently, and all with the goal of describing the firm’s philosophy succinctly and (hopefully) memorably.  (For more discussion of tagline formats, see this report from InterAct Marketing.)

Do they accomplish those goals? You be the judge!

101 Law Firm Taglines – 2009 Edition

AmLaw 100 2009:

1. Akin Gump: Power of Collaboration
2. Alston & Bird: Leadership. Creativity. Results.
3. Baker Botts : Deeper Understanding. Better Solutions.
4. Baker & Hostetler:  Counsel to Market Leaders
5. Bingham McCutchen: Legal Insight. Business Instinct.
6. Bryan Cave:  A Broader Perspective (SM)
7. Crowell & Moring: Experience. Creativity. Results.
8. Dickstein Shapiro: Experience Innovation
9. DLA Piper: Everything Matters
10. Faegre & Benson: More together.
11. Greenberg Traurig: We’re Built for Change (SM)
12. Haynes Boone: Setting Precedent (SM)
13. Holland & Knight: Industry focused. Relationship driven.
14. Howrey: The Advantage of Focus (SM)
15. Jenner & Block: When it’s a Matter of Importance. (SM)
16. Jones Day: One Firm Worldwide
17. Kilpatrick Stockton: Traditions of Innovation
18. Locke Lord: Practical wisdom, trusted advice (SM)
19. McGuireWoods: Relationships that Drive Results
20. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius: We’re In This Together. Your Team and Ours.
21. O’Melveny & Myers: Connecting Communities, Clients, and People
22. Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker: One Vision. One Firm.
23. Perkins Coie: Legal Counsel to Great Companies (SM)
24. Reed Smith: The Business of Relationships
25. Shearman & Sterling: Aligned for Excellence
26. Shepard Mullin: Our Mission is Your Success
27. Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal: Partnering for Progress
28. Steptoe & Johnson: When Experience Matters (SM)
29. Womble Carlyle: Innovators at Law

Other US law firms:

1. Adams & Reese: Out in Front
2. Andrews Kurth: Straight Talk is Good Business
3. Arnall Golden Gregory: Not If, But How (SM)
4. Barnes & Thornburg: Enduring Values
5. Bernstein: A Business Approach to Legal Service (SM)
6. Boyle Fredrickson: You’ve got ideas. We protect them.
7. Burr & Forman: Results Matter
8. Compatore Law: Legally Speaking
9. Connolly Bove Lodge & Hutz: IP Smart. Business Savvy. Client Connected. (SM)
10. Cozen O’Connor: The confidence to proceed.
11. Davis Wright Tremaine: Defining Success Together
12. Dickinson Wright: Great Lawyers. Great Law Firm.
13. Ervin Cohen & Jessup: It’s Not a Common Practice. (SM)
14. Foster Townsend Graham: Damn Fine Litigators.
15. Fox Rothschild: Let Our Experience be Your Guide (SM)
16. Fredrickson & Byron: Where Law and Business Meet
17. Gardere: Legal Knowledge. Human Wisdom.
18. Goulston & Storrs: thinkresults
19. Greenebaum: Breakthrough Law (SM)
20. Grodsky & Olecki: What makes us different makes us better.
21. Halloran & Sage: Your solutions start here. (SM)
22. Harris Beach: Lawyers you’ll swear by. Not at. (SM)
23. Holland & Hart: The Law Out West
24. Holme Roberts & Owen: Experience Listens. Be Heard. (SM)
25. Jackson Lewis: All We Do is Work (SM)
26. The Law Firm for Non-Profits: Helping Good People Do Good Things^®
27. Leonard Street & Deinard: Uncommon Wisdom. Common Sense. (SM)
28. Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith: Client Focused. Results Driven. (SM)
29. Miller & Chevalier: Discern the Difference (SM)
30. Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton: The Law Firm Built for Business (SM)
31. Munsch Hardt: Right Firm. Right Now. (SM)
32. Murthy: We Know Immigration Matters (SM)
33. Phillips Nizer: Resourceful Representation (SM)
34. Quarles & Brady: Common Ground. Uncommon Vision.(SM)
35. RMKB: A Better Legal System (SM)
36. Rose Law Firm: A Heritage of Results
37. Sheehy Ware & Pappas: Experience you need. Results you want.
38. Snell & Wilmer: Character Comes Through (SM)
39. Strellis & Field: Experienced. Driven. Effective.
40. Watt, Tieder, Hoffar & Fitzgerald: Building Solutions (SM)
41. Wells Jaworski & Liebman: Effective. Efficient. Expeditious.

UK law firms:

1. Berrymans Lace Mawer: Clear Concise Advice
2. Bond Pearce: Clients First
3. Browne Jacobson: Law, less ordinary.
4. Charles Russell: Understanding Relationships
5. Clifford Chance : Committed to Helping Our Clients Succeed
6. Holman Fenwick Willan: Lawyers for International Commerce
7. Irwin Mitchell: Towards a Positive Future
8. Lawrence Graham: Lawyers. Just Different.
9. Linklaters: Globally Minded
10. Mischon: Not just any law firm.

Canadian law firms:

1. Aikins, Macaulay & Thorvaldson: Legal Expertise with You in Mind
2. BCF LLP :  …Making it Possible
3. Blake Cassels & Graydon: Business is our Signature
4. Borden Ladner Gervais: It Begins with Service
5. Brazeau Seller: Business people. Business law.
6. Clark Wilson: BC’s Law Firm for Business
7. Cox & Palmer: The Difference is a Great Relationship
8. Crease Harman: We Mean Business.
9. Fasken Martineau DuMoulin: Beyond Results (TM)
10. Field Law: Our Practice is Your Solution
11. Fillmore Riley:  Practicing Excellence
12. Fraser Milner Casgrain: Your Future is Our Business
13. Gowling Lafleur Henderson:  A Tradition of Excellence
14. Lang Michener: High Performance (R)
15. Langlois Kronstrom Desjardins: A large firm with a human touch
16. Macleod Dixon: Local Expertise, International Depth
17. McMillan: Take the Lead
18. Robinson Sheppard Shapiro: Our Independence Makes the Difference
19. Siskinds: Leaders in their Field
20. Stewart McKelvey: When Results Count.
21. Zvulony & Co: A Small Firm That Acts Big. (TM)

Reader-contributed taglines:

• Harrison Pensa: In any case.
• Boughton Law Corporation: Built on relationships (TM)
• Harris & Moure: The International Law Firm for Business
• Dolden Wallace Folick: Insurance Law Expertise…It’s Our Policy
• Hull & Hull LLP: Trust Experience (TM)
• Hoyt & Bryan: Partners in Planning, Friends for Life
• Bernson & Burnham, PLLC: “We look at the law differently.”
• Davis LLP: Nationally Established. Internationally Recognized.

Did we miss your firm? or get it wrong entirely? Drop us a note in the comments, or an email in the coming days, and we’ll revise accordingly.

And finally, a huge thanks to Emma Durand-Wood (who now has a profile on the Stem website).  Emma was responsible for pulling this idea from one of our brainstorming sessions, researching and then compiling the list! A great project, with valuable results!

This past Sunday I published my latest Web Law Connected column over at Slaw, titled “The Formal-to-Informal Rule of Lawyer Web Publishing“.

The title of month’s article is a bit of a misnomer, and my suggestion of a rule is a mental guideline more than anything. The basic premise is to be careful about taking raw unfiltered conversational exchanges online, and automating (RSS imports, Widgets) their re-publication to your business network. As stated in the article:

My formal-to-informal rule is simply that it’s always ok to route formal commentary to informal and conversational web tools; but that unfiltered, informal, or conversational tools should be considered a place of final destination.

For those who consistently stay on message, don’t mix their personal & business networks, or see little use for flippant or sarcastic comments, having a content routing strategy may make little difference. Unfortunately, I seem to fail those tests on a number of fronts. :)  But that’s ok. The important message here is self-reflection in an honest way, and recognizing when fail-safe measures are required.

As I said at the end of the article, I don’t know if everyone else needs a rule… but it makes sense to me. And if it raises awareness of potential problems with content routing, especially for those lawyers with more conservative clientele, then mission accomplished.

As an aside, I’ve altered my personal publishing routine, and will now try to coordinate new article releases to Stem’s JD Supra account. The rationale, for those interested, is two-fold. First, Canadian published content isn’t treated as nicely in the US search results (a.k.a. geo targeting), so I’m attempting to improve cross-border search exposure; and second, I want those JD Supra syndication partnerships to help increase content distribution.

I’m with Nick Holmes, lawyers should know better than to drop comment spam, or let their SEO company do so on their behalf. To be even more blunt, Lawyers should fire their SEO company on the spot if the words “leave comments on other people’s blogs to boost your google rankings” comes out of their mouths! Leave comments & build relationships? great idea! Do so for google rankings & drop useless comments? Show them the exit door.

If we’re compiling a list of unacceptable online behaviours for lawyers, this would be in my top-10. Maybe top-3.  We expect comment spam from viagra and casino vendors, not lawyers.

Now, here’s the rub, and something I’ve blogged about before: almost every blog software out there has a ‘no-follow’ attribute on comment links – as recommended by Google. That means, don’t index the outbound link AND don’t give the link any weight in the search rankings.  And when was this ‘cutting edge SEO’ technique outlawed?  If your SEO doesn’t know, you might want to inform them it was over 4 years ago!

SEOs or marketers that recommend comment spam are incompetent & unethical. Lawyers who use this tactic are acting in an unprofessional manner. If they knowingly endorse it, they should also be considered unethical.

There are lines no professional should cross. This is one of them.

TechCrunch published an important post yesterday about the amount of time we invest in Twitter. Using Robert Scoble as an example, this post demonstrates a valuable lesson for everyone. There’s a risk involved when we disproportionately web-publish to another company’s service. The cost is that we increasingly ignore our personal web-publishing efforts.

While this may seem strange coming from the guy who penned Lawyer Marketing with Twitter, the issue is not about twitter, facebook, linkedin or friendfeed. The issue is our ability to create a balanced approach.

Earlier this year, D’Arcy Norman wrote about social network sharecropping. The idea that we are dumping our thoughts, pictures, notable links and relationships into the hands of others. And let’s make no bones about it, that’s what’s happening. When we publish to servers that are not ours, we are giving away control. But at what price?

The issue as I see it, is not that we’re using these services. But rather, that we are participating in an unbalanced way. In the legal sphere, my big concern is for those lawyers are engaging these tools without first having a personal web presence. That’s right, a blog!

Using social networks and social media without a blog to tie these services together, is simply a bad move. Especially for lawyers, who may be starting late in the game, you cannot skip steps. Guess what Connie Crosby did last year when her twitter account was accidentally cancelled? She blogged about it, and more important, she got results! Not having a blog means you are not a player. If you lack that personal publishing presence, that means you don’t have a voice on the modern web. It’s a position of web marketing weakness.

The other problem I see is the ‘no follow’ trend of the big social networks. Most of these services, including Twitter, have cut off the outbound link value of their links, including individual profile pages. That means, while many believe they are contributing quality content to these services and getting a valuable link back to their firm or company website, this is increasingly not the case.

Unfortunately, that’s not the way the ‘nofollow’ attribute or link popularity was intended to work. Link popularity is supposed to reward quality content & the people who create it.  Similarly, the ‘no follow’ attribute was created to prevent blog comment spam. But now combined, these two features are used by the big social networks to create black holes of link value. Draw you’re own conclusions here, but either way, the loss of publishing control puts the content creator at a disadvantage. At the whim of a third party, who may delete your account at a moment’s notice, and without recourse.

Now what all this adds up to, is that web publishers should own their own land (ie. websites & blogs). This is an extremely important point for lawyers & law firms. You wouldn’t let an outside company own your firm domain name, right? You protect it! It’s the same lesson here.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t participate in these communities. You should participate! But in a balanced way, and not at the expense of establishing a personal blog. Frankly, twitter without a blog is just playing around. If you are using social media to participate and build a reputation, you need to back it up with some substance. And though some may disagree, my take is that substance frequently requires more that 140 characters.

I understand that blogs are hard work, and that twitter is easier. So what? If you’re going to put hours into this, the last thing you want to do is take the easy way out. As the TechCrunch post says, blogging  delivers those memorable pieces that you (and others!) will refer to for years to come.

It’s an easy equation really. Blog something of value first, and then go chat with your friends about it.

Soon to be unveiled in the upcoming issue of the ABA LPM’s Law Practice magazine will be LegalWEB2.0, a new column to be edited by yours truly.  I’ve included a small image capture below to pique your interest! If you care to squint, you can probably get a sneak peak at the into blurb from the first article, written by PMA extraordinaire Erik Mazzone!

The focus of this new column will be on the practical aspects of web innovation within the legal community. My role, or at least as I see it, will be to track down stories (and authors) that highlight the latest methods of web engagement. The read write web is an environment that’s constantly evolving, both on the public-Internet and within law firms. My hope, is that this column will help lawyers decide which tactics & technologies are valuable investments of their time, and which are not.

I’m very excited to be expanding my role with Law Practice in 2009.  I’m also thankful to have the mentoring and guidance of Editor-in-Chief Dan Pinnington, as well as Joan Feldman and Joy White.  All three have been incredibly helpful, and I feel confident going forward knowing that I have their support.

And while I’m on the thank-you circuit… I’d also like to acknowledge former Editor-in-Chief Dave Bilinsky, who both got me involved in LPM and persuaded me to sign up for (yet) another volunteer gig. Thanks Dave! ;) Actually, all sarcasm aside, my time with LPM has been an exceptional experience.  It’s a extremely smart and fun group to be around. And I highly recommend it.

For all you iPhone groupies out there – besides the guy writing this post who wasted an entire day waiting in line for one of the first Canadian editions – there’s a new blog in town! Jeff Richardson has started a new site called iPhone J.D. and it looks like a good one!

Now to spin this back to my own topic, I’d like to describe the lesson that Jeff is teaching us about building a profile online. And that is, blogs don’t have to be about substantive law to have an impact! Jeff has a class actions and liability practise, not an iPhone-tech law practise. So where’s the value? He’s just wasting his time right? Nope. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Despite the fact that Jeff has disclaimed any connection to his firm, that little link back to his working life is set to become a major asset for the firm. And they likely don’t even know it. … Mark my words here. Over the next year, Jeff’s blog will attract many links, and will probably surpass his firm’s website PageRank of 4 within six months.

From that point forward, Jeff’s blog will drive every lawyer profile and practice page for his firm website up in the search engine rankings. All because of the link juice that link will pass back to the firm.

Think about that for a minute. His firm which has 10 offices and looks to have hundreds of lawyers, will be surpassed by the indirect efforts of just one single lawyer. All because Jeff took the time to blog about a topic he’s passionate about.

A hobby? Sure. But his clients and potential clients also get to see his personality, his level-headed nature, and a love for the topic. That kind of insight does come into play when hiring a lawyer, and yes, personality counts.

Most lawyers love their work. After years in this industry, I’ve come to believe those that have any kind of longevity also have a passion for legal practise. Blogging, on the other hand, is about constant reflection and writing about something you care deeply about. If you’re going to last at it, just like practising law, you’d better love the topic.

The lesson I spoke of earlier, is that a popular blog will drive your law firm’s web marketing efforts, whether it’s a topic directly related to your practise, or like Jeff’s blog, is only tangentially related.

If you’re going to start blogging, my suggestion would be to get this part early. Make sure your blogging topic satisfies something within you. Make sure it’s a topic that’s both fun and drives you to write! As I’ve said before, blogs aren’t law firm newsletters. Yes you need to think about things strategically, but always write for yourself first. Your readers will thank you for it.

Now, where’s my feed reader? … I need to go subscribe to Jeff’s blog.

Update: Completely forgot to tip my blogging hat to Dave Bilinsky for sharing with me. Thanks Dave!

My friend & legal marking consultant Allison Shields is out spamming legal bloggers today, trying to guilt us into pushing the latest issue of the ABA LPM’s Law Practice Today.

Actually, not spam at all… :) In fact, I might even remember opening my mouth in one of the Tucson meetings and suggesting something like a blogger outreach program. Luckily, there are people like Allison around to help turn those keener ideas into something useful.

Now let me back track even further, and ask you to visit Allison’s Legal Ease Blog for a full run down of all the latest articles.  Of course, you could visit the LPT website directly, but then you don’t get to see Allison’s great blog!  And if you look back at that first paragraph, you’ll see I did call the woman a spammer. It’s the least we can do, right?

…

Ok, back on the serious side…  I would like to pick out one article that I thought was quite helpful from this issue.  And that was, Carly Sproul’s piece titled Surviving and Thriving in a Tough Economy. She offers a short bullet point list of tactical considerations, and finishes with some solid advice:

“maintain a positive outlook. The economy is cyclical and while we are currently heading down, a rebound is guaranteed. Things may get worse before they get better, but those who take a proactive approach to marketing and business development will be able to weather the storm and position themselves for the next upswing.”

Finally, I haven’t talked too much about my involvement in the ABA LPM so far. Mostly because I still feel like the rookie and that I’m learning the ropes. That said, I’m now into year two on the Editorial board for the Magazine, and I’ve been tasked with a very cool new project. It’s Web 2.0 oriented, as you might expect, and something I hope to be blogging about in more detail shortly.

Stay tuned.

The content distribution channels just keep coming for legal documents sharing service JD Supra!

Just announced over on their JD Scoop blog, Stem client JD Supra has launched a new Facebook application to help users stream their content into their facebook profile.

There are two potential options during the install process. One is the mini feed, which will create a small summary of the last 3 documents the user has uploaded to JD Supra.

And the second option, which I think is the preferred path, will display the full feed of your documents, plus display a replicated copy of your JD Supra profile page.  Here’s a screen capture from Stem’s JD Supra profile:

And one of the document summary screen:

Another impressive addition to JD Supra’s vision for social legal documents! And, I might add, a very subtle way to insert one’s professional profile and credentials into their facebook experience.

Anyone who says the legal industry doesn’t get web 2.0 … better take a look at this! :)

…that is, lawyers blogging about blogging. There has been a handful of excellent posts over the last few weeks on this very subject, and these posts couldn’t come at a better time.

With the current economic downturn, we’ve been hearing that business is down for both large & small firms. Just as the old adage “Buy when stocks are low” goes, it seems that many are taking this opportunity to evaluate their web marketing tactics, including how their blog is positioned to drive new business.

Over at My Shingle, today’s post from Carolyn Elefant asks the questions post “Should lawyers accept ads on their blogs? Why Not?” Carolyn argues that blog advertising, done thoughtfully and properly, is an intelligent passive income stream that’s worth pursuing. She even suggests that when paired with advertising, blogging frequently is especially rewarding.

“Lawyers know that blogging helps market a practice, but as we all do with marketing, sometimes it’s easy to set it aside, particularly when the returns aren’t immediate.  But ad revenue from blogs is something that will flow from a well read, targeted blog and knowing that there’s an immediate return, can give extra incentive to post regularly.”

Personally, I don’t have a problem with quality sponsorships on law blogs. But I do think advertising can be a slippery slope, especially link-based advertising, which is what most blogging lawyers tend get propositioned with.

My advice to clients has always been to avoid it.  When a blog is driving good relevant work, lawyers need to value that relationship to their core revenue stream (i.e. their practice), and protect it. While the sponsorship model has the potential to lend authority to a site like Carolyn’s, link-based advertising, by comparison, and the few hundred dollars (or thousand) a month it might produce, isn’t worth it for most lawyer blogs.

Another good post is “Should you be the one to write your own blog post?” by G2WebMedia’s Grant Griffiths at his blog, Blog for Profit. In this piece, he rebuts four plausible alternatives to writing your own blog content (e.g., using freelance writers, canned posts, etc.). Grant makes an excellent case for why the best person to write your blog is you, and concludes, “In my opinion, you don’t have time not to be the one doing the majority of the blogging.“  That’s good advice, in my view.

Lastly, Kevin O’Keefe of Real Lawyers Have Blogs addresses a concern that’s common among lawyers thinking about blogging: the fact that there are already other successful blogs on the subject out there. “Existing law blogs on your intended topic don’t preclude blogging success” gives plenty of reasons why that shouldn’t stop you. In fact, he asserts,

“Lawyers with a desire and passion to blog in an area of law will find having a ready network of lawyers publishing blogs on the subject to be an advantage. It’s like having a panel discussion on the subject going on every day.”

I would also add… there is always room to hit a law blogging topic from another angle. Think about widening the focus to a larger audience or subject area – rather than creating another law blog, how about an industry blog with a legal slant? Or, going narrow and picking a smaller (and preferably the most profitable) niche and completely owning that subject? … change it up a little!

These three detailed posts show that blogging, like all marketing, needs to be approached in a strategic and deliberate way. The legal community is fortunate to have lawyers who not only write great blogs but can teach the art and science behind it!

Matt Homann over at the [non] billable hour has a great new post up titled 10 New Rules for Legal Marketing.

As many of you may know, Matt is a long-term member of the legal blogging community, and prides himself on inspiring innovative thinking. His current push over at lexthink is to inject that method into his speaking, conferences and law firm retreats.  I genuinely hope he finds that success, mostly because I do find him inspiring.

While I encourage you to visit & read the post in its entirety, there were a couple items on this list that really stood out for me. And they were:

9.  Your future clients have been living their entire lives online and will expect the same from you.  If you’re invisible on the web, you won’t exist to them.

Such an essential point, and especially for younger Lawyers. If you’re in your 30s or 40s, you need to think long term. Marketing your practice the same way as a practitioner in their 60s makes little sense. Learn from an older peer’s success? Absolutely. But don’t mimic marketing tactics. The mix for a younger lawyer should be very different.

7.  Having the scales of justice on your business card says you’re a lawyer — an old, stodgy, unimaginative, do-what-everyone-else-has-done-for-fifty-years lawyer.  Same is true for your yellow pages ad.

The same holds true for law firm websites. Stock images = stock lawyer. Invest in a good photographer and a graphic designer. Find imagery that works for your practice, and stand behind it for a few years.

2.  Google tells me there are 337,000 “Full Service Law Firms” out there.  Which one was yours again?

This is one of the ‘big ones’ in my world.  Neither corporate or commodity legal consumers use generic terms when searching. Couple that fact with a lawyer that’s unwilling to ‘hang their hat’ on an area of practise, or narrow their target geographic region of service…  and the whole sales proposition becomes infinitely more difficult.  Similar to off-line brand tactics, its much easier to explain & share a simplified concept – a lawyer who knows exactly what they do, and who they do it for.

I hope you’ll go read Matt’s post … and kickstart your Monday morning. :)