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Arianna Huffington Reveals the Secret of Successful Blogging to Daily Show's Jon Stewart

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"Isn't that just a waste of people's time?"  -Jon Stewart (to blogging evangelist Arianna Huffington)

 

Blogging is anything but a waste of time, especially if you blog about your passion, says Arianna Huffington, who appeared on the Daily Show December 3rd to talk about her new book The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging.  (Although Huffington only actually authored the introduction to the book, the bulk of it is by other Huffington Post writers.) "Blog your passion," Huffington responded to Stewart when he asked one of the ways that bloggers can get their blogs noticed, "blog your obvious passion and blog your secret passion." 

 

The whole interview is entertaining and enlightening (thank you to my brother Kevin for bringing it to my attention), with Stewart playing doubting Thomas to Huffington's sincere belief in the power of the passionate poster. But the money moment of the entire show was when Huffington seemingly accidentally verbalized perhaps the best definition of blogs I've come across:

 

"Blogging is not about perfection. Blogging is about intimacy, immediacy, transparency, and sharing your thoughts the way you would with a friend."

 

And that is it, my friends.  That is the power of the blog in a world that has gotten too good at polls, focus groups, and target marketing. A blog is where you go beyond all that and build authentic relationships.

 

Although... Jon Stewart did ask about people whose main contributions are comments such as "I think he's a dick for saying something I disagree with."  Oh there's plenty of those out there too, Jon, plenty of those out there too.

Legal Drama-Rama

Who needs daytime soaps when we have blogging lawyers?

As a blogger by trade (but more importantly as a writer by trade) I have a high respect for those who write informative and high-quality blog posts. I look forward to those blogs as places to learn, share knowledge, participate in a community, maybe make some friends, and generally have an enriching experience.  This is especially true when I visit blogs written by professionals.  Just as I wouldn’t want to see my doctor or lawyer shouting obscenities on the sidewalk, I don’t want to see that person regressing into childlike behavior in the blogosphere either.

Unfortunately (as evidenced by the comment to which I have linked above) this happens all too often.

If your website is the face you show to the world then your blog is your voice.  As such, I would go so far as to suggest that your blog is even more important than your website.  Your pretty face may cause the guys stop and stare, but if your mouth is spewing trash you can bet they won’t take you home to meet the family.  What clients want from their lawyer is not a hot one-night-stand; they want an intelligent class-act.

As a professional writing a blog, whether you like it or not, people are coming to you for education and guidance.  Your visitors are making themselves vulnerable by admitting that they may have something to learn from you, a gap in their own knowledge.  To throw that back in their faces with vitriolic rants and name-calling is worse than immature and disrespectful, it’s pernicious.

Whether your blog is attached to your firm’s website or not, anything you publish online—anything—will reflect what kind of person (or lawyer) you are to your colleagues and potential clients. In person, you represent your firm whether you’re in the office or at the grocery store; the same is true of your online presence. 

Make it count.

Cheaters Never Prosper

There are plenty good reasons for any attorney to blog, but one of the most important is that regular blogging will drive up your search engine ranking, making it easier for clients or potential clients to find you. This video, posted on Mark Merenda’s SmartBlog, gives a simple overview of search engine basics, and why blogging is the single most important thing you can do to achieve a first-page ranking on Google, Yahoo, and the other search engines. The speaker, Mark Wahlstrom, warns attorneys against thinking there is a “magic pill” that will give them a good ranking. Only by regularly adding interesting and useful content will your search engine ranking be drastically improved. Watch the nine-minute video below.

California Lawyers Show Their Intelligence

How would you like to be known and appreciated the world over for your insights and opinions in your field of expertise?  Let’s face it, you can be the most interesting lawyer in your Bar Association, but unless you’re defending Monica Lewinsky or O.J. Simpson, attorneys rarely find that kind of international recognition.

All of that is changing now, with the help of blogs, which, if used correctly, can get your name out in front of the public and build your professional reputation with very little expense to you, as evidenced in Jeanette Borzo’s article in California Lawyer Magazine entitled The Search for Intelligent Life in the Blogosphere.

The article does a great job of outlining the benefits of blogging for your firm, and the key line is a quote by Rick Klau who says, “Blogs are probably the most scalable, cost-effective, and efficient way for distributing a message on the internet.”  To that I would add that blogs are one of the most cost-effective ways of marketing, period.

Blogging has far more benefits than just being cheap and pervasive.  Blogging keeps you at the top of your game professionally, and ensures that you are always at the forefront of changing trends in the law and within your specialty.  As attorney Kevin O’Keefe says in Borzo’s article, “to blog makes you a better lawyer.”

I don’t know to what extent lawyers around the rest of the country have discovered the value of blogging, but California lawyers are jumping in with both feet.  They won’t be disappointed.

Big Returns for Small Firms

What can a small law firm get out of blogging? Is the return really worth the investment? According to Gina Passarella’s article in The National Law Journal the answer is a resounding “Yes!”

“Blogs can be more effective than almost any other marketing tool in showing a clear return on investment,” and more and more firms are becoming aware of this fact. According to Passarella’s sources, the past six months have seen a 49 percent increase in the number of blogs provided by the country’s largest firms. But the real beneficiaries of blogs are the small law firms.

Smaller firms benefit from blogs for a number of reasons.  One of the main reasons for this is that the best blogs are blogs that focus on a specific niche or target audience.  Small firms are notoriously good at choosing a niche market and excelling in it.  They have the time and resources to give their clients personalized attention.  A blog can ensure your target audience is aware of that fact.

Another obvious reason that blogs are so beneficial to small firms is that it costs next to nothing to start a one.  "Blogs are still one of the most effective ways that you can spend a few dollars and be able to show some sort of result," says Micah Buchdahl, president of High-Tech Marketing for Lawyers.

The internet is quickly taking the place of the yellow-pages in our “plugged in” society.  As such, a blog can be your best advertisement.  Every firm knows how important it is to have a web presence these days.  A blog that is frequently updated, and which includes common keywords and search terms in its posts, will quickly rise to the top when a potential client goes to Google or Yahoo and searches “Estate Planning Attorney”.  And it costs you next to nothing.

You may choose to wait to start your own blog.  You may want to see if it’s a passing fad, or until you have more time.  But if there’s only one thing you learn from Passarella’s article it should be that the competition is jumping on the bandwagon.  If you don’t start a blog, you can bet your competitor is.  Don’t let your firm be left behind.

The How-To of Headlines

It was suggested to me recently that my headlines could be snappier, shorter, and more… well, succinct.  My immediate reaction was to bristle and go on the defensive; who is this person to tell me how to write headlines??  But the truth is that headline writing is an art.  Some people might even say it’s a gift.  You either have a talent for it or you don’t. 

Well, I hope that last part isn’t true, because the headline is the first impression your reader has of your post, and as such it carries a heavy burden. I’d like to hope there’s a chance I can learn to do it well.  Here are some great resources for headline writing that I have found in my search:

·         Copyblogger’s excellent series How to Write Magnetic Headlines

·         How to Write Great Headlines by Stuart Brown

·         Ben Yoskovitz’s The Best Headlines Are Not Just Written For Google Or Digg

·         Mark Merenda’s Smart Blog, which is full of great tips for writing and marketing of every kind

·         And of course the best resource: your own experience.  Take note of the headlines that catch your attention as you’re perusing the web, newspaper, or your favorite magazine

Headline writing is more about psychology than anything else, as is the case with all marketing.  What you’re trying to do with a headline is catch your reader’s attention and convince them not only that they want to keep reading, but that they need to keep reading.  That’s a lot of pressure to put on one short sentence.  Some people may have a natural gift for it, but for the rest of us, I hope that education and practice will do the trick.

Happy Headlining!

Increase Your Readership with Keyword Knowledge

There is no use in having a blog if nobody reads it. But how do you bring readers to your blog?  One of the most effective ways is to incorporate search keywords.  Lorelle on WordPress and Copyblogger both have a some great suggestions about how to incorporate search keywords into your website or blog.

Most of us want to just get out there and write.  This may be the best way to go about it in the beginning, when you’re looking to find your voice and build your confidence, but as your blog matures you’ll be able to think more and more about improvements and focus.  With so many blogs out there on the web you have to make your blog available and easy to find. With search engines, that means using the right search keywords.

Incorporating keywords into your blog can mean the difference between being a social blog and being a business blog.  A social blog is like an online journal; a way to connect with your friends and family.  A business blog has purpose.  It reaches out to new people and attempts to share information with them, teach them something that can benefit them personally or professionally. In order to reach these people in an effective manner, you need to know first what you’re selling, and second what they’re looking for.

We write a business plan or a mission statement when we start a business; my suggestion is to do the same for your blog.  Incorporating keywords and reaching out to your niche market will be easier and more effective when you are sure of your own focus.  Then read the articles mentioned in the first paragraph and become an expert on keywords.  Because you can have the best blog in the business, but it won’t do you any good if your intended customers can’t find you.

Why A Blog Is Better Than A Newsletter

I have had more than one discussion recently with attorneys who are slowly beginning to realize that they are missing out on something important by not having a blog, but who are loath to give up their newsletters.  One of the common questions I am asked is "Why is a Blog better than a newsletter?"

First of all I'd like to say that having a blog does not mean you have to give up your newsletter.  (Although I guarantee eventually you'll want to.) A blog can certainly work in conjunction with a newsletter. In fact, because a blog post tends to be slightly shorter than a newsletter article, and posted more often, it would be very easy to use your favorite blog posts from that month to flesh out your newsletter.

That being said, here are the reasons you may want to consider giving up your newsletter altogether in favor of a blog:

1.      A Blog is Less Expensive.  The cost of a newsletter includes the cost of printing, mailing, the purchase of content (unless you write all your own), and other sundry costs.  A blog can cost you nothing.  I’ll say it again: nothing.  Granted, you can spend some money on a blog hosting site, and I recommend you do, but other than the time it takes you to write, there is absolutely no cost to having a blog.

2.      A Blog Reaches a Wider Audience.  Except for the hope that some of your clients or advisors might share your newsletter with their friends, there is absolutely no chance what you’ve written is going to reach anybody other than those to whom you have mailed it.  A Blog is available to anybody and everybody.  All over the world.  In fact, people will eventually seek out your blog on a regular basis. This brings us to #3…

3.      People Come to Your Blog Because They Want To.  A newsletter will show up in a mailbox and maybe the recipient is in the mood to read it, maybe not.  On the other hand, readers will come to your blog because they want to, because they are interested in your topic and your voice.  This means that they are reading it receptively, and are far more likely to take action and contact you.

4.      A Blog is Less Formal.  This less formal medium gives potential clients a chance to feel that they are really getting to know you.  They get to know your voice, your personality, your interests and concerns.  And if they’ve come to your blog you can bet it’s because your concerns are the same as theirs.  They feel an instant connection.  When they decide to reach out to you, they feel they are reaching out to someone they already know, a friend.

5.      A Blog Builds Community.  I cannot stress this enough.  A blog is more than a weekly lecture from you to your readers, it is a conversation.  The ideal blog includes numerous comments from readers, and responses to those comments from the author.  The ideal blog will include links to other blogs or articles, and will have other blogs linking back to it.  We live in a society where we interact with machines much of the day, and few of us know our neighbors.  The internet is the modern community, and blogs have become the backbone of that.  The better a community your blog has, the more “residents” it will attract.

I did have one person say to me once “But a newsletter is a more active medium, because you send it out to people instead of waiting for them to come to you.” This is absolutely not so.  A blog can be sent to the e-mail inboxes of clients or professionals, and any good blog will include a subscription option or an RSS Feed option.  All of these enable you to keep an active relationship with your readers and reach out to them on a regular basis.

How Social Bookmarking Can Help Your Business

I’ve spent the past 2 weeks trying to compose a blog on social bookmarking and how it can benefit business blogs, and I have found that the subject is endless!  The more I look into it the more I find. The potential for blogging to help get your business name out there has always been incredible, but now it’s even more incredible with the hugely popular social bookmarking frenzy!

The idea behind social book marking is that when you find a website that appeals to you, instead of bookmarking it on your browser you bookmark it on your one of these social bookmarking sites (Reddit, StumbleUpon, Digg, Technorati, etc).  When you do this the site automatically connects you to other users who have also bookmarked the site, giving you an instantaneous slew of new “friends”.  It also keeps track of what your interests are so that when you search for something it can bring up results based on sites you’ve previously bookmarked as favorites.  And best of all, it ranks each bookmarked site based on how many other users have listed it as one of their favorites! 

I have found that having your website on the front page of one of these social bookmarking sites is a highly coveted position.  This is because it is based not on Google or other search engine parameters such as how often the site is updated, but on actual popularity with real people.  As you might have guessed, many of the sites listed in these social bookmarking communities are blogs.

For a business owner, having your blog listed on one of these social bookmarking sites would lead to a HUGE amount of traffic. So how do you get there?  Well, first of all you have to blog, and blog regularly.  You have to know your audience, be interesting, personable but slightly controversial… You could fill a book with strategies for getting on the front page of one of these sites.  If you haven’t done it already, check out one or two of the sites.  You might be amazed at what you find.

The Secret of Success

You can say that having an updated blog helps businesses by keeping your website at the top of the Google search results, or that it gives you name recognition, or establishes you as an authority, and all of those are true, but the very simple and essential fact is that blogs are good for business because they offer the one extra thing modern consumers want… access to your life.  Consumers in today’s market apparently don’t want to be your client or your fan—they want to be your friend.  This NY Times Article is a great reminder that when it comes down to it, success is about what it has always been about—personal relationships.  And that is exactly what blogs achieve.