I don’t have a blog for my family law practice. I’ve tried it, and it mostly didn’t work for us—more on that later.

However, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. You are, after all, reading a blog right now.

Blogging is a great idea in most circumstances. You’ve just got to try it and find out whether it works for you. Here are five reasons it’s likely to make a difference in your practice.

1. It builds your reputation with referral sources.

Your writing will quickly establish you as an authority. You’ll become known as “that lawyer” who writes about the topic. Be sure to think about your audience. If you’re writing for referral sources, then use their language and address their issues. Referral sources have different issues than clients, and you’ll need to feed them the information they require to keep them engaged.

2. It attracts potential clients.

Clients are impressed with the lawyer who demonstrates expertise in the area in which they’re having a problem. Your articles are like free samples to those experiencing the problems you describe. They’ll learn from you, which builds trust. You’re the expert, the teacher, the authority with the solution they need. Who else are they going to call?

Potential clients are searching for answers to their questions. Be certain that you’re writing directly to their problems and concerns. Articulate their concerns in the language they use. Use your communication skills to explain their situation better than they can explain it themselves.

3. It grabs the attention of the search engines.

Google, Bing, and the other search engines like fresh content. They’re attracted to sites with regular updates because updated sites are more likely to serve as authoritative sources of information. Blogging sends a message to the search engines that you’re on top of the latest issues. That keeps the search engines coming back and encourages them to promote your content.

4. It intimidates opposing counsel.

When you’re an authoritative blogger, you’re kind of like the editor of the law review. Regardless of whether you admit it, the editors of law reviews are intimidating figures. They’re always smart, capable, well-organized, and well-prepared people. If you don’t find that intimidating, you’re kidding yourself. Lots of law review editors go on to bigger and better things. These folks are usually winners.

The law review editor isn’t usually the lawyer who raided the trust account, stole the money of the injured child, and got disbarred. The law review editor is more likely the lawyer who made partner at some big firm and is handling biotech matters now.

Being known in the legal world for your ability to digest, synthesize, and communicate ideas is always a good thing. When you show up as opposing counsel, it makes the lawyers on the other side wonder what you know that they haven’t yet figured out. It increases your settlement leverage and undermines the confidence of the other attorney.

5. You’ll learn stuff.

They say teaching is the best way to learn new things. They’re right. That’s why opposing counsel are going to worry about having you on the case. They worry because they should. You’re not just writing. You’re learning, and learning is scary to those who aren’t doing it as much as you are.

What Else Blogging Can—And Can’t—Do

These five benefits are just the beginning of the things you’ll gain from blogging. We haven’t touched on the media attention, the relationships you’ll build, the time you’ll save when you recycle your posts, the positive feedback, and a multitude of other good things that will come your way.

However, blogging is not for those seeking to outsource their marketing. You’ll get none of the benefits of blogging if you aren’t serious about what you’re writing. If you’re having a blogging company crank out short, boring, useless posts, then don’t be surprised when you don’t see results. That approach doesn’t work. It doesn’t even fool Google anymore.

For blogging to work, just like with most marketing endeavors, you’ve got to invest your time and energy. You’ve got to commit to putting yourself out there and taking a little risk. Blogging works. It’s no longer an experiment. It’s a proven, reliable approach to generating business.

If blogging isn’t part of your marketing plan yet, then it’s long past time to get it going. It’s a perfect way to build your business.

Why We Stopped Blogging Family Law

Oh, yeah, you wanted to know why our family law blog didn’t work for us. Well, we gave it a shot and tried it for quite some time. We targeted potential clients and did a pretty good job of speaking to them in language they appreciated and focused on the issues of greatest concern to them.

They came and they consumed our content. However, they didn’t find it as usable as the same content organized differently. They weren’t interested in the traditional reverse chronological order blog format. They wanted a comprehensive treatise on the issues along with answers to their frequently asked questions. We reorganized the material in the way they preferred and dramatically improved our traffic.

We also found that they weren’t interested in recent developments in the law, which was a big part of our approach. They wanted to know about the well-established law addressing the majority of their issues. Sometimes the packaging of the content is as important as the content itself.

We continue to use blogs aimed at referral sources (like you) on our sites. Like all marketing tactics, blogs require tailoring your approach to the specific audience. Blogging is perfect in many circumstances and is especially valuable when an ongoing relationship with the reader is a key component of the plan.