The marketing advisors push us to create content in a variety of forms. They want audio, video, and text.

They’d like us to add more articles to our website.

They’d like us to write articles for our blogs.

They’d like us to make videos for our sites and post them on YouTube as well.

They’d like us to create podcasts as well.

Of course, they’d be happy to sell us all that stuff and, by the way, they’re sure to let us know that we’re doomed if we skip any of it. We’d better have it all or the competition will do it and they’ll get all the clients.

What works? What makes a difference?

There’s a lot of research available. Unfortunately, much of it is done by the people trying to sell us all the marketing services. It’s tough to know what works.

So what REALLY works?

I’ve done it all. I’ve got videos on YouTube, I’ve got two podcasts with hundreds of episodes, and I’ve got several blogs. Of course, I also have a website.

My experience is clear: the website generates far more business than anything else. It’s the workhorse when it comes to growing our practice.

We’re pretty careful about monitoring the source of our clients. We study, both by talking to clients and by tracking activity on our sites, the progression of potential client to client. The website proves again and again to be the most important element of our online program.

I pay lots of attention to what law firms are doing online. The progression usually is for the firm to build a fairly simple site first. Then the firm moves on and shifts its focus to some of these other marketing projects—especially video.

I’d encourage you to skip the video, audio, and blogs until you’ve built a website that generates substantial traffic and business. Don’t get distracted by the next shiny object. Don’t assume the new thing will work better than the old thing. Build the website first and don’t get drawn into the other media.

It’s more important to get the website right before you move on to other things. We built our site 17 years ago, and we’re still focusing on it. This is not a short-term project. We’re constantly improving the site and adding features. Each month, we add something new to the site, and it continues to attract more and more new visitors.

Avoid the advice that pushes you to spread yourself thin. Stay focused on the core and get it right.