When I ask lawyers why they blog, I get all kinds of responses:
“I like sharing what I know with others.”
“I’m positioning myself as a ‘thought leader.’”
“My clients tell me they’re using it, so I keep doing it.”
“I’m ranking well in Google because of it.”
“There are things that need saying, and someone has to say them.”
“I’m going to write regardless, so I thought a blog would be a good place for it.”
“Our marketing people told us to do it.”
“The blog came with the website, so we put up a post from time to time.”
I could go on and on with the responses, but they’re all some variation on these themes. Some of them are good reasons and some aren’t—to the extent that anything can be categorized as good or bad on a question like “Should you blog?” It’s in the zone of “Should we have children?”
If you like blogging, then do it. I’ve seen many good things come from writing, and I’m a huge proponent of throwing your thoughts out into the world. Write if you like.
But when we start talking about blogging, I often get the question “Should I keep blogging?”
Of course, this question only comes from those who don’t love it. The writers who love writing don’t ask. They just write. It fuels them.
If you’re asking this question, you’re either getting tired of writing or someone is pushing you to start writing and it’s not how you want to spend your time.
The Blogging Quiz
So, should you blog?
The answer is easy. It doesn’t take much consideration. It’s simple and, if you go with your quick response to the following two questions, you’ll know what to do. The only people who agonize over the answer are people who really don’t want to write anyway.
So here’s a quick quiz to determine whether you should blog:
- Do you want to blog? If yes, then continue to question two. If no, then don’t blog.
- Is there an audience for your blog? Is there someone who wants to read it?
Remember: the “Should I blog?” question never gets asked by those who love writing or even like writing—they write regardless. They’re thrilled that the Internet makes it so easy to publish. They’re going to write anyway. The “Should I blog?” question only gets asked by those who are ambivalent about blogging.
Question 1
When I ask “Do you want to blog?” the answer is typically qualified. It’s often “yes, if…” and the “if” often relates to whether it’s going to be useful to building the practice. That’s why there’s a second question in the quiz.
Let’s move on.
Question 2
Is there an audience? That’s question number two.
Let’s take my practice area, family law. Is there an audience? Yes, there’s an audience. I think you can write about family law for several groups. Other family law practitioners are interested in recent developments and ideas. The media cares a great deal about family law. Some academics are interested. If you’re interested in writing for those audiences, then you’re good to go.
But what about prospective clients? What about lay people who need a divorce? Aren’t they an audience for a family law blog?
Nope. The evidence suggests that they aren’t especially interested. I’ve studied family law blogs for years using tools like SimilarWeb, Google Analytics, and others. The data indicates that family law blogs don’t get visitors. People aren’t interested, and when they do stumble across a family law blog, they quickly hit the back button.
I’ve been watching family law blogs come and go for years, and those aimed at a lay audience don’t take off. They die a slow and unnoticed death. And no one cares.
The blogging proponents (usually people with a financial interest in setting up blogs) will tell you that having lots of readers is irrelevant and that the key is building relationships. A few readers can make a huge difference, they say.
That may be true in some practice areas. I have no idea. But it’s not true in family law. I’ve wallowed in this stuff for nearly three decades and personally talked to many, many lawyers writing family law blogs aimed at a lay audience. They don’t report building significant revenue from the relationships fostered by their blogs. Nope.
But some family law bloggers persist. Why? Because—obviously—they like blogging. It’s cheaper than golf, and it’s healthier than hookers and blow. Let’s encourage them, okay? It keeps them off the streets.
How to Decide Whether There’s an Audience
So go back to question number 2: “Is there an audience for your blog? Is there someone who wants to read it?”
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Ask yourself that question before you continue to invest significant time, energy, and resources in something you aren’t personally driven to do.
Does someone want to read it?
The answer is yes for many topics. There aren’t enough legal blogs. In fact, there are shockingly few that are interesting, well written, and useful. We need more of those. But we only need them if people want to read them.
I’d like to see more blogs on my personal legal issues. I worry about estate planning, small business legal issues, tax issues, etc. Do I stumble across anything interesting, entertaining, and useful very often? Nope. I see lots of crap that’s boring, basic, or over my head. Why isn’t there someone talking directly to me? I’d be a good client. Why isn’t my tax lawyer blogging about stuff I care about? Why isn’t my estate planner? Why isn’t my business lawyer?
We need more legal blogs—seriously. There are many, many gaps in the market. Many topics are covered, but many aren’t. And, even if a topic is covered, it’s often not written in a manner that’s well received by the audience.
But, if you’re going to blog (and it’s not a passion project), then you need to find an audience. You need to be speaking to specific people with specific life situations who potentially have specific legal issues. You need an audience to make the undertaking worthwhile.
Start with the audience and work backward. Think about them. Think about who they are, what they need, and how you can help. Think about what it would take to engage them and keep their attention. Think about how you can become part of their life. Think about what kind of difference you can make for them. Start with the audience. That’s where the answer is. That’s how you can decide whether you should blog.
