Lawyers I coach ask me:

Why is my blog not attracting clients?

I tell them that they should not necessarily expect a potential client to call and say:

I read your blog and I want to hire you.

Yet, many lawyers, maybe even you, are blogging and not attracting potential clients. Why?

Look at your last several blog posts and ask these questions:

  1. Is this post something my potential clients would care about?
  2. If a potential client did a Google search would they find my blog post?
  3. Am I just reporting the news, or am I demonstrating I am the lawyer to hire to handle this kind of matter?

Let’s take a further look at my third question. When I look at lawyer blogs, I find that an extremely high percentage are just reporting the news on a recent case, a recent rule or regulation, or a recent transaction.

If that describes your blog, then you are demonstrating your journalism skills (good or bad), not your lawyer skills. Potential clients may appreciate the news, but they are not looking to hire a journalist.

When a business client is looking for a lawyer to handle a particular matter, they want to know about the lawyer’s experience, ideas and judgment. Are you demonstrating in your blog post that you have the experience and judgment to handle a particular matter?

As you know, I wrote a monthly column for Roads and Bridges magazine for 25 years. Even when I wrote about a recent case, rule or regulation or transaction, I either:

  1. Tied it to something I had done. (Several years ago, I handled a matter involving…), or
  2. I added my takeaways. (This dispute could have been avoided if…)

So, what are your takeaways: Share your experiences and judgment with your readers. If your experience has some kind of active link, include that in the blog post.  Also, let them get to know you.

Remember, your readers may appreciate your news reporting, but they won’t hire you unless you have more to offer.