Law Blogs Are ‘Cheapest Thing You Can Do’ to Market Practice, Lawyer Says
Consumer law firm Pritzker | Olsen in Minneapolis has one blog at present but is in the process of developing several others because its Food Poisoning Blog has proven itself.
“We know we are getting business [from the blogs]. It’s really easy to track,” Pritzker | Olsen attorney Brendan Flaherty told Dolan Media Newswires for an article appearing in Wisconsin Law Journal. “As compared to other marketing sources, it’s the cheapest thing you can do. That’s what is so great about it.”
The monetary cost of setting up a blog is negligible, so the true expense is based on how much a lawyer can bill per hour, since developing and writing regular posts requires some nonbillable time.
“That is the most intimidating thing for most lawyers,” said Minneapolis solo Sam Glover, who authors Lawyerist and Caveat Emptor.
Seattle attorney William Marler, who handles food-poisoning cases, told Dolan Media Services he spends up to two hours per day updating his firm’s 10 legal blogs, which get between 8,000 and 10,000 hits per day.
But more well-known bloggers see more intangible benefits to blogging. Robert Ambrogi, a writer, lawyer and media consultant in Rockport, Mass., told Dolan Media Newswires that he started Media Law—one of five blogs he either authors or contributes to—to stay current. “It forces you into this regular exercise of keeping up with the news and developments in your field,” he said.
And University of Wisconsin-Madison law professor Ann Althouse told the ABA Journal in December that she started her blog, Althouse, “purely to express myself for the sheer pleasure of it.” Five years later, that has translated into 50,000 page views a day and a marriage proposal from one of her commenters (which she accepted).
Related coverage:
Law Blog (2008): “Law-Firm Blogs: Marketing Device or Mere Diversion?”
