One hundred and sixty-two firms, or 81% of the 2015 Am Law 200, are using blogs as part of their marketing efforts (via Am Law 200 Blog Benchmark Report). Regardless of the size of your firm, you’re competing against attorneys who are already sharing their expertise online to make themselves more marketable to clients. The best way you can stay marketable, too, is to start blogging yourself.

Why should you blog?
Because you are an expert in your field. It’s a commitment to start a blog but, really, the only content your blog needs is what you already know and share in your practice on a daily basis. You have a unique area of expertise and a unique take on it; this is knowledge others can’t fake and will drive clients to you by amplifying your voice.

Think of the hours you spend making first impressions with both clients and other lawyers. Now imagine the time you could save by writing one blog post that conveys your unique expertise and personality to your entire network and beyond. In this way, a blog post works like compound interest for your time, and the more you write the greater your payoff. It is time well spent.

Just stay focused on repackaging what you already know and share in other areas of your practice. You will quickly find that those posts, written in a casual tone and kept between 200-500, words will give you the ammunition you need to build your reputation.

Blog posts go viral. Flat firm websites and micro-sites do not.

You need to start sharing your content
Building an online presence used to be about posting content and hoping it would be discovered via online search. While this is still possible, it is hard to differentiate yourself in a search without spending large amounts on ads or search engine marketing. But, there are alternatives that can empower all web users to get results from their online activity.

Social media is one such way to get discovered. For that to be possible, you need something to share and people to share it with.

It’s pretty simple: create an account on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and start sharing what you find online. Connect with people you respect on social media, and begin building an online network around yourself. If they have a blog of their own, start following the blog. We love Feedly for that purpose.

The more connected you are with people, the more likely they are to share your content. That is where you blog comes into play.

Your online network needs a way to connect to you, to see what you are all about. An authentically-voiced blog gives them that.

This is why just having a website is not good enough. When was the last time you saw someone sharing a website on social media? Blog posts go viral. Firm websites and micro-sites do not.

Just get started
So this is how you get started. And getting started is what is most important. Get yourself a blog today, and connect with your colleagues and people who want to read your thoughts.

You have a lot to offer, the world is just waiting to hear from you.