How Solo And Small Law Can Self-Publish To New Audiences Without A Blog

Are personal blogs the best outlet for smalls and solos? Sometimes... but there are other options.

blogger blogging keyboard computer typingAs publisher of a blog that’s 14 years old and change, I’m one of the last survivors of the first wave of legal bloggers (or blawgers as we were called back in the day). But if my age — veritable centuries in digital years — makes you think that I’m inclined to recommend blogging as a way to market your law practice or push your ideas out into the world, think again. Because in a world overrun with content — according to this counter, over 2.8 million blog posts are published every day on the web, it’s tough to get a word in edgewise.

Even so, self-publishing does have its benefits. Every so often, many of us — even lawyers — have tips we’d like to offer to potential clients so that they don’t botch their case before they walk through our door, or commentary on a recent case development or new insights to share with potential referral sources or the world. But investing in a blog for an occasional article is the equivalent of buying a moving van to drive carpool two or three times a year. Plus, just as that moving van would draw dust sitting in the driveway — potentially attracting thieves or irate neighbors, retaining a barren blog linked to a website doesn’t convey a great impression.

Still, for lawyers with the occasional “I have something to say but nowhere to say it” conundrum, there are a couple of solutions. And they don’t involve paying large sums of money to publicists to promote your content (usually in places that no one reads anyway), putting yourself at the mercy of news editors or publishers or setting up a blog that you’ll never follow through on.

The answer? Public publishing platforms — where you can post and disseminate content that’s professionally and appealingly formatted, findable by others and best of all, free!  Below are three of my favorites:

LinkedIn Publishing — once available only to a discrete group of “influencers” — has been rolled out to all users — which means that you can post an article simply by clicking on that option near your profile. You can add links as well as include a photo, and then share the article publicly or just with those your private network.

What kind of content should you share on LinkedIn? Since the platform skews towards B2B users, you may be best off posting about industry developments or business stories — which is the kind of content that LinkedIn readers most crave. You can also share your content more specifically with colleagues or other new prospects who you may want to meet. Finally, LinkedIn engagement doesn’t have to end with self-publishing — you can also increase presence by generating discussion on other colleagues’ posts.

Medium is billed as a platform for “sharing stories that matter.” And while admittedly I’ve used Medium for my own ramblings too personal to share on a legal blog, I’ve come across more substantive legal offerings geared towards consumers and small business such as a guide to immigration law for startups, tips for finding a good personal injury attorney and outsourcing legal research.

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What’s great about Medium is that posts can be tagged, making it easy for users to search and find content. Plus, Medium posts have a history of going viral — recall the rant posted on Medium by the Yelp Customer Service Rep who was fired shortly thereafter, or the single mother also fired by Yelp because she chose to stay with her boyfriend who’d been seriously injured in an accident rather than come into work.

CaseText also offers a publishing platform for legal case commentary. In many ways, the Casetext platform is most like a traditional law blogging platform because it’s easy for users to cite to actual source material — cases and statutes — conveniently housed in Casetext. Casetext posts are often displayed as part of searches — so if, for example, you were inclined to post commentary on a case like Obergefell v. Hodges, your commentary would be included as part of search results. Granted, Casetext isn’t likely to promote your services to a consumer audience, but it’s a way to increase your visibility amongst peers to build a reputation as an expert or attract referrals. Plus, a lot less time commitment than unleashing your inner scholar by publishing law review articles.

What’s great about all three platforms isn’t just that they make it easy to publish, but also to disseminate your content. Each platform has buttons that make it easy to share content on other social media sites. Plus, because the layouts are so attractive, those with more conventional clients can print the posts as PDFs and re-distribute them as hard copies.

So if you’ve got something to say and don’t want to spend the money on a professionally designed blog or wait for someone to publish your commentary, any one of these three platforms will give you a place to say it and share it.


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Carolyn ElefantCarolyn Elefant has been blogging about solo and small firm practice at MyShingle.comsince 2002 and operated her firm, the Law Offices of Carolyn Elefant PLLC, even longer than that. She’s also authored a bunch of books on topics like starting a law practicesocial media, and 21st century lawyer representation agreements (affiliate links). If you’re really that interested in learning more about Carolyn, just Google her. The Internet never lies, right? You can contact Carolyn by email at elefant@myshingle.comor follow her on Twitter at @carolynelefant.