To Blawg or not to Blawg

Is having a blawg a good marketing tool for lawyers?

For those of you that are not familiar with the term, blawgs are legal blogs (blog + law).
They are popular in the US and the UK is slowly catching up.

What are the advantages for a law firm of having a blawg?

1. Image.
   Having no blog at all could make a law firm look old-fashioned, much like in the ‘90s when law firms were slow to embrace websites.
   
2. Positioning.
   Blogs are the ideal venue for legal experts to show their their area of expertise.
   
3. Customer relations.
   Potential and existing clients check out websites and blogs to get an idea about the capabilities of a law firm and its lawyers.
   It also gives transparency for the customers in the legal jungle they entered.
   
4. Outreach.
   Blogs are the ultimate medium to reach to and communicate with a worldwide audience.
   
5. Feedback.
   Blogs are an ideal way to get (honest) feedback on products and services.
   
6. Create new business.
   The jury is still out on the impact of blogs for securing new business.
   If the law firm in operating in a niche market, it can have significant impact.
   For major law firms that handle all kinds of cases, blogging would not reach their potential customers in a efficient way.
   
7. SEO.
   Search engines rank well-connected blogs with many links to other sites higher than conventional websites, also because of their high text content and frequent updates.
   

In short, as a marketing tool, a blawg is a nice additional to the existing marketing mix.

A final word of warning though - bloggers in general get into legal trouble for what they write. Legal bloggers especially should be very cautious what and how they blog and stay at the right side of the law.