Your public speaking engagements and presentations are a blog content goldmine

By Geri L. Dreiling, Esq.

One recent morning I met two lawyers for coffee. They had established an innovative law firm that embraced Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogging. The struggle, they had found, was keeping up with their legal social media marketing efforts – especially the blog.

It wasn’t that they lacked ideas; they had a host of topic ideas. The real issue? Time. As their business expanded and demand for their services increased over the summer months, the blog stalled.

At the same time, the lawyers had been guest speakers for a number of business, creative and social networking groups. Additional speaking engagements had already been scheduled well into the fall.

In addition to urging them to scale back on the length and breadth of the blog entries — aiming for tightly focused 500-word pieces rather than wide-ranging entries of several thousand words — I suggested using their public speaking engagements as blogging fodder.

Here are just a few ways make the most of your speaking engagements when it comes to legal marketing and social media outreach.

1. Use a section of your outline to write a short blog entry.

Accustomed to extemporaneous speaking, most lawyers rely on outlines or note cards for speaking engagements. Even though the presentation may not be in paragraph form, the basic structure is already present.

Focus on one idea, one section or even one subsection of the topic. Sit down at your desk and set aside 30 minutes to expand on, in written form, the subject you’ve already been discussing with your audience. You can even begin with a vignette drawn from your presentation – perhaps someone in the audience related a story on this very topic.

Because it is a topic you already know, and because you’re beginning with a narrow focus, you’ll be surprised at how quickly you can fill up the screen with 500 words. Set the entry aside and edit it the next day.

2. If you have a PowerPoint presentation, turn it into a YouTube video.

Another option, though it takes slightly longer, involves PowerPoint. If you use PowerPoint as part of your speaking engagement, you can turn your presentations into YouTube videos similar to the one we produced.

For more on how to turn your PowerPoint presentation into a YouTube video, watch this helpful YouTube video.

3. Address audience questions and use the occasion to increase traffic.

Audience questions are another legal blog content mother lode. Each question can form the basis of a blog entry. Unanswered questions can be taken up on the blog and audience members encouraged to e-mail questions.

The process serves two purposes. First, it enables you to prepare a blog entry. Second, attendees will be more likely to visit your blog, thus boosting your site’s traffic.

These are just a few ways to use speaking engagements as blog content fodder. What are your favorite ways to turn a guest-speaking gig into content?

Do you like the Legal Media Matters blog? Do you find our content useful? If so, let the ABA Journal know. The ABA Journal is compiling a list of the 100 best legal blawgs and they want advice on which ones to include. I would be pleased as punch if you would fill out this form by Oct. 1 to cast your vote for the Legal Media Matters blog.

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Jumpstart your content writing by leveraging these free resources

By Geri L. Dreiling, Esq.

On Tuesday, I highlighted three approaches I use when I’m feeling stuck and can’t seem to come up with content ideas for my own blog or the blawgs of my clients.

To get the ideas flowing once again, I discussed:

• Listing frequently asked questions
• Using keywords identified by Google Analytics
• Setting up Google Alerts

Here are three more free research and intelligence-gathering tools you can use to guide your legal blog content writing efforts and boost your traffic.

1.  Use Wordtracker to identify keyword questions

Wordtracker''s Keyword Questions is a nifty tool. Enter a single or short keyword phrase and you’ll receive a list of questions that people type into search engines. Use those questions to come up with blog topics. You’ll also want to use the question in your headlines.

For example, I typed in the search term “personal injury.” The questions Wordtracker identified included:

• Is a personal injury settlement community property?
• What is the average personal injury settlement?
• What to expect in personal injury mediation?
• What personal injury attorney handles dog bites in Tucson area?

2. Use Google Insights for Search to identify breakout searches.

Google Insights is a tool that allows you to look at search trends over time, then highlights predictions for the future. It allows you to track newspaper headlines and identifies not only the top search queries related to your keywords but also rising or breakout searches. It’s not unlike enjoying a great new restaurant before the rave reviews are printed: The breakout terms allow you to avoid the rush of the crowd and get the best seat in a soon-to-be-popular venue.

Once again, I typed in the search term “personal injury.” I limited the query to the state of Georgia. It identified seven breakout searches, including:

• Atlanta injury lawyer
• Personal injury cases
• Personal injury claims
• Personal injury settlements

3.  Use Google Sets to identify lists of words related to your practice area

Google Sets allows you to create a list of words related to your keywords. You can use the list generated as a word-association game to get the creative process going. Once again, you’ll have new words that you’ll want to incorporate into the post to make it more likely that prospective clients will find you.

I entered the following terms:  “personal,” “injury,” “lawyer,” and “attorney.”

The expanded list of Google Sets predictions included:

• Probate
• Legal services
• DUI
• Auto
• Car
• Truck
• Trial
• Insurance law
• Wrongful death

Of course, these tips are all helpful for Web content writing, too.

To ensure that you don’t miss out on this valuable information, subscribe to our regular e-mails or RSS feeds. You can also find Legal Media Matters on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

At Legal Media Matters, we provide legal public relations, law firm marketing and attorney website content writing services.

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Feeling blocked? Follow these steps when content ideas are scarce.

By Geri L. Dreiling, Esq.

In addition to writing for my own blog, I help law firms keep up with the demands of their own blogs. That might mean anything from planning a blogging calendar to create content that conforms to their legal PR aims to writing drafts of blog content.

But even as a professional legal content writer there are occasions when I find myself blocked as I’m trying to come up with content ideas.

Here are three approaches that help me get unstuck and back on the writing track.

1. List Frequently Asked Questions

When I speak to prospective clients about law firm website writing, blog writing or legal PR work, the questions I’m asked tend to be similar despite differences in practice areas and geographical locations.

When a lawyer meets with a client or conducts an initial telephone consultation, the concerns raised are rarely novel. Clients want to know about their legal rights and options, legal procedures, the scope of the representation and the law firm’s fee structures.

I find it helpful to make a list of questions frequently raised in the initial consultation and use them to plan upcoming blog posts. Try writing down the initial questions a client raises during the meeting.  If you use  your client's terminology to frame your questions, you may improve the chances that a search engine query will lead to your blog post.

2. Use Keywords Identified by Google Analytics

Everyone should have his or her law firm’s website or blog configured with a program that measures traffic. One of the most popular free programs is Google Analytics. (In “How to install Google Analytics to measure your marketing campaigns,” Enrique Serrano provides step-by-step instructions explaining the process. )

Review the keyword phrases that are bringing visitors to your website. You can sort the phrases in a number of ways — for instance, identifying the most frequently used phrases that bring people to your site and the phrases that have received the most page views on your website. Consider writing a blog post that capitalizes on those keyword phrases.

3.  Set Up Google Alerts

If you scour the Internet in search of mainstream and legal media articles highlighting the latest news touching on your practice area, let Google Alerts do your Web surfing for you. You can enter your search parameters into Google Alerts, another free service, and receive a daily or weekly update highlighting the latest Google results on the basis of your topic or search terms.

The e-mail roundup is an efficient alert that pulls together late-breaking news and recent legal developments. Because you’re able to find out about it early, you can use the opportunity to weigh in or explain the debate on your legal blog.

These are just a few of my tried-and-true methods. Do you have any suggestions for overcoming legal content writing block? If so, I’d love to hear about them. Feel free to leave a comment to this blog post or email me at geri@legalmediamatters.com.

For our follow-up post on additional ways to generate story ideas, read "Blawg Topics: 3 More Brainstorming Tools."

To ensure that you don’t miss out on this valuable information, subscribe to our regular e-mails or RSS feeds. You can also find Legal Media Matters on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

At Legal Media Matters, we provide legal public relations, law firm marketing and attorney website content writing services.

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Three reasons to limit a release to around 400 words

By Geri L. Dreiling, Esq.

A few weeks ago I highlighted some of the basic elements lawyers should include in a press release in "Legal Press Release Writing Tips." Those elements are:

• Headline and subhead
• Nut graph
• Details that allow a reporter to verify the information contained in the release
• Description of the firm

One of the items not on the list but that I briefly mentioned was the recommendation to keep the release to about 400 words. A few of my readers e-mailed and asked why. In this blog entry, I’ll cover three reasons behind my 400-word suggestion.

1. Cost

Many of my clients’ press releases are circulated by way of a wire service that charges a flat fee for the first 400 words. For each additional 100 words, the cost increases by $75.

2. Concrete Target

A specific word count provides a better benchmark than the nebulous “keep it short.” For lawyers, accustomed to writing lengthy briefs and pleadings, “short” may translate into a three-page press release rather than the one-page, 400-word release.

But tight writing can be very difficult. Don’t underestimate the time it takes to draft a carefully crafted release. In a wry comment about the unique challenges of concise writing, Mark Twain famously noted, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”

3. Readers’ Time

It would be nice if people took stacks of my press releases to the pool with them to enjoy as leisure reading — but I don’t think that’s going to happen.

Legal press releases are business communications. The readers include journalists, potential clients and other lawyers who are in a hurry and need to absorb the main messages quickly.

Like all rules, the 400-word recommendation can be broken, but this should be done only sparingly — the exception rather than the rule.

To ensure that you don’t miss out on this valuable information, subscribe to our regular e-mails or RSS feeds. You can also find Legal Media Matters on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

At Legal Media Matters, we provide legal public relations, law firm marketing and attorney website content writing services.

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A professional design and typo-free, frequently updated legal content top the list

By Geri L. Dreiling, Esq.

What makes a law firm website a good one from the perspective of a potential client?

In 2002, the Stanford University’s Persuasive Technology Lab released the Stanford Guidelines for Web Credibility.  Based on three years of research involving more than 4,500 subjects, these guidelines are useful not only when it comes to planning a website but also in measuring the effectiveness of your firm’s current website.

Here are the guidelines, adapted for use by law firms.

1. Make it easy for people to gauge your website’s accuracy. Provide third-party links to support your information.
2. Demonstrate that there’s a real law firm behind your website. Include your phone number, a physical address and representative client lists or links to news articles about your firm.
3. Highlight your law firm’s services and the expertise of your attorneys. In addition to providing information on undergraduate and law degrees, include the honors and awards an attorney has received and the articles he or she has written.
4. Show that honest and trustworthy people are affiliated with the firm and its site. Use the attorney profile page not only to highlight a lawyer’s expertise but also to allow the potential client to connect with the lawyer as a person and a problem-solver.
5. Make it easy to contact your law firm. Is your contact page clearly visible? Do you provide multiple ways for clients to contact the firm?
6. Does your law firm’s website appear professional? Forty-seven percent of website visitors base their evaluation of a site’s credibility on its appearance. A poor visual design, bad layout, formatting errors, typographical errors and amateurish images can hurt a website’s credibility.
7. Provide a website that is both useful and easy to use. Are your pages informative? Will potential clients find them educational? Can potential clients find the information they’re seeking easily?
8. Frequently update your law firm website’s content. Offering outdated content is like showing up in court wearing a tomato-red polyester suit and your best pair of white dress shoes: Your law firm’s website will stand out, all right — but not in a good way.
9. Use restraint when offering promotional content. Prospective clients don’t expect to see third-party advertising on an attorney website.
10. Avoid errors of all types, no matter how inconsequential they might seem to you. Does your website contain typographic errors, grammar errors or broken links?

At Legal Media Matters, we use our know-how to help your law firm’s website get positive notice. We create attorney bio pages; provide fresh, useful, easy-to-understand content that will attract the attention of potential clients and keep your website current; and offer copyediting services.

For more information, contact us by filling out our online contact form, e-mailing geri@legalmediamatters.com or calling 314-520-3897 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              314-520-3897      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

To ensure that you don’t miss out on this valuable information, subscribe to our regular e-mails or RSS feeds. You can also find Legal Media Matters on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

At Legal Media Matters, we provide legal public relations, law firm marketing and attorney website content writing services.

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Be sure to include these basic elements in your law firm’s next release

Geri L. Dreiling, Esq.

In law school, students learn how to write legal memos for partners, prepare briefs for judges and draw up contracts for clients. But not  many ever imagine there will come a time when they must know how to write a press release for the media. Increasingly, though, attorneys are doing just that — yet few have access to the built-in public relations or legal marketing departments that are routine in most large law firms.

There are many reasons behind the growing interest in circulating a press releases.

From the promotional standpoint, a legal press release is a great way to attract media attention to a recent verdict or settlement and a useful and economical vehicle for announcing new hires, awards or honors that will be picked up by local newspapers, trade publications and alumni magazines.

A legal press release also confers search engine optimization advantages. When uploaded to a law firm’s website, it provides a new page of fresh content. (With Google's recent search engine updates, fresh content has become even important.) When circulated through a site such as BusinessWire, the legal news release provides an immediate search engine boost and inbound links to the law firm’s website.

In this blog entry I’ll discuss some of the basic elements of a press release that deserve particular attention during the drafting process. You'll want to make sure you include these items in a press release that is ideally no more than 400 words.

1.   Headline and subhead

The headline should include the law firm’s name and a brief description that immediately lets the reader know the type of release he or she is reading. Does it cover a verdict or suit filing, or announce the hiring of a new associate? The subhead should provide further detail.

In addition, the reader should be able to scan the heading and subhead to obtain a concise synopsis of the remainder of the release.

For SEO purposes, the headline and subhead are an ideal place to insert keywords. In addition to the firm’s name, be sure to include practice area keywords.

2.  The nut graph

The nut graph, the first paragraph of the release, concisely explains the news value of the story. It sums up the entire point of the release in a sentence. Writing the nut graph can feel counterintuitive to lawyers, who are trained to lay out the logic before writing the conclusion. It feels, in some respects, like delivering the punchline of a joke and then providing the setup.

3. Details that allow a reporter to easily verify the information contained in the release

A good reporter independently verifies the information contained in the legal press release. You can make his or her job easier by including a few obvious elements, especially if the release pertains to a verdict, settlement or suit filing:

• Style of the case
• Case number
• Filing date
• Verdict date
• The court in which the case was filed

4. Description of the firm

Consider the legal press release as another tool for educating the media and potential clients about your practice. Include a brief paragraph summarizing your practice areas. Hyperlink your law firm’s website and include a phone number and e-mail address.

Here’s a link to the Breaking News section of our website which contains both of the releases used for this blog post. If you would prefer to outsource your press release writing, contact Legal Media Matters; we prepare and circulate releases for law firms nationwide.

For more information, contact me by filling out the online contact form, calling or sending an e-mail to geri@legalmediamatters.com.

To ensure that you don’t miss out on this valuable information, subscribe to our regular e-mails or RSS feeds. You can also find Legal Media Matters on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

At Legal Media Matters, we provide legal public relations, law firm marketing and attorney website content writing services.

Photos, videos and screenshots can give your legal blog zip

By Geri L. Dreiling, Esq.

I once participated in a focus group whose members were asked to share their opinions about a legal publication. We were to comment on the content as well as the overall look and feel of the paper.

I remember one lawyer in particular indicating that he preferred dense text, very little white space and a lot of legalese. In law school he had become comfortable with treatises and works that most find off-putting. He felt that photos, white space and the “plain English” approach to writing watered down the reading experience.

Having written for both mainstream and legal publications where the mandate was to make it as easy as possible for people in a hurry to absorb information quickly, I hadn’t considered the reader who actually enjoys settling in with a hornbook.

It was an “aha” moment for me.

Working with lawyers on website and blog content, I have noticed that some tend to prefer a screen filled with long paragraphs of dense text, devoid of images, white space or video because that is what they encounter day in and out, whether it is case law or statutes.

But prospective clients are often not so eager or patient when it comes to gathering information online. White space, images, headings and bold text make information more accessible.

A dense wall of words can be so intimidating that the would-be reader flees the page. (By checking your site statistics you can tell how long someone lingers on a page.)

I’ve found on my own site that the time spent on the page goes up and the bounce rate goes down when I incorporate images. Here are three ways in which you can liven up your legal blog, break up pages of dense text and increase the number of people who remain on your site for longer periods.

1. Incorporate video.

Short video clips interspersed with your text can be an effective tool with which to make your point. They’re also a good way to keep a reader on your blog — and remember it.

Here I’ll paraphrase Pee Wee Herman’s famous “Why don’t you take a picture? It’ll last longer!” Add video, and your visitor will linger longer.

2. Add photos and clip art that are free of royalty restrictions.

A number of free sites offer downloads of photos and clip art that aren’t bound by royalty restrictions.

One site that I often use is a free site from Microsoft’s Office.

3.  Add a screenshot of a Web page.

As anyone who regularly reads my posts knows, I love to incorporate screen shots of Web pages. It’s a convenient way to illustrate a point or walk a reader through a particular task.

For lawyers, the ability to take screenshots can be useful indeed. For example, divorce filings typically require the parties to fill out a variety of income and expense, property and child support calculation forms, and many states provide these forms online. A blog post explaining how to fill out the forms or addressing common questions about various aspects of the form could include screenshots of the relevant sections. Just below or above each screenshot, the attorney can provide a more detailed description or explanation of the information the form is trying to elicit.

I use a free web page capture plug-in called FireShot. It allows me to not only save screens with common photo extensions such as .png but also to edit what I save. Typically when I upload the screen shot to my blog I embed a link back to the original site.

Do you have a favorite tool for livening up your legal blog? If so, let me know.

To ensure that you don’t miss out on this valuable information, subscribe to our regular e-mails or RSS feeds. You can also find Legal Media Matters on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

At Legal Media Matters, we provide legal public relations, law firm marketing and attorney website content writing services.

Our weekly roundup of legal news links, legal PR client news and story ideas

By Geri L. Dreiling, Esq.

In the U.S. today caps a four-day work week. Missouri lawyers planning to attend the Solo & Small Firm Conference next week will enjoy another compressed week.

I will be attending, and blogging and tweeting from, the Solo & Small Firm Conference, scheduled for June 12-14 at the Lake of the Ozarks. If you’re one of the approximately 800 lawyers who plan to attend, let me know. It would be great to meet you.

More about the conference next week. Right now, client news and notable links.

LMM Client News

A $3 million wrongful death settlement obtained by Jim Lemonds and Andrea McNairy, of St. Louis-based Brown & Crouppen, and Greg Roberts of The Roberts Law Firm, was highlighted in this week’s Missouri Lawyers Weekly.

Notable Links for Lawyers

The Fall

Jeff Smith: A Political Tragedy in Three Acts

Opening with a quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald — “Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy” — St. Louis Magazine’s Jeannette Cooperman chronicles the downfall of Missouri state Sen. Jeff Smith. Once a rising star in Missouri politics and the subject of a documentary, Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? Smith is now serving a prison sentence of a year and one day on federal obstruction of justice charges.

Venting Online, Consumers Can Find Themselves in Court

A critic who airs complaints online may find him- or herself the target of an old-fashioned lawsuit. The New York Times’ Dan Frosch explains how strategic lawsuits against public participation — or meritless defamation claims — are raising the ire of some First Amendment lawyers.

Marrying Out: One in Seven Marriages Is Interracial or Interethnic

A new report from the Pew Research Center reveals that a record number of new marriages in the United States were between spouses of different races or ethnicities. The study also indicates that most Americans approve of racial or ethnic intermarriage.

In 1967 the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Virginia’s law prohibiting interracial marriages in the landmark case Loving v. Virginia.

Report from the ODR Conference in Buenos Aires

David Bilinsky attended the first South American conference on online dispute resolution. In a post on the Canadian legal blog Slaw.ca, he highlights the five major themes that emerged from the conference, including the need to educate about ODR, questions about whether ODR will grow within the legal system or parallel to it, the types of disputes heard and the potential benefit ODR promises to Third World Countries.

How Lawyers Are Using Social Media for Real Results

Mashable’s Matt Silverman highlights how increasing numbers of lawyer are using social media to network, obtain business and raise their profiles nationwide.

Manage Service of Process via the Cloud

A web-based tool that allows legal professionals to manage every stage of service of process is featured on Robert Ambrogi’s Law Sites blog.

Story Ideas for Business, Consumer and Law Reporters, Writers and Bloggers

Gagged by the Doctor

In addition to highlighting the problem of SLAPP suits, the New York Times story mentioned above notes that some physicians are requiring their patients to sign agreements that give the physician more control over what patients post online.

It would be interesting to know how many doctors are asking their patients to give up the right to speak out, whether any breach of contract suits stemming from the practice have been filed and what the public policy ramifications of such a move might be.

Have any links to suggest? Give them a mention in our comments section. And if you have any recommendations for next week, feel free to e-mail them to me. geri@legalmediamatters.com

To ensure that you don’t miss out on this valuable information, subscribe to our regular e-mails or RSS feeds. You can also find Legal Media Matters on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

At Legal Media Matters, we provide legal public relations, law firm marketing and attorney website content writing services.

An in-house lawyer wants to reach executives and explain the services a general counsel offers

By Geri L. Dreiling, Esq.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, I invited my Twitter followers to pose a question (in 140 characters or fewer, of course) that I would take up on this blog. One lawyer sent a direct message wanting to know the best keywords to attract chief executive officers and chief financial officers who want to learn more about what their in-house lawyers can do for them.

The question is much more complicated than it might seem at first blush.

Here’s a driving analogy. If someone asks how to start a car, the easiest answer is: “Just turn the key in the ignition.” But there’s a complicated assortment of processes going on behind the dashboard and beneath the hood that are responsible for starting the engine.  Even though the key signals to the engine that it is time to start, it is the first piece of a complicated process.

In other words, simply possessing a key will not make a car run — and the same key won’t start every car.

As with cars, there’s often a multilayered process that is engaged in before keywords will work. As with car keys, the keywords that will deliver the best performance are going to vary; one size does not fit all.

Legal Keywords and Problem-Solving

Keywords help people sort through the huge pool of information provided on the Internet and find what they’re looking for. But vague keywords, or inefficient keywords in areas where there is a lot of expert competition, are like replacement keys that are almost exact duplicates: They’re not going to work in the way you want them to.

To discover what types of keywords might attract them to your website or blog, you must first figure out what keeps executives up at night. Once you’ve done that, you can explain how an in-house lawyer is a problem-solver and ally when it comes to providing solutions to those specific problems.

Is an executive looking for loan workout help or bankruptcy reorganization advice? If the company is located in the U.S., does the executive have questions about the new healthcare legislation and how it applies to his or her company? What are the legal pitfalls a domestic company looking to expand abroad must avoid?

Once you’ve brainstormed ideas, it’s time to test them. There are several free tools — among them Google Insights, Wordtracker and Google AdWords — you can use to conduct research. (For more on the mechanical steps of finding keywords used in actual searches and then including them in your content, read “Law Firm Websites: Seven Tips for Legal Content Writing.”)

For a test run, I chose the simple phrase “in-house counsel” to see what would come up.

At Google Insights, a worldwide search of the phrase revealed that the top searches involved finding jobs and salary information.

I went to Wordtracker and plugged in “in-house counsel” to see what would come up. The most-searched phrase turned out to be the most specific grouping of keywords (a “long tail”): “in-house counsel obligation regarding spoliation.” Several job search-related queries also surfaced. There were two searches recorded for the keyword phrase “evolving role of in-house counsel.”

At Google AdWords, the “in-house counsel” query once again pulled up several job-related searches. However, it also indicated that the phrase “general counsel” is extremely popular and that “attorney client privilege in house counsel” is one substantive area that receives some inquiries.

There are, of course, additional strategies and techniques to sort and sift the information, but this brief exercise illustrates four points:

1. When it comes to keywords, there is no virtual master key.
2. Avoiding certain keyword phrases, such as the ones related to job searches, is just as important as finding the phrases you want to use.
3. The best-performing site will have one page dedicated to each distinct phrase — for example, a page addressing spoliation, another explaining attorney-client privilege and a third discussing the evolving role of in-house counsel. (For more information on how to use your keywords on a page, read “Three Keyword Rules for Law Firm Website.”)
4. You must measure the performance of your Web pages and keywords. Most sites require monitoring and adjustment. Because keyword selection isn’t as straightforward as one might hope, you may find one set of keywords performing extremely well and another set underperforming. (For more information on measurement, read “How to Install Google Analytics to Measure Your Marketing Campaign.”)

Integrate Your Legal Keyword Efforts with Media Outreach

At Legal Media Matters, we research keywords, develop strategies based on the basis of our clients' goals and then write content. We also emphasize the importance of integrating online and traditional public relations strategies.

In addition to your online outreach, don’t forget traditional print publications as a means of reaching out to executives. Some of the best places for this type of outreach are the so-called industry bibles and trusted trade publications that accept guest articles. Review the editorial calendar to find an opening. (For more on this process, see “Writer’s Guidelines and Guest Articles,” and “Editorial Calendars and Guest Articles.”)

Another way to educate your audience is to post comments to articles related to your topics. In both instances, comments and guest articles can serve as the initial means of engaging your target audience. A website address or link back to your blog, if an executive is reading the information online, will allow him or her to continue the conversation — and may also provide valuable inbound links to your site, boosting its performance and the reach of your keywords. (For more ideas on finding your audience, see “Law Firm Marketing: To Draw Clients In, Reach Out.”)

If you need help researching keywords, writing content or devising a print publication placement strategy, contact Legal Media Matters. We can help you with your legal content writing project and tailor a legal marketing and public relations plan tailored to your firm’s unique goals.

To ensure that you don’t miss out on this valuable information, subscribe to our regular e-mails or RSS feeds. You can also find Legal Media Matters on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Our weekly roundup of legal news links, legal PR client news and story ideas

By Geri L. Dreiling, Esq.

Awareness. Engagement. Conversion. When you’re adopting a social media strategy for your legal practice, measure your effort with these three goals in mind, advises writer Brian R. Hook in the article “Climbing the B2B Business Ladder.”

I use the same yardstick to evaluate my own online marketing and social media outreach.

In January, the new Legal Media Matters site was launched. Over the course of five months the number of unique monthly visitors has more than doubled. We’ve received feedback and comments on a variety of articles. Our article providing photo shoot tips generated the greatest number of comments.

Our network on LinkedIn has expanded as well. Not only has our social media outreach on the business sight brought in new legal PR and law firm website writing clients, but it has also resulted in great conversations with people such as Nils Montan, an IP lawyer who owns IPAlly.com and lawandsocialnetworking.com.

Initially a skeptic, I have a newfound respect for Twitter. I joined, tweeted for a few weeks and then ignored the site. Eventually I gave it a second chance and put more effort into it. I’m glad I did. I have thoroughly enjoyed my interactions and learned a lot from a variety of people, from @richardrusseth, a lawyer in Colorado and general counsel for a private company, to @MaxDolotov, a law practitioner in Ukraine, and @dfscot, a lawyer in Scotland.

Through the Legal Media Matters Facebook page I’ve been able to share interesting legal news items and tips with people I know and individuals I hope to get to know better in the future.

So, to our friends, followers, subscribers, readers and commenters:  Thank you!

I would also like to thank Kerry Bailey, a tireless copy editor who helps me dot my i’s and cross my t’s in my posts and in the writing work we perform for our clients. Enrique Serrano, a programmer and designer, helps me keep my site running with style, provides technical insights and conducts important keyword research on behalf of our clients.

We’re heading into a three-day holiday weekend in the United States. With Memorial Day just around the corner, I’d like to issue a final thank-you, this one to our service men and women.

I will not be posting an entry on Monday but will resume Wednesday. In the meantime, you can still find me on Twitter. (@legalmediamtrs)

LMM Client News

Consumer attorney John Campbell, of St. Louis-based The Simon Law Firm, was recently highlighted in Missouri Lawyers Media. Campbell appeared before the Missouri Supreme Court and argued that class action waivers contained in arbitration agreements are unenforceable. The case is Beverly Brewer v. Missouri Title Loans Inc.

St. Louis divorce lawyer and mediator Marta J. Papa is offering her 40-hour divorce mediation training course June 23-27. The training includes demonstrations, lectures, role-playing and coaching. I’m delighted to be a guest speaker during the training session in which I’ll discuss ways to market your mediation practice.

Notable Links for Lawyers

Victims Allege Man Posing as Attorney

A fugitive felon who is supposed to be serving a 10-year sentence for stealing sets up shop in downtown St. Louis as a bankruptcy legal representative. Fox 2 investigative reporter Chris Hayes confronts Richard O’Donnell, the man posing as attorney who opened up Bankruptcy n’ More, whose clients allege he took their money and provided less than nothing.

Do You Comply with the FTC’s Red Flag Rule?

On June 1, the federal government’s so-called Red Flag Rule that requires businesses to spot red flags to prevent identity theft, goes into effect. In this Inc. article, Courtney Rubin notes that small businesses, including law firms, may be subject to the law.

Majority of Adults Now Google Themselves

More online users are taking online reputation management seriously, according to a study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Mashable’s Jennifer Van Grove notes that young adults are becoming more aware of the information they post online and how it can affect their careers. As the article, “Do You Google Yourself,” explains, lawyers also need to monitor their virtual images.

Make Marketing a Habit

On Slaw.ca, Allison C. Shields reminds lawyers that marketing is a marathon, not a sprint, and offers five excellent marketing habits lawyers should consider establishing.  For more PR and marketing ideas, read “Is Your Marketing Resolve Slipping?”

Climbing the B2B Business Ladder

To survive and thrive, all businesses will eventually need to adopt a social media strategy, Brian R. Hook writes for E-Commerce Times. Hook explains the options available to businesses and discusses the three ways to measure efforts:  awareness, engagement and conversion.

Twitter Guide for Writers

Want to get the most from Twitter? Don’t be obsessed with the number of followers you accumulate, advises writer and cartoonist Debbie Ridpath Ohi, also known as Inkygirl. Instead, use it as a place to network and a source of support and encouragement. Although the tips are aimed at writers, the advice holds true for lawyers as well.

The Most Ridiculous News Typos Ever

If you’ve been reading my blog posts regularly, you know that I preach the gospel of a good copy edit. The reason? To avoid embarrassing mistakes like the ones the ones highlighted on the Huffington Post. (The menu item “honey mustard chicken diapers” is thoroughly unappetizing, and that’s just one of the tamer typos.) Want to ensure that your website doesn’t contain similar gaffes? Read “Editing Web Content for Law Firms.”

Story Ideas for Business, Consumer and Law

Reporters, Writers and Bloggers

Moral Turpitude Clauses

The latest issue of The Civil Litigator highlights a jury verdict for a football coach and social studies teacher at a Catholic high school in Iowa. When the teacher remarried without getting his first marriage annulled, he was fired for violating the moral turpitude clause in his contract. The teacher sued for breach of contract, and a jury awarded him more than $600,000.

How common are moral turpitude clauses? Can schools and businesses enforce them? If so, how can they do it without exposing themselves to liability?

Fireworks and the Fourth of July

We’re heading into the first U.S. holiday of the summer, and the second major American holiday, the Fourth of July, is just around the corner. That means we’ll soon be hearing the whistle of fireworks and the pop of firecrackers in our neighborhoods — even when they’re technically illegal.

A few possible story ideas:  If you set off fireworks and they end up damaging your neighbor’s property, are you liable? Does it make a difference from a liability standpoint if you shot them off legally or illegally? Are laws banning fireworks enforced? If you need legal experts to talk about these issues, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Have any links to suggest? Give them a mention in our comments section. And if you have any recommendations for next week, feel free to e-mail them to me. geri@legalmediamatters.com

Have a safe Memorial Day weekend!

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