Many of our clients have sent us the same question recently: What is the advantage to using a BLOG versus an online eNewsletter? 

We tell them that, in a perfect world, you should have both - the more information that you can provide to your clients (or potential clients, the better).  Law Firm BLOGs and eNewsletters keep the world up to date on what is going on with your firm; this includes firm recent events, recent verdicts, important legislation, answers to client’s legal questions, etc.  

Both provide the information to the world at large and yet there is one big advantage to using a BLOG over an eNewsletter: everyone can see and participate in the BLOG dialogue.  What exactly does that mean?  Well, if a lawyer sends out an eNewsletter to a mailing list (or has an eNewsletter posted on his/her website), and a client wants to respond with a comment or question, only the attorney can see it.  However, with a BLOG, the client can post the question or comment and the world can see the client’s information, as well as the attorney’s response.  The reason this is so great?  It is because the lawyer then starts a dialogue that encourages others to respond.  Rather than answering one question, you can get multiple dialogues started.  This also makes the attorney seem more real to clients; the lawyer is no longer a static picture on a webpage – he or she now has opinions, thoughts, views, etc to share with everyone.  In turn, the client is more likely to call (and hopefully hire) a law firm when the client sees this. 

The greatest part about using a BLOG is that when a client emails a question/comment, it does not automatically post to the BLOG; the lawyer gets an email and chooses whether or not to allow the comment to post.  This way, if it is a disparagiong or irrelevant remark, no one will ever see it.  If it is a comment that you want to respond to for everyone to see, you have that opportunity. 

Moral of the story:  Use BLOGs and eNewsletters – you cannot go wrong.  The biggest difference is that BLOGs give you more interaction with your clients and you become a more trustworthy figure to them.  Now go post what your firm has been up to and see what the world thinks.