Like most busy attorneys, you don’t have time for everything you need to do. The posts and content you write or publish take up enough time and attention, so why would you consider guest posting? Guest posting is a decision that lawyers and law firms need to weigh before getting into. In some situations, it can make sense for attorneys and have many benefits. Here are some points all attorneys should consider when deciding to guest post.
What is Guest Posting?
Posting a helpful blog or article on someone else’s website with valuable information that answers questions and drives a link or two back to your own website is guest posting. Sometimes called guest blogging, these posts are typically done for another person or company within the same industry or legal niche.
What is Guest Posting for Lawyers?
Guest posting can be a neat tool for attorneys that work in different practice areas to combine forces on. For example, a trusts and estates attorney could write a guest post for a family law firm on what estate items need to be considered for updating after a divorce.
Another example would be an IP law firm taking on a few guest posts on a business publication’s website to share information about why and how IP can be protected through strategic legal services. So guest posting can look different for everyone, but more than likely there are a few ways that you can incorporate this type of cross-marketing into your practice if you put some thought into it.
The Benefits of Guest Posting
Guest posting gives you a platform to share your expertise through other authoritative websites, which helps grow your online authority within your market. When a website has topical expertise on the subject you’re writing about, it can give your content more authority, making it easier for the audience to trust you and your brand. Getting your law firm on a popular site similar to your market could result in a big jump in traffic and potential clients.
Publishing content on another website helps build relationships with other leaders in the legal field and enhances your network. It can also put your law firm in front of a brand-new audience. By linking back to your own website and content, you can increase traffic on your website. The more readers click on these links and go to your content, the more Google will see you as an authority, which increases your rankings.
Simply put, guest posting lets you leverage the other site’s authority, community, and followers to your own benefit.
The Downsides of Guest Posting
Perhaps the biggest downside of guest posting is that it’s time-consuming to write and follow up with publications. You may need to research to find blogs that accept guest posts and ensure they are reputable. Writing quality posts with valuable content takes time and effort. In addition, you might be required to have your topic approved by the editor and perform any edits they request. Unfortunately, it can often be a lot of work without any guarantee that your work will be published.
Another downside is that it can harm your own blog. Don’t neglect your content for guest posting, and remember that you still need traffic from SEO and your backlinks. Guest posting regularly will produce the most results but doing it too often on the exact same sites can actually harm your search engine rankings.
Tips for Guest Posting
The key to successful guest posting is providing helpful and relevant content that will inform readers, not simply low-quality content posted just for the sake of having links to your site. You also need to focus on websites with high domain authority and their authority or expertise on the given topic you are writing about or industry niche.
It’s generally best to choose a few quality places to publish your guest posts, as this can help you get your name out there and grow your credibility. By sticking with a short list of places to work with, you can get to know their expectations and standards, making it easier to write content for them.
Keep in mind that guest posting is about building and forming relationships, which is always time-consuming. However, these relationships can result in a high ROI.
To Guest Post or Not?
There are many considerations and possibilities that lawyers and law firms should take into account before making a decision. Will the benefits be worth the downsides? Do they have the bandwidth to take on an extra commitment now? Can they outsource their guest posts? There’s no right or wrong answer, but if you decide to venture into guest posting, ensure that it makes sense for your business goals.
Meranda M. Vieyra is the owner of Denver Legal Marketing LLC. She is one of the most visible legal professionals in Colorado law with over 20 years of service in the Denver legal community. Her award-winning marketing firm has earned a strong reputation as the go-to for impactful, cost-effective legal marketing strategies. She has helped her clients secure coverage by well-known publications and has obtained local, national, and international awards on their behalf. Meranda enjoys working with solo practitioners and small law firms helping them attract recognition, promotion, and visibility to their practices. She also advises medium-sized and national law firms on business development and marketing strategy. Meranda is a lecturer and author on issues related to marketing including how lawyers can use LinkedIn effectively, how to develop a personal brand, and the promotion of legal services through community service. In 2018, she was honored to be named to the 40 Under 40 list by the Denver Business Journal and to be given the 10 Under 10 Award by the Metropolitan State University of Denver Alumni Association (top 10 alum of the decade). In 2019, Meranda was named in the Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Business by the Colorado Women's Chamber of Commerce and in the Top 100 young professionals in Colorado through the Gen XYZ Awards published by ColoradoBiz Magazine.
