How to Create a “How To” Blog to Market Your Practice

May 23, 2018

How to Create a “How To” Blog to Market Your Practice

Blogging is a great way to develop your professional reputation and grow your credibility. It increases your on-line exposure which leads to more clients walking through your door. And especially more of the clients you want!

Many professionals avoid blogging because they fear commitment. They rationalize that they do not write well enough and that doing so will be too time-consuming. But if you dedicate yourself to blogging regularly, you will soon reap the benefits as you establish a name for yourself in your community.

An easy way to write quick blogs with great content is to write “how to” blogs. As an expert in your field, you have a great deal of knowledge to share. A “how to” blog explains concepts you deal with every day in a way that encourages your readers to reach out to you for more information.

Before you begin writing, brainstorm a list of “how to” topics. If you are a divorce attorney, for example, consider writing, for example, about 1) how to tell your spouse you want a divorce; 2) how to prepare for divorce before you consult with an attorney; 3) how to choose a divorce process; 4) how to file for divorce; 5) how to give a deposition; 6) how to mediate effectively; and 7) how to behave when you’re in court. And these are just the first seven subjects that occurred to me. How many more can you come up with in just ten minutes?

Whatever your professional specialty, you can come up with many simple “how to’s” about which you can write quickly.

Once you have a topic, brainstorm easy steps to take your reader through the process that you are describing. Avoid lists that include more than ten steps. To obtain the most traffic and shares, your blogs should be no longer than 600 words. But ideally, your blogs should be even shorter. Shoot for approximately 300 words because most readers have short attention spans.

Once you have listed each step in your “how to” list, expand on them. When appropriate, add personal stories from your own professional experiences. Often, you’ll find that you have more content than will fit into just one blog. If so, break the blog into several parts with teasers that encourage your readers to return to your website to read the next installment. In no time, you may find that you have enough content for an entire book!

Blogging is a great way to market yourself and your practice, and “how to” blogs are a quick, easy way to create informative content for your readers. Don’t forget to add a “call to action” at the end of each one. And come back next week to read the “how to” on marketing your book!

About this week’s author Joryn Jenkins.

Joryn graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature at age 19, in 1976. She graduated with her doctorate from Georgetown 4 years later. Joryn, founder of Open Palm Law, Open Palm Press, and The Open For Business Institute, began her own firm here in Tampa in 1994 after a 14-year career in law, two of which she served as a full-time professor of law at Stetson University. She is a recipient of the prestigious A. Sherman Christensen Award, an honor bestowed upon those who have provided exceptional leadership in the American Inns of Court Movement. For more information on Joryn’s professional experience, take a look at her resume.