Tips on Technology

All About Blawgs

by Richard K. Herrmann, Esquire

No, that is not a misspelling. A new type of “marketing/content” animal is appearing on the Internet. It is called the Blawg. I spent an hour recently discussing Blawgs with a couple of local Blawg pros, Bob Unterberger and Sam Waltz. Bob is founder and president of Legal Writing Success, a company that specializes in providing legal research, writing and consulting to small law firms and legal departments. Sam is principal in Sam Waltz & Associates Business & Communications Counsel, Wilmington, DE, SamWaltz@SamWaltz.com. Within the legal industry, his firm has provided a variety of counsel, from marketing issues to litigation and regulatory PR to communications to support bankruptcy and other filings.

Rather than summarizing our conversation, I thought the following approach might work best:

Q. Bob & Sam, why don’t you tell us what a “Blawg” is and how it works?

Bob. “Blawg” descends from “Blog,” which is the shortened form of “ web log.” The legal web log variation “Blawg” is an online diary of commentary on the law or related legal issues, regularly maintained by an individual who practices or otherwise has an interest in the legal field. For example, I have a professional interest in catastrophic personal injury cases, so I created an online diary on personal injury law for Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware practitioners and consumers. And I teach legal writing to lawyers and law students, so I created an online diary for them, as well.

Sam. While you can find Blawgs the same way you find websites, by an internet search, they really are as different as a TV commercial and TV news programming. TV commercials are designed to sell, as the cyber-brochure form of a website is designed to sell. TV news programming is designed to inform and entertain - we hope - as the Blawg is designed to inform and entertain, using news and commentary!

Q. What is the purpose of the Blawg from the owner’s viewpoint? What is the goal?

Bob. I look at the purpose of the Blawg as two-fold: First, a Blawg is an information service to the legal community and consumers of legal services. Second, just as with any kind of marketing, a Blawg helps “brand” a legal practitioner as someone having particularized expertise. As an attorney, I believe that my Blawgs provide valuable services, but I do not consider them constituting solicitation or providing legal advice. Furthermore, no website could ever claim the completeness or accuracy of its links!

Sam. Purpose of a Blawg is to create a cyber-community of readers and commentators, people who read and learn and exchange ideas on a daily or weekly basis. The beauty of a Blawg from the point of view of the owner is that (s)he is the Mayor of the Blawg Legal Cyber Community. And, as in any environment, the person who creates and leads the discussion - if (s)he does it well - enjoys a certain credibility, reputation and regard for leadership, as a result!

Q. How does a Blawg differ from a website?

Bob. By about $100,000! I’m only half joking. The legal marketing literature is replete with stories of law firm websites that have cost in excess of $100,000. Many law firms jumped on the website bandwagon with little due diligence and much blind me-to-ism. And they got burned. Today, many firms are hesitant to commit any dollars to their websites because that they got no bang from their significant bucks. And that’s why it is a challenge for most lawyers to step up with the will and the dollars to a marketing investment in a Blawg.

Sam. Absolutely. While Blawgs superficially resemble websites, they really are an entirely different species, like the difference between TV commercials and TV news that I mentioned earlier. Three chief (and related) reasons: First, Blawgs can be inexpensive to create and update. Indeed, you can have a simple Blawg up and running in less than an hour using free weblog software, though I would suggest that law firms use more sophisticated software. Second, Blawgs offer fresh content that search engines like Google prize, so Blawg subject matter ordinarily rises to the top of search engines, ahead of promotional websites. Third, Blawg links create tremendous traffic to both your Blawg and Blawgs and other sites with whom you link. These last two reasons create exponentially higher traffic that your expensive website cannot match.

Q. How do Blawgs compare with listerserves and discussion groups?

Bob. Listserves and discussion groups are both generally password protected and intentionally interactive. Blawgs are not - or don’t have to be. With listserves and discussion groups, you control who has access. And that’s great. For example, bar associations and other legal groups may restrict access to paying members. But that’s not how Blawgs operate. My experience with listserves and discussion groups is that one or two “members” dominate the discussion deterring others from participating, so they’re really not so interactive. Blawgs can be designed to permit comment, but you may opt not to add that feature.

Sam. One important difference is that a Blawg by nature and definition is hierarchical, that someone owns and operates it, and sets the agenda. Listserves and discussion groups are not. Listserves and discussion groups, because of their “protected” nature, don’t always rise to the top of the search engines despite having update content. One thing, though, that they have in common with Blawgs is this: if they’re not updated with fresh content they will wither and die.

Q. Can you give us examples of three excellent Blawgs?

Bob. I suggest that your readers check out a site like Blawg.org that is constantly updated with new and interesting Blawgs. Bob Ambrogi, former editor of the National Law Journal, also updates Blawgs at his website www.legaline.com

Sam. There are three particularly excellent Blawgs that practitioners can take a look at, not just because of the content, but also because of their “look” and features: www.inter-alia.net, www.appellateblog.blogspot.com and www.goldsteinhowe.com/blog.

Q. What is the best way of locating a list of Blawgs?

Bob. Again, I would suggest going to a site like Blawg.org. You can also check out Ernie the Attorney (radio.weblogs.com/0104634). He does a terrific job of organizing Blawgs by practice area.

Sam. Here’s a simple way to find the Blawg you’re looking for: Type the subject area into Google adding the term “blog” or “Blawg”to your search string. Also, you’ll find that many of the better Blawgs have easy to find links to other Blawgs. Because this field is so new, I’d suggest that the best Blawgs are just now being built, and they may not yet be in sight.

Q. How does one go about generating traffic for his or her Blawg?

Bob. The first step is to submit your Blawg to the bigger Blawgs that are out there, like Blawg.org. Ernie the Attorney or inter-alia.net. They’re in the business of creating buzz for Blawgs. Just a mention on those sites will build traffic to your site. And of course, as you refresh your Blawg with new content, the search engines will find you. You’ll be surprised at how quickly the process works.

Sam. And you can’t leave out traditional marketing of your Blawg. A press release, calls on colleagues, clients and friends, mailings. Blawg traffic builds as more people become aware of the Blawg’s existence. And today, certainly, each of us in our personal data bases have hundreds - perhaps thousands - of names of colleagues and friends who share the niche interest that would make a Blawg successful.

Q. If I were interested in setting up a Blawg, how would I go about it?

Bob. Ordinarily, I’d encourage someone to talk with people who have Blawgs or blogs, but literally Blawgs as a marketing tool are just 6-12 months old. Of course, you could contact us.

Sam. Someone could buy a book on blogs - Amazon lists about 15-20 - but, if you respect the respective core competencies of lawyers and marketers, then that may not be the highest best use of the attorney’s time, since most of the blog books I’ve read are extremely technical. In my corporate career at DuPont, before starting my own counseling firm 10 years ago, we always found a great mutual regard in understanding the lines between practicing in the Court of Law and practicing in the Court of Public Opinion. That’s one reason why I don’t practice law - I counsel my clients to find a good attorney when they need one and...

Q. Who would host it?

Bob. The answer is: It depends. You may be satisfied having a company like Blogger (now part of Google) host it for free. But that may become a problem, since that site is already experiencing slow speed and breakdowns. You can have your website host also host it. A caveat here is that you should consider your host when you create your Blawg to avoid glitches down the line.

Sam. In the same vein, you might want to consider whether you want your Blawg to be readily accessible from your firm website. Consider whether your Blawg will “fit in” with your current website. For example, do you want your Blawg to have a different tone than your website? Will your partners object, criticize your Blawg? You might tell them that the mere existence of your Blawg will increase traffic to your firm website...big time!

Q. How often would the Blawg have to be maintained?

Bob. As we mentioned, maintaining fresh content is critical when trying to generate a following and encourage search engine visibility.

Sam. I’ve seen some Blawgs that are updated three times a day, and others twice a week, depending on the goals and interests of the author. Natural rhythms develop in lots of things in life, and each Blawg will develop its own.

Q. Let’s talk about costs?

Bob. As noted, Blawgs can be inexpensive to create, maintain and host.

Sam. But, you have to make the determination whether time you spend on your Blawg is cost-effective, compared with having someone else - obviously someone you trust - provide timely content.

Q. What kind of time do I have to be prepared to commit to make this work?

Bob. Again, it depends on your time commitment. I generally commit five hours a week on updating my Blawgs, sometimes more.

Sam. But Bob really is a writer by predisposition. It is my view that after a minimal period of collaboration to launch a Blawg that most attorneys could provide us the guidance to develop and manage it for them with just 30-60 minutes a week. Your commitment really determines the type of response you want to generate with your Blawg. The more frequent the updates, the “stickier” your Blawg becomes in the web search engines. But Bob’s comment, I think, illustrates the time intensive nature which is what a venture like Bob’s and mine assumes on behalf of the attorney.
And there it is. We could continue with the dialog, but I am sure you are all Blawged out by now. If you would like further information regarding Blawgs, contact Bob or Sam.

Return to September 2003 Table of Contents.