There are a couple of ways to become a thought leader in
your field. One way is to write and the other way is to speak before a group.
Since speaking in front of a group is one of the more common fears, right up
there with fear of flying or creepy crawly things, writing is probably an
easier choice. It can be done at any hour of the day or night, at your computer
or by hand, in casual or formal wear and reviewed many times until it is close
to perfect.
Writing for your local bar association newsletter is a great
way to start getting your name recognized
in your legal community. Usually the guidelines
are few: articles can be on any topic, if in doubt, send a query describing
your topic to the Editor. Article lengths vary depending on whether your
newsletter is published solely on line or a combination of paper and on-line.
If it is coming to you soley on-line, the rules of writing for the web must be
considered.
As I have mentioned in the past, on-line readers don’t read,
they scan; and, they scan in an F pattern. To accommodate their reading habit,
remember to:
·
Make your sentences and paragraphs short;
·
Use as few adjectives and adverbs as possible,
·
Add graphics and bolded headlines for interest,
·
Use bullet lists to break up space, and
·
Insert links where relevant to the material.
Your goal in writing for the screen is to make it as easy to
get the information as possible. Our readers, all busy lawyers, want the
material presented in a clear, easy to read style that they can absorb quickly.
Get more traction out
of your article
Let’s say, you write your article, read it over, think it is
brilliant, and want to get more exposure out of it. Your clients and fellow
lawyers out in cyberspace should know about this. Since Google punishes sites
that copy and paste the same exact content repeatedly on multiple pages, it is
better to hyperlink your article on the your other social media platforms. Start
by adding a comment about the article and a link on your web page.
Then move on to LinkedIn.
Add your content as a status update; make an introductory comment and link the
post directly to your Brief’s article. Twitter
is one of the easiest ways to quickly share your knowledge with a wide
audience. Attract your reader with a few key words, add hash tags to indicate
search terms, and send it off to your followers.
Facebook is also
a possibility. Many of you use it, so post the link to your article with a few
descriptive words and drive more traffic to your posting. By sharing your
article over multiple platforms, you have broadened the scope of your
visibility. Don’t have all these social media tools yet? start with one and as
it gets easier, add more. Soon you will build visibility for all you create.
