Should I start my own blog?

Darren Rowse has a great article over at ProBlogger where he raises the question “Should I Change My Website Into a Blog?” He mentions six reasons to do so, while including five reasons you may not want to. Darren’s reasons include:

Reasons to do a blog:

1. “Blogs give Individuals, Companies and Brands ‘Voice’;
2. “Blogs are Conversational;
3. “Blogs build Trust;
4. “Blogs build Profile;
5. “Blogs are Immediate (meaning that you don’t have wait for your writings to be published); and
6. “Blogs are a doorway to Search Engines and Social Media.”

Reasons not to:

1. “Blogs Take Time to Mature (so don’t expect a quick return);
2. “Blogs Take Daily Work (not if you don’t post daily, two or three times a week can work);
3. “Blogs Take More than Writing (it can also involve monitoring comments, having a good design, marketing your site, etc.);
4. “Bloggers Can be Anti-Trust/Profile Building (meaning that depending on what you write and your tone, you could actually impact your reputation adversely); and
5. “Blogs Rely Upon YOU as a Conversation Starter.”

For higher visibility for your law practice, blogging may just be the answer. But if you aren’t going to make the commitment to sustain it, then maybe not.

So, the question is: Do you want to increase your visibility, dialogue, and credibility with your intended audience? Blogging is one vehicle to consider as part of your business development mix, IMHO.

Check out Darren’s article for more, such as whether to turn your web site into a blog or start a new site, as well as some recommended reading. You may also want to look over the 38 comments he got in response to his post to see what others think about the idea.