LexBlog’s Publishing team held their second webinar this week, focusing this time on some simple post ideas to get you through a patch of writer’s block.
Weren’t able to attend this time? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Below you will find a full recording of the webinar and some of the key takeaways from the presentation. We also have more information about our upcoming webinars so be sure to read on for a preview of what’s to come.
Our Resource Center is chock full of blog post ideas, inspired by our talented community of legal bloggers. Publisher Colin O’Keefe and Editor Michelle Newblom gathered some of the best easy-to-write post ideas and explained how to write them and what makes them such a good idea.
Write about something you find interesting
Sounds simple, right? And it is—but a lot of bloggers have started shying away from this type of post, even though it was essentially the backbone of early blogging. While producing your own insightful analysis is great, it’s hard to do that on a consistent basis. This type of post is an easy one to fall back on, and it comes with plenty of benefits.
- Introduce the source in a paragraph or two
- Explain why you found the original piece interesting
- Be sure to include plenty of block quotes
Why it’s a good idea
This is one of the best posts to create new connections and build upon existing ones. We author these posts all the time over at our company blog, 99 Park Row. In this piece I wrote, I mentioned the author on Twitter and thanks to my blog post, we now follow one another.
Blogging at its core is about listening, which is exactly what you’re doing with this type of piece. Uniquely, it also allows your readers to see how you think and better understand your thought process.
Getting back to the root of it all, it’s an easy post. These require much less effort, they’re shorter, and they’re easier to push out regularly.
For more on this post idea, check out our RC article.
Bring in a big trend or mainstream story
As a blogger, you’re probably—or should be—consuming a lot of news, whether it directly relates to your specific niche or not. What you should be thinking whenever you’re doing this, is how you can bring it back to your area of law.
These are the unique and interesting types of posts that are sure to be big hits with your audience. Whether it’s The New York Times, Washington Post or whichever outlet you find yourself skimming on a regular basis, constantly be asking yourself what some big trend will mean for your industry.
Why it’s a good idea
We preach this all the time, but if you want people to read your blog, you have to write things that are interesting. That can be accomplished with this post, as you’re bringing some big story that your audience is likely going to be interested in and applying it to something even more specific for them.
These posts are likely to garner you more attention on social as well as showcase that you’re keeping up with the news and constantly looking for ways to help our your readership. The media also loves these pieces and it’s a good way to start to get your foot through that door.
A great example comes from Dan Schwartz and his Connecticut Employment Law Blog. He takes a look at the now dominant social platform, Tik Tok, and how it may impact the workplace. It’s great for relatability, it’s interesting and it’s relevant. Check it out here.
Year in Review
Now is the perfect type to jump on this idea if you haven’t already. People love consumable, unique content like this—just take a look at the success of Spotify Wrapped. You can do that too with your blog or with your area of expertise.
There are a couple of ways you can format this.
- Take a look at the biggest stories in your area of the law from the year
- What were the biggest trends? Cases? New laws passed?
- Provide some commentary on each
- Great example of this from Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
Or, you can make it more personal to your blog and your community.
- What were your most read posts?
- Which posts garnered the most attention on social What were the biggest stories you touched on?
- An example of this comes from our 2020 LexBlog Community Year in Review
Why it’s a good idea
This is a great opportunity to capitalize on all the hard work you’ve done this year. It makes for an easy post heading into the holidays or to start out the new year.
It can also be used as a helpful outreach tool and it definitely shows that you know what you’re talking about. It lends you a sense of authority and makes it clear to your readers and subscribers that you’re dedicated to this topic.
It can also be repurposed into various different mediums. Have one of your podcast episodes be about this piece, host one of your webinars on it—which we’re doing in January.
For more on this post idea, check out our RC article.
Answer a question
Not only is this one of the easiest to publish on a regular basis, it’s also going to be one of the most helpful posts you can offer your readers. You’re surely asked questions all the time, so answer them in a blog post. It’ll make an evergreen resource you can send to clients or potential clients, making you look good in the process.
- Start keeping a list of FAQs
- If a new change happens, answer the questions you suspect you’ll be getting
- Put the question in the title of your post
Why it’s a good idea
This makes for a very search-friendly post. If you’re titling your piece exactly what people are going to be googling, chances are you’ll pop up to a lot of new readers. Again, as many of these ideas do, it illustrates that you’re an expert in your field. You already know the questions people have and you’re giving them the answer before they can even ask.
Another thing this can help with is making your content more readable for a general audience. It can be hard to stray away from legal terms and legal writing, but you can’t do that with these kinds of posts—not if you want your audience to understand you at least.
Need an example of this in action? Look no further than Jeff Nowak and his blog FMLA Insights—this one executes this idea perfectly.
For more on this post idea, check out our RC article.
Interview posts
Similar to writing about something you find interesting, these are a great way to network and connect—in an even more direct fashion. It’ll show that you’re interested in hearing other perspectives and that you’re connected to some powerful players in your industry.
- Ask someone in your practice area if they have time to answer a few questions
- Can be conducted through email or Zoom and then transcribed
- Way to talk to referral sources or industry executives
Why it’s a good idea
This webinar is on easy post ideas, and it doesn’t get much easier than this. All the writing is done for you, as you can simply copy and paste your interview into a blog post. Readers will also enjoy hearing from other reputable perspectives on your publication.
You can turn this into a regular series even and make interviewing a big part of your blog. But again, it’s really outstanding for networking, and most everyone likes to be highlighted in a manner like this.
A great example of this can be found on Trust on Trial’s blog.
For more on this post idea, check out our RC article.
ABC series
This is one of the more advanced post ideas, and takes a bit more of a commitment. But, the payoff can be great, and it’s a way to keep your mind fresh when you’re trying to come up with different angles on topics.
- Pick a topic and go through the ABCs
- Title each post with the corresponding letter of the alphabet
- Create a longterm blogging habit this way
Why it’s a good idea
If you need consistency, this is a way to achieve that. You’ll be locked in to at least 26 posts, which is no small number. It’s a great idea if you’re just starting a new blog too. Similar to the year in review posts, you can repurpose this in multiple formats.
We can’t take credit for this idea, though. Covington did a great series, the ABCs of the AJP (American Job Plan). You can find all 26 posts here, which are equally creative and insightful.
For more on this post idea, check out our RC article.
As mentioned above, we have plenty more ideas in our Resource Center—such as week in review posts, revisiting old topics and more.
If you’re interested, take the time to register for our January webinar, which will be covering our 2021 LexBlog Community Year in Review.