Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 8 of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  This week we will focus our efforts back on blogging.  Hopefully by this point you have started writing your blog.  If not, start now.

There are many ways that you can leverage your blog to take advantage of the many other people out there blogging about similar topics.  One such tool is a blog catalog.  Blog catalogs of blogger networks allow you to group your blog alongside the blogs of other popular bloggers in your area.

The advantages of submitting your blog to a blog network are many.  First, it gives you more exposure as a contributing member of the blogging community.  This will drive more traffic to your blog, entice more readers to subscribe to your blog, and get you noticed by a large number of internet users.  All of these things give your blog more credibility, and builds the awareness of your name and “brand” online.

Second, submitting your blog to a network, or simply searching for networks to submit to helps you get in touch with all the possibilities that are out there for bloggers.  You will find more blogs on legal topics that interest you than you found before.  Don’t be afraid to contact these bloggers.  Anyone who is posting material to the web is doing it to connect with people.  The more people that know about you and your blog, the more you’ll be able to do with it.

Finally, it allows you to mention the fact that you are included in these catalogs.  You can post a link or a “badge” on your blog that shows your readers where your blog has been listed around the web.  This, in turn, provides even more credibility.  It could turn the casual reader into a subscriber, and someone that comes back to your blog over and over again.  You can start to label yourself as an expert in your field, and turn your blog into a business producing tool.

Convinced?  Ok.  Let’s go over some of the catalogs that are out there that you should be checking out.  The key here is that there is no end to the amount of blog networks that you can submit to.  Find the ones that seem the most interesting and valuable to you.  Here is a list that you can start with.

1. Blawg.com: A must for all legal bloggers.  This is a law specific blog catalog, one with sections ranging from practice area to law professors to legal marketing. http://www.blawg.com

2. BlogCatalog.com: This is one of the largest and best known catalogs out there.  This network allows you to create a personal profile and add your blog to it.  It allows you to converse and exchange information with other bloggers. http://www.blogcatalog.com

3. Technorati: Technorati.com is a search engine that shows the most “important” information on the web.  They use an authority system to rank blogs and news sources.  You can claim your blog there, something every blogger can do, then use it to track performance and find similar blogs. http://www.technorati.com

There are many other catalogs and directories of blogs and bloggers that can help you.  A simple search on Google for those words will give you all the answers that you need.  The greater your online distribution of material, the more people you will attract, and the more powerful your blog will become.  So get out there and put these skill to work.

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter
Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn
Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool