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When I wrote my first blog post on February 26, 2009, I could hardly have imagined where we’d be 14 years later. It would be fun to try to predict, and maybe I’d have gotten some of it right, but I try not to guess at the future.

One of the things I suspect we’d all have gotten right in some form is ChatGPT. I have been loathe to try it for many reasons – I’m not a technophobe, as you can all imagine, nor am I someone who advocates for lawyers to run and try the next big thing. Though, for those of you who have clients who may be using it or dipping their toe in the water, you know I will suggest you get to know it intimately for the usual legal reasons.Continue Reading Happy 14th Anniversary to Zen & The Art of Legal Networking!

Last week, I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with LexBlog’s Bob Ambrogi on “This Week in Legal Blogging,” their new Facebook Live interview series. Bob and I discussed the ILN, running a legal network during a pandemic, and the eleven years that I’ve spent blogging here on Zen (how did that happen??). Two of his questions touched on tips for bloggers who were either getting started in legal blogging, or looking to focus or amplify their efforts, so I wanted to share them here with you! These are my six tips for legal bloggers:
Continue Reading Six Tips for Legal Bloggers

It’s a bit hard to believe it, but I’ve been blogging here at Zen for 10 years. A LOT has changed in the legal industry in ten years, and yet, in many ways, a lot is still the same. If you’d have asked me a decade ago if I still planned to be blogging and sharing my thoughts on the industry in 2019, I’m not sure that I would have said yes. But I’m honored to be a part of this community that allows me to grow, innovate, brainstorm ideas, and develop my own role. And it’s only fitting that ten years into blogging (14 years into my role with the ILN) sees me transitioning into my next exciting challenge – as our Executive Director retires at the end of this year, I’ll be taking over his position, and having the opportunity to share more with you some of the unique opportunities that come along with leading a global organization in the changing legal profession. 
Continue Reading Happy 10th Blogiversary to Zen & the Art of Legal Networking!

I am absolutely gobsmacked that we’ve made it to nine years of blogging here at Zen. It’s been an adventure! I never imagined when I first began writing in this little corner of the internet how much joy blogging would bring me, but it’s allowed me to connect with people all over the world, and have some brilliant and interesting conversations with some wonderfully smart and thoughtful people.

In nine years of blogging, we’ve seen:

  • Almost 1,110 posts
  • More than 58,000 page views (WOW!)
  • Visitors from almost 200 countries and six of the seven continents

I’m looking forward to connecting with even more of you in the future, and continuing to deepen the conversations that we’ve had here on Zen.

So what has 9 years in legal blogging taught me? I wanted to share with you 9 lessons about the legal industry that I’ve picked up over the last 13+ years.
Continue Reading Happy 9th Blogiversary to Zen & the Art of Legal Networking!

twofortueHeadlines.

If you’re a writer, you need them. But they can often be the bane of our existence. Especially in the legal industry, where we’re trying to balance the technical aspects of legal writing with attention-grabbing catchphrases that can sound a bit trite and silly.

And you want to do all of that in 120 characters or less, so that you can easily share that, plus a link to your content, on all social sites.

Not an easy task!
Continue Reading Two Ways to Stop Your Headlines From Sending You Running for Cover

twofortueRecently, we discussed two ways that you could become the MacGyver of content marketing – using great visuals and writing excellent content. I want to continue breaking down Neil Patel’s article this week, to discuss two more ways to “MacGyver” your content – in case you’re still wondering what I mean by that, I’ll reference the Urban Dictionary’s definition:

Someone who can regularly cobble together solutions to problems using only the tools available at hand.”

Your content may not be a problem, but we know that in legal, we’re always being asked to do more with less. So as legal content MacGyvers, we’re taking what we know and creating valuable, substantive themes for consumption that provide a secondary benefit to our reputations.

All right, so let’s jump into our two tips for this week.
Continue Reading Two More Ways to MacGyver Your Content Marketing

twofortueNobody handles content marketing perfectly.

It’s not an exact science, and for the most part, it’s an ever-adapting process that we are constantly refining based on our current goals and audience needs.

But there are a couple of areas where lawyers and law firms go astray with content marketing, and that’s what we’re going to talk about in today’s Two for Tuesdays post. 
Continue Reading The Two Biggest Content Marketing Blunders Lawyers Make

twofortueHere’s a scary thought – earlier today, a blog post caught my eye, talking about the “one content marketing question” we should all be asking ourselves. Remember, when we say “content marketing,” we’re talking about anyone who authors articles, writes a blog, presents at conferences, does informational videos, etc. – basically anyone who produces substantial content that is shared with others.

These days, that’s pretty much all of us, or a large number of us at least. So what’s this one content marketing question?

Would anyone miss your content if you did not publish it?

The question itself is less unsettling of course than the potential answer. But let’s consider that for a moment. If you stopped writing articles, blogging, presenting, or whatever you’re doing to provide others with your knowledge, would anyone notice?

Hopefully the answer is a resounding yes!

But what if it isn’t?Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: How to Make Your Content as Fierce as Beyonce

Next week, I have the pleasure of joining my fellow co-leaders for the Social Media Special Interest Group for the Legal Marketing Association in presenting a webinar on using social media to ramp up conferences and events. My part of the session will focus on blogging, so I thought I’d offer you a preview of my remarks here! LMA members can attend the webinar by registering here. 

You may be surprised to hear that blogging can be a valuable tool for ramping up your conferences and events, but it’s actually quite a valuable one, and one I use often (if you are a regular Zen reader, you’ll be familiar with my recaps).  There are two sides to this, the attendee side, and the organizer side, and I’ll cover both. 

Why Blogging?

Why use blogging? For attendees, it’s quite simple. Blogging before and after events helps to position you as a thought leader and can help to engage you with conference speakers as well as other attendees. 

For organizers, blogging either by someone in your organization, or an outside blogger writing about your event, can help you to grow your audience, expand the reach of your event, help you connect with those who can’t be there in person, and also leverage any high profile speakers that you have. Continue Reading Blogging for Enhancing Conferences & Events