As the former commissioning editor of a legal journal, the question I got asked the most was: why write for us, or indeed any publication when your time could be better spent servicing your clients.
This post is about why you and your firm should be writing, why it’s worth the effort and why you should be doing more of it.
To answer this requires an understanding of the way readers engage with content.
Engagement matters
Whenever your content appears in an external print publication, paywalled or not, subscribers to a publication make up only a small part of how your content will be read by the wider world.
It will be shared on the publication’s social media channels. If it’s a good, it will be liked by anyone who is in any way engaging with those social media channels. Why is this important? Because every like leads to further engagement. All the while building up your profile in the sector, and outside it.
Most publications will allow you as a contributor to reuse that content. It’s always worth checking what the requirements are when it comes to doing so. Sometimes a simple source acknowledgement is required, sometimes more may be involved. Do check what the publication’s specific requirements are.
So why not just write for our own channels?
So, why write for an external publication when I could just be writing for my own website?
The answer to this is simple. Engagement on one platform should not deter engagement on another. Or to put it in simple terms: writing for your own website should only form a small facet of your wider content marketing strategy. It cannot replace the credibility of content that has been edited and published by an external magazine, website with an established reputation. Now this is key when considering whether you should write at all. No matter how clever your digital marketeers, there is no substitute for having your opinions published on a reputable external platform. None.
I often see quite large firms publishing pretty good content on their own channels, with little engagement. There is a lot to be gained from reformatting, rewriting and reusing content.
Some content is ‘evergreen’. It can stay ‘out there’ indefinitely, and is a great way of boosting your profile.
Be a thought leader
There is still a huge amount of confusion around the importance of thought leadership. I have worked on a number of thought leadership campaigns over the years in both professional services and the built environment.
It’s allowed me to understand what actually makes for a good campaign.
There are two key things to remember when it comes to thought leadership:
- Your thoughts and opinions matter and will make you stand out from a very crowded market.
- Every time you produce market-relevant content you are adding to your reputation as a thought leader and an expert in the sector.
- You probably have a lot of data already that could provide interesting insights for a campaign.
- Sometimes the most effective campaigns, which provide the most insight and start the best conversations involve just a few interviews with key industry contacts.
If you’d like to find out more about becoming a thought leader, or repurposing and driving engagement on your content, do get in touch.
Maria Shahid is a senior journalist/editor who now works in content. She is also a City-qualified solicitor. Maria can be reached mariakomconsult@outlook.com.
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