A blog should be one of the cornerstones of you lawyer marketing efforts.   A well written blog takes a lot of time and energy.  One of the most difficult things is constantly coming up with interesting ideas for your legal blog posts.  I have made a list of 10 ideas to get the ball rolling when you're feeling short on ideas.

1.  Make A List - People on the web love to read lists. The short concise bullets are easy to digest and fit perfectly with the way content on the web is consumed. Build a list around your expertise and don't forget to let people know you created a list in your title (you'll get more click through's this way).

2.  Share Good Links - Finding good content on the web isn't as easy as it may seem. Just because a search engine algorithm returns it doesn't mean it's great content. Your readers will appreciate a list of links to articles, resources, stories, etc. that you found compelling, interesting, or useful. They are reading your blog because they like your ideas, it would only make sense they will have interest in other resources you found useful.

3. Tell A Story - There is nothing more compelling than a great story. Writing about an experience you had with an anonymous client, a personal life event, or otherwise is great blog material. It gives your blog a voice and shows your human side. People identify with that and are more likely to engage (which is the whole point of the blog in the first place!)

4. Share Your Legal Expertise - You have put in the blood, sweat, and tears to gain the legal expertise you have today. Leverage that into informational posts. People have questions about your legal services, your firm, etc. Try answering these questions in a public forum. Obviously you want to be careful with regards to giving any legal advice, but there are plenty of general questions and knowledge you can safely and effectively put out there.

5.  Read Other Legal Blogs - Subscribe to other industry blogs and stay current on the posts. It's a great way to get a feel for the popular legal industry topics as well as injecting new ideas for your own posts.

6.  Have A Guest Blogger - Are you as busy as the rest of us? Can't find the time to blog this week? Try utilizing a guest blogger. It's a great way to build relationships with other bloggers. Offer them a link back to their own blog or website for the effort. This can be a great way to change up the voice of your blog for a day and inject some fresh ideas and content.

7.  Write A Follow Up To Your Most Popular Posts - Take a look back at your traffic statistics and write a follow up to your most popular posts. The great thing about the internet is how trackable everything is. You can find out what your audience liked most and then give them more of it. Expand on the ideas or topics you previously laid out.

8.  Attend A Webinar - There are plenty of excellent, legal webinars you can attend for free. Explore topics you are interested in and leverage what you learn to write new posts. I found this to be extremely helpful for my own blog.

9.  Give Your Take On Hot Legal Stories - I don't mean that you should be writing only about the latest celebrity criminal case. There are plenty of legal stories that are much closer to home or of interest to your particular niche of the legal world. Analyze the story and give your unique voice, opinion, and spin to it. Think as if you are writing an op-ed on a particular event. Your readers care what you have to say....take the time to throw your opinion out there on a big issue.

10.  Read A Book Or Article That Is Completely Unrelated - I find that sometimes it's nice just to step away from your area of expertise and immerse yourself in a different world. Often this gives me some of my best blog post ideas. It helps to take a break once in awhile and often when you aren't desperately trying to be creative and write.....the perfect post idea will strike you.