An Attorney’s Guide to Breaking into Podcasting

Sometime between law school and where you’re at in your career now, you’ve gained experience and knowledge that many people don’t have. Years of research have made you a credible expert in the legal field, and for some, years of litigation have made you an effective public speaker—a perfect combination for effective podcasting.

Know that this is just as much about educating potential clients as it is about marketing you and your firm. “You’re not selling a vacuum on QVC,” says Juris Page author Daniel Gershburg, “This is an opportunity to speak to real attorneys and professionals, etc., and get their insight and share things of value…for free.”

Gershburg recommends that you go into your podcasting foray expecting nothing—no calls, no clients, no increased revenue. Although this may sound intimidating for those on a budget, this is an opportunity to share your expertise without having to rely on the many clichés that have made their way onto television commercials and lawyer websites (i.e. “we’ll fight for you!”).

A podcast also becomes a marketing opportunity for another reason: syndication. You recorded your podcast, now you can link it on your site and blog about the talking points you’ve made, increasing your website content with each episode.

Podcasting gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your expertise in a particular field. If you answer one question that someone has about a topic, they likely will turn to you to answer other related questions. Just like with social media, the more information you share and the more you podcast, the more followers and exposure you’ll get.

Podcasting is a way to loosen the tie and be yourself for a moment. You have an outlet to showcase your opinions, knowledge, experience, and equally as important, your personality, with listeners. The days of people hiring attorneys that they don’t like or can’t relate to are over. Let people like and relate to you, and you will gain new clients.

So where should you begin? Learn from the best. Law360, in their blog “Top Podcasts for the Busy Lawyer,” highlighted their top podcasts for lawyers, noted for their storytelling or educational aspects:
• Serial
• Lawyer 2 Lawyer
• Amicus
• The Modern Law Library
• 'TEDTalks,' 'This American Life' and 'Radiolab'

Legal Productivity recommends a few other podcasts: Legal Toolkit, Bloomberg Law Podcasts, the ABA CLE Premier Speaker Series, Legal Geekery, LexisNexis Legal Podcasts, Law School Professor, RocketLawyer Podcasts, and This Week in Law.

Now that you know why you should podcast, and have a few pieces of inspiration for what you can and should talk about, here are the next steps you need to follow before you can start podcasting:
• Choosing Equipment and Software
• Recording and Editing
• Exporting and Tagging
• Hosting
• Setting up a Feed, Publishing Your Podcast
• Submitting to iTunes and other Podcast Directories

For more information, the following series of videos highlights each step in detail. Additionally, Shopify and Lifehacker each provide detailed written tutorials on starting your podcast.

Maybe you want to share your opinion in an easier-to-host environment. YouTube has made it easy for anyone to start a video series. An example of a successful video series is that of Brian Heidelberger, who has developed a following by posting short, explanatory videos on topics surrounding advertising and entertainment law. As part of his series, he answers highly specific questions in less than ten minutes. Examples include:
• Public Domain Music Issues and The Real Status of Happy Birthday
• What 'Dirty Dancing' Suit Against TD Ameritrade Means for Parody Ads

This option allows you to explain at your pace a highly specific topic, without the hosting costs that go into podcasting.

Getting your name out and sharing your expertise takes focus, planning, and a bit of time, but the rewards come in the form of clients, revenue, and name recognition. In addition to a successful website, podcast, and set of optimized social profiles, another way to grow your influence and gain more clients is by joining Legal Services Link.

Legal Services Link creates an online forum where attorneys can quickly, easily, and informatively connect directly with people and businesses that have legal needs NOW. 

Legalserviceslink.com revolutionizes the legal hiring process by allowing individuals and businesses with legal needs to post short summaries of their legal needs to the site for review and application by attorneys interested in satisfying those legal needs. It effectively allows attorneys to develop clients from the comfort of their office chair, at the click of a button.

Sign up for your FREE account, post your FREE profile, and start generating clients today!