I’m doing a special series of guest posts this week on Remarkablogger. I’ve invited several up-and-coming bloggers to describe how they got started in blogging, how it helps their business, and how blogging helped them grow as a human being.
Meet Grant Griffiths, who blogs at Home Office Warrior and runs a blog design and consulting business called G2WebMedia. I met Grant through Twitter, and consider him a friend (though politically, we don’t agree on everything, which makes for great conversation).
In the Beginning…
I started actually blogging, putting words down in a post, February 2005. My first blog was a blog I started to promote my family law practice. It quickly became my only form of advertising as I stopped doing any Yellow Pages™ ads that same spring.
Prior to starting my first blog, I spent about 6 months researching and reading other blogs. At that time there were not that many legal blogs out there. I also spent some time reading non-legal blogs about blogging. And I really believe that helped me more then anything. I spent time reading, commenting and trying to connect with as many other bloggers as I could. I tell our clients to do the same thing.
The biggest reason I started to blog was I wanted an Internet presence and a way to compete with the “big boys”. There was no way I could compete with them in the Yellow Pages™ as I just didn’t have the budget to afford a full page, color ad. And what I found, putting my efforts and funds in a web presence made more sense from all sides.
The Light Bulbs Starting to come on…
What I soon discovered about blogging:
- Less expensive
- Allowed me to be on same footing as the “big boys”
- Widened my target audience
- Positioned me as the place to go for information
- Got me noticed and I was even interviewed by magazines and newspapers on the subject I was blogging about
- Increased my “business”, and
- Gave me a great return on my investment (ROI)
By using a blog as my main marketing tool and posting to it on a regular basis, I saw my position in the search engines skyrocket. No longer were the “static” websites of the “big boys” on the top of the search results in Google. In fact, my blog was almost in the top five for any topic dealing with a family law question in the state of Kansas.
And best of all, I was making contact with potential clients I would not have been able to reach without it. I was given many opportunities to visit with the media and became known as a “thought leader” in my field. But there was even more opportunities coming my way then just the benefits blogging had for my law practice.
One of the best phone calls I received and one which reinforced my belief in blogging came from a large firm in one of our bigger cities in Kansas. As soon as I answered the call, the first words out of this other attorney’s mouth were, “how the hell are you ranked higher then me on the Internet?” My response may have caught him off guard when I said, “I am ranked higher then you because you have a static Web site and I have a blog.”
His next words were amazing: “what the hell is a blog?” So I spent the next 30 minutes telling him what a blog was and how it would better position him and his firm in their web presence.
I started to get a lot of calls and emails from other lawyers wanting to know about blogging. I was spending more and more time discussing with them the benefits of blogging and how it could really kick start their practices.
In addition to that, I decided to start a second blog called Home Office Lawyer. It was on this blog I discussed running a solo law practice from a home office. This too caused a ripple in my online life and also got me noticed even more. I started that blog for fun and it quickly became a catalyst to changing my life and business focus.
In September, 2007 we started a new blog called Home Office Warrior and a blog design and consulting business called G2WebMedia. My reason for doing so is I decided if I was going to be talking to so many people about blogging. And they would keep asking me how or where can I go to get a professional design blog done, why not offer such services. So we did.
The Beginning of a New Career…
I can now say that I am a recovering attorney as I no longer practice law at all. My main business focus is now G2WebMedia and expanding Home Office Warrior and quite frankly, I am having a blast. The people I have met online and in person because of my blogging have been wonderful. And I know for a fact I would have never met any of them without blogging.
We continue to run our business out of my home office, taking advantage of everything technology has to offer. And I continue to meet new people almost daily because of blogging and other social media tools such as Twitter.
Someone told me when I started blogging that I would see a major change in my professional life within 18 months. They were right. They just missed it by a couple of months. If there is any advice I would give anyone considering blogging, it would be this. First, don’t over-think it. And second, just do it. At least try it to see if it is right for you. However, don’t discount its effects on your professional and personal life until you have at least given it a try.
Learn more about Grant’s new entrepreneurial career at G2WebMedia and follow him on Twitter.
11 Comments
@Grant - Great post, thanks, Grant!
I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Grant since he was just a baby blogger. Through his participation in several law-related listserves, he has generously, and tirelessly, shared his knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, blogging with the legal community. After answering just about any question about blogging, his most common refrain was “I’d be happy to visit with you offline if you have more questions about this.” Many members of our community have achieved significant success as a result of following Grant’s sound advice.
I am just getting going with my blog, http://www.MilwaukeeBusinessLawBlog.com and it is mainly because of people like Grant and Lisa Solomon (comment above) on the various lawyer list-serves. I have been converted to a believer that it is the key to solo practice, (any small business for that matter) success as I find I am already ranking at the top of several search terms that I had not even scratched the surface with my static web page. So thanks to Grant and all of those who continue to push us into giving blogging a try, it does really work.
Wow, those are great testimonials! Grant really understands how providing value to others really comes back to benefit not only him, but his entire professional community.
I stated a blog in April because of people like Grant. It’s great to have people like him break the ground for those of us who lag behind. Great info, and great story.
Go Grant! This is a great post, and it really shows Grant’s love for blogging. He’s become a great friend, and I’m excited to see what new things G2 Web Media produces in the future.
Excellent post and the focus on Grant is well-deserved. He’s been an inspiration and a mentor to so many. Anyone who tries to market their business online is going to be inundated with sales pitches for reports, coaching, courses, webinars, etc. but Grant has always willingly shared his knowledge at absolutely no cost and with such a personable manner. And he’s gone beyond helping solo attorneys…he’s even “trickled down” to helping out Virtual Legal Assistants such as myself, Tina Marie Hilton and Laurie Mapp.
I am humbled and I truly appreciate all the kind comments. However…there is always a however isn’t there. While I was more then willing to discuss blogging with so many of you. Those of you who I had that conversation with were forward thinking and innovative enough to realize what blogging might just do for you and your firm or business. And after we had those discussions, it was you who took the bull by the horns and ran with it and started those blogs. Adding not only to the list of fine blogs out there. But you have also added to the many conversations going on. And most important, the exchanging of and freely providing information to your readers.
Keep it up. You will continue to see so much benefit from providing such a service to your readers. It will truly come back to you in benefits 10 times what you give out.
And thanks again for all your kind remarks and comments. So, “lets keep the conversation going.”
@Grant - Most excellent point! Think about all the lawyers (or people in any profession) who aren’t blogging and still don’t really know what a blog is, what social media is, or know how it could help them.
The famous sales guru Zig Ziglar said that you can get anything you want in life if you help enough people get what they want in life. I believe blogging is one of the best vehicles for that there is.
Carolyn Elefant inspired me to be a solo and Grant and others inspired me to start my own blog. What I am impressed by is the sheer amount of good, and most importantly, new content that Grant shares with us every day on Twitter and sololawyermarketing listserve. I check my iphone first thing in the morning, and typically I’m greeted by at least a few interesting tweets from Grant.
Grant, I’m glad you’re still humble. Although, you probably have every reason not to be. Thanks.
Grant is a good friend and a gentleman. He is also very talented when it comes to blogging and understanding what the client wants and needs. He encouraged me when I started blogging nearly two years ago and got me on Twitter. There is a reason he has so many enthused followers. He doesn’t just talk the talk. He walks the walk.
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[...] you heard about this, you likely know Grant! If not-Grant was recently featured at Remarkablogger, and you can find his websites at: http://www.blogforprofit.com/ [...]
[...] you heard about this, you likely know Grant! If not-Grant was recently featured at Remarkablogger, and you can find his websites at: http://www.blogforprofit.com/ [...]