Why an IP lawyer Needs to Publish Short Articles on LinkedIn
I was never really interested in writing articles for the old-style law journals, just because I never saw this as a viable way to attract potential clients for my law practice.
The Internet changed this. Today I am using LinkedIn for publishing my professional thoughts, most of the time about questions that my clients frequently ask.
My LinkedIn article repository is here
https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-schweiger-00204775/detail/recent-activity/posts/
Publishing an article on LinkedIn helps me in many very practical ways
First, my many IP lawyer peers on LinkedIn review all my articles. Very often I receive valuable input about seemingly minor details that – if rectified – tremendously enhance the clarity of my message. As I have full access to my article on LinkedIn, I can amend and enhance it anytime, without needing anyone for doing it.
Second, in a talk with a client who asks me about a problem which I have already addressed in an article, I surely will highlight this article to him. This saves both of us valuable time. As my article usually has been reviewed, commented and liked by other lawyers, my clients can more easily trust what I am writing.
Third, as I do not need to go through a law journal committee, I can address whatever useful idea that I want to, even if it is a critical remark about the current system. For example, you will find the following issues in my LinkedIn articles, but – although they are of utmost importance to my clients – not in the old-style law journals:
– the Internet will kill large parts of IP, not only Copyright but als Patent rights for devices that can be 3D printed,
– very soon, 80% of my work will be done by an algorithm,
– enforcement against IP infringers will be more difficult in the future, because of improvements in logistics.
Fourth, my LinkedIn article collection is like a professional diary for me. I can use it as a database and repository for keywords and links to external articles if I am looking for a specific issue in IP. This database is tailored to my professional needs. This saves a lot of time when I am looking for something that I have seen before.
Sixth, my LinkedIn articles come with reading statistics. The statistics tell me whether an article has been read at all, something that you won`t know when you publish it in an old-style law journal. I suspect that these articles are usually read by only three persons: by the author, by his supervisor, and by the editor or his learned helper.
And there are many more useful aspects of publishing a LinkedIn article.
You Eat with Your Eyes Too. Use Paragraph Headings.
I use paragraph headings for making my readers` life easier. I assume that old-style law journals won`t allow you that but LinkedIn does.
Paragraph headings help to shorten the reading time of an article. When you agree with a paragraph heading of if you know already what will follow the heading, then you can skip the entire paragraph that follows.
Providing a paragraph heading is also a good training for myself in focusing on what I want to say. It forces me to come to the point, the most important requirement in all communication. be it in business or in marriage, in sales, in court, in discussions with your staff, etc.
You Eat with Your Eyes too. Use a Nice Photo for your Article
How to find photos that you can use for your LinkedIn articles: I have written an article about that earlier, here
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-find-use-royalty-free-photos-articles-linkedin-martin-schweiger/
And the best is that LinkedIn is free
Do you need more reasons to publish an article on LinkedIn?
Post your first article on LinkedIn and then please notify me. I will multiply it for you.
Martin “get noticed online” Schweiger