MyLegal.com Contributed Articles

Over the last two weeks I’ve shared with you my “Top Five” reasons to start a blog and my “Top Five” blogging tips. Up next: Syndication!

What exactly is syndication? Syndication means getting your blog or content out on the web so it can be read and shared by as many people as possible. The more your blog is read, the more visibility and credibility you create!

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) Feeds make syndicating your blog…well, really simple! Hudson Horizons, a website design and development company, defines RSS as “… an XML-based format for sharing content among different websites. Websites can utilize RSS technology to syndicate content feeds from other sites, and users can utilize an RSS Reader to download feeds in an easy-to-view format."

There are many ways to accomplish blog syndication. Here are my “Top Five” tips:

1. MyLegal.com: Syndicating your blog via MyLegal.com is as easy as it gets. Just log in, click the “My Inbox” tab, then click on “My Blog” and start typing! Not a member yet? Join today! It’s free and provides another great venue for visibility and recognition. A link to your blog will appear in MyLegal’s “Daily Digest,” instantly making it available to over 4,000 legal professionals. If selected as a featured blog on MyLegal’s homepage, it will enjoy even more visibility, along with additional syndication to a myriad of other sites. A little nervous about posting? No worries! I’d be happy to review your blog and offer suggestions or feedback prior to publishing. Send to lisa.dimonte@mylegal.com. 


2. Facebook: Seemingly everyone has a Facebook account (or at least everyone who’d be reading a blog). Now you can really leverage the power of Facebook by utilizing an app called “Blog RSS Feed Reader.” This tool allows you to add your blog to your Facebook profile so it can be shared with your Facebook friends. This user-friendly application takes just minutes to set up.


3. Feedburner: A free service brought to you by Google, Feedburner provides valuable blog-tracking stats such as how many people have subscribed to your RSS feed and which Readers are being used to view it. Feedburner has many advanced features with which I’m not very familiar. If any of you have tried them out, I’d love to hear which ones you’re utilizing and how you’re using them.


4. FriendFeed: FriendFeed consolidates updates from blogs (and other feeds) from various sites into one place. FriendFeed looks and feels like Twitter but allows you to share your blog through an RSS feed. Membership is free. Once you sign up, go to “Settings,” then “Services” and select “Blogging.” After all, who couldn’t use more online friends?


5. LinkedIn: My hunch is you already have a LinkedIn account and profile. (If not, you need one! Take the time to create one now!) Once you have an account, it’s easy to add the “Blog Link” app. This application allows you to connect your blog to your LinkedIn profile. To do so, simply go to “Profile,” “Edit Profile,” then scroll down to “Add Applications.”