[Editor's note: the following post comes unsolicited from Stefanie Marrone, Director of Business Development and Marketing at New York-based Tarter Krinsky & Drogin, and a longtime JD Supra client:]

When it comes to content distribution and amplification, I really do get by with the help of my friends.

Many law firms (and their lawyers) invest considerable time writing great content, but are disappointed by the results. Either their thought leadership efforts don’t lead to new business, or they fail to garner media attention or the attention of clients/prospects.

This isn’t necessarily because the content is poorly written. Often it is simply because not enough of the right people, your target readers, have the chance to see the work. Fact is, we operate in a competitive and saturated market and simply getting someone to open your email and read your content is very difficult.

So, what can you do to stand out from your peers?

Bring in the special forces to take your content efforts to the next level. If you are at a small-or mid-size firm, like I am, with less content than Big Law competitors and a smaller in-house team, you definitely need JD Supra to support your efforts.

A return on your content investment

The ultimate goal of all thought leadership content should be to bring in new clients and retain existing ones. Sure, it’s great if your thought leadership enhances your brand but that’s an ancillary benefit. Lawyers are busy and time away from billing on matters should be spent on activities that will drive revenue. In fact, all your marketing efforts should drive revenue, especially something as time-intensive as writing content.

JD Supra helps us get our content in the hands of the right people at the right time...

What’s the point of creating content if you have no idea how it is resonating with your target audiences? So many firms are in the dark on this. Yes, many marketers look at their email campaigns and web site stats (hopefully!) and are refining content based on open and clickthrough rates, but JD Supra unlocks an entire universe of robust analytics for administrators, enabling us to do our jobs better and be smarter about our content investments.

The bottom line is that you just can’t do it alone. No matter if your mailing lists are great, you have thousands of followers on your social media accounts, and your lawyers personally send alerts to VIP contacts. You still need to amplify your content for maximum reach.

This is where JD Supra comes into the equation. In simple terms, JD Supra helps its clients leverage their thought leadership to effectively create:

• New business
• Media attention
• Networking opportunities

The reach you need

JD Supra is an online platform that helps clients extend the reach of their content by distributing it daily to opt-in subscribers across a multitude of channels, including email. Not only does the platform bring wider audience to your thought leadership, it also provides powerful analytics on who is reading your work, enabling you to fine tune your content efforts (which in my opinion is worth the cost alone!).

...powerful analytics on who is reading your work

The site publishes and distributes updates, alerts, news analysis, blog posts, videos, and written commentary on myriad topics across all industries and fields. Its readers include in-house counsel, business leaders, reporters, editors and anyone else trying to make sense of regulations and related issues that define their profession, marketplace or industry. JD Supra has more than 500,000 subscribers to its content over numerous channels.

So how can JD Supra help your firm bring in leads and raise visibility?

• We use our analytics to see who is reading our work each month. We identify people who we’d like to get to know better, look to see if any of our lawyers have connections in common on LinkedIn and then take the relationship to the next level in a non-creepy, “I know you were reviewing our stats” way.
• Use your analytics to track reporters and industry bloggers who have read, followed or referenced your firm's thought leadership. Connect with them afterwards on social media and send follow up articles.
• The platform can be very helpful in spying on the competition. For example, we get a digest by practice (and firm) of alerts each day, so we can see who is publishing what on any given topic or practice area. It is a highly effective way to motivate lawyers and to keep abreast of your peers.
• JD Supra provides trend reports by practice/industry with suggested timely topics that lawyers should write about. This is also a very useful tool that helps me engage with our lawyers and get them to commit to writing a piece because often time is of the essence.
• I know of several lawyers who have been asked to speak and write other articles as a result of article they wrote that were published on JD Supra.
• I know lawyers who have gotten major media placements because a reporter reached out to him/her as a result of seeing an article they wrote that was published on JD Supra.
• I also know of law firms using JD Supra to introduce a new practice area or a specialty – for example, one firm used a content campaign to launch its opportunity zones initiative. This firm wrote several articles on the topic, then looked at its analytics and saw they had a lot of interest from those in the telecom industry on this type of content. They then campaigned actively to let their clients in the telecom area know they could answer questions about opportunity zones. What a great way to break into the niche!
• JD Supra helps us get our content in the hands of the right people at the right time and it is building its audience every day on behalf of its clients. Blogs require your audience to come to you – JD Supra brings the audience to you. This enables law firms to concentrate on what they do best – creating the actual content. So essentially JD Supra is using its technology and editorial services to give you the audience your firm and lawyers deserve.

If you build it – meaning great content – not everyone will come. It’s not just about creating great content; having the smart tools to help you disseminate that content is just as, if not more, important. JD Supra really enables law firms and their lawyers to see the true value of producing thought leadership.

One final thought – the reason why its so important to have a tool like this on your side is because they are in the business of cultivating the right readers, people who need to know how to make sense of the legal implications of their business lives. That’s the true value of JD Supra.

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[Stefanie Marrone helps law firms effectively tell their stories and find their unique voices. Over the last 17 years, she has worked with some of the most prominent and innovative law firms in the world, developing and executing global revenue generating business development and communications strategies, including media relations, branding, and multichannel content marketing and social media campaigns. She is very passionate about using social media for lead generation and brand building. She has a diverse range of experience in both Big Law and mid-size/small-law firms. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow her latest writing on JD Supra as well as her blog The Social Media Butterfly.]