According to HubSpot’s State of Inbound Marketing 2015 Report, the time it takes to write a typical 500-word blog post is 1-2 hours.

HubSpot interviewed 4,000 marketers around the world for their 2015 report. In North America, a majority of the respondents (38%) spend 1-2 hours writing a post. Approximately 29% said they spend 2-3 hours per post, 29% spend over four hours and only 8% said they spend less than an hour per post.

This data doesn’t necessarily mean that any particular amount of time is the “right” amount to spend writing a blog post. It just points out what is typical for a 500-word post, which is generally the optimal length to achieve your goals of why you blog — to demonstrate thought leadership, drive traffic to your website and nurture relationships online that will hopefully become prospects for your legal services.

To get the most out of your law firm blog, you should be posting to it nearly every day.

There may be some attorneys who have 7-14 hours per week to dedicate to writing for their blogs. I just don’t know that many of them.

There are some who say that if you can’t write it yourself, you shouldn’t have a blog. I have and continue to disagree with that line of thought. In fact, there are several scenarios that should compel you to call in a pro:

1. You’re not a good writer. Good writers love to write, but if you’re not in that group, there are plenty of people out there for you to hire or partner with in creating great content for your law firm.  Yes, we do this for our attorney clients.  There are also some great freelancers on Upwork.com (formerly Elance) and other online job boards, and some of these are even attorneys.  Or maybe someone at your firm has this hidden talent.  Find it, invest in it, and reap the benefits.

2. You don’t have the time.  You went to law school to practice law, right?  Creating content for blogs, social media and websites takes consistent effort and the investment of someone’s time, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be your time.

3. You need expertise you don’t have.  If you’re not up to speed on the latest SEO practices for online content, you need to either educate yourself or find a good writer with this expertise.  Maybe you can write blogs, but you need help with your e-newsletter or free reports – this calls for a specialist with a particular skill set for creating content that will entice prospects.

4. You can’t see the forest for the trees. Most attorneys are great at writing…for other attorneys.  You’re too close to your subject and lose sight of the importance of writing for your target market.

5. It’s too important.  If you’re convinced of the importance of having the best possible messaging going out to your prospects and clients, and building your online reputation, leaving the development of that content to chance is a sure way to screw up.  Bad copy can kill your credibility.

Whether you do it in-house or hire a professional writer, remember that you are always in charge of your messaging.  Your writer should be your marketing partner, understand your firm and your target market as well as the legal ethical standards you are held to, and maintain your high standards.  Even if you are not doing the actual work, the final responsibility for your legal marketing rests with you.