[The latest in our series of Q&A discussions on successful writing in the business realm with recipients of JD Supra's 2016 Readers' Choice award:]

Barbara Mishkin is one of our top banking/financial services writers on JD Supra. She is of counsel at Ballard Spahr LLP and focuses on consumer compliance and banking law. Mishkin has been writing for the CFPB Monitor blog since it was created in 2011. She says that as a blogger it’s imperative to be well informed and that gleaning information from many reliable sources helps generate accurate and timely blog posts.

JD Supra: Why did you decide to write?

Mishkin: We created the blog to keep our clients informed about Consumer Financial Protection Bureau developments and provide commentary and insight that would not typically be available in trade publications. Our goal was to provide information relevant to our clients and the consumer financial services industry. We knew the CFPB would have a huge impact on our clients and the entire industry.

...provide insight and extra knowledge to readers beyond just reporting what has happened.

How do you come up with ideas to write about?

We cull the news and track what’s going on in the CFPB world — we follow the CFPB’s website, other news sources, developments in Congress, such as proposed legislation and hearings relating to consumer financial protection. Because our goal is to get information onto the blog in a timely way, I write nearly everyday as developments occur (on average about six blog posts per week). It’s an ongoing process.

How do you benefit from your writing?

I find writing for the blog to be interesting and challenging. It gives me an opportunity to think about developments as they happen and try to communicate them in a user friendly way. Our blog gives us an opportunity to communicate to a wide group of people. It has helped us increase our visibility in the consumer financial services industry and demonstrate that we are a law firm with deep knowledge in the area that clients can rely on.

What advice do you have for writers just starting out?

It’s important to write about something you’re interested in. It helps to be as well-informed as you can — to build up a knowledge base so you can provide insight and extra knowledge to readers beyond just reporting what has happened.

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[Barbara was recognized as a top author in the banking/financial services category of JD Supra's 2016 Readers' Choice awards. Follow and read her latest writings here.]