It's not enough to say you're an expert - you need to show it. And a blog is a perfect forum to bring out your knowledge and expertise.
Are you wondering how to write great blog posts for your private practice website? Does it feel difficult to get started? Or have you already written the posts but they haven’t brought you any results? Good blog posting requires work, but if done correctly, you will have positive effects on your search engine ranking and reach a large number of readers. Some of them will become your clients. We put together the following blog writing tips to help you along:
1. Think about who you are writing to
Imagine the person you want to read your post. What kind of things and services are they interested in? Do they want information about particular problems, benefits, or concrete examples and stories? Define your different target groups as detailed as you can. This will be very helpful to use in your other marketing initiatives, too.
2. Choose a topic that genuinely interests the reader
What problems do customers often wrestle with? Where do they ask for help? What are the burning questions? Try to come up with an interesting perspective, especially if a lot has already been written about the topic.
3. Decide on your main message
If you could say just one thing about the subject, what would it be? Build a post around this main idea, for example with the following structure:
a. Identify the problem
b. Tell a story about solving the problem and offer a solution to the problem
c. Conclude, be prompt, and ask question
4. Make the blog post easy to read
Remember that easy-to-read text consists of short sentences and concise paragraphs. If you use industry-specific terms, make sure to explain them to the reader. Lists and frequent paragraph breaks are easy to scan and favored by search engines.
5. Capture the reader's attention
The post title and description are the hooks you use to grab your reader’s attention. This is where you assure the reader that the blog post is worth his or her time. One way to write an appealing title and description is to ask the reader a question about the problem and then tell what help your post will help you overcome the problem. You can write the title and description first.
6. Use the correct structure and make it visual
Subheadings allow the reader to quickly grasp the content of the post. Bullet points and highlights also make the text reader-friendly. Pictures and videos are a great way to enhance your message.
7. Publish your private practice blog posts regularly
Many people think that they need to publish every day or every week, which is not necessary. How often you post on your blog depends on what your goals are. For some, one or two articles per month may be enough. This way, you will have at least a dozen articles in a year that can be searchable via Google. The most important thing is that you're consistent and continuously publish new content. Place the bar where you think you can hold it for a long time. Our advice is to at least try to publish 1-2 articles a month. We know that it is difficult for many private practitioners to devote their time to. We'll come back to that a bit later.
8. Think carefully about what idea you want to end the post with
For example, you can offer a solution to a problem, make an interesting conclusion, or hint at further reading. Asking a question at the end of a post is also a good way to spark a discussion.
9. Remember to optimize the blog post for SEO
Make sure the title and meta description are “search engine friendly”. Include the correct keywords in the text, but only if they fit naturally. Do your keyword research prior to writing the blog post to make sure enough people search for the topic, or that it's not so competitive that it will not have a chance to rank well.
10. Encourage your network to comment and share your post
Be sure to include the blog post as a part of the content of your newsletter, and share it across your social media channels. Old blog posts can be updated periodically, which sends positive search engine signals.
How to write great blog posts for your private practice - in conclusion
By continuously publishing well-written articles in your field, you develop a valuable knowledge bank, have a positive influence on your search engine rankings, and develop content that can be shared across your other marketing channels. Blog posts also inspire confidence, show your expertise, and can provide enormous added value for your private practice website visitor, who will be that much more likely to become a client.
The big drawback is that blog writing requires committed resources. The good news is, if you are short on time, you can buy this help. Freelancers and marketing agencies often specialize in content marketing, which includes blog writing. Here at Sparktribe, we're happy to offer blog post writing as a part of our private practice marketing services, so that our clients have time to focus on running their businesses. If you think this might be an option for your private practice, we invite you to reach out to us at hello@sparktribe.com. We're ready to answer any questions you might have and would be happy to help.
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