How to Start Your Own Healthcare Blog – Part 2
Your blog is essentially an online journal. Blogs consist of multiple journal entries listed in reverse chronological order. They include blog titles, dates and time stamps. Each entry has a unique web address/URL). Often, blogs also include a “trackback” or automatic entry alerting you that someone has responded to your entry and linked to it. The entry category and comments are included.
Comments are part of what make blogs unique. Anybody who reads a blog may, if you allow it, publish their own comments under your entry to agree, disagree or share their own thoughts on the topic. Reader comments are tied directly to your entries.
What to blog about? How often?
Once used exclusively by journalists and politicians, blogs have rapidly gained popularity among healthcare practitioners – doctors, dentists, physical therapists and alternative medicine types. They use blogs to network with peers and peer groups, and talk to patients and referral sources. They share news about their practices, new procedures, clinical research, new services, special offers and a plethora of health topics aimed at patients and referrers.
Remember to tailor your message(s) to your target audience. And remember to invite patient/reader response with a “call to action” offer. This could be anything from a free consultation to a free patient information kit. Your offers should have value to your readers.
How often should you blog? The answer depends largely on what you are trying to accomplish.
If you are as pressed for time as many of our clients, you should shoot for once or twice a week in the beginning while you are getting the hang of it. You should aim to keep your blog content fresh without overkill.
The more relevant your blog is to specific healthcare topics, the higher you will place in search engine rankings. This is why so many blogs are so highly ranked (often on the first page and in the top ten). Just don’t expect any responses in the beginning. Just posting your blog is not enough to earn responses or SEO rankings, so don’t expect any in the beginning. To move up the rankings, you’ll need to link to other blogs and websites and offer the most relevant content to what your audience wants and needs.
There is an enormous amount of information on the Internet about how to make your blog as effective as it can be. Of course, you can also jump-start your blog by simply calling Practice Builders at 800.679.1262 today.
Comments are part of what make blogs unique. Anybody who reads a blog may, if you allow it, publish their own comments under your entry to agree, disagree or share their own thoughts on the topic. Reader comments are tied directly to your entries.
What to blog about? How often?
Once used exclusively by journalists and politicians, blogs have rapidly gained popularity among healthcare practitioners – doctors, dentists, physical therapists and alternative medicine types. They use blogs to network with peers and peer groups, and talk to patients and referral sources. They share news about their practices, new procedures, clinical research, new services, special offers and a plethora of health topics aimed at patients and referrers.
Remember to tailor your message(s) to your target audience. And remember to invite patient/reader response with a “call to action” offer. This could be anything from a free consultation to a free patient information kit. Your offers should have value to your readers.
How often should you blog? The answer depends largely on what you are trying to accomplish.
If you are as pressed for time as many of our clients, you should shoot for once or twice a week in the beginning while you are getting the hang of it. You should aim to keep your blog content fresh without overkill.
The more relevant your blog is to specific healthcare topics, the higher you will place in search engine rankings. This is why so many blogs are so highly ranked (often on the first page and in the top ten). Just don’t expect any responses in the beginning. Just posting your blog is not enough to earn responses or SEO rankings, so don’t expect any in the beginning. To move up the rankings, you’ll need to link to other blogs and websites and offer the most relevant content to what your audience wants and needs.
There is an enormous amount of information on the Internet about how to make your blog as effective as it can be. Of course, you can also jump-start your blog by simply calling Practice Builders at 800.679.1262 today.