If you want to reach the maximum number of potential patients, a website and blog is the best foundation you can lay from a marketing standpoint. But what should you as a doctor blog about?
In my experience, most people experience a sense of overwhelm when thinking through what to blog about. Maybe you can identify with this. I know I can.
But in working with doctors for years on this topic, I’ve found three great strategies to help take the overwhelm out of coming up with topics to blog about, and creating an effective blogging plan of action.
1). Blog About What Patients Ask You Most
This is the low-hanging fruit and will be incredibly valuable to your readers and potential new patients.
These are conversations you are already having with patients on a regular basis, so these posts should come to mind relatively quickly.
Make sure you answer the questions in as much helpful detail as possible. It’s important to keep in mind that you want to write the post like you’re speaking directly with the patient. It’s great if you use medical terms, just be sure to explain the meaning in your posts.
Another benefit of these types of posts is that over time, it will help you rank in Google results when patients search for a particular health question in your local area.
Make A List Of Conditions You Treat
Start by writing down everything that you treat, and then under each condition, write out the most common questions you receive.
Ideally, each question should be an individual post, with 300 words or more detailing the answer.
Tip: Focus most of your efforts on what you want to treat the most.
2). Blog About The Latest Applicable Health News Or Trends
These types of posts demonstrate to patients that you are staying up on the latest developments.
Of course, some of what you can or should post about will be determined by your specialty. For example, if you are an orthopedic surgeon, you wouldn’t need to write about the Zika virus scare a few years ago. But if you’re an ObGyn, that would be something helpful to comment on for your patients.
In these types of posts, you can also share about the latest technology you’re using and what that means to the patients.
There is additional credibility to be gained here by sharing this more publicly for people to find.
Remember: all things being equal, patients will go to the doctor who they feel most personally connected to.
3). Blog About Your Passion Projects Or Your Personal Life
On that note of creating a personal connection, another great way to engage people and attract your ideal patients is to share about things that you’re passionate about.
A great example would be to share about a non-profit you support or are involved in. Blog about how you discovered it and why it’s important to you. You can also encourage others to join you in support.
Another idea is to share about a trip you went on. Talk about some of the things you learned, experienced, or even how the trip may have inspired you.
The options here are numerous. These types of posts sprinkled in with the first two options go a long way in being relatable to patients.