As a physician working to build an online marketing platform, one of the biggest challenges is grabbing a patient’s attention online.
There’s just so much content out there to compete with. But don’t lose hope, there are many ways to win the battle of attention.
One of the best ways to do this is by creating compelling headlines.
The post titles for your blog posts can either draw the patient in or push them away.
Here are a few things to keep in mind that will help guide you as you create headlines for your blog and social content:
Grab Attention
This is the primary responsibility of a headline. To accomplish this, your headline should either:
- Answer a question the patient is already asking in their mind
- Create an emotional response
- Provoke curiosity
Example Headlines
Is it really possible to live without knee pain?
Do these things really work to help prevent Alzheimer’s?
Qualify the Patient
Choose specific words that segment out the type of patient you are trying to attract.
These words should be related to common questions patients ask you in your consults. Listen carefully to the words and phrases they use to utilize in your headlines.
Sell the Patient on Reading Your Content
The purpose of the headline is not to sell a patient to schedule an appointment with you. The headline’s mission is to sell them on reading your content.
This is where how to or steps to follow titles come in handy.
Communicate a Larger Message
If you had to distill your post down to one real benefit, what would that be?
Once you have that identified, you can craft a headline then to communicate your message in a way that’s meaningful to them.
Establish Credibility
Authority is one of the most powerful ways of gaining attention, and as a physician, you have built-in credibility.
My preferred way of leveraging this is to include your name and credentials at the end of the title.
Alternatively, you can reference a large, well-respected organization in your headline.
Example Headlines
What To Do When Your Child Has Strep – John Doe, MD
The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons Recommends….
Keeping these things in mind as you create your headlines should bring you more online traffic, and ultimately more new patient appointments.
Additional Resource
A great book on writing copy, which also includes an excellent section on creating headlines, is Writing Copy That Sells by Ray Edwards.