Recently I was talking to a friend of mine who asked if the best time for someone to start their physician website was right when they were going into practice.
My answer was no. The best time to start would be when they are in med school.
Why?
Simply this – prepare to win the game before it’s played.
“The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win. Everyone wants to win, but not everyone wants to prepare to win. Preparing to win is where the determination that you will win is made. The actual game, test, or project is just the end of a long process of getting ready, in which the outcome was really determined. So if you want to win, you must want to prepare to win.”
– Bobby Knight
Just imagine going into practice, and on day one, you already having a successful marketing platform working.
The great news is that it is possible, and the chances of success go up the earlier you get started.
Here are three reasons for medical students to create a website and begin building an online platform:
1). You’re Laying the Groundwork for SEO Success When You Do Go Into Practice
Creating a successful digital marketing platform does not happen overnight. In fact, for those starting a physician website from scratch, it can take up to a year or more before any organic SEO traction might be realized.
From Google’s perspective, domain authority, which is a contributing factor to SEO, is earned over the years of a website being live and new content consistently being added.
By starting your website and blog in medical school, you’re laying the groundwork ahead of time for Google to rank you well locally.
2). Always Build Something Before You Need It
Often, physicians who seek marketing help from me are coming from a place where their RVU’s aren’t where they would like them. Either they’ve declined, or they’ve struggled to gain the traction they expected.
But what if that problem could largely be avoided altogether?
Going on offense and building an online platform from the start goes a long way to preventing the need for a reactionary marketing need.
3). You’ll Be More Attractive To Your Prospective Employers
If you plan to go into private practice for yourself, this strategy is pretty much a no-brainer. But what if you plan to join an existing practice or go into a healthcare system?
No doubt your God-given talents and abilities will get you where you need to go, but wouldn’t it be great to have another leg up?
Who wouldn’t want a new doctor coming in who already had a loyal online following?
Plus, you never want to be in a position where you’re relying on a marketing system that isn’t focused on you.
Always do your part to control your own destiny.
I’m sharing this with you to encourage you. And by setting up your online platform early, you’ll have a significant step up on the competition when you go into practice.