5 Reasons Holistic Psychologists Need a Blog - one could save lives
People have been blogging for years. Remember when they were called web logs?
Blogs are the ultimate digital marketing tool. And for good reason. Those blogs from the 90’s are still around and as long as they answer a question people are searching for answers to, you can still pull them up.
If you are still actively trying to grow your practice, you need a blog. Your expertise needs to be on the internet.
Important Reasons Psychologists Need a Blog
Psychologists and therapists who use holistic healing modalities with their patients and clients need a blog and there are a few important reasons why. First of all, it helps you stay up to date on the research, topics and trends in your field and allows you to share your unique perspective on those things.
Here are the reasons you need to keep a blog:
1. Blogging Is a Marketing Strategy
Blogging is a long term marketing strategy that helps continuously drive traffic to your website over a long period of time.
A well written blog that keeps readers interested and on the page will signal to Google and other search engines that the information you’ve provided answers the question or query that the reader entered into the search bar.
The more people visit your blog, the more relevant it appears to the search engines, and the more traffic will get directed there by the algorithm.
Of course, if it’s an older blog with outdated information, or irrelevant information, and people are leaving the page quickly because it’s not helping them, it will get bumped down the results page and lost on one of the last pages on Google.
When you take the time to go back and update old information (or hire a copywriter to do take it off your hands) it shows your patients and clients that you are staying up to date with new methods, technologies and treatments they are hearing about and interested in.
And it shows Google that your website is still relevant. It's a win-win situation.
Keep Your Blog Content Fresh with These Two Easy Tips
You can keep it relevant and more easily accessible to searchers by updating your blog regularly.
Posting fresh weekly content is best, but also updating your old content helps let Google know your information on that page is still relevant.
You can update studies- if you cited a study from the 90’s and there have been new findings (very likely), you can update the reference and include a quick new summary or analysis. This is one of the easiest ways to refresh your content.
Another way to keep your blog fresh is to update the headlines and subheaders, as well as the alt-text of the images on older blogs. And of course update the images themselves.
2. Your Patients Are Reading About Their Symptoms Online
Everyone Googles things these days. I’d bet 95% people under the age of 60 look on Google to try to self-analyze and determine what’s wrong with them before scheduling an appointment with a licensed practitioner. And if they’re going to do this, they need good information.
There are some very well known doctors in the online space who pay people hourly from sites like Fiverr to use keywords to write blog posts about very important, potentially life or death advice.
These doctors do typically review the blog articles, but they do not thoroughly check the sources- I’ve check and some of the sources used are either not linked to an actual study, linked to a study that was funded by a questionable organization, or linked to another website that has information that came from a study funded by questionable sources.
I am sometimes shocked at the quality of the information that these doctors are sharing on their sites.
You need a blog so that you can share good information to people who are looking for answers.
First, do no harm. Providing good information- and updating it as necessary- is part of that. Please don't be like those doctors I mentioned above.
Ok, off my soapbox now, I promise. On to the next reason…
3. Keep People Reading to Boost Sales or Office Visits
Sites with blogs are actually 4 times more likely to be indexed in search engines- which means that if you don’t have a blog, you’re losing opportunities to get found online when people are searching for things you offer.
Once they get to your website though, you need to keep them there.
This is for two reasons.
For one, keeping people on your site helps you rank higher in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). And the higher you rank, the more likely you are to be “chosen” by the person searching.
Second, keeping people on your page means that you are able to make more calls to action. For example, the longer they stay on your page, the more likely they are to sign up for your email newsletter, follow you on social media, or book an appointment.
Well written blog posts keep people on your site even longer. Things like formatting are especially important.
If a reader who typically skims things notices there are no headlines, they’ll bounce off of your page more quickly than if you’ve done a good job breaking it down for them.
The longer people stay on your site, the better for you because:
1) It means they’ve decided you’re a good source of information and now you have established trust with that person, and...
2) People need to see at least 6 pieces of content before making a decision to "buy"- in your case this could be booking an appointment, and the better your blog post the less content they need to see.
4. Blogs Help You Start a Relationship With Your Future Clients
Not only are your future patients searching for potential diagnoses and remedies for their issues online, but they are also going to check you out as a practitioner before they book an appointment.
Blogging gives you a platform to share your core values, your therapeutic style, and your personality and tone of voice so that your future clients can get to know you before they meet you in person.
We know how important it is to have a good foundational relationship with a patient- if they don’t like you or don’t trust you, they just won’t come back.
Although you can’t talk about patient or client issues specifically in public, you can use your blog as a platform to address common issues that come up during their sessions.
For example, if you have a patient who is always talking about having a stomach ache and feeling anxious, you could address how nutrition has an impact on our mental health and suggest ways to make small shifts in a patients diet to manage those stomach issues.
You could even offer a worksheet to help them track what they’re eating and feeling, to get a better handle on what’s causing what.
Once a potential patient begins to notice that your tips and advice are helping, they'll be convinced you're the right therapist for them.
5. Blogs Offer Great Sources of Social Media Content
Have you ever wondered how some of the most prolific Instagrammers have so much to say? I’m willing to bet they take at least 90% of their Instagram content from their blogs. In fact, around 60% of marketers reuse their blog content up to 5 times.
That’s because it’s not only easy to pull information from a blog and make it visual. It’s also a smart use of your marketing resources!
There’s no point in reinventing the wheel every time, trying to come up with new, unique content for each channel.
Just pull the most interesting topics from your blog and turn them into Instagram posts. Better yet, you can discuss your blog in your Instagram stories.
Plus, having a good social media strategy can double your clicks, blog views and traffic over the course of a week. It’s really helpful to know what your client’s digital journey looks like when they encounter you online- this can help you boost traffic to your blog through social media.
Key Takeaways
Remember the most important things- your blogs are a GREAT way for you to establish authority in your field and begin a relationship with your client before the first meeting. Also, having a blog makes the rest of your content strategy easy because you can pull information from well written blogs and turn it into social media posts, LinkedIn posts, and email newsletters.
And of course, you need a blog because we need to drown out misinformation on the web. If you keep posting consistently and ensure you have a good social media and email marketing strategy, you'll be able to capture more of the audience who is looking for answers online.
And if you do hire a copywriter, make sure they are pulling information and data from reliable sources. I like to use Google scholar and various scientific journals, like Scientific American, Nature, and others.
Don't have time to blog?
Schedule some time with me and let's discuss how I can help you build your authority online with well-researched blog articles optimized to get found online.
All statistics were pulled from OptinMonster and Codeless.