Don’t let these big numbers activate your imposter syndrome but 600 million blogs exist across the world wide web & 77% of internet users read blogs. And the good news is, you don’t need to be a Pulitzer prize winning author to write a blog.
You just need to make sure that what you’re writing is what your ideal client needs in order to figure out if they know, like, and trust you enough to say yes to working with you. In this post, you’ll learn about the benefits of blogging for your therapy practice and why your blog is one of the most valuable marketing tools inside your strategic marketing plan.
What is a blog?
A blog is just a fancy way of describing a digital article, library, or collection of words meant to help people answer questions and learn new information. << like that re-definition? I made it myself. 😉
When it comes to blogging, you may hear another business buzzword come along, search engine optimization (SEO), but one of the biggest mistakes that people make when writing blogs is they fall into the trap of ONLY writing for the Google algorithm and that doesn’t work.
You have to write for the people that will be reading your article because the actions they take on your website will cause the algorithm to recommend (or not recommend) you to more readers.
Why is blogging important?
If you’re filled with exhaustion and short on time, at the end of your work week, you’ve come to the right place! With a blog, you won’t have to spend all of your limited free time & energy marketing your practice. Keep reading to learn more about the 3 reasons why blogging is beneficial to your therapy practice.
1. Blogging will help improve your website analytics
With blogging, people will stay on your website longer, allowing your bounce rate to improve << fancy way of saying how long people hang out on your website before saying goodbye.
Blogging will help people find your website when they are reaching out to Google for answers to their questions < this is where the fundamentals of SEO come into play. And for the record, blogging is NOT another mundane admin task on your to-do, your therapy blog will help people, and not just your ideal client population.
With your blog, your readers will learn more about the type of therapist you are. My mental health blog has been read by established journalists from around the world and they continually share with me the reason why they were inspired to reach out to interview me for their national publication is because of the blog articles that I’ve written.
I am very passionate about writing, I truly see it as an art form, so the kind words I’ve received from journalists went beyond flattery. I was actually shocked at how impactful & influential my published words had become.
Blogging also helps contribute to the de-stigmatization of mental health because the more high-quality mental health content that exists, the more mental health is normalized and the less people will feel ashamed or embarrassed about having a therapist and managing their unique mental health journey.
2. Blogging is more effective & sustainable than networking & social media marketing alone
If you’re trying to build a sustainable private practice, then blogging is one marketing tool you should add to your effortless marketing plan. Writing is an activity that you can do all by yourself, and not in the sad Celine Dion way. In order to write a blog, you don’t have to hop on a zoom call or attend an in-person meet & greet. You can write on your own schedule.
And unlike you and your reliable referral network, the internet works 24/7/365, so when Google is processing the 450,000 monthly searches for “therapist near me”, while you’re asleep, on vacation, or with clients, your future clients will be able to find you on their own time. As a value-based therapist, you’re all about making therapy accessible and having a blog will make you more accessible.
Depending on the day and who you ask, the percentage of how many of your social media followers that actually see your posts is very small. This is why for the longest time, social media strategists encouraged you to post multiple times a day, because they wanted you to increase the likelihood that more of your audience would see your posts. The other side of the coin is that once you post on social media, the moment is over and your audience is off to the next thing, UNLESS you inspired them to take action.
Comment, like, save, and share – these are all the ways that people can engage with your content, but what most marketers want is for their followers to click their link in bio, leave the platform and go to their website.
If you don’t have a website, you’re missing out on an opportunity to help your ideal client and if you do have a website but it’s not clearly communicating what you do, who you serve, and who you are, those website visitors will bounce away and most likely not return. Your blog provides another opportunity for you to build, your know, like, and trust factor, so that your deal client will feel inspired to say yes to working with you.
3. It's easier to stay consistent with blogging
The secret to marketing is realizing that if you don't do it, you won't have clients. Once you realize this, all your worries will disappear, right? Wrong. Even if you know the truth, benefit, and goals of marketing, you still have to do it. Thinking about marketing won't get you results. You have to take the leap and put your plan into action. And one of the biggest pitfalls that most therapists fall into when marketing their practice, is the lack of being consistent.
Here's two ways to be consistent with your marketing.
Know what to say
This is something that I help my coaching clients with in Referrals to Revenue. After diving into the Elevate Your Brand Kit and Fine Tune Your Niche Guide, therapists attend an individual marketing content planning session with me and receive 30 marketing content prompts that are customized to the services they offer and the population they serve in their business.
Plan ahead
If you say to yourself, I’m going to write a blog today, great! Just make sure you leave time to brainstorm ideas, write a draft, edit the draft, and publish the blog. Most digital marketers plan out their marketing campaigns one-year in advance but at the very least 3 months ahead of time. Do you know what you’re going to talk about in May 2023?
Sadly, most therapists don’t have the time or energy to assemble a strategic marketing plan, but that’s why I’m here. If you’d like customized support, you can learn more about that here or if you prefer the DIY solution, you can visit The Thriving Therapist Shop.
In my opinion, if you don’t have a blog on your therapy website, you’re missing out on a great opportunity to burnout proof your practice. With a blog, you’re activating the auto-pilot feature on an effortless strategic marketing plan and increasing your chances that you’ll be found by the people you want to work with.
Remember, you don’t have to do #allthethings, all-at-once. You can implement the strategies mentioned in this article in phases, so that you don’t burnout. There’s a lot that goes into running a business and the great news is you don’t have to go at it alone.
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You know how when you’re driving, then you all of a sudden realize you’re lost and you turn down the music, to figure out where you are and how to get back on track? well that’s what it feels like when you use copywriting templates from The Copy Bar. Ashlyn’s templates help to turn down the volume on your confusion and help you confidently get back on track.
Checkout the Pillar Piece Content Writing template to help you write your blog today. And the great news is this tool is so versatile, you’ll be able to use it when outlining not only your blog, but your YouTube videos and podcast episodes.
The Copy Bar is my not-so secret weapon to all things writing the words for my business. In fact, here's the tool, that I use to help me structure this blog and my podcast.
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