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The art of writing for a website is copywriting. Writing relevant content on a regular basis adds value to your site and is an integral piece of creating great SEO (search engine optimization).
But what do you write about?
There is an endless supply of topics for a health professional. When I started, I was afraid my list of suitable ideas would be extinguished in a few short weeks. But I have several ways I prevent “writer’s block;”
1. Your Explanations:
As a physician, you have an arsenal of explanation to the most frequently asked questions in your office. Use these answers or explanations as sources for your writing. The best part about using your answers is that you have already perfected them by rehearsing them over and over again, so all you need to do is write them down!
The answers to these questions would make great blog posts for your medical website;
- What antibiotic is best for the common cold?
- Am I hurting my eyes if I sit too close to the TV or don’t have enough light?
There is a second advantage to using your lectures as topics; you can send your patients to your website for them to re-read what you just went over in the office…a great teaching tool and time saver!
2. Electronic Journals and Magazines
I personally subscribe to about 6 Ophthalmology “journals” and blogs. I have all the emails from each sent to my email address and some RSS feeds are sent to a news aggregator to save time and improve efficiency. I use “Google Reader.” Do a search for journals and electronic magazines in your specialty.
In this way, it is a very easy to keep on top of current events in your field. I’ll select those articles that are appropriate for my patient and education. Remember don’t “copy,” but rewrite. “Duplicate Content” is a huge no-no!
3. Transparency – Articles about yourself.
One thing that docs and their medical practices need to do is to show some transparency, both as a small business and personal. The experts recommend that one article in every 10-12 should have some element of transparency, showing that you are human. It will help define you to your readers.
In the past, I’ve written about;
- My Son Going to College (how digital their world has become)
- Losing My Dog (the power of social media)
- My Birthday (the need for transparency from doctors)
Medical providers have a greater advantage over the typical copywriter because the wider range of topics that we can use. Take advantage of the work you’ve honed in your practice, continue reading your journals and blend in a little bit about yourself!