Content Mastery Guide

Editor and Ghostwriter

5 Ways to Energize Your Wellness Clinic Blogging Team

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© Jacob Lund - Fotolia.com
© Jacob Lund – Fotolia.com

Wellness clinic owners and managers often tell me they know they should be blogging more often, but they’re just not getting any contributions from their team.

Before you can expect your team to support your blogging efforts, they – and you – need clarity about what they’re signing up for, specifically:

  1. Purpose – Who will the articles on your clinic’s blog help, and how?
  2. Topics – In which key subject areas do your practitioners excel? What sets your clinic apart from others?
  3. Goals – What do you want your blog to achieve and how will you measure those results?
  4. Schedule – How often will the team post new content to the blog? To achieve that, when does each individual contributor need to submit their work?
  5. Ownership – Who is ultimately responsible for maintaining the blog? This may be you as the clinic owner, your office manager, someone else on your team, or you may hire an experienced blog manager.

Solidifying these details will help everyone start with a mutual understanding of what you’re trying to accomplish with your wellness clinic blog, and how. From there, employ these five elements to continually activate your team of wellness bloggers:

1. Awareness

Keep reinforcing the blog’s purpose. Remind the team that their efforts could inspire and motivate your clients and potential clients to live healthier lives.

Recognize and celebrate any and all results, from a “Like” on Facebook to a comment from a client to increased views of the website. You may not get much feedback to start, but this will grow over time if you stick with it, so celebrate the small victories right away!

2. Recognition

Give your blog contributors rock star treatment with praise and special accolades. Recognize them in internal communications, and promote their posts via all company social media pages.

Tag their personal profile on Twitter and LinkedIn, as well as any pages they have on Facebook, LinkedIn, or other social sites.

3. Persistence

If there is anyone who seems even the least bit willing or interested, keep asking, even if they don’t produce anything right away. It’s easy for people to get distracted or lose confidence after the initial commitment.

Create an online calendar so everyone can access the updated schedule of topics and timelines. This will make it easier for the writers to plan their time, and for you to follow up with contributors as needed.

Keep track of what people say they will do and when, and mark down in your own calendar to check back.

4. Coaching

It may be really scary for some of your practitioners to put themselves out there on the clinic blog. After all, blog posts live online forever. Support and encourage them by validating their expertise and your confidence in them.

Find other wellness clinic blogs to model your own after, and discuss as a team what you like (or dislike) about what they’re doing.

Most importantly, lead by example with your own consistent blogging habit. Include yourself on the schedule and do your best to get your own posts done on time.

5. Tools

There are many tools you can offer to make blog writing easier for your team of wellness practitioners, such as:

  • Lists – When you’re staring at a blank screen, writing list of 10 best, 10 steps, 10 ways, 10 signs, etc. can propel you forward.
  • Talking it out – If someone is more comfortable talking than writing, interview them (or hire a ghostwriter) and write up the post for them.
  • Other types of posts – If someone feels stumped by writing a how-to post, ask them to review a book or describe a piece of equipment you use in your clinic.They could also tell a client success story, or write a curated post about a useful article or video they found online.
  • Resources – Pass along blogging tips, like the posts on this site about finding time to blog. See also: Help, My Boss Started a Blog!

With awareness, recognition, persistence, coaching and tools, you can mobilize your wellness clinic team to produce a thriving blog that attracts new clients and showcases your unique expertise.

P.S. If you liked this post, you might enjoy the Blogging Tips newsletter, delivered weekly to your inbox! Sign up here.

How to Expand Your Food Blogging Vocabulary With Tips From Dianne Jacob and Julia Child

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© Innovated Captures - Fotolia.com
© Innovated Captures – Fotolia.com

A recent episode of the Canadian sitcom Schitt’s Creek featured a hilarious exchange between actors Catherine O’Hara and Dan Levy. Watch at 1:14 in this video as they try to make sense out of a recipe direction to fold cheese into an enchilada filling.

(Canadians can watch the whole episode at CBC for free, or anyone can purchase via iTunes.)

In a recipe or any blog post, it’s important to choose words your readers can relate to and understand. Using big words or technical jargon may make you feel smart, but it’s not a smart move for connecting with your audience.

Recently I had the opportunity to chat with Dianne Jacob, a popular food writer, speaker and author. Her book Will Write for Food is a complete guide to writing cookbooks, blogs, memoir, recipes, and more, and the chapter on food blogging is full of practical tips for any blog.

I asked her how food bloggers can keep their recipes accessible to everyone, even when describing techniques that usually come with more cooking experience.

“You have to know your audience,” she explained. “If they understand the term ‘fold,’ then use it. It’s not about dumbing down the language. It’s about successfully communicating with your readers.”

Yet in trying to keep language simple and straightforward, do we risk bland, boring writing that always sounds the same? This is a particular challenge for recipe writers, says Jacob. “I got frustrated by starting so many sentences with ‘Add’ in the method. I figured there had to be a better way.”

Her solution? She pored over her copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking to create a list of 100 powerful verbs for recipes. “It was a pleasure to thumb through Julia Child’s cookbook and see her mastery of language, how she was so specific in her instructions.”

When I notice I’ve repeated the same word in a post, I use the synonym finder in Microsoft Word or the research tools in Google Docs for other ideas. I’ll also type my word plus “synonym” into Google, or go right to an online thesaurus.

(For a fun way to expand your vocabulary while helping people in need, check out Free Rice. Caution – this site can be very addictive!)

Whether you’ve been blogging for years like Dianne and I, or you’re just starting out, challenge yourself to use new and different words in your blog posts. Just keep it simple so your readers stay with you.

P.S. If you liked this post, you might enjoy the Blogging Tips newsletter, delivered weekly to your inbox! Sign up here.

Wellness Blogging on LinkedIn – 5 Costly Mistakes to Avoid

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© Q - Fotolia.com
© Q – Fotolia.com

Aside from checking out your wellness clinic website and blog, prospective clients will also likely look up you and your practitioners on LinkedIn.

Though they may be on LinkedIn for business and career purposes, people still bring their whole selves, including their health concerns and personal goals like choosing a wellness practitioner.

Whether you’re already publishing LinkedIn blog posts or just wondering how it all works, here are five costly mistakes you’ll want to avoid:

1. Mistaking posts for updates

Most LinkedIn users are familiar with posting updates, which are similar to tweets or Facebook posts.

LinkedIn-update-field

Then there are LinkedIn blog posts, also known as long-form posts or LinkedIn Publisher.

LinkedIn-post-screen-shot

Updates move lower on the page as newer messages appear. That means your connections may or may not see each update, unless they click on the “View recent activity” link available from the top of your profile.

A post, on the other hand, becomes a permanent entry in your LinkedIn blog, which has a prominent home at the top of your profile. Viewers see your three most recent posts, and a link to your full LinkedIn blog.

How this will cost you: Mistaking posts for updates can look unprofessional. It also wastes the opportunity to use your LinkedIn blog as a platform to spotlight your knowledge and show people why they can trust you and your services.

2. Stopping posting, once you start

As soon as you publish your first LinkedIn post, these will always remain at the top of your profile. While you can hide or remove dates from your own blog (though I don’t recommend it), you cannot do this with your LinkedIn blog.

How this will cost you: A long gap between blog posts can make people wonder if you ran out of things to say, or if you gave up on your blogging or even your business. When I stopped posting to LinkedIn for awhile last year, I cringed every time I reviewed my own profile!

3. Forgetting to proofread

The mind plays tricks on us when we’re reading our own work. We see what we meant to type, rather than what we actually typed.

We can also be far too focused on ourselves and how smart we sound, instead of on helping our readers understand the information.

Always assume a blog post will be a reader’s first impression of you. Read the post out loud and notice whether it sounds natural, like what you would say in a conversation. Listen for missing words, duplicates, or awkward sentences.

How this will cost you: No one is perfect and the occasional typo or spelling error happens, but sloppy writing looks unprofessional and will undermine your credibility and authority.

4. Writing about anything and everything

Your LinkedIn blogging plan should include a core set of topics you will write about. These topics should be aligned with both your ideal clients’ needs and questions, and your own areas of expertise.

How this will cost you: If your LinkedIn blog includes several unrelated topics, it works against the goal of establishing yourself as a go-to expert for a specific health issue.

5. Trying to crack the code

LinkedIn Pulse is the official network of channels where LinkedIn compiles its best content into topic areas like healthcare, human resources, careers, and social media. If your post is selected, it will be seen by a much wider audience than just your own network of connections.

For example, I was thrilled when my recent post “How to Write a Curated Post For Your Wellness Blog” was picked up by the Healthcare channel. So why wasn’t the one about blogging to keep readers healthy?

I’m not sure, but let’s not spend time worrying about that. Let’s focus on writing quality posts about topics our audience cares about.

How this will cost you: If you’re too concerned about getting your post featured on LinkedIn Pulse, you may paralyze your writing process by second-guessing yourself. And while other people’s successful posts can be inspiring, if you try to copy someone else you’ll fail to attract clients who resonate with your unique viewpoint and approach.

Does all this mean you have to write double the blog posts?

Absolutely not! Instead, let your blog posts do double duty by posting them on your clinic blog as well as your LinkedIn blog.

While experts have proven that there is absolutely no “duplicate content” penalty for reusing your blog posts on LinkedIn, Denise Wakeman recommends you do tweak them slightly. She suggests writing a new title, using a different photo, or targeting a slightly different audience.

Blogging on LinkedIn can help new people discover you, your services, and your wellness clinic. Avoid these costly mistakes and enjoy the rewards of sharing your knowledge online.

P.S. If you liked this post, you might enjoy the Blogging Tips newsletter, delivered weekly to your inbox! Sign up here.

What Wellness Bloggers Can Learn from Food Bloggers

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© kazoka303030 - Fotolia.com
© kazoka303030 – Fotolia.com

As a wellness blogger, your goal is to keep your readers healthy, and ultimately to attract new clients to choose your clinic. Food bloggers have a whole other set of motives. Here are three ways you can borrow from their approach to improve your own blog:

Free Your Passion

Food bloggers have the liberty to indulge in deep exploration of their passions, wherever that journey takes them. It’s similar to how when artists pursue their craft as a hobby, it gives them freedom from the creative constraints that may take over if it becomes a business.

Wellness bloggers, take note: It’s easy to get caught up in ROI (return on investment) and how you’re going to transform readers into clients. While you definitely want to think about your ideal clients and what they’re looking for, if you stray too far from your own expertise and passion you will just dilute your message.

Ideally, the answers your clients are looking for are related to what you’re really good at and love to do. Once you’ve figured out what that is, Michael J. Katz says that doing anything else is just “a self-perpetuating distraction.”

So don’t get distracted too much by always trying to blog about the “right” things. Invite more passion into your blog and see who is attracted by that.

As an American living in Paris, chef, blogger and author David Lebovitz is clearly passionate about his favourite city and its cuisine. He’s been blogging since 2004 and says it is one of the most fulfilling, exciting things that he does. Visit his blog now for an example of a food blogger with passion.

Keep it real

Food bloggers are notorious for revealing the good, bad and ugly of their real-life kitchen adventures. Whether the result is poignant, painful, hilarious or even mundane, it gives the reader an opportunity to feel a little more connected to the human race.

Wellness bloggers, take note: Will you lose your credibility as an expert if you share your personal experience? Not at all. Just remember to strive for a balance between experience and expertise.

If you only share experience, your readers may feel more connected with you on a personal level, but may not think of you when it comes to paying for solutions. If you only share expertise, your readers may respect and revere you, but lose touch if they start to feel lectured to.

When food blogger turned author Lisa Leake decided to overhaul her family’s eating habits, she decided to share their process with the world through her blog, 100 Days of Real Food.

She writes honestly about the good, the bad and the ugly of the experience, though always in a very positive way.

Find the story

When you feel free to follow your passions under no pretense of being someone you’re not, it opens you up to more fascination and curiosity.

Wellness bloggers, take note: Look for interesting connections you can make between your daily adventures and the solutions your prospective clients are looking for.

Turn those connections into stories that illustrate a helpful lesson for your readers. Just make sure your stories tie into your business message and stay consistent with your brand.

Passionate, award-winning food blogger and author Deb Perelman of The Smitten Kitchen always offers the interesting back story behind her recipes. For example, here’s how she turned her husband’s love of buffalo wings into a popcorn snack.

Yes, there is a business goal behind your wellness clinic blog, but take a page from these food blogs to infuse some passion, honesty and storytelling into your efforts.

This post was originally published at Build a Better Blog (Denise Wakeman), as a companion piece to What Business Bloggers Can Learn From Journalists.

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How to Spotlight Other People on Your Nutrition Blog

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© frog-travel - Fotolia.com
© frog-travel – Fotolia.com

Blogging consistently is a key to success, both for the marketing benefits and for your growth as a blogger. Yet not every article has to be in-depth like a how-to post. In fact I recommend you aim for just one of those every month.

In the weeks in between, choose from other types of posts that may be shorter, easier and quicker to put together. These include the personal post, the curated post, and today’s topic: the spotlight post.

Is there someone you think everyone should know about because they’re so brilliant, creative or knowledgeable? How about a food product, gadget or tool you keep recommending again and again? Use a spotlight post to spread the love.

Consider these three options when you want to introduce someone to your readers:

  1. Interview the person, and present their insights as a profile and/or a how-to post about a specific topic. You can use a simple Q & A format, or intertwine their answers with your own comments.
  2. Invite the person to contribute a guest post, either a reprint from their own blog or an original article for your readers. Include an author bio with a link back to their website. If a reprint, give the link to the original post.
  3. Write about the person (or product), with or without links to other blog posts, websites, videos or other resources. Even if you weren’t able to interview them personally, you can include brief quotes from their own writing or from other interviews they’ve done. And be sure to let them know you featured them!

Similar to a curated post, open your spotlight post by saying a bit about the person or product, how you first heard about or met them, and why you treasure them as a trusted resource.

With video or audio interviews, be sure to also provide some text for people who don’t want to just listen or watch. Offer a transcript, or at the very least a bullet list of highlights.

Spotlighting others on your blog lightens your load and creates more value for your audience. As an added bonus, you’ll build and deepen relationships with other experts in your field.

Now that we’ve explored the how-to post, the personal post, the curated post, and the spotlight post, which of these formats do you think will be easiest for you? Mixing them all will give your blog maximum variety and interest.

For help brainstorming topics for each of these four blog post types, visit http://www.contentmasteryguide.com/blog-topic-planning-worksheet to download your own topic planning worksheets.

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