Content Marketing Ideas

How Passive Blogging Can Inspire Active Conversations

November 29, 2011 By Linda Dessau

When I say in my bio that I have attracted nearly 100% of my own clients through content marketing, that doesn't mean that I never go out.

I learned early on that there are two forms of marketing: passive and active. As an introvert, it's no surprise that I prefer marketing in the comfort and quiet of my home office – passive marketing activities like blogging, upgrading my website and scheduling social media updates.

I also know that to market my business I need to have real conversations with real people. Here's how my blogging efforts support me during those conversations (and vice versa):

Clients: It used to baffle me when clients would ask a question that I had already answered in a blog post. Then I remembered that they have full lives and businesses and – gasp! – don't always read my blog posts or newsletters.

Does that mean my blogging isn't working? Hardly! Do you think those clients are impressed when I have a well-written answer to their question right at my fingertips? Absolutely!

And the other side of that coin is when I'm able to take a client's questions and draft my answer in the form of a blog post – benefitting that client, as well as other people with the same concern.

Networking contacts: As I describe in this blog post about using your blog to follow up with networking contacts, conversations with other business owners are easier when I take the time to discover their blogging questions. Then I can follow up by emailing them a blog post that addresses that very concern.

Social networking contacts: When I alert my networks about new content on my blog, that helps me get the conversation started. Sharing my content is what turns social networking into business networking.

That's only the start, though. From there, it's my job (not something to outsource) to nurture my connections by responding to comments or starting new conversations about what other people are up to.

Audiences: I often use content from blog posts as the basis for my training webinars or when I speak as a guest at someone else's event. If it's a new audience, all of the content is new to them, so why not use my best material? If they're regular readers, they appreciate the reinforcement of my core message.

Referral partners: Through all of those other activities, I've built a network of people who know me, stand behind my passion for what I do, and trust that I will take good care of whoever they refer.

I stay on their minds by publishing consistently, being active on social media and by reaching out via email. By striving to produce quality content, I show them that I have expertise in a very specific area so it's clear what types of referrals would be best. Who will they think of first when someone expresses a need for blogging support?

When you put the effort into creating high-quality content for your blog, you'll feel more confident about your expert status. That confidence will shine through all of your conversations, attracting your ideal clients as well as the people who will refer them to you.

Tap Into the Possibility of a Team Blog

October 27, 2011 By Linda Dessau

I mentioned in an earlier post that when it comes to blogging, many hands make light work. Blogging with a team has five key benefits:

Less work – Keeping a blog fresh with weekly posts is much easier when there are more contributors.
Lower costs – Team members can share the blogging costs of domain name registration and hosting, as well as editing and blog management (hey, we do that!).
Higher credibility – As long as you hook up with other trusted professionals, your combined qualities will boost your individual clout as well.
Shared network – Each team member can promote the blog to their professional and personal contacts, creating a much broader audience.
Greater momentum – When a group of like-minded people put their heads together, creative ideas flow more freely. This is bound to impact the rest of your business as well.

If you’re a solo practitioner or business owner, you may think there’s no way to tap into these benefits of team blogging. Yet consider these possible teams:

Co-leasors of an office space, office building or strip mall
Independent service businesses with complimentary specialties
Networking groups
Business associations

Who can you get together with to make lighter work of blogging?

If you have a team that’s ready to start blogging for business, contact us today to find out how we can help!

How the One to One Wellness Centre Uses a Team Blog To Attract New Clients

October 19, 2011 By Linda Dessau

When physiotherapist Nick Matheson first raised the idea of using a blog to promote the services of the health care practitioners in his wellness clinic, marketing consultants warned him against it.

I see their point. Many businesses start a blog with the best intentions, only to abandon it later. This not only counteracts any of the benefits of blogging, it can actually detract from the credibility of the business because it looks like you don’t finish what you start.

That hasn’t been an issue for Nick and his team, because “apparently, we have a lot to say!” In fact as weekly bloggers, the One to One Wellness team embody some of the best practices for group blogging.

They launched their blog in January 2010, although Nick Matheson started blogging in 2004 when his daughter was sick (it was a way to process his thoughts and cope with the experience). As a marketing tool, it appealed to him as “a way for us to have a conversation with people when we’re not there.“

The blog has brought them some media attention, including a profile in Process Magazine (Volume 18 No. 2, 2011) and a quote in an upcoming article in Canadian Living Magazine.

Nick says that the other benefits are harder to quantify, but they get a fair amount of positive feedback, and “a number of people check out the blog before coming in for an appointment.”

With eight contributors, each person only needs to produce a blog post every two months – that’s the beauty of team blogging! They have a central blog schedule, so everyone knows what’s expected of them. Nick goes in to edit, approve and publish the posts once a team member has submitted a draft.

I especially like how each post is clearly labeled with the name and speciality of the team member (like one by Nutrition Consultant Liz Manwaring) – no anonymous posters here (although I do see another word I don’t like)! Descriptive category names further organize their content, and there’s also a handy search box to find a particular topic.

Congratulations to Nick and the team at One to One Wellness Centre. And thanks for providing such a positive example of a wellness clinic team blog.

[Update November 24, 2015: This site is no longer active so I have removed all links.]

If you would like to start or re-start a group blog for your wellness clinic or other healthcare practice, contact us today to see how we can help!

Team Blogging Success Tips for Wellness Clinics

October 4, 2011 By Linda Dessau

For healthcare practitioners and alternative therapists, blogging is a non-threatening way to attract clients, not chase them. A well-written blog post about a health issue that your ideal clients struggle with will highlight your expertise in that area, building your clients’ trust in you.

Blogging consistently keeps your website fresh and updated, which shows your visitors (and the search engines who direct those visitors to you) that your clinic is an active, thriving business and that you and your team have lots of valuable content to share.

Even more importantly, blogging will show these prospective clients how much you care about and understand them. Since blogging tends to be a less formal style of writing, they will see that you and your team members are real people who can provide practical, useful information in plain English they can understand.

Blogging is a team sport

There’s a saying that “many hands make light work,” and the same is true for a blog. Instead of one person being responsible to post something new every single week, with a group blog you’ll have a whole team to share the task.

Top 10 Success Tips for Your Wellness Clinic Team Blog

Appoint a blog captain – Have one person be responsible for keeping everyone on track with your publication schedule. This may be your clinic administrator or owner, a team member with good organizational skills, or you may choose to hire a blog editor/consultant (hey, we do that!).
Edit, rewrite and polish – Ensure that your blog posts are free of errors or confusing language. Use a checklist, style guide, blog editor or any other tools that will ensure consistency and quality. After all, you want your blog to reflect the same high standards as your business.
Publish consistently – Create a shared calendar (e.g., Google Calendar), where everyone can see the time line for upcoming publication dates. Remember to leave extra time for editing by setting each blog post’s due date a week before you actually want to publish.
Meet regularly – Get the team together to brainstorm ideas, choose a monthly theme and get the power of your creative minds working together. Maintain your commitment to this valuable marketing strategy.
Celebrate your diversity – Encourage each team member to blog from his or her own expertise, discipline and speciality. Tap into each person’s unique perspective and tone of voice.
Produce good content – Apply these proven content marketing practices: write with your readers’ interests in mind, focus your writing into bite-sized pieces and address the most pressing problems your ideal clients are looking to solve.
Suggest the next step – Create a unique call to action in every article, e.g., attend an event, sign up for your mailing list or call the office for more information. Remember that people will arrive on your site at different times in the relationship-building process.
Keep in touch – Make it easy for readers to find out about your newest articles and events by posting a subscription form on every page of your website and blog. Then, in your monthly or bi-weekly newsletter, share one of your blog posts (plus links to all recent posts), as well as information about upcoming events, featured services or new team members.
Shout from the rooftops – Ask every team member to promote the blog by adding the blog link to your email signatures. Share links to each other’s blog posts on your social media networks, online forums or email groups. And when you get a specific request for information on a particular topic, use the blog as your primary resource.
Lead the way – Make it easy for blog readers to take the next step of getting to know you and your clinic. Either integrate your blog right into your website or add extra pages to your blog so they can take action right away.