Thinking of starting a healthcare blog? One of the biggest stumbling blocks for new writers is trying to come up with ideas for interesting content. Here are a few to get you started!
One of the great axioms of blogging is that it isn’t always about what you say so much as how you say it. It’s easy to sit down and write blogs, even very informative ones that offer amazing information, but if the information is presented in a bland manner, it doesn’t matter. No one is going to bother reading it.
The challenge is to take that great information in your head, and package it in a way that people not only want to read it, but they want to share it with others to read as well. Fortunately, when it comes to healthcare blogs, we have a few tips about what tends to get traction for your content.
Here are 5 types of blog posts your readers will love:
Lists
Lists are always popular and they are easy to produce. By nature, we love lists! We want to see how things are ranked. We like seeing a “winner” crowned. Best to worst lists are always in demand as are top ten lists. There is no hard and fast rule about how you construct them so much as you have a topic that creates interest. Short lists tend to do the best, but longer lists have their place too.
Example:
– Top 100 Twitter Accounts For Healthcare Professionals To Follow
How-To Guides
How-to-guides are always in demand. People want to know how things work. It’s our natural human curiosity. Basically, all you need to do is identify a problem, provide a step-by-step solution for it, and wrap it up with a short closing. It’s plain, it’s simple but it is compelling content! This is an extremely effective way to establish credibility by demonstrating that you have solid information that works.
Example
– Is Online ACLS Certification Valid
Infographics
An infographic is a blog post that is presented visually. These require considerably more work to create but they are extremely shareable and have the potential to go viral more so than most other types of content. There are graphic generators that allow anyone to try their hand at making infographics, but the best ones are generally created by professionals.
Example
– The Doctor is in: A State-by-State Study on Doctor Accessibility
Interviews
There is no denying that the engaging nature of interviews has always been, and remains, a very popular form of passing along information. There is an intimacy to interviews that cannot be mimicked. On a deadline, an interview isn’t always practical, and not everyone is a good interview. You need a person that is willing to open up and talk in order for it to work. If done correctly, however, it is a powerful piece of content with a long shelf life.
Example
– Reality-Based Policy and the Digital Doctor: An Interview with Mark Smith
Rant
Rants can often remain effective because people are drawn to strong opinions being presented in a passionate way. Rants can be highly shareable and go viral in the blink of an eye when they strike the right nerve. What you need to keep in mind is that when you rant you need to make sure your information is correct otherwise you look angry for all the wrong reasons.
When you have an idea, use this post as a guide to fit into one of the categories mentioned. This will help you create fresh, original content that will attract a large readership!