Have you ever thought about starting a physician blog?
There are a lot of successful bloggers out there. They make it look so easy, that you may not realize how hard it is to get started!
I think examining your motivation for creating a physician blog is important. Many people (like myself) start blogs as a way to help people, impart information, or as an outlet (creative or emotional).
When I started my blog, it was originally for my friends who are physicians. I was getting so many financial questions, as a response, I created this space where they can read and explore at their convenience. They can find in-depth answers when they have the time to read and reflect. It’s also a convenient way for them to refer back or come back for a refresher course.
My motivation was simple: to help my friends.
I had a lot to learn because blogging is both an art and a business endeavor.
There is a huge learning curve when you begin a physician blog. You start with a blank slate and work hard to create relevant content.
It takes a huge amount of time, effort, and knowledge. In other words a lot of sweat and tears!
It’s very possible that for all your efforts, it will take a few years for you to make money off your project.
With that in mind, is writing a physician blog for you?
So…You’re Thinking About Writing A Physician Blog?
You’ve seen the success that others are having writing a physician blog and you think “I could do that”.
But are you are only focusing on the finished product?
You might be surprised at all the actual work that goes into turning a physician blog into a business. In order to be successful, you’ll need to be consistent. That means putting the time in every week.
In personal finance, when we say the word budget, everyone immediately tunes out and they want to run away. I think “consistency” may be an equivalent concept when you are talking to someone who potentially wants to write a physician blog!
You must be consistent or your physician blog will struggle! That means consistently networking, marketing and producing fresh content!
In fact, if you want your physician blog to become a business, build it with the attention to detail and professionalism that you would a medical practice!
Networking
Another step to creating a physician blog is networking.
It takes a lot of networking to get a physician blog off the ground.
Networking effectively is really about meeting other professionals and establishing a good rapport, this may center around finding common interests, with the purpose of facilitating connections and partnerships.
Within these relationships, you can find like-minded people who are also striving to create a physician blog. You’ll be able to share content, learning strategies and discuss what’s working (and what isn’t). Through the discussions, you’ll pick up tips that will help you create a better network (and along the way a better blog). If your new cohorts are also bloggers, they’ll also be an invaluable support system and sounding board.
It’s an interactive way to get your name out there!
Networking can mean the difference between lackluster content–and great content that allows you to grow and monetize your physician blog.
You may start networking in a safe place online, but eventually, you’ll want to attempt networking in-person. Some of my most effective networking happened on the floor at Fincon. I was able to interact and learn face to face.
If you are an outgoing person, learning to network will come naturally to you. However, if you are an introvert, don’t despair. Networking is entirely possible. There are introvert physician bloggers who successfully network! If you can work with people, you can network with them!
Let’s see what you can do to ease the networking situation!
Sure, it’s hard for you to meet new people and torture to engage them in small talk. However, an easy tip is to bring a friend or colleague (someone you are comfortable with) to the networking event.
When you meet new people, It’s also helpful to keep a few questions in mind so you don’t feel like you have to come up with small talk on the spot. It’s easy enough to break the ice by asking something specific about their career or place of employment.
Speaking of breaking the ice…start with yourself. Practice saying your questions out loud until you are at ease. You’ll be amazed at how much easier it is after feeling the words travel from your brain and out of your mouth. Also, you won’t startle yourself when you hear yourself say them for the first time!
You never know, the person you are talking to may also be an introvert struggling to make connections!
Follow-up and keep in touch with your new contact.
It’s a snap these days with all the messaging platforms. You might create a daily or weekly ritual in reaching out to a few of the contacts that you’ve made. It doesn’t have to be a full-blown conversation.
Occasionally send something brief, such as information regarding a class or a conference. If you develop a more personal relationship you could send a humorous meme!
It’s a good way to keep communication open. Also, contacts beget other contacts! They will introduce you to other people. Who knows which contact might be able to give you great feedback or help you reach a future goal?
Remember, this isn’t a one-way street. You can reciprocate. You may be able to help someone (even a distant contact) in the future!
There’s no reason that networking has to be painful. In fact, the purpose of social media in promoting your blog life is actually a painless way of networking!
Take it one event at a time, one person at a time, one social post at a time and soon you will have built your network!
Best Content
What does having the best content really mean?
The very best content is 2,000+ words (maybe 5,000). The physician blogs with the best content contain a table of contents, graphics, audio, tables, charts, and social media sharing. Whew, wait! But that’s not all, I haven’t mentioned domain authority or SEO.
Remember when I mentioned consistency? Being consistent with all of those moving parts can be a challenge!
How do you see how you stack up among the best? Google! Check out those top ten results. Those top ten are your competition.
You’ve got to beat them!
The Google search engine will “crawl” through your work and bring in the visitors. Your new guest will read the specific blog (topic) they were searching for. Then they’ll more than likely dig through the rest of your content!
The higher you are ranked (and closer to the top of the page) the more likely someone will stop and read.
The more people who are enticed to stay and read longer, the more likely your success as a physician blogger will be!
That brings us to the purpose of social media in creating the best content (and bringing traffic to your physician blog).
Blogging and social media work really well together.
You write a blog (with the best content) and then post about it (and link it) on social media. That will drive your social media viewers to your blog site.
It’s encouraging when readers leave comments and share your content, so make sure you invite them to leave comments!
Marketing
If you are the best you’ll get exposure when someone reads the great content and feels the need to share it!
How do you become the best?
Did you read the things we outlined as the best content? What are you bringing to your physician blog? Is your content:
- New?
- Unique?
- Interesting?
- Are you sharing your budget?
- Are you giving real examples?
- Are you breaking down the tools you use?
There is a ton of fierce competition. That means you need to strive to pull together the very best content.
How do you make money?
Well…you can create a great display advertising. There are affiliate partnerships and brand partnerships. You can create our own content to sell or create your own service.
There are so many ways to monetize. How do they work? How do you implement them? How do you follow up with them? As someone suggested to me, it’s like a Venn diagram. Everything overlaps the middle of your business. That is your content, marketing, and monetization.
Hold up! Without monetization, you have a hobby. Without marketing, you have a journal. Without either of these two things, there is no blog at all. That means after you do your regular job, you go home and watch T.V. It depends on what you want and need.
How do you value your time? What are you good at? What do you want to do? What effort do you want to put into this?
Every blogger has an ROI (return on investment) calculation in mind. Let me tell you from personal experience that blogging has zero return on investment for the next year or more.
However, if you can keep up the pace until you make it, then you’ll have infinite over the long haul (depending on the time, effort and work that you invest).
Are you balancing your side gig with a career?
There are a variety of different blogging styles and they do what they enjoy and take care of the profits in a way that suits them.
Blogging is a viable side business.
However, so is driving for Uber or Grubhub. It all depends on what you are good at and what your goals are! It also depends on how much effort you are willing to invest.
Is it a business or a hobby?
However, the difference between a business or hobby is huge! You can’t just throw out a short (1,000 words or less) blog and think you are finished!
The business side is a key component when making your physician blog a success.
Should You Start A Blog?
Writing a blog is not earning a passive income.
However, it’s still a great side hustle. Once you’ve put in the time on your physician blog, it has the potential to earn income as long as it’s still on the internet and someone is reading it!
Keep in mind that not every blog you write will make money. Out of the blogs that do make money, they’ll create the most income when they are first launched. Over time, that amount gradually diminishes.
As I wrote earlier, in order to become (and stay) relevant, you’ll need to continually work on creating new content and staying in the game.
Writing a physician blog is also a great way to enhance your primary business. It subliminally informs your reader (potential clients, business partners, etc.) who you really are. It gives a clear insight into your priorities.
You can think of it as a professional reference.
Opportunity Costs
It’s probably going to sound pretty obvious but blogging isn’t for everyone.
You may hate writing, research, technology or the whole cyclical process of blog development. You may find the time commitment just isn’t worth it.
It could be that your life is already too jam-packed already or it doesn’t suit your personality.
If you say “yes” to blogging, you’ll be saying “no” to other things. What are you willing to give up when you start developing your physician blog?
You could potentially find another side hustle that is more in-line with your values, abilities and time commitments.
On the flip-side, you may determine that you want to give blogging a try. After all, you get to help others and it can create some amazing opportunities.
You may love to write, research and explore new technology. Once you get the hang of the cyclical process of blog development, you may find it invigorating.
