It can sometimes be difficult for physicians to translate their professional knowledge into an entertaining and compelling blog entry. Larry Blumenthal provides tips for generating interesting blog posts in his article, “8 Ways to Generate Great Blog Posts from Doctors.” He shares his personal experience on how to inspire interesting stories from physicians, while at the same time advising that not all medical experts are cut out for blogging due to a variety of factors which can include time constraints and difficulty translating knowledge into easily digestible pieces of content.

Below are three important tips for physicians to keep in mind in order to become effective bloggers.

  • Include anecdotal support in the form of patient stories in order to build interest. Adding stories to a blog entry can bring the information to life and entice potential readers. As long as a physician is conscious of patient privacy, these stories add color and help readers connect to the stories. Along these lines, physicians can also bring readers behind the scenes. Doctors might be used to it, but readers love hearing about what happens in the examination room.
  • Don’t rely on words alone to convey the main points of a blog. Including multimedia aspects as well as words can make a blog much more compelling. Videos and photos can often times add another dimension to the story, and using these effectively can increase the interest of any blog. Videos and photos provide personality and give readers a better sense of the tone that the author is trying to convey. Furthermore, a physician can include some personal information, or even humor, to give the reader insight into their own personality.
  • Receiving help from a professional blogger can make a doctor’s blog more successful.  There are many things that a professional blogger can do to make a physician’s writing experience easier. Bloggers can compile a bullet point list of tips and tricks they have learned throughout their career and share it with the doctors. Examples help new bloggers understand what makes a compelling blog. A professional blogger can also identify which blog entries were most successful in order to help physicians determine which topics patients are most interested in hearing about. Bloggers should also encourage physicians to reply to comments when appropriate. This stimulates discussion and can ultimately inspire other blog entries.

Ultimately, if a physician is still having difficulty writing, a professional blogger can simply interview the doctor and compose the blog for them. Sometimes physicians simply do not have the time or the writing experience to focus on a blog entry, and in such cases the expert writers can be a good resource.

With the right tools, physicians can create informative and compelling blog entries. If they include anecdotes and humor, take advice from professional bloggers, and keep in mind what the readers want, they can provide great content. Because of their unique experience, physicians can write blogs that patients and medical experts alike are compelled to explore.

If you’re in healthcare, insurance, technology or other professional services industries, and need help with a PR, marketing or social media campaign, contact Scott Public Relations.

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