Looking For A Few Good Blog Topics? {Guest Post by Michelle Doetsch}

Looking For A Few Good Blog Topics? 

Guest Post by Michelle Doetsch

A friend of mine, who has a small complementary healthcare business, recently posted a plea for help on her personal Facebook account. She said she had lost the list of topics she was planning to blog about and wanted help coming up with ideas so she could create a new list. 

I admit to rolling my eyes a bit. I may not like coming up with a new list of blog topics but I don’t generally have any trouble doing so. So like a bad friend, I kept scrolling, figuring that she’d get lots of suggestions. 

Several hours later, Facebook reorganized my newsfeed and that post showed up again and I noticed that she had 2 comments; both of them saying they had no ideas, but wishing her luck. So I finally put on my good friend hat and gave her some suggestions.

That made me realize that she’s not the only one who has trouble coming up with ideas for what to blog about. It’s apparently a lot more common than I realized. Maybe I’ve read too many marketing blogs, or maybe I just have a knack for coming up with topics. I really don’t know. What I do know is that, 2 days later, when the opportunity to write a post about blog topics came my way, I jumped at it. 

What Do I say? 

So… When you’re stuck and can’t figure out what to blog about, here are a few simple places to start:

Prospective Clients

• Frequently Asked Questions: Even if you have an FAQ page on your website, this is a good place to start. Use your blog post to answer these questions in a more in-depth way than you can on the FAQ page. Stick to one question per post.
  
• Misconceptions: Your blog is a good place to dispel misconceptions that your prospective clients may have about the techniques you use, the conditions you specialize in, or just massage in general. Like before, you’ll want to cover only one misconception per post. You can also do a listicle type post and list a bunch, but you’ll need to be brief in your explanations.
  
• Client Bill of Rights: Presumably your blog is on your website and your prospective clients will likely be checking out your site before booking with you. Let them know that not only do they have rights, let them know what those rights are.
  
• Choosing the Right Therapist: Give a list of traits to look for in a therapist. List ways to find a good LMT. Give your readers a list of questions to get answers to. Make sure to tell them that not every therapist (including you) is going to be a good fit and to keep looking until they find one that is. 

Current Clients

• Suggestions: Many of my clients tell me what they’d like me to write about. Sometimes I write about it, sometimes I don’t. If I don’t, I have a very good reason, such as the topic being outside my scope of practice or I very recently wrote about it.
  
• Questions: Your current clients are going to ask you different questions than prospective clients do. Use each question on your blog as a separate topic. Remember, they say that for every ten people who have a question only one will actually ask you.
  
  
• Statements: Your clients will say the darnedest things. Sometimes they’ll be truly profound statements. Sometimes they’ll give you a kick*ss analogy that you can use to explain things to future clients. Sometimes the things they say will make you want to hit your head against the wall. You can use all of these as blog topics when they’re relevant to the work you do. This can sometimes require you to walk a very fine line in regards to maintaining client confidentiality. In many cases, you don’t even need to mention that a client said anything. As an example, a simple, “Lately, I’ve heard several people say _____, but nothing could be further from the truth” will suffice.
  
• Good Client Traits - This can be a listicle or it can be a post dedicated to just one aspect of being a good client like not coming in when you’re contagious, or making sure to give 24 hours cancellation notice when possible. We (that is… I) often tend to write these type posts when one, or several, clients have just exhibited poor behavior, so be careful that your post doesn’t come off as whiney or unprofessional. 

Your Work

• Your specialties: This category can supply a lot of posts. Write about how the techniques you specialize in can benefit this, that, or the other population. (One population per post, please)
  
• Specialties, take two: Write about how the conditions you specialize in can benefit from massage and bodywork. Again, one condition per post.
  
• Resources: Write about how chiropractic, acupuncture, aromatherapy, yoga, personal training, or any other field can be a great complement to massage. List some providers that you’d recommend. Write about other resources that your clients might find useful - list your favorite stress relieving music and where to find it (does a local store sell it? do you download it from a specific website?). Give them a list of the best resources to help them relieve stress - local yoga studios, books, music, meditation or mindfulness training, etc.
  
• Your Life: Chances are, you’re a lot like your clients - you have stress, you have short comings, you’re doing the best you can, and you don’t know everything. When something happens in your life that’s relevant to your practice don’t be afraid to use it. For instance, as a certified aromatherapist, I used my father’s death as a chance to write about essential oils for grief from a firsthand perspective. This type of post can make you seem much more relatable.
  
• Reviews:  Write reviews of books, DVDs, or websites that you think your clients will find useful.
  
• Self-care: Write about all the ways your readers can take care of themselves between massage sessions.

I’ve only scratched the surface here. You can literally find fodder for blog posts just about anywhere. The most important thing to keep in mind when coming up with blog topics is who you’re writing the post for. Are you writing for other healthcare professionals? Athletes? People with chronic pain? or Joe Schmoe who just wants to feel better without having to learn a bunch of medical terms to do so? 

The most important thing to keep in mind when coming up with blog topics is who you’re writing the post for.

One more tip before I rap up this novella… keep paper handy, or create a note on your phone, so you always have somewhere to record your brilliant ideas when inspiration strikes. 

Michelle Doetsch
New Yew Healing

I am a Licensed Massage Therapist in Michigan and I’m Board Certified in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (BCTMB). I have been a massage therapist and Reiki practitioner since 2002. My specialty is treating clients with headaches, high stress, neck and shoulder pain, sciatica, and fibromyalgia, as well as other types of chronic pain. My training in energy work is extensive; over 200 in-class hours in a variety of energy work techniques including Reiki, Spiritual Healing (long standing and respected form of energy work in England), and Kundalini Energy Healing. I am a certified member of Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals (ABMP). My education includes a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Grand Valley State University.

New Yew Healing