Blogging: It Does Not Have to be Daunting

You’ve heard that blogging is a great way to get traffic to your legal nurse consulting website. If you are like some of my coaching clients, you enjoy reading blogs, but the idea of writing one throws you.

You want to write a blog? What’s stopping you?

Here are some of the answers I’ve heard.

• “It’s a big commitment.”
• “You have to do it every week—at least.”
• “I don’t know what to write about. How does anyone think of all those article subjects?”
• “No one will read it on my site.”

They’re all objections, and if you’re convinced of their truth, you’ve proven your point. You shouldn’t start a blog.

Some of us, though, come up with those kinds of answers to talk ourselves out of projects. If you’re on the fence about this and would like to explore the idea of writing a blog let’s look at the objections above, one by one.

“It’s a Big Commitment.”

Try removing the word, “big.” It looks smaller, doesn’t it?

It’s a commitment, but keep the following in mind:

• It’s not like getting married or having a baby.
• You only have to come up with 300 words. Of course, some blog posts can be longer, but 300 words is the minimum.
• No one is going to die if you don’t post for one week. You also can write a couple of blogs at a time when you are on a roll, and schedule them to appear when you want them to show.

“You have to do it every week—at least.”

It’s a good idea, if you can do it, to post every week. I’ve blogged either 1 or 2 times a week for 10 years. I’ve written thousands of blogs for LNCs, attorneys and patients. Don’t get intimidated by that number: you start where I started – with the first blog. Remember when Michael Jackson died of an overdose? I wrote about him for my first blog.

Seth Godin, blogger par excellence, posts every day. I personally think that is not a realistic or desirable goal for legal nurse consultants. I’d rather see you marketing and working on cases, and reserving an hour a week for blogging.

And yes, you can do it for an hour a week if you are organized and keep track of your ideas for blogs.

Focus on blogging regularly, and increase the frequency to whatever is comfortable for you.

A lot of your comfort, though, will depend on whether you can change your mind about the next answer on the list.

“I don’t know what to write about. How does anyone think of all those blogging subjects?”

Alternate wording of this objection: “I never could (know what to write about).”

You’re right about that if you think, “One year of blog posts every week is 52 subjects. I can’t think of 52 subjects.”

Break it down into manageable pieces. Don’t think about a year; think about one month. That’s four articles. You can do four articles.

To make sure that you can (and to even put you in the running for 52), allow yourself preparation time. See what other legal nurse consultants write about in their blog posts. Free-associate, brainstorm. And never copy their blogs. That is plagiarism and could get you in BIG trouble.

Start a text file devoted to possible subjects, and write down every idea you can come up with. Do not censor. Write, write, and then write some more.

This file is your gold mine. Every time you get an idea for your blog: when you’re shopping, waiting at the dentist’s office, write it down. Use the back of a shopping list or any available piece of paper or a note on your phone. Or send an email to yourself with the idea. Make sure it’s legible, though—no “sttnhm pof, artiiop!!!”

You are surrounded by topics. Think of the explanations you give to attorneys. Those are topics for blogging.

Think about the cases you are working on. Let’s say you have a personal injury case involving a man whose knees were slammed into the dashboard. You summarized the records for the attorney and explained why the man’s post traumatic arthritis is related to the impact. Now, while the subject is fresh in your mind, list 3 topics that could form the basis of a blog.

And guess what? When I blogged about the injuries this man sustained, another attorney researching the subject found my blog and gave me work.

Soon you’ll stop worrying about the terrible number 52.

No one will read it on my site.”

Not at first. You will need to promote and publicize your blog. Search engine optimization is another subject for another blog. Your goal now is to think about what you want to write and then use that for blogging.

Once your blog is ready, you will share it on your website, LinkedIn, your business page on Facebook, and to your list of clients and prospects. Just like I am doing with you.