“When I’m feeling overwhelmed or stressed, I find it helpful to sit down with a pen and paper. Writing provides a new perspective and helps me see the big picture.”
-Rose Caiola
Stop procrastinating. Start writing.
I started my website and blog during Naturopathic school for potential patients to follow and to get experience writing on the topics I was learning about in school. I only had a small following of students and friends, but every time my writing started to take a back seat I would get a gentle push to start up again. Sometimes it was an email from a reader thanking me for one of my posts, or an inquiry about becoming a Naturopathic doctor that sparked my inspiration again. I wrote infrequently, but I wrote; that’s where my habits began. But it wasn’t until I wanted to create a product that I started to formulate a writing schedule. It’s the only successful way that I’ve kept consistent with my writing to start building a substantial following and an information database.
1. Why should you blog?
Blogging is a way to become the expert. It’s a way for you to write about your interests and vast knowledge of health and sustainable living.
It’s a way to reach those people on the fence and educate them about what Naturopathic medicine is and why to lead a healthier life.
It’s also the buy in. Before a patient comes to see you in the clinic or purchases a product of yours, they need to buy into what you offer. They need to believe that you can help them. It could be the success of a patient they know, a recommendation from a colleague or them browsing the net and happening across your work.
A potential client needs to gain your trust before you even know they exist. If they sign-up for your newsletter, re-post your work or email a recipe of yours to a friend, they are giving you permission to enter into their world. Layer by layer you become more trusted if you continue to deliver high quality and consistent information.
Over time, you can become their go-to resource on specific topics. Writing a blog is the easiest way to secure your position as the expert to an expansive audience.
Finally, once you have a database of your own work, you can turn that into many other products and alternate sources of income. After writing a thorough post, I can reuse the content on four to five other articles, re-purpose them on other people’s websites, use for patient handouts, combine a few topics to create an e-book – either to sell or in exchange for your reader’s email – and potentially to even write an entire book from the collection of materials.
2. How to start a blog
There are three main ways to get your website and blog up on the internet. Your goals and vision for your future site will determine which type to use:
- Free blogging sites
- Your own domain with free hosting
- Your own domain with paid hosting
Read the following article to decide whether you should build your own website or pay someone to do it for you.
There are several steps to choosing your domain, setting up your hosting and building the backbone of your website. Instead of taking on the daunting task of Googling each step on your own, I’ve done it for you. Download your free copy of “Start a Naturopathic Blog Blueprint” when you’re ready to get your website and blog up.
3. How I Write Consistently
Simple. I create schedules and deadlines for myself.
After graduating from Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine and passing my board exams, I thought “Yes! No more late night study sessions and cramming to finish assignments.” So I spent a few months enjoying life again – seeing old friends, traveling and experiencing life.
Ideas were flooding my brain, but I was being pulled towards various paths and projects. I’d start one thing, then stop and go another direction thinking that that project wasn’t exactly right. At one point I completely stopped taking on things because I was so scared to fail.
I needed to create a schedule for myself to get my writing done. I no longer had due dates or people telling me when to hand in my work. So I had to set my own deadlines and stay accountable.
Deadlines aren’t for all people.
The stress of finishing something on time can stifle creativity. It can have you making more mistakes and not doing as good of a job as you’d like.
But as most Naturopathic doctors realize, quality is not our problem. We love to procrastinate and find many valuable things with which to procrastinate.
I go through periods of having many ideas, and I make sure to write them all down. Even though I only follow through with a very small fraction of those ideas, getting into the flow of creativity is key. Working that idea muscle is important, especially if you need to create a schedule to get your writing done.
Working the idea muscle
Most of my ideas come during long walks with my partner, others just before bed.
But this wasn’t always the case. I had to train my idea muscle by writing out ten ideas every morning. I would write them out no matter how silly, outrageous or impossible they seemed.
Often one or two of these ideas would develop throughout the day become more detailed. But the majority just stay in my book. It was the process, and not the outcome, that I focused on.
Now, I use charts to organize my thoughts and I add to the document whenever I have ideas. Waiting until you sit down for your one hour a week to be creative doesn’t always work. Try keeping track by writing things down in a notebook or scrap of paper, then transfer it into your document.
How to create a schedule
There are many ways to organize your schedule. Personally, I have my entire year planned out. Every article for the whole year is set, so I don’t have to worry. This isn’t for everyone, but it works for me.
I managed this by sitting down over the course of one week and writing out any general tip of information that I’d want my patients to know. Many of these tips are common sense to us but invaluable to the general public. Something as simple as “Drink five glasses of water” could really influence the health of an individual.
I took these tips and assigned a major topic for each. For example, if I created a category on water/ hydration and listed the following as points to discuss:
- drinking more water
- why water is so healthy and necessary
- getting your drinking water quality checked
- what to avoid (mineral deficiency, toxins, soft plastic, rusty pipes)
- best quality of water for drinking and bathing
- purchasing a filtration system
- making water more fun with natural fruits and vegetables
Now we have the backbone of a great article. I like having headings to direct the flow of content and keep the reader interested. It is also much easier to fill in the blanks of information by specifically researching these points rather than trying to start an article from scratch.
Basic concepts, such as hydration, work well when writing to a broad audience. If you are writing for a niche market the detail may matter more.
Creating a schedule only works if you are committed to the deadlines. By telling my audience that I am going to be posting an article twice a week, I’ve made a commitment that I am not easily going to break. This keeps me accountable and on track.
Also, don’t be afraid to collaborate with other practitioners or re-post great content with the author’s permission. If you have three colleagues who can write one article a month, that will take the pressure off you needing to do all the work and will bring new insight, writing styles and hopefully a bigger audience to your page.
You don’t have to be perfect
Write something that offers value and is well researched, and put it out. You can always make changes and alterations later on if you ever want to reuse it for another article or patient handout.
Get in the habit of putting yourself out there. It may sound scary, but if you really think of the bigger picture, you can get through it.
Think of the worst case scenario and see if it’s actually that bad. Don’t be afraid to make a bold statement if you believe in it and have the research or experience to back it up.
4. What do I write about?
Write from your experiences.
Using patients as your inspiration is fantastic. You’ve already done the research and work; all you need to do is package it up. Use that inspiration to write your first draft. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but get the outline down, and you can always fill in the blanks afterwards. Makes sure your post contains the following:
- outline the problem as a personal or fictional story: “how I couldn’t write consistently on my blog”
- list the solutions and actionable steps your reader can take: “create a schedule and be accountable”
- have a call to action: “sign-up to get the Start a Naturopathic Blog Blueprint, read related articles, share on social media, purchase a related product”
Things to Keep in Mind
What are your goals for your future website, clinic, career and lifestyle?
Do you want to market yourself as an expert in a niche?
Who is your audience? Who are you writing for?
What problem are you fixing? How can you help the reader?
I wasn’t working in a conventional clinic, so I decided to create a product. This product is still in the works, and writing articles is part of the process.
The best topics I find are the foundations of health. We know them inside and out, but there are many people who don’t. You website should cover, at the very least, the importance of:
- sleep
- exercise and staying active
- varied and balanced diet
- hydration
- mental and emotional stress management
- community support
This year, I’ll be getting back to seeing patients in the clinic. Their individualized treatment protocols is something I will discuss with them in details and in person. What I want my patients to take away from my articles are those daily reminders, such as drinking more water, eating a variety of foods, going to bed on time, and practicing healthier coping mechanisms.
These are the types of things I write about because they apply to all people. Even if I decide to focus my practice to a niche population, these foundations of health will always be there.
This article originally appeared on theNDDC.com and is republished here with permission.
