Just like I mentioned in my last blog, everyone is online right now: you, your patients, your potential patients. If you send out an email blast, it will probably hit File 13 faster than you can say, “Six feet, please!”

Research shows that local search is going nuts right now. Rankings are all over the place. Traffic is poor. No one knows up from down, especially when it comes to spending money (at the dentist or otherwise).

What can you do besides continue to search for your next Netflix binge? You can write. You can still influence, inform, or uplift patients and potential patients in your community.

Here are three things to consider:

  1. Social media is where people live right now.
  2. Later, life in your office will resume. This unprecedented, strange period of distancing will end. You will still be a dentist once our new norm emerges.
  3. Your opinion matters. How you feel about dentistry is important, to more than just you. Your community needs to know what’s in your head, so share it.
In light of these truths, I suggest you do two things:
  1. Share inspirational posts on social media – both to your personal and business pages.
  2. Write blogs and articles now, to use later when you’re busy caring for patients.
I want to focus on #2 right now.
Write Blogs – Write Articles

What’s the difference?

Blogs and articles are similar. They can both be informational articles, optimized for search. However, they’re applied differently.
Articles can be posted on:
  • third-party sites, like local newspaper and magazine websites
  • social media sites, particularly LinkedIn, but also on Facebook
  • paid media ad buys, as advertorials in print or online
Blogs can be posted on:
  • your site (and shared on your social media pages)
  • a colleague’s or local business’ website, as a guest post
  • your e-newsletter or print newsletter (recycled as an article)

Keep in mind that if you write for a print publication, you’ll be limited by space. Articles and blogs published online can be as long or short as you like. For best SEO practice, an article or blog should be at least 550 words, with 1200 words being more preferred for most topics and keywords.

What should you write about? 

I could give you a list of ideas to get you started, but the best way to determine what you should write is to consider your passions. What about dentistry most excites you?

  • the people – patients, experts, your staff
  • the technology
  • the procedures
  • the expert opinions
  • controversial topics
  • the clinical details
  • healthy lifestyles
  • the science behind anything
Perhaps it’s all of the above, but your passion probably stems from only one or two of these broad topics.
Choose one.
Next, make a list of the subtopics within your main topic. These will be specific areas of interest to focus on when brainstorming blog or article titles.
Next, brainstorm titles.

Throw keywords and SEO out the window. Ditch punctuation and structure, if it’s not your thing. Just write what’s in your mind, and probably your heart. A professional dental copywriter, which I have on hand at Identiwrite, can optimize your content, add links, write meta descriptions, select images, edit, revise, and publish on your behalf.

Getting YOUR UNIQUE IDEAS on paper (or a digital file) will immensely help your marketing team!

As a dental writer, the most challenging aspect of my work is pulling ideas, opinions, and examples or stories from a dentist. These are the things that contribute to personalizing a blog or article — an entire marketing strategy. They’re the fuel necessary for uniqueness. These things set you apart.

Whether you’re a great writer and want to publish what you write immediately or you need the help of a professional dental writer, I can’t urge you strongly enough to take a little time right now, while your office is closed, to focus on writing.

Getting Started

If a topic or title isn’t enough to get you started, take a page from the creative writing teacher’s handbook.

Compose a:

  • Letter to your mother about a case you really enjoyed.
  • Letter to a patient, explaining the philosophies and facts behind your proposed treatment plan.
  • Letter to an old, long-passed professor, mentor, or teacher explaining how a new technology has revolutionized an aspect of care.
  • A how-to brochure about avoiding tooth decay or keeping teeth white and healthy. A how-to article on any topic.
  • An emergency guide to dental injuries for athletes. A guide to anything.
  • A quiz on how to decide whether to get implants, veneers, or Invisalign. A quiz of any kind.
You see, you don’t have to sit down and start outlining a college essay. Instead, write what you know, in a format that you find interesting. If you do this, you’ll get more ideas out, and your dental writer or marketing team will learn things about you they may not have known — things that will ultimately customize your marketing.

Getting Help

You’re home. I’m home. Call me.
I’ll be happy to answer your questions about writing, help you brainstorm, or discuss a content marketing plan for your office, to start now or when the office re-opens.
I’m Shauna Duty, a dental copywriter with nearly two decades of experience. I’m also a small business owner. Identiwrite Creative is my boutique dental marketing firm, and we serve patients across the globe. Give me a call at 940-395-5115, or email shauna@identiwrite.com.

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