Is the purpose of your practice to help people? Or are you in practice to make money?
Quite a few chiropractors and even chiropractic gurus straddle the fence with this one. I’ve heard speakers at some of the “pump it up” chiropractic seminars say that if “you just help the patients the money will follow.” But we know that’s not completely true.
For example; if you are an associate doctor, you’re helping patients, but you’re probably earning a meager salary. If you have no financial policies in your office and patients get care at no cost, you can help a lot of people, but you’re not marking money.
So what is the purpose of practice? I would bet that you have two purposes in practice. Your chiropractic purpose is to help people get well. Your business purpose is to make a profit. I know, the words “making a profit” leaves a bad taste in the mouths of some people and some circles consider it politically incorrect. Yet that’s why we became business owners. Our main reason to start a practice is not to pay more in taxes or give people jobs. You didn’t just wake up one day and say “I want to start a business so I can be an employer!”
It’s not that being a doctor of chiropractic is difficult. Once you become skilled in the techniques of adjusting patients, it’s really not that complicated. However, being a business owner is very tough and it’s not getting any easier. It’s one thing to see patients, but it is also your responsibility to make sure everything is running smoothly and efficiently. In order to keep things running smoothly systems need to be in place. In fact, Michael Gerber wrote a book titled “E-Myth” and the whole book is about implementing systems in your business.
Let’s look at a short list of the systems you need in place…
There is a very common mistake chiropractors make every month in their practice.
This mistake can hurt your practice in two ways; it allows you continue wasting money on bad advertising and could keep you from running good advertising.
It's the mistake of not measuring your ROI.
Here's an example. Maybe you've heard a general rule like, "Never, ever spend more than $100 per new patient when advertising". On first hearing this, it may sound like sage advice. But what's it based on?
Let me give you a scenario...
Scenario #1. Spend $99 for each new patient and get a total of 10 new patients.
Scenario #2. Spend $120 for each new patient and get a total of 10 new patients
Which scenario is better?
According to the above rule, we better go with scenario #1 because each new patient is less than $100.
The truth is, we have no idea which one is better. This "$100 rule" assumes everything else is equal. Sure, if everything else is completely equal, same ad, same offer, same newspaper, same page, same day of the week, etc, then maybe we can use this rule.
But since everything else is never equal, we need a formula that takes into account everything. Not only can we then compare one ad to another or one newspaper to another, but we can compare one marketing method to another.
How do you really measure return on investment (ROI)?
To accurately measure ROI, you need 2 numbers... #1. The amount of money you spent to run the ad. #2.T he lifetime value from the new patients who came in from the ad. A lifetime value simply means on average, what the amount of money a new patient is going to spend in your practice over their lifetime? To get a rough estimate, you simply take your collections over the period of time you've been in practice and divide that by the number of new patients that you had for the same period.
Keep an Excel spreadsheet on your computer and track your ROI as long as you practice. Every time you run a new chiropractic marketing campaign, measure the return.
Say I get 12 new patients in the door from a newspaper ad which cost me $1000. And let’s assume I’m new in practice, and my conversions are low, so I only convert 4 of those patients to a care plan. If my care plans are worth $1500 (which is a very conservative case value) what was my ROI?
The answer is 6:1, or a 600% ROI. So for every dollar invested, I made $6 back. Do you run the ad again or not? How low is the ROI going to be before you say this ad doesn’t work?
You bet I’m going to run that ad again! For me it’s got to bring in at least 2:1 ROI over time. Meaning, after all the money comes in from the patients care plans, the minimum ROI it can bring is 2:1. Occasionally a newspaper ad will be a 1:1 or negative ROI, and I’ll tweak something or run it in a better paper and it immediately becomes a huge winner!
But, some chiropractors think their chiropractic ad is a failure if it doesn’t bring in a 20:1 ROI or higher. In other words, they are upset if their ROI is only 5:1. What other business owner would be upset that the $1 they spent brought back $5? No one!
Unfortunately, it happens daily in chiropractic. Look, the days of spending $0 on marketing and bringing in $30…$40…$50k a month are over. The days of running a killer ad and getting 676 new patients is over. It’s not 1991 anymore.
It’s time to face the fact you’ve got to pay for some marketing. And you’ve got to be happy with a positive return on investment, especially considering large companies would love to get a 5-to-1 ROI any day
Using videos in your chiropractic marketing is becoming a popular way to share valuable information with people not only in your small corner of the world but all over.Creating videos with content rich keywords in your chiropractic marketing can also help push your practice to a higher level.From personal experience, I know that I really enjoy watching videos on blogs, on facebook and even searching YouTube for tutorials on how to do things myself.There is so much information available online that you can just about learn how to do anything in regards to social marketing, building a website or setting up a blog.
Videos are a perfect way to establish a connection between you and your chiropractic patients and prospective patients. Here are a few easy ways to use videos in your chiropractic marketing and social networking.
Using videos in your blogs: Making it personal gives you the advantage when communicating with your readers. Sharing information with viewers not only captures attention and stirs up curiosity and it opens a window creating an instant connection and familiarity, just as if you were having a conversation with them in your office. Embedding a video on your blog also allow you to share a more personal side of you, maybe a clip from a recent family vacation or a sporting event. Play around with it and have fun. Here's one created for chiropractic ads:
Websites: Placing a video on one of your website pages is easy to do but you will probably want to keep this a bit more professional and along the lines of educational such as; the effects of sitting with poor posture over a period of time can cause low back problems later in life or how spinal decompression can be a viable alternative to back surgery.
Landing pages: A short video used in this instance is great because it gives you the opportunity to speak to a prospective patient before they go to your website. Think of it like a virtual business card an introduction of yourself to the viewer. You might even consider placing this type of video on your Linkedin page.
Linking videos on Faceboook: If you’ve jumped on board the social media train then you probably have a facebook page. If so, linking your videos in the status updates is a perfect way to advertise your practice and keep your fans updated on what’s going on at their chiropractor’s office. Facebook is a great platform for chiropractic marketing as it allows you to share content with others and it puts your video in the hands of others who will be inclined to share it with their friends. For instance, they would link your video to their wall and tell their friends the chiropractic office they go to for chiropractic care. If you incorporate nutrition, light physical therapy or massage in your office this is a great way to promote those services with informative videos.
Linking videos on Twitter: Might as well have a twitter page too, this is where sharing videos gets really easy, with a simple retweet any or all of your contacts can retweet your video link to all of their followers. Add to that the use of hash tags when you add your video to your twitter status, this helps people find your twitter page. Hash tags on Twitter are like bookmarks for reference and many people will search for information on Twitter by using a hash tag (#) before the key word they are using. For example; a chiropractor might search for #chiropracticmarketing.
Having a YouTube account or some other video hosting site is the best way to keep your videos stored for easy access and this also helps to generate more traffic back to your site or blog. It is suggested by some that adding your landing page or website address onto the end of your videos so viewers can find your practice’s website is another way to drive traffic back to your site.
There are several tutorials online to teach you how to create your own videos. You don’t have to be an expert, start small with an introduction video from you to your viewers. Later when you become more comfortable with talking in front of a camera you can expand your content. Another type of video is the tutorial style using a video screen capture format. These really make my day especially if I want to find out how to do something myself. Everyone is into the DIY mode these days, so this is your chance to shine your light of expertise and share it with the world. The content doesn’t always have to be related to chiropractic, but something you have accomplished and can share with others. For instance, I learned how to format a twitter background from a tutorial made by a guy whose profession is real estate, but he used that tutorial to help others and in turn he used it to network his business.
Adding videos to your existing chiropractic marketing efforts only increases the possibility of being seen by people looking for great chiropractic care and even those who aren’t aware of chiropractic and all of its benefits.
Unless you consider the time get up until the time you go to bed and even then, if done consistently, your marketing will continue while you sleep.
Marketing should not be considered work. Marketing is energy, foresight and time. Think of it as just part of your daily routine. Whenever you go anywhere you should be marketing. Please don’t confuse this with chiropractic advertising. Marketing is not just about placing ads in the newspaper. The American Marketing Association defines marketing as such;
“Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.”
Successful marketing doesn’t ebb and tide, but is a continuous stream, with a current. At times a gentle movement forward and if putting a lot of time and energy into your chiropractic marketing the momentum will pick up and become a more forceful movement.
As important as words are in your marketing, so are your actions, those little things that go above and beyond what is expected. Two words specifically combined with an action have catapulted many chiropractors to new levels of success. In fact these two words are so important to your chiropractic marketing that they could mean the difference between a ho-hum practice and a killer practice.
When a patient refers a friend or family member to your office that is chiropractic marketing that costs you nothing, it’s like a gift to you. Isn’t that a lovely compliment to you and your staff to know someone has so much confidence in you that they would recommend you? What an honor and one that should be acknowledged.
What is your office procedure when a new patient comes in?
A patient begins care with you?
An existing patient refers someone to your office?
Or a patient has done all three, how do you show your gratitude?
I hope you say, Thank You!
Do you use those words in your chiropractic marketing? If not, then why? Why wouldn’t spend your time and energy acknowledging someone else’s time and energy? Sending thank you notes or letters was once considered standard practice after receipt of a gift. However with all of the technology today, sending a thank you note in the mail has become a forgotten gesture of appreciation. Consider this the next time you visit with a new patient, they have “chosen” you and your office to help to them achieve optimum health.
A question often asked on new patient paperwork, “Who can we thank for referring you? “ Do you really thank the person who referred your office to a friend or family? A simple card, with your sincere thanks in your handwriting, is BIG!
Why wouldn’t you send a thank you to the one who refers others to you? What would it cost you, your time, your energy and a stamp? And consider what you will get in return, more referrals, enthusiastic patients. Could you use more of those?
Looking back on what was stated earlier, a thank you card, note or letter from you, is an active process of creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging a value. Gratitude is very valuable to those who receive it and it will prove to be a very valuable tool in your chiropractic marketing.
Large Metro Newspaper...Small Suburban Newspaper...Free Community Newspaper
You've made the decision to try chiropractic newspaper ads. Now to decide which newspaper to use. There are several papers to choose from in your area, where do you begin? Realistically you can’t run print ads in every paper, so you will have to do some research, gather information and lastly, talk with a representative from the paper.
Where to begin is always a stumbling block but don’t let it stall your efforts to get your ad launched and doing what it’s supposed to do, bring in new patients. The following suggestions should give you the confidence and tools you will need to complete task and create a guideline for all of your future chiropractic advertising.
What is available and which paper do your patients read?
Make a list of papers available in your area. You may or may not know each and every publication that is circulated, therefore go online and do a search for papers circulated in your zip code and maybe a few in surrounding areas. If you are still not sure which ones to choose from, ask your patients what papers they read on a regular basis.
As one newspaper begins to stand out in popularity, go ahead and make the call and find out who your ad rep is and request a media kit. Sometimes they might give you the information on the phone or by email. The ad rep may want to set an appointment to meet with you, but hold off on that for awhile. You will want to repeat this step several times and if you meet with every rep that takes lot of your time. There will be plenty of time to meet once you decide on which paper to advertise with.
Their numbers will tell the story.
Once you receive your media kits, you will have access to some very important numbers. This information will narrow your search and choices. The first number you want to find is the number of subscribers the paper has. These will be broken into categories for the larger newspapers; Sunday subscribers, weekend subscribers and weekly subscribers, with Sunday probably having a higher number. Compare the subscriber rates of your selected papers.
Another number to note is the coverage of the newspaper. If your practice is located in a suburban area you will need to know if the paper covers or has a section specifically for your area. This factor will become clear for several reasons covered later.
Large newspaper vs. Small newspaper
Larger papers may have large subscriber numbers, but…smaller newspapers; particularly the local suburban papers are usually free and are mailed to every address within a specific area. Because there are no subscriptions then there will be no numbers to compare. However, don’t let that or the fact that it’s a free paper, cloud your judgment. Here’s why…small local papers will cover the local business, news and sports teams. In small towns they typically rally and support the local high school teams and the parents and grandparents like to follow their kids and grand children’s sporting events.
Competition, quality, geographic area and cost
Where is your competition advertising? This is important because you don’t want your ad to end up competing with the chiropractor down the street on the same day, same week or same page.
Content quality is important for obvious reasons, the format, and the layout and over all look. Does the newspaper feature newsworthy articles and is it more than one or two pages? How many times is it published and mailed? Most likely even it is once a week, if the price is right, then your return on investment might be greater with a small local paper. Larger newspapers typically charge more for advertising as they have a bigger overhead. However, you may be good at negotiating a great rate or the paper might need more advertising so they might be running some ad specials.
Geographic area is important because if you are not reaching readers that are in your area then you are wasting your money. Most likely, unless you offer a specific service that no one else offers such as spinal decompression, people typically don't want to travel outside of their community and even if they do, just to take advantage of your offer, they probably will not be back.
If your practice is located in a large metro area, you still may have a smaller area paper available to you as most large urban areas are divided into smaller sub cities. You might ask your patients if they receive any small complimentary papers in their mail. If not complimentary, ask if they subscribe to a smaller paper.
If it’s free it can’t be good.
Don’t be so quick to judge. The advertisers are paying for the “free” papers, now you might be one of those advertisers. You and other businesses are helping to provide a great service to many who receive this paper. Your chiropractic advertising might produce a better return with a local paper that is mailed to the zip codes in your area. Those readers might actually be more likely to call for an appointment because you're close to their home.
Chiropractic marketing online with a website, landing page or blog is smart marketing for your practice and you should seize the opportunity now, because when a person needs a chiropractor and they go online to find one in their area, you want your practice to stand above the competition. But you have to be smart about it. Many chiropractors advertise with websites, however their websites don’t work.
Why? Because the website doesn't supply the relevant information needed for a person to make an informed decision or they are so confusing, the visitor gives up and moves onto another site.
If you have a website or landing page already, then you probably spent a great deal of money to have your site designed. It's wasted money if you are not loading your site with the relevant information about how chiropractic can help the person that has found your site, and a potential patient. It is important to provide contact information and location links but that is standard information. You will also want have links available that contain valuable insight into what conditions chiropractic can treat. This can also be a great place to display your chiropractic ads. Most people are ready to take the steps necessary to feel better again, however they need to be told how and where to begin. Look at the three steps below and see how you can create a site that will convert viewers into patients.
Give good directions so people can find your website. This means using the right keywords and tags so that when someone types a word or phrase in their browser bar, your website or page comes up on the first page of the search results. Think of breadcrumbs leading a trail to your door, that's what keywords are.
Obtaining information is necessary to bring patients back to your page over and over again. To gather this information, like name and email address you can add a subscriber request form to your landing page or on your main web page. A free offer with their subscription is a great chiropractic marketing tool. Offer a free informational download by signing up. When you obtain information in this way the patient is allowing you to use their contact information to alert them about future updates on your website. Maybe the first time on your site, they just want to sample your information to see what you offer. They may forget where they saw your site if they were viewing several sites that day. But if have prompted them to subscribe, then they will soon begin to receive emails referring to updates on your site. Now you’ve got their attention.
Have a follow-up system that will alert those subscribers on a continual basis, reminding and educating them how your unique care can and will helps with their problems. This not only works for perspective patients, but for existing patients too. Using your site to give your patients important information about your practice is just as important as what got them there. Retaining a patient through the maintenance phase is probably more difficult than getting them in the door the first time. But gentle prompting and reminders via website newsletters or articles should be considered as continuing education for your patients, thus helping them see the why maintenance visits are helpful for long term health benefits.
Remember, the purpose of an internet presence is to bring in new patients. You don’t need an online brochure with pretty pictures and elevator music. That type of site, most commonly referred to as a static site, will be lost in internet space. Believe it or not, there areout there that don't even give the reader the doctor's name. Also, you've heard the term "cookie cutter", this has become the norm lately. All of the sites look the same and even have the same video describing the benefits of chiropractic. Today's consumer is savvy and will catch on real quick after about two or three web sites that look the same.
Not sure how to get started? Maybe you have a site already and it's just not performing like you expected. Do your research and find a chiropractic marketing consultant that can assist you and show you how to use technology to become fully automated. If you are just now considering the benefits of an online presence, a chiropractic marketing consultant will help you with that too. It may take a little work at first getting things set up and functional. After that it’s just updating, tweaking and listening to your phone ring when new patients begin making appointments.
Does it seem like the amount of new patients coming into your office has slowed way down? Or maybe they've just stopped coming in? When a machine stops working for no reason and it seems like you've tried everything under the sun to fix it, you realize it has a reset button. All you have to do is push it and your back in business. The same it true for any business. Maybe it's time to hit that button and get it up and running again.
Chiropractors who are actively marketing their practice will see the fruits of there labor, but even the most aggressive advertising can experiences a shift in momentum. When this happens go back and revisit some chiropractic advertising options that have worked best in the past.
Chiropractic marketing should be continuous and diverse. In this era of recycling, reusing and going green, there are many other ways to stretch your advertising dollar. Of the five examples shown below, one of them will not cost you anymore than what you have already invested with your current program.
Newspaper: Understand that much of the success of running an ad in the newspaper depends on which newspaper you place your ad in. Obviously your hands are tied if you only have one newspaper to choose from and it can be costly at times if competition is not available. You can still negotiate a reasonable rate if you ask. These days there are still at least two papers available, although one may be distributed with the mail which is probably a benefit in the long run since everyone gets mail.
Website: If you currently have a chiropractic website you should post articles on your site. You could take portions of the ads and publish online. Or if you have a blog, you can use a portion of the ads on your blog posts. It is not recommended that you use the whole ad, just the highlights, like the condition, offer and expiration. Additionally, your website can be used to tell readers about upcoming events your office might be sponsoring. Another item of interest would be a “condition of the week”.
Email: You can send out email messages to both perspective patients and active patients. This can be done quickly by using headlines and snippets from your chiropractic ads. If you are not already requesting email addresses from your patients, you need to begin doing that today. If they don’t have an email or wish not to share that’s okay, however you will want to use the email system at some point in the future, so go ahead and get the information on file before you need it.
Specialized Print Media: Larger cities and suburbs offer magazines that target specific groups, like parents, sports, women, home and family. Testing your ads in these venues can increase your visibility exponentially because these are mailed out to all residents not just subscribers. This type of media also will include features on local businesses and coupons. You might call and ask what criteria they use to be featured in their magazine. Creating a coupon would also be a great tool. It gives the reader something to cut out and save and often reminds them to call for an appointment. Remember most readers will take time to leaf through a locally syndicated magazine that comes in the mail, especially if it already has the reputation of offering great articles about community events and businesses.
Direct Mailings: By restructuring your chiropractic ads into a letter format use the list that you have obtained from a broker and create a mailer to go out to specific homes. You will want to make sure you are using a reputable list broker so that you are assured of getting quality addresses. Here are some interesting tips that help direct mailing become a successful advertising campaign. The first is to use plain white envelopes and hand write the address. Yes this will be time consuming for your staff and they may grumble, but they work for you and the success of your practice is your concern, not making their job easier. Second is to personalize your envelope with a rubber stamp imprint for an upcoming holiday or season. Third is to use over sized post cards. Just transfer your ad onto a large postcard and mail it.
Considered a niche in the marketing field, chiropractic marketing and advertising are a trend of marketing that caters to the doctors licensed in the art of chiropractic. Chiropractors search high and low to find a marketing or advertising product that fits their budget and philosophies. In these instances it is helpful to have a checklist to follow. Keep in mind this is only a guideline and should be modified to reflect the values and standards of you, the chiropractor.
“…Where can I find marketing advice and tools to build my practice?”
If you are looking to grow your practice with new patients, define your search and look for marketing programs that offer tools such as chiropractic ads, chiropractic websites, website design, internet marketing and support.
When reading the content of the chiropractic marketing and advertising sites you find in your searches, consider the following with the products and services being offered. Ask yourself, "are they..."
Fresh – Are they new, current and full of helpful strategies? Is the marketing service providing material that is setting new goals for the chiropractic profession? Are the ads, content and photos, current for today’s patient? Easy to read, clear pictures, enlightening and helpful?
Original – Is the chiropractic marketing content real and not copied, spun or rewritten to recreate theory from old ideas? Are the ads about real conditions or are they generalized and vague?
Relevant – Are the marketing strategies relevant to the issues that chiropractors are faced with while running a practice and seeing patients? Are the ads on topic with the conditions that most everyone experiences in a lifetime? Would people be able to relate to the ads?
Focused – Is the material detailed and easy to read, does it stay on subject? Does it target the problem areas in a practice and offer solutions? Does it offer a continuous flow of tips, suggestions and tutorials? Do the chiropractic ads highlight the patient’s needs?
Tested – Has this chiropractic marketing concept been tried and proven time and time again? The person behind the print, have they used these chiropractic ads? What is their story and how did it work for them? Are there testimonials? Not just written testimonials, are there video testimonials? Is there a guarantee?
“…man, that is too much information!”
There is a lot to read and much to learn. Take your time and bookmark the site if you have to. Revisit when you have time. If the site offers a place to sign up and receive free emails or other free products, then sign up. You can always unsubscribe later if that is necessary. The more information and details you can find the better you can compare and make wise decisions. Once you’ve read all of the information available, ask yourself, which one reflect the standards of your practice? Is it good enough to represent you?
“... I have questions, who can I talk too?”
Another item to consider, does it offer support for clients? Client support is essential. If your having trouble finding a way to contact a person by phone or by email, you might want to move on. Questions are necessary, everyone should ask questions. As your reading, pick it apart and write down your questions and concerns and then ask. Last time I checked most clients prefer to speak to a real person. Put it to the test and see what you find. A recorded message or an unanswered email might give you the answer before you ask.
Throughout my day I often receive many emails asking questions regarding the Ultimate Chiropractic Ads. If your not familiar with this indispensable chiropractic marketing tool, you might want to check them out at Ultimate Chiropractic Ads.com
Now that you know where to find out about this vital tool for your practice, I would suggest you take the time to subscribe to the free emails you can receive from me personally. I said "FREE" emails full of marketing strategies, tips for building your practice and ideas on bringing quality new patients. Add to that, a free 62 minute Chiropractic Advertising audio.
Once you subscribe you will then be able dive deeper into the story and design behind the Ultimate Chiropractic Ads. You can even watch a short video of me opening a new package of ads.
You will also be able to see what the ads look like...but you won't realize the full impact of what you can gain from these valuable tools until you actually hold them in your hands and see for yourself the quality and value put into these ads.
Back to my reason for writing this post. Like I mentioned, I receive many emails with questions. One has been asked more frequently than most, so I thought it best to address it. The question starts out like this.....
Dr. Beck,
I have received my copy of the Ultimate Chiropractic Ads and will be calling my newspaper rep in the next few days. I was wondering what I should change on the ad that I have selected to run?
Sincerely,
Your Awesome Client
That's is a great question and I will tell you the same answer as the one written in manual #1, section 2, page 10....only change your name, your phone number, your address and the paragraph that explains how someone would get to your office. That's all!
This is why the ads are so effective and easy to use. They are written as an advertorial style ad. This is an ad that's designed to look like an editorial or a article. It is made to look like that in order to grab people's attention and keep them reading the information contained inside.
Now you tell me....
How many changes should you make to the ads when placing them in the newspaper?
Well just when I thought I had made that crystal clear, I recently received an email from a doctor, saying he had not gotten the expected ROI from one of my ads. I asked him to send over a copy of the ad he ran. After looking at his ad, I almost fell out of my office chair.
What had he done to the ad?
Basically butchered the thing. He had completely taken out the offer and any mention of price, only leaving the bullet points describing the exam. Those bullet points are designed to build value in your exam.
What is the patient going to think when looking at that value buildup, and then you leave them hanging on price?
They will just assume its going to cost hundreds of dollars and not come in.
The other mistake this guy made was inserting a couple of his own sub-headlines into the ad. This completely killed the flow of the ad and to the point, the sub-heads were terrible.
Here's my point...
Let me say this again...."I do not recommend taking out or changing anything out of the ads (other than the contact info for your practice: name, address, etc), unless you must make changes due to state laws."
Everything is put in the ads for a reason.
Also, these components have been tested and proven to work. By letting the ads work as designed, you'll have much greater success.
Chiropractors, if you aren’t posting in your own blog by now you are missing out. Blogging is probably the most cost effective marketing application on the internet today. Blogs supply current information to your patients and get your name and office info on the front page of Google.
You will find that out of all the chiropractic marketing tools, a blog is #1 for many reasons.
Setting up a blog page and publishing posts is affordable for any budget and adaptable to any schedule. You can blog anywhere, anytime. In the mornings before patients, weekends during the games half time or pajama clad with morning paper and coffee, a perfect time to write a blog post.
The term "blog" is derived from the term "web log" so it is a type of website and it can generate just as much traffic if not more than the traditional website. Also, the functionality is better because when you publish a post, the software automatically keeps your literary work in chronological order and it even creates a quick reference with the keywords you assign. While the software is free to install with a hosting account. It does cost a minimal amount to set up and run. First you need to secure a domain name that will run you about $7.00 and then you might be paying a monthly hosting fee depending on the service you choose. Most offer a free platform with upgrades available. If you have a website already active, you can use the same domain name for your blog with minor modifications. If you wish you can design your own blog banner reflecting you business’s logo or you can pay someone to design one for you. Once you’re set up you simply log in and begin writing.
What will you write about? Anything and everything. Although I would stay close to a particular theme. If your a Chiropractor then you might want to write about the amazing benefits of chiropractic. The fact that you aren’t a writer should never come into your mind.Everyone can write, it's just a matter of getting familiar with the routine. You can outsource your writing, possibly a staff member or high school student. You're not writing a novel, keep it simple, on point and finish it. However, you will need to make it relevant content rich. Something helpful to your readers.
Many chiropractors use this as their monthly newsletter to their patients. If you've been paying a company to print it out, you can pocket that money now. Put it on your blog.
At this point I might mention a handy dandy tool called an auto responder. This allows you to capture the emails of patients, readers or anyone who can read. Let them know they will be receiving your helpful and informative blogs via email once they have subscribed to your blog. The auto responder program does the rest for you. AWeber is the one I prefer, but there are others, just do a some research. I mentioned the front page of Google earlier in this post.
Why is the front page so important? It's important if you want to be found and because this is where your chiropractic marketing pays off. If a person is looking for a chiropractor in their area, they will most likely search for that information up on the internet. They will type in their town name and chiropractor or, they might even type in their problem. So it would look like this: town name + migraines.
When you write a post you will assign keywords to the post. Those keywords act in your behalf to help Google and other search engines, find you. If you've been frequently using these keywords, your site or blog will be found when a person uses those same keywords or phrases in a search. Your name should be on the front page of the results from that search. The closer to the top of the page, better the chance for them to click on your link and find your blog or landing page with your information. And what’s even better is that because you wrote and published a post about the condition they just did a search for, patients have confidence in you.
Regular publishing of your post will improve your ranking because Google looks for fresh content. I would suggest a least once a week. Rumor has it that a blog is actually better than a web page because a web pages rarely change, where as a blog is updated often. If you have a website or web page a blog will be a great addition. Use this as another chiropractic marketing tool and link your website to your blog and vice versa. Additionally, use back links to your website or landing page, within your posts to direct traffic to your site.
Addressing the subject of keywords or key phrases again, I can't stress how important it is to remember keywords when writing your blog articles. At some point you will assign keywords to your blog topic. Picture a file drawer, you will have several posts about a topic or several of your topics could share the same information. As readers begin to frequent your blog they might want to look for posts on a particular topic. On the side of your page will be a list of topics. Your blog will categorize under those topics as the post is published. Suppose you have three posts on low back pain, but two of those same posts reference sciatica. All three contain the key words “your towns name and chiropractor.” Three categories all three will be found if using those keywords; low back pain, and or “your town chiropractor. Two will be found in "sciatica" additionally.
Search and read other marketing blogs and articles to help you get started blogging. For the money, chiropractic marketing in general isn’t any cheaper than this.
Check it out...has your competition already set up a blog. Do a search and see how they rank. You want to rank above them, better get jumping!
Is the purpose of your practice to help people? Or are you in practice to make money?
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