When you operate your own therapy practice, there's one question that routinely comes up: "How do I attract more clients?"  A key component is your online presence, and the easiest way to get started online is through a blog.  Read on for the top 3 reasons you should start a blog, and how to do it.

1. Be Viewed as an Expert in Your Niche

Maintaining a blog is the best way to show the world that you are an expert in your field.  We should caution you though: don't try to be the smartest therapist in town.  Just focus on your unique niche.  Is it pre-marriage counseling?  Childhood disorders?  Addiction?  Select a topic or narrow range of topics and stick with it.

Over time, as Google indexes your content, your blog will start to naturally appear in searches that clients are making in those categories.

You might also catch the eye of colleagues, who are looking for an expert to refer one of their own clients to.

2. Reach a Larger Audience Through Social Networks, Emails, Etc.

When you consistently write a blog (at least one post per week or more), you have more content for potential clients to share on social media, in email newsletters, or just plain word of mouth.  Instead of just focusing in one city, your content can be accessed all over the world.  And while you may not be seeing clients from another continent, that kind of exposure increases your page ranking in local Google searches.

3. You Stay Updated On Latest Research and Trends

When you set a goal of writing at least once per week, you necessarily will find yourself looking for new topics to discuss on your blog.  This of course leads you to doing lots of research, and a happy side-effect of all that research is that you are always up-to-date on the latest trends, techniques, advice, etc, in your field.

One way to get started is to find other blogs you like, and let their topics and editorial style guide you.  You can also just write "reviews" of other news stories, for example: just make sure to always link to the original content somewhere in the body of your post.

How to Get Started

There are lots of free blogging websites out there you can get started on today!  Just sign up with Blogger, Tumblr, etc., and start writing!

Be sure to include pictures in your posts.  You can find lots of great free-to-use images on sites like Pexels and Pixabay.

And of course, once you write the perfect post, share it on social media!  Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are all great places to start.