by Chris Nerney | Jan 19, 2022 | Blog
It takes a combination of hubris, masochism and bad judgment to write a blog post about the importance of writing quality blog posts. Reporting for duty.
Chicago web design and development company Orbit Media recently released its 8th annual blogging survey, and it is full of detailed data that should allow me to easily knock off this post fast enough to catch the opening kickoff on Thursday Night Football.
Just kidding! I am all about quality. And that’s because quality pays off. While this is confirmed by the survey, we all know intuitively that quality content has intrinsic value, whereas crap content does not. The challenge is in 1) defining what makes a quality blog post and 2) enacting a realistic strategy to produce some on a regular basis (very important!).
But we’ll get to that discussion later, about three paragraphs before I log off to go watch a little NFL action. First I want to go over blog trends highlighted by the Orbit Media survey of more than 1,000 bloggers, some of which are relatively predictable and some genuinely surprising.
It’s a big survey, so I can’t cover everything. But if you are responsible for making your healthcare organization’s content strategy a success, you’ll find some interesting trend data about SEO, traffic sources, analytics and headlines in the survey write-up by Orbit Media cofounder Andy Crestodina.
Bloggers spent 67% more time per post in 2021 than in 2014.
A typical blog post takes 4 hours and 1 minute to write in 2021, up from 2 hours and 24 minutes in 2014. Even I couldn’t ascribe this increase to improved procrastination techniques (though I’m a pro), so there’s got to be some other reason why blogs are taking longer to write. And there is…
Blog posts keep getting longer. The average is now 1,416 words.
Ebooks, anyone? I mean, seriously? Nearly one-third (32%) of blogs in 2021 are more than 1,500 words. Only 6% of blogs today are less than 500 words, versus 21% in 2014.
Which reminds me of when I attended a digital content conference in New York in 2007 or so. I vividly remember looking around the hotel ballroom and determining that there were maybe two people there who were older than me. (Full disclosure: I used an abacus in my first job.) Anyway, there was a guy in his early twenties on stage during a panel discussion who authoritatively proclaimed, “Anything over 300 words is an essay.” Combined with the demographics of the room, this purported truism made me feel rather ancient. Well, who’s the dinosaur now, Essay Boy?
This is not to conflate length with quality. Just look at this post: I’m 448 words in, have yet to say anything of substance, and there’s no end in sight! (Actually, there is an end in sight because it’s now 7:02.)
OK, enough fooling around. Time for some real value:
Bloggers who publish more frequently get better results.
Cadence matters. Nearly six in 10 (59%) of the bloggers surveyed who reported “strong results” from their work published at least weekly. This is something I’ve said before: You’ve got to publish regularly. That’s how you build an audience and raise your profile as a thought leader. To have a presence, you must be present.
What kinds of content are bloggers publishing?
“How to” articles are far and away the most popular form of blog content at 76%, followed by lists at 54%. Yet only 23% of bloggers reported “strong results” from “how to” blogs.
The biggest challenges for bloggers
Just what you’d expect: Finding time to create and promote content (53%), getting traffic and attracting visitors (49%), creating quality content consistently (39%), and creating enough content consistently (35%). All formidable challenges for which there are solutions!
Stirring, informative conclusion
Let’s focus on those challenges because the keys to quality content lie within them. To find time to create and promote content, Orbit Media suggests 1) delegate, hire and outsource, and 2) make content development a top-three priority for one team member.
Both excellent suggestions. Whether it’s someone in-house, an agency such as Amendola, or a freelancer with experience in healthcare, you need someone who can focus on the job and do it well.
As for driving traffic and attracting visitors, the first step is to ensure you’re producing quality content. One way to do that is to post blogs that include original information and research or a unique take on a high-profile problem for your target audience. Thought leaders lead, they don’t offer “me too” content.
Another way to improve your blog content is to incorporate outside voices of authority. Get a quote from a healthcare professional who’s not one of your clients. It will add credibility. Also, it always helps to have better ideas – and lots of them. Orbit Media suggests you “improve your process for capturing ideas, collecting examples and quickly starting articles.” Amendola, for example, works very closely with clients to regularly generate ideas and get the ball rolling on content production. An editorial calendar never hurts, either.
Finally, creating enough content consistently requires ownership and commitment. You’re in on a winning content strategy or you’re merely paying lip service. Being a lip-service payer is the road to mediocre results! While you shouldn’t do more than you can do without sacrificing quality, you can’t disappear for long stretches. Orbit suggests publishing a minimum of one or two blog posts a month, which sounds about right. That’s minimum!
Blogging can be an effective component of a healthcare organization’s communications strategy that makes you stand apart from your competitors. But you must be dedicated, consistent and committed to quality. That means devoting the time, money and talent necessary to do it well and support your organization’s messages and goals.
It’s 8:17. I’m just sayin’.
by Chris Nerney | Jan 19, 2022 | Blog
It takes a combination of hubris, masochism and bad judgment to write a blog post about the importance of writing quality blog posts. Reporting for duty.
Chicago web design and development company Orbit Media recently released its 8th annual blogging survey, and it is full of detailed data that should allow me to easily knock off this post fast enough to catch the opening kickoff on Thursday Night Football.
Just kidding! I am all about quality. And that’s because quality pays off. While this is confirmed by the survey, we all know intuitively that quality content has intrinsic value, whereas crap content does not. The challenge is in 1) defining what makes a quality blog post and 2) enacting a realistic strategy to produce some on a regular basis (very important!).
But we’ll get to that discussion later, about three paragraphs before I log off to go watch a little NFL action. First I want to go over blog trends highlighted by the Orbit Media survey of more than 1,000 bloggers, some of which are relatively predictable and some genuinely surprising.
It’s a big survey, so I can’t cover everything. But if you are responsible for making your healthcare organization’s content strategy a success, you’ll find some interesting trend data about SEO, traffic sources, analytics and headlines in the survey write-up by Orbit Media cofounder Andy Crestodina.
Bloggers spent 67% more time per post in 2021 than in 2014.
A typical blog post takes 4 hours and 1 minute to write in 2021, up from 2 hours and 24 minutes in 2014. Even I couldn’t ascribe this increase to improved procrastination techniques (though I’m a pro), so there’s got to be some other reason why blogs are taking longer to write. And there is…
Blog posts keep getting longer. The average is now 1,416 words.
Ebooks, anyone? I mean, seriously? Nearly one-third (32%) of blogs in 2021 are more than 1,500 words. Only 6% of blogs today are less than 500 words, versus 21% in 2014.
Which reminds me of when I attended a digital content conference in New York in 2007 or so. I vividly remember looking around the hotel ballroom and determining that there were maybe two people there who were older than me. (Full disclosure: I used an abacus in my first job.) Anyway, there was a guy in his early twenties on stage during a panel discussion who authoritatively proclaimed, “Anything over 300 words is an essay.” Combined with the demographics of the room, this purported truism made me feel rather ancient. Well, who’s the dinosaur now, Essay Boy?
This is not to conflate length with quality. Just look at this post: I’m 448 words in, have yet to say anything of substance, and there’s no end in sight! (Actually, there is an end in sight because it’s now 7:02.)
OK, enough fooling around. Time for some real value:
Bloggers who publish more frequently get better results.
Cadence matters. Nearly six in 10 (59%) of the bloggers surveyed who reported “strong results” from their work published at least weekly. This is something I’ve said before: You’ve got to publish regularly. That’s how you build an audience and raise your profile as a thought leader. To have a presence, you must be present.
What kinds of content are bloggers publishing?
“How to” articles are far and away the most popular form of blog content at 76%, followed by lists at 54%. Yet only 23% of bloggers reported “strong results” from “how to” blogs.
The biggest challenges for bloggers
Just what you’d expect: Finding time to create and promote content (53%), getting traffic and attracting visitors (49%), creating quality content consistently (39%), and creating enough content consistently (35%). All formidable challenges for which there are solutions!
Stirring, informative conclusion
Let’s focus on those challenges because the keys to quality content lie within them. To find time to create and promote content, Orbit Media suggests 1) delegate, hire and outsource, and 2) make content development a top-three priority for one team member.
Both excellent suggestions. Whether it’s someone in-house, an agency such as Amendola, or a freelancer with experience in healthcare, you need someone who can focus on the job and do it well.
As for driving traffic and attracting visitors, the first step is to ensure you’re producing quality content. One way to do that is to post blogs that include original information and research or a unique take on a high-profile problem for your target audience. Thought leaders lead, they don’t offer “me too” content.
Another way to improve your blog content is to incorporate outside voices of authority. Get a quote from a healthcare professional who’s not one of your clients. It will add credibility. Also, it always helps to have better ideas – and lots of them. Orbit Media suggests you “improve your process for capturing ideas, collecting examples and quickly starting articles.” Amendola, for example, works very closely with clients to regularly generate ideas and get the ball rolling on content production. An editorial calendar never hurts, either.
Finally, creating enough content consistently requires ownership and commitment. You’re in on a winning content strategy or you’re merely paying lip service. Being a lip-service payer is the road to mediocre results! While you shouldn’t do more than you can do without sacrificing quality, you can’t disappear for long stretches. Orbit suggests publishing a minimum of one or two blog posts a month, which sounds about right. That’s minimum!
Blogging can be an effective component of a healthcare organization’s communications strategy that makes you stand apart from your competitors. But you must be dedicated, consistent and committed to quality. That means devoting the time, money and talent necessary to do it well and support your organization’s messages and goals.
It’s 8:17. I’m just sayin’.
by Chris Nerney | Dec 8, 2021 | Blog
Smart healthcare companies invest in creating a quality digital presence, primary through their websites. I’ve launched my share of sites over the years and can tell you that a lot of planning, debate, creativity, and effort go into every facet of a company’s website, whether it’s brand new or overdue for a revamp.
Decisions must be made about everything that appears on a website – sections, design, images, and content. Writing content for a website is one of the most challenging jobs in content creation because you are under immense pressure to grab visitors immediately or risk losing them forever. A Chartbeat analysis of user behavior across 2 billion website visits showed that 55% of visitors stayed on a page for less than 15 seconds.
That’s why every word should contribute to telling a company’s story and positioning that company as unique in its market. I know from personal experience that creating website copy is a painstaking process of writing, rewriting, rewriting, hating your life, and rewriting. You can’t just dash off website copy! But the hard work invariably pays off for companies when their dazzling new website is launched.
While many startups are happy just to get their sites live – and it is an accomplishment – others have content plans that extend beyond the launch, such as a blog page. Which is shrewd because a steady stream of original content can demonstrate a company’s “thought leadership,” the ability of its executives to understand the business-critical issues and pain points facing its customer base. Further, blogs provide an opportunity for startups to establish a human connection (podcasts also are excellent for this) with potential customers, partners and investors.
Unfortunately, many startup blogs begin with a lot of energy and enthusiasm and then succumb to the harsh realities of continual content generation. Maybe the team member who championed the blog and did the bulk of the writing got another job. Maybe the CEO or CMO are too busy to contribute the monthly posts they promised. Stuff happens.
The problem is that a blog page containing only three or four posts, of which the most recent was from two years ago, doesn’t reflect well on your company. It looks like you don’t follow through or you ran out of ideas. Worse, you’re losing a chance to showcase the thought leadership that can separate you from your competitors in the minds of potential customers. Remember, many visitors to your site are actively searching for a solution. Your thought leadership content, in conjunction with the marketing content you perfected prior to the website launch, can be the differentiator that wins business for your company.
A blog page (or a section for videos or podcasts) won’t help your business at all, however, if it’s gathering cobwebs. I would argue that no thought leadership content is better than outdated content or a threadbare page.
Indeed, many healthcare startups make a conscious decision not to create a steady stream of content for their site, opting instead to focus their full efforts on the products and services they offer. That’s a valid decision if they truly lack the internal resources or budget to sustain a quality content creation program. And I suspect most visitors to a healthcare startup’s website probably don’t judge the company based on its lack of a blog. Conversely, a thinly populated and outdated blog/video/podcast section may leave a bad impression to website visitors, who likely won’t return.
Healthcare startups don’t have to publish fresh content every day or even every week to have a successful content strategy. Even a blog post a month can help you deliver your message and raise your profile if the content offers something of value for visitors. It can’t just be generic blather that checks off SEO boxes and gives you something to share on social media. Your content should position your company as a unique voice addressing serious, specific business challenges with effective solutions.
If your company lacks the bandwidth or skill set internally to produce content on a regular basis, freelancers can fill the gap, though the quality of content producers out there can vary wildly. That’s why working with an agency such as Amendola Communications is a sensible option. A marketing/communications agency specializing in healthcare can match the right writer to the right client, increasing the odds that the client’s content strategy pays off.
Website content isn’t easy and it isn’t free. But it can be incredibly valuable if it helps raise a company’s profile, which can attract customers, the media, and investors. Consistency and quality are the keys.
by Chris Nerney | Jul 7, 2021 | Blog
Successful marketers are persuasive. Whatever their medium – print, audio, video – the content and messages they create consistently prompt their target audience to take action.
There are multiple schools of thought about effective marketing, not to mention plenty of marketing and copywriting “experts” (legit or self-proclaimed) willing to offer you their insights through books, online courses, subscription newsletters, and other revenue-generating vehicles. Many of them offer excellent advice.
But there also is a seemingly unlimited amount of free online advice offering sound tips and strategies for writing deeply persuasive marketing copy. The advice ranges from the theoretical to the practical. I’ve pulled together five that jumped out at me for one reason or another. They are in no particular order. Let’s get going.
Know your audience
OK, right off the bat I lied, which admittedly isn’t a great long-term marketing strategy. The truth is, this first item – know your audience – actually is the most important piece of advice on the list, which now (so far at least) has a semblance of order!
You simply can’t hone an effective marketing message if you don’t know who it’s intended to persuade. One copywriting advice guy I read says “the key to great copywriting is to like your audience.” I understand where he’s coming from, but I would instead suggest it’s better to understand your target audience, particularly their needs and pain points that could be addressed by your company’s products or services.
While liking them might help get you there, doing some research would be even more illuminating and productive. Another way to help sharpen your understanding of the target audience is to create a profile or persona based on demographic data.
Know your message (and tighten it)
You can’t market effectively if you 1) don’t know what you’re marketing and 2) how to explain it in various levels of detail. The latter can be particularly challenging for healthcare technology companies that have complex platforms or services. There’s a lot to explain! One cofounder I know told me he knows the exact moment when he loses potential customers as he tries to explain his startup’s technology: “I can see their eyes glaze over.”
Eye glazing is never a good sign. Make sure you can explain your technology – and, more importantly, what problems it can solve – clearly and concisely. That’s a struggle for some technologist entrepreneurs, which is why many of them hire marketing and PR professionals to help them shape and deliver their message.
Write about your audience (not about what you’re selling)
Your content needs to read as if you’re personally addressing your target audience, as if you can read their minds and are on their side. The best copywriting puts the focus on the needs of the audience, not the merits of a product or service. Yes, those eventually will have to be discussed, but only in the context of solving a problem for the potential buyer. At all times, it is about the customer. A lot of “you” in your marketing content goes a long way.
Write for your medium
How you write content for a 2,000-word white paper will be dramatically different than how you would write 150 words of web copy for a home page. People who sit down to read a white paper they downloaded have different expectations than those who are surfing around looking for something to interest them – or a solution to their problems.
For the former, you have room to delve into how your technology works, how it applies to various use cases, etc. You can geek out. In the latter case, your mission is to capture readers’ attention and keep them on your site. That requires the equivalent of emotionally hard-hitting ad copy that leads to data capture, lead generation, and potential customers.
Invite a conversation
Granted, you can’t do this with every marketing asset. But a steady social media presence can enable you to have an ongoing dialog with members of your target market. There may not be an immediate revenue payoff, but social media is about the long game. It’s for building relationships, encouraging engagement, learning about your customers, and establishing a consistent voice for your brand. Writing for social media should be relatively informal and conversational.
Conclusion
Marketers have more tools and channels than ever for connecting with existing and potential customers. To get the most out of your marketing strategy and efforts, you must understand your target audience, know how to talk to them (depending on the medium), know what to say to them, and be eager to listen and learn.
by Chris Nerney | May 12, 2021 | Blog
There are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of healthcare podcasts available to listeners in 2021. There even are podcast networks devoted exclusively to healthcare topics. For healthcare professionals, these podcasts can provide valuable information. They also offer a platform for healthcare pros to get their messages across as podcast guests.
But how do you get on a healthcare podcast as a guest? In some cases, you may be asked. Daily and even weekly podcasts that use an interview format are always recruiting guests. It’s an endless process. Further, they are constantly looking for episode ideas. So while waiting around to be invited as a guest may pay off, you should consider pitching a topic for which you are an expert to podcasts you want to be on. Even if they say no initially, that will get you on their radar screens.
A great thing about podcasts is that almost anybody can launch one. A bad thing about podcasts is that almost anybody can launch one. And while the terrible podcasts tend to flame out quickly, there are ongoing healthcare podcasts that struggle to retain an audience through most of an episode, often because (I’m just being honest here) they’re boring.
The point is you shouldn’t jump at a guest opportunity simply because one was offered. If a podcast sounds amateurish or induces sleep, appearing as a guest will do you little good. Then there’s subject matter. If you, an oncology expert, are asked to be a guest on a podcast about the revenue cycle, you should politely decline (and the podcast should find a new producer). Make sure the podcast is a good fit relative to subject matter and overall vibe.
An easy way to determine subject matter fit is to read descriptions of past episodes. Can you imagine the audience you want to reach being interested in those topics? In terms of a show’s vibe, can you picture yourself having a stimulating conversation with the host or hosts? If the answer to both is “yes,” go ahead and book it.
Whether you’ve been recruited or successfully pitched yourself for a healthcare podcast, now that you’re going to be a healthcare podcast guest, you have to prepare. If you haven’t listened to any episodes of the podcast for which you’re booked, now’s the time. Does the host seem informed and prepared? Does conversation flow freely or are there painful silences? Understanding the dynamics of the podcast enables you to 1) visualize your own performance, and 2) develop strategies and ideas for the episode.
Once you’ve listened to a couple of episodes, all you’ve got to do now is show up and knock it out the park. Just kidding! “Winging it” frequently ends poorly, even if you are a legitimate expert or thought leader.
It is imperative that you and the podcast host/producer communicate clearly about the episode’s topic and beyond the tentative title. A good podcast team will send you a preshow form to fill out that helps align participants regarding the episode’s content. However, do not wait to be contacted. If you don’t hear from anybody within a week of the recording date, send the host/producer a list of questions you can be asked or an outline of points you want to cover. Make sure they acknowledge receiving it.
In addition to boredom, nothing chases away a podcast audience faster than bad audio. Though some podcasts will send guests a microphone prior to their appearance, I’d recommend buying your own mic and headphones – especially if you think you’ll regularly be guesting on podcasts. You don’t have to spend more than $100 on each. (Here are good guides for mics and headphones. USB mics plug into a computer and are vastly superior to laptop mics, which make you sound like you’re trapped in a box.)
When the big day arrives, you’ll be sent a link by the podcast host/producer to Zoom or another videoconferencing platform such as Riverside.fm, SquadCast, or Zencastr. Click on that link and you’ll likely be dropped into a “green room” where you can check your video and audio. (Many podcasts will use video for the recording, even if the episodes are released only in audio.)
And the show has begun! If you and the host are well-prepared, all you’ve got to do now is be your engaging, insightful self. Focus on the conversation and not the fact that you’re doing a “show.” This will help you be more relaxed and in the moment, as you naturally would be in a conversation that wasn’t being recorded.
You also need to be yourself plus. Amp it up a bit, go to 11, show some passion for your topic. You can’t get your message across if listeners are drifting away. Remember, to a large extent a podcast is a performance. Avoid monotone and project personality and humanity. That will make listeners remember you and get you booked on more podcasts.
Here are a few other quick tips:
- If you’re asked an open-ended question, try to keep your answers relatively concise. Don’t ramble or excessively repeat yourself.
- Use the host’s name in conversation. Write it down beforehand or make sure to note it on your computer screen.
- Prepare a summary to use at the end of the episode that ties together your main ideas and messages.
- Don’t talk too fast and don’t be afraid to pause for a second or two before answering. The podcast folks can cut out excessive dead air.
- If you stumble over an answer, just say, “Let me try that again.” Then pause and give it another shot. They’ll cut out the false start.
- Prior to the show, prepare stories that are relevant to the topic and that you know well. That way you can whip them out at the right moment. Listeners (and podcast hosts) love stories.
- Silence any devices that could make distracting noises during the recording.
When the show is wrapping up, make sure to thank the host (by name) and listeners (and to include any calls to action.)
Once the episode is published, promote it. Podcasts love a good guest, but they love a ratings hit even more. If you or your organization has a large email list or social media following, let everyone know about your appearance on the podcast (and include a link).
The right healthcare podcasts can help promote your organization or establish yourself as a thought leader. To fully leverage these opportunities, you need to be prepared, be yourself, and be willing to promote the episode when it’s released. Do those things consistently and healthcare podcasts will be fighting to book you.
