If you subscribe to the ACHS Health and Wellness Blog or follow us on Facebook, you know we love to blog. We’ve got a lot of staff and faculty who just love to share helpful holistic health research, tips, recipes, and opportunities with our readers. Our blog posts reach tons of people all over the world, which is pretty darn cool!
We blog to meet our social mission: to share free holistic health education with the public. Blogging (along with our free Master Lecture webinar series!) helped us fill the gap when our free onsite classes got too big to fit into our classroom space.
We blog to get you inspired to live healthier lives, and because we’re inspired by what we’re doing in the holistic health field.
We blog because everyone in the office has heard it before, and blogging lets us reach a bigger audience. ;) Yes—we just can’t stop talking about green cleaners!
I personally blog to create a record of all the random research I do on topics that pop-up in my daily life. Like, should I feed my babies peanut butter? Really? (Blog post on that issue coming soon!) And I blog to keep myself accountable. Yes, my 21 days of paleo blog keeps stalling at day two, but at least I started.
I recommend that all new students start a personal blog. Share your studies and what you love with the world. You’ll create an exceptional record of your journey, a virtual portfolio if you will. And maybe you’ll make some virtual friends along the way. If you reach just one person who’s chowing down on McDonald’s and wondering why they don’t feel well, it is worth the time. Plus, blogging about your projects and research helps you hone and refine your work. You might even get some useful feedback from your readers.
If you already have a business, or you want to start one when you graduate with your Certificate in Aromatherapy (or Master of Science in Holistic Nutrition), your blog will help your business. Blogging helps businesses grow. Significantly! But, don’t take my word for it, HubSpot reports that:
Companies that blog see 55% more web visitors than companies that do not.[1]
If that number got your attention, here are four more reasons why holistic health professionals should start blogging now:
It is all in the numbers:
The numbers don’t lie: blogs drive traffic. Each post you write creates a new page on your website, increasing your chances of search engines like Google or Bing finding your site.
If you’ve written a quality post that answers a question or provides interesting info for your ideal customer, those “keywords” help search engines index your page so it can be found by a future client or customer.
Naturally, quality content is shareable content. There’s no denying the power of social media. If you write an article that is helpful, your readers will want to share it with their friends, who will share it with their friends…and the cycle continues! All while bringing more traffic and new clients to your website.
Of course, quality content doesn’t just appear out of thin air. You need to know who you’re writing for (your ideal client or “buyer persona” in marketing speak), and make sure you’re addressing a question or pain point. I’ll save strategies for writing great blog articles for a future post (I’m still learning too!), but for now, you can always head over to Copyblogger.com or HubSpot’s Inbound Blog for great advice on how to craft quality copy your readers will love.
You have a great education or you’re working on it. You’ve started your career in holistic health or are scoping out what you might want to do. Hey, you know a few things! Now it’s time to share that with the world.
Writing informative articles with thorough research shows readers and possible future clients that you know your stuff. From the tone and quality of your writing, you’re also showing readers who you are on a personal level, establishing trust and credibility before they enter your office or read the description on your products.
Maybe you conducted a study on the use of essential oils in nursing homes for your graduate capstone project at ACHS and want to share some tips you learned. Or you know a bit about a hot topic like gluten intolerance, and you’d like to add a few things to the conversation. Whatever your expertise may be, there are readers who can benefit from it.
Somewhere out there, there are future clients who will seek your professional advice or services because they will already know and trust you from your business blog.
We live in a social world. If you’re not establishing your brand via social media, you’re missing out on potential customers. If you’re using social media: great! You also know how difficult it is to keep social content fresh and engaging. If you’re blogging, you’ll always have new content to share (that can potentially go viral!).
Even better, a good blog post can be shared over and over again! You can also link to it on your landing pages, in your webinar slides, in your email marketing…and again, the cycle continues. A well-kept business blog is a gift that keeps on giving.
So many of our students, graduates, and faculty have incredible stories behind their holistic health careers. Take a moment to read about ACHS graduate Lori Bell’s reasons for starting her holistic health business.
Humans respond emotionally to storytelling—we’re wired for it. A business blog is an arena for you to tell the story behind why you became a Registered Aromatherapist, Natural Products Manufacturer, Holistic Nutritionist, or another type of holistic health professional.
Blogging establishes trust with your readers and future clients and customers. It connects a person and a human story to your business. Especially in the holistic health industry, people want to work with other people, not websites and automation.
Think you don’t have a story to tell? Use this as a writing prompt:
Why do I do what I do?
Just start writing. Chances are you have an interesting story to tell, so keep journaling until you stumble on the ah-ha! moment.
If you still think your story is not blog worthy—you can always tell someone else’s story! Find a friend, colleague, or family member who has a holistic health success story and help them tell it on your blog (with their permission, of course). Make sure it connects to your business in some way because, don’t forget, the ultimate goal of your business blog is to drive traffic and gain customers.
Bottom line: a blog grows your business. Just like a fine wine—blog posts get better over time. A great blog article will be shared over and over again, bringing more visitors and potential clients to your site.
Want to get started? HubSpot is one of my favorite blogging tools. You can set up a free blog at sites like blogger.com, jigsy.com, or wix.com. Our friends at FirstSiteGuide also have great resources to get you started on your first blog or website.
Have you started a blog for your holistic health business? Tell me your story in the comments!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I am the CIO of American College of Healthcare Sciences, the Institution that publishes this blog. ACHS is a HubSpot customer and uses the HubSpot platform. However, all opinions are my own. This blog may contain affiliate links. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
This article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent disease. This article has not been reviewed by the FDA. Always consult with your primary care physician or naturopathic doctor before making any significant changes to your health and wellness routine.
[1] Georgieva, M. (n.d.) An Introduction to Business Blogging. [eBook]. HubSpot. Retrieved from http://offers.hubspot.com/an-introduction-to-business-blogging
[2] HubSpot. (2010). The Science of Blogging. [Slideshare]. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/HubSpot/the-science-of-blogging-6086313
[3] Georgieva, M. An Introduction to Business Blogging. [eBook]. HubSpot. Retrieved from http://offers.hubspot.com/an-introduction-to-business-blogging
[4] HubSpot. (2013). 2013 State of Inbound Marketing. [Report]. Retrieved from http://offers.hubspot.com/2013-state-of-inbound-marketing