Health is a topic which can be relatable to all people. Regardless if you’re a working mom, young professional or student, health will always play an important role in your life. Without it, you won’t be able to do anything at all. This is why starting a health blog for helping other people who want to be healthy is always a good idea. This blog can serve as an avenue for you to share your experience with other people. It can also become a platform for learning what people are struggling with when it comes to health, and provide suggestions to help them solve this. But with the number of health blogs available online, you know that starting a health blog requires more than just the passion to help other people; it’ll need your hard work too. Here are some tips you can do to start a health blog for helping other people:
Focus on your passion
As mentioned earlier, passion is crucial in your health blog. It can make or break the success of your health blog in the long run. Before you actually come up with a list of health-related topics, you should assess first if health is your passion. Would you still have the fuel to continue with your health blog even if you have a lot to learn in the process? Do you see yourself working for long hours just to add photos to your health blog? If you answered “yes” to these questions, health blogs are for you. Being passionate about what you do will prevent you from being stuck in the process while giving you the motivation to continue what you’ve started.
Choose a smaller health niche
Health is an extensive and diverse topic. Sure, you might be starting a “health” blog, but you still need to streamline what exactly you’re writing about. For starters, your health blog can focus on any of these niches:
- Balanced diet
- Disease and disorders
- Fitness professionals
- Happiness
- Healthy living
- Meal preparation recipes
- Training and running
- Weight loss
Picking a smaller niche for your health blog will be beneficial to you in many ways. You can determine who your target audience is and come up with topics which are tailored-fit for their needs. This is always a better option than wanting to write for the general public.
Research on your topic
You might have been preparing healthy meals for years, but that doesn’t mean that you no longer need to research when you’re writing about it. In fact, research is important to determine what the latest trends are in your niche. For example, if you’ve known that more and more people are interested in healthy meals which are easy and can be prepared in their respective workplaces, don’t suggest meals which will need at least three home appliances. Doing this will defeat the purpose of your health blog. Make sure you do your own research so you can better satisfy the needs of your target audience. With the right attitude and effort, research can also mold you to become an expert in the health niche that you’ve chosen. Being an expert in one health niche is always better than being mediocre in all niches.
Focus on impactful storytelling
Type in health blogs in your search engines, and for sure, you’ll be bombarded with blogs which talk about anything and everything about health. If you’re a neophyte in the blogging industry, keeping up with the times can become a challenge. Some of these health bloggers have been doing what they’re doing for years! You can level out the playing field by focusing on impactful storytelling. Aside from telling your target audience tips and tricks for their health goals, include real-life experience and testimonials. If possible, include yours in every blog post. All of these will strike a chord emotionally, making it easier for your target audience to relate to you. This can lead to more readers over time.
Avoid using jargons
You’ve been a health buff for years that’s why medical terms relating to health are already innate to you. However, the same is not always true when it comes to your target audience. The medical terms which you’re already accustomed with might be something which they’ll only come across in your blog. When writing medical terms in your health blog (especially if your niche is about diseases and illnesses), define and explain what the term is. The same goes for acronyms. Additionally, stray away from using highfalutin words as this can only confuse your target audience. Use simple and common words all the time. This is also one way of making sure that you’re getting the point across clearly.
Keep your blog user-friendly
There are now many platforms which allow you to create and design your own blog. Some of these platforms are free while some are paid. Regardless of the platform you’re eyeing to use, keep your blog user-friendly. Don’t bombard your target audience with excessive ads and banners the moment they visit your blog (they’ll only hit the close button once they see any of these). Also, your health blog should always be responsive even if your target audience will access it through a gadget or desktop computer. The features of your health blog should be available regardless of the device used. A health blog which is user-friendly and accessible will be appealing to your target audience.
Stick to a single topic per post
Starting a health blog can be very overwhelming to some bloggers. They want to share so many things to their target audience that they’ll end up having too many topics in one blog post. Don’t make the same mistake. For your health blog to have coherent and comprehensive content, stick to one topic per post. If possible, prepare a guide on the topic and possible subtopics. For example, if you’re talking about the benefits of green tea, don’t provide suggestions on what fruits and vegetables can be added to green tea. This can mislead your target audience and can become the reason why they’d lose interest reading your health blog. No one has time to read too lengthy posts. Focus on one topic and provide a follow-up post when needed.
Campaign for followers
All of your efforts to write a good health blog will be useless if no one knows that it exists. Online followers are important to get the word out. When you’re still starting your health blog, take time to campaign for followers. You can start by reaching out to different social media platforms and even writing for other health-niche blogs. You can also ask your friends and family to share your blog posts online. All of these will help your health blog create a strong online presence. If you want to take it up a notch, you can also tap professional help to advertise your blog. Studio 56, for example, will make your health blog visible to important places online.
Read other health blogs
Status quo would tell you that there are over a thousand health blogs available online. Instead of looking at them as your competitors, consider them as your points for benchmarking. Visit other health blogs and assess what strategies they are using to write compelling health blogs, interact with their target audience and maintain readership loyalty. Anything that you’ll see in these health blogs can also be useful when applied to your own. Learn what works and doesn’t work for them and use it for your health blog’s advantage. This will save you a lot of time and resources.
Manage your health blog with caution
Unlike other blogs out there, one which deals about health is far more critical. Your responsibilities as a health blogger are much higher than a blogger who’s talking about arts and crafts or home improvement tips. One misleading information about health can have irreversible effects to your target audience. In worse cases, this can even lead to lawsuits and can tarnish your reputation. Anything you write in your health blog should have a disclaimer and shouldn’t state something can cure something unless you have strong facts to back it up.
Learn the Process
There are many things to think about when you’re starting a health blog. You have to consider the presence of other health blogs, the content of your health blog and the interest of your target audience. These still don’t include the marketing and technical aspects of your health blog. And while starting a health blog to help other people might not be as easy, there are ways on how you can do it. Acquaint yourself with the tricks of the trade, be patient with your attempts and it won’t be long before more and more people will live a healthier life – all thanks to your health blog!
About Author – Tristan Gray
Tristan is a digital marketing specialist and the founder of Studio 56. With years of experience in the digital marketing field and business world, Tristan prides himself on delivering high quality marketing services to clients in the Allied Health sector. S56 specialises in partnering with Allied Health practices to boost their overall ROI. He has a loving family and enjoys traveling in his free time.
