Your Chance to Shine

I have been writing a series of posts on the positive measurable value of dentists publishing a blog two to three times a month. And in my last post,  I talked about building your audience by getting your patients to sign up to your Feedburner feed so that they can receive your information by email.

Another very relevant way to build your audience is by developing a social media presence on Facebook. Creating a professional Facebook Page for your dental practice is easy to do. You then can have your webmaster set up what is called the network blog application so that whenever you publish a blog, it is automatically sent to the Facebook page of every person who follows your practice (Likes).

After expending the energy to get all these people reading your thoughts, you now have taken on the responsibility of writing good material. It can’t be pablum. You want to develop a style that is easy and fun to read. I see too many examples of topics being treated as if they were articles for the JADA. I also hate material written in the third person. “Dr. Smith will do this or that.” I suggest that the material be written in the first person – right from you – right from the heart. It is helpful to be low key and conversational and even humorous. And you certainly don’t want to give the impression that you are selling something.

Very important – spend some time creating a catchy title. That is how you grab someone’s attention and draw them in to read your message.

Every day I read three blogs that have been influential in the development of my own writing style. Seth Godin – who is not a dentist-more often than not has something applicable to say about business and marketing strategy. Dr. Lorne Lavine writes an excellent blog about technology. And my good friends Rich and Dave Madow have an insightful and edgy style as they discuss information to help dentists grow their practices and perhaps more importantly, get more enjoyment out of their lives and work.

I also read two sources that come out monthly. Max Gotcher of Summit Practice Solutions publishes a monthly e-newsletter that is very thoughtful and filled with informative material on a host of practice management issues. Bill Rossi, the founder of Advanced Practice Management has a great sense of humor and supports his ideas on practice management with sound statistical analysis.

I would strongly encourage all of you to follow these experts – you will not be disappointed.