It wasn’t that long ago that blogs and blogging were the most effective way to demonstrate thought leadership and drive interested parties to your website. With the rise of podcasts, video, and social media platforms, blogs have declined in popularity. Are blogs still worthwhile? And if so, what can you do to make your blog stand out?
We sat down with one of the original healthcare bloggers, Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, to discuss blogging, the evolution of blogs, and her personal journey. Sarasohn-Kahn is a stalwart supporter of HITMC, a health economist, advisor, author, trendweaver, and winner of the 2022 Medigy HITMC Award for Blog of the Year. She writes regularly at healthpopuli.com.
The Start
Sarasohn-Kahn started her blog on Labor Day in 2007. She was inspired by Matthew Holt’s success with The Healthcare Blog: “After a couple of years watching him do that, I thought I should start blogging because I have a business and it would be a way for me to bolster my persona online.”
Back in 2007 there were very few healthcare bloggers, so it was relatively easy to stand out. Just being a blogger in the healthcare industry was unique. Rather than be a generalist, Sarasohn-Kahn purposely chose to focus her writing on the confluence of five topics that were near and dear to her:
- Consumers
- Patients
- The cost of care
- Health economics (her training)
- Digital health
By “sticking to her knitting”, she was able to carve out a prominent thought-leadership position which helped her stand out as the number of bloggers exploded in later years.
Are Blogs Still Valuable?
Are blogs still viable today? The answer is Yes.
Do you need a blog? The answer depends first and foremost on your personality. If you see yourself as a writer, then creating and maintaining a blog makes total sense. If you prefer spur-of-the-moment commentary, then posting to social media might be better for you. If you love being on camera, then video is where you should be.
Does your organization need a blog? If your audience prefers reading articles over videos and social media posts, then a blog makes sense.
Are blogs still valuable? For Sarasohn-Kahn, the answer is 100% yes: “What I write about feeds my brain and energizes me. Every time I write a blog, the data on which it is based goes into my head. It comes in and sticks. 30 years of health policy, health, consumerism…it’s all in there. My blog is part of the whole package of ‘me’.”
To this day, her blog drives consulting, speaking, and writing gigs. “It’s all integrated in my workflow,” explained Sarasohn-Kahn. “My blog has a payback, even though I have never taken advertising or paid posts. HealthPopuli gets my word out, my brand out, and people who choose to work with me know a lot about how I think and how I see the world. It helps me as a brand because people know what they are getting. It provides a level of transparency.”
For companies and healthcare providers, maintaining a blog may help to indirectly drive revenue. Google favors websites that are updated frequently with good content (read: content that people want to click on). Posting blogs regularly can help improve your search ranking.
Blogging Tips
With so many blogs out there, how do you stand out? Sarasohn-Kahn had these tips to share:
- Don’t be long winded. No one wants to read “War and Peace” on a blog. Be concise. Seth Godin concise.
- Share good data. There is a lot of misinformation out there. Build trust by using data from reputable sources in your blog posts.
- Use your authentic voice. Write with your own voice. Do not try to write the way you think your audience wants you to write. Be yourself. Keep writing and posting until you find your authentic style. Don’t outsource it.
- Feed your passion. Maintaining a blog is hard work so finding a topic or set of topics that you are passionate about will make that work a little easier.
Watch the full interview with Jane Sarasohn-Kahn to learn:
- The origin of the name of her blog – HealthPopuli
- The two negative experiences that she has had since she started blogging and how she dealt with them
- What aspect of healthcare she would like to influence the most
Learn more about Jane Sarasohn-Kahn by visiting her website: https://www.healthpopuli.com/
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