Health
The Art of Writing a Mental Health Blog
How therapists can generate interest, inspiration, and income from blogs.
Posted January 8, 2020 Reviewed by Abigail Fagan
Writing is an art form. And when it comes to writing a therapy blog, you are harnessing words and mental health concepts in an abbreviated format where you're typically trying to convey your thoughts in a succinct manner under 1,000 words.
If you’re interested in starting a mental health blog or generating more interest in your current blog, here are a few suggestions that have helped me over the years.
First off, you should post regularly. If you have a website and your last blog entry is more than three months old, you should consider either getting rid of your blog or finding time to post more consistently. Readers want to read and if they notice your blog isn't updated with new material regularly, they most likely won't return to it.
I strive to write a blog post at least once a month. Some months I have written more than 10 articles whereas other months, I can barely get to one. Nevertheless, the key is consistency and readers know I won't stop writing.
Generating Interest
To have a blog that can impact people, you should find mental health topics that interest you. After you have a story idea, think of a headline or title to your blog that will garner someone’s attention. It could be a play on words, it could be a shocking title, or it could be solutions-focused. Whatever it is, try to make it stand out. Oftentimes, when I’m thinking of a story idea, I’ll think of the title first and keep that title on my phone so I can go back and write about it when I have time.
Finding Your Voice
I’m not an English teacher but you’ll often hear instructors mention the nebulous idea of “finding your voice.” This is simply figuring out how to communicate your sense of self or personality with the use of words. Are you wry and witty? Are you self-deprecating? Are you more cerebral or do you tend to be more self-disclosing? Whatever your authentic self is, how does that translate onto the page?
I try to take more of a psycho-educational stance but sometimes self-disclose as I see fit to close the distance between myself and the audience. In other words, I want them to know I'm human too, and I know what it means to struggle with certain issues. Finding your voice takes time, so give yourself grace in this area.
Finding Your Audience
Finding your audience is also imperative. If your readers were to fill an auditorium to listen to you speak about your writings, who would be in the audience? Think about gender, race, socioeconomic status, and political or religious affiliations. Who are you really trying to reach and connect with? Narrowing down your audience may help shape not only the direction of your blog but also give you hints as to what your audience needs from you in terms of story ideas.
This means reading mental health stories of interest to your audience so you can generate your own articles. For myself, I aim to stay alert and aware of issues related to Asian-Americans, minority mental health, therapy trends, as well as my own life experiences to find fodder for my blog.
Generating Inspiration
How do words inspire and how can your words be an instrument for that goal? You can consider using quotes in your blog posts. You can self-disclose aspects of yourself that may be difficult to share knowing your revelations could inspire others to do the same. In a world adrift with people obsessed with their image (i.e. both real and online), you could offer a refreshing reflection on reality. Eventually, if you generate inspiration, generating income will not be too far behind.
Generating Income
So how does a blog generate income? The obvious answer is getting paid through advertisements. But that only covers a minority of bloggers. The rest of us will get paid indirectly. In other words, our writing on mental health may engender more trust among readers and thus separate you from your competitors.
As a therapist and speaker, there have been countless times when a client or an institution hired me because my blog posts helped them feel more comfortable with me. This is not to be under-estimated. In a sea of professionals with innumerable credentials, it’s hard to differentiate yourself from the next. But if you can write in a manner that gives readers invaluable information with seeds of inspiration, it can yield dividends.
But there’s an irony or paradox to a money-making blog. Even if it made no money, would you still be blogging? If yes, then you know your messages are important and must be communicated. So continue to do so knowing the value may not be measured in dollars and cents but in the richness of your gift to the world.
