Coming up with Blog Post Topics as an SLP: Why Blogging Can Be Helpful for Speech Pathologists & Lots of Practical Ideas
Blogging can be an incredibly useful tool for speech pathologists. Not only does it allow you to reach a broader audience and connect with potential clients who may be searching for speech therapy support online, but it is also a great way to build your credibility within your field. Creating high-quality content that offers valuable insights and tips for parents or caregivers of children with speech difficulties can help build trust with your audience and position you as a thought leader in the industry.
However, coming up with new and creative blog post topics can be a challenge. In this blog post, we’ll provide you with some practical tips and ideas for generating a wide range of topics that will be relevant to your audience and help you enhance your online presence.
Start With Common Questions as Blog Post Topics
One of the best ways to come up with blog post topics is to think about the most common questions that parents or caregivers of children with speech difficulties (or your adult clients) tend to ask. What are the most common struggles that they may face when it comes to speech therapy? What advice have you given parents in the past that could be turned into a blog post?
For example, you could write a blog post that addresses common myths about speech therapy. Or, you could provide useful tips on how to help children who are struggling with articulation. Whatever topic you choose, make sure it is something that your audience will find helpful and informative.
Focus on Your Expertise
As an SLP, you have a unique set of skills and experience that can help you to generate interesting and informative blog post topics. Things that almost seem like common sense to you now are still unknown to the average person.
It’s even better if you can lean into your unique specialties. The things you have sought out training on or run into in practice that not everyone has. Think about the types of speech disorders you specialize in, and then create blog posts that provide insightful information on the topic.
For example, if you specialize in treating children with stuttering disorders, you could create a post that discusses the emotional impact of stuttering on children and their families. You could also write a post about how to communicate more effectively with children who stutter. By focusing on your expertise, you can establish yourself as a credible and authoritative source for helpful, informative content.
Share Your Own Experiences
Another effective way to generate blog post topics is to draw from your own experiences as a speech pathologist. Of course, you want to respect the confidentiality of specific clients you’ve worked with. But a little bit of appropriate self-disclosure can be a great way to connect with your audience and provide valuable insights into the speech therapy process.
Stay Current with Trends and Research
As a speech pathologist, you need to stay up-to-date with current trends and research in your field. This can be a great source of inspiration for blog post topics. For example, if you read about a new speech therapy technique or tool that has been recently introduced, you could create a post that discusses the benefits and drawbacks of using that approach.
Alternatively, you could write about emerging trends in speech therapy, such as the growing use of teletherapy. By staying current with the latest research and trends, you can position yourself as a trusted and knowledgeable source for speech therapy information.
You can even predict where the industry might be heading in the next few years and share your thoughts on what changes might be on the horizon.
Broaden Your Scope
Finally, don’t be afraid to broaden your scope and write about topics that may not seem directly related to speech pathology. For example, you could write about tools and techniques for improving communication skills in general or discuss the importance of early intervention for speech disorders.
By broadening your scope, you can reach a wider audience and appeal to a broader range of individuals who may be interested in learning more about speech therapy.
Other Sources of Inspiration for Blog Posts
- Address Current Events – Connect your blog posts to current events that might be relevant to your clients, such as Autism Awareness Month or Better Hearing and Speech Month. Or, if an SLP or a speech disorder is featured in the media you can offer your take on what is shared.
- Offer Practical Tips – Share practical tips that your clients can use to improve their speech or language skills at home. Maybe share exercises you sometimes give as homework between sessions.
- Provide Insightful Analyses – Offer insightful analyses of speech and language disorders or treatments to demonstrate your expertise.
- Address Controversial Topics – Address controversial topics in your field and share your thoughts on these issues.
- Compare and Contrast Treatments – Compare and contrast different treatments or therapies and offer your professional opinion on which might be best for certain clients.
- Highlight Your Specializations – Highlight your specializations in your blog posts and explain how they might be relevant to certain clients. Highlight the things that set you apart from the competition.
- Offer Recommendations – Offer recommendations for books, podcasts, or other resources that your clients might find helpful. This is always a great one when you feel stuck. Just choose a book or tool or resource you sometimes recommend to clients. Then, describe that resource and why you recommend it.
- Address Misconceptions – Address common misconceptions about speech and language disorders and clarify these misconceptions for your readers.
- Discuss Speech and Language Disorders in Different Age Groups – Address speech and language disorders in different age groups, such as infants, children, adults, and seniors.
- Use Answer The Public to identify common questions people are asking about a specific communication topic.
Blogging Helps You AND Your Clients
Blogging is a great way to stay informed and connected with your clients. It can help you keep up with current trends, share practical tips, and provide insight into the speech therapy process. By using the tips and strategies outlined in this post, you can generate a wide range of topics that will be helpful, informative, and engaging for your audience. Remember, the key is to focus on providing value and establishing yourself as a thought leader in your field. With dedication and effort, you can create a successful blog that enhances your online presence and supports your private practice. And, better SEO is sure to follow!
You may also choose to write guest blog posts for other SLPs or professionals who refer to you. This is a great way to build backlinks! Just make sure you’re giving them unique content and not something from your own site. If you really like a blog post you wrote on your own site, you can “reuse” the idea by rewriting the blog post to use other words but say similar things. This can be easier than starting from scratch. It’s just that Google will prefer that each website has it’s own, unique content.
Write & Optimize Your Blog
Now, please don’t stop at just selecting topics. That part is fun, but it’s so important you then put pen to paper. Or fingers to the keyboard as the case may be. I see a lot of practice owners overthink blog posts. Do your best to just write as if you’re talking to a client or parent or another person in the community about that topic. Don’t worry too much about optimizing in the moment that you’re writing. That can get overwhelming fast. Instead, just focus on providing helpful information in a conversational tone.
Once you’ve written your blog posts, I encourage you to do some on-page SEO work. Add relevant photos, add in some subheadings, find a couple places to add keywords, write a great meta description and request indexing on Google Search Console for the new post. Still want more blogging tips? Check out this blog and this one I’ve written with optimizing tips for speech therapists.
Looking for More SEO & Website Tips?
If you’re interested in learning more about SEO and how to create an effective website for your private practice, make sure to check out our other blog posts. And, if you’re ready to take your SEO to the next level, Simplified SEO Consulting has a variety of SEO services and resources for private practice owners.
Potential next steps:
- Read other blog posts we’ve written
- Purchase one of our DIY courses
- Sign up for our Small Group Intensive
- Meet with one of our team members to learn more about our other SEO services for SLPs:
- Done for You SEO Services
- 1:1 Personalized SEO Training
- Carribean SEO Training cruise in July 2023
Excellent post, thank for posting it.
This was really enlightening. I learned something new today and appreciate your thorough approach. Keep it up!