Do Canadian Dietitians in Private Practice need a Blog?

Guest post written by Rebecca Stanisic, content strategist

As a Dietitian and Business Coach, my clients often ask what they need when opening a private practice. While my first answer is always going to be a website (people need to know who you are and what you do), you may be surprised to know that a blog is also pretty high up on the priority list. A blog helps you build credibility, increase visibility, and provide you with ready-to-go content for social media so you don't spend hours thinking about what to post.

BUT, I don't want you to only take my word for it, so I asked my friend Rebecca Stanisic, Ottawa-based content strategist and writer, to chime in on why she thinks that blogging is essential for Canadian Dietitians in private practice.

This is what she had to say...

You’re a private practice dietitian trying to gain more marketing visibility to secure your clients. 

Whether you are first starting out, or have been in business for sometime, getting your first or next client requires a multitude of actions, including marketing. 

Blogging as part of a total content strategy

Social media is a valuable tool for small business owners, but it’s not the only one. For some private practice dietitians, it’s only a small piece of the entire visibility puzzle. Often referrals and search play an even larger role. 

It’s important to recognize how all of your marketing efforts work together. 

Reputation, trust, and becoming ‘known’ are key elements. Social media can help position your thought leadership and who you are, and build relationships, but longer-form content has the potential to dive deeper, be discovered through search, and connect in a meaningful capacity. 

Yes, dietitians should have a blog 

Your blog posts don’t need to be complicated, but each blog post offers you the opportunity to share more than what can come across on social media. Blog posts can be educational and fill in the gaps of information when people are considering working with you. 

Blogs are great to help drive traffic to your website because of search engine optimization (SEO) as well as AI-generated searches through products like Claude or ChatGPT. 

By using your blog to help answer common questions your potential clients are managing, you create the opportunity to be the expert source for them. And, in a time when social media myths and false information in the nutrition and wellness industry run rampant, your expert voice as a dietitian really matters. 

What are some benefits to having a blog as a dietitian?

A blog is a long-form piece of content, usually 300 or more words long, but that’s not exact, that can be used over and over again. A blog post is great for search, yes, but also can be broken up for social media posts. It can be shared to pitch media or to highlight a topic for a podcast. They can be the inspiration for your next newsletter.

Blogs also help share your opinions and expertise on your own website, not a borrowed space like social media. 

Once you have your blog post written, it becomes a major content asset, and like other content elements, your blog is just one piece of your content marketing strategy as a dietitian. 

It’s not about choosing one over the other, but intentionally creating something that has long-term value for you and a content plan with tools and tactics that all work together. 

How do I decide what to write about as a dietitian?

To begin a blog post, you’ll need to decide the topic. What piece of information and/or what action do you want the reader to take next?

But to choose the topic, you’ll want to think about what your potential client needs. Is it more information about a certain topic? Are they unsure whether or not a dietitian is the right healthcare professional for what they are feeling? Do you have a certain perspective that will make it easier for them to see themselves working with you or say yes? 

Those are blog topics. 

Any questions you have received during discovery calls or when working with clients (while maintaining privacy and not going into details) can become a topic. Sometimes you’ll find questions are showing up because of an online trending conversation - that works too!

For example: 

Jennifer’s post about cortisol after she read many reactions on Instagram.

This Gluten-Free Holiday Guide she put together after something changed in her own life and she knew the information would benefit others.

All it takes is to start with one blog post. 

Then aim for a few more and develop a writing cadence. Maybe it’s monthly or bi-weekly. 

Adding a blog to your content marketing plan is valuable in multiple ways, but you do have to hit publish. You create the blog post once and get to use it over and over for social or other content elements, all while it helps you become more discoverable online.

If you have questions about content planning and blog posts, or want your first one written for you, let’s chat! Visit my website for content information or book a free call to find out some topics you can work with. 

If you are still looking for your first clients, download this resource Jennifer has on her website. 

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