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Selling vs. teaching in your healthcare copy
What's the balance?
Writing copy in the healthcare industry often involves educating our readers on health-related topics. As professionals in the healthcare industry, it is expected that we want to teach others how to live a better or healthier life, and that we want to share our expertise with them.
Health is an interesting topic for many people and it's easy to grab their attention because their health is important to them. It affects them.
However, when you write to educate, you also have to balance that with writing to sell your services. Whether you are publishing articles in your own publication (like this one) or writing for an industry journal, what you write needs to educate your reader on a specific subject, and then bring them back to how your business meets their needs.
The sales and teaching in your writing has to tie in together.
Some business owners hire me to write healthcare copy for them because they truly want to serve people, which is noble. You need to sell your services too.
For you copywriters reading this, understand that you are walking the tight rope. Your client, the business that hired you, wants to make money. They will be looking for what kind of response they get from what you write. If your writing only talks about the company and how great they are - people aren't going to read it.
Remember the WIIFM principle -- What's in it for me? The me being the reader.
If you write an article, say it's about keeping your kids healthy during flu season (which will grab the attention of parents and probably get read), how can you bring that around to your company? Let's take a look at a few ways...
If you are a hospital, you may include some tips on when to bring your child to the emergency room (and here's where ours is located, keep this magnet on your fridge just in case).
If you are a chiropractor, you may talk about how getting an adjustment when flu symptoms start can help lesson the symptoms. Or perhaps about light treatment you may offer that can prevent viruses from spreading inside their body.
If you are a managed care organization, you may guide people to a page on your web site where members can check to see if the flu shot is covered for all family members, and where they can go to get their shots.
Ask for an action and also make it measurable. Balance health education with promoting your services. Remember the services you are writing about do help people; they just may not be interesting to everyone all by themselves.
As the writer you are the one that needs to weave together the education and the sales in a helpful and subtle manner.
(c) 2007, A Marketing Connection
Want to use this article in your e-zine or web site? No problem! Just let me know at info@KellyRobbinsLLC.com. I'll send you a short bio to include at the end of the article. |
