You've probably been told that your blog is all about SEO or visibility or getting more clients, and it totally is. But what if it's not just a marketing task? What if it's doing something far more important and you don't even realize it? Let's take a look, shall we?
Hi, and welcome to the Grow Your Private Practice Show.
I'm Jane Travis, and I help counsellors to get found by more of the right clients, mainly by using blogging, but also by keeping things simple, doable, and maybe even a little bit fun. So let's get started.
Hi, and welcome back, and if this is your first visit, it's really great to have you here. Now, today I want to talk about something that comes up a lot when I'm working with counsellors, and that is blogging, not just how to do it or what to write, but more importantly whether it's actually going to work, whether it's worth the time, and most importantly, whether it fits the kind of work that you really want to do.
Because blogging is so often framed as a marketing task, a way to boost visibility, to fill your diary or to keep Google happy. And yes, it can absolutely do all of that, but if that's where it stops, you are missing out. Something really important because blogging isn't just about being found. It's about helping people to take that first step sooner before things spiral, before they spend years carrying something on their own. So your blog can be the bridge, the bridge between someone silently struggling and somebody starting to imagine that maybe just, maybe they don't have to just get on with it. And as a counsellor, you know how much of a difference that timing can make when someone gets support earlier, before they're in a crisis.
The work starts in a different place. There's more room to explore, there's less panic, there's less shame, there's less urgency. And I know how passionate you are about helping people before things get really bad about making a real difference in people's lives. And sometimes that shift doesn't start with a referral or a phone call.
Sometimes that starts with something that you write and something that somebody else reads, you know, it could be a line that really lands with them, a post that feels familiar, a paragraph that makes someone stop and think, wow, that just sounds like me. And that moment really matters. And your blog might just be the thing that makes somebody take that next step.
So look, let's take it just a little step further. When you are in a session, you are tuned into the things that somebody isn't saying. So yeah, you are listening to what they're talking about. You are listening to what they're saying, but you're also too tuned into the things they're not quite saying. You are listening for what's under.
You are offering space and safety so that they can look at something that they just haven't wanted to face alone. And that's exactly the same skill that makes your blog so powerful. So you are not trying to persuade anybody. You know, this isn't about you pushing or selling. Or performing within your blog?
No, that's not what it's about. What you're doing is you're simply reflecting something back with care and in a way that feels real and recognisable to someone, and for the person reading it, that can actually be enough. That moment of feeling seen without pressure and without judgment, that can be the first thing that might nudge somebody closer to getting help.
Not because you told them to act, not because you've told them to, not because you are telling them you are an expert and you've got loads of qualifications and that you can help none of that. But because you helped them to believe that it might actually be okay to reach out and get that, get that help, that is so powerful. Now, let's be honest, you've probably worked with clients who've waited a long time before they've reached out, and maybe you waited a long time before you reached out.
I know I did. And I sometimes think, gosh, wow, how? How different would it have been if I'd have reached out years ago? You know, maybe they've told you that they didn't want to make a fuss, or they weren't sure that what they're struggling with was serious enough, or maybe they thought counselling was only for people who are really falling apart.
And the problem is that that belief keeps so many people stuck. And the thing is, they're not just carrying big dramatic crises. They're carrying the smaller everyday things like burnout from never switching off or the weight of people pleasing, or the kind of grief that lingers on after life looks normal for people again.
Or sometimes that slow quiet numbness that's, that just creeps in and makes people feel just really flat. So when you write about those sorts of experiences, the things that people are living with, but rarely talk about, you start to shift that belief in them. You are showing them that what they're feeling does matter and that they don't have to wait until they're falling apart to get support.
So even if you don't say it directly, your blog can still offer the message that you are allowed to ask for help. That's okay. And that might be the moment that changes the course of somebody's entire journey. And that's why blogging is just so fantastic. So let's talk for a second about what kind of writing actually works. Now, when somebody finds your blog, they're not looking for a list of advice or a list of tips. You know, there's a place for something like that. But really, what they want is, well, they're not asking you to fix anything.
Most of the time, they just want to feel a little bit less alone with whatever's happening for them. And that's why the blogs that really land aren't always the most polished or perfect. They're the ones where somebody thinks. Do you know what you've just put into words exactly what I've been feeling, and that might be describing what it's like to lie awake at three o'clock with a mind that won't shut down, or the smile you give at work when you are running on empty.
Or the tears that you blink back in the supermarket carpark. That kind of recognition, that's what helps someone to start to imagine that maybe just maybe talking would be something that would be good, and talking would be something that would be possible for them. And that's the bridge. That's the bridge that this blog is creating.
You are not selling a solution. You are creating a moment of connection. Now I get it. Blogging can feel like a chore, especially when it's framed as just another content task. But when you realise that it's a part of your work, a part of your client's journey, before they even get in touch, then that changes everything.
Because when somebody says, do you know what? I've been reading your blog for a while. What they're actually saying is, you helped me feel less ashamed, or you helped me to feel seen, or you made it feel like counselling could be for somebody like me. And they may never say those words out loud, but they're often sitting there behind them on that first inquiry, that first message, that first I think that I'm ready.
And that's what you are making possible by writing blogs. And when somebody says something like that to you, I can tell you that it feels amazing. So look, if you are unsure about what to write, always come back to this. What does somebody need to hear before they give themselves permission to reach out?
Right in that space, right to that person, because that's where your future client might already be, and your words might be the thing that helps them to take the next step, not six months from now, but today, and start getting help today before it gets worse and worse and worse. And that's why blogging is so much more important than just, you know, something for SEO or visibility.
It's going to help people to reach out earlier. It's so, so powerful, and that's why your blog isn't just marketing. It's part of the work that you do, and you are already brilliant at that. If this has sparked any ideas for your own blog, or if you'd like a few prompts to get started. I've got some extras in the show notes that are gonna help you with this, including the Grow Your Private Practice membership and the Framework First, which is a way that I help you to write a blog with me step by step for just nine pounds a month.
So head to the show notes after this episode and check out what's there for you. And as always, if you are ready for more support with writing in a way that actually feels like you then come and say hi. You don't have to do it alone. So that's it for today. Thank you so much for listening and if you found this helpful, then please share it with your counselling friends.
For now, I'm gonna say have a great week, and I'll see you next time. Take care.
