7 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Home Care Blog Articles
How to write better, more helpful content that attracts new clients and helps retain existing ones
An active blog is a necessity for any home care agency website. It’s a way to attract potential clients, assist and educate current clients, and demonstrate your expertise in the home care field.
But there are mistakes common to home care blogs, ones that you should avoid in order to make yours helpful to clients and beneficial for your brand.
7 common mistakes to avoid on your home care blog
1. Writing for Google, not Humans
It’s likely that SEO is one of the primary reasons you’re creating blog content for your agency. But as you write, satisfy the needs of readers before you satisfy the needs of the search engine.
Google’s recent “helpful content update” works even harder to reward people-focused content over content written to rank on the SERPs (search engine results pages).
To write people-focused content:
- Write clear, easy-to-read prose rather than clunky sentences aimed at squeezing in a few extra keywords.
- Organize the content in a way that makes it easy for people, not a search engine, to read. For example, if you don’t need a dozen subheadings, don’t include them.
- Answer the reader’s question early and clearly—don’t make them wade through a wall of text to find the information they need. We've all seen those recipe articles that require reading a novel to get to the actual recipe. Don't be that guy.
2. Failing to provide practical advice and examples
When offering advice to readers, be as specific as possible.
Rather than writing that “people who want to age in place should consider companion care services or in-home nursing supervision,” list characteristics of people who can benefit from care, provide questions they can ask to evaluate their family’s needs, tell a client’s story (with their permission), or list signs that companion care is a smart move.
3. Not adapting content
When making content for your home care agency, don’t stop at blog articles. Get extra mileage out of your written content by converting it into podcasts, social media posts, and graphs. Or, work the other way, and adapt webinars or client onboarding guides into blog content.
4. Using only one content format
Vary the form of the blog content you publish. Try Q&A-style interviews, lists, advice from professionals, and data reports. The form you chose should be the clearest way to present the information.
You can also combine forms to provide a rich, multimedia experience for readers.
5. Writing with a cold, removed tone
The need for in-home care is a personal, often emotional experience, so clients and potential clients should be reassured and encouraged along the way.
When writing for your audience, take a friendly, empathetic, and knowledgeable tone. Cold, removed, or clinical language is not helpful when you need to put potential clients at ease.
For example:
- Instead of: So, is it time for in-home senior care?
- Try: The decision to find in-home care for an aging parent can be an emotional and difficult decision. It can also empower your family to live independently and promote healthy living and wellness in older adults.
6. Not meeting the reader’s needs
Deliver to the reader what you promise to deliver in the title. If the title of your article is “How Much In-Home Care Costs,” and the answer you ultimately provide is, “Well, it depends,” that’s not helpful. If you can’t provide a single number (which, we get it—you can’t really put one price on it), at least provide a range, and list a few ways clients can find assistance paying for care.
If you can’t satisfy the needs of the reader, don’t write the article.
7. Writing a long sales pitch
Agencies can use home care blog articles to attract new leads, but the blog shouldn’t be used as one big sales pitch. Including a CTA at the end of the article is fine, but don’t stuff the body of the article with pitches. Save that for your service pages.
For example, in blog content:
- Instead of: Call our client services team to learn more about whether in-home nursing care is right for your loved ones.
- Try: There is a lot to consider when deciding whether in-home nursing care is right for your loved ones. Here is a list of questions you can ask yourself and your family . . .
Speaking of sales pitches...
If you would like consistent, quality content written for your home care agency's blog, book an obligation-free discovery call to see how we can help!
