Commenting on expert YouTube videos can make for a quick and meaningful blog post that lets potential clients know more about you and provides them with helpful information.
While your blog posts may be a way of sharing your unique perspective, you can use existing content as a springboard for meaningful content. Blog posts don’t have to be entirely original material. One way to do that is to share your favorite YouTube video with your blog readers and potential clients.

Listing your most recommended books makes a quick and easy blog post and is a fantastic resource for website visitors

You know those books that you recommend to clients over and over again? Write  down a list of them, add a couple of sentences about why you like that book, and provide a link to purchase the book. That’s it. Easy, right? Just to make it even easier, here’s my top 10 list. As always, feel free to use some or all of the following on your own list.

Summarizing current research makes great blog article topics and helps you stay informed about relevant studies in your field of practice.

Since we celebrate Valentine’s Day this month I want you to pick a current research study related to love and relationships for your Therapist Blog Challenge #3 topic. Summarize the study, then add your take on it. You may want to discuss why you picked this study, how your readers can apply the study’s findings, what surprised you about the study, and what you learned. I can’t wait to see what you come up with. Get blogging!

Feel free to find your own love-related studies or choose from these news stories on recent research from PsychCentral News:

Blog about your favorite quote and how it can inspire your readers to do something differently.
Thanks for the great response to therapist blog challenge #1! I’m impressed by your creativity and inventiveness. If you’re just joining us for the blog challenge, please continue to post your challenge #1 posts and jump in on this new challenge #2

This one will be easy and fun. Pick your favorite quote and let it be the inpsiration for your next blog post. I’ve posted a handful of my favorite quotes for you to use if you’d like. You are welcome to use the graphics below in your blog posts too. I created these cool, shareable graphics with the iPhone app InstaQuote (my favorite new app). OK, that’s it for challenge #2. Get blogging!

Talk to thousands about your practice by submitting content for Private Practice Toolbox.

I’ve written a lot about the importance of content creation in building a professional online presence, creating value for website visitors and social media followers, and establishing yourself as an expert in your specialty area.

Incoming links to your practice website boost SEO, boost traffic, and establish credibility. It’s always better to create content for larger websites. Well, here’s your chance to shine. I want to feature you on THIS blog in 2013! Here are 4 ways you can be featured:

1) Pitch a guest blog 

I’m always looking for guest posts from qualified individuals from a variety of fields who can share insights about how to run, manage, market, and thrive in private practice. I recently started working on my PhD and I’m not able to blog as often as I used to. I’m open to posts from professionals outside the mental health field as well. Attorneys, accountants, SEO experts, marketing, website design, interior design…If your expertise can help private mental health practitioners build successful businesses, pitch away!

Writing articles for high-traffic websites can help you grow online presence and your practice.

Content creation is crucial for building an online presence, particularly on your own professional blog on your private practice website. In addition to creating content for your own small website, you may want to start strategically writing for other websites, too. Seek out higher-traffic sites to write for

If the thought overwhelms you, don’t stop reading quite yet. Some of the benefits of writing or blogging on other sites as part of your private practice marketing strategy are:

• Getting more back links to your own site which increases traffic and boosts SEO
• Increase name/brand recognition
• More credibility as a trusted expert
• Opportunity to educate and build awareness of important issues
• And best of all, you can re-purpose the content and post it on your own website

Write a professional blog post on a topic that millions of people are already searching for.

For our first 2013 therapist blogging challenge I want to you to provide your unique professional perspective on a top Google search topic or story. It can be local, national, or global.

Apparently, millions of people are searching for people, sports and entertainment in the US. The following topics are from a list of Hot Google Searches (US) on Jan. 6, 2013:

Build your practice and attract more clients to your practice by creating regular content on your private practice website. I’ll make it easy for you!

Welcome 2013! I tell my private practice consulting clients is to have an integrated blog on their private practice website and become a regular online content creator. Potential clients are searching online for your services and I want them to be able to find you more easily. Here’s how blogging can help.

I recently wrote a blog post encouraging therapists to start start creating content as a way to boost website SEO, create value, to create backlinks through social media sharing, and to develop your online practice presence. In my consultation and in online forums I’ve heard private practice therapists express feeling overwhelmed by creating content like blogging or producing videos on a regular basis. That’s where content curation comes in.

Guest post by Kimberly Sandstrom, MFTI

We all have days where we need to let out a little steam about a difficult day at work. Social media is not the place to do it.

In the first post on this topic, my goal was to bring awareness to our community about the hazards of posting personally about clients. Although our clients may not see our personal posts (see Julie Hanks Digital Dual Relationship Dilemmas), our own personal communities will, and our reputation is built on that community.