Writing your first blog article as a therapist

Writing your first blog article as a therapist means answering the question you're asked most often, in 600 to 900 words, with a single topic per page. In the Zenpage editor, that gives: a title, a text structured with subheadings, a featured image, a clean address, a category, then the Publish button. The Blog link then appears in the website menu.

Which topic should you choose for a first article?

The right first topic isn't the most learned, it's the most requested. Think of your last week: which question came back by phone, by message or at the end of a session? "How does the first session go?", "how long does a program last?", "what should I bring?". That sentence is already a title, almost word for word.

Three simple criteria to decide between two ideas:

• The question comes up often. If you answer it several times a month, it deserves a page that answers in your place, day and night.
• You can answer without promising results. How a session unfolds, your working framework, your training: all of this can be written without jargon and without medical language.
• The topic fits on one page. If the outline spills over three different themes, keep one for today and note the other two for later.

If you run out of ideas after this first article, the simplest thing is to keep a single note, on your phone or in a notebook, and write each question down the day it arrives. To turn this list into a topic calendar, read these article ideas designed for a sophrologist's blog, whose method (families of questions, one topic per article) works for every practice profession.

What structure should you follow if you've never written?

A blog article isn't an essay: the reader arrives from a specific search, wants an answer, then details if they stay. Follow this four-part outline, it suits almost every first topic.

First, a short introduction that rephrases the question and announces the answer in two sentences. Then, the core of the article in two or three parts with subheadings that ask questions themselves: a skimming reader should understand the content without reading everything. Then a passage on your concrete framework (how it works with you, at what pace, at what rate), because that is what turns a reader into an appointment request. Finally, a brief conclusion that points to your booking page or contact page.

Two tone rules for a first text: write with the client's words, not those of your training, and talk about a general case, never about a person you've worked with. Professional confidentiality doesn't stop at the blog's door.

How do you publish the article in the Zenpage editor?

If your site doesn't have a blog section yet, start by adding a blog to your therapist website, then come back here. The writing itself follows the official documentation (blog section of the documentation) and comes down to a few gestures.

In the menu, open Blog then New article. Type the title, then the text. To add a subheading, an image, a quote, a list or a divider, type the slash key or click the plus button to the left of the line. Select a word to make it bold, italic or a link. While you write, the text is kept on your device: if the connection drops, nothing is lost.

Before publishing, go through the settings in the article panel:

Setting	Where to find it	What to put in
Address	Article panel	The end of the address is created from the title; shorten it if needed (the old address redirects to the new one)
Category and tags	Article panel	One category per article, up to 10 tags; each category has its own page on your blog
Featured image	Article panel	Landscape photo, 8 MB maximum; describe it in a few words for the alt text
Summary and Google	Article panel	Excerpt, title and description shown in search results; filled in automatically if you leave them empty
Menu display	Bottom of the Blog page	The Blog link appears in the menu as soon as the first article is published; untick the option to remove it without closing the blog

When everything is ready, click Publish to put the article online. Save draft keeps it private: useful for proofreading with a fresh mind or having a colleague read it before it goes out. The blog home displays your ten latest articles, so this first text will stay visible for a long time.

Which mistakes should you avoid on a first article?

Beginners almost always stumble on the same points, all easy to fix before clicking Publish.

• Trying to say everything. Three topics in one article gives a page Google can't rank. One topic, one question, one answer.
• Writing for colleagues. Training vocabulary reassures your peers but loses your clients. Rephrase each technical term the first time it appears.
• Forgetting the call to action. A convinced reader who finds neither a booking link nor a contact page leaves for a competitor. End with a sentence saying what to do next.
• Neglecting the title and the Google summary. They are what show in search results: a title that picks up the reader's question and a summary that promises the answer change the number of clicks.
• Publishing then giving up. A single article doesn't make a blog, but it is its first stone: note the next question right away while it's fresh, and aim for a sustainable regularity rather than a heroic pace.

For what follows, keep in mind that the blog is only one part of your online presence: once the article is published, check that it fits well with your website and menu from the public website presentation in the documentation. And if you're torn between the blog and other formats to get known, the therapist blog guide from the agency side (in French) sets the general framework (topics, frequency, ethics) of which this article is the practical application in the Zenpage editor.