First, if you're not blogging for your medical spa,  laser clinic or plastic surgery practice you're probably still using a rotary-dial telephone. Start.

Your patients are busy, and in order to gain and keep readership on your site you need to provide your existing and potential patients with information that makes their lives better, easier, and less stressful. Laser clinic or cosmetic surgery websites face the temptation of turning every post into a dry marketing appeal. It’s up to you as the physician or clinic owner to overcome that obstacle and provide your med spa patients information about your services in a quick and easily digestible way.

So the question is... How do you do that? Here are seven ways you can engage readers of your med spa or plastic surgery blog and keep them coming back.

1. Offer Real Medical Advice

You've got real medical experience, share it. (Yes, you do have to be careful so you don't get sued but post a clear disclaimer and be smart about your 'opinion'.) If you like Thermage or Fraxel, say it. The very best way to gain loyal readers is by sharing your knowledge and giving them practical information they can use to make decisions. You can give your readers an instant benefit by avoiding abstract ideas and providing specific tips, advice and tools they can use right away.

2. Talk to Your Existing Patients

You’re already ahead of the game with this one, because your existing plastic surgery or med spa patients already have a connection to you, otherwise they wouldn’t be reading your blog. Better yet, impressing them leads to greater word of mouth referral. Get to know them by keeping an eye on comments (allow comments on your blog and don't delete them unless they're way over the line), watching for trackbacks and listening to feedback in other forums. All of this input can be material you can use to make your posts resonate with your individual readers.

3. Share Personal Stories

Business is business and personal is personal, right? Not anymore. Today there is an increasing amount of overlap between the two, and people want to know a little more about the person behind the med spa, laser clinic or plastic surgery center, beyond a cv and medical marketing speak. So give a little of yourself to create a stronger relationship with your readers. Women (and our market is women) want to know that they can trust you. If all you ever post is your latest laser hair removal ad, you're just not as trustworthy as a the plastic surgeon who loves his kids and has a dog.

4. Go Non-Surgical Again

Throw in an occasional post that’s not exactly med spa or plastic surgery related. If it bombs, it bombs and you know to go a different route next time. But if it is successful, you can insert some comic relief, mindless banter and maybe even a personal story as listed above to give your patients a brief change of pace. Talk about how expensive Botox is. How Thermage charges for every tip you burn. How you worry about providing the best patient care.

5. Keep It Short and Sweet

You could probably write some very long posts when you’re discussing your latest business endeavor or what it took to build out your med spa or plastic surgery practice. If that much information is necessary, split it up into a multi-part series. Use lists, subheads and images to break up heavy content whenever possible.

6. Share The Conversation With Your Patients

Ask directed and specific questions at the end of your posts to encourage reader commentary. For every few posts where you provide advice, throw in a post that asks for the answer. Involving your readers will give them an opportunity to take an active role in your blog. Ask them if they'd like a membership as part of your offering. Talk about your patient referral perks. Ask who they think provides the best patient care. Ask if they can help your med spa provide better care...

7. Give Potential Patients What They Want

Carefully read the comments provided by your existing and potential patients. They are invaluable because they allow you to tailor your posts to the information your readers are asking you to provide. Acknowledge the comments, answer the questions, and address the requests and you’re on your way to building great relationships with your readers.

8. Bonus: Protect Your Med Spa or Plastic Surgery Practice

OK I said seven ways. Here's a bonus.

Of course I'm not a lawyer... (see how I carfully did that) but your medical opinions are your own. Keep a clearly defined page that states that the content of your site is not to be used as medical advice and shouldn't be acted on without consulting a physician. There are any number of medical blogs that write about specific cases with this kind of disclaimer in place.

If you've got a med spa, laser clinic or plastic surgery blog, how do you work it?