Therapist Thoughts

Do you know what is the most effective way to advertise and market your business?

WORD OF MOUTH

It is the oldest and quite frankly the best way to grow your practice.

I am sure you have heard of the comparisons with a popular movie. What makes you want to see a new flick? Is it the ads on TV? Maybe you see it on a poster in the theatre. For many it actually takes more than that. A recommendation, a promotion. One friend tells another friend who in turn tells their friends about this great movie. And now you find yourself REALLY wanting to see it.

They say that in many cases it takes 7 instances of contact to convert a viewer to a buyer.

If that equation holds true for your therapy practice that means that potential clients need to interact, get to know or be introduced to you and your ideas at least 7 times before they would be willing to take that first step of setting up a consultation.

Sounds daunting, doesn’t it?

Well as we have discussed already on this blog, there are a number of ways to get your name out there, including a web page, blog, social media, etc. Another way I would challenge you to explore this month is creating a newsletter.

A newsletter is a simple way to communicate with your viewers that is more personal, but still highly professional.

Here are 3 quick tips to creating a monthly newsletter (yes only once a month is needed) that captures your audience.

1. Keep it short. 3 articles, max 300 words each (only takes about an 1.5 hour to produce)
2. Teach – don’t Sell
3. Be real

So you may be asking, what can I talk about?

Well I recommend taking some time to develop a template. For example, do you specialize in a certain area? Have one article teach about that subject. Another article touch on you and your personal experiences in the past month. For the 3rd article share what you see happening in your field or the world around you. Maybe share a story about connecting with other therapists, colleagues, or someone you admire.

Your newsletter should not be more than can fit on a letter sized sheet of paper when it is printed out (trust me this will happen). Be sure to include your contact information on each issue, as you will find your subscribers will share it with their friends.

I highly recommend this book “Your Million Dollar Network” by July Ono. She is a master at connecting with her network through her newsletter and walks you through step by step how to do it.

There are lots of email services that make it super easy to send out your newsletter every month and you can add a signup form to your website or blog in a few easy steps. You can also add contacts you receive from other methods like conferences and sharing business cards. I recommend and use AWeber for all my newsletter and email needs. They have a risk free trial and lots of helpful tutorials.

A newsletter is a great way to help others get to know you and to share your knowledge. I challenge you to start a monthly newsletter in 2010!

Warmly,
Tammy Morales

One of the keys to a successful therapy practice is being congruent.

Does what you believe match with how you live, treat others (including your clients) and how you handle your life online? If they met you in person would they see you as they see you online? These are things that potential clients will pick up on. As clients become more aware of the options available to them for therapy, it is vital that you not only come across as someone who can help, but also someone who is real.

As you know from my previous posts, I encourage you to share your expertise. It may be in the form of a traditional blog or a podcast. However, another way to get your message out there is through a video blog. Vlogs, as they are referred to on the internet, are increasingly popular, especially with the explosion of YouTube.

The great thing about your content is that you are adding to the health and well being of our society, versus some of the useless, meaningless information that can be found. You can be proud that what you do is making a difference and having impact.

Did you know that over 30% of us learn through auditory methods?

As I am sure you are aware, there are 3 general learning styles: Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic.

Although each of us will have components of all 3 within us, we usually have one dominant or preferred learning style.

Branding yourself is important. It allows for recognition by past and current clients, but it also gives consistency to those who are potential clients. The more times they see it the more it becomes something they can recall.

 

One way to keep your brand in front of your clients is to customize your conference room.

As you know, when you log into your FaceToFaceGlobal conference room a web page appears with the header graphic welcoming you to the conference room. We have that page set up by default and you are always welcome to use it. However, you can change it.

Whether marketing yourself on the internet is new to you or you consider yourself a pro, it is an important part of any business. Even traditional brick and mortor businesses can benefit from having an online presence.

 So does the idea of creating an website overwhelm you? Do you even know where to start?

Don’t worry here at www.IMAGEFaceToFace.com we are here to help you launch your online presence! We have made the process as painless as possible.

 

If you already have a website or blog, congratulations! Be sure to link to it from your directory listing so potential clients can read it and get to know you!

If you don’t have one, we have the additional benefit of offering every member their very own blog, hosted here on www.IMAGEFaceToFace.com. 

Why Blog?

You may be wondering what is the importance of blogging? Although there are many benefits, there are four main reasons why…

1. Customer Relations
2. Expert in your field
3. Media Relations
4. Search Engine Ranking

Now you may be wondering HOW you can use your blog to benefit the four areas above?

1. Customer Relations – You can share ideas and tips that clients or colleagues find interesting. This is a great area to post thoughts and questions that spark conversation on public topics like current online therapy legislation or your ideas on causal therapy.

2. Expert in your Field – If you specialize in addictions; share statistics, build public awareness and share your insights. Those suffering from addicitions and colleagues who share your passion will visit often to learn and engage in dialogue with you.

3. Media Relations – Writing for your visitor and sharing your expertise will attract the media as well. As you build an audience you will find that the media may engage in conversation with you whether on your blog or through the ‘contact’ form on your directory page. They are looking for newsworthy and interesting information to share. What better way to secure your place as the expert and attact more readers, thereby building your client base, than to be published by the media.

4. Search Engine Rankings – I do not recommend that you write for the sole purpose of getting high rankings in the search engines. However, I have found that the most effective way to get notice by the top search engines is to write useful information for your target audience, and to be consistant. —Hmm, I think I covered that already :)

You may also wonder if there are additional ways to get your blog noticed?

Besides writing for your reader and being consistant there are a couple other easy things you can do to help promote your blog and thereby your therapy practice.

1. Include a link to your IMAGEFaceToFace.com Blog in all your emails and correspondence. You can also include the link when you post a comment or question on someone else’s blog or website.

2. Social Networking sites – Do you have a facebook or twitter account? Are you connected on LinkedIn? You can include the link in your account profile as well as when you publish a new blog post, send a quick note through your social network letting them know you have something new for them to read.

3. Your readers can also subscribe to your blog on IMAGEFaceToFace.com. Each time you post, they will be notified.

If you already have a blog, feel free to use your IMAGEFaceToFace.com Blog to post a summary of your lastest post and direct them to your site to read more.

Let me add that blogging is all about your reader.

You need to have information that is useful, helpful and timely. It doesn’t need to be a magnificent piece of literature, just something enticing to your audience.

The other key about blogging is ‘consistency’. I can not stress enough the importance of being consistant. Now that doesn’t mean you have to blog multiple times in a day or even every day, but if you set a goal to post a blog every week, then be consistant to do a post every week. Your reader knows they can count on you… one more point on the trust factor.

Blogging is about developing loyalty. Clients get to learn who you are, what you think and can gain confidence in your counsel.

Why not start today!

 

Warmly,

Tammy Morales
C.O.O.
I.M.A.G.E. Inc
www.IMAGEFaceToFace.com