A second post, repurposing some material from a LinkIn thread I started recently ... "If you have recently started out in Private Practice, or are thinking about making that leap to work for yourself as a therapist, what question(s) do you need answered to help support you on your way?" ...
Q 2 (from Leanne) "I have a great network of colleagues, other helping professionals and others who are great referral sources. I do have a niche population and am working very well within that realm. Sometimes I find myself lacking on the social media/website stuff because the person-to-person networking is much easier and better for me. I suppose what I was wondering is how does a person choose out of all the options, what the best way of marketing is for them personally?"
My response: Great to hear that you're working well within your niche & also that you are comfortable with the personal relationship side of networking. I believe this is one of the strongest strategies for people in the therapy or coaching professions, as it is based on personal contact. For referrers to choose to refer to us, they need to feel satisfied that we're "good folk", & the best way for them to come to that conclusion is through personal engagement.
Another way to build that trust & demonstrate evidence of expertise is to find speaking engagements where you can talk about a particular area of interest of yours, to interested groups (e.g. offer to give a talk on overcoming the fear of flying at your local airport, promote it through local travel agents and airline office & just see your practice fill with anxious travellers!)
Other marketing will depend on you, what you find meets your needs - what you are comfortable doing! Not every marketing strategy will work for everyone, often because there is some aspect of the task that you're not comfortable with, so you don't actually give it your best shot ... review what you do feel "fits" you & put your energies into those strategies that you're best suited for. Not everyone likes networking, but I advise them to test the water with this & if after a couple of events, they're still not comfortable, bin it! Find other ways to make personal connections - ask former clients if they'd recommend you to friends, or provide you with a testimonial that will reassure others ... again, not all clients will wish to do this, but some will & word of mouth is invaluable.
I've never found print advertising works for therapy-type businesses, so I don't do it. But I DO take listings in professional directories relevant to my services - many of these can be free or fairly low cost options. Being present in online listings helps raise your profile with search engines too, so the more the merrier.
Social media & websites be useful too, if you use them effectively. Your website is your shop window, as I like to say; it is where people inevitably look first once you've been mentioned to them as a possible source of support/help. So, what you put on your site needs to connect with your potential clients' needs. Don't worry about spelling out your qualifications on your home page ... clients want to know if you can solve their problem, so use this first contact page to demonstrate that you understand their issues & can help them resolve them. Add value by including free information sheets for them to download: 10 things you should know about stress; Why your 3 year old needs boundaries & why he doesn't like them! - that kind of thing. We are all capable of writing something that to us seems simple (an A4 pdf file will do the trick), but for the man or woman on the street, this type of generosity of spirit & demonstration of your knowledge can be the tipping factor that gets them to make the call to you. And if you have a good call to action on your site that makes making that call easier, all the better.
But sure, most of us are not web designers & can't get a site together easily. That's where we need to remember we're professionals and we DO need other professionals to help us put that across, so that means ... DELEGATE.
Find a good web guy or girl (check out elance.com for freelancers who will work to your budget) - see if they can create a site that will market your services for you without you having to do it all ... you can even find someone to write those giveaways & produce social media feeds that keep your online profile high if you really want to (though that really is probably low down the 'urgent necessity' list). (By the way, make sure you tweet only relevant business related material on your business social media account - leave comments about how your favourite team did this weekend to your personal account).
What would you add to this conversation? Leave a commit or get in touch if you want to take this further.
My response: Great to hear that you're working well within your niche & also that you are comfortable with the personal relationship side of networking. I believe this is one of the strongest strategies for people in the therapy or coaching professions, as it is based on personal contact. For referrers to choose to refer to us, they need to feel satisfied that we're "good folk", & the best way for them to come to that conclusion is through personal engagement.
Another way to build that trust & demonstrate evidence of expertise is to find speaking engagements where you can talk about a particular area of interest of yours, to interested groups (e.g. offer to give a talk on overcoming the fear of flying at your local airport, promote it through local travel agents and airline office & just see your practice fill with anxious travellers!)
Other marketing will depend on you, what you find meets your needs - what you are comfortable doing! Not every marketing strategy will work for everyone, often because there is some aspect of the task that you're not comfortable with, so you don't actually give it your best shot ... review what you do feel "fits" you & put your energies into those strategies that you're best suited for. Not everyone likes networking, but I advise them to test the water with this & if after a couple of events, they're still not comfortable, bin it! Find other ways to make personal connections - ask former clients if they'd recommend you to friends, or provide you with a testimonial that will reassure others ... again, not all clients will wish to do this, but some will & word of mouth is invaluable.
I've never found print advertising works for therapy-type businesses, so I don't do it. But I DO take listings in professional directories relevant to my services - many of these can be free or fairly low cost options. Being present in online listings helps raise your profile with search engines too, so the more the merrier.
Social media & websites be useful too, if you use them effectively. Your website is your shop window, as I like to say; it is where people inevitably look first once you've been mentioned to them as a possible source of support/help. So, what you put on your site needs to connect with your potential clients' needs. Don't worry about spelling out your qualifications on your home page ... clients want to know if you can solve their problem, so use this first contact page to demonstrate that you understand their issues & can help them resolve them. Add value by including free information sheets for them to download: 10 things you should know about stress; Why your 3 year old needs boundaries & why he doesn't like them! - that kind of thing. We are all capable of writing something that to us seems simple (an A4 pdf file will do the trick), but for the man or woman on the street, this type of generosity of spirit & demonstration of your knowledge can be the tipping factor that gets them to make the call to you. And if you have a good call to action on your site that makes making that call easier, all the better.
But sure, most of us are not web designers & can't get a site together easily. That's where we need to remember we're professionals and we DO need other professionals to help us put that across, so that means ... DELEGATE.
Find a good web guy or girl (check out elance.com for freelancers who will work to your budget) - see if they can create a site that will market your services for you without you having to do it all ... you can even find someone to write those giveaways & produce social media feeds that keep your online profile high if you really want to (though that really is probably low down the 'urgent necessity' list). (By the way, make sure you tweet only relevant business related material on your business social media account - leave comments about how your favourite team did this weekend to your personal account).
What would you add to this conversation? Leave a commit or get in touch if you want to take this further.
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