Marketing a Private Practice

5 Reasons You Need to Update Your Healing or Therapist Website

A website is the hub of your business presence and therefore investing time, effort and financial resources into it on a regular basis will help ensure that you are attracting as much business as possible. If you haven’t updated or re-designed your website in a while, below are 5 reasons why you should.

1. Your website is not getting the results you want.

Perhaps you are frustrated that your website copy isn’t attracting enough clients or you’ve discovered that important pages of your site are not being visited. Or, maybe you want more people to sign up for your programs or classes. Whatever the case, tweaking your site in order to get better results is something that will pay off in the long run.

I recently had my website redesigned. Since  part of my marketing strategy is to increase my newsletter subscribers. As a result, on my new site I have made my subscribe box larger and have added a 2nd bonus as an incentive for signing up. I will be testing this over the next while and tweaking it in order to get the best conversion rate possible. (The conversion rate for those of you who don’t know is the percentage of people who visit my website and subscribe to my newsletter).

2. Your website visitors want fresh content.

Regardless of when you had your website designed, it should always be tweaked, added to, and updated on an ongoing basis to keep your website visitors interested. Many clients won’t hire you on their first visit to your website. Therefore, you need to give them a reason to come back. Having irrelevant or out-dated content can make you and your services look out of touch and uninspiring. It will pay off to add new information regularly to motivate your audience to return.

While I consistently add new articles to my website or blog, I’ve also been working on modifying some of my main web pages to better attract the exact clients I want to work with. While these are not major changes, they are ones that will help me better serve my ideal clients.

3. What is “in” relevant and effective in terms of web design and web usability changes over time.

The main reason I wanted my site re-designed was because the design was outdated (not to mention my photo!). Trends in web design and “web usability’ (how people interact with websites) that influence website effectiveness do change.

Do you want your website to look current and be effective, or would you prefer it be seen as out-dated and to perform poorly?  Need I say more?

4.  Everything about marketing on the web is in constant evolution.

Unfortunately, therapists and healers tend to be “late adopters” in terms of marketing and technology. When I first started my business 12 years ago, most therapists didn’t have a website (many didn’t even have one 5 years ago, and a lot still don’t have one today). Those that put websites up early on, even if they weren’t very interesting from a client’s perspective, got ahead of the curve and many are now reaping the benefits because of it.

The web and technology are constantly evolving and you will stay on top of “the game” if you pay attention to what is happening. For example, social media has really taken off in the last few years as an effective marketing tool. As you can see on my website, I have incorporated social media icons to encourage people to follow me on my Twitter, Linked In and Facebook pages as I have been increasingly using these tools in my business.

As another example, video on websites has become very popular. In fact, some research has shown that it can increase business up to 30% or more. (I hired someone to help me with a video-introduction for my new website, but I didn’t like it and so it was ditched. I’ll be making a second attempt in the near future. Wish me luck. ).

5. As a therapist or healer, your services may change and the value you provide may evolve as you grow as a professional and as a business owner.

As you and your business mature, you may want to revisit the overall “message” on your website to better reflect the value you provide. I’ve recently began to update my services page on my new website and will be tweaking some of the other pages to better illustrate my services and the value I offer as these have changed over time.

Keeping your website up to date both in content and design will give the impression that you care about what your potential clients want and are able to provide it. If it feels overwhelming or cost prohibitive to take on a complete re-design, take small steps as time and resources allow. My approach was to get my new design up first and make modifications to the content as time is available.

Whatever changes you make to your website, ensure they are strategic and not simply based on what you think will work best. This means doing your research and investing in professional expertise when needed.

For more updates on marketing and how to make your website work for you, be sure to join me on my Facebook page.

How Web Copy Mirrors Therapy & Healing: Part 4/5: Showing Your Clients The Results They Can Expect

This article is part 4 in a series called, “How Web Copy Mirrors Therapy and Healing.” In part 1 I defined “web copywriting” and then showed how web copy can benefit both you and your healing or therapy clients. In part 2 I discussed the role of empathy in compelling web copy and how it’s similar to empathy in your work with your clients. The 3rd article in the series illustrated the importance of building hope in your web copy and how this also parallels the healing or therapy relationship.

This 4th article in the series focuses on the importance of addressing the client’s expected outcomes in your web copy and how this mirrors the therapy or healing process –and, most significantly, how doing this helps you attract clients.

Potential Clients Are Seeking Specific Results

The core reason clients come to you is their desire to get results, which is relief from their pain or suffering. For this reason, before you begin working with any client you obviously discuss the specific outcomes or goals that the client desires. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t know how to help. Once a potential client becomes a client, you keep the focus on these outcomes as you work to help the client achieve them. If you didn’t keep this attention on outcomes, your work would become directionless and your clients wouldn’t get the results they came to you for.

Because results are the ultimate reason people seek therapy and healing services, it is imperative that you discuss results in your web copy if you want to attract clients. After all, why would anyone want to work with you if they don’t know what outcomes they can expect to achieve?

Potential Clients Need to Have Some Idea That You Will Provide The Results They Seek

When you describe possible results or benefits in your copy, the client gets some reassurance that you may be able to help them get the relief they are seeking. As they read about the potential outcomes of working with you, they relax and perhaps even feel excited about the possibilities that await them. It is this desire to have what you describe that motivates them to want to work with you.

When describing potential outcomes in your copy, make sure you don’t sway too much into the “process” of what you do. For example, a depressed client doesn’t want to pay you for a process (i.e to talk about their feelings of depression and get support). While talking about feelings of depression may be part of the healing process, the anticipated outcome (e.g. to feel better and happier) is what the client is ultimately paying for. Therefore, when writing your copy be sure you stay very focused on the specific and concrete benefits that clients are looking for.

The More “Proof” You Provide of Your Results, The Better

How you discuss outcomes of your work is to use testimonials or case studies, and to cite statistics on your effectiveness or the effectiveness of the particular method(s) of therapy or healing that you use. The more you show “proof” of the results of your work or approaches, the more convinced the client will become that they are likely to get the outcomes they are looking for if they work with you.

Sometimes when I discuss the importance of stating outcomes in web copy with my coaching clients, they initially resist this idea because they fear that they will be making promises to potential clients that they might not be able to fulfill. Discussing expected outcomes doesn’t mean that you are “promising” that the client will have any these outcomes. It just means that the benefits or outcomes discussed in your copy are some that other clients have achieved and that any client can potentially attain.

Citing the specific outcomes your clients want when writing your copy will help ensure that you attract not only more clients, but more of the type of clients that you want, and those you are best suited to work with.

Once you have clearly articulated the benefits or outcomes of your services, then you are ready to write your “call to action”. I will discuss this in the final part of this series in my next newsletter…

To read Part 1 of this article click here.

To read Part 2 of this article click here.

To read Part 3 of this article click here.

Please comment on this article by clicking on the “Comments” button below.

Are You in La-La Land About Your Private Practice Income?

I want to share with you two responses I sometimes get from therapists and healers when I pose the question, “How much money do you want to earn in your practice?”

The first is the “I Don’t Know” response. It sometimes goes like this:

“I never thought about that before.”

“I want to make a good  income.”

“Enough to take a vacation every year.”

As you can see, the problem with these statements is that they don’t say anything about how much income these professionals want to generate. It’s difficult to achieve a goal when you don’t know what it is.

To the other extreme is the “Pie in the Sky Response,” which sounds  like this:

“I heard that people can make a lot of money on the Internet. I want that too.”

“I want to make a million dollars in 6 months.”

Ok. I’m exaggerating on that last one. No one has really told me that they wanted to earn a million dollars in 6 months.  But, you get the idea.

Often these folks don’t have business skills or experience, lack necessary resources to build a business, and don’t have a plan. Obviously this is a problem as one needs to be grounded in the reality of what it takes to earn the amount one says they want.

If you recognize yourself in one of these two scenarios– even if it’s just a little bit– I don’t want you to feel badly.  I want you to do something about it.

To get started, here are 3 things you can do right now:

1. Be clear on what kind of lifestyle you want to live and write it down.

There is no point in coming up with an arbitrary amount of money you want to earn when you don’t even know what you want it for.

Be very specific (e.g.” I want to take a 1 month vacation each year” or “I want to buy a larger home”). Don’t be afraid to dream and thing big. On the other hand, try to be realistic about who you are, your values and what really makes you happy.

2. Calculate how much you will need annually to fulfill your lifestyle and write it down.

Include the amount you need to live on, the cost of any extras you want in your life, and the amount you want to save or invest each month.

Yes, you need to actually do the math.

I know you might not like working with numbers, so if you need help from someone, make sure you get it.

3.  Calculate how many client hours you need per week in order to meet your yearly goal.

Remember that to run a successful business you have to allot time for working ON your business, which includes things like administrative tasks, bookkeeping (if you don’t hire a bookkeeper), marketing, training, professional development, etc. This means if you only want to work Monday-Friday from 9-5, you won’t be able to see clients for the entire day because you will need to allow time for these activities.

Finally, don’t forget to factor in business expenses. A private practice is a business after all, and businesses cost money to run–and even more money if you want them to run well and to grow.

I hope those of you who need to will take action by completing the above 3 steps…and soon. It is so easy to procrastinate dealing with one’s finances. But the sooner you deal with them, the sooner you will start taking your business more seriously and allow space for greater success.

Before I close, I want to say that many years ago, I had to take a hard  look at how I was managing my own finances. Thanks to Karin Mizgala, my financial planner colleague, and her amazing knowledge, skills and patience with those of us who don’t like dealing with the issue of money and finances, those days are long behind me.

Please share your experiences and thoughts on this topic below, by clicking on the “Comment” button below.

Therapy Websites – Free Audio & Video Shows You How To Attract More Clients

The other day I did a one-hour teleconference called, “The Psychology of Client Attracting Websites” for therapists and healers.

I am giving the audio away for free + a video critique I did of a therapist websites.

The audio is just over an hour and it covers the following 5 points on how to make your website client-attracting:

1. The value of the niche-focused website for therapists and healing artists
2. What we know from website usability studies about attracting  therapy and healing clients
3. Why you must have an opt-in freebie / newsletter sign-up on your website
4. How a video introduction can get you more clients
5. The most important element of a client-attracting website: compelling copy

If you haven’t heard me talk on websites for healers and counselors before, you might want to grab the audio-recording now.  Here is the link if if you want to grab them: Client Attracting Websites.

How Compelling Website Copy Mirrors Therapy and Healing – Part 3/5

This article is part 3 in a series called, “How Web Copy Mirrors Therapy and Healing.” In the first article, I defined the term copywriting and then illustrated how compelling web copy can benefit both you and your healing or therapy clients.

In part 2 in this series I discussed the role of empathy in compelling web copy and how it is similar to empathy in your work with your clients.

In this 3rd article, I will show the importance of building hope in your web copy and how this also parallels the healing or therapy relationship.

Once your web copy has shown some understanding and empathy for the suffering your web visitors are experiencing, it’s time to help them build hope that their situation can improve–to show them that it’s possible to move away from pain and suffering.

By the time people arrive at your website, they may have been struggling for a long time and may have tried other methods attempting to find relief with limited, or no results.

Your job at this point in your web copy is to help build hope that may have been lost, or perhaps never existed in the first place. It’s important to mention here that you are *not* making any promises or guarantees that people will feel better if they see you. You are simply helping them see that change is possible.

Why is building hope important? Because if your potential clients don’t have hope, it is less likely they will choose to get help and therefore unlikely that they will become your clients. Furthermore, if they don’t become clients, they are less likely to get the help they need.

So how do you build hope in your web copy?

Just like you do when your clients show hesitancy, doubt or feelings of hopelessness when they come to see you.

You begin by acknowledging their skepticism and doubt, and again show empathy for these feelings.

As you would with a client, you let your web visitors know that it’s natural to feel some hesitancy about seeking help, especially if they have tried unsuccessfully in the past to resolve their problems.

You then reassure them that their life can be different.

By using case studies or testimonials you show them that others have found a way out of their pain, which helps them realize that they can possibly find relief as well.

You build credibility by showing you have the experience, skills, and methods to help them. You use statistics and other evidence to prove that you, or your techniques, have been successful in the past.

You provide whatever information you have that might help them be more receptive to help.

Gradually as you address their fears and concerns about seeking help, their worries begin to melt away.

They will become more receptive to therapy or your healing methods and perhaps be ready to contact you –or at least they will be more likely to remain engaged in your copy and stick around to read more. Perhaps they will even sign up for your newsletter.

Once you have sufficiently built hope, you want to start addressing the specific benefits of working with you. Part 4 of this article will discuss the how to write about benefits in your copy, so stay tuned…

To read Part 1 of this article click here.

To read Part 2 of this article click here.

To add your comments to this article click on the “Comments” link below.

How Compelling Website Copy Mirrors Therapy and Healing – Part 2/5

In the first article of this series I discussed the definition of copywriting and showed how compelling web copy can benefit the client in addition to benefiting you, as a therapist or healing practitioner.

In Part 2 of this series, I am going to show you how using empathy in your copy mirrors the effect of using empathy with your clients in your therapy or healing practice.

As a therapist (and also as a healer) because you care about your clients’ healing process, you take care to ensure you build a strong relationship with them.

And what is the major component in building a strong relationship?

Empathy.

You show your clients that you care, that you understand them and that you really want to help them overcome their problems.

Let’s look at how empathy plays out when potential clients first contact you…

When potential clients first contact you they have a specific problem and that is where their focus is. They want to tell you about their problem and the pain they are experiencing. And, they want to feel that you understand their pain and their specific situation. They want to know that you care and that you ‘get’ them. You will likely ask some questions in order to understand their specific situation better and empathize with their pain.

Through this process of listening, asking questions and showing empathy, you begin to build trust with your potential clients. They then start thinking things like, “Ah, this person seems to ‘get’ me. I feel this person understands what I am going through. Maybe this
therapist (or healer) can help me.”

Potential clients then begin to feel more open to the possibility of working with you. They may not yet have made the final decision to jump on board, but there is an opening towards you that has begun.

And this is precisely what happens for potential clients when your web copy addresses their problems and pain.

When potential clients land at your website they often don’t know anything about you. Their problems are foremost in their mind and they are looking for help.

They are hurting, perhaps anxious, and maybe even feeling discouraged or hopeless about the likelihood of their situation improving.

Your job with your web copy is to show empathy and let them know that you understand their problems. And, in order to show that you understand them, you need to address their problems very specifically.

It is through your web copy that you begin the relationship building process just like you would if you were speaking with a potential client on the phone or sitting with a client in your office. By empathizing with their pain you start to build trust–at least enough
trust to encourage them to stick around and read your website further.

Stay tuned for Part 3 in this series where I will tell you how to continue the relationship building process with clients through your web copy.  Empathy is only the first step. In the next article, I will discuss the importance of building hope in your potential clients and letting them know what the benefits of working with you can be.

To read Part 3 of this article click here.

To add your comments to this article click on the “Comments” link below.

“I’m Not in it For the Money!”

Are you one of those therapists or healers who has said, “I’m Not In It For the Money!”?

If so, you may not have chosen your therapy or healing practice because of the money, but don’t you deserve to live your life free from money worries? My pal, Karin Mizgala, the brilliant financial whiz and I have worked with lots of therapists and healing professionals who do a fantastic job in helping their clients overcome seemingly insurmountable problems.

But when it comes to handling their own finances, well… let’s just say many could use a helping hand. It’s certainly easy to lose track of the financial side of things with so many competing demands on your time and attention.

Nevertheless, bad money habits and practices can seriously impact the viability and profitability of your business – to say nothing of the anxiety, confusion and stress created when things get out of control!

And let’s be straight, here…

Despite all the altruism and compassion you may have -a private practice is still a business. Just like any car wash, dental office, or manufacturing plant. We need to cover our expenses, pay ourselves and our staff and keep up with our taxes if we want to be there for our clients over the years.

And don’t you want enough cash coming in to enjoy a good life now and a secure and comfortable future in your later years?

To run a financially profitable private practice, you need to get honest with yourself.

Can you really say that you know exactly how much money is coming in every month – where it’s coming from — and where it’s going?

Do you know how much, and where to invest money in your practice in order to grow your income?

And…

Do you have a plan for where you want to be financially in the long-term and a concrete strategy for getting there?

If not, now’s the time to do something about it.

Money may not be your favorite topic and you may want to avoid it like the plague. However, if you want to attract more into your life and run a profitable practice, you need to be able to engage in the world of money with confidence and ease.

So here is the scoop…

If you are ready to get the help you need to develop a healthy relationship with your private practice finances, join Karin Mizgala and myself for our Private Practice Finances Made Easy FR.EE Preview Tele-seminar on Wednesday, September 16, 2009.

You can sign up by clicking here.

If you you need to deal with your business finances but are tempted to continue putting it off, I would strongly advise against it.

Why?

Because the sooner you get your financial systems and a plan in place, the sooner you will be successful financially. Yes, really. So join us for this fr.ee call.

Please click on the “comments” button below to add your comments or ask questions about this call or your private practice finances.

How Website Copy Mirrors Therapy & Healing – Part 1/5

Over the years in explaining the benefits of web-copywriting to my clients I have found the easiest way to do this is show how client-attracting web-copy mirrors effective therapy and healing.

This is the first of a 5-part series that illustrates how the practice of effective therapy and healing mirror client-attracting web-copy. I will show you how client-attracting web copy offers a win-win situation for you and your potential clients.

If you are familiar with my newsletter and my work you likely already have some idea of the value of client-attracting web copy. If you haven’t, chances are you may not even know what the term means. So lets begin with a definition which I will break into 2 parts. The first part of the definition focuses on the benefit to you as a practitioner and the second part of the definition focuses on the benefits to the potential client or customer who visits your website.

1. Benefit to You:

Client-attracting web-copy is the art and science of using words to compel potential clients to take action on your offer when they visit your website. Your offer could be to ask them to sign up for your newsletter or to buy a product or service from you. The benefit to you as a private practitioner is inherent in this definition. Obviously the more your web-copy resonates with potential clients, the more clients you are going to be attracting and the more sales you will have.

But, the benefits of client-attracting web-copy don’t stop with the benefits to you…

There is also a benefit to the potential client who visits your site –here’s where the second part of the definition of client-attracting web-copy comes in:

2. Benefit to the Client:

Client-attracting web-copy shows your clients that you understand them and their problems and informs them of the benefits of what you have to offer. Client-attracting web-copy also educates and builds hope and faith for clients that something else is possible. It can reduce anxiety and fear and can actually be part of the change and healing process long before the client shows up in your office.

Watch for Part 2 of this article in my newsletter or on this blog where I will show you how using empathy in your web-copy mirrors the practice of using empathy in your work with clients.  You can also check out the Client-Attracting Websites Home Study Program.

UPDATE: Part 2 of this article can now be read here.

To comment or ask a question about this article, please click on the “Comments” link below.

Marketing Your Therapy or Healing Practice: Staying Ahead of the Curve

When it comes to practice building, one thing is for certain…

The market becomes more and more competitive every day. If you want to succeed, you must keep ahead of the curve.This means you must have access to the most effective and leading-edge methods for building and growing your practice. If you don’t,  you will be left behind.

I get calls every week from panicked practitioners who once had a thriving practice. But because they haven’t kept up with the ever-changing trends and methods for maintaining a full practice, they are seriously struggling.

Increase the Credibility of Your Therapy or Healing Website