I just met with a therapist today for lunch.
We were doing a consultation and it really reminded me of something . . .
If you’re a therapist it can kind of seems like you’re screwed in the marketing department.
After all, ethically, you can’t even ask people for a testimonials sometimes. You can’t really build a community amongst your clients since confidentiality is so important. And there are often a lot of strict relationship boundaries at play too.
Hardly sounds like the warm, relationship building kind of marketing that we’ve come to know and love.
So, what to do?
Here are my top tips for therapists:
online video: give people a chance to virtually ‘meet you’. This could look like a welcome video on your website, or you talking about a topic that fascinates you, it could be you in conversation with or being interviewed by someone else, it could be you showing people your office where you work. So many things. The content is important, but, surprisingly, the fact that they can get a sense of your vibe just from how you are is just as important. Don’t underestimate the power of ‘vibe’ in marketing.
a blog: write about things you’re passionate about. Write about your critique of the counseling industry, share your own journey, write about the worst and best counseling sessions you ever received and what you learned from them, write about how cooking a good meal is like healing work, write about how what you learned mountain climbing made you a better counselor. Let them get to know you and how you see healing and therapy.
free talks: Do as many of these as you can. Get out there in front of people. Tell them your opinions on things. Talk about the topics you’re most passionate about. Are you passionate about masculine/feminine dynamics? Talk about those. Are you passionate about the idea of the shadow? Talk about that. Are you passionate about movement and healing? Talk about that. Get. Out. There. This lets people meet you in a very safe way.
write a book: Being an author gives you instant credibility and it’s kind of the best sales letter you’ll ever write.
anonymous case studies: if you and your clients are okay with it – why not share stories of some of the clients you’ve helped. You can change the names, dates and details as long as you get the heart of it across. These kinds of ‘before/after’ stories are incredibly powerful.
free sessions: most therapists do some version of this. because it works.
a great photo: if you’re all about warmth and understanding in your practice but your photo seems cold, austere and unforgiving . . . I can’t even begin to tell you how much money you’re losing. Find a good photographer and get a photo that really captures you.
a kick ass bio: go and get Nancy Jutten’s Bye Bye Boring Bio ebook. Your bio is likely the most important piece of marketing collateral you have.
think niche markets: sure you COULD help everyone. But it’s useful to think about the groups you’re BEST able to help. Pick your top three and really focus on those. To read more thoughts about identifying your niche click here. To watch some videos, click here.
connect with other hubs of those niche markets: Who is already connected to those niches? Who do they already trust? Doesn’t it make sense that if those people knew about your practice that they would refer you more business? Click here to read some more about hubs and to watch some videos click here.
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