As a private practice therapist, counselor or psychologist, you need to bring in plenty of new patients, but sometimes it’s hard to think of how to do this on an ongoing basis, and in a way that feels ethically right and true to your practice.
Marketing Feels Fake. It’s just not who I am!
We get it. While we love to create new identities for companies, we don’t love to tell others how great we think we are. However, with some careful thought about your niche client and where to find them, you can start conversations that lead to new clients, and do it in a way that is true to who you are as a therapist and how you best help patients.
Here are few ways to start getting yourself in front of new patients in an authentic way:
Create Your Brand
The biggest thing you can do to make marketing easier and more effective is to find your brand. Are you a couples therapist? That’s a good start on a niche, but what if you get more specific? Have you worked with a lot of couples where one partner is dealing with substance abuse? That’s an even better niche.
Once you’ve found who you enjoy working with most, and who seems to get the most from working with you, it will be much easier to craft an engaging message and find the audience that it will resonate with.
Don’t forget to consider your logo, while you’re at it.
Good photography
Trust is crucial for therapists who want to gain new clients, and one of the best ways to do this on the web is with a good photograph. Find a photographer with a strong portfolio of headshots. You’ll want someone who can spend some time getting it right. Be prepared to pay a reasonable rate. Yes, a good DSLR camera, professional lighting and a talented operator create better results than an iPhone. Don’t try to save a couple hundred dollars here. Done right, this photo will bring you clients for years to come.
Get your professional materials out into the community
Leaving your brochure on a bulletin board or putting your business card in the fish bowl at the local coffee house is a start. To be more effective, think again about your ideal audience and how you might run into people who fit your ideal patient profile. Better yet, who talks with these people on a regular basis? For couples counseling, you might call doctors in your area and ask them out for coffee to discuss your practice. It will give you a chance to show them how serious and thoughtful you are. Sometimes all it takes is one meeting to receive a few referrals. For more results, find out where doctors network near you, and you’ll be able to supercharge your referral base. There are other options, too. You could speak with attorneys, for instance.
Blogging
One of the best ways to get local web search results is to have a well-designed web site. Then blog, blog, blog. You don’t have to post every day, but doing it on a regular basis is important. At least once a quarter, and preferably monthly. It’s not just good for search results, it is a great way to show prospective clients how your particular therapy practice works. The best blog posts get to the heart of who you are as a clinician, and how you work with your patients.
Advertise Intelligently
Your best advertising is probably not going to be a full-page ad in your local newspaper of record or the print version of Psychology Today. With the internet there a number of excellent ways for therapists to stay top of mind. Low-cost, yet consistent social media and pay-per-click advertising can be effective.
You can create a professional Facebook ad that makes you look experienced, established and trustworthy. Set a small budget, and serve it to a local audience of people in the demographic you’d most like to serve. Couple that with ongoing blogging, and you will see your website visits increase.
These are just a few tactics to get you started. If you find yourself getting stuck on the branding part, give us a call – we would love to help.
