If you really want to get more customers and additional revenue then you really need to get to grips with SEO or Search Engine Optimisation. In other words creating a good enough website so that you appear highly on Google or one of the other major search engines. This method helps you to gain customers who have never even met you before but who have simply placed their search terms into the system and received a list of websites in their results. In 2015 appearing highly in the search engine results can transform your business from one that is getting no calls to one that has their telephone ringing off the hook. Therefore SEO needs to be a very important part of your Hypnotherapy Marketing strategy.
The problem is that when it comes down to it most therapists don't have a clue where to start to make this happen. In fact many will not even be aware of their current positions in the search engine rankings. This is because they often outsource the building of their websites to a third party and once they are up and running they are never touched again. Big mistake! Just because a web developer has created a website for you does not mean that it has been optimised correctly.
You see your website is only as good as the information that you place into it. If as part of your hypnotherapy marketing you told your web developer to create a four page website with little content on it and just your basic contact details that is exactly what you will get. In fact you may have chosen that option because the developer showed you how cheaply you could get something set up and running. The problem is these kinds of websites have very little chance of being found. Why? Because a search engine delivers results based on content to match what their customers are searching for.
So if I type in the words hypnotherapist in Brighton into a search engine the system will pull up a list of results which match this criteria as closely as possible. If you are a hypnotherapist in Brighton but have neglected to mention your location anywhere on your website or not used that keyword phrase then you are as good as dead to the search engine and your site will not be found. This kind of fundamental error is where many people fall down on even basic SEO. In reality SEO is much more complex than just using one or two keywords. It requires time, patience, content building, link building and social media signals to boost your website to the point where it can be found.
SEO can be a headache but when you are given a great grounding in the basic principles it can make things much easier for you and boost your business to new levels. Get your SEO right, make sure your website structure in order and you are going to get more business. Ignore it at your peril because that is what your customers will do to your business as well! Don't let SEO be a big mystery. Never be afraid to get professional help in order to make things work. I offer coaching and mentoring programs to help therapists build their businesses and to help them understand what is necessary to improve their visibility in the search engines. Simply give me a call or email me for more details on how I can help you build your booming business.
Friday 16 January 2015
Sunday 28 December 2014
Hypnotherapy Marketing Strategy
When I first started my hypnotherapy business I did everything and anything I could to get customers in through my door. If a client rang and could only see me at 5pm in a location where I had no other clients I would drive out especially to see them. If a potential client wanted to spend three hours with me on the phone before booking I would be happy to chat. If a local group wanted me to go and speak about hypnosis or attend one of their networking meetings then off I would go. My initial approach to my Hypnotherapy Marketing Strategy was scattered and inconsistent because I felt that I couldn't miss an opportunity. I was wrong and my guess is that your approach to getting customers and selling products will be as well.
You see although this approach did work in some ways it was not an efficient way of operating a business. So I took a step back and started to apply some of the business lessons I had learned from my previous career in business development. By changing my approach and strategy I suddenly found I have plenty more clients and was earning more money as well. Having a well thought out Hypnotherapy Marketing Strategy transformed my business and no doubt it could yours as well.
Simple Ideas to Help Your Hypnotherapy Marketing Strategy
Not all Clients are Equal - Applying an accountants eye to my clients it soon became apparent that I actually did not want some clients. Why? Because some would make me much less money that others. Attracting clients takes time, effort and in some cases money. Every one of you will have a cost associated with obtaining a client. Now if that client is only with you for one or two sessions you are actually making very little from them. If they are a client who is doing a multi session program with you then you will earn more. Why was I spending the same time and effort attracting both? Now I concentrate on a number of niche markets where my advertising is tailored and which brings me in clients who generally stay with me for at least five sessions. That means that I am booked well in advance and generate more revenue.
Show me the Money - When I book a client now I always take a substantial deposit or the whole payment for their session in advance. Why? Because when I didn't take deposits a significant number of bookings would simply not bother to show up. Now anyone looking to come and see me is told that they need to pay a deposit to confirm the booking. Once the booking is confirmed they get a confirmation email and a notice of my cancellation policy. I now no longer get time wasters at my practice and I am no longer left with empty slots that are earning me no money.
Less is More - Talking on the phone for hours with a potential client is all very well but it takes up considerable amounts of my time. Time where I can be seeing clients or working on new products. Now I am more than happy to fully discuss a treatment with a client before they book but I now speak to them for no longer than twenty minutes. Why? Because I found that in 80% of the cases where I spoke to people for longer I wouldn't necessarily have a great chance of getting a booking. Anxious clients sometimes rang for reassurance when they were feeling panic so I was being used as an online therapist for no fee. Other people had no intention of booking but just wanted to know more about hypnosis. Others had told me they had already rung, 3, 4 or 5 other therapists and were still making up their mind. Now that is great for the people calling but not so good for my business. Now people get an opportunity to ask relevant questions and if they want to find out more or have a therapeutic discussion they need to pay for my time.
No I Don't Want to Go for A Coffee - As I became more successful other therapists wanted to talk to me so that they could tap into some of my knowledge. Of course they wanted this for free and an easy way of doing this was chatting to me on social media and asking me if I wanted to meet for a coffee. Now whilst it is lovely to meet other therapists and share ideas it is not ok if it is one way traffic and it stops you from getting on with other work. Every time I met someone for a coffee a couple of hours out of my day were gone. Hours which could have been spent seeing other clients, marketing or building my business. Now if people want information about how I have successfully built up my business I refer them to one of my online mentoring programs or to my Hypnotherapy Marketing Ebook. When you run a small business you simply cannot afford to give all your knowledge and time for free to people individually. If you do you will never get anything done. Now I have learned to say no my business has gone from strength to strength.
Networking For Dummies - Networking is great for your business but not all networking groups are equal. Seeing the same people again and again week after week in a networking group isn't always great. In fact some of the groups that I attended were little more than glorified coffee mornings with a bit of cross selling thrown in. In other words I would be telling the people attending about my products and services and they would try and sell me theirs in return. There was very little evidence that I would sell anything to anyone outside the group. Pointless. Choose where you spend your time and money carefully and note where you will get the best return.
Now these are just some of the elements that I use as part of my Hypnotherapy Marketing Strategy which I thought would be fun to share. Of course these are just the tip of the iceberg and in my Hypnotherapy marketing mentoring sessions with my clients I discuss many more. Are you ready to take your therapy business to the next level in 2015?
You see although this approach did work in some ways it was not an efficient way of operating a business. So I took a step back and started to apply some of the business lessons I had learned from my previous career in business development. By changing my approach and strategy I suddenly found I have plenty more clients and was earning more money as well. Having a well thought out Hypnotherapy Marketing Strategy transformed my business and no doubt it could yours as well.
Simple Ideas to Help Your Hypnotherapy Marketing Strategy
Not all Clients are Equal - Applying an accountants eye to my clients it soon became apparent that I actually did not want some clients. Why? Because some would make me much less money that others. Attracting clients takes time, effort and in some cases money. Every one of you will have a cost associated with obtaining a client. Now if that client is only with you for one or two sessions you are actually making very little from them. If they are a client who is doing a multi session program with you then you will earn more. Why was I spending the same time and effort attracting both? Now I concentrate on a number of niche markets where my advertising is tailored and which brings me in clients who generally stay with me for at least five sessions. That means that I am booked well in advance and generate more revenue.
Show me the Money - When I book a client now I always take a substantial deposit or the whole payment for their session in advance. Why? Because when I didn't take deposits a significant number of bookings would simply not bother to show up. Now anyone looking to come and see me is told that they need to pay a deposit to confirm the booking. Once the booking is confirmed they get a confirmation email and a notice of my cancellation policy. I now no longer get time wasters at my practice and I am no longer left with empty slots that are earning me no money.
Less is More - Talking on the phone for hours with a potential client is all very well but it takes up considerable amounts of my time. Time where I can be seeing clients or working on new products. Now I am more than happy to fully discuss a treatment with a client before they book but I now speak to them for no longer than twenty minutes. Why? Because I found that in 80% of the cases where I spoke to people for longer I wouldn't necessarily have a great chance of getting a booking. Anxious clients sometimes rang for reassurance when they were feeling panic so I was being used as an online therapist for no fee. Other people had no intention of booking but just wanted to know more about hypnosis. Others had told me they had already rung, 3, 4 or 5 other therapists and were still making up their mind. Now that is great for the people calling but not so good for my business. Now people get an opportunity to ask relevant questions and if they want to find out more or have a therapeutic discussion they need to pay for my time.
No I Don't Want to Go for A Coffee - As I became more successful other therapists wanted to talk to me so that they could tap into some of my knowledge. Of course they wanted this for free and an easy way of doing this was chatting to me on social media and asking me if I wanted to meet for a coffee. Now whilst it is lovely to meet other therapists and share ideas it is not ok if it is one way traffic and it stops you from getting on with other work. Every time I met someone for a coffee a couple of hours out of my day were gone. Hours which could have been spent seeing other clients, marketing or building my business. Now if people want information about how I have successfully built up my business I refer them to one of my online mentoring programs or to my Hypnotherapy Marketing Ebook. When you run a small business you simply cannot afford to give all your knowledge and time for free to people individually. If you do you will never get anything done. Now I have learned to say no my business has gone from strength to strength.
Networking For Dummies - Networking is great for your business but not all networking groups are equal. Seeing the same people again and again week after week in a networking group isn't always great. In fact some of the groups that I attended were little more than glorified coffee mornings with a bit of cross selling thrown in. In other words I would be telling the people attending about my products and services and they would try and sell me theirs in return. There was very little evidence that I would sell anything to anyone outside the group. Pointless. Choose where you spend your time and money carefully and note where you will get the best return.
Now these are just some of the elements that I use as part of my Hypnotherapy Marketing Strategy which I thought would be fun to share. Of course these are just the tip of the iceberg and in my Hypnotherapy marketing mentoring sessions with my clients I discuss many more. Are you ready to take your therapy business to the next level in 2015?
Friday 14 November 2014
Hypnotherapy Marketing
So what do you believe the most important job is that you have as a hypnotherapist? Helping your clients improve their lives? Running workshops and training courses? Helping companies with their employees stress management? Whilst all of these are important there is one task that comes before all the others and that is Hypnotherapy Marketing. Why? Because if you don't know how to market your business then you won't have any clients. No clients means no money and before you know it you will be back working at your old day job.
It is a sad fact that most hypnotherapists are clueless when it comes to marketing themselves. If you have worked in a corporate environment before changing your career then you may have never needed to work at selling yourself or products. If you worked in a caring profession or the public sector then you had ready made clients sent to your by hospitals or social workers. In fact unless you have run your own business before you probably never had to think about marketing before.
Hypnotherapy training schools of course touch on marketing but for the most part they make a cursory nod to what you need to do and give you a very basic overview on what needs to be done. They don't give you the nitty gritty of what you need to succeed in business and generally when you have finished the course you are thrown out into the big bad world to fend for yourself. Frankly Hypnotherapy Marketing is generally overlooked and that is one big problem because without the necessary skills you are going to find yourself with no money coming in and a big empty diary.
The funny thing is that many hypnotherapists I know don't want to pay for investing in their business. Even when their business is floundering they are not prepared to spend a little extra money to understand what they need to do in order to be a success. In fact I get asked all the time by therapists to help them with their marketing efforts but they want to get my time and expertise for free! Now whilst I am all for helping people the first thing you need to understand about running a hypnotherapy practice is that is it business. If I spend a morning helping you to get more clients in through the door then it costs me money. It means that I can't see clients, I can't record audios, I can't make ebooks. To really push that point home I will lose money to help you to build your successful business!!! Now any business person will tell you that is a very bad deal.
The reality is that if you want to learn how to build a booming business and earn the income you desire then you are going to have to pay. Yes you may get some small amount of content for free if you search on the internet but if you want information of real value then you have to pay for it. No leader in their field is going to give you their valuable knowledge for no money.
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For a small investment however it is possible to completely change the fortunes of your business. I know that if any hypnotherapist buys one of my Hypnotherapy marketing products they will make their investment back with just one extra client. My Hypnotherapy marketing ebook for example retails at £29.99 and is full to the brim of ideas and ways in which you can get clients through your door. If you want a more interactive session where you can ask questions then our next Hypnotherapy Marketing course is running in July 2015. Alternatively if you really want to supercharge your business and really get expert bespoke advice then I also offer hypnotherapy marketing mentoring. At a cost of £450 it is great value because I get to personally examine your business model and website and recommend changes to you that I know will get you results.
So if you are really serious about building a booming business then make an investment in your business today. Hypnotherapy marketing is the number one thing that you need to pay attention to otherwise you will be back in your old day job before you know it and blaming your poor performance on everyone apart from yourself.
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