So, you want to increase your private practice. Let me guess, you want more clients, but don’t know what to do, or how to do it, or where to go to find out. That’s probably why you’re here. 

Here are five concrete actions you can do today to move you forward

How much do you want to grow? Who do you want as future clients? How much do you want them to pay you? Do you want to accept insurance, or be paid up front in cash?

These are some of the questions you need to answer before you can target your marketing in ways that will reach that audience and bring them to you as clients.

Number One – Get clear on the result you’re looking for

Whether it’s getting physically fit, or growing your practice, it’s hard to get from point A to point B if you’re not clear what point B looks like.

Here are some questions you need to answer before you can target your marketing in ways that will reach that audience and bring them to you.

  • Who is your ideal client?
  • What age group?
  • Gender: male, female, both, other
  • How much do you want them to pay you?
  • What issues/problems do they have and want your help with?
  • Where do they live?

Number Two – Messaging – Deliver Value

Create customized messaging to your audience. Imagine that you’re talking or emailing them as you write your messaging. Speak to them in ways that deliver value.

Every person defines value differently. One person may define value is increased desire to focus on his marriage. Another may define value as being to control their anxiety in the next meeting with their boss.

Knowing what value is and delivering a message that you are the answer to what they’re looking for, is the key. That is the magic formula when you’re in front of someone, to move them from wherever they are to interested, wanting to know more, and then setting an appointment.

Number Three – Get custom marketing material in 72 hours

Some of the old-school things you’ll still need are business cards, and depending on your audience, other paper marketing material, i.e. flyers, brochures, etc.…

Personally, I don’t recommend you spend much time or money on this. Other than business cards, you may not need anything else, at least not up front, unless you’re clear about what you want and how you’ll use it.

Here are a few places you can create customized marketing material using templates so it’s super easy and affordable.

  • vistaprint.com - Greater variety of marketing products and a little less expensive
  • moo.com - Moo is the Apple to Vistaprint, which is more like the PC.
     
Number Four - Online Resources

This is what most people get excited about, thinking that getting online, using social to reach millions, is the silver bullet. I’m sorry to disappoint, but it’s only a tool to help you deliver messaging. So focus the majority of your efforts on messaging, which you can continue to work on over time.

When you have something you feel is sufficient, get a domain, start a website, start writing a blog, create a podcast, create social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. OK, now that you’re overwhelmed, let’s do this a bit slower.

Domain – You need to find a domain, which is the thing between www and .com, .org, etc… Ours is wellness-institute.org. There are a million blogposts, books, YouTube videos and other resources about this, so feel free to search online and learn more. The key is to find something that is relevant, shorter if possible, and a .com or .net. Here are a couple of places you can get a domain:

Website – You’ll need to connect your domain to a website, also known as hosting. This is where you create your website, using templates, so you just find one you like, then fill in your information. It’s very simple and easy, even for those less technologically inclined. They may cost you around $20 a month, but it’s a small price to pay for the value. Here a couple of the most popular ones.

  • squarespace.com
  • wix.com
  • hubspot.com - which also has a free CRM to hold your business contacts, send free emails, and blog, post to your social networks, and more.
     

And if you want something easier, faster, more immediate, free, and that you can have up and running in 10 minutes, check out https://about.me.
 

Social – To keep this from turning into a book, I’m going to keep this simple. Facebook is likely where you’ll reach 90% of your target audience. It’s the easiest to use, set up, and promote. I would also suggest LinkedIn, but that is more like a social business card/resume, not essential for most people in your shoes. Here is a link to a blogpost on how to set up a Facebook Page for your business.

Number Five – ABM “Always Be Marketing”

Always look for ways to deliver value to anyone and everyone you come across. You don’t know if your neighbor or dentist may refer you to one of their friends.

Remember, you’re in the business of sharing value to everyone you come across. It’s what they want, what they would find valuable and would want to share with their social networks that you want to focus on.

This is called an Inbound approach, which a marketing company, HubSpot, made famous by creating thousands of free eBooks on their website and thousands of blogposts with really great content. Because they deliver such great content, people like you and me find it, love it, and share the links over our social media platforms which reaches hundreds of thousands of new people.

Summary

  1. Get clear on the result you’re looking for, your ideal client
  2. Create compelling and valuable messaging that speaks to your ideal client
  3. Create custom business cards and other marketing material
  4. Use online resources: website, blogging, social media
  5. Always Be Marketing: focus on delivering value and sharing your message