The Grow Your Private Practice Show

Content marketing is all about creating and sharing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract followers and ultimately clients.

So this means you can stop panicking about having to sell yourself, and concentrate on simply helping people. Doesn’t that feel better?

So it's basically writing blogs, producing podcasts or videos, using social media, webinars and workshops.

All are good, but most counsellors choose blogging from those, so that’s what we will focus on in this episode.

And there is also a free guide '101 Blog Post Titles for your Counselling Blog' you can find at janetravis.co.uk/17

In this episode we look at:

• How we used to attract clients before the internet
• What is content marketing
• Why does it work so well for counsellors?
• 10 benefits of writing a blog

I hope you can see how beneficial content marketing is for your practice and how it will both help your readers and attract more clients. 

If you need some help getting started blogging, or you’ve been blogging a while and want to up your game, the Blogging With Confidence 2.0 course is released 23rd October 2020 completely updating the current course.

It includes everything you need, including:

• A quickstart section for if you’re brand new
• The Blogging Blueprint, which is a system to simplify writing
• A template to get you going
• How to never, ever run out of things to write about.

As a member of the Grow Your Private Practice Club you not only get access to the Blogging With Confidence course but everything else you need to go around it.

This includes choosing your niche, time management, managing the mindset with issues like imposter syndrome, perfectionism, procrastination etc, social media, website and much more, along with a supportive group of peers

If you’d like to know more, check out the Grow Your Private Practice Club

If you have an inner critic or get Imposter Syndrome, then it can become second nature to kick yourself whenever you do something you consider wrong or not good enough. 

Not only is this exhausting, it’s debilitating and can significantly reduce the success of your private practice. So it’s important to address this.

The good news is, you can do something to neutralise this that’s not only simple and effective, it’s also fun and pleasurable.

And I share this super simple trick in this episode. 

In this episode we look at

• A practical, effective way to reduce overwhelm
• Why we shy away from sharing our successes
• How there’s only one way to fail
• The importance of recognising your achievements
• 2 really simple but highly effective ways to develop your inner cheerleader
• A fun, pleasurable way to make this a habit

That critical inner voice can be a real bully and if left unchecked can have a detrimental impact on your business. Stand up to it, strengthen your own inner cheerleader and get the success you deserve.

And if you need some help with that, join us in the Grow Your Private Practice Club, where you not only get training on all aspects of growing your practice, you get support from myself and all the other members too. Take a look at the Grow Your Private Practice Club here.

I was terrified before I went to counselling for the first time. (And the second, third and all subsequent times too, actually!) And I know I’m not alone with that. 

So if clients are terrified of counselling, it’s part of our job as private practitioners to help alleviate that fear. To remove any blocks to accessing help that are standing in their way.

And one of the ways you can do that is on the FAQ page on your website. This is your place to spell out the next steps to working with you. 

So in this weeks episode, I talk about the FAQ section - what it is, what to include and what not to include. 

And there is even a free helpsheet to get you started. 

In this episode we look at:

• The importance of an FAQ page
• The main questions should you include
• What questions you should leave off
• What other questions might you include.

By removing any barriers to accessing counselling via your FAQ page, people will be more likely to take that next step towards getting the help they need - and you making the income you need. 

So is it time to give your FAQ page a facelift?

Grab the free helpsheet from janetravis.co.uk/15

In private practice, you’re going to need a cancellation policy. But these can be tricky as there is an absolute right or wrong way of doing it. 

So how can you work out what’s right for you?

In this episode, Tamara Howell, a psychotherapist in private practice and also founder of Private Practice Paperwork, joins me to explore some of the pros and cons to help you discover what’s right for you. 

In this episode we look at:

• How long should your cancellation policy be for?
• Should you get a prepayment?
• What are the implications for the therapeutic alliance?
• Keeping boundaries
• What happens if you enforce a boundary and they don’t return?

Tamara also shares a simple trick to make explaining your policy much easier.

Handled well, your cancellation policy will help protect you and model boundaries to your clients. So take some time to work out what your policy is and why because the more clear you are both for yourself and your clients, the less stressful it will feel. 

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I do hope you’ve enjoyed this episode. If you did, please be sure to hit subscribe so you get the latest episodes delivered directly to your device. 

Have a fabulous day and hope to see you next week

Tamaras free Facebook group

Private Practice Paperwork

For some therapists, online directories can be a great source of clients, so in this episode I take a deep dive into the positives and negatives of using directories and how to make them work for you.

To start attracting clients quickly, one of the first things I suggest is to get yourself on an online directory - I talk about it in the Quickstart section of the Grow Your Private Practice book and the Quickstart course in the Grow Your Private Practice Club.

But with so many counsellors on them, how can you make them work for you?

Here’s what we talk about in this episode:

• Positives and negatives of being on a directory
• Overview of directories from the clients perspective
• How your directory entry is about connecting with your potential clients
• Some simple tips for your photo 
• Some do’s and don’t to watch for

And finally...

Directories aren't effective for everyone, so how do you decide whether directories are working for you?

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Directories can be a fantastic, cost effective way for you to attract clients. Allow your personality to come through - your warmth, your compassion - in order to help the potential client to feel comfortable about contacting you. Let’s consider the potential client and make this easier for them.

And if you need some help with your messaging so you attract more clients more easily, this is exactly what the Grow Your Private Practice Club is all about.

Or check out the Grow Your Private Practice book.

I do hope you’ve enjoyed this episode. If you did, please be sure to hit subscribe so you get the latest episodes delivered directly to your device. 

How can you make your business work for you on your terms and in a way that is right for you?

In this episode, I look at how when it’s your business, you make the rules and what this means for you.

How you can maximise your qualities and make them really work for you, and the importance of personal growth and understanding self-sabotage. 

When you run your own business, you can decide:

• Your working hours
• Your fees
• Your marketing methods 
• Your work patterns

How exciting is that?! 

How many other jobs give you that level of flexibility? 

How many other jobs offer that opportunity. 

When it comes to marketing your private practice, everything works. The trick is finding what works for you.

This is what I LOVE about working for myself - I make my business work around me, my life, my preferences and my wants and needs. 

And if you need help with your marketing, grab the Grow Your Private Practice book which is available on Amazon now.

Or get the free download '54 Specific ways to attract therapy clients'

Remember to subscribe so you don't miss a show and it would be brilliant if you could leave a review. 

How are you at the moment? Because I don’t know about you but I’ve been feeling pretty exhausted lately like my get up and go got up and went. 

The long term effects of the coronavirus pandemic are hitting us all and personally I’ve felt low, burnt out and frankly exhausted.

It feels like I’ve lost my mojo. How about you?

At times like these, doubts and insecurities can creep in and whisper lies in your ears:

• I can’t do this
• I’m not good enough
• It’ll never work
• No one can afford to have counselling now

I’ve been through enough mojo malfunctions to know that it’s a truly horrible place to be. But I want to reassure you that it’s not permanent and in this episode I share 3 things that will help you - including a free workbook:

In this episode, we look at:

• How you might be feeling stressed, anxious or exhausted - or all 3
• 3 simple ways to help
• Going back to basics
• Going on a work diet 
• Pressing the pause button
• Simple ideas to give yourself a boost

I have a free workbook to help you get started HERE

And finally

You are in control of what you bring into your life, so I finish with some tips on simple changes you can make to boost your mood.

Now is a difficult time so press the pause button if you need to. But don’t stop. You’ve worked too hard, come too far. 

And if you need some help trimming off the fat and just concentrating on what’s important, this is exactly what the Grow Your Private Practice Club is all about, along with time management tricks too and a friendly, supporting community of peers. 

What to do next

If you enjoyed this show, please share with your counselling peers.

And don't forget to subscribe!

What do clients need when they land on a counsellors website? 

Well in this episode I have the fabulous Sarah Gershone from Strong Roots Web Design with me talking all about this.

Sarah Gershone works specifically with counsellors to make beautiful, functional websites. 

She is also a friend of the Grow Your Private Practice Club and has delivered a highly popular workshop on pimping up your homepage - the replay is available now so if you fancy seeing that, come and join. 

In this episode, we’ll be busting 5 website myths about that could be holding you back. 

> People will read my site

People access information on a website differently than, say, a book, so if you want people to read it you need to make it super easy for them. 

> If you build it they will come

You might have a beautiful site, but are people seeing it?

> A free site will be just fine

One of the functions of a therapists website making the client feel safe. So what is the deeper message we are giving out with a free site which might impact the client?

> The most important thing is to look good

A website is not just a brochure, it has a purpose. So although looking good is important, what do you ultimately want the client to do?

> My website is finished

A website is like a plant: to continue to thrive it needs tending.

13.06 Don’t be afraid to repeat yourself on your website

26.00 How an unpolished site can ring warning bells for clients

35.31 Why counsellors are at an advantage when it comes to knowing clients

40.02 The benefits of a resources section

Did you know that 60% of your website visitors use a mobile device to access the internet? So be sure you check this. 

Links

Strong Roots Design

Discover the secrets to a successful website, free video mini course

Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn

And if you need more help, here’s some of the training to do with Websites available in the Grow Your Private Practice Club:

Focus On Branding

Pimp up your homepage, with Sarah Gershone

Your Website Blueprint

Make your own Wix website

What to do next

If you enjoyed this show, please share it with your counselling peers. 

And I’d be really grateful if you would take a few minutes to leave a rating and/or review on Apple Podcasts, it makes such a difference. 

And don’t forget to subscribe to the show on your favourite app of choice to get automatic updates as soon as a show goes live. 

If your social media marketing takes too much time isn’t delivering the results you want then it’s time to have a re-think. In this episode I talk about how sometimes, doing less is more. 

Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode

• What the platforms want 
• Why scheduling out posts is no longer enough
• How to get more people to see your posts
• How to reduce time and energy yet get better results

And finally…

How to manage social media FOMO

How to use comparisons to your advantage

Links to follow

Using introvert superpowers to attract more clients

What is social media engagement and why you need to know

Check out the Grow Your Private Practice Club HERE

Social media can be an amazing tool for growing your practice, OR it can be a massive time suck that doesn’t bring you results.

So how can you make it work for you? 

Lots of ways! 

In this episode we’ll be looking at engagement, the algorithm and what it means to you. 

• What social media engagement is 
• Why it’s important
• The pros and cons of social media
• What happens if you don’t get engagement on your posts 
• Appeasing the social media gods
• Examples of simple questions to ask to increase engagement
• A simple way to understand engagement

12.17 Playing snakes and ladders

12.37 What actually IS engagement?

14.14 Increasing engagement and some examples

I share a simple experiment to see what posts encourage you to engage.

Social media can be a powerful and free tool to use to grow your private practice, so Appease the social media gods and they will reward you. 

The Social Media Made Simple course and the Monday Inspiration calls are all included as part of membership of the Grow Your Private Practice Club.  Find out more at the Grow Your Private Practice Club