Behind The Scenes of an Ideal Client - Converting Blog Post

This week we're doing something a bit different around here.

In true tutorial fashion, 'm flipping my camera around and taking you behind the scenes of an actual blog post I've written for one of my content management clients.

There is a big difference between hobby blogging and blogging for business, and SO MANY of you ask what you should say, what you should write, and how you should even start to use your blog to fill your caseload.

Well, this week I'm breaking it down and showing you my exact tips for writing a practice-filling, ideal client-converting blog post.

We're exploring the six essential elements of a blog post that turns prospects into paid clients. I'm teaching you about the

  1. headline
  2. hook
  3. the before picture
  4. the after action report
  5. the education points
  6. and the call to action 

and how each of these elements contributes to your potential client's emotional response, helps them know, like, and trust you, and motivates them to schedule a session.

Plus, along the way, I'm offering my best tips for how to reach the all-illusive and SEO friendly 2000+ words count

Read More
Marissa LawtonComment
Blogging for Therapy Clients: How the Posts on Your Website Convert Prospects to Paid Sessions

When's the last time you paid attention to your therapy practice's sales funnel?

Or, is a better question, did you know your practice (and every business in existence) has a sales funnel?

If you're shaking your head or wondering what the hell I'm talking about, don't worry! You're not alone. The majority of my clients struggle to think of their practice as a business. To look at the fact, figures, returns, and conversions to see where clients are coming from and how well they are turning prospects into paid sessions.

I get it, you're a helper. You didn't get an MBA for a reason, and the passion and purpose of your practice is to spread healing. But, if you're looking to strengthen your marketing efforts, get more clients, and increase your income, you've got to start taking a bit more of an active role in converting ideal leads to ideal clients.

And one of the easiest ways to do this is to get strategic about your blog.

Your blog is a huge part of the conversion rate of your website. It takes leads from cold --> warm --> HOT and calls them to action

So this week I'm diving into the fact that every therapy practice has a sales funnel and the fact that your blog is the most essential part.

Click below to watch!

Read More
Marissa LawtonComment
Two Tips for Marketing Your Practice on Social Media

None of us wants to feel like we are wasting our time and energy when it comes to marketing our practices.

Seriously, when our livelihoods are on the line, we want to make sure that everything we are doing has a direct return on our investment. When it comes to online marketing, this means that the content we create is attracting our ideal clients, speaking to them in an emotional way, and converting leads to paid sessions.

A big part of that conversion strategy is how we are using our content to draw our target market toward us.

These pull strategies are different than push marketing (read: referrals) because rather than waiting for clients to find our content and decide whether it resonates, we are actively reeling them toward us with a promotion strategy (think fishing with bait).

The most common pull strategy any of us will use to boost our practices' visibility is social media marketing.

So this week I'm sharing my top two tips for picking the right social platforms for your practice and using that platform effectively to build your caseload.

Read More
Marissa LawtonComment
My 5-Step, Signature Process for Nailing Your Niche

"Niching," or defining this ideal client is a bit of a hot-button issue in our industry. Some worry about the legal and ethical ramifications of turning clients away while others feel confined or restricted by a practice that focuses on one demographic, one presenting problem, or one modality.

But the truth is, you really do need a niche.

To be straight up honest, if you spend your time, energy, and effort talking to everyone, you end up talking to no one. And spreading word of your practice to this void is pointless, no matter how strong your mission and message may be.

Having a niche to market to means that when a potential client finds your website, your blog, and your social media they will know instantly whether you are the right therapist for them - or not

Yes, niching down unequivocally means you will repel more leads than land ideal clients. BUT, when that one ideal client out of 10 finds you, they will instantly know they were meant to. That you are the therapist for them and that you will bring them toward healing. 

Talk about a loyal client!!

So, whether you're sprinting toward a niched down practice or tentatively debating the idea, today's video will show you a really easy process to define your ideal client. 

Read More
Marissa Lawton Comment
The Difference Between Pillar and Filler Content on your Therapy Blog

It takes a lot of mental energy to write a blog post.

Not to mention the other resources you invest in creating content like your time and your potato chips. Oh wait, you don't snack profusely on junk food while you market your practice? I guess that's just me.

But in all seriousness, marketing our practices online takes effort on our part, and one of the most annoying things we could do is invest the time, energy, and snack food into content that doesn't work.

Content marketing is about providing information valuable enough for our clients that it makes them want to pursue getting to know us more. The best way to do this is to ensure that our posts are educational, substantial, and motivational - in other words, we need to be creating pillar content.

But what exactly is that and how do we stay away from too much filler on our blogs?

Watch the video below to find out.

Read More
Marissa LawtonComment
3 Ways to Market to Modern Clients in and Authentic and Ethical Way

The world of online marketing grows more complicated by the day.

Seriously, every other moment it seems like there is a new social media platform, a new algorithm, or a new trend to try to keep up with.

And while this can all be confusing, even to someone like me who does this for a living, the truth is that the key to online marketing is simply putting out content that meets your clients' needs. And in 2018, our clients need us to cut through all of the noise out there in a way that's succinct, helpful and TRANSPARENT.

But transparency can be really scary for therapists who have a mind on the ethical boundaries and requirements of their profession. And for good reason! It's easy to cross a line from transparent marketing to revealing too many details about our practices and our caseloads.

Watch the video for more!

Read More
Marissa LawtonComment
Why You Suck At Following Through On Your Private Practice Dreams

Alright, Fellow Clinicians.

Today’s post is all about getting real with ourselves and fessing up when we know we could be doing something a bit better. I mean, I wouldn’t be doing you any favors if I didn’t call you out on your crap at least a little bit, right? 

Whether we’re procrastinators, multi-taskers, or victims of ‘oh shiny syndrome,’ a lot of us just plain old suck at following through. It’s probably not even our intention to leave things up in the air or unfinished. It’s just something we do as we get distracted by the other things we allow to take precedence over balancing therapist and family life. 

Our lack of follow-through could be the result of having a “monkey mind” or inability to focus on the task. Or, we could have mental and/or emotional blocks that are keeping us stuck. Or, worst of all we’re hiding behind the façade of someday – “someday I’ll make my dreams come true.”

Read More
Marissa LawtonComment
How To Create an Action Plan You'll Actually Follow - A Clinician's Guide To Getting Stuff Done

A few months ago, I was working with a client who couldn’t seem to make progress on the goals she had set for herself. Together, we had done a ton of mindset work and she had very clear ideas on her purpose and why she wanted a to grow her private practice.

Honestly, I was so impressed with the progress this client had made in her beliefs about being a successful practice owner that I was surprised that she still struggled to get started. This woman lacked nothing in the desire department and her fire burned bright.

We kept exploring her concerns from different angles; and, as it often goes, in our final sessions together we finally had our breakthrough

We went back through our work together with a fine tooth comb. She proved to herself that she had set her goals and found chunks of time to devote to accomplishing them. However, when it came to sitting down during this predetermined work time, all she felt was lost.

Read More
5 truths about setting achievable goals-What Therapists need to know

OK let’s bust out the real talk.

There are a gazillion articles out there about setting goals. These articles may tell you that you need to be specific or that you need to have a timeframe when thinking about the things you want to accomplish. That's all well and good; and, actually, I am a firm believer in setting SMART goals – which we’ll get to later.

But, the problem with all the goal setting/achieving information our there is it's usually put out by the über successful. Not other therapists new to private practice. Those who are so far removed from the beginnings of their businesses that it’s highly unlikely they remember what it felt like to set those first few shaky goals. The fear, the excitement, the anticipation, the self-doubt….

Read More