Have a Therapy Directory Listing, But No Website?

Do you have a Therapy Directory listing, but no website? 

If you're not ready for a full-fledged website, you can create a simple, one-page website by registering your vanity domain name and pointing it to your Therapy Directory profile.

Want help making this happen? For just $15, I'll register the custom domain name of your choice and redirect it to your Therapy Directory profile. 

To purchase this service, click here.

You can then use the domain name on all of your materials -- letterhead, business card, articles, brochures, and more. And, in the future, if you decide to develop a full website, you can simply point the domain name to the new website.

Here's an example of how this works:

http://www.debshaddy.com

Building Your Online Identity

One topic I'm hearing a lot about from therapists is how they can build their online identity.

When you Google yourself, what do you find?

I will be offering a teleseminar on this topic on Friday, Dec. 18 from 2-3 p.m. CST.
Register online for free for "Building Your Online Therapist Profile."

In the meantime, step one to building your online identity is to register a domain name (URL) in your name. It's called a "vanity URL."

Suggestions:

• The first one you should try to register is your name: i.e., www.MindyBrown.com
• If that's not available, add "therapy" or "therapist" to your name: www.MindyBrownTherapist.com
• If you don't like that -- make it geographic specific: www.MindyBrownOmaha.com
• If you're known for a particular specialty, you can use that as your URL: www.infertility-omaha.com

Be creative! And don't be afraid to register more than one domain name. They're cheap through 1&1 (currently $6.99 for the first year; $8.99 a year after that) and you can "point" them anywhere you'd like (more on that later).

Click here to look and see if the URL you want is available.

Or click on this banner:

Marketing Your Practice Online and Offline

As promised, here are the notes from my presentation on "Marketing Your Practice Online and Offline," at the APPT Fall Conference "Back to Basics" on Nov. 7.

• There is no secret formula or magic bullet to filling your private practice - the key to success is to select a few simple, effective tactics and do them consistently.
• These should be things that you are comfortable doing: newsletters, talks/workshops, writing articles, networking, articles, etc.
• In order to build your private practice, you need to cultivate relationships -- with prospective clients, new clients, referral sources, and influential individuals (this can be members of the media, insurance company representatives, and affiliates).
  

People do business with people they know, like, and trust.

Tell people what you do -- over and over again. And get your message to the same people over and over again -- because consistency creates familiarity.

Be sure you track how you are getting clients. Ask them how they heard about you.

In Ellie Fields' presentation in the morning, she mentioned that you can be a generalist, but should have something to hang your hat on -- something you are known for.

There is a five-step process to cultivate your brand identity.

You do NOT need a website, but you should have an online presence.

Call other practices (mystery shop) -- block your caller ID. Pretend to be a client seeking therapy services. Look at their websites. Google other therapists. Google yourself!

There is still a lot of value in printed pieces. Not all clients are technologically savvy -- nor are all therapists. Printed brochures are still very much widely used! And on-demand technology (print-on-demand, or color copying) lets you print as few or as many as you need.

DO put your website address (your domain name) on everything.

Do make sure your business card is a mini-brochure.
Free Samples - Business Cards, Return Address Labels, Rubber Stamp and Many More!





Your business identity is vital to creating your brand identity. A professionally designed logo will help you build visibility and credibility.




If you are thinking about going out on your own, get a dedicated business cell phone, domain name, and associated e-mail address. Then you can create your business card.

I'll share more marketing tips from my presentation in a future blog post!