When someone searches for a therapist, they’re not scanning for qualifications, they’re searching for a feeling:

“Will I feel okay with you?”

“Can I tell you something hard and not feel judged?”

That’s what I call The Armchair Test, and once you understand how it works, you’ll never look at blogging (or marketing) the same way again.

In this episode, we explore:

• The real reason blogging builds client trust
• Why marketing isn’t about selling yourself
• What your clients are actually thinking when they find your website or directory profile
• The quiet power your blog has to help someone feel just a little safer

Mentioned in this episode:

• Join the ‘Framework First Blogging Method’ - Get step-by-step help writing blogs that connect and convert, even if writing doesn’t come naturally.
• Join the Grow Your Private Practice membership – Get ongoing support, training, and encouragement to grow your private practice with confidence.
• For more of my free and paid resources, START HERE
• Listen or read to: From ‘I can’t write’ to published author, with guest expert Zoe Clements

Over the years I’ve had messages from therapists saying the podcast has been their companion on dog walks, in the car, or when they’re feeling stuck and need a nudge. If the show has been that for you and you’d like to support it, you can now Buy Me a Coffee.

It helps keep the lights on and the episodes flowing, one brew at a time.

👉 Buy Me a Coffee

Now, what if the way you've been thinking about blogging has been missing the most important part, not because you're doing it wrong, but because nobody explained why it works the way that it does. Well, that's exactly what I'm sharing in today's episode, and it's gonna shift everything, not just how you blog, but how you show up for the people who need you.

We're gonna be talking about something that I call The Armchair Test, which is a simple idea that changes the way your potential clients see you, it helps them to feel safe enough to say yes. So if blogging has ever felt awkward or overwhelming, or you've worried that it just doesn't work, look, you need to hear this because once you understand this one thing, everything will start to make sense.

Hi, and welcome to the Grow Your Private Practice Show. I'm Jane Travis, and I help counsellors and therapists to get found by more of the right clients without the overwhelm. So whether that's through blogging or content creation, or just figuring out what to say and how to say it, I'm here to make the whole getting found part of private practice feel easier and more doable, and maybe even a little bit fun.

Hello, hello, hello and welcome back and if this is your first visit, well, it's really great to have you here. Okay, so I was walking Kimmy my dog, the other day. It was a beautiful autumn day. The sun was out and the colours were just glorious, really beautiful. So I'm walking along feeling very happy, and I was half distracted and half daydreaming.

You know, that kind of walk where your brain just starts to kind of piece things together, you know? And it just starts, starts doing it normally and naturally. And that's when the words finally came to me. Now I've been blogging for over 20 years, and I've seen, time and again, how powerful it can be. It's great for connection and visibility.

It's great for helping the right clients to feel safe enough to, you know, reach out and say that maybe this person could help. So I've always known that blogging works, but there's just been a part of it and it's one of the most important parts really, that I've actually just. Kinda struggled to put into a clear, simple language.

So I've felt it, I've lived it, I've taught people about it, but I haven't quite had the right words that would make it click for others until now. And that's because I've, I've devised this. It's called The Armchair Test. So what is the armchair test? Well, imagine someone's thinking about starting therapy.

So you know what it's like you, maybe you felt like this before when you started therapy. I know what I felt like. I felt really scared, terrified, actually. I felt really unsure. You know, maybe they're wondering if something's wrong with them. Maybe they're wondering if they're gonna be judged. Maybe they're wondering if you, the person they choose is gonna understand them without making them feel silly or broken, or just a bit too much.

Now they're not really thinking about, you know, modalities or qualifications or credentials. What they're thinking about is, will this person get me? Will I feel okay sitting in their room sharing my story? Can I say the hard things without feeling ashamed? And that's what I call the armchair test. It's that quiet moment when somebody takes a look at your blog and thinks, I think I'd feel okay with you. I think I could sit with you and breathe. And when your blog helps someone to imagine that, well, that's when they start to trust you and that's when they're gonna reach out.

So it's worth just remembering, you know, marketing. It's not about showing off, it's about showing up. So many therapists tell me, look, I hate marketing. It feels like I've got to show off. But the truth is that marketing isn't about selling yourself. I hear that so many times. People say, I don't like selling myself.

And it's I think to myself, well, you don't have to. You really, really don't have to because you're not trying to prove anything. You're not proving that you are the best. It's not about puffing out your chest or posting shiny stats everywhere. You know, the real purpose of marketing is to help people to get to know who you are and who you help. And that's basically it.

So it's about showing up in a way that says. Here's who I am, here's what I do, and if you are struggling, I might just be the person to help you. So it's something that's just really honest. It's very human, and it's really grounded and blogging well. That's one of the simplest and most powerful ways that you can do that.

So let me share with you a quick story. I run a service that's called the Directory Revival. And I really, really made, made a bad choice, calling it that. It's very difficult to say the direct revival, try saying it. It's not easy. Anyway, so the directory revival is where I help therapists to get found and chosen on directories.

So a couple of weeks ago, I was helping somebody that's based in a very busy city. So I did what I always do. I did a little search to see how many counsellors lived within or worked within a 15 mile radius of their practice. And for this person, the result was absolutely gobsmacking. It was just under 600.

600 other counsellors within a 15 mile radius. Now, can you imagine being a potential client with that around, you know they're gonna feel overwhelmed, aren't they? They're gonna feel overwhelmed. They're gonna feel exhausted. They're gonna feel like if they finally build up the courage to look for a counsellor and they see that many names, it's just too much.

You know? It's not empowering to have that choice. It's overwhelming. And this is where your blog is going to become a lifeline. 'cause here's where you get to say it. Here's where you can say, look, if you are struggling. Here's what it might be like for you to talk to me, and this is what clients are actually doing.

This is the process that happens when people are looking to choose a therapist. So when someone's ready to look for a counsellor, what they'll do is they'll check out a few profiles. They might have a couple of profiles on directory, or maybe they've had a look on Google, but they've maybe got three or four people that they think, right?

I'm gonna have a closer look at them. And then what do they do? Well, I'll tell you what they do. They're gonna start scoping you out. Now, they're not doing it to judge you, but they want to figure out if they're gonna feel safe with you. So they're wondering to themselves, what kind of a person are you? Am I gonna feel like I've got to just explain everything and will you let me cry and not rush me?

And here's the key. They're not gonna ask you those questions. They're gonna feel them out. You know, they're gonna sense it by what you say in your words, by your tone of the tone of your writing, the way that you explain things. You know, do you explain things in a really simple way or are you using a lot of Cary words?

'cause that's gonna make it, that's gonna become a block for people. So the way you talk to the person reading your blog is gonna make a big difference in how they're gonna see you. And that is why your blog matters. Not because it's clever, but because it's kind and it's worth remembering that familiar beats fancy every time.

And just to reassure you, you don't need to be the world's best writer 'cause that's just not what this is about. You just need to sound like you. So if somebody's scrolling and they read a blog that says, if your brain feels like it's run a marathon before breakfast, you are not alone. That's gonna land far better than a textbook de description of anxiety, isn't it?

Because blogging isn't about being impressive and showing off. It's about being seen as somebody that's familiar. It's about helping someone feel like they already know you just a little bit. And what I'm talking about here isn't anything to do with personal disclosure. It's about that feeling, that little flicker that they think, look, I think I could talk to you. You know, that's what we're talking about here. And look, you don't need to be a writer. You know, if the thought of writing a blog freaks you out, look, you really aren't alone.

And that's exactly why I created the Framework First Blogging Method. Now this is just nine pounds a month. And in this I give you a brand new step-by-step blogging framework every single month. So it's not a fill in the blanks template, but it's a guided structure that's gonna help you to write about different topics with ease, and it's gonna help you to stay connected to your voice.

And your message. So every month you're gonna know what you're going to write. So there's gonna be no more like blank screen panics, just blog posts that feel like you doing what blog posts are meant to do, and that is to help people feel safe. So if you'd like to hear a little bit more about that, you could go to janetravis.co.uk/framework-first, or I'll put the details in the show notes and you can go and check it out.

So look, just to recap, we've been talking about blogging and we're talking about how powerful blogging is, but it's not just about SEO or visibility, although those things are obviously great and important, but the real reason it works is because it helps someone to imagine what it could feel like to sit with you, and that is the armchair test. And when you pass the armchair test, people are going to choose you. You don't need to be ultra polished. You just need to be present. And when you show up in your writing with warmth and humanity, you know, your blog becomes a quiet invitation to be trusted.

Okay, so I want to ask you, does your blog pass the armchair test if blogging's always felt like a chore before or like something other therapist do, but you don't think you can, I would love to help you to make it feel easier. Come and check out the Framework First Blogging Method. Like I say, it's just nine pounds a month, and each month you'll get a brand new easy to follow framework that's gonna help you write in a way that's natural and warm and defective.

So that's about it for today. I really hope that you found this useful, and if this episode has helped you, then why don't you share it with a fellow therapist or why don't you follow the show, or why don't you just send me a message and tell me what you found useful or even let me know what you'd like to hear in the future. Okay. So until next time, keep showing up because someone out there is looking for a therapist who sounds just like you. Take care. Bye-bye.