Shownotes
3 blogs to write when you are starting out in private practice
Today I'm talking about a topic which sort of surprises me that I'm talking about, because I often really don't like it when marketing experts come out with 20 blogs you need to write now for your private practice (for example) because I think that undermines the most important principle of marketing, which is that you have to write for your ideal clients, and they will be really different to your neighbour down the road's private practice ideal client, so I don't think you can come up with these generic topics that work for everybody. I think that's why we see a lot of really time consuming content marketing, on social media, blogs, podcasts, YouTube that is just too generic and really doesn't work, and doesn't speak to anybody. So it's really important you always bear that principle in mind, that you are creating content for your ideal client, and that does need to be quite a tight group of people. When I say ideal client, I mean the ideal client group, and that that should have some diversity within it, and you should have thought that through, so do go back to my podcast episode about the ideal client to understand fully what I mean when I say the ideal client if you've not listened to that one already. But the principle is that we don't try to market to everybody that could ever need a psychologist or a therapist; we only try to market to a tight group of people who need us, our expertise and our specialism, and that have something significant in common with each other. Usually that's a particular struggle that they are going through at a particular point in their journey as well. So if you haven't nailed that down yet, you really need to think about your specialism and your ideal client group before you create any marketing materials at all. It's the first thing you should do when you set out in private practice. Do go back and have a listen to a couple of episodes I've created on specialising and the ideal client group. We will also be running one of our free trainings again soon (I believe at the beginning of June, although the dates are to be confirmed) where we will be helping you to nail down your specialism if you haven't done that yet. So that's a bit of a spoiler, but I will be talking about that and giving you the opportunity to sign up for that over the next few weeks, but if you haven't got any idea on that so far, then go back and listen to those podcast episodes first.
But that all being said, I do think that there are three blog posts that you should get up on your site as soon as you possibly can, when you are launching your website and launching your private practice. These are blog posts that give you ready made answers that you can give to either prospective clients who get in touch with you, or to people that you meet through your networking efforts, whether that's in person networking, whether that is hanging out in Facebook groups or other communities where your ideal clients are. These are three blog posts that are going to give you some ready-made answers so that you're not always having to think from scratch, but also so that you're encouraging people to come over and check you out on your website. They're very useful pieces of content to have and they also help Google to get to know what your business is about as well.
'How to find a therapist that specialises in…'
The first one of these blog posts that I think you should create straightaway is ‘How to find a therapist that specialises in…’ and then insert your specialism. So in this article, you're going to be really upfront about how you would recommend to a friend or family member, they go about finding a suitably qualified therapist in your specialist subject. Don't worry about the fact that this might mean that some people read it and think, oh, okay, I'm going to go on to Psychology Today, or I'm going to go on to the Birth Trauma Association's website, or the BPS register, or wherever you're directing people for your specialism, and that might take some people away from working with you. It may do, but it's also really likely that it's going to demonstrate your authority and help people feel more confident about working with you, if you are the right fit for them. That is a really good one to have in your back pocket, because there will be people in Facebook groups or at networking events saying, you know, I've got a friend who needs therapy for this and I don't know how to find the right person, can anyone point me in the right direction? You supplying this article empowers them with the knowledge that they need to make a good informed decision about finding the right therapist, which is a really good thing to do, but it's also making sure that your name is the one that springs to mind, and it's showing a bit of value, and that you've got a bit of integrity from the beginning as well, which I think is a really good thing to do.
'What happens when I book therapy for…?'
The second blog post I think you should definitely have on your website is a frequently asked questions blog post, but I wouldn't call it that. I would call it something like ‘What happens when I book therapy for…’ insert your specialist area. In this blog post, you're going to answer all of the questions that people normally ask you when they sign up for therapy. Where will the sessions happen? What kinds of things will you ask me? What forms do I need to fill out? If you're using an online therapy platform, how does the online therapy platform work? How do I pay for sessions? What happens if I can't attend the session, or if I'm late? All of those typical procedural questions that people ask. I think it's really good to have a blog post that outlines all of those, because you can then link to it in your standard templated email that you send out to help people prepare for their first session with you, which is brilliant because it gives them all the information upfront, but it's also going to help people who are anxious about making the decision to book with you. If we put ourselves in the position of a client about to make the decision to book therapy, it's a really scary place to be, even for people like you or me who know this system from the other side. When I have booked personal therapy, I have been extremely anxious about it, really worried that I'm going to do the wrong thing, say the wrong thing, be in the wrong place at the wrong time, mess it up in some way. And our clients are going to be really anxious about that too, so creating something like this might help to contain some of that anxiety before they book, or during that process when they're just getting started working with you. It's a really valuable thing to have on your site. It will also save you a lot of time and effort answering these questions over and over again, because when somebody asks you can just send them a templated response with a link to this blog post, so you don't have to do that thinking over and over again.
'How do I…? What do I do if…?'
The third blog post that I think you should be creating is an answer to the top question that you see being asked about your specialism in either Facebook groups or other communities where you're hanging out with your ideal client group or listening to them. That may be something like ‘how do I get my baby to sleep?’ if you're in the perinatal space. Or it might be something like’ what to do if my child won't go to school’, or ‘what should I do if I have a panic attack in a public place?’ These are the kinds of questions that you might see being talked about that will be very unique to your specialism. I can't guess them for you. This is why I don't think people should create these generic lists of hundreds of blog posts that you should be writing, because it does have to be unique to your specialist area, but pick the top one, the one that you see people talking about all the time, the one that really stresses people out. If you're in the parenting space, it's likely to be about shouting, ‘how do I shout less?’, ‘what am I supposed to do when my toddler has a massive meltdown in the supermarket?’ But pick the top one that is screaming out at you and answer that in the best way that you can, but use the question as the title because that's what people are going to be searching for in Google. And don't moderate it, don't make it a sanitised version that is in line with your values as a therapist, because that's not what people are searching for. You do that in the article; in the article you give people maybe the reframe, the different way of thinking about it, the different way of talking about it. In the title you're meeting them where they're at, so just literally use that question as you see it as your blog title, and then you give them your best stuff, you give them your best tips that you would give somebody that you met in person who was struggling with that particular issue. That doesn't mean that you have to go into loads and loads of detail, it just means you give them something actionable that they can put into practice straightaway, that is genuinely going to help them with that particular struggle.
I hope that has been useful for you. That is the minimum that I would do. If I was setting out in private practice today, I would make sure that I had those three blog posts up on my site as quick as possible, so that I had the ready made answers for my ideal clients when I met them, either at networking, or as referrals in my inbox, so that I had readymade answers to give them, and so that I could help Google get to know what my business is all about so it can show it to the right people who are searching for me on Google.
I hope that is useful and gives you some inspiration. As ever, I'd love to know what you think about this subject, so come and connect with me over on Instagram @rosiegilderthorp I would love to get to know you there.
Links
Episode 38: Why every psychologist and therapist needs a specialism
Mentioned in this episode:
Free Client Checklist
Do you sometimes wake up at 2 am worried that you’ve made a terrible error that will bring professional ruin upon you and disgrace your family? I’m laughing now but when I first set up in private practice I was completely terrified that I had “missed” something big when setting up insurance or data protection. Even now, three years in, I sometimes catch myself wondering if I have really covered all the bases. It is hard, no impossible, to think creatively and have the impact you should be having in your practice if you aren’t confident that you have a secure business. BUT it can be overwhelming to figure out exactly what you need to prioritise before those clients start coming in. I’ve created a free checklist (plus resources list) to take the thinking out of it. Tick off every box and you can see your clients confident in the knowledge that you have everything in place for your security and theirs. Download it now - the link is in the show notes.
