The Power of Online Presence: Facebook Brings Australian Parenting Expert Elly Taylor International Opportunities

 

Discover how some very successful mental health professionals use blogging, social media, and other technologies as powerful tools for their therapy practices.

Elly Taylor, AARC, is an Australian Relationship Counsellor, Parenthood Researcher and advocate for emotional health. She teaches parents and professionals about the eight stages of early parenthood following pregnancy so families can bed down solid foundations for psychological, emotional and relational growth. You can learn more about Elly’s work at www.ellytaylor.com.

When and how did you first start putting time and effort into maintaining a strong online presence?

With two teenagers at home, "Facebook" was a dirty word in our house a few years ago! Then, after my book Becoming Us was published here by Harper Collins in Australia, I met up with a very successful author friend who was giving me tips on marketing and how social media had made all the difference for her. I squirmed awkwardly in my seat and said something like “I really want my book to spread through word of mouth." She looked at me straight and said “Elly, these days that’s called social media.” So I reluctantly hopped on Facebook and found it completely overwhelming! Until I found there were groups. I love groups; part of my job is leading them. After a few months of participating in conversations in a couple of different groups about birthing, I received my first invitation to present my research in the United States... through a Facebook message!

Please describe what social platforms you currently use. 

I would use more if I could get off Facebook! I’m on LinkedIn and will be more active on there when I start my group for Family Focused Perinatal Professionals early next year. I’m also on Twitter, but don’t find it as warm and fuzzy as Facebook. I like seeing people’s kid pics. I did start a couple of Pinterest boards, but I’m worried I will get completely lost in there and weeks will pass and I’ll forget to eat…

About how much time do you devote to your online presence? How do you balance it with your other work responsibilities? 

Far too much at the moment! The plan for next year is to spend two days face-to-face with clients, one in my office and one via Skype for interstate and overseas clients. That leaves three days for writing and social media-ing. And the weekend to recover from my online hangover!

What kinds of things do you use to inspire your content creation; what do you write about?

I try to write about the stuff that’s unspoken, and with expecting and new parents, there’s plenty to cover! I write about the ways parenthood changes life and love and how to work with the changes and support your partner to do the same so you both grow together through them. So many relationships come undone through lack of awareness. In this information age, that shouldn’t be happening.

I also have found in my research that so many aspects of our culture set new families up for failure, that there’s a huge information gap between therapy and birth professionals, and therefore such a massive gap between expectation and reality for parents. I’ll be starting my regular blog soon, one for professionals to cross-pollinate their expertise and one for parents so they get the benefits of that. I’d like to do what I can to help cross the divide.

How do you best balance personal and professional in your online activities? Please give examples.

I have two FB accounts, one in my professional name and one in my married name, which is private. I don’t share family stuff on my professional page, although I know many who do and I’m probably being over-cautious. I do share some stories from my own life my talk for the Parenting 2.0 conference in Dublin is a good example!), but I check with my hubby that he’s OK with that beforehand…or maybe just afterwards!

What is some tangible evidence that your online presence has grown your business?

All my speaking invitations in the US and UK have come through social media contacts. My Facebook friends were also the ones who encouraged me to develop trainings based on the content in my book. I’ll be rolling out Becoming Us webinar trainings next year so that birth, health and therapy professionals have ideas, direction, and support to work with the expecting and new parents in their care.

What other ways has your strong online presence helped you?

Oh gosh, in lots of ways! If I have an idea I’m not sure about (logo, tag lines, etc), I’ll run it by my online friends. I’ve asked for feedback on my book and website and taken it all on board so when I finally launch my webinar series early next year, it’s been given a really thorough test run first.

A lovely birth professional friend referred to me as a “Parenthood Tour Guide” the other day, and then another one said she thought of me as “The Family Whisperer." I was so touched and thrilled! I love the support and validation I receive through Facebook groups; so many wonderful, engaged, enlightened souls who are all there to lift and help each other. I remember in the years before I got on social media, I was often lacking the support and collaboration I needed to get my work off the ground. I teared up just yesterday when a FB friend offered to be an administrator for a FB group I’m starting up next year and another offered to do a video testimonial for my book.

What have been some of the biggest challenges you’ve encountered creating and maintaining your online presence?

Trying not to get sucked into the Facebook vortex and get other stuff done, like actually develop the content! I get so carried away by seeing everyone's pictures and news and cute videos. I made the mistake of announced the Becoming Us training courses just the other day at the same time I was supposed to be picking up my daughter from school.

How have you overcome those challenges?

I keep telling myself I’m going to get an egg timer…

What tips or resources can you recommend to help therapists who are new to the online world of blogging, social media, SEO, etc.?

Start slowly, observe at first to see what others are doing while you get your bearings, take your time, and build your confidence. See what ignites your passion – that’s where your best writing will come from. See where the gaps are. When I first got on FB and joined a bunch of birth professional groups, I noticed that fathers (and partners) were often left out of the conversations completely. I feel strongly that from an adult attachment perspective, including and supporting dads/partners during pregnancy, birth and early parenthood has major long-term benefits for the whole family. That's where I began my journey, and it was worked out well so far!

Elly Taylor, AARC

Australian Relationship Counsellor, Parenthood Researcher Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/BecomingUs Website: www.ellytaylor.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ellytaylor

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10 Ways Blogging Transformed My Private Practice

Jodie Gale MA built a thriving practice through online presence, blogging and social media. Read about her journey in this inspiring guest post.

When I returned home from the UK several years ago, I was shocked at the state of psychotherapy in Australia. There was, and still is, a lack of understanding about what psychotherapy is and a lack of promotion regarding the benefits of psychotherapy from our professional associations. Frustratingly, it is rare to find a psychotherapist (or a family/play/art therapist) working as part of a multidisciplinary team in private or public health.

There is also a deeply pervasive myth that it is impossible to fill a ‘full fee paying’ private practice as a counsellor or psychotherapist because of the mental health plan insurance system which only provides rebates to psychologists and a small number of social workers. Trying to persuade clients to engage in weekly, depth psychotherapy (without a rebate) literally felt like mission impossible. My private practice reflected this and was sporadic to say the least. Desperate and down hearted after 8 years of Master’s training to become a psychotherapist – I found myself smack bang in the middle of a major career crisis.

At the beginning of 2013, I built a strong online presence through blogging and by taking the Julie Hanks LCSW's Private Practice Toolbox Blog Challenge.  Since taking the blogging challenge I am now described by my colleagues as a prolific blogger and I credit creating online content as the foremost reason for my practice growth and success.

10 Benefits of Blogging Regularly on my Private Practice Website

1) I have more than enough clients

A great deal has changed since then! My practice is out of control busy and I have literally had to take my phone number off my website because I couldn’t keep up with the high level of phone inquiries. Last count, I have referred 50+ clients to other therapists in my local area and beyond.

2) Networking with colleagues

The initial benefit of blogging specifically through taking the blog challenge was networking with colleagues from around the world and building ongoing personal and professional relationships. Connections are crucial, especially when working from a home office, private practice as I do.

3) Keeping current on research

Writing one-two times a month has kept me up-to-date with the latest research and news within the therapy field.

4) Building writing confidence

Initially terrified of putting myself out there, I found that my confidence and writing improved with every blog post.

5) Increase in client inquiries

After about four – five months of blogging, I noticed a significant increase in client inquiries. One client specifically mentioned finding me through the ‘Top 10 Books’ blog challenge post. She had Googled one of the book titles, then ‘counsellor’ and I ranked first in the google search.

6) Provides resources for current clients

A blog is a great resource centre for my clients and I often send them links on a specific topic. Once my blog is written, I share it on Pinterest as my boards are the ultimate resource centre for clients and therapists alike. Whenever I choose an image for my blog, it is with Pinterest in mind as I find my articles are shared more frequently on Pinterest than on other social media pages.

7) Higher ranking on Google searches

Six months into the blog challenge, I started to rank on the front page of Google Australia and I often rank at number one for my local area, key word searches. My practice has been full since then. When I reply to inquiries, I let the prospective client know that my practice is full, I offer to make a referral and ask if they would like to go on my women’s workshop mailing list.

8) Professional credibility

Historically, psychology articles were limited to journals or written by journalists for popular magazines. As therapists, we have a wealth of knowledge to share. Blogging helps to raise the profile of our profession.

Blogging has raised my profile as an expert in the field and the go-to professional for women’s psycho-spiritual health and well-being. I have been interviewed, written guest posts and featured on Private Practice Toolbox, The World of Psychology , About.com, ABC Radio, Australia Counselling, The Manly Daily Newspaper, The Morning Show and Australian Well-being Magazine.

9) Job opportunities

Blogging helped me to land the job of my dreams. Late last year I attended a two-day workshop and I was approached by the two directors who offered me the position of Assistant Clinical Director of an eating disorder unit. Having written about eating disorders from a soulful and psycho-spiritual perspective, they loved my blog and felt that I would be a good fit for their team.

10) Sense of power and effectiveness

Finally, I have found a sense of personal power due to taking responsibility for the growth of my practice and career progression. I was filled with a sense of hopelessness regarding our field and often envied other therapists who appeared to have more clients and success than I did. When my practice was sporadic and slow, I was working from a place of lack. Now I work from a place of generosity and abundance. And… most importantly, I have realised that there are enough courageous, ideal (and full fee paying) clients out there for everyone!

Jodie Gale MA is a leading specialist in women’s emotional, psychological and spiritual health and well-being. She is a qualified therapeutic counsellor, a psychosynthesis psychotherapist. Jodie lives on the Northern Beaches of Sydney where she currently balances being a stay at home mother with her part-time position at EatFed and a part-time private practice.

How to Create and Sell Your First E-book (part 2)

In this guest post, counselor and consultant Clinton Power share how to put the finishing touches on your E-book and how to get the word out and sell your book. (Read part 1 how to create your first E-Book)

Use a graphic designer to make your E-book stunning

If you're planning on creating a PDF version of your E-book to sell through your website, you definitely want to get it professionally designed. Your designer can then employ visuals, highlight quotes, and use attractive fonts and graphic design elements to draw the reader in and make reading your E-book a pleasure. Your designer will also create a compelling cover page, which is essential as it will make a big difference whether people are attracted to your E-book or not.

If you're going down the Amazon route, you won't need a designer to design the inside, but you will need an awesome cover design so you stand out from the thousands of books in Amazon.

One other consideration is to make sure you have your e-book proof read once it’s complete. I employed a professional copy editor to make sure my book was grammatically sound with no spelling errors. This was a good investment.

Create a dedicated landing page for your E-book

It's worth creating a dedicated landing page on your website for, or creating a stand-alone website just for your E-book.

Even if you're selling it through Amazon, it's helpful to direct people to this page to read more about your book.

Include attractive images of the cover (3D preferably), testimonials and a bio of you, the author.

Options for selling your E-book

I chose the Amazon route and more specifically, a product called KDP Select. If you use KDP Select you have a 90-day agreement with Amazon that you won't sell your E-book anywhere else on the internet.

KDP Select also allows you to have up to 5 promotional days within the 90 days where you can give your book away for free on Amazon. This was a great strategy for getting more exposure, and helped me get over 2000 downloads. In fact, over 1,800 downloads happened in one weekend during one of my free promotions when my book went to the top of the free list for its category.

If you want more flexibility, you can just join KDP and then still sell your E-book in other places.

If you're selling your E-book through your website, I recommend using E-Junkie or Gum Road. E-Junkie will allow you to have affiliates so other people can sell your book and earn a commission, and Gum Road is very simple software where a beautiful pop-up appears on your website and guides the purchaser through a checkout.

Begin promoting your E-book

Now your E-book has been created, it's time to start promoting it. That's probably a whole other post on it's own, but one tip I'll share is I sent advanced copies to readers on my newsletter list for free, in exchange for Amazon reviews.

This was very helpful in getting reviews on Amazon just as I started to make sales. And the more positive reviews you get, the more Amazon will promote your book in its marketplace.

Don't forget to talk about your E-book on a regular basis on social media and get creative about sharing your message.

Another strategy I used was I created attractive images in PicMonkey with tips from each chapter and shared them on social media and on my blog.

Track your results

Finally, you want to track your results to see how you're doing with your sales.

Amazon makes this easy through Author Central, so make sure you create an account there. You can track the ranking of your book in the Amazon Marketplace and read all your reviews, as well as edit your author profile.

If you're selling your E-book on your website, use Google Analytics to see where traffic is coming to your landing page, and then increase your marketing efforts in those areas.

Creating an E-book has never been easier, so what's stopping you? Get writing!

Clinton Power is a Gestalt therapist and the owner of Clinton Power + Associates - a private practice dedicated to helping singles and couples move out of relationship pain in Sydney, Australia. Clinton is the author of the E-book 31 Days to Build a Better Relationship, which is available in the Amazon store. He is also the founder of Australia Counselling Directory, a free directory for finding counselors and psychologists in Australia. Follow him on Twitter @sydneytherapist

How to Create and Sell Your First E-book (part 1)

In this guest post counselor and consultant Clinton Power shares how to create your first E-Book

There's no doubt that creating and selling your own digital product is a great way to increase your online exposure, credibility, expertise, and earn some money while doing so.

And the creation of an e-book to sell through your own website or an online bookstore like Amazon or iBooks is the quickest and easiest product to create to get started.

I wrote my own e-book called 31 Days to Build a Better Relationship and published using the Kindle platform on Amazon. It's been a great way to increase my online presence and credibility as a specialist in relationships and has now been downloaded over 2000 times and received 19 five star reviews in Amazon.

With a $2.99 price tag, I didn't write it to make money (though the checks from Amazon are very nice), but more to reach thousands of people that I never could have on my own, through the power of the Amazon Marketplace.

Selling an e-book through your own website is also a very good idea, and the good news is you can charge much more than Amazon e-book prices.

So let's dive in and look at the steps you need to get started.

Select a topic that will sell

It's important to do some research at the beginning to check there’s a market for your e-book and people looking for the information you want to write about.

As a therapist you are well positioned to create an information product because you have years of training, knowledge and experience about good mental health, the change process, and self-improvement. These information products are often in high demand because they are providing a solution to a pain or problem.

So to get your research underway I suggest you start with Google and Amazon. Search for keywords that are related to the e-book you're considering writing.

For example, if you're a specialist in child ADD/ADHD, search for combinations of keywords in Amazon and Google such as "How to overcome child ADD", or "I think my child has ADHD", or "best ideas for dealing with ADD". The idea is you want to see how many people already have products for sale that are similar to your idea.

If you find similar products, but your idea has a particulate angle that is not covered by other e-books, then this is a good thing.

There are hundreds of books on relationships in the Amazon store, but I didn't find one that used my approach of a tip a day for 31 days, so I knew I was bringing in a different angle that might help with sales.

Create an outline

The next step in the creation process is to create an outline for your e-book.

Start by writing down the headline or theme for each chapter. This helps you organise your thinking and then you can flesh out the content later.

Here's a tip: 50% of my e-book used blog posts I had previously written, so if you have been already been writing on a regular basis, don't discount that you may have some of your e-book written already.

This was a huge time-saver that added 15,000 words to my e-book, and I then wrote the remaining 10,000 words in 10 days.

Choose a writing platform

One of the simplest ways to write your e-book is to write it directly into Microsoft Word. This is a good option if you're going to turn it into a PDF for your own website.

I used the free platform Press Books, which is like writing in WordPress, but it converts it into the .mobi file, which you need to upload to Amazon.

I found this software easy to use and enjoyable to write in. You can then make as many changes as you want and quickly upload the latest version to Amazon within minutes.

Write clearly and simply for your audience

It's important that you write in an informal and conversational way, so you can connect with you reader.

Try to avoid writing in an academic voice as it will turn off your readers. The challenge here is to let go of your college training and write as if you're speaking to a close friend.

Use calls to action and hyperlinks

The great thing about writing an e-book, either for Kindle or a PDF for your website, is you can use hyperlinks to link to websites and other online resources.

So take advantage of this and include hyperlinks to link to other websites, or your own. This makes your e-book and more valuable resource.

Also use clear calls to action, so you tell the reader what actions you want them to take.

My e-book had a tip at the end of each chapter, so I told the reader exactly what to do for the next 24 hours. This then helps the reader feel they are getting something from the e-book because they are taking action.

Watch for part 2 on how to sell your e-book!

Clinton Power is a Sydney-based Gestalt therapist and the owner of Clinton Power + Associates- a private practice dedicated to helping singles and couples move out of relationship pain. He is also the founder of Australia Counselling Directory, a free directory for find counsellors and psychologists in Australia. Clinton is also a passionate coach and consultant for healthcare professionals. Find him on Twitter or Google+.

What You Need To Succeed As A Solopreneur Therapist

 Why are so many therapists bad at building a business? A key to building a successful private practice is developing discipline.

Guest post by Clinton Power, a Sydney-based Gestalt therapist and the owner of Clinton Power & Associates and founder of Australia Counselling Directory.

When I first dreamed of being a therapist, my vision was about helping people, making a difference and feeling good about contributing to the well-being of others.

After 10 years as a therapist, I’ve become acutely aware of the reality of running a business by myself. While I still enjoy the reward of doing all those good things I mentioned, I’m also realistic about what it takes to run a private practice. In fact, I’ve come to the conclusion that to be a successful therapist in private practice today, you need to be a solopreneur.

What is a soloprenuer therapist?

So what’s a soloprenuer therapist? Effectively it means you’re an entrepreneurial therapist that works solo. Being a solopreneur therapist means you can hold a big vision of what you want for your business and you’re always on the lookout for new opportunities.

You might have all your qualifications, a lovely office space in the right area where your ideal client is located, the furnishings to accompany it and perhaps an attractive website. But that’s no guarantee that you will attract clients to your practice.

In my mind, to be a successful therapist and soloprenuer, you need to have some of the following skills:

• Marketing skills to effectively communicate about your services
• Accounting skills to track your income and manage your finances
• Discipline to show up and complete your marketing activities
• The ability to create a vision for your business and implement the smaller steps needed
• Interpersonal skills to network with other therapists and allied professionals
• Willingness to learn about online marketing, social media and good website design
• Basic SEO knowledge to help your website and articles show up in the search engines
• Writing skills and basic copywriting skills so you can convert your readers into paying clients

Are you getting the idea?

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, that’s not my intention. I hope you have a sense of how versatile you need to be to be able to run a therapy business that brings you clients on an ongoing basis.

I’m not talking about a hobby therapy business where you see a handful of clients a week. I’m talking about what’s needed to create a thriving practice where you are the ‘go to’ person in your niche and you can make a very comfortable living from being a therapist.

The importance of discipline for the solopreneur therapist

In my coaching and consulting work with many healthcare professionals, I talk to a lot of therapists that are wanting to build their businesses, but are not sure what they’re doing wrong.

If there’s one theme that seems to capture what many therapists struggle with, I would say it’s discipline for the solopreneur.

Maybe it’s from my many years as a classical musician, where I had to be disciplined in my musical practice to maintain my performance standard, but I see discipline as an essential part of my business, but also the mindset needed for success. And I see discipline as a major stumbling block for many therapists.

It’s so essential for the soloprenuer therapist to have discipline, because if you don’t do the work, no one will do it for you.

Tips for developing discipline

Here’s a number of ways you can work on your discipline in your private practice:

• Create a publishing schedule for your blog and stick to it
• Give yourself learning goals to increase your knowledge of how to use social media effectively
• Study the basic principles of copywriting so you can write powerful copy for your services and events
• Learn how to manage money effectively using accounting software that makes your job easier
• Create a networking schedule to build relationships with other healthcare professionals and make yourself accountable
• Create a marketing plan that breaks down into weekly tasks that you follow through on
• Create 1, 3, and 5 year goals for your business, write them down and review your progress every 3-6 months
• Join a mastermind group or find an accountability partner and schedule regular meetings so you can support, encourage and challenge each other

This is just a start, but I hope I’m giving you some ideas here.

I believe if you choose just one of those ideas from the list above and commit to the application, it can only benefit your therapy business.

The practice of discipline is one that many people struggle with, however, I do believe it’s like a muscle that you can build and strengthen with practice over time.

I invite you to experiment with shifting your mindset from thinking of yourself as a business owner to a soloprenuer, and notice what happens in your business. Take this as a challenge to help take your business to the next level.

Clinton Power is a Sydney-based Gestalt therapist and the owner of Clinton Power & Associates- a private practice dedicated to helping singles and couples move out of relationship pain. He is also the founder of Australia Counselling Directory, a free directory for find counsellors and psychologists in Australia. Clinton is also a passionate coach and consultant for healthcare professionals. Find him on Twitter @sydneytherapist.

(c) Can Stock Photo