6 Ways Media Interviews Will Help Your Practice

Are you hesitant to respond to media interviews? Performance anxiety, lack of training, or placing little value on media interviews as a strategy for practice building may be among your reasons for shying away. You may have heard that interviews don't bring in an immediate influx of new referrals. I have been actively seeking media interviews on a regular basis for the past five years and I've never had a huge increase in new referrals as a result. However, I have seen many long-term benefits of doing media interviews, that have built my practice over time. Here are 6 ways conventional media interviews have helped grow my private-pay practice.

1) Increasing awareness of your practice and services

“If you build it, they will come” doesn’t necessarily apply to opening a private practice. Most private practitioners initially struggle to get clients in the door of their practice because few people are aware of their business. Media interviews increase the exposure of your practice and allow you to get in front of more potential clients. Continued exposure makes it more likely that potential clients will remember your name and will eventually call you if they need help.

2) Opportunity for community service and education

Media interviews provide volunteer opportunities to educate your community, increase awareness about issues that matter to you and to them. In addition to making a living doing something I love, I want to make a difference for as many people as possible and media interviews allow me to make a positive impact for people well beyond the therapy office.

3) Engender public trust and increase credibility

Television stations, radio stations, newspapers, and websites spend a lot of time connecting with their readers and viewers and building their “brand”. When you are featured in the media you get to borrow their credibility and trust as they put you in front of their audience. Regular media appearances have allowed a large number of people to hear my therapeutic philosophy, and get a feel for my approach, and see me as a resource.

4) Helps transition you from provider to "expert"

Regular media appearances help position you us as more than a potential counseling or coaching provider. Interviews allow the general public to view you as an “expert” in your field or specialty area. The role of expert adds value to you and your services and makes it more likely that clients will pay out of pocket for your services.

5) Provides potential multiple income streams

Surprisingly, some media appearances have transitioned into additional income streams. I’ve been invited to be a regular contributor on television or a paid blogger. What could be better for your practice than getting paid to educate the public and create awareness of your practice?

6) Helps provide fresh consistent content for website, blog, and social media

Media interviews help provide new content for your practice website and provides helpful resources to your social media followers. Sharing video of on-camera interviews and links to print or web interviews extend your reach beyond your location driving more traffic to your website. More traffic to your practice website means more clients for you (assuming they like what the see on your website).

So, what are you waiting for? The next time you receive an email from a news or radio producer asking for your expertise, consider saying, "yes!"

Why I Only Hire W-2 Therapists (W-2 vs. 1099 part 3)

I've noticed that private practice therapist tend to hire additional therapists as 1099 contract employees. Reasons frequently cited for choosing to hire therapists as 1099 employees is that they don't have to pay the therapists taxes. While it may be more "affordable" to hire therapists as contractors, in my experience, there are also "costs." (For an summary of the difference between W-2 and 1099 employees read part 1 in this series. To hear about my employment tax audit adventure read part 2.)

According to the IRS website, the general rule for classifying 1099 independent contractor is "if the payer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done" (italics added). It also states that an employee is not a contract employee if the services "can be controlled by an employer (what will be done and how it will be done)" and if "the employer has the legal right to control the details of how the services are performed."

In consulting with therapists around the U.S. I've heard about some of the "costs" of hiring 1099 employees. Some of the costs high turnover rates due to the part-time and often temporary nature of contract employee relationships. Some of those "costs" include lack of control over how and where therapy is done, inability to require specific paperwork, inability to require attendance at staff meetings or trainings, inability to request that therapists network and participate in community outreach to boost referrals.

Here are the four main reasons I only hire therapists as W-2 employees:

1) Overall Cohesiveness

My vision for Wasatch Family Therapy has always been to build a cohesive team with a shared long-term vision of providing excellent clinical services to clients across the lifespan from an attachment perspective, not just have a group of therapist doing any kind of therapy they choose.  Now that we have grown into a clinic of 18 therapists at 3 locations cohesiveness is even more crucial. When therapists are hired as 1099 contractors employers are not supposed to tell the contract worker how to do therapy, or make other specific requirements of the worker, such attendance at trainings.

2) Higher Level of Quality Control

If a therapist is going to work under my name and my practice name or "brand", I want to be able to have a say in how, where, and when they do the work.  I've spend over 10 years building trust, credibility, and presence in my region and I want to be able to be able provide mentoring, direction, and training in how my clinical team provides services.

3) Ability to Require Certain Activities

I want to be able to require certain activities from my team members that hiring them as 1099 workers does not allow me to do. We have streamlined forms for notes and documentation in our EHR system. I require each therapist to engage in at least one outreach or networking activity each month in order to create strong referral sources. I require attendance at two monthly staff meetings, and a certain level of professional appearance at the office.

4) Implication of Long-Term Relationship

I am not interested in hiring temporary therapists to provide services. Hiring 1099 workers generally implies a short-term relationship. I am interested in hiring therapists who have a shared vision and who I can invest in long-term, and who will invest in building the practice long-term. I want to build mutually beneficial relationships not just provide services. Hiring therapists as W-2 employees shows a greater long-term commitment to them to build their practice for the long haul. I also allows me to expect a greater commitment from them.

Would Your Practice Survive An Employment Tax Audit? (1099 vs. W-2 part 2)

Does the state tax commission really take the time to audit small private practices? I didn't think so, until my practice was selected for an audit.

A few years ago my clinic was selected for an employment tax audit. Lucky me, right? When the auditor walked into my office suite and saw many offices with different names on the doors, he looked at me pleadingly and said, "Please, please don't tell me that these therapists are all classified as 1099 contractors."

I replied, "I won't. We're all W-2's."

There was a look of relief on his face.He then proceeded to tell me that health and mental health private practitioners are notorious for incorrectly classifying 1099 employees. In his experience many groups are set up as contract workers when they are acting like employees (I'll go over into detail about the the IRS criteria for how to classify  an employee as a 1099 vs. W2 employees in a forthcoming post).

The auditor requested access to all of my financial documents including bank accounts, accounting,  payroll information and tax documents. He asked us questions about any large checks written directly to employees to make sure we were paying our employment taxes. After a brief review of my payroll and tax documents the auditor thanked me for making his job easier and left with a smile. I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Had I hired the therapists working with me as 1099 I may have been penalized with a hefty fine and required to pay back employment taxes on all of the therapists' income. I was not in a position to shell out thousands and thousands of dollars. Had I been incorrectly classifying employees it may have put my practice in jeopardy.

Do you know the IRS criteria for classifying 1099 contract workers vs. W-2 employees? It isn't based on whether or not you want to pay your therapist's taxes or want to have them pay self-employment taxes. It isn't based on whether they are full-time or part-time workers. It isn't based on whether or not you provide benefits.

There are many misconceptions about classifying employees in private practice. I'll address theses criteria for how to distinguish between hiring 1099 vs. W-2 therapists in upcoming posts.

Watch for the next Therapist Blog Challenge coming next week, too!

Dave Dugdale & learningdslrvideo.com via Compfight

Can I Feature Your Private Practice? Content Creation Opportunities on Toolbox

Talk to thousands about your practice by submitting content for Private Practice Toolbox.

I've written a lot about the importance of content creation in building a professional online presence, creating value for website visitors and social media followers, and establishing yourself as an expert in your specialty area.

Incoming links to your practice website boost SEO, boost traffic, and establish credibility. It's always better to create content for larger websites. Well, here's your chance to shine. I want to feature you on THIS blog in 2013! Here are 4 ways you can be featured:

1) Pitch a guest blog 

I'm always looking for guest posts from qualified individuals from a variety of fields who can share insights about how to run, manage, market, and thrive in private practice. I recently started working on my PhD and I'm not able to blog as often as I used to. I'm open to posts from professionals outside the mental health field as well. Attorneys, accountants, SEO experts, marketing, website design, interior design...If your expertise can help private mental health practitioners build successful businesses, pitch away!

2) Be featured in my"Adventures in Private Practice" series

Answer the following questions and submit them with a photo, a brief summary of your practice and a link to your website here.

• Tell me a little about your practice…
• Why did you decide to open a private practice?
• Clients that therapists find to be the most “difficult” are sometimes the ones who can teach them the most. What have you learned from your toughest clients?
• What’s your biggest pet peeve about private practice?
• How did you discover or develop your practice “niche”?
• What resource (book, website, person) helped you the most when setting up your private practice?
• What has surprised you most about being in private practice?
• Has your private practice helped you grow professionally? How so…
• Has it helped you grow personally, too? How so…
• Being a therapist can be emotionally exhausting. What do you do to care for your own emotional and psychological health?
• How do you cope with the inevitable stressors involved with being your own boss?
• What personal strengths have helped you succeed in private practice?

3) Be Featured in a "A Day In The Life" Series 

How do private practitioners spend their time? What does it take to create a thriving practice? Track your private practice activities for one day. Submit a word doc, photo, practice summary, and link to your practice here.

4) Be feature in my "Virtual Office Tour" series

Submit a video tour of your office space and I'll feature it on this blog! Submit you information here. Peek inside other therapist's offices.

Other ways to connect with private practice resources:

Join the Private Practice Toolbox Facebook Group

Join the Twitter conversation using hashtag #practicetoolbox (I'm @julie_hanks)

Join the 2013 Therapist Blog Challenge for help creating regular content on your private practice website.

Martin Fisch via Compfight

Content Creation Opportunities For Shrinks

Writing articles for high-traffic websites can help you grow online presence and your practice.

Content creation is crucial for building an online presence, particularly on your own professional blog on your private practice website. In addition to creating content for your own small website, you may want to start strategically writing for other websites, too. Seek out higher-traffic sites to write for

If the thought overwhelms you, don't stop reading quite yet. Some of the benefits of writing or blogging on other sites as part of your private practice marketing strategy are:

• Getting more back links to your own site which increases traffic and boosts SEO
• Increase name/brand recognition
• More credibility as a trusted expert
• Opportunity to educate and build awareness of important issues
• And best of all, you can re-purpose the content and post it on your own website

All of these benefits will help bring more visitors to your website, which will, over time, mean more clients for your practice. It's important to write on topics directed to your ideal client. Write  on your areas of passion and expertise in order to bring in clients that are a good fit for your practice. Writing articles for other websites does take some commitment, but in my experience, it has been well worth the effort.

Consider pitching articles or blogs to these sites:

About.com

About.com has different levels of paid contributors: guides, topic writers, and video producers.

Psych Central

If you're ready to make a regular commitment to create and write regularly for your own blog, pitch your passion here. you can also submit individual articles to PsychCentral's World Of Psychology blog.

Sharecare.com

Sharecare is a health social media site owned by Dr. Oz. You can sign up as an expert and answer questions on a variety of health and mental health questions. Here's my Sharecare page.

Your local news website

Every newspaper and TV news station have websites and I've yet to come across one that doesn't have additional bloggers contributing. Here's an example from my articles on a local Utah news website

Examiner.com

The Examiner accepts bloggers based on specific topics and locations. See if they are looking for bloggers in your area of expertise.

Professional organization websites

Check with your professional organization to see if they have a blog and accept articles from licensed professionals. The American Counseling Association has a blog with contributors.

GoodTherapy.org

This professional therapist listing site also allows therapists to become "topic experts" on their site and publish blog articles.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all of the writing opportunities for therapists on the web. My hope was to get you thinking about how to build your online presence and create content that you own and can reuse on your own site.

Do you contribute articles or other content to larger websites? I'd love to hear about your experience. Have you noticed an increase in traffic to your site? What benefits have you experienced writing for big websites?

I've just launched the 2013 Therapist Blog Challenge. Join us!