Evolution Of A Private Practice

This year marks my 10th year in private practice and I've spent a lot of time reflecting on and blogging about what's contributed to the growth and longevity of my practice. As I started creating a timeline chronicling the evolution of my practice, it became clear that the growth of my private practice coincides with my online presence building efforts. I don't think it's an accident that when I began actively seeking media interviews, blogging, and building my social networks that my practice experienced tremendous growth.

• 2002 Started solo private practice Wasatch Family Therapy, LLC
• 2002 Applied to participate on health insurance panels
• 2002 Started speaking regularly in the community and throughout the state of UT
• 2004 Created one page website with photo, practice summary, and contact information
• 2004 Identified that my ideal clients were likely internet users
• 2006 Resigned from all health insurance panels
• 2006 Hired another therapist
• 2008 Hosted a local TV show for several months
• 2008 Joined Facebook initially as a way to connect with TV viewers
• 2008 Practice grew to 4 therapists
• 2008 Started publishing regular e-newsletter
• 2009 Joined Twitter
• 2009 Became a regular local TV Contributor on KSL TV's Studio 5 , a top women's lifestyle program
• 2009 Started blogging weekly on practice website and JulieHanks.com
• 2010 Started actively seeking local & national media interviews on mental health and relationship topics
• 2010 Practice grew to 8 therapists
• 2010 Started YouTube Channel
• 2011 Started blogging for Psych Central's Private Practice Toolbox
• 2011 Began writing for Psych Central's "Ask The Therapist"
• 2011 Started consulting with other private practice therapists on building a practice
• 2011 First National TV appearance on Discovery Health's Secretly Pregnant
• 2011 Interviewed on National Fox News Channel
• 2011 Named #1 online Influencer making a difference for depression by Dr. Oz’s Sharecare site
• 2011 Nominated for NASW Media Award for website
• 2011 Joined Pinterest and Instagram
• 2012 Guest blogger for Dr. Oz's Sharecare and PsychCentral World Of Psychology
• 2012 15 therapists in 2 clinic locations
• 2012 Over 25,000 social media followers
• 2013 Opening 3rd office location

I challenge you to outline the evolution of your practice. What patterns do you notice about your practice growth? What wisdom can you share with colleagues about what has worked for you?

(c) Can Stock Photo

5 Elements Of An Effective Practice Website

An effective website is key to building a thriving private practice in the digital age.

According to Pew Research, 80% of internet users look online for health information, making it the third most popular online pursuit following email and using a search engine. Additionally, 44% of internet users look online for information about doctors or other health professionals.

Since the majority of people are looking for your services online, your website is the heart of your professional web presence. All other online efforts should focus primarily on directing potential clients to your website where they will get to know who you are and how you can help them. Your website is your first impression, your "billboard", and your best chance to build trust with potential clients. I suggest these 5 C's when building your private practice website.

The 5 C's of an effective website:

1) Clean design

Overall design feel should look uncluttered and cohesive. Here's an example of a clean looking practice website from The Healing Group. When designing your site focus on the following:

• Use only 1-2 type fonts
• Select a cohesive color scheme
• Avoid DIY look
• Visually appealing to your ideal client

2) Clear Navigation

Is your site navigation user friendly? Can visitors quickly find what they are looking for? When I redesigned my practice website I selected the order of navigation buttons based on the Google Analytics statistics pages views. Then I put the navigation buttons in order according to what the site's previous visitors were looking for. Here were the top 5

• Home
• Meet Therapists
• Services
• Appointments
• About Us

3) Compelling copy

Does the text on your website pages accurately describe your practice  and your services? Does the copy engage your visitors and give them a feel for who you are? Here are a few tips to write more compelling copy:

• Speak in first person
• Answer your potential client’s pain
• Highlight the benefits of your services
• Conversational writing style is the new "professional"
• Use keywords throughout your text on website pages. Keywords are  words or phrases that describe your services that ideal clients would likely type into a search to find the services you provide.

4) Contact Information

One of the biggest mistakes therapists make is making potential clients work too hard to find contact information. Here are some suggestions to make sure that potential clients can easily contact you. Keep in mind that the primary  goal of a website is to get potential clients to become your clients. Make sure that you include your contact information and your location on every page.

5) Consistent Content

It's important to give visitors a reason to come back to your website on a regular basis. Creating valuable content makes your site a valuable resource, increases traffic, and helps build your clientele. Here are some examples of types of content that I create regularly on my private practice website:

• Blog Articles
• Videos
• Audio (mp3s, podcasts)
• Social/Visual (graphics, pictures)
• Newsletter

Take a look at your practice website. If you have incorporated these 5 elements then you're in good shape! If not, look at where you can improve. Maybe you can add "Spruce up my private practice website" to your New Year's Resolution list.

Feel free to post your practice website link in the comments below and ask for feedback from colleagues. I encourage you to give feedback to other practitioners on their practice websites.

Are You Ready For The Mobile Marketing Explosion?

Ok, private practice therapists, you can't ignore the mobile marketing revolution any longer. I predict that private practitioners who don't embrace mobile technology will have a difficulty building and maintaining a thriving in the coming years. Look at these statistics about the astronomical growth of mobile usage predicted over the next few years.

• There will be nearly 1 mobile device per capita by the year 2015. That suggests that by 2015 there will be approximately 7.2 billion mobile devices.
• Global mobile data traffic will increase 26-fold between 2010 and 2015.
• There will be 788 million mobile-only Internet users by 2015. (source: Cisco.com)

Here are 4 ways to get your practice ready for the mobile revolution: 

1) Visit your practice website on a variety of mobile devices

Have you visited your practice website on a variety or smartphones, iPad, etc. to see if your website is as effective on mobile devices as it is on a computer screen? With more and more people going "mobile only,"  make sure that your website translates well on smaller mobile screens.

2) List your practice on Google Places

According to Google, "97% of consumers search for local businesses online." If you haven't already, get your private practice listed on Google places where potential clients can easily find you on mobile devices. Also, search your specialty, city and state to see which private practitioners are already listed.

3) List your therapy practice on Yelp

If you're not familiar with Yelp, it's a popular service and mobile app that uses an individual's current location to find nearby businesses and services.  Like Google Places, signing up for a Yelp listing is quick and easy, so there's no excuse not to have your practice listed there.

4) Get mobile marketing training

Check out this fantastic technology resource, Therapy Marketing Geeks, run by two therapists, Clinton Power and Jeff Fisher.  They offer a training called Mobile Marketing For Therapists in addition to other great articles, tech recommendations, and webinars designed to help therapists embrace technology and use it to build a successful private practice.

So...is your practice ready for the mobile explosion? If not, I challenge you to do at least one of these four suggestions by the end of this week.