4 Reasons To Start Creating Content Online

Creating consistent online content can help grow your practice faster than almost any other marketing or networking activity

According to PCMag.com digital content creation is "The development of newsworthy, educational and entertainment material for distribution over the Internet or other electronic media." It falls under the umbrella of content marketing which is a narrative form of sharing information that speaks to a potential client's need while sharing who you are and the benefits of what you do. Content creation is a way of building trust online and with potential clients by being a valuable resource without asking for anything in return.

Consistently creating compelling and relevant content is the primary reason my private practice has continued to grow in spite of the economic downturn of recent years. Not only has my clinic grown, but since I started regularly blogging, writing, producing videos, and doing media interviews amazing opportunities have come my way. Publishing offers, national media interviews, conference invitations, consulting business, and over 25,000 social followers across multiple social networks are just a few of the incredible doors that have opened to me since I started focusing on content creation.

Here are 4 reasons that becoming a content creator can help build your private practice:

1) Visibility

Posting new content on your own practice website will help your site rank higher in search engines. Creating content for other websites, like guest blogging or interviewing with local news agencies who post the video clip and story online, also provides a SEO boost because it demonstrates that you are relevant and it strengthens your online presence. The easier it is for potential clients to find you online, the quicker your practice will grow.

2) Presence

Because the majority of adults are searching for health information online a strong online presence is critical for growing your practice. A general marketing rule is that it takes about 7 exposures to a brand or product before someone will buy a product or service. Strengthening your online presence makes it more likely that potential clients will be exposed to your "brand" and chose to become your client.

3) Value

Content creation can be another form of community education and a way to provide value to everyone, whether or not they become clients. Content that shares helpful information and answers the needs of people you are qualified to help is tremendously valuable. From a business standpoint, content creation provides an incentive for visitors to return to your practice website for your valuable content, which helps build trust in your services.

4) Credibility

Content allows you to show or demonstrate your expertise and competence instead of just telling someone about it. While I have always been an early internet/technology adopter and I've owned a private practice for over a decade, it wasn't until I started writing this Private Practice Toolbox blog that I became a credible practice building "expert". Creating regular content that meets a need for private practice therapists has allowed me to connect with therapists around the globe and to add private practice consulting as an additional income stream. Largely due to content creation on this blog alone, I have been invited to present to the National Association Of Social Workers on building an online presence, to co-present with PsychCentral founder John Grohol at South By Southwest Conference, and to write the feature article for the current issue of Online Therapy Institute's TILT magazine, and have presented locally on practice building.

laffy4k via Compfight

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

SEO For Shrinks: Can Potential Clients Find Your Practice Online?

Do therapists really need to care about search engine optimization (SEO)? If you're in private practice the answer is YES!

So, what is SEO? SEO is the process of improving your website's visibility in search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.

Before you starting thinking about SEO, you first need a practice website. Even a single page site with your photo, practice description and contact information is better than nothing! I predict that in the near future it will be nearly impossible to build a successful private practice with clients who pay your full fee unless you have a website and strong professional online presence. If you don't have a website, stop reading here, and get busy creating a site. If you already have a site and you want to make it easier for potential clients to find your practice on the web, read on!

Since "meeting" Your Google Guy, Peter Hannah, LMHC, online I've marveled at the combination of his therapy education and telecommunications specialties. I couldn't wait to "pick his brain" about SEO basics for shrinks to help you succeed in attracting your ideal therapy clients to your private practice.

There's A Reason They're Called "Keywords"

The most common SEO mistakes that therapists make on the website is not understanding how crucial keyword are. Hannah suggests, "If you're a psychologist in Orlando, those two words should be prominent in your site and appear on each page of your website. They should also be in your meta tags. Because people will be searching "Orlando psychologist" to find you and people like you."

Another mistake that Hannah has observed in his consulting work with therapists will often omit their location on the homepage of their website, "Your home page acts as an orientation point to visitors. Who you are, what you do, and where you do it. Make sure it's all on there!"

Hannah says there are two parts to SEO work: on-page (your website) and off-page (out on the web). "On your site, making sure your website clearly has language in it that matches your city and your services is probably the easiest and most important. You might want to talk about "healing" and "journeys" as you write about your work, and that's good, but make sure you're also mentioning "counseling" or "psychotherapy" once in a while, too!", Hannah suggests.

Create Consistent Content

Hannah suggests consistently creating content on the web. This is what I  love to do, and it's what contributed to Sharecare Now naming me the #1 online influencer for depression. I've never met anyone who works with Sharecare, but because of the amount of mental health content and the number of channels on which I produce regular content (4 blogs/sites, 5 Facebook pages, Twitter, Google +, Linked In, iTunes podcast, blog posts, YouTube channel, links to my site from national sites) I came up on radar of a national health organization! Hannah suggests writing something helpful for potential clients your website blog and always have it link back to your website.

Get Listed, But Don't Pay A Dime

Paid therapist listing sites aren't as beneficial as shrinks might think. Hannah suggests finding site that list your business for free and write as much information as you can and provide links to your website. My therapy site is listed on Google places, Facebook places, Yelp!, All About Counseling, local university referral listings, City Search, and many other free listing sites. Also, remember to get listed on your professional organization referral lists.

Peter Hannah, MA (Counseling) MS (Telecommunications) is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Seattle, WA. He's also a former technology professional who helps therapists market their practices on the web. Since 2005, he's worked with several hundred therapists, marriage counselors and psychologists with SEO, Google Adwords and making their websites more effective.  Find out more at his website YourGoogleGuy.com.

photo credit: Flооd