I’ve heard that massage therapists are slow adopters of technology, but are you losing clients because you’re reluctant to get to grips with the internet? If you think you might be missing the boat, read on to discover how easy it can be to get a website for your natural health practice.

Websites for therapists

There are 4 main options for getting your practice online:

1. Hire a web designer. This is the easiest option, but can also be expensive. (Most web designers charge a one-off fee upfront, but some now offer monthly payments to make budgeting easier.) A professional will take care of all the technical details and will guide you gently through the process from start to finish. When searching for a web designer, look for someone who can show you examples of their work, who you find it easy to communicate with, and preferably has some knowledge of marketing too. Hiring a professional web designer is a good option if you don’t have much time, are scared of computers, or just want someone to do the whole thing for you.
2. Use a website builder. Website builders are relatively new. Typically you create an account, and set up a website in just a few minutes, by choosing a template and typing in the text for your pages. Usually you pay for the service as you go (e.g. monthly). Most claim to be easy to use (with support included in the price), but you do need a basic proficiency with computers to get up and running. Using a website builder is a good option if you want to spread the cost of your website, and don’t mind learning how to use the software; on the other hand, the end-result can sometimes lack visual finesse.
3. Create a listing in one of the therapist directories. There are now lots of directories on the web that allow people to search for a conveniently located therapist. (I’ll be reviewing some of these next time.) They range from simple classified ad type listings, to a page per therapist or clinic, and in some cases even a mini-website. Listing in a therapist directory is a good bargain option and the directories are often well promoted. On the negative side, you don’t get a lot of control over your listing, are competing against all the other therapists in your area, and a directory listing probably doesn’t look as professional as having your own web site.
4. DIY. Although not for the technophobes, if you have a lot of time available and enjoy learning new skills, a DIY approach might work for you. Creating your own website is relatively cheap, but can look amateur unless you have a good head for design and the patience to learn how recreate your ideas in HTML. If DIY appeals, Elated.com have some great tutorials on web skills for beginners and also sell web site templates that make it easy to put together a web site without being a web design guru.

Summary

If you’d like to get your practice on the web, there are several ways to go about it. You can outsource the whole thing to a web designer, try one of the new easy-to-use web builders, list yourself in a therapist directory, or learn some skills to do it yourself.

The best choice for you will depend on how much free time you have, whether you prefer to work with people or are happy sitting at a computer working things out yourself, as well as how much money you have to spend.

Happy Marketing!

Catherine Doyle

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Founder, Soothed - web design & online marketing for natural therapists
Editor, natural bloom - sharing the inside story on holistic health

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So you want to send an email newsletter to your clients? First up, make sure that email is the best format for your practice. Email may be more appropriate than paper if:

• you’re sending to a large number of people,
• you want to keep costs down,
• your clients are on email, and/or
• you’d like to capture subscribers from your website.

Plain text, or fancy formatting?

Have a think about whether plain text is going to be enough for you, or whether you want to include pictures, print out coupons, colours, or other fancy formatting?

To get an idea of what’s possible with plain text, take a look at my sample marketing newsletter for therapists - although you can’t include links in a plain text email, most email clients will recognise links to websites and make them clickable.

Fancy formatting is usually created using HTML. (HTML is the language that’s used to create web pages and is also understood by email programs such as Microsoft Outlook.) Another option for creating fancy formatting is to send a formatted document (usually PDF or Microsoft Word) as an attachment. However this has 4 big disadvantages:

• The recipient must have the appropriate software to open and read the attachment.
• The attachments tend to have a large file size - which means your email takes a long time to download, and takes up your readers’ precious bandwidth allowance!
• It’s an extra step to open the attachment - and some people won’t bother (even if they do have the right software).
• Some people are wary of attachments because they can contain viruses.

Each format has its advocates. Some people love the visual experience of reading a fancy newsletter, others hate anything but plain text. If you want something fancy, then I’d strongly recommend HTML email rather than using attachments.

Encouraging people to read your newsletter

In today’s busy world, you need to work hard to get people to read your newsletter. People are receiving more email than ever before, much of it spam; and if your newsletter is not interesting, relevant, or takes too long to read, they’ll be reaching straight for the delete key. Try to:

• Keep things short. People are looking for a quick read that contains something useful. Over 80% of readers will scan your newsletter, so make it easy for them.
• The subject line often determines whether an email is opened or not. Make it count! Use the first 50 characters to highlight the main benefit of reading this particular issue.
• I’ve seen people delete newsletters thinking they are spam. To help avoid this, use a sender name that your readers will recognise (e.g. your name, your business name, or even your newsletter name.)
• Avoid attachments. Busy people won’t take the time to open them.

Be very careful not to spam

I’ve mentioned this previously but it’s important enough to say again! Make sure you get people’s permission before you add them to your list of subscribers. You also need to make it easy for people to unsubscribe from your newsletter.

How to send your email newsletter

There are 3 main options for sending your email newsletter. You might prefer a DIY approach to get started and then switch to a computerised system once your list gets a bit bigger.

1. DIY. You can use your email program (such as Microsoft Outlook or Apple Mail) to compose and send the emails. Ideally you’d send a different email to each recipient, but to save time you can BCC up to 10 recipients at a time.
   Advantages:
   • Free

   Disadvantages:

   • Time consuming for moderate-large size lists.
   • BCC messages may be marked as spam, so never seen by recipients.
   • Is error prone - you can easily miss people out.
   • You don’t get a great deal of control over format, unless you send a PDF or similar attachment.
   • (However see disadvantages of attachments above.)
2. Install and use mailing list software on your web server. If you have a web site, you can ask your web developer to install mailing list software on your web server. Some of these programs are free, others have a commercial license.
   Advantages:
   • No ongoing cost to send messages, but you will have to pay your web developer to install and
   • set up the program for you! You may also need to buy the software itself.
   • Quick to send messages to large lists, and is reliable.
   • Some software supports HTML emails as well as plain text.
   • Usually handles subscribe and unsubscribe requests for you.
   • Some software allows messages to be scheduled (so you can still send your newsletter even when you’re holidaying in Bali!)

   Disadvantages:

   • You need to learn how to use the software. Some are easier to use than others.
   • You can’t easily stop a mailing once you’ve started it.
   • You need a web server to install the software on.
3. Use an email marketing service. There are many companies (including my own) offering a service that allows you to send out newsletters by email. These are especially suited to sending fancy formatted messages using a HTML template.
   Advantages:
   • You don’t need to have your own web site, as the companies host the software on their own servers.
   • Often have pre-formatted templates available to make your newsletter seem more professional than plain text. Some companies will also create a custom template for you.
   • Usually include reporting so that you can see how many people opened your message, how many messages bounced (because of invalid email addresses etc), how many people followed the links in the message etc.
   • Scheduling of messages is usually possible.
   • Quick to send to large lists.

   Disadvantages:

   • Most companies charge either by the month, or per email sent, so it can be expensive if you don’t send your newsletter very often. On the other hand, set up is usually cheaper than installing software on your own web server.

Summary

There are quite a few different ways to market your practice using an email newsletter. With a small subscriber base, sending emails manually can work well; but as your list grows, or for newsletters with fancy formatting, a computerised system is more suitable.

Happy Marketing!

Catherine Doyle

………………………………………………………………………………….
Founder, Soothed - web design & online marketing for natural therapists
Editor, natural bloom - sharing the inside story on holistic health

Today is the last day of a Small Business and Marketing class I am teaching in Adelaide. Most students are about to graduate from the Adelaide College of Complementary Medicine with a degree in either Naturopathy, Homeopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine or Massage.

My goal was to bring clarity, certainty and confidence - clarity in what they will do now, certainty in how they can achieve that and confidence that they will achieve it.

Have I achieved that? I guess we’ll find out when they present their business plans. But what has blown me away already are the amazing things they share each morning. We do a quick review of what they learnt the day before. Not the facts but the realisations for their own practice, for their life as natural health practitioners.

The hardest lesson?

Committing to something specific. I kept asking them to commit to a specific course of action, to a specific specialty, to a specific date and a specific amount in the financial calculations. Most of them realised the value of committing to something, thinking it through to the end and seeing whether it makes sense.

That is probably the biggest difference to many natural health practitioners I have been working with who are practicing already (and struggling to attract clients). The willingness to let go of some of the unlimited possibilities and commit to a certain course of action.

The Irresistible Offer

One of the people that has taught me the most about clarity and focus is Mark Joyner. His best book: The Irresistible Offer is available as a free download.

Not only does it help to focus on and commit to one specific target market, it also sharpens your writing skills in formulating exactly what it is that you are offering. And it is not about special offers, even though Mark talks about them as well - as one marketing tool that supplements The Irresistible Offer.