Copywriting usually refers to all writing that is inteded to lead to a sale. Basically, every brochure, every website, even a voucher includes copywriting.

I have written things myself, I have also invested an substantial amount of money with a specialist web copywriter and I have worked with various writers. Most times, I was not that happy with the results unless I spent a lot of time explaining to the writer what I needed.

What I usually do now is to write things and then have a writer (or editor) go over it to make it more flowing. That way, I am getting all the content in that is important and someone else makes sure the language is correct and enticing.

That also means that wheneverI see anything on copywriting, I study it to get better.

Joe Sugarman, Ted Nicholas and Mark Joyner will put on a free teleseminar on October 8th. Naturally they want to sell something at the end of that. However, I have followed Mark Joyner for over two years now and everytime he puts something out, it is exceptional quality, no matter whether free or paid.

So if you are doing your own writing and want to improve, I highly recommend signing up for the free copywriting teleseminar.

If you have not yet received my free report: The 7 Biggest Business Mistakes Health Practitioners Make, just enter your name and email and I'll send it to you. Name: E-Mail: I respect your privacy and will never sell, share or pass on your details.

Lemondrop.com.au is the brainchild of Hannah Hempenstall, an ex-magazine journalist/editor who is also a qualified natural therapist specialising in reflexology, remedial massage and Reiki. She has recently had to scale down her successful therapy practice to work on Lemondrop full-time.

Lemondrop was launched to help the average punter get a handle on natural therapies and understand how they can change your life for the better. Lemondrop is here to shake the mystery from  lesser-known therapies and shed light on the wonderful and pain free ways to help heal, no matter what the symptoms are.

Visitors enter their ailments and are guided to solutions. I think the original plan was to provide a list of health practitioners that can help with that ailment, but that does not happen automatically. Still at the end of each ailment explanation, visitors can go on to find a practitioner close to them.

It provides a marketing opportunity for all natural health practitioners in Australia, costing $25 for a year as an introductory offer.

Definitely a great fresh look. So I wishing Hannah and any practitioners joining lemondrop.com.au all the best.

Alexander

There are probably hundreds of online directories out there, many claiming to be the best place to advertise your natural therapies business, but are they really worth the time or the money? We consider both the benefits and the shortfalls in general terms, before taking a more detailed look at 3 of the top Australian online directories.

Why advertise in a directory?

The most obvious reason is to find new clients. But do potential clients use and trust these directories? Do they actually generate new business? I’ve spoken to a fair few practitioners about this, and as far as I can see, the answer is… not very well. Sure the directories do generate occasional referrals, but these are few and far between. I myself run a free natural health directory which generates 1 referral by email each day between 800 practitioners. That’s not a great success rate! So are they worth bothering with?

Despite the low number of referrals, the online health directories may still be worth your time if you have a website. Most directories allow you to list your website address along with your other details (sometimes in return for a link back to them). These links back to your website can help to boost your search engine rankings. Google in particular just loves inbound links. If it sees a website (on the same topic as yours) linking to you then that’s a good thing. If it’s a popular site, then that’s even better, and most of the natural health directories are pretty popular (at least as far as Google goes)! It’s probably not worth paying for a link for this reason alone, but certainly the free directories are well worth listing in.

Here’s the lowdown on some of the better known health directories in Australia. For other directories in Australia and around the world see the Passionate directory.

Natural Therapy Pages

Natural Therapy Pages claims to be Australia’s number 1 natural health site, and has a searchable directory of practitioners at its core. Searchers can enter their postcode or suburb to find therapists of a chosen modality near to their home or place of work. The search results are displayed with the closest therapists being listed first, and visitors can click through to find out more about a therapist. The cost for a listing is $150 pa.

To make the most of a listing, try to connect with your visitors searching the site with appropriate text on your listing, and upload a photo of yourself to appear in the search results.

Natural Therapy Pages is well marketed both online and offline, and consequently has the highest traffic of all the directories reviewed here. It works pretty well as far as searching goes, but I haven’t heard of anyone getting outstanding referrals from here.

Use Nature

Use Nature offers a range of free and paid (from $50 pa) services. Visitors must choose a modality first and then narrow in on the geographical area they’re interested in. Listings are shown with premium ads at the top followed by the free listings. Limited information is shown and the listings are not particularly user-friendly.

To make the most of a listing, go for a free listing with a link to your website (in return for a reciprocal link). You could also consider a paid premium profile listing (from $70 pa) to appear at the top of the page with a little more info.

Use Nature has been around for 5 years and has built up a good amount of traffic. I’ve had the occasional referral through here myself, but once again nothing outstanding.

Zen Alliance

Zen Alliance is a well designed site that allows visitors to search by suburb, choosing either a preferred modality or even, wait for it, a condition they want to treat! Wow - they actually understand that potential clients usually want to fix a problem, rather than say get a massage. The search results include a practitioner photo, practitioner modalities, health funds, availability and location, and visitors can click through for more information.

Listings are free, however you can pay to have marketing features added to your listing. For example, you can add a booking form that sends you an SMS when a client fills it in. You pay each time the form is used. You can also list your website address, but once again you pay every time a visitor clicks through to your site.

Unfortunately Zen Alliance is not yet that popular, but it holds a great deal of promise.

Summary

The free directories are definitely worth a go. If you have a website the inbound links to your site are valuable, and even without this benefit, there’s a chance you could get the odd referral in exchange for a small investment of time.

So would you ever want to list in a paid directory? It probably depends on how well you write your ad, but all in all, I’d say probably not. By all means give it a go, but measure the results to see how well it’s working for you compared to your other marketing activities.

Have you tried any of the natural health directories? Did they work for you? Which ones have you tried? Why not post a comment so that others can benefit?

Happy Marketing!

Catherine Doyle

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

It’s a pretty scary thing to open for business, especially if you’re a massage therapist, because unlike a traditional business, massage is all about a service. People tend to judge a massage therapist a bit more harshly than a traditional business because massage is more intimate generally.

But with a few successful and proven strategies you can have a great experience. The first thing to do is not panic. Panicking with inhibit your ability to be creative and stop you from seeing any potential ideas that may come your way.

Secondly, write a break down of the types of clients you’ve seen in the past. In other words create a client profile. Work out how you can capture that ‘kind of person’ in your new premises again. Creating a client profile is simply writing down a list of your target market then think about where those types of people are so you can do some advertising to those groups of people.

To help with your client profile ask yourself these questions;

• What types of people were they?
• Where they old?
• Young?
• Male?
• Female?
• What types of things did they come to see you for?

Next, remember to be proactive. Don’t wait for clients to come to you. Get out there and get them! Call people who may have your type of client in their own businesses and talk to them. People you may want to contact are Physical Therapists, Chiropractors, Osteopaths, Dance Studios, Sporting clubs etc. The list is endless. (Before embarking on this exercise, you must know first who your target market is or is going to be in order to contact the appropriate sources.) Introduce yourself to them via phone or even stop by if they are free for a few minutes.

To summarise, marketing your practice must be done regularly. To achieve and experience a high level of success you must market your practice often. How often is up to you, but it is important to understand that it’s not just a once-off. You may decide that in order to experience success marketing is needed at least once a month.
Always keep proactive in your marketing and keep your marketing specific to who you are targeting and you can’t go wrong!

Good luck!
Amy Roberts
www.MassageTherapySuccess.com

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

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

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.

In this post, I’ll be looking at how you can get people to sign up for your newsletter. Once again, it’s important to know what your aim is. Are you looking for new clients, referrals, or repeat business? Is your newsletter a way to say thank you to your current clients? Your goals for your newsletter, will help you decide how to distribute it.

Reaching current clients

Start off by asking your current clients if they’d like to receive a newsletter from you. Make it a habit to ask new clients when you take down their personal details at the first appointment - or add it as a question on your client history form. Launching a newsletter can also be a great way to rekindle a relationship with old clients. If you’ve been neglecting those follow up calls, a newsletter can provide the excuse you need to give them a call or send them a letter.

Helping your website visitors to become clients

If you have a website and are sending an email newsletter, make sure you include a sign up form on your website. On a first visit, people will often gladly hand over their email address in return for receiving a useful newsletter, but they might baulk at booking an appointment straight away. Once they’re on your list they’ll start to trust you, and then they’re much more likely to become a client.

Be very careful not to spam people

A word of warning, don’t just add everyone you contact to your newsletter subscriber list. In many countries it’s now illegal to add people to an email list without asking them first, not to mention impolite!

You need to make it easy for people to get off your list as well - just a simple line in each newsletter explaining how to unsubscribe is enough. In addition, it is best practice to add your contact details in each email, so they know the email is from a genuine source.

Reaching other prospects

A paper newsletter can be distributed around town in shops and related businesses. I’ve seen this idea used well by a massage therapist in Katoomba in Australia’s Blue Mountains. Visitors to the town who’re interested in health are very likely to see this lady’s newsletter and pick up a copy. They start to trust her because they’ve heard of her through the newsletter, and if they want to book a massage whilst in town, guess who they’ll go to?

Asking people to pass it on

If you’re looking for new clients, then it’s always worth explicitly asking people to pass on your newsletter. A personal recommendation like this counts for a lot. Make sure to tell the final recipients how they can get their own copy in future. Something like “Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to your friends and family. Drop me an email to me@myclinic.com if you’d like to receive your own copy,” works well and provides a way for people to add themselves to your list. There’s more about what to write in your newsletter in my last post.

Summary

We’ve discussed how to find subscribers for your newsletter. If you’re looking for referrals and repeat business then you need to reach current clients first and foremost. If you’re trying to attract new clients, then you should also look at using your website or asking local businesses to distribute your newsletter; and don’t forget to ask people to pass on your newsletter.

By now you should have an idea of whether a paper-based newsletter or an email newsletter is more suitable for you. Next time we’ll look at how to set up an email newsletter.

Happy marketing!

Catherine Doyle

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

“Our success has really been based on partnerships from the very beginning” Bill Gates, Microsoft

Being a health practitioner can be a lonely road at times, particularly if you are a sole operator. Quite frankly, a lot of practitioners like it that way! But if you want the abundant practice of your dreams, remaining an island just won’t cut it. Today I want to share with you a powerful way of attracting the clients you like to work with most through joint ventures.

So, what’s so great about joint ventures?

• They leverage your business to more potential clients through valuable partnerships – building your client base at minimal cost
• They build your credibility through the trust already held by your partners – exposing you to warm rather than cold prospects
• You are seen as someone who is willing to work with others for a greater benefit to all concerned
• They allow you to be surrounded by likeminded and passionate people - you will be inspired and inspire others
• They can create free publicity

If carefully targeted joint ventures will help position you as an expert in your chosen field

What kind of joint venture should you consider?

Joint ventures are only limited by your imagination. Here are some suggestions:

• Place flyers at local businesses in exchange for their ad or coupon in your newsletter
• Offer a free treatment to the local physio or personal trainer who can speak on your behalf to their clients and refer them to you. A value adding voucher works well in conjunction with these. Offer to refer your clients to them also.
• Offer treatments as prizes to local charities and fundraisers in exchange for promotion in their flyers and newsletters as a sponsor.
• Sponsor a member of the month prize at the local gym.
• Team up with the local health food store – you promote their products while they promote your service.
• Set up a stand at the local sports club or fitness centre. It offers their members an additional service and you get exposure to new clients.
• Participate in open days and community events – you’ve got to be in it to win it!
• Create a health expo by teaming up with other practitioners. Charge a fair price for half hour treatments and offer free talks on different health issues. Ask a local venue to donate the space. Promote it through local newspaper articles and what’s on columns, on community noticeboards and free online community directories. A little planning goes a long way.
• Create a local network that appeals to your target market. For example, if women 40 plus are your market, team up with a local café or restaurant and host a monthly luncheon event. It could be purely social or you could have an interesting speaker each month.

These are just a few ideas. Harness your strengths and combine them with the strengths of others. Team your organisational skills with someone else’s public speaking skills and another’s venue or customer base. Remember, joint ventures don’t have to be complicated, even simple ones pay off over time. The opportunities are endless! Great opportunities don’t come along once in a lifetime, they come along everyday – are you ready to harness them and see your practice prosper?

Top Tips to Joint Venture Success:

Know exactly who you want to attract to your business. Clearly define your audience. This becomes apparent when you know exactly what your strengths are and who you can help the most. You must identify this first before proceeding, if you want them to work well for you.

• List local businesses who have the same target market as you. They may or may not be health related, it could be the local fitness club, café or playgroup.
• Approach potential partners from a ‘what’s in it for them’ – it’s not all about you (although your aim is for you to benefit, it must benefit your partners also).
• Remember you don’t have to go it alone. Bigger joint ventures are best when it’s a team effort. Don’t be afraid to delegate – just the fact that you initiated the idea will be worthwhile if everyone benefits.

Joint ventures are a fantastic way to leverage your business. In my own business of helping health practitioners market themselves I have teamed up with several other businesses that I know can help my clients such as web designers and graphic artists, other online health marketing gurus, natural therapies academies, practice software developers and business networking groups. It is a powerful way to get the message across to the people you can help the most and it’s a win/win situation for everyone.

“If everyone is moving forward together – the success takes care of itself” Henry Ford.

To your health practice success….

Krishna Everson
www.healthpracticesuccess.com

One of the things that you can do to increase your rankings in the search engines is to get other sites to link to you. Getting the link is not really getting people to click on the link although that can help too. It is more about just getting a link so that the search engines will think that your site is popular. Search engines especially Google has a way of looking for and tracking the number of sites that link to you.

Getting backlinks can help you especially when you have some serious competition in your area or have someone who has had a website forever and is always in the top spot in the search engines. To find out where they rank you can go to your competitors site and get their url. You can then put that url into various search engines and just put the word link: (with the colon) before the url. The search engine will tell you how many sites are linking to your competitors site. If you want to get a higher listing just work on getting a higher number of links!

Some ways to get backlinks to your site:

• Post on blogs such as this one!
• Post on bulletin boards or discussion forums
• Create a free blog on blogger.com or www.wordpress.com and write posts that include links to your site
• Use social networking services such as myspace.com or linkedin.com
• Submit your site to free directories.
• Ask other neighborhood businesses to exchange links with your site.

The more links the better. It is also better to only link to sites that have good alexa rankings which is a system of ranking sites according to their traffic and popularity. You can find out a sites ranking by going to alexa.com and entering that sites url in the search engine there.

So along with creating high quality content, getting back links can improve your traffic to your website and increase the number of people finding your site. The reason why this is so important is that people really hardly ever look beyond a few pages of search results. You are also getting highly targeted traffic when people find your site using the keywords ‘massage, your city’. They are already looking for a massage therapist for whatever reason. They are much easier to convert into clients compared to doing a random mailing to your neighborhood. Many people may not be looking for a massage! Finding those who are by having them come to your website is half the battle!

Julio Onofrio
Founder of www.thebodyworker.com