How To Write (Ridiculously Effective) Pages For Your Therapy Website, Part 1

This is what you want to hear from your next client:

“As soon as I started reading your website, I knew you were the right therapist for me.”

When you hear this, you know your website did its job. Its job is simple: to convert your potential right-fit clients into actual clients.

You might be wrong about what it takes to get your website ready to do that job for you. (No offense. I used to be wrong about this too.)

You understand that you need to choose the platform (wordpress, squarespace or another). You know you need to choose a pleasant visual design and a great photo. If you haven’t done those things yet, you may be overestimating how much time and energy they’ll take. You can either create a simple and professional DIY site or you can hire someone to put it together for you. For my ideas on what to spend on your website, read this.

What you may underestimate is how much work it will take to write great copy (words) that will speak directly to your potential right-fit clients so that they understand that you are their ideal therapist.

Great copy is what it takes to hear those wonderful things from your next clients. Great copy is what your website needs to do its job. 

Without great copy, your website will be just ok. It hopefully won’t scare clients away, but it won’t convert many people either.

You could hire a copywriter. You could pay someone talented and experienced to write your pages for you. Before you do that, you should know that:

1. A good copywriter will cost a lot.
2. Even if you hire a copywriter, you’ll need to go through an extensive process to prepare the writer to take over the job.

Given the cost, most therapists choose to do their writing themselves. I’m dedicated to helping you write great copy. It’s a huge part of what we do in The Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program.

So let’s dive into HOW to create great copy for your therapy website:

The keys to writing a great therapy website

1. Identify your Superpowers
2. Find your authentic writing style
3. Write to a person (or a small group of people)
4. Identify their pain
5. Identify their hope
6. Express what you believe about therapy
7. Make each page simple
8. Use headlines, not greetings
9. Give a clear call to action
10. Create a logical structure for your site
11. Edit out any professional jargon

I’ll go through the first 2 keys now.

 

Identify your Superpowers

What are your Superpowers?

What are the qualities that set you apart from other therapists and other people in general? When you’re in your zone of genius, what are you doing and how are you being with clients?

We dedicate an entire 2 weeks in my course to helping you identify and talk about your Superpowers.

A couple of the questions we explore in the course are:

1. What would people who know you and love you the most say about how you relate to people?
2. What do you stand for?

Describe what you’re like to work with and what sets you apart from other therapists. Emphasize what makes you different rather than what makes you better. You’ll say most of this on your about me page, and you may sprinkle it in other pages too. You’ll use very little real estate on your site to talk about yourself, so choose those words well.

(It’s your website so why will you say so little about yourself? Because 90% of your website should be about your client’s struggle and journey.)

Use your authentic voice

Copying someone else’s writing style won’t work.

Have you ever observed someone else communicating in a certain way and thought, “That is working really well for them. I should communicate that way.” If you’ve tried it, you know it just falls flat.

You do you.

The words on your site should be written in your authentic voice, the way you communicate when you’re at your best. Maybe you’re funny, emotional, mindful, concrete, calm, or fierce. You might stand up passionately or speak gently. When you communicate with your authentic voice, you’re powerful.

Here’s an example of two therapists who specialize in working with clients struggling with depression. (I made these folks up).

Tina is a goal oriented, energetic therapist. On her site she says:

“You shouldn’t have to wait any longer to feel better. If you’re ready to jump in, take action and make some real changes, I might be the therapist for you. ”

Tarika is a gentle, thoughtful therapist. On her site she says:

“You’re suffering. It’s time to slow down and stop pushing. I will help you lean into your natural wisdom.”  

There are as many authentic voices as there are therapists.

Before you start writing or overhauling your website, find yours.

Want more advice on writing great copy and building your practice? Sign up here and we’ll drop advice and resources in your inbox just about every week.

Registration Is Open. Here's The Most Important Question To Consider

Registration opens today for The Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program. If you’re ready to register, here you go! 

If you’re considering joining the Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program, but you’re not QUITE sure, you might have some of these common questions or concerns about taking the plunge.

• I’m not sure if I can afford it.

• I’ve tried coaching programs before.

• Can I really turn my business around in 3 months?

• I want to add something besides 1:1 therapy sessions to my business, and I don’t know if this program will help me with that.

I address these 4 concerns right here.

But there’s another concern that deserves more attention. It’ that important.

I don't know if I'll really make use of the program. 

Have you ever paid for an online course and NOT done the work? That’s a bad feeling. You invest the money, get excited about learning and taking advantage of the structure of the program. 

Then you fall behind... and then you stop. You let the course sit there. You tell yourself you’ll get to it when you can. 

Now when you consider a course, even if it looks like the perfect fit for your needs, you fear that you won’t do the work. 

And there is work to do!

This program is set up for you to DO STUFF throughout the program. The entire course is action oriented. You’ve got homework with deadlines. You get feedback from me on every assignment. The homework will bring you closer and closer to the practice you want. I also give you a bonus challenge for every lesson. 

What if you just want to absorb the information and wait to do the work...someday? 

I don’t think that’s a good use of your time and money. 

Accountability

You’ll be on calls and on a private facebook group with a small group of your peers who are also dedicating 14 weeks to turning their practices around. Watching other therapists make changes and take risks is inspiring. It makes you want to do more. 

From September 1st forward, you’ll be guided through a process to identify the weak spots in your business and address them. You’ll be encouraged to shift your business to take full advantage of your unique strengths. 

A therapist in this group usually makes at least one of these big moves: 

• Changing their business from a general practice to one with a clear specialty
• Adding one or more clinicians to their practice
• Adding a new service to their practice that leverages their time
• Starting an overhaul of their website

You still need accountability after the program ends!

That’s why I created the Superpower Alumni Program, free for all alumni of the Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program for at least a year after you join. In the alumni program, you're part of a monthly group video call with me and a private Facebook group where I check in every day. 

To decide if it's time for you to register, ask yourself where you want to be at the beginning of 2017, after the program is over. 

Where will you be in 2017 if you commit yourself to this program?

Where will you be in 2017 if you don’t?

Here’s the spot to register or find out more about the program.  

Registration closes on August 31st. 

Are you claiming all the expenses you can in your therapy biz? FREE TRAINING

Is your bookkeeping system (really) set up well?

I thought my bookkeeping systems were great. Then I learned how my bookkeeping could be doing much more for me and my business.

Your therapy business is relatively simple, so you might think you don’t need any help from a bookkeeper. You can do all of your bookkeeping yourself.

Here’s the thing: There’s a difference between getting ongoing help from a bookkeeper and getting help from a bookkeeping trainer.

Now I am totally converted to the idea that we all need some help from a bookkeeping trainer.

I thought I was doing everything correctly with my financial systems. I keep my own books and I probably always will. If you are familiar with this blog, you know that I love systems and I love to track. I track every dollar that comes in and every dollar that goes out. I’ve got a business budget and projected earnings for my practice. I LIKE to take a few minutes every day and a couple of hours every month to track my money.

I don’t need a bookkeeper to take over my daily and monthly financial tracking.

My accountant doesn’t complain that my business figures are missing anything.

So far I’ve avoided working with a bookkeeper. I’m self taught. I do things the way I do them. I don’t need any help! (I always thought).

I sat down with bookkeeper and bookkeeping trainer Andi Smiles recently, and I started to question that.

With her open smile, lavender hair, and unique personal story, she made me feel comfortable right away. I met with Andi because I was looking for a fabulous bookkeeping trainer to guest teach in my Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program. I wanted a pro to guide my therapists in setting up their bookkeeping systems correctly and to answer all of their bookkeeping questions.

I wanted to find the right bookkeeper; someone who would fit with the safe energy that my groups tends to have, and who would not scare my wonderful therapists away from looking at their finances. Two of my awesome therapist clients had loved working with Andi.

When Andi told me about her approach to finances, I knew we had found our woman. She wants small business people to develop loving and transparent relationships with their finances. She’s about empowerment rather than fear or intimidation.

She founded a non-profit serving women in Peru, so she knows how to use financial systems to make great stuff happen. (Have you seen the paperwork involved in starting a non-profit?)

I told her some common questions therapists ask:

How do I deal with credit card fees on my schedule C at tax time?

What exactly can I claim as a business expense?

What kind of bookkeeping system is best for my simple business?

What’s the best way to pay myself?

Andi told me how she would answer all of those questions. Not only did I love the way she answered, but I also realized I wasn’t keeping my own books in the most effective ways. I’ll be taking notes along with the other therapists.

In the Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program, she’ll take the reins for an entire lesson. She’ll  teach the foundation of how to set up the bookkeeping systems for your therapy business. Then she’ll talk to our small group for 90 minutes on a Q and A call to answer individual questions.

Even if you don’t sign up for the Superpower program (starting next month), I want you to get some help from Andi. I’ve invited her to co-present a free online workshop for you. 

(Sorry, this workshop is over.)

We’ll focus on just one important area of bookkeeping in this free online workshop: claiming expenses for your taxes.

You want to claim everything that you can, because you want to take home as much profit as you can. On the other hand, you want to be very clear that everything you are claiming is legitimate. If you ever get audited, you want to know you’ve claimed expenses correctly. Andi will show us how to do that.

Claim your spot and be there. Remember, it's free! Don’t worry if you can’t be there live. Sign up and you’ll have access to the recording for 48 hours after the workshop.

Sorry, you missed the workshop, but sign up right here to get practice building help dropped in your inbox each week. I’ll never share your email address. You can easily unsubscribe any time. You'll know about the next training too!

Ivy's Practice Is Thriving MORE Since She Claimed Her Niche

Spotlight on Ivy Griffin, MFT in Sacramento, California

About a year ago, Ivy ran a general therapy practice. She had a lot of clients, but she was starting to feel overworked and even burned out. She worked hard in the Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program and made some big changes to her business.

She embraced the niche of Highly Sensitive People. She’s created an online coaching group for highly sensitive women and an engaging blog for highly sensitive people. She's created a free audio and worksheet with tools for HSP's. As an HSP myself, I freaking love her content.

Ivy had the same fears about narrowing her niche that most therapists have. Ivy had been getting a lot of calls for adolescents, because that’s another niche she’s well trained and experienced with. She didn’t want to suddenly start saying no to all of those people.

Listen to or watch my brief conversation with Ivy about the changes she's made in her business in the past year. 

• She shares why she's more sought out than ever.
• She answers the question: "What would you tell a therapist who is afraid the claim a niche?"
• She talks about the changes she's made to her business model now that she's embraced this niche.  

 

Links

Flourish, Ivy’s coaching program for highly sensitive women

The Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program

Kick-Ass Systems To Run Your Therapy Practice With More Freedom

Systems aren't sexy, but they can make a huge difference in your therapy practice. 

Many good systems cost a bit of money. Some systems tools cost over $100 a month and may be totally worth it if they save you time or money. 

My favorite systems don’t cost a thing. I'm about to geek out about my checklists.

Here's how I stumbled upon the life-changing magic of checklists. 

Until a few years ago, I wasn’t using checklists in my business. I had a to-do list and strived to get things done at a rate faster than I added to it. I did pretty well with this for a long time. Then I noticed that some administrative tasks kept hitting my to-do list every day or every week.

Lightbulb! I created a checklist with all of those daily and weekly tasks so that I didn’t have to remember them each time.

This checklist, called “daily administrative checklist,” lives in the notes section of my phone where I still check it daily and update it every time I need to add or edit a new regular task. I noticed right away that this checklist helped me become more efficient and on top of things.

My first checklist worked so well that I started making more checklists. Now I use more than 10.

Why am I so strange? Oops, I mean, why am I so in love with checklists?

When you use systems in your work, your work gets easier. You don’t miss steps, and you don’t have to think through what order you’ll do things in every time. Think it through carefully one time, and you’re set.

Checklists improve customer service. Using checklists, you always remember to take steps that impact your clients.

When you use checklists, you know exactly what to do so that even on those days when you’re feeling spacey or dumb, you can just follow your checklist.

Checklists make you efficient. When you start using checklists, you get stuff done much more quickly.

Ask a virtual assistant, office manager or any incredibly efficient and organized person, and they will tell you they use checklists. They’re part of every well-run business, from the solopreneur next door up to Google.

Here are some signs that you should embrace at least one checklist in your business. 

• Your to-do list is out of control.
• You hold a ton of information in your head.
• You sometimes drop the ball.
• You feel pressed for time.
• When you have an hour available to get stuff done, you’re not sure where to start.

Start with one. 

Maybe you don’t want 10 or more checklists like I have. I already admitted I'm strange, right? A year ago, I only had a few. Start with one. You’re probably holding at least one checklist in your head. Turn it into a physical checklist.

Then use it and get comfortable with it. Once you experience how much it helps you, you’ll probably want to create more.

Here are some checklists to consider creating:

Daily administrative tasks checklist: all the things you have to take care of and wish you could hire someone to do, written down in one place. This might include writing session notes, answering emails, charging credit cards, sending invoices, and even using other check lists.

Potential client checklist: steps to bringing a new client into your practice, from 1st contact to 1st visit.  

Blog publishing checklist: the steps you take after writing a blog post to get it up on your site and then sent out to social media and shared over email. (I’ll share an example of this below).

Social media checklist: the steps you take to check in and contribute to social media platforms.

Payday checklist: the steps you take to calculate your owner’s draw and/or profit every month or quarter.

Monday checklist, Tuesday Checklist...you get it. You can break down your tasks and  assign them to particular days.

What should your first checklist be?

Pick a task or set of tasks that fits at least one of these criteria:

• It’s important
• It’s got a lot of steps
• It’s got to get done often
• It’s complicated
• It’s unpleasant but really helps your business

Ready to choose one?

A good one to start with is the process of responding to a potential client.

I’ve created an example of that for you. Borrow it if you like, and adjust it to fit your situation.

• Return call or email (within 2 hours when possible)
• Enter person’s information into spreadsheet (inquiry tracking spreadsheet)
• Follow up again after 24 hours with email or phone call offering next steps (Tell them how to contact you again or how to set up an appointment online.)
• Schedule free consultation.
• During consultation, give next steps.  (Schedule or tell them how to schedule, tell them you’ll call again to follow up.)
• Update information on inquiry checklist after consultation (You’re done if they aren’t a good fit.)
• Enter client into practice management system
• Enter appointment into schedule
• Send email with forms and confirmation

Where should you keep your checklists?

Put your checklists wherever you’ll actually use them. For me, that’s the notes section of my iphone. For you, it may be a physical notebook, a set of spreadsheets, or even a set of paper lists on your wall. The right spot for your checklists is the place where you’ll be able to find them every time you need them.

Do checklists sound boring? Uncreative? Stifling?

You won’t be using checklists for the most creative parts of your life, but they will give you more time and energy so you can let go and be creative more of the time. When you lean on checklists, room opens up in your mind and in your day. There’s less stuff to remember, so you spend less energy trying not to forget.

Bingo! MORE room for creativity.

Are you ready to set up your business like a true boss? Check out my program, The Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program. Registration opens up soon.

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Building Your Therapy Practice Isn't About Self-Promotion. It's About Listening

Here's some common bad advice for therapists trying to build their practices. 

Bad advice: To build your therapy practice, you've got to promote yourself. 

Truth: To build your therapy practice, you've got to use your listening skills in new ways. 

 

When you hear “marketing,” you think self-promotion. You imagine selling yourself and talking yourself up. This isn’t one of your strongest skills, and you kind of hate doing it. You may even withdraw from marketing activities because self-promotion makes you uncomfortable.

Self-promotion has a (small) place in building your practice, but listening has a WAY bigger role. I bet you’re pretty great at listening.

When you use your listening skills to carefully consider what your right-fit clients are saying and feeling, all of your marketing actions are more powerful.

What do I mean by "use your listening skills in new ways?"

 

I’ve created an in-depth process for listening, and the gist of it is this:

Pay careful attention to what the people you love to work with are saying, and build every aspect of your business around that.

The listening process to take your business where you want it to go

 

In my Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program, you learn a process to use your listening skills in the building of your business. You already know how to listen as a therapist. This is about listening as a business person as well.

I call this process the "Right-Fit Client Exercise."

Using this process, you can (re)create your whole business, including your marketing plan and the services you offer.

The process I teach in the program is the one I use for my own therapy practice, The Bay Area Relationship Center.

I use this process when I write a blog post, create a page for our website, or make changes to the services we offer. I review it pretty much any time I make a decision bigger than whether to fluff a pillow.

 

An example of the listening process

 

When we added premarital counseling to our list of services, I sat down to create a new specialty page on our website about it. Before I wrote a word, I began the Right-Fit Client Exercise. After working through the exercise, I was clear about which couples are the right fit for this service, and how they think, feel and talk about their issues. I was ready to create the content for our new page and many blog articles to support it. I knew what I needed to say and the tone to use.  

Without that exercise, I would have stared at a blank page or written some bland copy that you might find on thousands of other websites.

Once you learn this process, you'll come to rely on it too. 

If you’re ready to build a bold and unique private practice, the one that only you can build, consider my Superpower Method For Therapists™ Program. It happens twice a year, and the next one starts September 1st. Get on the interest list now and you’ll have a chance to register one week before everyone else.  

Want more free stuff? Sign up below and we’ll drop valuable practice building tips in your inbox each week. Never spam. (gross). 

Not Sure Where To Start? 4 of My Best Posts

Sometimes it’s overwhelming trying to build your therapy business. There’s no shortage of information out there, and this blog is no exception. Here are some good places to start. Each of these 4 posts is each full of useable advice and action steps. 

How To Start A Private Practice On The Cheap And Eventually Quit Your Day Job

I walk you through the steps of starting your private practice and tell you where to invest and where to save throughout the process.

SEO For Therapists (Video Interview with Jeff Guenther)

Find out how to spend a weekend setting up SEO. Your misconceptions about SEO will be all cleared up by this interview. You’ll feel less confused and more ready to get started.

30 Days To A Strong Referral Network

Take 30 days and change your practice with this free challenge. This isn’t networking as usual.

Want To Get Off Those Insurance Panels?
 

If you want to transform your private practice by getting off of panels and bringing in more private pay clients, start here.

Sign up below to make sure you get our free advice and resources every week right to your inbox. We'll never share your email and you can unsubscribe easily at any time. 

Your Business BECOMES The Choices You Make

Think about your therapy practice for a moment. Is there anything about your work that you dread week to week? Is there any part of your practice that drains you over and over again?

If you're living with an aspect of your business that you dislike and you're not taking steps to change it, RIGHT AWAY, what gives?

You probably believe you don’t have a choice.

You’ve told yourself that in order to make your practice work, you’ve got to live with things as they are. Your practice is happening to you instead of you choosing its course.

You've forgotten that you're the boss of your therapy practice. 

You started this career with an internship in which you didn’t have many choices about which clients you would work with, your hours, your location, or your therapeutic methods. All of that was probably OK at that point. When you’re starting out as a therapist, getting stretched outside of your comfort zone makes you more flexible, more resilient, and better able to understand a wide range of clients and problems.

You started a private practice so that you could choose to work the way you wanted to, but you inadvertently set up your practice as if you were working for someone else. You were accustomed to adjusting to the rules of your supervisors and your internship, so you forgot that you’re in charge now.

I once asked a therapist who was working out of three offices: “Do you like working in three offices or would you rather narrow down to working in one or two?”

She told me about the circumstances that landed her in three offices and explained the availability of the offices and why this scenario works well for her clients. She talked about how certain clients would have a difficult time adjusting to a different office. After we examined the situation with the lens that her location is her choice, she acknowledged that she would like to work out of just one location.

We created a step by step plan to get her into one location within less than a year.

Some therapists are on insurance panels they wish they could get off of and don’t believe they can.

Some therapists don’t like the office they’re working in and believe they’ve got to stay.

Some therapists work hours they dread and believe they can’t shift their schedules.

Oh yeah, I did that. 

I used to believe that I had to work at least 2 evenings a week because I wanted to work with couples. There was a grain of truth to this. My evening hours would often fill up faster than my daytime hours. Potential clients sometimes said they needed evening appointments. After several years, I felt dread about working in the evenings. I loved the client work, but I didn’t love my schedule at all. I was missing out on bedtimes with my kids and downtime with my sweetie. I felt energized on the days when I started in the morning and finished by the afternoon. Some therapists enjoy the rhythm of working in the evening, but not me.

I finally realized that my schedule was my choice, made a plan to shift off of evenings, and kept my practice full during the transition.

Weaning off of evening appointments took a while. I stopped offering certain hours. When clients graduated, those hours came off of my schedule permanently. I eventually gave several months notice that I would no longer have evening hours. Finally shutting down those evening hours was scary at first, but it improved my quality of life.

I haven’t had an evening appointment in several years.

Your turn. If I can do it, you can do it. 

Is there a sense of dread anywhere in your business?

Identify a situation in your business that you don’t like and want to change.

• Do you work hours you don’t like?
• Do you work with any clients you dread seeing?
• Do you resent your fee with any clients?
• Do you feel stuck in networking relationships with people you’re not enjoying?
• Are you on an insurance panel you believe you can’t get off of?
• Do you work in an office you don’t like?

Maybe it seems like the choice you’re making is helping your business. If that choice is creating dread, it’s not going to help you in the long run.  If you continue to live with choices that leave you resentful, you’re not the best therapist you can be. When you feel joyful in your business, you can grow it with enthusiasm.

When you feel good about the choices you make in your practice, you make MORE money. 

There’s a path to get unstuck. The path can be gentle and slow if it needs to be. The key is to start taking steps.

Your fears may come up as you even consider making changes.

You worry that if you make a change you’ll be negatively impacting a client.

Your step by step plan should give your clients ample warning about anything that affects them, like a fee raise, location change, schedule change, or you removing their insurance panel. Once you get clear on your change of direction, you can focus on starting a conversation with your client about that change in a clinically sensitive way. In many cases, you can find a way to continue working together, and in some cases you’ll help them transition to another therapist.

You worry that if you make a change, your practice will topple. You believe you won’t get enough clients if you don’t keep doing things exactly this way.

Create a step by step plan to make this shift in a way that doesn’t pull the rug out financially. Perhaps this will include an overhaul of your marketing strategy.  

Let me repeat: When you feel good about the choices you make in your practice, you make MORE money. 

That area of dread is sapping some of your energy. Make a plan to let it go.

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