I enjoy my job as a copywriter very much. I mostly write website copy, newsletters, emails and blogs for my clients. My favorite piece of copy to write, however, is blogs.

Blogs are versatile. They inform, they convert, they are a resource for my therapist clients’ clients. They also keep me connected to the world of therapy, a world that was my home for two years of graduate school and five years of professional work.

When I became a copywriter, I knew I wanted to write for therapists, and the one type of copy that I was most familiar with was blogs. While I’ve grown a lot since I started and now am comfortable writing other types of copy, like websites and newsletters, my first love is still blogs.

Here are five reasons why I love writing blog posts for therapists.

1. Blog Posts Are Fun to Write

When I started writing I actually started with a personal blog. I didn’t know what copywriting was at the time, I just knew I liked to write and tell stories. Writing comes naturally to me, and I find it enjoyable to tell stories.

Now I write for other people and tell their stories. And it’s fun. I get to learn about all different topics related to the field of therapy. I write in different therapists’ voices, which means I get to practice writing from different angles.

I also love writing like I talk, which is what copywriting is. If I get to combine my love for storytelling, writing and talking about topics that I care about, sign me up!

2. I Get to Research a Plethora of Blog Topics for Therapists

Good copywriters are good researchers. We spend a lot of time researching topics for our clients. You’ve got to really love researching to be a copywriter. Luckily, I’m one of the nerds who do! 

When I was in graduate school I was one of the only people in my class who chose to do a research-based thesis rather than a non-research-based literature review or some other capstone option. I truly enjoyed researching a topic I cared about thoroughly.

I actually have fun looking up the most recent, relevant and reputable sources for blog posts that I write. I enjoy deep-diving into a topic only to come out on the other side with great sources, relevant information and a killer, well-researched blog post for my clients.

3. Blogs Inform as Well as Convert

Before I became a copywriter I was a content writer for therapists. Content writing is different from copywriting because content writing simply informs. Copywriting, however, gets people to act. 

As a content writer, I wrote blogs for therapists. It was similar to what I do now, except the blogs I wrote for my former clients didn’t help them rank higher in Google. They didn’t get people to sign up for services or opt-in to an email list. They didn’t get people to engage.

I’m proud of what I wrote as a content writer, but now I feel as if I’m doing something more important. I’m making a difference in my client’s lives. I’m helping them market themselves in a profession that doesn’t necessarily think about marketing. I’m not just writing for the sake of putting thoughts into the world. I’m writing for conversion.

4. Writing Blogs for Therapists Keeps Me in the World of Therapy

I was a therapist for five years. When I stopped practicing therapy I was worried that I threw away my degree. I hold an MA in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling. I am a registered dance/movement therapist (R-DMT) and when I first left the world of therapy I really missed it.

My identity up to that point had been tied to being a therapist, specifically a dance/movement therapist. When I left the field for mental health reasons, I felt like I had failed and wasted a lot of time and money. 

When I found copywriting, I learned that I could write for mental health professionals. I now write for all types of therapists, including dance/movement therapists and other creative arts therapists such as music and art therapists.

One of the reasons I love writing blogs so much is that I get to stay connected to my roots as a therapist without the personal strain of practicing therapy anymore, something that in the end caused a lot of health issues. 

5. Blogs Are a Good Resource for Therapists’ Clients

These days, everyone is online. We talk to our friends online. We do research online. Due to COVID-19, we have therapy sessions and doctor’s appointments online.

It’s important for therapists to keep up with the times. They need an excellent website and a blog that can be used as a resource. 

Therapists can write about all sorts of things in their blogs. They can talk about the benefits of a certain type of therapy on specific diagnoses. They can write about how the therapy they provide addresses current topics like racism and COVID-19.

Blogs are one way that therapists can connect with their clients and provide resources for them online. 

Writing Blogs for YOU

Now that we’ve established that I love writing blogs, let’s talk about how I can write blogs for you. If you have a private practice and are a therapist of any kind, I want to talk to you. I want to write for you. I want to learn your voice and help you provide your clients online resources. I want to help boost your SEO and rank you higher in Google.
Visit my contact page or send me an email at allielinnwrites@gmail.com to get started on a blog-writing journey with a blog nerd!

I love copywriting, and I love therapy. As a former therapist, there’s nothing I like to research more than therapeutic techniques, neuroscience related to trauma, and everything in between.

As a copywriter, a lot of my job is researching, so I picked a niche that I knew I wouldn’t grow tired of. What I love about copywriting, besides the freedom it gives me, is that I get to inhabit different therapist’s voices and write about things they care about, the things they want to share with their clients.

Writing Blogs for Therapists

As a therapist, you’re constantly trying to stay relevant and up-to-date on all the latest research. If you have a website, you need to make sure you also have a blog. Blogs are one of the best ways to connect with your audience, whether that’s potential or current clients. Maybe you even want to reach other therapists.

When people go to your website they want to see what you’re about, who you are and what you believe in. Blogs let people see what you’re up to and what you care about.

Blogs are also marketing tools. 

Marketing With a Blog

You may not realize you need marketing, or maybe it feels icky to market yourself and your therapeutic services. I understand that. But I also understand the importance of marketing for a small business. 

If you want to bring in more clients, you need to market yourself. And in this day and age, you need to market yourself online.

Blogs are a great way to boost your search engine optimization (SEO), which is what ranks you higher in a Google search. If you post consistent and relevant blogs, you’ll be on your way to the first page of Google. But you need to know how to write SEO-optimized blogs.

That’s why you hire a copywriter. 

Copywriters know how to take your thoughts and ideas and turn them into words that both inform as well as sell. Marketing for therapists looks a little different than marketing for, say, beauty products, because you’re not selling a thing, you’re selling your services.

When you write an SEO-optimized blog, you always want to write for three people: the skimmer, the digger, and Google. Copywriters know how to write for all three, and we do it well.

The other thing you always need when you write an SEO-optimized blog is a call to action (CTA). You want to get people to do something. That might be something simple, like signing up for your email list. This is nice, but what you really want is people signing up for your services.

Blogs That Sell

When you hire a copywriter to write a blog for you, you’re getting a well-written, well-researched piece of writing. You’re also getting a marketing strategy. Maybe most importantly, you’re getting your time back.

As a therapist, you don’t have time to keep up with writing a blog a week or even monthly newsletters and email sequences. You need to maintain your work-life balance as well as devote your time to your clients.

This is another reason why hiring a copywriter to write blogs and other types of copy is so important for therapists. It gives you your time back.

So what makes a good blog that sells?

The short answer is a blog that is relevant. You’ve heard me say this before when talking about SEO, but it’s true. Google looks for content that is relevant to your website. 

Aside from Google, you want to make sure you’re writing relevant content for your human readers. If you’re a trauma therapist for adults with PTSD you probably don’t want to write about how the creative arts can help children with autism regulate themselves. That’s a great blog topic, just not for someone who focuses on EMDR with veterans.

Blogs That Google Likes

Aside from writing relevant content you also want to make sure that you’re writing consistently. Google rewards consistently updated blogs, which boosts your SEO. The more you post, the stronger your SEO game is.

The other thing to think about when writing a blog that Google will crawl and reward you for is length. Google doesn’t recognize content that is less than 1,000 words, so you want to make sure your blogs are long enough to capture Google’s attention, but not too long that people click away.

This is another reason to hire a copywriter because we’re always writing for the skimmers out there. Headlines, sub-headers and keywords are just a few of the tools that copywriters use to write an awesome blog that both humans and Google will like.

A 1,000-word blog might sound long, but that translates into about a 4-5 minute read. So if you consider the people out there who will click on your blog (because you have a catchy headline that your copywriter wrote), you have to think about how much time people are willing to invest in reading.

If it’s well-written and engaging (and relevant), you might keep your readers’ attention for the entire length of the blog. But if you have some readers, and you know you do, who simply skim articles for important information before deciding whether to invest in reading, your copywriter needs to make sure they account for that person.

Writing for the skimmer means writing catchy headlines and sub-headers. If it’s a blog that’s along the lines of “X Number of Ways You Can Get the Most Out of Your Copywriter,” then you want to make sure the numbered sections stick out with the correct formatting.

Formatting is something that your copywriter will worry about, but it’s important that when you post your blog that you stick to the formatting. Your copywriter used italics and bold font for a reason. Those sub-headers are formatted so that they pop. You want to make sure you keep the blog intact the way it was written.

This doesn’t mean you don’t get a say. Most copywriters, including myself, will write a polished first draft of a piece and send it to you for a round of edits and comments. Then your copywriter will make any and all adjustments based on your feedback and send you the final piece.

How Can I Help You?

As a copywriter for therapists, I love writing blogs. They are one of my favorite things to write because I get to research new topics and write in your voice. I’m using psychology to write for you in order to connect with your readers who are, funnily enough, reading about psychology!

As a former therapist, I love getting to use my background in psychology in my writing, and I love writing for different types of therapists. To read more about why therapists should have a blog and how I can help you write one, check out one of my past blogs here.
If you like what you read and want to learn more about how I could write awesome blogs for you, contact me and set up a time to talk about your blogging needs! Happy writing!

As copywriters, we use a lot of tools. Most of them are online tools. We use apps for creating contracts, sending invoices, websites for royalty-free pictures, online tools to help us find email addresses, calendars, Zoom, etc. The list goes on.

But some of my favorite tools to use are on good old fashioned paper. That’s right, we’re talking post-its, planners, and notebooks of all sizes.

Here are seven different paper tools copywriters can use to prove that notebooks and paper products are the top tools in the writing process.

1. Post-it Notes

Post-its are by far one of the most helpful tools a copywriter can use. I have post-its everywhere. 

There are post-its on my wall with mantras and mindset tips so that I can look at them when I need a reminder to keep going.

I have post-its marking pages in notebooks and books with notes on them to remember what it is I’m marking.

Post-its with questions I like to ask clients and a list of my prices are stuck to my computer so they’re on hand when I’m on a client call.

I also use post-it’s when I’m researching potential clients. I often write out the Google searches I do on a client and mark what page they show up on so that I can read back to the client on a call how they’re ranking in Google. It’s really helpful.

I have different color post-its for different things. Right now I’m in an orange and green phase, but I’ve got some old purple and blue ones from a few months ago. And I have one post-it that has a logo on it at the top that I use for special things I want to remember.

Post-it notes are an underrated tool for copywriters to use because they allow you to organize and reorganize thoughts. Never underestimate the power of post-it notes.

2. Planners

I have three different calendars. One is a whiteboard I keep at the bottom of the stairs that is color-coded. One is my Google calendar that is also color-coded. The other is my paper planner.

I love my planner. It has a monthly calendar, with tabs, but then it also breaks the month down week by week into days that have seven lines each. I use these spaces for writing out my daily to-do list.

I love my planner because it’s a tangible thing I can write in, even though I have calendars saved elsewhere. The planner allows me to write out everything I need to do that day and that week, which helps me organize my thoughts and my days.

3. Client Call Notebooks

I have a special notebook just for client calls. Each call gets its own set of pages, with post-its and extra notes after the call. I usually write out at the top of the page all the things I noticed about the prospective client’s website, I’ve got a post-it note on the opposite page with the Google searches I did, and I have a list of questions I’d like to ask.

When I’m on the call I take down notes of the major points the client is making, but it’s afterwards when I go back and review the recorded call that I make the rest of the notes. I also write notes for upcoming projects with that client.

This notebook is special because it’s only for clients and prospective clients. I urge all copywriters to have a notebook like this because it keeps the client information separate from all the rest of the stuff you’ve got written down and strewn about on your desk.

4. Composition Notebook

I use a composition notebook for continuing education notes. I’m always watching YouTube videos, taking online courses and reading about copywriting. My composition notebook is the perfect place to keep that information. 

Here’s a tip: leave the first couple of pages blank and make a table of contents so that you can easily find your notes later. I learned that from copywriter Ashley Gainer and it’s been a game-changer for me. 

I also have post-its and post-it flags designating specific pages and sections that I want to remember and can find easily. But that table of contents is key.

5. Legal Pad and Loose-Leaf Paper

When I’m looking up prospective clients to reach out to, there’s often a lot of information that I need to remember. Usually, it’s their name, their website, their email address, the name of their business if it’s different from their name and where they’re located.

I keep all this information in a spreadsheet. I don’t like to use a notebook for these searches because I just need paper to write things down really quickly that I don’t necessarily need to save. Loose-leaf paper and legal pads are great for this type of thing.

6. Journals

I have several journals. I keep one by my bed so that the first I do when I wake up is free-write in my morning journal. This is a great way to jump-start my day and get the juices flowing.

Free-writing is something I highly recommend for all copywriters, especially first thing in the morning. It clears the cobwebs and gets you writing.

I also have a journal for affirmations. It’s where I write my goals and affirmations to myself. I do my mindset work mostly in this journal, choosing affirmations to repeat to myself throughout the day.

Additionally, I have a journal I keep on me at all times. It’s small and can easily fit in my purse. I write all my ideas for blogs there. I like to have a small one that’s easily portable because I have it on hand for whenever inspiration strikes me, rather than having to resort to the notes section on my phone.

7. Gratitude Journal

Technically this falls under journals, but I have a very specific gratitude journal that I also write in every morning.

Starting the day with gratitude and reminding myself of all that I’m thankful for and how blessed I am is another great way to get ready for the day. 

Practicing gratitude goes hand-in-hand with affirmations to get me in the right mindset for my workday. It reminds me of all I have and all I’m striving towards. Gratitude is something I’ve been practicing for a while now and I love having a special notebook just for gratitude. 

My husband bought me a gratitude notebook for Christmas and it has inspirational quotes in it and prompts to write about what you’re grateful for peppered throughout the book. I absolutely love it.

Putting Your Paper to Good Copywriting Use

Every example that I’ve given you is a tool I use myself every day. Copywriters have lots of tools that are essential and helpful as we go about our busy days. But at the end of the day, my paper products are some of my most precious tools.

So this one’s for all my fellow copywriters out there- go out and get yourself some notebooks! Buy that jumbo pack of post-its. Find some journals you like. Practice gratitude, write affirmations and work on your mindset. Don’t forget about the power of writing things down.

I wasn’t always a copywriter. Before I took the leap into my dream job I was first working at what I had hoped would be my dream job. Instead, it became a nightmare.

My Story

Once upon a time, I decided to quit my job as a receptionist and go to grad school to become a dance/movement therapist. I studied hard and through my internships decided I wanted to work in an inpatient psychiatric hospital. This was, I thought, the dream.

My first internship was rough, but as I began to identify as a therapist more and more I grew to like it. I enjoyed helping people who were in crisis. I liked giving them tools and coping skills. I liked the way movement brought people out of their shells and worked as a therapeutic tool. As a former dancer who is a major empath, I figured marrying dance and therapy together was the perfect job for me.

When I graduated I jumped headfirst into working in two different hospitals on a per diem basis. It was fast-paced work and I seemed to thrive. I enjoyed the freedom of simply going to work, running therapy groups, writing notes and then leaving. I didn’t have to worry about the rest of the work the full-time staff did. I was sheltered from the disfunction of the hospital by two great bosses who ran their creative arts therapy programs skillfully.

After six months I got a job full-time as a dance/movement therapist at a different inpatient psychiatric hospital. Suddenly I was responsible for a lot more than when I worked in a per diem role. Also, I no longer was sheltered from hospital disfunction.

I was eventually given my own unit that I was responsible for. I attended treatment teams, I spent time with the clients during their downtime, and I conducted individual and group sessions on my unit. It was the geriatric psychiatric unit.

I loved spending time with the older clients and grew used to them treating me like a granddaughter. I fought my way into their good graces by proving that even though I was only 30, I had things to offer to give them the help they needed.

The people on this particular unit tended to stay longer than on most other units because they were harder to place and often required more time to stabilize. There was also a lot of dementia in addition to psychiatric disorders, and that meant their stay was usually longer because a lot of nursing homes didn’t want to take someone with a psychiatric background. Sometimes it was very difficult not to get attached and upset when things didn’t go well for them. The worst was when someone was readmitted after a short period of time.

The more I got to know the clients, the thinner my skin got. They wanted to really get to know me and it was hard to keep healthy therapeutic boundaries.

I was also working in a hospital under an administration that didn’t believe in therapy and didn’t understand why we needed therapists, to begin with. This attitude trickled down to my experience as a therapist who felt over-worked and under-appreciated. 

I started having physical symptoms that were signs of high stress. Headaches, fatigue, weird aches and pains and eventually costochondritis, which is inflammation of the sternum that causes severe pain in the chest. I thought I was having a heart attack.

Eventually, after a year of working there full-time, it all came to a head when I had my own version of a breakdown. I was unhealthy, I was miserable, I was stressed and I was mentally exhausted. I took some time off. 

After six months of being unemployed, I started a new job as a dance/movement therapist at the first inpatient psychiatric hospital I had ever worked at. I lasted a month before I started getting these weird migraines that make me fall down and render me useless for the rest of the day. They’re generally caused by stress and heat. It was June and I was stressed beyond belief at being back in the hospital setting. I lasted a month.

I tried one final time at the other hospital I had worked at in a per diem role, working every other weekend and on an as-needed basis. I thought this would be the answer, going back to only running groups and doing notes and not having to worry about the rest of the stuff.

But running four groups a day with up to 26 people in a group, writing notes for each one of them and filing them yourself on each unit in eight hours became impossible. My stress-induced migraines started again and I had to miss work a lot. I left after less than three months.

I thought there was something wrong with me and didn’t understand why I couldn’t stick it out like other people. I didn’t understand why I was a physical and emotional mess. I was desperate for a change and unsure of how to get there.

Freelance Freedom

Then I learned about freelance writing. I always knew I was a good writer and I liked writing, and when I learned you could write for a living, I decided to try it.

I dipped a toe in the water and got a client. I wrote a blog for her and it didn’t work out, so we parted ways amicably. I cautiously dipped another toe in the water, and the same thing happened. I didn’t know what I was doing.

Part of the problem was that I didn’t have any guidance, and part of the problem was that I was trying to write content, not copy.

Finding Copywriting

The difference between content and copy is that content informs, copy gets you to do something.

I learned that I could contribute so much more to the field of mental health by being a copywriter for therapists than I could being a content writer or a burned-out therapist.

So I dove into a copywriting course and learned a lot about the way the world of copywriting works. I continue to spend at least 30 minutes a day learning more about copywriting and SEO (search engine optimization, the copywriter’s bread and butter). 

It was difficult when I first started writing, before I found copywriting, to imagine myself actually getting to write for therapists. But once I began learning about the world of copywriting and all the different ways I could do it, the part of me that was desperate to still be connected to therapy couldn’t help but choose mental health as my niche.

Now I write for therapists. I write about things that matter to them. My writing helps them provide online resources to their clients. I’m still connected to the field of therapy and mental health without stressing myself out every day and wondering why being a therapist didn’t work for me.

I make my own schedule, I can work from anywhere, and I get to choose the clients I work with.

If you’d like to be one of those clients, view my portfolio and testimonials at www.allielinnwrites.com and send me an email at allielinnwrites@gmail.com to set up a free consultation call!

You’re busy. You meet with clients all day. You write notes. You read up on the latest research in your field. You have a family and a life outside of your work. The last thing you need to worry about is writing copy for your website, blog or email list. No matter how much you want to, you simply don’t have time to do it all.

How do you fix this problem?

The answer is simple: hire a copywriter. More specifically, hire a copywriter who specializes in writing for therapists. Copywriters are a dime a dozen these days, but mental health copywriters are unique because they specialize in your field.

If you want to be able to spend more time with your clients and less time sitting in front of a computer banging your head against the wall trying to come up with interesting blog topics or a snazzy email, hire a copywriter.

How do you find a mental health copywriter?

Copywriters are out there waiting to find the right therapist to work with. I’d suggest using LinkedIn or other social media channels such as Instagram and Facebook to find copywriters. 

There are plenty of Facebook groups out there for copywriters that you could join and see what we’re all about. You can find copywriters who are looking for clients. All social media channels use hashtags that you can search for copywriters. 

But it’s very possible that a copywriter will find you. I know you probably receive a ton of emails, but keep an eye out for a cold email from a copywriter. Good copywriters know how to grab your attention with cold emails and speak directly to you. We know how to speak to your pain points and address your copy needs.

Not all copywriters are equal, and if you can’t tell by a cold email whether a copywriter is good, go to their website and see what their copy is like. Check out their portfolio, testimonials, and their blog if they have one. Or just read their website copy. You can tell a lot about a copywriter from the first couple of sentences or paragraphs on their website.

Here are 5 reasons why you should hire a mental health copywriter:

1. Mental health copywriters are specialists in writing for therapists

Copywriters who write for therapists know the field very well. We understand your pain points as well as your clients’ pain points.

Mental health copywriters are experts in our field and care about the authority you have in your field. We write in your voice with compelling copy about the topics that you care about. 

Writers for therapists study up on the latest research in your field. We understand the importance of well-researched writing and deliver copy that reflects that.

2. Mental health copywriters do the work so you don’t have to

You don’t have time to write newsletters and blogs. Email sequences are low on your priority list but should be a high priority when it comes to your marketing strategy. 

Copywriters literally write copy for a living. We research, write and edit every day. Our job is to take the writing off your plate.

Mental health copywriters are dedicated to writing in your voice about topics you care about. We do your marketing through our writing so you don’t have to. You obviously get a say in what we write and the chance to edit whatever we come up with, but ultimately we give you back your time.

3. Mental health copywriters have marketing skills that you may not have

Writing good copy isn’t easy. You may be an excellent writer, but if you don’t have the marketing knowledge or background you’re not going to get anywhere. Writing content is different than writing copy.

Good copy gets people to do something. You want people to sign up for your email list and book an appointment. You want them to tell their friends and family about how fabulous of a therapist you are. 

Copywriters who write for therapists know how to write for three types of people: the skimmer, the digger, and Google. All three of these are incredibly important when it comes to marketing yourself as a therapist.

Google is a tricky thing to write for, and copywriters possess the knowledge and skill to rank you higher in a Google search just through their writing. If you’re a writer, you probably know how to write for the skimmer, or the digger, or both. But you might not know how to write for Google. It may seem like a long process, but it’s worth it to have a copywriter in your corner writing for Google.

4. Copywriters know how to use SEO to your advantage

SEO stands for search engine optimization and it has to do with how Google finds your site and ranks you in a search. SEO is incredibly important for marketing. If people can’t find you, you won’t get new clients.

Word of mouth is a great way to get new clients, and one way to spread the word is through your online presence. People who search and find you are more likely to recommend you and send your site to other people.

5. Mental health copywriters are emotionally invested in writing for you

Most copywriters pick a niche that they’re passionate about. People who used to be realtors might pick real estate or travel as their niche. People who love the environment might choose sustainability as their niche. 

The same is true for mental health copywriters. Most people who become a copywriter for therapists were either therapists themselves, like me, or have a close connection to the field of mental health.

Because we’re so passionate about mental health and helping therapists, copywriters who specialize in writing for you are the perfect way to market yourself without having to do it yourself. You know you’ve got someone in your corner who cares about the field of mental health as much as you do.

Next Steps

Now that you have a sense of why you should hire a copywriter who specializes in writing for mental health professionals, it’s time to act. 
Email me at allielinnwrites@gmail.com or click here to set up a free consultation call to see how I can help you grow your therapy business through writing. Let’s get you some good copy!

I became a therapist so that I could help people. I put in the work, I took out student loans, and I got my degree in dance/movement therapy and counseling. And then after five years I got burnt out and decided to become a copywriter for therapists. 

Why?

Well, I knew I wanted to continue helping people. I thought that if I couldn’t maintain my mental health by tending to others in one way, I could indirectly help people seeking help with their mental health through writing for therapists. 

I also realized that not only am I helping the people seeking help, but I’m also helping the helpers. I get to help therapists provide resources to their clients and help them bring in more clients. It’s a win-win situation.

Copywriting for therapists is also a great way for me to stay connected to the world of therapy. I get to research and write about topics for different therapists that, honestly, make me a more well-rounded therapist myself.

The wounded healers

I’m going to bet there are plenty of wounded healers out there. You may be one of them. That’s why so many of us are drawn to the mental health field in the first place. We want to make a difference for people who are struggling with similar things we are struggling with.

I’m also willing to bet that there are many therapists out there who got burnt out like me and changed career paths. I don’t know how many of them became copywriters, but I do know a fair amount of people who made career changes because the work is hard.

You know this, you do it every day. What you don’t do every day is write. You simply don’t have time. And that’s ok because you’ve got copywriters in your corner who can do that writing for you. 

Why should therapists hire copywriters who are therapists?

If you’re a therapist hiring a copywriter, the best thing you can do for your practice is to hire someone who is also a therapist to write for you.

If you hire a therapist who is also a copywriter who writes for therapists (say that five times fast!) you’re hiring someone who speaks the same language as you. I know there are lots of different kinds of therapists,  but what we all have in common is that we all have clinical training.

My degree may sound like it doesn’t line up with the type of therapy you do, but I assure you that I have a base clinical knowledge that you can only get from going to school to become a therapist. My work is trauma-informed and evidence-based and I have worked with many different diagnoses and populations.

How big is the pivot from therapist to copywriter for therapists?

Honestly, when I first decided to become a copywriter I had already left my job as a therapist. I didn’t know what I was going to do next. Copywriting sort of fell in my lap.

I made the switch for personal reasons as well as professional ones. My husband travels a lot, and as a copywriter, I have a flexible schedule and location independence. I can write from anywhere at any time of day. That is appealing to me.

While the hours and schedule may have been a big change, the writing part wasn’t. I’ve been writing for years and I loved doing research in grad school. I was a research assistant for two of my professors and wrote a research-based thesis. Writing-wise, the biggest change was learning how to specifically write copy, not just content or academic writing.

I break down what copywriting is in a recent blog, but essentially the difference between copywriting and content writing is that copywriting is writing that gets people to DO something. It always has a call to action. Plain old content writing simply informs.

At first, I was writing content for therapists. I was also writing a personal blog and writing for Medium. I just wanted to write about mental health. I guest blogged for a few mental health organizations. But I wasn’t getting anywhere in my writing career and I honestly didn’t know what I was doing.

Fast forward to the beginning of this year when I officially launched my copywriting business, Allie Linn Writes LLC. Now I have a fulfilling career that involves working closely with all kinds of therapists and writing copy that not only helps them connect with their clients, but it also helps them market themselves and bring in more clients

Both of those are equally important to me. I want to help provide online resources for your clients, but I also want to use my copywriting skills to help market your services and your business. I’ve learned so much about copywriting in the last year that I didn’t know when I was just content writing, and I love getting to do that for therapists whose work I care a lot about.

Back to the original question about how big the pivot was from therapist to copywriter for therapists, the answer is simple and complicated at the same time. It was easy for me to become a writer for therapists, but it was hard for me to walk away from therapy entirely. It was easy to decide to become a professional writer, but it was hard to figure out what I wanted to do. 

But once I found copywriting, the rest was history. I truly love it, I love working with therapists and writing for them, and I love still being able to stay connected to the field of mental health.

If you’re a therapist looking for a copywriter, you should hire someone who is also a therapist

The bottom line is, at the end of the day you care about your branding and your message that you send with your copywriting. You hire a copywriter who writes for therapists specifically, and that’s the way it’s supposed to work.

But isn’t it better to hire a copywriter who writes for therapists who is also a therapist?

To find out more about how I can help you with your copywriting needs send me an email at allieilnnwrites@gmail.com. You should also visit my website www.allielinnwrites.com to learn more about me, what I do, how I can help you, and to check out my portfolio and testimonials. To schedule a free consultation, click here.

Happy writing!

When you’re a therapist in private practice, you probably don’t have a very big budget to spend on marketing. You’re trying to do it all yourself. The problem with this is that, while you try your hardest, you don’t have the marketing knowledge to attract new clients and drive traffic to your website or the time to dedicate to online marketing.

This is why you hire a copywriter. I know, it can seem like a lot of money to spend on a website, but it’s worth it. When you write the copy yourself, you’re probably not sure exactly what to write and who you’re writing for.

Copywriters are knowledgable about these things and write copy that sells for a living.

I also just said a word that probably made you cringe- that little word “sells.” As a therapist, you don’t want to think about marketing or selling your services, but as a small business, you have to think about those things.

The thing about copywriting is that most copy, especially websites and blogs, play the long game. They are written in a way that tells Google to rank them higher in a search. Copywriters know how to use keywords and phrases that will get you to move up in a Google search and make you easier to find by potential clients.

Have you ever tried to Google yourself? You should. Don’t just Google your name, Google things like “trauma therapist in Los Angeles” if that’s what you do and where you live or “dance/movement therapy and eating disorders.” These types of searches are using what are called long-tail keywords to find you, and your copywriter knows how to use those long-tail keywords in your copy to get Google’s attention.

Investing in a copywriter for therapists is worth it for several reasons

The first reason is that hiring a copywriter gives you your time back. It allows you to focus your attention on yourself and your clients. You can have a better work-life balance as well and more bandwidth to give to your clients if you’re not worried about writing weekly blogs or monthly newsletters.

The second reason is that copywriters write copy that gets people to do things. Everything you have on your website, your blog, your newsletter, etc. should have a call to action. You want people to engage with your website, sign up for your email list, and, most importantly, book a session. You want writing that has a hook.

The third reason that hiring a copywriter for therapists is worth the investment is that, unlike paid ads, pieces of copy that are well-optimized for search engine optimization (SEO) are working to market you 24/7. With a paid ad, you have to keep paying for ads to make it worth your while. SEO-optimized copy is something you only pay for once and it keeps working. It may take a little while to get you to page one of Google, but it’s always working because Google is always crawling pages.

But I LIKE writing- why should I hand it over to a copywriter?

As wonderful a writer as you may be, you may not have the tools and knowledge to write compelling copy. Your writing may be interesting to read and fun for you to write, but you may not know how to optimize it for marketing purposes.

Copywriters don’t just write content that informs, they write copy that converts. If you’re simply writing content, you’re not doing yourself a favor when it comes to marketing your business. Copywriters know how to write copy that informs and converts.

Hiring a copywriter who writes for therapists means putting trust in another person to write for you, and that can be scary. I get it. But if you hire the right copywriter, you’re putting yourself in the hands of someone who cares about your business and wants to make sure you’re optimizing your writing.

Why are copywriters so expensive?

When you pay for a copywriter, you’re paying for good quality writing, but you’re also paying for time spent researching and writing pieces for you. You’re paying for expertise in SEO and marketing skills. And you’re paying for copy that will live on your website forever.

Because a piece of well-optimized copy can live on the internet forever, it’s working around the clock to market your business. You pay your copywriter once for something that never stops working for you.

This is why copywriting is an investment worth making.

And you don’t want to buy the cheapest copywriter out there. If they’re charging you $50 a blog, they’re either WAY underselling themselves or they’re not worth the investment, even one that sounds cheap. If you hire a copywriter that charges at least three times that, you can bet that they know what they’re worth and are charging you according to their skill set. And if you hire a copywriter who writes for therapists, you’re hiring someone who knows exactly how to write about what you want to write about.

Invest in a copywriter who knows how to write for therapists

This is a big one. You want to make sure that you’re hiring a copywriter who understands the world of therapy. Ideally, you want to hire someone like me who IS a therapist. I may not know everything about the work that you do, but I speak your language and have a clinical background. I bring that knowledge to my writing.

When you invest in a copywriter, you’re investing in someone who is going to generate copy that builds trust and authority with your audience. This is what converts skimmers to readers to clients.

Feeling ready to take the plunge? Send me an email at allielinnwrites@gmail.com or fill out the contact page on my website to set up a free phone consultation. We’ll discuss how I can help fulfill your copywriting needs and you’ll learn why I’m worth what I charge. Talk soon!

Many times when I tell people I’m a copywriter they tilt their heads and ask “what does that mean?”

Often, people think I’m talking about the legal protection of the written word (“copyright”). They get even more confused when I tell them I write for therapists.

So I wanted to explain what exactly a copywriter does and why you should hire me to do it for you.

What is copywriting?

Copywriting is writing to get people to act. Trying to sell a product? Write a sales ad. Want to get people to sign up for an email list? Write an opt-in with a free checklist or e-book to get them hooked. Want to connect with potential clients? Write an email sequence. Keeping clients engaged and building a relationship? Create a newsletter and a blog.

There are lots of different forms of copy. Some of these include but are not limited to, website copy, blogs, newsletters, email sequences, opt-ins, white pages, landing pages, and sales pages. To learn more about the different types of copy you could be using as a therapist check out my last blog.

Why should I hire a copywriter?

Copywriters are knowledgable about marketing tactics. They don’t just write content to inform, they write content to get people to buy your product or sign up for your services.

They also know a great deal about search engine optimization (SEO), the magic words in the world of copywriting and marketing. Essentially, SEO is what ranks you higher in a Google search.

If your copywriter knows what they’re doing, they can write your website copy and blogs in a way that can bump you to page one in a couple of months.

SEO is a long game, so it can take time and is less instantly satisfying than a paid ad, but with a piece of SEO-optimized copy you can be marketing 24/7 and only have to pay for it once, unlike paid ads. To learn more about the long game of SEO and why it matters to you check out this blog.

So what can a copywriter do for me?

As a busy therapist in private practice, you don’t have time to be worrying about writing website copy, weekly blogs, or monthly newsletters. You want to focus your time on being there for your clients and also being there for yourself.

This last one is super important. You help your clients find balance in their lives, juggling families and jobs and hobbies, but are you filling up your own cup? If you could get back some time in your day to focus on self-care, wouldn’t you want that? That’s what hiring a copywriter can do for you.

As a therapist myself, I understand how long and grueling your days can be, seeing client after client and trying to find time to write notes, take a breath, go to the bathroom, and make some coffee. Maybe you’ve already figured out the magic equation to do all these things without burning out, but even so, you don’t want to add extra stress, work and time to your routine.

I’m a writer, why should I hire a copywriter?

I address this on my website’s FAQ page. The main reason you want to hire a copywriter is that copywriting uses a different skill set than other types of writing. You may be a wonderful author, but a copywriter is a marketer at heart.

You may write lovely copy, but if you hire a copywriter they can work with you to create the piece of copy of your dreams.

Also, if you offload the writing onto your copywriter, you’re buying yourself time.

How do I work with my copywriter?

Everyone is different, but personally I like to get to know my clients a bit before diving in. We’ll do a discovery call to talk about your goals, who your ideal client is, who inspires you, why you want to hire a copywriter and how I can help you. Then we’ll do a paid test project.

The test project is important because it tells us whether or not we’re a good fit. I’ve worked with people who, at the end of the test project, for one reason or another, we realized we weren’t right for each other, and that’s ok.

The reason you should hire me is that I’m also a therapist. I understand the jargon and I know how to write it in lamen’s terms. I know the ins and outs of therapy and understand the clinical side of what you do. I do the research, but I already have a base knowledge of what I’m writing about.

After the test project, if we decide to move forward, we’ll talk about what your needs are and come up with a payment plan that makes sense. If you’re going to hire me to write four blogs and a newsletter every month, for example, we’ll do a bundle, you’ll get a discount, and we’ll sign a contract for a monthly retainer.

For one-off projects and test projects, I bill 50% upfront and the other 50% is due upon submission of the first draft. Retainers are due at the beginning of the month. I make it easy for you to pay me by sending you an invoice that you can pay by credit card right through the invoice. My goal is to make this process as easy as possible for you.

Once we’ve gotten through all that, then it’s time to write. This next step is an important one because some people get confused. Usually I submit the first draft, you do a round of edits, and then I submit the final product. I’ve done a second round of edits free of charge on occasions when we weren’t happy with the first round, but generally that’s how it works.

The key is that the first submission is a first draft, and not the final product. Copywriters aren’t mindreaders, and it’s impossible to capture every word perfectly the first time, especially if it’s our first time working together.

I mention this because I’ve had some clients get upset when the first draft isn’t what they imagined, and they’ve dropped me. It happens to everyone, but it certainly doesn’t feel good to either of us. The client isn’t happy and I’m certainly not happy. So it’s important to manage expectations.

Ideally, there’s a good stream of communication between you and me during this process. After our discovery call we may talk again to flesh out some details and make sure I’m creating the copy you want. I’ve had great success with clients who make themselves available by email or phone, and I am always willing to have a conversation to make sure you are happy.

Ok, I understand what a copywriter does now. So what’s next?

Well, you can send me an email at allielinnwrites@gmail.com or go to the contact page on my website to set up a free 15-minute consultation call. If I haven’t answered your questions in this post, you can reach out and ask me anything you’d like about copywriting and my work as a copywriter for therapists. I look forward to hearing from you soon! Be well.

During this pandemic, you’ve most likely been forced to offer your therapy services online. This transition may have been very difficult for you and your clients. One thing is for sure- therapy, as we know it, has changed and may continue to do so.

It could be a long time before you are able to provide therapy to clients in person again. In the meantime, we all need to make the best of the situation. Using telehealth may have been a challenge at first, but now you’re a pro.

Even before COVID-19 hit, people have relied on online platforms for resources. Clients find you online. They do research about therapy and their diagnoses online. If you don’t have an online presence, you’re not keeping up with the times. You’re behind in your field.

Lucky for you, there’s a way to meet your clients where they are when it comes to their online wants and needs. Hiring a copywriter to write compelling, awesome website copy, blogs, newsletters and email sequences, for starters, is a great way to provide resources to your clients.

I just named four different types of copy that can connect you to your clients. Now I’m going to break them down for you so you have a better understanding of how each type of copy can help you provide therapeutic resources to your clients through awesome writing.

1. Website copy

Website copy is any content that appears on your website. Compelling website copy is one way to hook a potential client. But first, you need to show up in a Google search so that potential clients can find you.

Search engine optimized (SEO) copy ranks you higher in a Google search. Copywriters know how to optimize your website copy so that it uses keywords that people search for when looking for therapists. For example, if you’re an art therapist who specializes in trauma-informed therapy for people with depression, anxiety and PTSD, you want your copy to reflect your therapeutic services.

Once you’ve been found, now you need to grab your audience’s attention and keep them on your site so they can see all the awesome therapy services you offer.

Your copywriter writes your website copy in a way that compels potential clients to want to know more about you. They’ll stick around to read the services you offer, your “about me” page and your blog.

Your copywriter gets the potential client to sign up for a session/assessment through compelling copy. You’ll also get people to sign up for an opt-in, like a free stress checklist, and voila! You have an email list. Your copywriter just got you another way to communicate with potential and current clients through emails and newsletters.

2. Blogs

Once you’ve set up a website with compelling and well-optimized copy, you want to make sure you include a blog. Currently, blogs are one of the best ways to provide resources to your clients, especially with everyone living online right now.

You can use your blog to dispense information, provide insight and write about topics that you care about and are relevant to your practice.

Blogs are a great way for people to understand more about who you are as a therapist and what you can offer them.

Having a blog is also a great way to boost your SEO. Consistent, relevant blogs that are the proper length tell Google that your site has authority.

It’s not enough to have a blog and post once in a while, though. You have to be consistent. Posting once a week on the same day of the week is one way to not only rank higher in a Google search, but it’s also a way to earn trust and followers from your audience.

You’re probably thinking “no way do I have time to write and post a blog once a week. I’m busy providing therapy!” No worries, your copywriter has you covered. That’s exactly why you hired her because she saves you time.

Another key element of your blog is that it should be relevant. You want to make sure you’re posting content that people need to be reading. Google cares about the relevance of blogs just as much as its consistency.

Lastly, the length of your blog is important to Google. It’s difficult to capture what you’re trying to say in less than 1,000 words, and Google won’t rank anything less than that. The higher the word count, the better for your SEO. That doesn’t mean you should ramble on for the sake of making your blog longer, but it does mean you should have a substantive blog with, again, relevant information.

3. Email Sequences

Now that you have a website that’s SEO-optimized with regularly posted, well-written blogs, the next step is engagement. You want to convert people who visit your site to clients. You might do that with your website copy and blogs alone, but you also may need a little help.

Building an email list is a great way to stay connected to potential clients. Once you create an opt-in, which is a way to get people’s emails, you can build your email list and send out a sequence of emails that are relevant and compelling.

I keep using these words: relevant, consistent and compelling, and there’s a reason for that. It’s because consistency builds trust, relevancy gets people reading and compelling copy keeps people reading.

When someone opts into your email list, they get an automated email from you welcoming them. A good email sequence will continue to send 3-5 emails over the course of a week or so that provides additional information and keeps them feeling connected to you.

Your copywriter writes your emails and you set up a service, like Mail Chimp, to send those emails without you having to do anything! Look at that, another way copywriters take the work off of your hands and give you back time in your busy day.

4. Newsletters

Unlike automated email sequences, newsletters are sent regularly, such as monthly or every other week. If an automated email sequence is a way to build trust and connection with potential clients, then a newsletter is a way to maintain that relationship.

Newsletters get sent to your entire email list, which probably includes a lot of your current clients. You work with your copywriter to grab and keep the attention of your audience through a brief newsletter that keeps clients aware of what’s going on with your practice.

Maybe you’re offering workshops. You might be promoting your most recent blog post or podcast episode you recorded. Or maybe you just want to say “hi” and keep your clients aware that you’re still here, offering services as “usual.” At least, the new usual.

Putting it all together

Now that you have a basic understanding of the different types of copy you can use to provide resources to your clients, it’s time to put those into practice! It’s time to hire an awesome copywriter. And I know just the one for you.

Send me an email at allielinnwrites@gmail.com or fill out the “contact me” page to set up a free consultation and discover how I could write for you so you can continue to provide awesome therapy without having to worry about all of this yourself. Talk to you soon!

SEO. You’ve heard those three little letters before and you’re not sure what they mean. Your copywriter keeps using them when talking about your website copy and your blogs and you nod your head. You get that SEO is important, but you don’t know why, exactly what it is, or how it works.

I’ve got you covered.

SEO stands for search engine optimization. To put it in the shortest, simplest terms, SEO is what ranks you higher in a Google search. If you have copy that is well-optimized, Google will be able to place you in their search and make it easier for people to find you.

There’s obviously a lot more to SEO than that, but I thought we’d start with the basics.

The thing about SEO is that it doesn’t happen overnight. You could have the most well-optimized site that exists but if you’ve just created it or just revamped it, Google doesn’t know about it yet.

You probably don’t want to hear this because you’ve just invested money and time into a copywriter who assured you that their work will get you results. And it will, just not yet.

This is why a lot of people run paid ads because they want quick results. And that makes sense. But SEO is a long game that is worth playing. The reason is that, unlike ads, when you write SEO-optimized copy, it sticks around and you only pay for it once. SEO is the gift that keeps on giving. You just need to give it a little boost every now and again.

Here are five reasons why SEO takes longer than you want it to:

1. Google needs time to find your page and give it authority

If you create a website, no matter how well-optimized it is, it’s not going to show up in a Google search right away. It can take months for Google to recognize the page and compare it to other sites. [1]

In fact, according to an article in Forbes, it can take 4-6 months for you to start seeing results. [2] This is partly because you need to be working on your SEO consistently. Blogs, for example, are one way to boost your SEO. But you have to be consistent with how often you post and pay attention to how relevant the content is.

This can be frustrating because you want results NOW. But when it comes to SEO and Google, it’s a waiting game. And that can be hard when you hire someone who says they can get you those results, and months go by and you don’t see anything.

It’s important to point out that it’s not enough to just be ranked higher on the Google search. What you really want is conversions. You want people to go to your site and DO something. You
want to get more clients.

2. The keywords you use matter

Keywords and longtail keywords are what notify Google to what your content is about. Having keywords that are relevant matter, because keywords are one of the main things that Google pays attention to.

When you type in a Google search, those words you’re typing are keywords. They tell Google what you’re looking for and they’re how Google knows what to find for you. Longtail keywords are even more effective than just one keyword because nowadays people are typing full sentences into Google. Longtail keywords are short phrases that people search for.

3. SEO is ongoing

It’s not enough to put together a website with a lot of great keywords and longtail keywords and call it a day. SEO takes time because there’s a lot of back-end work that needs to be done by you and your copywriter to get you the results you need.

Another article in Forbes puts it very well:

“Your website as a whole needs to be optimized for user experience, while content marketing will help keep it regularly updated. Posts on your website should have SEO in mind from their very conception so they’re optimized the moment they’re published.” [3]

SEO isn’t a one-time project. Everything you put on your website should be optimized, and you should be updating your website regularly.

4. Consistency is key when it comes to SEO

I mentioned this earlier, but it’s worth mentioning again. Google cares about consistent posts, especially when it comes to blogs. It’s the reason why writing one blog and calling it a day doesn’t do anything.

The more relevant content you post on your website consistently, the quicker your page will rank in a Google search. It’s why blogs are so valuable as a marketing tool and not just as a way to dispense information.

They’re great for that too, but blogs that are relevant and consistent are worth your money because you get more bang for your buck. As I mentioned before, blogs stick around on your website and continue to drive traffic, while something like a paid ad will get you quick results that you have to continue to pay for.

Another important thing to note when talking about consistent blogs is that Google doesn’t rank content that’s too short. Blogs less than 1,000 words won’t be recognized. Website copy that is barely a couple of hundred words won’t make a dent in your SEO. Google needs to be able to figure out what your content is about and more words allow it to do that. [4]

5. Your competition is working just as hard as you are

You’re not the only one in your field working on your SEO. All of your competitors are too. You may be in a highly-saturated field, which means you have to work even harder on your SEO game. It’s not impossible, it just means you have to really put the time, effort and money into it. [1]

You have to think about how often your competition is posting blogs. If you’re posting 2-4 a month and they’re posting 4-8, they’re probably going to rank higher, assuming their blogs are SEO-optimized. It’s important to keep an eye on the competition and see what they’re doing so you can outdo them. Remember, the key is to be relevant and consistent.

What does this mean for your business?

This is why you hire a copywriter who understands the importance of SEO and how it works. The thing is, no one is an expert, even the SEO “experts”, because Google doesn’t tell anyone how exactly they rank. But if you want some solid resources on SEO, check out Neil Patel and MOZ.

Now that you understand why SEO doesn’t happen overnight, it’s time to turn your SEO dreams into a reality. Send me an email at allielinnwrites@gmail.com or fill out the contact page to get started on your amazing SEO journey with a copywriter who understands a thing or two about how it all works!

[1] https://www.seo.com/blog/why-does-seo-take-so-long/

[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshsteimle/2015/02/07/how-long-does-seo-take-to-start-working/#79ca74eb464c

[3] https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2020/03/10/seo-for-beginners-why-a-plan-and-consistency-are-key-to-success/#652076e6622f

[4] https://yoast.com/academy/seo-copywriting-training/text-length/