The field of therapy is a competitive one. In order to stand out from the competition, you have to get creative with your marketing. You have to be willing to try new things. For one thing, you need to outsource your website and copywriting to people who will make you stand out.

It’s not because you aren’t capable of marketing yourself. It’s because you don’t have time. You also probably don’t have a marketing background or SEO knowledge.

Some of my therapists out there do, and that’s great. You still don’t have time. The fact that you have the knowledge means you can easily communicate what you want to your copywriter. Effective communication between you and your copywriter is key in successful marketing. Read more about figuring out what the write about with your copywriter here.

Branding is Key to Standing Out From the Competition

It may seem unnecessary for a therapy practice to create a brand, but that’s how you market yourself and stand out from the competition. In order to brand yourself, you need to know who your ideal client is first and foremost. Get very clear on who you work with and what you offer. You can’t reach anyone if you’re trying to reach everyone. Instead, you’re talking to no one.

When creating a brand, it’s important to come up with a name for your practice. You want that name to reflect who you are and what you do. It doesn’t have to be a clever company label, it could just be your name. Whatever you choose, stick with it and put it all over your website. Mention it in your Psychology Today profile. Associate it with yourself on LinkedIn. Create social media channels with your practice’s name.

The next thing you want to do is create a web presence. Make a website and choose your colors carefully. What colors do you want to be associated with you and your brand? What do you want people to feel when they see your website for the first time?

Aside from pleasing colors and pictures, you have to make sure you have compelling website copy. You can have the prettiest website in the world but if it doesn’t say anything of substance, what’s the point?

You can also create a logo to go with your brand name and use it on your website, social media, and business cards. Which is the next step in branding: creating business cards. Again, choose your colors carefully and have a nicely designed logo and pleasing aesthetic to your cards.

Perhaps the most important thing when it comes to branding your therapy practice is being consistent across all platforms. You want your message to be the same on all your social media channels, your website, your YouTube videos, and anything else you use.

Consistency for Therapy Practice Branding 

This is where hiring the right copywriter comes in to play. If you want to market yourself and stay on brand, hire a copywriter who understands you and your brand completely. Work together to create your message and then spread it far and wide. 

Once you’ve made a killer website, keep spreading the love with blogs, LinkedIn posts and articles, and posts across all social media channels.

Advertise your social media on your website (you can put the links to all your socials at the bottom of your page).

I know many of you in private practice don’t have the budget to pay for a copywriter to write all of your social media and your blog posts and your newsletters. However, there are ways to get the most out of your copywriter for the budget you do have.

Prioritize what you simply don’t have time for and what you’re willing to offload onto a professional. Let’s say it’s website copy, blogs and newsletters. Then you can pay a one-time fee for a social media consultation with your copywriter and get a strategy in place. You get to decide since it’s your money. But my recommendation is to spend the money that you can bear to part with on as much marketing as you can because the payoff is tremendous.

No, I can’t give you a guarantee. But I can tell you that SEO works. I know that writing consistent blogs and having a well-optimized website will rank you higher in Google. If your copywriter can write enough for you to get you on the first page of Google, you’ll find yourself with more clients. It’s just like in Field of Dreams- “if you build it, they will come.”

Stand Out From the Competition

If you don’t have a website, you’re at a deficit. Maybe you have enough clients coming in form referrals, and if you do that’s great. But I’m willing to bet that you’re looking for more, and the answer is to create a website.

Once you’ve created your brand, you need to know how to use it. Copywriters are marketers at heart and make your brand a priority. We want to get you to page one of Google. We want to see your client load grow to the point where you’re at max capacity.

In order to get you there, you need to be willing to work with someone else. It’s ok that you can’t do it all yourself. Nowhere in getting your advanced degree to become a therapist did you learn Branding or Marketing 101. You’re not expected to be able to do it all.

In order to get ahead of your competition, you first need to know who your competition is. I’ve talked to plenty of therapists who don’t think they have competition. And that’s just not true.

Do some Google searches of what else is out there and you’ll find out just how much competition you have. That’s when you and your copywriter put your heads together and figure out how to stand out.

Beat the Competition 

Now that you know what you need to do, it’s time to act! I’m a therapist, so I understand your struggles, your pain points, and your needs. I know how to write for therapists because I already speak the language.
Schedule a call with me to discuss how we can get you to stand out in the crowd and beat the competition. I look forward to talking with you soon. Happy marketing!