This document provides guidance on marketing a private therapy practice. It discusses establishing an online presence through websites and directories, using search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising for internet marketing, networking within the local community, gaining patient referrals, and following up with clients. The key recommendations are to define a specialty, focus on a steady flow of patients through various marketing channels, partner with other professionals, and get help from specialists to avoid marketing burnout.

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MarketingMarketing
YourYour
PracticePractice
James I. Bond
SCORE®
Counselors to America’s Small
Business
805-204-6022
http://Ventura.Score.org/

2. Marketing Your Practice
 Therapists are no longer dependent on
insurance companies
 Large population willing to pay for services
 Many services for which insurance
companies do not pay
 No permanent record is kept by insurance
companies 2

3. Marketing Your Practice
 Private Practice
 Mindset / malpractice / intimidated
 Key – Flow of patients
 Pay now or pay later
 Specialty coaches available
 30-35 patients/week (patient hours)
 Lifetime value of a referral/patient 3

4. Online Therapy Alternatives
 Mostly Millennials (born in 1980’s – 90’s)
 Like the Online convenience
 Typically $45 for a 30 minute session
 PrettyPaddedRoom.com
 Breakthrough.com
 VirtualTherapyConnection.com
 TheAngryTherapist.com
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6. Patient Segmentation
 Patients divided by child, adult, geriatric
 Subcategories (Developmental disabilities, personality
disorders, dementia)
 Geography (business/residence)
 Demographics (age, gender, income, ethnicity)
 Psychographics (personality, motives, lifestyle)
 Benefits (increased well-being, improved relationships)
 Usage-Rate (those frequently involved in self-
improvement activities) 6

7. Go to Where Your Patients Are
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Group Sessions

10. Joe Versus Paul
 Paul
 month-to-month struggle
 no consistency of referrals
 Joe
 Needed to get serious
 Got help / invested / return on education
 Networking, directories & pay-per-click
 24 therapists, 3 offices, averages 125 new
referrals/month 10

11. 6 Primary Tools
 1. Identity
 2. Internet Marketing
 3. Networking / Outreach
 4. Patient Referrals
 5. (Optional) PR and Promotion
 6. The Art and Science of Follow-Up
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12. #1. Identity
 Your specialization / USP
 Office/location (including signage)
 Business cards
 Brochure
 Website
 LinkedIn page, Facebook page (optional)
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13. Specialization
 Establishing your specialty
 Defining your USP (Unique Selling Proposition –
What makes you special)
 Advantages – (a) for patients and
(b) for other practitioners
 More competence / specialized expertise
 Easier to attract patients
 Easier to network with other practitioners 13

14. Specialization
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15. Website
 Photo
 About Us
 Services Provided
 Common Questions (FAQ)
 Rates and Hours (& Insurance)
 Appointment Request
 Helpful Forms
 Hot Topics / Newsletter
 Links & Resources
 Contact Me/Us 15

16. Brochure / Website
 First year – 75% of referrals come from your
website – it’s the last thing they see
 Clients are selfish!
 P-S-C  F-B-A (earn the privilege first)
Problem – Solution/Services – Credibility
– Features – Benefits – Action
 Home page – above the fold
 Video 16

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Remember the FORMULA!
P-S-C  F-B-A

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Experimentation (ROEI)
Text Messaging

44. #2. Internet Marketing
 Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
 Directory Listings (in more than 30 local and
industry directories, including Google Local)
 Pay-Per-Click advertising (Google,
Yahoo/Bing, Facebook)
 Social Media (LinkedIn, Facebook)
 (Optional) Email marketing / Opt-Ins 44

45. Search Engines/SEO
 Google, Yahoo/Bing
 Expensive, complicated and tedious
 Local focus is key
 Professional directories
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Google Maps / Places

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56. Directories
 Google Maps / Google Places
 Professional directories
 Local directories (CitySearch, Yelp)
 Yext – about $500/year
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Therapist Directories AAMFT Therapist Locator
 The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT).
 American Psychological Association
 The American Psychological Association maintains a list of links to each of the state psychological
associations.
 Anxiety Disorders Association of America
 The Anxiety Disorder Association of America maintains a find-a-therapist tool that will help you find mental
health practitioners in your area that specialize in social anxiety disorder.
 Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
 The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies' offers a locator service to help you in your search for a
therapist specializing in CBT.
 Association for Contextual Behavioral Science
 The Association for Contextual Behavioral Science offers a search tool to help you locate a mental health
specialist close to you that practices Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
 National Alliance on Mental Illness
 The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
 National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology
 This national register offers a service to find psychological service providers based on location, expertise and
other criteria. The service is free to use by the general public.
 Psychology Today
 Psychology Today offers a therapist locator service for the U.S. Therapists included in this directory have been
screened to ensure that they are licensed in their area of practice.

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Pay-Per-Click Advertising

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72. Pay-Per-Click
 Pay-Per-Click advertising
(Google, Yahoo/Bing, Facebook ads)
 Typically $5/day per new referral
 $150/month for each new referral

$1,500/month for 10

$3,000 for 2-months
 What’s a new referral worth?
 Social media usually a waste 72

73. Pay-Per-Click
 Eating Disorder Treatment
23 Years Helping Fight Depression,
Overeating, Anorexia, Bulimia, & More
www.aPlaceOfHope.com
 Easy URL (incl. URL forwarding)
 PPC Landing Page (must match) 73

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Ad Matching Web Page

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80. #3. Networking/Outreach
 Medical / professional referrals
 Community organizations / groups
make presentations through…
 Chambers of Commerce,
 Religious institutions,
 Service organizations such as Rotary, Kiwanis, etc.,
 Local and regional exhibits/booths,
 Nursing homes, senior centers, hospice, etc –
 May include co-marketing with other practitioners
 Volunteering 80

81. Networking
 Alumni associations
 Fraternity/sorority
 Neighbors/concentrations
 Local service organizations
 Local hospice, nursing homes, etc.
 Volunteering
 Focus on your specialty 81

82. Networking
 Visits – drop in w/coffee & business cards
 Talk about how you could support each other
 Collaborate with others and…

hold an open house, host an event or telesummit, or
present an ongoing series with different presenters
 Create a signature talk and speaker-sheet with
information on your talk
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83. Public Speaking
 Benefits:

Exposure

Establish your reputation as an expert

Build confidence in your competence
 Use English, not tech speak
 Dale Carnegie – or – Toastmasters
 Tell a story  P-S-C  F-B-A
 What is YOUR call-to-action???
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84. #4. Patient Referrals
 Email bottoms
 Brochures with list of services
 Patient orientation to services offered
 Question on intake form:
 How did you hear about us?
 (Optional) - Newsletters
84

85. Email – Bottom Message

86. #5. (Optional) PR/Promo
 Press releases
 Newspaper column, radio/TV appearances
or shows
 Blog and/or Facebook postings
 White papers, published articles and books
86

87. #6. Follow-Up
 Establish clear expectations
 Proper records and follow-up tools
 Email, Mail
 Reminder Calls and Texts
 Phone Check-Ins / Follow-Up
 Marketing transitions (patient retention)
87

88. 6 Primary Tools
 1. Identity

Specialization, Business cards, Brochure, Website
 2. Internet Marketing

SEO, Directory Listings, Email Bottoms, PPC
 3. Networking / Outreach

Healthcare Professionals, Local Organizations

Signature talk and speaker sheet
 4. Patient Referrals
 5. (Optional) PR and Promotion

Press Releases
 6. The Art and Science of Follow-Up

Reminder Cards, Database Follow-Up System 88

89. 6 Primary Tools

Business cards ($20-50)

Brochure ($300-2,000)

Website ($500-2,000 + hosting)*

SEO ($2,000+/yr)*

Directory ($500+/yr)*

PPC ($3,000/2-mo)*

Press Releases ($200-400/release)

Database Follow-Up System ($2,000) .

EST. TOTAL: $8,500 – 11,950
89

90. Joe Versus Paul
 Paul
 month-to-month struggle
 Referral source dried up
 Joe
 Needed “flow” of patients
 Networking, directories & pay-per-click
 24 therapists, 3 offices, averages 125 new
referrals/month
90

91. Done-For-You
 Coaching + Done-For-You Marketing
 Website
 Directory Set-Up
 Networking (Coaching)
 Pay-Per-Click Advertising
 Support (like a Mentor)
 *Nothing like this anywhere
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92. $10,000 including PPC
Define Your Specialty
Build/Refine Your Website
Internet PPC Advertising
Directory Setup
Networking / Outreach
Ongoing Support
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93. Includes 2- Months of Pay-Per-Click
 $7,000 + $3,000 for Google PPC, etc
 Includes 2 months of Pay-Per-Click
Advertising @ about $1,500-per-month
 Expect about 10 new referrals-per-month
 PPC starts only when
you are ready
93

94. Ongoing Marketing Costs
 For Google, etc Advertising
 To host your website (if needed)
 Directories
94

95. Ongoing Marketing Support
 He handles your PPC until it’s working,
then turns it over to you
 Personal counseling and mentoring
 Monthly training and Q&A calls with other
therapists
 They are PhD therapists,
committed to helping you
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96. Nothing Like It Anywhere

97. UncommonPractices.com/jumpstart

98. Summary
 Your responsibility to succeed
 Establish your specialty
 Focus on “flow” of patients
 Partner and collaborate
 Get help… don’t do it all alone
 Understand the value of a referral
 ROEI (educate yourself in marketing)

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MarketingMarketing
YourYour
PracticePractice
James Bond
jbond@FasterBuyer.com
805-405-9899
http://FasterBuyer.com/Therapists
Done-For-You
Marketing and
Coaching Program
(Website, PPC Ads,
Directory Setup, etc.
plus Networking and Support)
UncommonPractices.com/jumpstart