The Quick Copywriting Guide for Therapists Starting a Private Practice
It’s an exciting stage in your career. You’re ready to jump into private practice. You feel confident enough to forge out on your own. (And you’re definitely ready to actually make the big bucks!)
Starting a business, even if it’s in a field you consider yourself an expert in, comes with some new skills to learn. One of them is learning how to market yourself successfully. Effective marketing can be the deciding factor for whether your business will take off and fly smoothly, or whether it’ll require a lot of hard work and heavy-lifting to keep it in the air. And super effective marketing will even set you up so that the business aspect of your private practice can eventually run on autopilot. Sounds nice, doesn’t it?
This guide, written specially for therapists in your position, will teach you what you need to know to market yourself effectively. In this guide, you’ll learn:
What copywriting is
Why it’s important for therapists in private practice
How to get started marketing your practice on your own
If you are a therapist beginning or growing your private practice, this guide is for you.
Let’s jump right in.
What is copywriting?
“Copywriting” refers to texts written to inspire action, usually written for marketing purposes. All good copywriting contains a call-to-action (CTA) somewhere within.
Copy can appear in many forms. A lot of what you read on the internet is considered copy. I’m talking about blogs, website text, promotion emails, even the product descriptions in online stores. If it’s writing that spurs readers to take action, it’s called copy.
Why is copywriting important for therapists in private practice
Any business that wants an online presence uses copywriting to maintain and market itself online. And a powerful online presence is your key to a business that has the potential to grow on its own.
Your online presence consists of your website, your communications via email and social media, the content you publish such as blogs and newsletters, and the products you market. And all these, as you already know, consist of copy.
Good copywriting is fundamental to successfully market your business. Copywriting helps you:
Increase traffic to your website
Target your desired audience
Increase number of sales/clients
Express your unique voice, name, and brand
Build your authority in your field as you publish content online
Maintain your existing customer/client relationships
As a therapist starting a new practice, you’ll want to represent yourself in a way that is true to your unique style and approach. You’ll want to reach the audience that you truly feel needs the help that YOU can give. You’ll want to become known as an expert in the field you’re in, someone who can be trusted, quoted, and consulted. And of course, you’ll want clients.
Good copywriting helps you achieve all of this. Best of all, it gets you clients with minimal work and effort. Client outreach can be an incredibly time-consuming, soul-sucking endeavor. Investing in good copywriting to market your private practice will set up your online presence so that clients find YOU, naturally, online, without you having to seek them out.
Should I write the copy for my own private practice?
The decision is yours of course. You can write your own copy, or you can hire a professional copywriter to do it for you. But to make your decision process a drop easier, here’s a list of pros and cons to writing the copy yourself.
Pros to writing your own copy:
It’s more authentic. A professional copywriter would have to learn how to convey your voice when they write on your behalf. But you (obviously) can write authentically in your own voice.
You are the best person to communicate the messages you want to put out there. When you’re writing about what you’re an expert in, and what you’re passionate about, it’s going to come through loud and clear.
Writing copy is a skill that’s intriguing to learn, and enjoyable too! And as a therapist, you may already be ahead of the game since it requires an understanding of human psychology.
You don’t have to pay anyone else to do it!
Cons to writing your own copy:
You’re not a copywriting expert. You can learn on the job, and you might even do a great job, but it’s not your main focus.
It takes time. Maybe even a lot of time. Effective copywriting requires continuous output, ongoing maintenance, and research research research.
Well, I decided to do it myself! Where do I start?
Good for you! You’re in for an adventure! The rest of this guide will teach you what you need to know to take the plunge and start writing your own copy for your new practice.
What follows is a list, complete with detailed instructions, for how to get started writing your own copy.
The main elements you’ll need to have a powerful presence online are a website, a blog, and an email list.
Now let’s take it step by step.
How to write your own website
In the wonderful world of copywriting, a great website means a website that Google wants people to find when they search. If Google thinks your website is useful, it’ll rank it high on a list of search results, so people find it easily. So when you write your website, your job is to convince Google that your website is useful.
Your site should also speak right to the heart of your ideal client, so that when they DO find your website, they’ll want to book a session with you!
So that’s why, when you write your website text, you’ll want to be sure you:
Have at least 1,000-2,000 words on each page of your site. This lets Google know that you have a nice amount of valuable content to offer. Which makes your site rank higher. Which translates to better visibility on Google–and more clients finding you.
Choose 3-5 keywords, and use them often (although still naturally) throughout your website. A good keyword is something relevant and specific to you and your work, and something that a potential client is likely to type into a Google search. For example, if you run DBT groups for clients with addiction, “DBT groups for addiction” would be your keyword.
Include CTA’s in each page or section of your website. A CTA might be to book a session with you, or to sign up for your email list.
Write with your ideal client in mind. Keep in mind what THEY need and want in life, and write straight to them as much as possible.
Sound like yourself when talking. No need to get too clinical or too complicated. In fact, the simpler the better. You know how to talk to people in a way that makes them feel connected with you– that’s why you’re in this line of work! Try to do the same with your writing.
How to write your own therapy blog
The great thing about blogs, is that when you regularly update your website with valuable content, Google learns that your website is current and relevant to readers. So Google will rank your website higher on the list…which means that when clients start googling for therapists in their area, they’ll find you! Hurrah!
Each blog post should ideally contain at least 1,000-1,500 words.
Incorporate one main keyword and 3-5 longer keywords throughout the blog, and especially in headings.
Again, keep it simple and conversational. Think about what the clients you already work with would want to know more about. And write it like you would tell it to them.
Even your blogs should contain a CTA. Examples of CTA’s to include within a blog post might be to sign up for your email list, to book a free intake, or to check out another section of your website.
How to write emails for your email list
Emails are a super powerful way of winning over potential clients and transforming them into actual clients. Keep the following tips in mind when writing emails for your email list:
Create an attention-grabbing subject line with no more than 6-10 words
The body of the email should be related to the subject line, and deliver what the subject line promises. For example, if your subject line goes something like, “Want to finally learn how to manage that anxiety?” the body of your email should address this question and direct readers to your blog on the topic, let’s say.
When writing your subject line and email, keep crystal clear in your mind WHO you are talking to. What kind of subject line would your intended audience notice? What would they then expect to read about in an email?
Write each of your emails with one specific purpose in mind. For example, you might send an email welcoming a new subscriber and directing them to your blog. In the next email, you might raise a question or problem that your reader probably has, and describe how you’ve solved a similar problem in the past. And you’re probably tired of hearing it from me at this point, but be sure to include a CTA in each email.
So now you have it. The basic elements you need to start marketing yourself online as a therapist in private practice. You've learned how to write your own website, blogs, and emails, and now all that’s left is for you to get going! I wish you the best of luck as you begin this new incredible stage in your career!
Feel free to check out the rest of my site for more information on how copywriting helps therapists in private practice market themselves online, and to find out how I can help you as a professional copywriter. And stay tuned for more blog posts about do-it-yourself-copywriting for therapists in private practice!
Sources
https://www.reddstrategy.com/single-post/copywriting-for-therapists
https://jacobmcmillen.com/email-copywriting/
