How To Start Marketing Your Private Therapy Practice For Free
You’ve done all the hard work to become a therapist and start your own private practice, but where do the clients come from? It can be incredibly frustrating to look into options for marketing your practice when you’re first starting out, because so many channels of marketing require you to pay for ads or a subscription if you want any chance at reaching ideal-fit clients. Social media is technically “free”, but there are a plethora of reasons why it’s not a great option for therapists overall (so many, in fact, that we have a whole separate blog post about it.).
So, what can you do if you’re not ready to shell out money to market your private practice? Are there any marketing channels for therapists that can be used for free? The answer is: Absolutely!
In this blog post, we’ll outline a few free ways to begin marketing your practice and what the best strategies are for utilizing them. If you’re interested in an overview of the best marketing strategies for therapists overall, check out this completely free workshop: Private Pay Marketing 101.
Psychology Today’s 6 Month Free Trial
These days, there’s a lot of debate around whether or not Psychology Today is as helpful for getting new clients as it used to be. The reality is that with PsychToday’s reputation for being a reliable directory, there are just as many prospective clients searching there as ever. The results you get out of it can vary based on how optimized your profile is. And with the first 6 months being completely free for first time users, there’s really no reason not to try and make the most of it.
Developing A Strategic Profile Bio
The first paragraph of your bio is separated from the rest and takes up prime real estate on your profile page. Here, it’s important to remember the state of mind your ideal client is in when searching for a therapist on Psychology Today. Be sure to use the first 2 sentences of your bio to speak directly to that person and their current situation and pain points. Then, briefly outline why you are the right choice to someone facing these challenges, and speak to the outcomes they desire in seeking therapy.
In paragraphs 2 and 3, you’ll want to make sure you touch on:
Your specialties or focus areas
What your existing clients say they like about working with you, or what sets you apart from other therapists
The environment you foster and process you use in-session
What they’ll take away from therapy
A call to action (i.e. “Schedule a consultation”)
If you serve multiple niches that are difficult to summarize in one bio without exceeding character limits, it can be helpful to write one bio specific to each niche, and rotate them every few weeks or months. There is also anecdotal evidence that changing up your profile can cause PsychToday’s algorithm to boost your position in search results, so it’s a good idea to update your bio now and then even if you only serve a single niche.
Recording A Scripted Video
Many therapists say they struggle with the idea of having to record themselves, but this short video could be the deciding factor in someone choosing to work with you over another clinician. The best way to approach recording your profile video is to start by writing a script. The whole video is only 15-20 seconds long, so you’ll just need to write 3 or so sentences.
In your script, you’ll want to:
Introduce yourself
Mention your ideal client type, their highest-priority problem, and what you can help them do through therapy
Conclude with a call to action, prompting them to schedule a consultation or reach out to you
When using your webcam or phone camera to record, you’ll want to make sure your face is centered in the frame and that there is nothing distracting in the background.
You also have 140 characters to use for a video caption. Here, you can describe your practice in a compelling, client-friendly way.
Optimizing The Rest Of Your Bio
To make sure you’re getting the most out of your PsychToday profile, it’s important to utilize all the options available. Below are some of the elements you can include in your profile to increase the chances of your ideal client finding you.
A friendly, high-quality headshot
Intro to new clients statement
Update your availability (as needed)
Key specialties (3) that encompass your work
Finance quote
Credentials
Therapy types
Relevant zip codes
1:1 Networking
One thing many therapists overlook when considering how to market themselves is that you should never underestimate personal connections. This sounds obvious when it’s spelled out, but talking to the people in your life about what you do can have a huge impact in the long run. When your job comes up in conversations, get specific about the kind of work you do and the things you specialize in.
If people in your community have awareness of your expertise, they’re likely to keep that in mind when looking for someone in your field—whether it’s for themselves or for someone else. Even if you, personally, can’t help them, you can refer them to someone who can. And that clinician will remember you referred that person to them, building rapport and potentially reciprocating a referral down the line. An all-around symbiotic relationship—it’s a win-win!
Facebook Groups
While it may not be worth your time to try and build a following on social media, utilizing the networking groups on Facebook is a great, totally free way to create awareness about your practice. This could be other therapists, who you can build the above-mentioned symbiotic relationships with over time. Or, you can also join groups related to your niche or location and post about your practice there if it seems appropriate. For example, if your niche involves working with moms, you can join local mom groups. There are also many Facebook groups for therapists in specific areas, but if your area doesn’t have one yet, consider starting one yourself!
Here are a few general networking groups for therapists to start with:
Free Trainings & Resources
If you’re the kind of person who likes to do all the research and fully understand something before diving into it, the best place to start with your marketing might be absorbing as many free trainings, workshops, and resources as you can. Below are a handful of options on a variety of topics:
Utilizing SEO
Yes, there is an up-front investment required to create an effective website, but these days, it is, by far, your best marketing tool and opportunity to bring in new clients. One thing that you can do for free once your website has been created is optimize it for SEO.
This basically means taking steps to make it clear to search engines like Google what you do, where you do it, and who you serve. The obvious first step to this is getting clear on those things for yourself, so plan to set aside some time to brainstorm and figure out your niche and ideal client profile. If you’re not sure where to start with this process, try taking this short, free quiz: The 4 Types of Therapy Niches: Which one are you?
Once you know what niche and demographic you want to serve, you can do some research into what terms people are searching for that are relevant to the work you do. You can use an SEO Keyword Research tool, like the one built into Google or a trusted third-party option like Ubersuggest, to determine which search terms will be the most effective to target in your website copy based on how many people are searching and how saturated the online market is for each term.
For an in-depth, step-by-step explanation on how to make your website SEO-friendly, check out our (yes, completely free to access) blog post: The Ultimate Marketing Guide for Therapists: How to Get More Therapy Clients with Less Effort.
Final Thoughts
No matter what stage you’re at in your private practice journey, know that there are plenty of ways to bring in clients that don’t include paying for targeted ads or paying a marketing agency an outrageous monthly retainer. With the options outlined above, you should be able to jumpstart your marketing with little to no upfront investment. There will always be opportunities to take your practice to the next level down the line, and with our commitment to helping private practice therapists thrive, you know we have plenty of resources for that as well.
Have questions? Drop us a line in our public Facebook group.
