One of the questions I’m often asked is why I specialise in website design for therapists and healers. People are often curious about how I became involved in working with this group of clients. (Click here for my story). It’s just as important to discuss why professional healthcare providers need a different kind of service when they require website design, in comparison to other small business owners.
Whether you’re a therapist, a mental health professional, a physical therapist, a massage therapist, a life coach, or any other wellness practitioner, there are some aspects to growing your business and creating a website for your practice that are unique. Healers want to help and heal their clients so their overall approach or marketing strategy might differ from other small businesses.
Technically your marketing approach is less sales based and more about providing people with the the resources to assist them throughout their day-to-day life. So the whole marketing approach becomes more of a way for you to provide outreach or handy tips on recovery or general advice, this can be done via blog posts or socials.
At the end of the day, healers who spread the word about their services aren’t just filling spaces in their calendars, they are reaching out to those who require the help they need. When you work on improving your website’s visibility to a search engine (search engine optimisation or SEO), you are ensuring that when people are looking for help, they caneasily access all the services they need.
Here are a four basic principles about website design for healers to keep in mind:
#1) Share your VISION
One of the most empowering things that you can do on your website is share your ideas about what your clients life can look like once they’ve been able to overcome their current problems. As you know, feelings of hopelessness and despair can sometimes leave individuals feeling as though the rut they are stuck in is their new reality, and can’t be changed.So, it’s important that you do the work for them, by talking about the way that the help you provide can give them the tools they need to create real, lasting change, and to make peace with things that are currently causing them pain.
#2) Share your PURPOSE
You are obviously passionate about your line of work. The type of work that you do certainly impacts people’s lives and so that in itself moves you, inspires you, and keeps you getting out of bed every morning. When you want to communicate with people who might be coming to you for help, one of the best things you can do is talk about why you find your work so meaningful, or even spiritual. What about your work moves you? Talk about the transformations that you’ve seen, and the ways that you know that people’s lives can improve. Talking about this aspect of your work, which is personal and relevant to people who might be coming to work with you, is a powerful way to build trust and to make them feel safe, so that they may share their story.
#3) Share Your EXPERIENCE
One of the best ways to build trust with someone who is considering coming to you for treatment, is to demonstrate your expertise.
There are two main ways that you can do this on your website. The first is through describing your experience. This can be done via sharing testimonials, or by talking about the different things that you have done over the course of your career that have helped you develop a variety of skills; which have prepared you to make a real difference in the lives of your clients.
Another way that you can build trust is through sharing expert advice. This can be done through articles, blog posts, short videos, or other pieces of media which you have produced, which give advice that people can use and immediately see as valid, useful, and insightful. Sharing these ideas can help website visitors to take action and contact you.
#4) Create a Website that’s INTUITIVE
No matter how informative or heart-felt the message on your website is, if the website itself isn’t user friendly or easy to navigate, potential clients are most likely to leave before taking the time to find what they require. This is especially true when dealing with healer websites. Your potential clients are generally distressed, anxious and are desperately seeking information as fast as possible. Website visitors today have short attention spans, are impatient and easily frustrated at times, even more so when they’re in crisis or need help urgently.
As well as your website having a holistic feel, it’s important to have brand consistency throughout, this will enable your clients to identify your business and recognise who you are. Navigation is also important, as you want your clients to be able to find the resources they need to get in touch.
Some of these things are made easier if you’re working with an experienced website designer, graphic designer or branding specialist. Having a professionally designed, one of a kind website, gives you the advantage of having a site that is a true representation of who you are and the kind of impact that you can have on your clients lives.
Once you have the answers to these questions, you can start to approach marketing in a strategic and gradual way. Remember, you don’t have to do everything at once.
If you’d like a little help, sign up for a FREE 15 minute Discovery Call, and we’ll talk it through together!