Marketing strategies for psychologists and therapists: Three styles of marketing to get more therapy clients or grow your practiceIt can feel really overwhelming when you first start a psychology or therapy practice and you need to put together a marketing plan. There is so much noise out there around the subject of marketing a private practice that one of my core aims when I set up Psychology Business School was to create a simple, overwhelm free, marketing plan for psychologists and therapists to follow. In this episode I am going to introduce you to the three bases you must cover in your marketing whether your aim is to get more therapy clients or to grow something else in your practice (like an online course or passive income stream) We will also talk about how you start to tackle them. 
The three core strategies for marketing a psychology or therapy practiceHigh touch relationship building.
Building authority
Growing an online audience

In order to develop a sustainable psychology or therapy price you will need to use all three of these strategies as part of your marketing plan. However, your current position in your practice and your goals will determine what you focus on at any one time. You can't successfully focus on all three at once unless you have lots of time and lots of support (a team) so it is very important to understand first which strategy is needed to get the results you want to see. 


Marketing a psychology practice using "high touch" /relationship building When?
This strategy is at the core of any successful business. People who have a personal connection to you are more likely to use your service, buy your product or recommend you to a friend who is your ideal client. You need to be spending some time each week on this whatever project you are working on and whatever goals you have for your practice. It is especially important is
You need more 1:1 therapy or coaching referrals
You need more people to pay your full fee
You are launching a service or product in an area which is new for you / you don't have a reputation or following.

How?
This strategy is all about developing meaningful relationships. Essentially, you are trying to have meaningful conversations with ideal clients or people who are connected to your ideal clients (other professionals, business owners etc.)
I go into detail on how to go about this in several episodes of The Business of Psychology so follow the hyperlinks below for more in-depth guidance.
Business networking (BNI, Athena Network, Women in Business Networks, your local social enterprise community etc.)
Professional networking (BPS, ACP, BACP)
Reach out via LinkedIn for zoom or real coffees
Reach out to old connections / colleagues. Tell everyone in your life what you are doing and why



Marketing your psychology or therapy practice by building authorityI know that you are awesome and I know what it means when you tell me you have 20 years of NHS experience. I know and value your qualifications. But the fact is we live in a world where non- medical mental health professionals are often undervalued just as the concept of protecting mental wellbeing itself is often undervalued! Therefore in order to command the fees that we are worth, raise the profile of our professions, and encourage a cultural shift in the way mental health is viewed we need to be out there showing people the difference our knowledge and skills can make.
When?
It is always important to be building your authority as it is the only way to get properly paid for your work (either directly or via grant funding or by employers). However, this needs to be an area of focus or you if:
You have plenty of referrals but they are mostly from third parties
You are developing a new specialism
You are wanting to sell anything online/to a national or international audience (inc. courses, books, etc.) 

How?
Public speaking
Academic publishing
Academic posts /research...