It can take a lot of time, energy, and soul-searching to find that perfect career path to take in life. For many people, the field of counseling is one that is extremely attractive and rewarding. There’s also the fact that it’s going through a stage of serious growth, 19% growth between now and 2024 to be exact. These numbers are straight from the U.S. Bureau of Statistics.
With more and more companies and insurance policies now covering counseling services, it seems that more people are looking to make use of these family, marriage, and mental health counselors and therapists.
You’ve Got the Educational Background but Not the Marketing Skills
If you’re just earned your online masters in counseling from a school such as Regis College and you’ve decided that the private/public sectors aren’t for you, then you may instead be considering opening your own practice. While your online counseling degree programs prepared you from a knowledge standpoint, it would not have taught you how to market your own business.
Not to worry though, just because you haven’t been formally trained in marketing, it doesn’t mean you can put some standard tips to good use that will help get your name out there and start bringing in the clients. Here’s a look at some tips that you can use to get your business off to a good start.
Set Up Free Wellness Seminars
There are so many different ways to advertise a business, but the problem with advertising is that everyone else is doing it too. This means you need to have a unique, eye-catching, and memorable campaign that sets you apart from your competition.
Why not aim to become an expert in your town/city? This can be done by setting up wellness seminars that are open to the public to attend. The seminar can be free to all and you can make it an interactive experience so that attendees can ask questions and get a real feel for you. Of course, there will be a cost you’ll need to put out for renting the space, but the idea is that you will be able to garner a host of new clients through this seminar.
Be sure to put together a small information packet about what you discussed and include a business card or your contact information.
Set Up a Website
Another tip is to set up your own website. If this is outside your realm of expertise you can always hire a web developer to do it for you. The website should be engaging and informative to bring traffic to it.
Become a Blogger
To increase traffic on your website, you’ll want to start blogging. You can even bring in guest bloggers that add substance to the website and talk about subjects that are of interest to your readers. To get your name out there further, you can offer guest blogging services to other websites.
Stick with It
Marketing your new counseling business will take time, energy, and a lot of work, but if you stick with it, you’ll find that you will start to build a steady flow of new clients.