If you’re a wellness professional that has built a practice that you want to take online, it’s essential that you learn to navigate this new space. In order to be successful marketing yourself online, there are necessary shifts you will have to make to succeed. 

Almost all of my clients in the past have experienced this transition and the process to understanding where to start is the same. You have to be aware of the differences between marketing yourself locally and jumping into a saturated sea of competition all fighting for the spotlight. 

But don’t let that discourage you. While the competition is high, I can assure you, so is the abundance of potential clients, students and customers interested in what you have to offer. 

In this episode, I will talk about: 

• The mind shifts you will need to make
• How this whole online game works
• Some of the groundwork you will have to put in place
• Exactly what you need to do to get started

Podcast transcript below

Podcast Transcript

00:00 Hey guys, today’s episode is about what happens and what changes when you take your wellness practice online. So a lot of my clients, they have a wellness practice of some sort that they do in person or with one-on-one clients or maybe in a group setting and they’re now taking it online or maybe they have in the past, but they haven’t gained a lot of traction. So if this is you, this episode is definitely for you. This is something that I wanted to talk about because it’s such a common scenario. And um, many clients of mine have treated their marketing for their wellness practice and their marketing for their online portion very similarly. But online is so different. I’ve done marketing for many, uh, like brick and mortar businesses and I’m in the corporate world for a law firm, which is completely different. So the strategies are very different, but also the mindset and understanding this space that you are going to be marketing in. It’s really important that you understand the differences. So I’ll explain why things change and just give you a couple of steps that you can start out to be more successful online just like you are in your wellness practice. So stay tuned.

This episode is about taking your wellness service online

01:31 Okay, so to start out, I do want to make the clarification that I’m not talking about doing digital marketing for your practice. That is like a brick and mortar or whatever you do, and a person in your community. What I’m talking about is having an online presence to try and reach more people that might not be in your local area. So now that I have that clarification, I want you to understand that as we move into this episode. So you know what exactly I’m talking about. So the very first thing that changes that is really different is when you go into the online space, people don’t know you and don’t trust you. One thing I’ve noticed is a lot of, um, my clients who have, they built up a great reputation in their industry, in their community and they’re known for it and they’re very trusted and people see them as an authority and they built up this really great practice.

In some ways, you’re starting from scratch

02:31 And um, so whenever they step in, I mean they might be 20, 30 years into their practice. Um, and when they step into the online world, it’s very different because no one knows you or trusts you. So you have to remember that you’re kind of starting from zero and you have to build that trust with an online audience. So whenever you are building up your online presence, you have to remember that you have to gain their trust just like you did, you know, potentially, you know, decades ago in your practice when you were first starting out and you were trying to build it and you were trying to make a name for yourself and have people trust you and see you as an authority and so on. Who knows what they’re talking about. You have to do the same thing online. Luckily it doesn’t take near as long as it does when you’re just starting your practice out.

You have to build trust with your new audience

03:22 But you are starting from the beginning and it’s very important to understand that. The second thing that is really different, which has to do with building trust, to build trust with people, you’re going to have to do a lot for free. And that is just how it is. Um, people online are expecting you to bring them value without them having to pay for it before they actually buy from you. So it’s totally fine if you have books and membership sites and online courses to sell like that is absolutely fine of course. But in order to get people to trust you to where they’re going to come to the place where they’re going to buy from you online without knowing you, they’re going to have to get to know you before that and see the value that you have to bring it before that. So you have to have a content plan and we’ll go a little bit into that later.

How to build trust

04:20 But you’re going to have to have a content plan and have and a plan laid out to serve those people and to consistently bring value. And this also goes forI’ve had a lot of clients want when they want to do webinars, they want to charge for them. That’s not a bad thing. A lot of people charge for webinars and they’re successful at it, but when you’re just starting out, it’s going to be really difficult to even at a low price to get people to pay for a webinar. They just expect it to be free. And typically your webinar is supposed to help guide people and show people what you have to offer and then offer them something that they can go a little bit deeper if they want to. They can buy your course or your book or something like that. And so it’s a way for them to get and get a taste of what you have to offer.

Sometimes you will have to do things for free (like provide valuable, free content)

05:14 Um, and then you know a little bit more about you so that they can see if they’d like your teaching style or what you bring to the table. So if you’re charging for it, it’s going to be really difficult to get those people in the door. And when you have a content plan and you’re showing people the value that you have to offer all of the time, they’re going to want to keep following you and they’re just going to want more and more, but you have to work really hard and you’re going to have to do that for free. I understand that after you built up a practice or a career in something, you start to get more selective and the things that you do with your time and doing things for free is usually not very high on the list. But if you want to build an online audience, that is what you have to do.

You must serve your audience

06:01 You have to serve and serve and serve. And I think I hope that in within that journey you do realize that it actually becomes really fulfilling and it’s really fun to write or talk about, um, your passion all the time. I mean it’s, it’s becomes a really awesome thing. It’s not something that should feel like a chore. Maybe it will in the beginning because it’s new and you had to figure it out. And um, it might take longer to create content in the beginning, but once you get the hang of it, it starts to get a lot more fun, at least for me. But even, um, I think my clients feel like they enjoy it more as a time moves on and it just becomes something that’s integrated into your life. The third thing that happens is that you have to become more consistent. This is a struggle for a lot of people.

You must stay consistent

06:57 Um, not just, I mean even people who are professional marketers struggle with this. I see a lot of websites, podcasts, YouTube channels, you name it. Blogs completely become abandoned after a few months or a year or so. And in the online world, what really, really wins aside from value is consistency. So if you build up an online audience that wants to follow you, that wants to know what else you have to offer, like what ways can they get more from you. Whether you are putting your services online and you’re going to work with people one on one online or you have some sort of digital product or a book or something to sell, people are going to want more of that. But if you are not consistent and they don’t know when you’re going to show up, um, they’re just not going to keep following you and they’re not going to be nurtured in a way, which is what it takes to get people to really trust you and to seem like an authority figure that they can trust.

08:05 It’s really important that they can trust you, not only to bring them value, but do it on a consistent basis. So you have to commit to at least weekly to producing some sort of very valuable content. If you don’t feel like that’s something that you can do, um, you can find ways to outsource it. Although I don’t really recommend that because you’re the expert at it and you really want your brand voice to carry on through your content. Um, you can do some things where maybe you outsource a blog and you kind of tweak it and make it yours, but I really recommend you at least play a huge role in the content creation process, even if you’re not creating all of it. Um, some other options that you can do if you want to do videos or you can do the videos, you can fill them yourselves or, or yourself or you can record the podcast and have someone else edit it, get all the graphics together, put together the intro and the ultra like outsourcing that stuff is totally fine.

It’s valuable coming from you

09:11 But the creation part of the part that makes it you is really, really valuable when it is actually coming from you. So I highly recommend it that you be the person that outsources that. I mean, I’m sorry that creates that and not to outsource it. And you have to remember that in person when people meet you, it’s a lot easier to make this impression. So if someone meets you and they really like you, if they don’t see you again for a long time, they might still like you. But in the online world, there’s just so much going on and there’s so much competition that if you show up and then you disappear because other people who are trusted in the industry that you’re in who are making it really well online, they’re not disappearing. It just seems odd. It just, it’s hard to take someone seriously online when they are like in and out, in and out.

When you’re not consistent, it’s hard for an audience to take you seriously as an authority in your field.

10:05 It just, it’s hard to take them seriously. So your audience is not going to see you in the way that you probably want them to. If you are just constantly like being flaky and not being consistent with what you’re doing, which is why I always recommend you choose a content creation, whether it’s video, podcasting, or creating blogs, it must be something that you enjoy. Don’t worry about which one is better. Um, some people say video is better videos, fantastic, but so is blogging. And so as podcasting all in their own ways and what’s most important is that the content that you’re putting out there is valuable and that you are consistent with it. So if it’s something that you absolutely dread and you just, it’s a chore every week to do it, you’re probably not going to stay consistent with it. So if you love writing, just do that.

You have to be unique

10:57 The other thing, which is the last thing I’m going to talk about that changes when you go online is that you do have to be more unique. You have to be unique no matter what you’re doing. To be clear, it’s not something that’s specific to being online. But once you get online, as you can probably imagine, the competition goes way up. You have everyone competing against you that is, you know, that does the same thing as you online and they’re from all over the nation instead of just your community. There’s only so much competition in your community. So you are having to really break through the noise even more so. And I don’t say that to discourage you because you absolutely can. Like I said, a lot of people are not consistent. So if you are consistent, I guarantee you if you stick with it long enough you are going to go right over whoever your biggest competitor is because a lot of people do not stick to this.

11:55 So it’s the last man standing game. Many in many scenarios. So to be unique you have to figure out what sets you apart. And I won’t go too much into that today because I could do an entire course on that, but um, that is something that I do want you to think about and just know that that is something that definitely goes up, which is the competition obviously gets a lot more fear. So you have to stand out even more whether it’s your delivery or it’s what you’re offering, how you’re offering Ed’s, your branding. You are definitely unique. So that is something that is special. Even if someone’s doing the exact same thing as you, even if they’re also creating videos, they’re not you. So you always have something new to the tape to bring to the table. Everything that’s being done out there is, has already been done. There’s many duplicates per say of, you know, different services or education that people are providing online. But it’s always unique because it’s coming from a different person in a different way, in their own language, from their own experiences.

Let’s review and create a game plan

13:06 So to go over those changes, again, the first one is that people don’t trust you or know you because you are just new. So you have to remember that you are starting from the beginning and you can’t think of it as someone who has been in the industry forever. I mean you have and you want to make sure that you express that and you show it and you prove it. But you have to remember that you actually have to prove it because no one knows you and you prove it always through consistent, valuable content. And the second thing is that you do have to do a lot for free. You have to provide a lot of value. I also, one thing I did not mention is, um, consultations. I highly recommend them be free. It’s, I don’t know, like, I don’t know, maybe it’s just the world that I live in, but I just feel like they should always be free.

13:54 It’s your sales call, it’s your chance to get people on the phone with you or however you do your consultations and you can show them your value. I mean, it’s a great opportunity. So to put a gate in front of it, um, with the charge or whatever, I know everyone’s business is different, so you might have a good reason to charge. So if you do, then that’s fine. Don’t listen to me. But if you, if there’s not a really good reason to charge for it, I don’t recommend you charging for it. Um, the third one is that you have to always be consistent. The fourth one is you do have to be a bit more unique. It’s more of a, um, a requirement when you get online and you have all of that competition that you did not have before. So how I want you to start off from this is to create a content plan, a very simple one.

Creating a simple content plan

14:47 Um, so I have some resources on creating content plans and I definitely plan on talking about this a lot more because there are ways that you can get very strategic with it. But from the very beginning for the first steps, um, first decide if you want to do video podcasting or blog. So today you could have a blog up on, you could have a YouTube channel created right now and within minutes, um, and podcasts you can go, I recommend Buzzsprout but there’s other ones I can put a link in the show notes. Um, you can have that up in minutes as well. You just need like a graphic and a microphone and you know, you can make it really, really simple when you first start out. Um, so you definitely want to choose one of those three, um, start them and then write out four content ideas and remember that these content ideas that you have to make them really, really valuable, which means that you want to take each idea and divide them up into subtopics and then elaborate on those steps.

15:54 Sub talk that elaborates on those subtopics. And it just make it really, really valuable. And so the value must come from you and your experiences. Definitely don’t be overwhelmed, especially on your first one because, um, if you’ve never done it or you never created it before, just put it out there. Do your best. Make sure the content is good, but even if your delivery like sucks or something. When I first started my podcast, like my first episodes make me absolutely cringe. Like I can’t, I can’t even listen to them, but, um, just put it out there and move on to the next thing, um, to the next content for the next week. And you will definitely get the hang of it. The point is to just put out, you have so much valuable information. You’ve built up a practice for yourself in a career. You have so much to offer people.

Don’t hold back

16:47 So don’t hold back because the delivery isn’t perfect if your writing’s not perfect, if you feel a little awkward on video or your voice is like shaky and weird or whatever, like just get it out there and practice it and you will get better and better. Um, just make sure that it is weekly and you can start out with four content ideas and that gives you an entire month of ideas that you can create. And I cannot stress enough how they must be valuable. So you don’t want to create a podcast that is, well, if, if five minutes is like all you’ve got on that topic, you can probably elaborate more and there might be good reasons to have shorter videos, but I recommend taking those shorter videos and putting them into Facebook lives or doing Instagram lives or IGTV or something like that, and make the videos or the podcast a little bit longer, a little bit more elaborate. And that way you can really, really bring some value to people. So I hope you found this podcast helpful. Let me know if you have any questions. I hope you guys have an amazing day. Definitely write out all of your content ideas for content ideas gives you an entire month of content. So good luck!