If the "M" word brings to mind an inauthentic, sleazy, hard sell, "squeeze every cent out of your client" numbers racket, fear not. Marketing doesn’t have to be the antithesis of the heart-based work we’ve all been called to do. Marketing done right is nothing less than authentically connecting to the community you want to serve.
IF I CAN DO IT…
When I tell you that 3 months after starting a new practice in a city where I didn’t know a soul, I managed to triple my income and completely fill my practice, it sounds pretty snazzy. The reality that preceded this is decidedly less impressive… to say the least.
As someone who’d had her own profound personal experience with Rolfing, when I graduated I felt ready to set the world on fire. Yet I was also beyond naïve. I spent my first three years in practice stumbling around blind, hoping it would eventually come together. I was beyond hopeless and truly dreaded the idea of marketing myself. Even the word “marketing” smacked of something inauthentic to me. It brought to mind slick sales pitches or expensive ads, and I just couldn’t relate to it.
However, after too many years subsisting on canned tuna and ramen noodles, I knew I had to make a change. On top of the ramen noodle issue, a cross-country move meant I was starting from scratch. Again. It was my make it or break it moment. I knew that if I had the same excruciating slow-build to my practice in New York that I did in California, I was going to be sitting in a cubicle somewhere, resigned to the small amount of happiness that comes from a steady paycheck. I couldn’t bear the thought of it, so I decided I would figure out this whole marketing thing. The result of this was my aforementioned success. Did I meet a guru? Work day and night? Undergo some weird voodoo ritual? Nope. Turns out it’s not as hard or as unpleasant as anyone thinks. I learned that success isn’t something that finds you if you’re lucky; it’s something that anyone can achieve. All it takes is a little know-how and the dedication to get out there and do it. I also learned (hallelujiah!) that marketing could actually be a very heart-centered and joyful activity.
When I started out as a practitioner, I never would have guessed that my calling would be in teaching wellness providers how to grow their own successful practices, and now I’m thrilled that all that I have learned can be of service to you. If I managed to make it happen, so can you.
Here’s to your success!