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Private Practice Startup Podcast
Episode 98: Get your private practice “PR ready”
00:32:21
Melody Wilding
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- [00:03]
A
Welcome to the Private Practice Startup, where we inspire you from startup to mastery. We chat with entrepreneurs, experts in the mental health and business arenas, and successful private practitioners to give you the tools needed to make your dream practice a reality. Visit theprivatepracticestartup.com for awesome resources, free trainings, and so much more. Here are your hosts, Dr. Kate Campbell and Katie Lemieux.
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B
Hey there, Startup Nation. So, I don't know, I just almost felt like to say. And it's showtime. I don't know. How is everybody doing today? Welcome to another episode of the Private Practice Startup podcast. I am one of your co hosts, Katie Lemieux. Hanging out to my left side is Dr. Kate Campbell.
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A
And it is showtime.
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B
Officially.
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A
Yes.
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B
Yeah, maybe I felt like showtime because we have the stopwatch. We're hitting record on the thing, and it's like, ready and.
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A
And we have this official new podcast mic, which makes us seem like we're officially official.
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B
Officially official.
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A
We're officially official. Yes.
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B
Speaking of officially official. So today. So we're recording on the 6th of June, 2018, and today is our official second year anniversary date.
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A
Our second year podcast birthday. Happy birthday, Podcast Melody.
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B
Our guest is on the other side for those of you watching video. And she's clapping quietly, so we appreciate that. But wow, what a journey it's been.
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A
And if you believe that, two years.
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C
Two years.
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A
What a wild ride it's.
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B
It has. We learned a ton of things and actually, like, I think we're just in the place that we just really. Not that we didn't love it before, but we were so, like, we were.
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A
We were bogged down in the system and all of the steps, the 30 plus steps that it takes to do for one episode. And we've since systemized it all. We've outsourced it, We've, you know, become just more. We've embraced our authentic approach and it's not as structured.
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B
You said authentic. We haven't heard the cowbell in a long time. All right, there it is. And I think we were bogged down in our own structure, like, of what we thought it was supposed to look like.
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C
Right.
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B
And now it's just more flowing, hanging.
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A
Into our own rhythm. And, yeah, we're off to the races. So we're excited to have Melody Wilding here with us today, all the way up from New Jersey. That's actually where my sister lives as well. I know we talked about that when we connected. So Melody is going to be talking.
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B
To us about get your private practice PR ready. So, but before we do that. If you are a brand new listener, we hope you're going to be a longtime listener and we will on to say welcome to our Startup Nation family and we have a special gift for you. Head over to our website private practicestartup.com head over to the Resources tab and download your A to Z cheat sheet essentials for building and growing your dream practice. I love the cheat sheet and it was created out of inspiration between you and I and we just went back and forth on all these A to Z. So it's not just 26 things. I don't even know. Maybe it's like 50, 70, 80, but there's a whole bunch of resources and stuff like that. And with that, you're going to get five days of free practice building emails. So get ready to roll up your sleeves, get down and dirty, especially if you're just starting a private practice or you feel completely lost. This is a great guide for you. And if you are one of our loyal Startup Nation superheroes already, we want to say welcome back and thanks for joining us wherever you are today. I know I like to listen to podcasts. This might be too TMI in the shower in the bathroom while I'm getting ready. That's just the truth. It is what it is.
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A
I was doing that myself this morning as I was getting ready.
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B
So scrub a dub dub if you're in the shower. Anyway, so let's take a quick break for our sponsor and then we're gonna jump into our topic.
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A
Scrub a dub dub. It's never a dull moment over here. Yes. Today's sponsor for this episode is therachat. Thera Chat makes it easy for you to engage with your clients in between sessions and clients love using it as well. As a therapist, we're a therapist as well. You know, sometimes getting your clients to do their homework can be challenging and this is something that can really enhance the follow through on the client side leading to greater therapeutic successful outcomes. Right. So the homework assignments can actually be pre made or customized to use between sessions. You can transfer documents and you can send unlimited message to your clients. Most importantly, it's fully secure and HIPAA compliant, both with the website and the mobile apps. Therapists describe therachat as revolutionary and an essential companion. So make sure you visit our show notes for this particular episode to try Therachat now and experience it yourself using the code TPPs as in the private practice startup to get your first month for free, which is worth $40. So make sure to again visit the show Notes page Click the specific link there. And if you want to hear more about therachat, you can listen to episode 92 that we did with Coris Kaligas. Did I say it?
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C
I think you did, Kallegas.
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A
He's Greek and, yeah, he's awesome. He's a really cool guy and told us all about therachat, so make sure to check that out on episode 92. So without further ado, let's dive into our episode today with Melody. Hi, Melody.
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C
Hi. Thank you for having me.
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A
Yes. Thanks for bearing with us for that what felt like a really long intro.
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B
But it was a fun intro.
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C
It was fun. Yeah.
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A
Scrub it up, Deb.
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C
Get the energy going.
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B
So for those of you who have been longtime listeners, part of our in the box structure was like reading the bio and the fun facts. But the fun facts are always still fun, and they are on the show notes page. And some of Melody's fun facts is. Melanie writes here that, well, she's born and raised in Jersey, so yay for all you guys from Jersey. I'm from Connecticut. So a neighbor. And you said your parents, you grew up in a family of entrepreneurs and you got your name because your parents ran multiple business in music and entertainment.
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C
That's right.
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B
That's cool. And now do you have any siblings and what are their names?
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C
I don't. I am an only child.
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B
Okay.
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C
So you can read into that how you want, but, yes, only child and have the hippiest name ever. Melody Joy. Aw.
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A
I like that I have an inner hippie, so it's okay. I connect with that. That's cool.
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C
Yeah, so do my parents.
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B
First time I'm hearing that. I want to see your inner hippie come out.
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A
Yeah. I used to be like a jam band fan and follow bands around in high school and college, and that's a whole nother lifetime. Yeah, I can see was fun. But every now and then. Well, not every now and then, but I still have an inner hippie, so.
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B
So I'm excited to talk about this topic because it's interesting. We were just talking about this this morning, and as you grow and as you just do life and do your business, sometimes you, like, hit up against some stuff, whether our clients are unhappy or customers are unhappy or how should you show yourself and how should you present yourself and all that stuff is really important. So I think this is not a topic that we've talked about at all. So this is a whole new topic for us. But I think it's really valuable and especially, and I don't know if we're going to be talking about kind of laws and ethics and stuff around that in regards to pr, but, yeah, let's dive in.
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A
I'm curious what inspired your passion to go in this direction of really focusing on helping therapists to use PR to leverage their practice?
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C
Yeah, well, for me, where it really started was in the first 12 months when I was launching my coaching business. I tried so many things to try to get clients. I tried hosting workshops, I tried going to networking meetings. I tried social media marketing, and nothing was really effective. And it was in that first year that I stumbled on a podcast. I'm actually a podcast addict myself as well. I always have one in my ear.
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B
Where do you listen to most of your podcasts?
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C
Shower without gym. It follows me everywhere. It's gym, shower, and cooking, walking. So pretty much, if I'm going anywhere, there's a podcast.
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B
I was just gonna make a Jersey reference and say, you podcast, gym, tanning, laundry.
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C
But anyway, that's really good and fairly accurate, so it works. Yeah. And so I was listening to a podcast. It was the social media marketing podcast. And they mentioned this tool called Help a Reporter out, which I had never heard of before, and they said it was a free service, great way to get pr, get your name mentioned and some of these publications. And I figured, you know, why not try it out? Yes, that's right. And so I say haro, which, again, I think is a little bit of my Jersey accent coming through. So whatever works for you.
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A
So harrow. Haro. Potato, potato.
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C
Exactly, exactly. And so when I started using it, the first response I sent, I got featured in Business Insider. And from there, it was one of those really immediate wins. I started getting other interest from clients who had read this article at the time. It was about being too much of a nice girl at work, and, you know, how that can hold you back and how you need to have confidence and be more assertive. And people started coming to me from that article. Today, I still have people mention that article. And so after that, it kind of opened up this world of possibilities for me that here I was just really new to business and kind of felt like that media was reserved for other people. That was not for me, not for some social worker that, you know, I'm not a doctor. Who am I to think that I could share this advice? But, yeah, it worked. And in that first year, I kind of kept at it. I really got curious. And that first year, I was in New York Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Shape, Glamour, Mashable. And it really has been primarily the way I've built my client base and lots of the rest of my business. Over time, it's opened up other opportunities, like doing a TEDx talk, doing writing for Forbes and Inc. So it's really just been a tremendous boon to my business.
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B
Wow, that's really extraordinary. Congratulations.
- [10:27]
C
Yeah, thank you.
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B
That's awesome.
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C
Yeah.
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A
So what do you recommend for therapists who are wanting to get some more exposure and what are kind of the first steps or what are some tips that you have about how to navigate haro?
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C
Yeah, well, first, I think the biggest mistake that I see is people jump into wanting to get publicity because they feel like it's something that they should do. They've been told that media is a good thing. You know, the business guru gods have said, you know, you need to be visible, you need to be out there and spreading the word about what you're doing. And everyone knows that media helps with that. So people chase after those shiny logos to get them on their site without having much of a strategy behind it or really understanding what their own goals are. And so where I'd like to have people start is to start by asking themselves what they would like their business to look like, let's say three to five years from now. And in particular, are there additional income streams you might want to add onto your business? Of course, we all want to get more clients. There's a few things I see. You know, people might want to be creating courses, they might want to be expanding to hosting group programs or hiring more clinicians. I talk to a lot of therapists now who really want to have a bigger impact. They want to do speaking, they want to write a book, or they want to write for these other websites. And so knowing where you want to end up is critical to then reverse engineering those steps to get there and what you want media to actually do for you.
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B
Very cool.
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A
So if someone wanted to go in more of the speaking route as opposed to writing route, then what would you recommend for them?
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C
Yeah. And so if you want to be a speaker, you have to build or if you want to do writing, you have to build a platform. You need to build that name recognition for yourself. And so knowing that purpose, knowing your purpose is wanting to do speaking, understanding who do you want to speak for, that might come from who your ideal client is. And figuring out where do those people hang out for the types of people that are going to hire you for speaking engagements, what sort of publications are they going to resonate with and say, wow, this person was featured here. We really need to get them to come in and speak to our group. Is it someone who do you want to go speak to? More executive type audiences where you need to be showing up? Where, for example, HR people might be hanging out, reading Fast Company, Business Insider Inc. More news oriented publications? Or is it moms? You know, groups for mothers where that's an entirely different set of media. Maybe it's something like Redbook or Motherly, if it's Millennials, things like Bustle Vice, the types of places that they're showing up.
- [13:53]
B
And what are some of the things that you've kind of learned along the way as you went throughout this process? Like your own little, as we call them, ninja tips here. You know what's really important to be able to get into these publications and things like that.
- [14:07]
C
Yeah. And so the number one thing to keep in mind is that reporters are looking value their number one goal. Just like as a podcaster, your number one goal is to want to protect your audience and bring value to them. For the reporter, it's the same thing. And therapists are actually really well suited for media because we tend to be helpers and sharers. We want to help people find solutions, we want to share our knowledge and educate other people. And that's exactly what reporters are looking for. So I always tell people that the more actionable you can make your advice, the better. If it's something that someone can read a really quick tip in an article and walk away and go put that into action to improve their life in some ways, then you're going to really increase your odds that that reporter is going to pick your advice to be featured.
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A
How often do you recommend that therapists engage in writing articles and guest blogging and those types of things?
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C
Well, it really comes back to knowing your goals. So for example, there's a few ways that publicity can help you kind of, it might be helpful to frame it up that way. Okay, there's credibility and social proof. And if you're someone who you know, you're, you're just starting out or you don't have those social proof indicators on your site, for example, that as seen on bar or that featured in, those are really important to have, especially in this day and age, because it gives you that instant know, like and trust factor. And it can actually be the difference between someone landing on your site and deciding to go with you because they see these logos, they see that you're an expert in whatever you specialize in, you can help them versus another therapist. So having that, creating that instant trust and having that social proof is very important. It's also something that let's say you want to do speaking that you can include in your speaker one sheet that you've been featured in these different publications and it instantly positions you as an expert in the eyes of the people that you're trying to reach.
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A
And people want to see an expert. They really want to see someone who's that the authority on whatever it is that they're struggling with. The know like and trust factor is so important. So that's, you know, that's a really important aspect to bring up.
- [16:45]
B
And Melody, as you kind of went through this own process yourself, did you have like a mentor or coach? Did you kind of learn by doing like what was your own process?
- [16:54]
C
Yes. So I learned all by experimentation. And that's what I've really distilled down into the media darling course is the years of trial and error that I put into this process and really found what scripts work best, what techniques have worked best to get reporters interest, to even get them to open up your email. Because on help a reporter out you're really battling against almost a million other sources who are also replying to these emails. So it's important for you to, number one, so stand out. So they'll open your email and then number two, keep their attention long enough to read it. And then number three, actually want to pick your advice out of the hundreds of responses they probably received.
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B
Yeah, I love that you say that. It's interesting because in our Google Drive we have a document called Catchy Headlines. And so as people who also consume information, right. And so anytime we get like an email and the catchy headline, it goes into the document for inspiration. It's like, oh, that was a good one. Right? Utilizing like what people are already giving you that makes you want to open something or read something and utilize that for inspiration. It's funny, I just wrote an email, we're doing a time sensitive offer and the catchy headline I saw was like this email will self destruct or something like that. And I was like, oh my gosh, Inspector Gadget. And so I wrote this whole email about Inspector Gadget and then at the end was kind of like, and you know, this offer will self destruct. And it was just like fun but it was such a great way to like be inspired but also like engage people. So I love that you have kind of like these trial and errors and swipe copies I assume and like what works and formulas. So that's cool. Tell us a little bit about what.
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A
People can expect with your course.
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C
Yes. So my course. Thank you. The media darling method, it really takes people A to Z through learning how to use Haro and having success with it. So I give you my step by step system of how to respond to reporters, how to then leverage those relationships, create longer term lasting relationships over time with them. So everything from writing good headlines, writing that email that gets opened by a reporter, crafting your sound bites in a way that's going to get your advice actually selected and featured interviewing techniques, and then really what you can do to build that longer lasting relationship so that they come back to you time and time again, which is really important. And then all the different ways and things you should be doing to make sure that you're leveraging that media mention in a way that's going to serve your brand and your business. So making sure that for example, once you start getting media, you have a press page on your website. And that's really important not only for SEO purposes because you want to take advantage of the great backlinks that you're getting from being on those major sites. You also want some of the keyword juice from those headlines. And it's also important to signal to other reporters or people who may want to work with you that hey, this person is an expert. They're open for media opportunities or they're open for speaking, whatever it may be.
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B
And what can someone expect like for a return on investment? Like how long does that take? Like how does it all work with PR type stuff?
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C
Yes. So in terms of getting actually featured on Haro, I have a, I have a free training that I give which is getting started media secrets to getting started with Haro. And I have actually had people within hour or two of that presentation sign up for help a reporter out, start responding to emails and get featured that next day, get selected. Wow. Yeah. So it can be a pretty quick process because with help a reporter out, there's three emails a day, five days a week that all have about 50 or 60 media opportunities in them. So there's tons of these opportunities. I also teach people how to filter for the best ones in the course so you don't kind of run around wasting your time and your effort. But in terms of building a relationship, that's a little bit of a longer tail, obviously. But once you do, I call it building the snowball. So once you start building that momentum with reporters with those contacts, they come back to you again and again over time. So you can rely on help a reporter out much less. And in terms of actually generating business results from it. I have had more times than not about 95% of the clients that I get today are referred directly through either articles I've been quoted in or articles I've written. I've had people see a quote I've given in a magazine, Google my name and reach out to me for a consultation. So it can be really powerful. And I've had some students who have gone through the program who are now getting featured in the media several times a week and who are now, because they're more visible, because their name is out there, they're being connected as an expert on that topic, not only in the eyes of other people, but also in the eyes of Google who are getting interest from book publishers or TV shows, things like that. So it can really have really a long tail effect.
- [22:52]
B
And would you recommend. So I know that you had said, like, you do coaching, so like for therapists and obviously our state license and all that stuff. So is this both good for licensed therapists that practice therapy and other therapists that practice other like modalities, retreats or whatever?
- [23:11]
C
Is it for both? Okay, yes, yes. And why I say that is because, of course, there's always that. There's always the social proof and credibility component. You get to put those logos on your site. You get the trust from that. But there's also the SEO that I mentioned. So if your name starts to get associated with millennial women and confidence and that's your niche, that's a great thing. Exactly, Exactly. Nice.
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B
I love that you said niche, and that was a really cool niche that you just threw out. So I know we're all talking about niche all the time, an ideal client. So that's really important. Right. Because you want to become known as that. And like Kate said, is really being an expert in that area. So what? Did you have another question?
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A
Yeah, I was just going to say, what else would you want our audience to know about the importance of PR exposure and how this can really grow your practice?
- [24:07]
C
Well, I'd love to give people a few of those tips for getting your practice PR ready. That might be helpful. Things you can start doing right now.
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A
Awesome. So what's tip number one?
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C
Yes. So I like to say you should make sure that your name passes the Google test. And what I mean by that is if you are going to start working with the media or you want to start becoming more visible, you need to make sure that your online presence is at the very least cleaned up. But at a deeper level, you want to make sure that if a reporter would Google you to quote you, that they can verify your expertise in some way. So whether that's having, you know, your Psychology Today page up, your LinkedIn page that lists your licensure and your education, you want to make sure that all of that when someone Googles your name, that it's ready to go, looks respectable, that it's not old, you know, Facebook images or you have a LinkedIn profile that has no picture on it. You want to make sure that your online presence is professional looking.
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A
So that's tip number one, which is really important. How about some other tips?
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C
Yes. So the second one would be to make sure that your website has a clear call to action on it. And this is one I see pretty common, common mistake that therapists make on their site is that it's confusing for people to know what they should do if they want to reach out to you. So if you really want to take advantage of the traffic and the opportunities that media is going to bring your way, you want to be ready for that. So you want to make sure that. Do you want someone to sign up for a consultation to click a button on your site to book into your calendar directly? Do you want them to call you? Should they send an email? Should they fill out your contact form? Should they sign up for your email list and get a freebie that you have so you can bring them into your marketing that way? Most people don't make this clear and if you start doing media, then it's great. You might get some great press mentions, but then on the other side, you're not going to be able to take advantage of what that could drive your way.
- [26:30]
B
It's interesting, as you're talking, I'm trying to remember I actually had a situation this week and I don't remember if it was like a postcard or something, but I got something and I read it and there was no cta. And I just remember going, like, oh, that's interesting. And I was like, huh? Like, I don't want to sign up, but if I wanted to sign up, like, what do you do? You know what I mean? And it's so important. And I love, in the words of Donald Miller from Story Brand, is that people are just trying to survive. Like, we're trying to use our energy and our brain because we're so inundated with marketing that we have to be very directive and give them the next step. I know when Kate and I do coaching, like sometimes the coaches will say, well, please do this. And we're like, nope, just give it direct. Just give it direct. You know, tell them what to do.
- [27:10]
A
Don't be passive. If you want to discuss this further, please reach out. We're like, no call today to schedule your appointment. Yeah. So being clear with the CTA is important.
- [27:18]
B
As silly as it sounds, it's so important.
- [27:20]
A
And then also having clear contact information, you know, having your phone number accessible or your email, however it is that you want people to reach you. Yeah, that is a really important thing. Any additional tips you wanted to add, Melody?
- [27:31]
C
Yeah, the last one is you really want to understand your audience, so both your clients and any sort of following that you may have built up online. And one of my favorite ways to do this is to add to my intake form a question about where they were referred by, if I don't have that already, because that tells me if they came from an article or an interview that I gave. But you can also add a question in your intake process to ask them what types of websites they visit, what types of books they have read, so that you can start to get a sense for where your ideal client, the types of people you like to work with, actually hang out online. I also like to do an annual survey that I send to my email list where I ask these similar questions, like, what's one website you read every day? Where do you get most of your information? What was the last book you read? What was your favorite book you read this year? And it really gives you a lot of information about where your people are hanging out so that in your media strategy, in working with help a reporter out, you can better target your efforts. And, you know, we're all short on time. You don't want to go running around just responding to anything because it sounds good. You want to make sure that you are tailoring your strategy to go where your ideal clients are actually going to read, the advice that you have to share. And if I can, I mention that because it's another one of those tips that sounds really simple. But I hear time and time again that a lot of clinicians will get on help a reporter out, but then they start responding to requests that are for other websites or publications aimed at other therapists, and that's not their audience. So, yes, it's a nice little ego boost to get featured somewhere to be quoted, but at the end of the day, they end up feeling like it was a little bit of wasted time and effort because, okay, other therapists are reading it, but all of the people I want to try to bring into my practice are not. So it's important to be mindful of that.
- [29:49]
A
Yeah, unless your ideal client is a therapist, then it might be ideal. But yeah, knowing your ideal client and putting yourself in front of them is super important. Awesome.
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B
Well, we appreciate you being here with us today and if you could leave our audience with one like major important thing that you would want them to take away from your message today, what would it be?
- [30:10]
C
That wherever you are at, whether you are just starting out or you have been in private practice for years, that this sort of, these sort of media opportunities are available to you today. This is not something that's reserved for an elite few people or a very secretive process that, you know, you don't have to have some super connector network to kind of break into this. You can really do it in simple ways. And yeah.
- [30:41]
B
Awesome. And I know, Melody, you have a giveaway. It's the free Quick Start guide to land publicity with Harrow or Haro, however you pronounce it. And that link will be on our show Notes page. So if you guys want to get that and definitely check out Melody's E course media Darling method which will also be on our show Notes page and we'll connect you there. So we hope that you guys join us next week and next week we are going to have Becky Dagrosa talking about three secrets to writing specialty pages that get you clients. This is really important because we hear this question all the time. So if you are in a place of update your website, creating a website, you just don't even know what to write, you are definitely going to want to check out this podcast. And by the way, if you're not hanging out with us on Facebook already, what are you waiting for? Find us there. We'd love to connect with you and have you connect with our Startup Nation superhero community. So until next time, have a fun, fabulous, an inspired day. Take care Startup Nation.
- [31:36]
A
See you next time. Thanks for joining us on the Private practice startup. Visit theprivatepracticestartup.com for awesome resources, free trainings, attorney approved private practice paperwork and so much more.
- [31:59]
B
SA.