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- [00:04]
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Welcome to the Doula Darcy Podcast. I'm your host, Darcy, a business coach for Doulas and I love helping my fellow doulas master the art of marketing so that they can grow their businesses and help more families. On the podcast, I combine my decade of experience in Advertising with 14 years as a doula to empower other doulas with the marketing strategies and mindset shift they need to attract more clients and create successful, fulfilling doula careers. Whether you're just starting out as a doula or you're looking to take your doula business to the next level, you're in the right place. Let's go.
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Hey everybody. I want to dive into a topic today that seems to be a hot one. I don't really know why, but it is. It's being greatly discussed in the Facebook groups, the Doula Facebook groups and let's talk about it. So the spicy topic is are we putting our prices on our websites? Here's the like too long, don't want to listen to the whole episode. Answer. Do whatever you want. It's your doula business. And there's no here's one of the Here is an excellent example of what I mean when I say there are no doula police. There are no rules. You can do whatever you want. You can put your prices on your website. You cannot put your prices on your website. It doesn't matter. What matters is how that feels in your gut to you as the Doula business owner. So if you want to dive in with me and hear what I do and hear my take on either side side of this, me, who's been a doula for 15 years and then before that for 10 years, worked in advertising and marketing. I do have some things to say on the subject. So here's what I do for my doula business. My doula agency is I do put my prices on my website. I just want people to know what it costs. And here's a few reasons why. When I was a first starting out as a brand new baby doula, I liked having my prices on my website because then it saved me from having to do the price conversation and having to tell people on the phone or in interviews what it cost. I was a little nervous to do that at first. You might be surprised to hear, because it's hard to talk about money and declare what you charge at first. So I felt like if they were just on my website, people knew and it was easier to talk about because they probably had already seen it. The other reason is that I, and maybe I can't really remember, honestly, because it was 15 years ago. Maybe at first, I must not have had my prices on my website because I would get a lot of inquiries and I'd be talking on the phone with people and I'd be like, chit chatting, asking about the pregnancy, telling them what a postpartum doula does, and duh, and talking for 10, 20 minutes or whatever. And then they're saying, wow, this all sounds amazing. How much does it cost? And I'd tell them and they'd say, oh my gosh, wow, wow, we can't afford that. And I. So after a few calls like that, I was like, listen, I don't have time to waste telling people about my services, only to have them say like, never in a million years did they think it was going to cost what it costs. I put my prices on my website to save time. Like, I don't want to have tire kickers. I don't want to have people that think this should cost $15 an hour for a postpartum doula. I just, I don't want to waste my time. So my prices are on the website and if you're still interested, you can give me a call and we can talk about us working together. So that is my feeling. That is my gut feeling. That is what my gut is telling me is right for my doula business. I like when I'm looking around for something to buy, I like to know what it costs. And if it's not listed on the website, I just keep scrolling till I find somewhere that does list the prices. So that's another reason, I think I just, I want people to know. I don't want them to assume and think, oh, wow, postpartum doula support sounds great, it must be $400 an hour. I'll just go keep looking for another doula that. And if the prices weren't listed. So I just, I want, I don't want to lose anybody from my website that's frustrated that they can't find out what it costs right up front. So those are my three main reasons that I personally put my prices on my website. Now I know there are other. I don't know what to say leaders in the doula world who believe the exact opposite and say, don't put your prices on your website. And I see the point. My friend Jody, I think we did a Facebook live about this or something, but. Or maybe it was on, I don't know. But she owns a very large agency in Boston and she does not put her Web her prices on her website. And she says she does that because she likes to talk to people on the phone, like the exact opposite of what I like. She likes to get people on the phone and then fully explain doula support and the value and how this is going to change their life and why it's worth all this money that you're investing in it. She likes to upsell them on the phone and explain why the price is the price. And it's working for her. She's very successful and getting plenty of clients for her big agency in Boston. So obviously it's working for her. And my way is working for me. And I know there's other leaders in the doula world out there saying, don't put your prices on your website. Here's what I'll say. Like, I see the point, but if you, and if you are at like legend status, you've been a doula in the community for 10 years, everybody knows you, everybody's referring you, everybody's saying, oh my God, Darcy is the best. You have to work with her. Oh my God, like, then, yes, don't put your prices on your website. Like it's people. I guess if you have a word of mouth factor and people are going to reach out to you anyway, then you don't need to list your prices. And maybe your prices are a little bit exclusive because you only have a certain number of slots so you can charge a higher price and you don't put that on the website. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. That is fine. That works. I get it. But if you are on the newer side, I would think having your prices on the website would be a benefit. Here's another little thing, and this, I have no evidence to back this up. This is just a gut feeling. But the people in the doula industry who are saying don't put your prices on your website all live in really big cities. I do not. I live in little old Dover, New Hampshire. And it's just a different market here. We don't have a ton of big carrot contracts. I think I've had two in. I know carrot hasn't been around in 15 years, but I've had two in my whole agency experience. And people just here don't hire like overnight care like they do in other parts of the world. So I think that plays into it too. You have to know your market, you have to know your customers. And you want to know the best thing is ask your last 10 clients, like, did they appreciate that your prices were on your website? Did they Wish they weren't. Literally do some market research. Talk to the people who have hired you. Talk to the people as they're calling you and see what they say. So I would recommend doing that. I would recommend going with your gut and. And then I would also recommend going with your gut, trying it. And if it's not working, you can always change it. So you can start out with your prices on your website. If you're getting a feeling that you would somehow be getting more clients without having them on, take them off and vice versa. Try it without having your prices on your website for a few months. Notice how many inquiries you're getting. If you're getting a ton and you're busy, keep it. If you're not, Maybe add your website. Add the. Why do I keep doing that? Add your prices to the website and see if that boosts the inquiries. So I hope this was helpful, but. And I would love to hear what you all do. I did post about this in my free Facebook group, the Doula Marketing Group, the other day, and it was a resounding number of people. The majority of people were saying they do like when companies have their prices on their website and that they, as doulas, are putting their prices on their website. But. So go find that post. Weigh in. I love. I just. I think this is really interesting. And what I think is interesting about it is that there is no wrong answer. Like I said at the beginning, you can do whatever you want because this is your doula business and you get to run it the way you want to run it and you get to change it if you think it's time to change it. That is the beauty of owning your own business. And I know. Ask me how I know we can get all caught up in what's the perfect way. What is the best way to do this? This is my precious business. I want to do it perfectly. So do I put the prices on the website or not? Just. Let's just stop with that whole thought process and I'm gonna put on my postpartum doula hat and say what I say to my new mom, new parent clients. There is no perfect way. There is the best way that feels the best to you. So that advice we give new parents is the same that I would give to you. And I think we think, oh, my God, our website or this? And that it's this. We have to make these decisions about our business and we forget that we can change our mind next week. We can change our mind based on the. On data. We. You can leave your prices off the website and then if the inquiries dry up you can add them back on based again based on the feedback. Hope this was helpful. And if you are one of those people that is not getting any inquiries and you're like who? I don't even care about prices on the website or not. I just want people to come to my website. I am doing a free webinar coming up on how to get doula clients. So head over to my website theduladarcy.com webinar. Register there. I will teach you so many ways to get some clients ASAP and then clients who need you weeks and months from now. So hope this was helpful. Have a great rest of your day.
- [12:10]
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Thank you for tuning in to the Doula Darcy Podcast. I hope you found this episode valuable and I'd love for you to join me on the next one. Let's keep the conversation going. Shoot me a DM on Instagram Hedula Darcy or join my free Facebook community, the Doula Marketing Group, where we dive deeper into growing your doula business. If you enjoyed the episode, please take a moment to rate and review the podcast on your favorite platform. Your feedback will help more doulas discover the show, which in turn helps more families find the doula support that they need. And I believe that that is how we save the world.