12 Free Ways to Get Clients for Your Private Practice
If you are trying to build your private practice, it can sometimes feel like a financial bind. You don’t have a big budget for marketing, but you need to get your name out there so you can start getting clients, so you will have more money to spend on marketing!
Well, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Today we’re talking free ways to start getting inquiries.
The Basics
The things every practice owner should have in place, no matter what.
#1 Be “good” at your job.
Most people don’t think of doing their job well as marketing itself, but it absolutely is. Most referrals are going to come from word of mouth. Now, this isn’t exactly “free”. It cost you a lot in education, supervision, training, and therapy to get good at what you do.
The point I’m trying to make is this: your marketing tools won’t matter if you aren’t doing the best work you can.
This doesn’t mean “be perfect”, but it does mean continuing to evolve your skills, look at your own “stuff”, get outside consultation, and staying current with new research.
#2 Have a website (you can get one for free!)
Having a website is the cornerstone of all your marketing efforts. It’s your place to connect with your potential clients more deeply, and tell them more about what you offer.
You should know upfront that free websites can come with strings attached (like clunky domain names, clunky editing experience, or advertisements on your site), but not always.
Wix, Weebly, and WordPress all offer free versions and are well-known in the website-builder world.
You can also make a simple website using Google My Business (see #3 below!).
#3 List your business on Google. This hidden gem of a service is really underused by therapists, but it’s a great way to help people find you more easily! You can go to Google Business and pretty quickly list your business and add information about your services, photos, products, etc.
You can also build a simple free website there (but if you have one elsewhere, choose one or the other, not both).
Next Level
Once you’ve got the above covered, move on to these options. Don’t worry, you don’t need to do them all! Which ones you choose will depend on who you are trying to reach.
#4 Create a free profile on TherapyDen. This is a “progressive directory with expansive search filters” and it’s truly an incredible resource, period. But the fact that it is free is beyond amazing.
#5 Start an email list. When it comes to marketing, email has the highest return on investment. There are a couple of ways to create email lists:
Informal. You can create a list of colleagues that you would consider yourself to be close with. They don’t have to be BFF’s, but they should know your name and face and be people who would welcome the occasional (like once or twice a year) email with updates about what’s new in your practice. This is good for if you’re newly certified in a type of treatment, or you have a new group or offering that you want people to know about.
Go easy on this list, since people didn’t choose to be on it, you don’t want to exploit the connections.
Also, make sure you use Blind Copy (bcc) so people don’t end up on some crazy reply-all email thread.
Formal. You can use your website and social media to build a formal email list. People can opt in, even though they don’t know you personally, because they want to be updated on your latest offerings.
However, that means you need to be offering something! And that “something” needs to add value, for example, blog posts, podcasts, or e-courses. It’s not enough just to tell people what you are selling. The must be an offer.
Be aware that an email list program (for example FloDesk or Mailchimp) would not be free. BUT you can use a Google Form to collect emails in some cases. Or you can connect your newsletter opt-in to a Google Sheet (which is free with a Gmail account).
#6 Be a guest on someone’s podcast! There are tons of good therapy-related or business-of-therapy-related podcasts out there. And often the hosts are looking for guests for their show. This is an amazing free way for you to get your name out there to a broader audience.
Usually, you can find the email address for the show on their website. Why not shoot them an email (or DM on social media) and pitch an idea?
#7 Offer a talk on your specialty. Giving a talk is a great way to get your name out there so your colleagues know about your specialties. Think about organizations and conferences in your area as a place to start, before broadening out geographically.
#8 Get yourself quoted in newspapers, magazines, blogs, and more using HARO. HARO stands for Help A Reporter Out. It’s free to sign up, and once you do, each day you will receive emails which are full of dozens of requests from journalists looking for experts to weigh in on a topic they are writing about.
It’s super common that they are looking for therapists (almost every day, if not several a day), so if you stay on top of it, and submit good pitches, there’s a good chance you’ll get a quote!
When you join they will give you some tips on how to write a pitch that will be most likely to be picked up.
Make sure you are pitching something related to your ideal client, not just for any old topic. You might have expertise on a topic, but if it’s not relevant to your ideal client, it’s not a good use of your time.
#9 Social Media. Social media is free! That’s one of the beautiful things about it. However, if you’re not used to it, it’s not completely intuitive.
If you are completely new to social media, and you want to learn more about the basics check out this post.
When you decide to use social media to promote your practice, make sure you choose the one that your ideal client uses! Know who you are trying to reach, and then do your research about the platform before spending precious time on it!
#10 Facebook Groups. There are SO. MANY. GROUPS on Facebook. If you log in and search groups, you will find something for almost everyone. You can join or start a Facebook group.
As a member of a Facebook group:
You can go on and comment on other people’s posts, and in that, share info about your services.
There is some etiquette for posting in a group, of course, but simply put: make sure you are providing value, that you are being as genuine as possible, and not just “forcing a sale.”
Each group has its own culture and guidelines (which are written out when you join and often posted to the top of the page) so make sure you familiarize yourself to be as effective as possible.
Recognize that this is a slow burn, and won’t lead to dozens of calls overnight. You have to be consistent and give it some time.
If you start a Facebook group:
It’s a way to generate a following and help people “know, like, and trust” you
Again, MAKE SURE YOU ARE OFFERING SOMETHING OF VALUE! What you are offering should solve a problem in your community either locally, or more broadly as a community of therapists or business owners. No one wants to be in a group just because you started it, there needs to be something on offer.
And again, it’s a slow burn. You gotta be consistent and give it some time.
#11 Facebook Business Page. There’s a whole science around Facebook Business pages that frankly, is not my area of expertise. But I mention it because I know the research supports it as a big income-generator if you know how to harness its power (and of course if your ideal clients are on Facebook).
If you enjoy using Facebook already, then this is a good option for you to look into. If you don’t really like it, you’ll be OK if you don’t use it, promise.
NOTE: There is also Facebook Ads, but it’s not free. And there’s a whole separate science there too. If you’re interested, it’s best to fully educate yourself about it, so you aren’t wasting money.
#12 Create a free profile on ThrivingCampus. Now, this only makes sense if you are trying to reach the student population (and probably it makes the most sense if you want to take insurance-based clients). Don’t just make a profile here (or anywhere) just to make one. But if you want to connect with students, this is an awesome free way to do it!
Caveat One: When you are a business owner, almost nothing is actually “free.”
Even if it costs zero dollars, it will cost you time and your time=money. But, when you are just starting out you usually have some extra time, and spending it on marketing is worthwhile.
Caveat Two: I would not recommend scrimping on your business as a long-term plan.
These tools will help get some cash flowing your way that you can then use to make your business exactly what you want it to be. There will be times when it’s a good idea to invest money back into your business.
Final Thoughts
I hope these tools will help jumpstart your private practice! Remember to be thoughtful about which of these approaches are going to give you the best return on your time investment! Your time is SO SO valuable. If you are not reaching your ideal clients (or colleagues who will refer you those clients), and developing a rapport with them, then it’s more important that you spend your time on other things.
