Becoming a qualified hypnotherapist takes a lot of hard work, but the real challenge comes when its time to figure out how to get more hypnotherapy clients and build a sustainable practice.
Not that it has to be so difficult.
Below, I’ll offer a whole host of different options for getting your name out there and bringing in paying clients, from networking strategically to using social media effectively.
1. Get More Hypnotherapy Clients by Building Your Referral Network
You can build your referral network by asking your existing clients and others to refer you to their friends.
When I first started practicing hypnotherapy, I was surprised at how many clients mentioned that someone they knew could also benefit from my services. Every time, I would hand that client a business card and ask them to pass it along.
While I can’t say that 100% of those referrals became clients, enough did to make it worth my while.
You may also want to consider implementing a referral program in which you offer folks an incentive for referring others to you, such as 10% off the next session for both clients.
2. Make Good Use of Your Phone
It may sound obvious, but make sure that every potential client who gives you their phone number gets a call from you.
Picking up the telephone makes it personal. It shows those potential clients that you do care about them and their issue, and this can go a long way to building that all-important rapport long before they step foot in the therapy room.
Not that referrals are the only people you should be calling.
If you want to pick up some corporate gigs, get on the phone with local businesses and let them know that you’re available to help with things like workplace stress.
If you’re eager to specialise in sports and performance, one way to get more hypnotherapy clients would be to call sports teams, clubs, and gyms.
In other words, think about who you want to target, then be bold and brave and pick up that phone.
3. Send out direct mail postcards.
Direct mail postcards are one of the best ways to attract new clients to your therapy practice.
They’re inexpensive, easy to design, and can be sent with ease through a variety of services that handle postage for you.
The first step in creating effective postcards is writing something that will resonate with your target audience.
Here are some tips:
A. Keep it Short and Sweet
A postcard is often too small for more than a few sentences. Make sure to include all relevant information, but don’t feel like you have to write an essay—you’ll lose readers’ attention if you go on for too long.
B. Grab Recipients’ Attention
Pick a compelling headline or visual element that draws people in immediately.
This doesn’t necessarily need to be related directly back to what’s written on the card itself. Sometimes just having an eye-catching image at the top right corner makes all the difference between whether someone picks up their phone and calls or throws away your card without opening it.
You can design postcards on services like Canva or VistaPrint.
C. Leave Postcards in Public Places for People to Pick Up
Once you’ve figured out exactly what message(s) will work best with whom based on their demographic information such as age range or gender identity/orientation preferences, try targeting specific areas where this audience group spends time, whether that’s a coffee shop, a gym, or local community center.
Leave some of your postcards there for people to pick up.
4. Advertise at community events.
Almost every community has its own events going on throughout the year, from seasonal festivals and fairs to health and wellbeing events, sports games and more.
These can be a great way to get your name out there and talk to people about how hypnotherapy can help them.
A quick Google search should reveal a list of such events in your area, though you’ll normally find posters and flyers scattered around town too. Be sure to pay attention to them and consider if there’s a way that your practice could fit in with that event.
If you’re not sure how to get more hypnotherapy clients from community events, I’ll be writing a post on that very subject in the near future. Make sure you don’t miss it by following Therapist Marketing Tips on Facebook or Twitter.
5. Offer Free Lectures and Classes.
One great way to establish yourself as an expert in your field and attract new clients at the same time is to offer free lectures on topics relevant to your practice.
For example, if you’re a therapist who specializes in treating depression, then you might offer a lecture on the causes of depression or how to manage it effectively.
You can also offer classes that teach people how to cope with their symptoms.
You may also find an opportunity to present at existing events.
If there’s an event going on that relates to your specialty, consider volunteering your services as a speaker and teacher by providing free lectures and classes for attendees. It may be helpful to collaborate with other professionals in the field who are also interested in offering similar kinds of information for free; that way, attendees get exposed to more perspectives than just yours.
6. Network Strategically.
Never underestimate the power of effective networking.
Networking with other therapists could lead to referrals down the line. If another therapist knows that you specialise in fears and phobias and that’s not something they themselves feel confident with, they may be willing to pass on clients who need treatment for fears.
Of course, it goes without saying that you’ll need to be prepared to do this too on occasion so that every relationship in your hypnotherapists’ network is mutually beneficial.
Of course, traditional business networking events are also a great source to tap into. Although I can’t say this happened to me, I have heard of multiple hypnotherapists who picked up some pretty well-paid corporate work at these events, though there’s nothing to say that you may meet a stressed-out small business owner who wants to work with you themselves.
Finally, don’t forget about social media platforms like LinkedIn or even Instagram. Not long after I started my hypnotherapy practice, I connected with a local woman whose job was to provide health and well-being programs to businesses.
We agreed to meet in person, and before I knew it, she was recommending my services to her clients.
Key Takeaway:
There are several ways that therapists can attract new clients to their practice, and you should use multiple methods simultaneously to see the best results.
7. Work With a Marketing Professional
If you’ve followed all the advice on how to get more hypnotherapy clients and you’re still not getting the results you want, it may be time to bring in outside help.
Ideally, you’ll want to pick a professional who has some experience and expertise in marketing a therapy practice. Failing that, you’ll at the very least want them to present you with some solid ideas that are inline with both what you do and with the general standards and ethics of the hypnotherapy profession.
A marketing professional may offer to put together a comprehensive package for you, though you may want to hire someone to help with a specific part of your hypnotherapy marketing strategy such as:
- Search Engine Optimisation
- PPC (Pay Per Click) Advertising (think the ads you see on Google and Facebook)
- Copywriting and content creation
- Public Relations
- Graphic design.
How to Get More Hypnotherapy Clients: Key Takeaways
So, there you have it:
Seven relatively simple ways to get more hypnotherapy clients and build a sustainable practice.
If you’ve read all of those seven suggestions, you’ll hopefully have learned that:
- Traditional offline marketing such as attending events and distributing postcards is still effective, even in our digital age of apps, websites, and social media.
- Networking with not only other therapists but also other professionals in different industries can be a great way to gain new referrals.
- Opportunities to promote yourself are everywhere.
Hopefully, the suggestions above have fired up your imagination and helped you come up with many more ways to grow your practice. I’d love to hear what unique approaches you take to market your hypnotherapy practice, so do share with me and other readers in the comments below.
If you’d like more one-to-one help in growing your hypnotherapy practice, book a consultation with me today. As a qualified hypnotherapist myself, I understand the challenges you face in attracting new clients. As a professional marketer for almost 15 years, I also know just how to overcome those challenges.
