Leslie_Nolen:  Greetings! Today's chat will start in about 10 minutes.
Leslie_Nolen:  We'll start in about 5 minutes, at 10A sharp.
Leslie_Nolen:  Good morning, all...let's get started with quick intros. I'll go round-robin around the room. Brad, how about you first?
brad_pt:  I do medical massage
Leslie_Nolen:  angieangie, tell us about you?
angieangie:  I'm in charge of marketing for a comprehensive health center in Indianapolis
Leslie_Nolen:  heartwise, what's yr focus?
heartwise:  I'm in Seattle and started a business about 2 years ago with DOs, yoga therapy, nutritionists.
Leslie_Nolen:  and mburns?
mburns:  Tampa, 2 person PT and wellness coaching practice.
Leslie_Nolen:  Great, sounds like a diverse and interesting group. Start posting questions as soon as you're ready - I'll respond and I'd encourage everyone else to chime in with ideas also.

mburns:  we're thinking about starting an email newsletter but we're totally lost about what to write about?
Leslie_Nolen:  MB, can you tell us more about your practice?
mburns:  we do wellness coaching and lifestyle modification. I'm an rd/ms, my partner has an ms in exercise science, we're cooper/acsm certified.
Leslie_Nolen:  MB, what's the profile of your best/most loyal client?
mburns:  we get most of clients from doctors here because they need to make lifestyle changes or are worried about staying capable as they get older.
mburns:  most of them are worried about their health when they come in but they feel safe with us. We are not intimidating or scary and we do a lot of education.
Leslie_Nolen:  MB, ideally your NL will have content for future clients (who are worried, anxious, etc.) + content for current clients (who are feeling newly empowered and cautiously optimistic, successful, less fearful).
Leslie_Nolen:  so I suggest focusing your content in those areas. for example, you could do articles on myths about healthy living, like the idea that fitness doesn't have to be sweaty, painful, embarrassing.
Leslie_Nolen:  for current clients, share success stories, client tips, etc.
mburns:  oh, that's interesting I hadn't really thought about possible vs. current clients reading the newsletter.
mburns:  we could definitely write about the misconceptions most people have. ii talk to people all the time about how they don't have to stop eating what they like.
Leslie_Nolen:  MB, one idea is to ask your established clients to list the top 5 things that they've discovered since they came to you - then use those lists as inspiration for NL articles. also, see our article on getting EM NL subs: 50 Ways To Get Email Newsletter Subscribers: Part 1

brad_pt:  I've got the chance to rent space in a wellness center we have physicians, physiotherapy, acupunc. They don't have massage right now but if I go in, they would. I'm wondering if I still need a website
Leslie_Nolen:  brad, do you have a site right now?
brad_pt:  I have a very basic site right now
Leslie_Nolen:  brad, do you have a standalone site with multiple pages that you set up working with a web developer, or is it basically a page that's about you that you got through an association or something along those lines?
brad_pt:  right, it's a page through one of the massage associations.
Leslie_Nolen:  brad, I'm guessing you probably don't get many clients through that site, right? are most of your pts coming from med referrals? or client wd of mouth?
brad_pt:  mostly physician referral, some client referrals
Leslie_Nolen:  brad, one question re: yr biz goal - mainly to keep yourself fully booked, or looking to grow beyond just you?
brad_pt:  really just want to make sure I have a good flow of clients on my schedule.
Leslie_Nolen:  brad, sounds like your schedule is pretty full right now with doc referrals and referrals from other clients. I don't think you need to sweat doing much w/ your website right now. the one internet-related suggestion I would make is to list yourself on the AMTA website if you aren't already.
Leslie_Nolen:  they are credible, thus enhance your prof. reputation, and have a good zip code-based locator for MTs.
Leslie_Nolen:  and definitely make sure you're listed right away on the wellness center's site once you're officially in the bldg.
Leslie_Nolen:  brad, on the center's site - don't just list your professional info, also talk about the types of client/pt problems you solve.
brad_pt:  okay, that makes sense about my site. I'm not listed at amta but will do that, thank you for the suggestion.

angieangie:  saw the article last week on podcasts and video and we really want to do this. how long should our pieces be? do we need to hire people to record them?
Leslie_Nolen:  angie, what areas do you guys focus on in your biz?
angieangie:  our specialty is women's health - fibro, CFS, menopause, pregnancy, etc. on staff we have several different healthcare professionals both conventional and CAM.
Leslie_Nolen:  angie, since your clients are facing challenges already, I would start with short (just a few minutes, max) podcasts/videos and see what feedback you get.
Leslie_Nolen:  related topics, like stress reduction through meditation or visualization, could be interesting to them, esp. since you said y'all have clients open to CAM therapies.
Leslie_Nolen:  If you have clients that have to go through long drawn-out repetitive treatments (like dialysis, for example) you might think about podcasts intended to help them get through the treatment itself.
Leslie_Nolen:  and of course you could also do some podcasts or videos aimed more at future clients. snippets of sessions can be really effective, esp. with less well-known treatment approaches like acup., hypnosis, etc.
Leslie_Nolen:  re: do you need professionals for podcasts - no, probably not. experiment with gcast (from our article: Not Your Father's Internet: What's New & What's Next For Your Wellness Business and see what you think. most of our clients do it all themselves (some are one-person biz, some have very nice marketing budgets!)...I actually prefer that approach because it is more sincere and authentic, less "markety"
Leslie_Nolen:  plus you can get your content out the door a lot faster if you do it all in-house.
angieangie:  what do you think about selling podcasts and videos
Leslie_Nolen:  angie, it's certainly possible to sell podcasts/videos and we have clients who are doing exactly that. as they get longer and more substantial, that's the point at which you may want to get professional help. Customer expectations are higher when you charge a higher price!
Leslie_Nolen:  The real question is whether you have content that your customers would actually pay for as a podcast/video. Nutrition experts, hypnotists, phys ther and pers trainers are often able to create valuable content - it can be harder (but not impossible) for someone like a chiro or acupuncturist. Really depends on your business and what customers are actually asking for.
Leslie_Nolen:  we're not a big fan of build it and they'll come....in other words, wait until you see a CUSTOMER NEED emerge before you spend a lot of time dreaming up podcasts and videos. For example, a client who travels and says, "Gosh, I wish I could take you guys with me on the road" is expressing a need for portable expertise that might well be met via podcast or video download.
Leslie_Nolen:  one other podcast thought - custom music is an interesting idea for comprehensive wellness centers. the basic idea is to commission someone to create music just for your business...could be "music to relax by", "music to wake you up", "music to help the kids sleep," etc. - whatever makes sense with your biz.

Leslie_Nolen:  heartwise, is there an area we can tackle for you?
heartwise:  we're having an argument about our website. some people think it should be about the different professionals here but some of us think it should be more about the actual services we offer?
Leslie_Nolen:  Uh-oh, website arguments! Can you say more about the kinds of customers you have or why they do business with you guys?
heartwise:  well, most of our customers have had bad experiences with doctors or hospitals. They didn't spend enough time with them and wanted to do too much surgery or rely on drugs.
heartwise:  and usually they don't know anything about healthy lifestyles, very ignorant about raw, organic, non-processed foods, etc.
Leslie_Nolen:  Mmm. OK, I would actually suggest a slightly different website approach from what you guys are discussing. On your home page, focus on the reasons your customers come to you. then, focus on the services/programs you offer - and within each of those areas, zero in on the specific people who do the actual work with clients.
Leslie_Nolen:  having said that, look for chances to put client and customer pix in each area - next to the descriptions of services and programs and of course when you zero in on the individual practitioners.

Leslie_Nolen:  Last call for questions....anything else?
brad_pt:  no this was good. thank you.
angieangie:  thanks!!!
heartwise:  okay, I could see how that could work.
mburns:  goodbye
Leslie_Nolen:  Our next chat is Thurs., June 5, same time, same Bat-channel!
Leslie_Nolen:  See you then!