PoP 171 | How to Optimize Your Psychology Today Profile

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Psychology Today

Today we’re talking about how to optimize your psychology today profile.

Podcast Sponsor

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WeCounsel, a HIPAA compliant telehealth platform that connects mental health providers to their clients online. Visit www.WeCounsel.com/professional to gain access to the following:

  1. WeCounsel’s complete online office solution, including HIPAA-compliant video.
  2. An admin dashboard for centralized scheduling and user management.
  3. Access premium features like our eligibility check and claims submission tool.
  4. Your own private labeled portal that lives on your website.
  5. Exclusive access to a renowned practice consultant to help grow your online practice.
  6. An account executive/telemedicine expert and easy ability to add providers as you grow.

In This Podcast:

Psychology Today ranks highly for most psychology / counseling search terms.

Tips to help with your ROI on Psychology Today ($29 p/m):

  • Picture – make sure it’s professional and with a clear background
  • Ideal client – focus on who you are helping and examine the first line of your profile, make sure it stands out
  • Don’t confuse it with a resume / academic report – answer what people are looking for, talk about the client, list a few points of what you can help them with
  • Tone – what’s your personality like and style when dealing with your clients? Make this clear in your profile
  • Group practice – each person should have their own profile
  • Optimize your Website – set up dedicated landing page for Psychology Today users
  • Make sure you have someone answering the number you include in your profile – use Grasshopper

For Joe’s Psychology Today deal, click here: Link to www.practiceofthepractice.com/psychologytoday

Here’s the ROI Calculator for you to use


[roi-calculator]

Meet Joe Sanok

consultant headshot JoeJoe Sanok, MA, LLP, LPC, NCC is one of the world’s leading private practice consultants. He is the owner of the Traverse City counseling practice, Mental Wellness Counseling. Joe helps counselors to start private practices and grow them.

 

 

Podcast Transcription

Pop 171 | How To Optimize Your Psychology Today Profile

[0:00] Today’s episode of practice the practice podcast is brought to you by we counsel wecounsel.com/professional.

[0:07] Brand new program that we counsel’s offering what you get is a complete on-line office solution including him to complain video in admin dashboard a centralized scheduling and user management.
Access to premium features as well you get a private private labeled portal also,
i’m gonna be doing consulting with all the people that join the professionals program we’re gonna do a monthly webinar together and we’re gonna do a monthly q and a can be a small group of people that are doing consulting with me,
all over wecounsel.com/professional again that’s wecounsel.com/professional.

[0:43] Music.

[1:07] Hey we’re talking all about your psychology today profile.
And are good dive right in but i wanna first just think about how do you build trust.

[1:20] It’s like think about a friend that you build trust with so i think about a friend of mine astro van he’s a friend of mine had for a long time.
And we first met mutual friends he’d actually heard about me from some of his friends were like Joe is awesome we really like him and he should didn’t want to be my friend cuz he thought that people liked me too much and.
I don’t know why but then we started hanging out we had so much in common we laugh all the time he’s one of my best friends in my wedding my brother was my best man but i wanted striving to be my best man junior.
And so i created the title best me and jr and i was best man at his wedding.
And you know it’s like you have these friends they’re just lights in your life and usually if they didn’t just like.
Can you start it was this atom bomb of a relationship where all of a sudden usually only gashes persons amazing usually it starts with,
they get coffee together yes mutual experiences together maybe go on a trip together you have some fun together you were you know in college together or.

[2:26] Can you know as an adult maybe your kids are in a play group and you start to connect with that person are natural relationships come out of connecting with people.
And the exact same thing is true and psychology today and his counselors as therapists as m f t’s psychologists social workers life coaches all the things that people are promoting themselves to help.
The world.
We should be the best at analyzing what people want and how we can help them but really what often happens is in our marketing it just plain looks terrible.
And psychology today is probably one of the leading directories if not the leading directory and almost every single town,
if you type in that town plus any can accounting disorder depression anxiety couples counseling they’re gonna rank usually number one,
once in a while here in Traverse City I’m able to outrank them by doing some really focused SEO and blogging and now always pretty happy when I outrank Psychology today.
But in most towns they’re gonna be ranking number one for that search term,
also any search american thing that’s because they have the verified by psychology today a little.
Can a code that a lot of counselors printer footer in so that all these websites are pointing back to them which helps them continue to rank high and so it’s really important if you’re investing that twenty nine bucks a month.
Into psychology today the understand how to optimize that because there’s a few really simple things that you can do that are gonna really help you stand out in a competitive market.

[4:05] You know in places like la and new york chicago can a bigger cities as often ten pages of counselors but even when you look at those ten pages.
It’s pretty clear that only about five to ten percent of them,
every the optimize their page and i’m going to talk about some things that you can do probably in about fifteen minutes worth of time that will help with your conversions for psychology say,
things that are gonna really give us strong are livestrong return on investment for your time but also that twenty nine bucks a month it cost to be on psychology today um so let’s start with.
Your picture if you look at any town usa the picture of the counselors psychologists therapists.
I would say teasley eighty percent of them just have some sort of like self the picture from a potluck a picture of their spouse for their spouses been awkwardly kinda crapped out of it so like.
You know how there’s all the pictures that you love that on facebook and you crop out your axle you can keep that picture like that should not be your psychology today profile,
you should find a little bit better picture even if it means temporarily that you’re just gonna have someone take a picture of you smiling in your office and having that warm inviting smile that you know you all of you have.

[5:24] Update your picture and in the future.
If you can get a professional to take a picture or get a camera where you can blur out the background you use a lower f stop.
That can really help improve the professionalism if you look at most people’s pictures they are terrible.
Next what you wanna do is really think about your ideal client who is at the you’re trying to attract your practice.
Now a lot of people have this idea that they just wanna attract everyone to help individuals couples families.

[5:56] That is probably the worst first sentence that you can have if you want to just look like everybody else and just get thrown into the same pile.
Start your profile with that if you wanna stand out you really need to focus on who is it that you’re helping who is your ideal clients and exercise he can do that just six a couple of minutes is to name your ideal client.
Given the name jane show bob henry sandra.

[6:27] And picture how old they are pictured with their pains are pictured with their families like what are they doing the weekends to go to yoga today watch net flix do they go to a church the more that you can get into the head of your ideal client.
The more that you’re gonna be able to express a new writing matches in psychology today but throw your website for your blog through all of your branding and social media.
If you can do that can be just a lot better to focus on your ideal client and then from there you are really examine.
First line in psychology today typically only the first couple lines of your profile show.
And that’s where people are really scanning through okay they’re looking at all these people pictures we all these people’s names and looking at all these people first two sentences.
So you’re thrown into a huge line up of people and you want to be the person that stands out in that line up for positive reasons that consumer terrible picture you just landed.
So a really quick formula that you can use is what is somewhat what are some of the.
So through counseling i help couples who are dealing with an affair to find intimacy and to create a plan for connection.
Or i help people that are struggling with the decision of divorce to work through what the best option is for them and for their kids.
So really being clear on what’s the pain what are they going through,
and what’s the out come in one sentence and so have that be your first sentence and maybe of your second sentence something similar.

[8:01] I got and then you may also say but people also might say that i’m really counselor that helps you laughing counseling and learn to find happiness.
So the more that you can say the pain and the outcome and then maybe something like but people might also say that I am in add something that can really hook them in there.
The first plane is super important to sort of like the cover letter for a job application.
Only purpose of it is to move on to the résumé this morning clicks on your profile.
And the taking that next step they ask you on that first date.
They’ve looked at your résumé they’re ready almost for that interview they just need to be cut convinced a little more hell lot of people one of the mistakes that they will make.
When they’re doing their psychology today profile is they will look at it like a résumé and they will look at it like an academic.

[8:55] This is not a time to just list off all of your accomplishments although that the way that the structure of those parts for that.
The big thing that your potential clients are asking themselves just like an usa is and my in the right place so,
to the things that i’m looking for match this person so i’m looking for a therapist for my daughter that is cutting i’m looking for a therapist for me and my husband because he just had an affair,
or i just had an affair i’m looking for someone to support me while i’m taking care of my aging mother and my in the right place.
And then the second power is can this person help me.
Can this person really help me the skills do they have the demeanor do they have the calendar do they have the price point if i’m looking for insurance a take my insurance all those things of.
Can this person actually help me so that’s really the only two things every potential client is asking themselves.
And you wanna do your best to move away from i statements i get fulfillment out of counseling i,
you are not the one that matters in this situation you are to be won kenobi guide the person that’s helping with the plan to help this person really thrive and so even when you’re talking about yourself.
You need to be talking to clients day it is all framed around what you’re doing helps a plane to achieve x why and z what your training taught you help the client x why and z.
Everything comes back to the client right next to also look at the tone.

[10:29] Make sure that comes across your psychology today profile are you kind of warmer you like a huggy type maybe a hug your for your thirty clients that maybe you,
can i have a warm like all your like a grandma to me and you just so affirming and loving and happy make sure that comes across super humor into your sessions,
do you swear in your sessions not leaving drop the f bomb on your psychology today profile.

[11:07] If that’s part of who you are make sure that you’re really clear about that and try to demonstrate that your psychology today profile.

[11:15] As well we wanna look at potentially having a second profile potentially having a profile that’s for your practice as well as one that’s for you individually if you have a group practice each person should have their own profile.
And then lastly we want to make sure that when someone clicks on the website to look further so maybe they’re not ready to pick up the phone or send you know if they wanna look at your website more.
Optimize the heck of your website make sure it’s very clear maybe even set up of a clear page that is for psychology today people.
Welcome people for their coming from psychology today here’s a quick checklist of our most viewed pages hear some counseling blogs that can help you work through anxiety and depression or two couples issues.
Here’s a link to our frequently asked questions here’s a link to schedule your first appointment on some really optimizing your page comes up so that you can.
Really help those people converting to being counseling clients so then when they pick up the phone and you get the automated thing from psychology today that says hey.
Check it out when you got somebody,
make sure you have someone answering the phone it is so worth the fifteen to twenty bucks an hour that you’re going to pay somebody.
As needed basis to answer the phone when you think about this person is coming and if your intakes are two hundred bucks or sessions are one fifty,
that means in the first month alone with the three for fifty five six hundred fifty dollars in the first month.

[12:45] Up to pay somebody fifteen dollars to answer a phone call for a couple of those on it’s so worth it to have somebody there as needed basis is answering the phone,
to make sure you have somebody answering the phone there are tons of ways to hire virtual assistants to do that I use grasshopper has my phone system practice of the practice time for grasshopper to read more about that.
Those are all the things i would highly suggest optimize your psychology today.
Profile now if you’re looking to test out psychology today you can go to www.practiceofthepractice.com/psychologytoday again that’s www.practiceofthepractice.com/psychologytoday,
and you can test out for six months for free they give me the special link to give you six months for free in just under an email that you’ve never used to psychology today and you can get that for free,
super awesome one thing that’s a frequent question i get is it worth it to spend money on something like psychology today.
And you did not paying me to say any of this i think it’s such a common tool that people use and sometimes get six thousand most have good success.
I’m going to run some numbers this is the way that I think about my own business whenever I’m going to invest in something whenever I want to look at the Roe of something.

[14:01] I’m really sort through like what is it gonna take to pay myself back for this investment and am i are why calculator which will actually have over in the show notes on bed that right within it,
is great there where you can actually it auto fill all these things for you over practiceofthepractice.com/session171,
i’m blessed think of this idea is twenty nine bucks worth.
A month so i want to take twenty nine dollars and let’s just do that for twelve months ancestry hundred forty eight dollars a year to have psychology today.
No the average person say you’re charging i know a lot of you are have lower rates than probably should have so it may be a hundred bucks a session so that means that you would have to have.
One person come three and a half times.
In order to pay your self back so they’d be three hundred dollars would be three session three and a half would be that extra forty bucks are so insecure charging.
Three hundred or one hundred dollars and they come three and a half times you’ve paid yourself back.
Let’s look at this or maybe like a three year period if we did twenty nine dollars a month times thirty six months that’s one thousand forty four dollars.
No i would see most clients for me come more often than three times in the cal lifetime of them so if we think about maybe the average client coming senior charging a hundred bucks.

[15:32] And then.

[15:34] In the calm like six times so is that their actual financial worth of course the more worth than just that is six hundred dollars so that means over three years i really need to get.
Like one half to two clients that come six times to get that thousand dollars back or so so being on psychology today do you think that you’re gonna get one client a year or two clients every three years.

[16:00] For me that kinda math really works out,
so this is a thing that i do what i think about am i gonna pay for some printed advertising in a magazine and they gonna pay for google ad words am i gonna pay for facebook ad words,
mike investing my own consulting so when i talk to my consulting clients and they hear the monthly rate to say they choose a plan where we can put it together and its p ninety five a month.
We look at all that actually mean well if you could raise your rate from one twenty one fifty and then you know you were able to see two more people a week,
that’s more than pay for your consulting do you think that you’re gonna be able to get to new clients as a direct result of the consulting you’re gonna get.
And so whatever you thinking about where to spend your money on your private practice it’s really important to run that are lying again i that are like calculator over at practice of the practice account,
four flash session one seven one or you can always just taking are why and it will pop up on the website.

[16:58] So you act what they’re up to your psychology today profile rocket.

[17:03] Music.

[17:12] I really want to think we council for being a sponsor to this podcast you know we ran,
this awesome webinar are at the end of october two thousand sixteen and i brought a bunch of my friends on the web and arch just offer some great.
Some kind of great connections and we’re actually doing a replay of that weapon are here on the podcast to get permission from the council to do that people like allison puryear who have had on the podcast alison pidgeon,
just gunther clay cockrell kelly marie and from see me,
we just give tons of information a private practice on it was all because we are supporting this new wecounsel.com/professional program,
where you get a monthly weapon are with me and my friends it’s always me to add people in based on kinda where i think the group is at,
we have a monthly q and a call where you can call good what to do in the situation how to grow my practice in so we’re gonna go through that’s you gonna have access to me twice a month and that’s just like the icing on the cake the week also platform.
Is the best.
Hit the complaint platform out there for counselors and i’m so excited to partner with them on this because they just today i was having coffee with my one of my conditions in she was seeing someone locally.
And that person went somewhere else in the country and she wants to continue doing counseling with that person and we as a practice hadn’t really taken the time to investigate and invest in,
platform so she’s gonna start using we council as her way to keep up with this client that needs to keep doing work.

[18:50] I’ve been using my own clients that have moved to different parts of the state that i have that report with,
that we’ve met in person is a great way to keep up with clients and continue kind of building your practice so head on over to wecounsel.com/professional and read more about the professionals program it’s really stellar.
And thanks so much for letting me into your years and into your brain next week we’re gonna have an awesome week for me.
Open this up i think its gonna be that yeah what we have coming up.

[19:22] It’s that we count eleven i was just talking about so that’s coming next week we’re gonna have this just fast paced information from all of these professionals and it’s super awesome so.
Com next week every tuesday at six thirty a m tell your friends to subscribe year old grad school colleagues thanks so much for letting me into yours and your brain have a great day.

[19:43] Music.

[19:55] This podcast is designed right after the thirty of information in regards to submit cover is given with the understanding that the host the publisher or get surrendering legal accounting or other clinical information.

[20:06] The impression to find one thanks to the band silences sexy really like your intro music.

[20:12] Music.