helping you connect with your clients

Welcome to The Healthcare Marketing Connection! This week we've got five fr.ee and easy ways to help you create an online presence and attract patients to your web site. Finding clients through your website and through your online marketing efforts is a no-brainer. Create a strong website (this week's tips show you how) is the first step and should complement any other marketing you do. Think about it, if 86% of adults are searching for health related information online, shouldn't they find YOU? If they are searching for relief from migraine headaches and type in "Denver Colorado Migraine Headache Relief" what will they find?

We have a new offering at the bottom of the ezine this week. Check out our new Practice Evolution E-coaching program. For only $1 you can get started with weekly practice management tips and coaching straight to your inbox. The ecoaching program complements our new Practice Evolution Success Kit program.

It's been a busy week so we're keeping this one short. Have a great weekend!

To your success!

Kelly

Five ways to bring traffic to your web site without spending a dime

Your web site can, and should be, one of the top ways you bring patients into your practice. That can be a pretty bold statement for someone who doesn't use the internet very much or doesn't get ANY new business from the internet.

Many practitioners tell me that most of their clients come from referrals. That is exactly how it should be - word of mouth referrals should be your number way you attract new patients. Your web site should be number two. I don't care what industry you are in, the fact is that most consumers are searching for health related information online.

In fact, 86% of online adults are searching for health related information an average of six times a month.  Is your practice reaching this online healthcare consumer? If you're not sure, here's where you start…

The first step is to have a professional web site that meets some of the basics for attracting patients.

• Your contact information is readily accessible from all pages.
• Your web site has a professional look and feel.
• You clearly educate visitors on who you are and what you do

….the basics.

After fulfilling "the basic" needs, your goal is to create ongoing methods for attracting visitors to your site. One easy way to do that is to have your site changing all the time. Search engines like Google are attracted to sites that change frequently rather than those that are put up and then stay static for several years. So if someone with poor vision goes to Google and types in "eye care Philadelphia" your web site will pop up. Here are five easy and inexpensive ways to make this happen:

1. Write short articles about "pains" your patients experience and how your services help them. For example, if you are an acupuncturist you may write a short article (400-800 words) that talks about how acupuncture can cure migraines. Or how acupuncture can help with infertility issues if that is your specialty. Post each of these articles on your web site with a short "about the author" section at the bottom. This section should have a short description about your practice, a link to your web site, and contact information. I would also put your logo on the article somewhere. Post these articles on your web site, creating a new web page each time.

2. Leverage the articles you've written by distributing them across the internet. Distribute them to strategic newsletters and web sites that your target market reads.

3. Write press releases and post them through some of the free services online. You may be able to take some of the information from articles you've written and turn them into a press release. Also post the press releases you write to a "press" page on your site.

4. Start a blog and have it be a part of your web site. By doing this every time you post to your blog, you will show a change or an update to your site - which the search engines like to see. When you start a blog you may get the option to have a stand-along blog or one that is a part of your web site. Choose the one that is part of your web site. We use www.wordpress.org  but there are several other options out there.

5. Leaving comments on other people's blog is also a great way to bring visitors to your site. Similar to finding newsletters your target market reads, finding blogs your target market participates in can be just as lucrative - if not more so. Leave professional comments on these blogs and be sure to link back to your web site. It's amazing how many people are nosey and will check to see who you are. I recommend setting aside a certain amount of time for blogging each week, it's easy to get carried away and blog too much. I recommend no more than one hour.

These are just a few of the ways to bring traffic to your web site. In reality your web site should be an always changing, consistent source of information and education for visitors. Your site should allow them to get to know you and what you stand for without taking a big "risk" and giving out their personal information. Are you getting the most of your web site?

(c) 2008, A Marketing Connection

Want to use this article in your ezine or web site? No problem! Just let me know at info@AMarketingConnection.com. I'll send you a short bio to include at the end of the article.

New E-coaching Program for Alternative Healthcare Practitioners

Coaching for Practice Marketing -- Get started today for just $1

Marketing and Copywriting expert Kelly Robbins, MA, and Acupuncturist and business coach Kevin Doherty, L.Ac, authors of Practice Evolution: The Ultimate Holistic Health Practice Success Kit, have designed a one-of-a-kind coaching program delivered in manageable chunks to your email box each week.

In the Practice Evolution E-Coaching Marketing Program you’ll receive one one practice building tip or technique that is inexpensive, easy to implement, and is guaranteed to attract healthcare clients to your practice delivered via email each week.

Here are some of the things you’ll learn to do in the Practice Evolution E-Coaching System:

• Get out of survival mode
• Stop confusion about how to get new clients in the door
• Learn to create multiple price points in your services so you have options for everyone
• How to add thousands of dollars a month in additional income
• Spend less time on marketing
• How to bring back patients that quit coming
• Easy ways to get referrals
• How to work with other practitioners in other modalities and double your client base
• Prevent burn-out
• Have more time to treat patients
• Use your patients as your sales team
• What you control in your business and what you don’t
• Hiring a support staff
• How to attract patients without spending any money on advertising
• How to triple the amount each client spends
• And more!!

All we ask from you is that you commit to one hour each week for 52 weeks. Make the commitment to yourself and to the success of your practice to spend a minimum of one hour each week on your marketing.

Work at your own pace.
Implement and master one business building concept at a time
Get started today for only $1!

Register now: www.practiceevolutionecoaching.com

This week Kelly recommends Google Analytics. Google Analytics is a fr.ee tool for tracking visitors to your site. It is important to measure how well your site is doing in terms of traffic, where people are coming from, what keywords they use, etc. This tool is easy to use and implement.

If you have any other great resources you'd like me to share with everyone, let me know and I'll check it out. Kelly@AMarketingConnection.com

Boulder Writers Alliance (BWA) - September 23rd - I'm speaking on "Tips for Freelancing Success" at the BWA Expo: www.BWA.org.

If you have any other great resources you'd like me to share with everyone, let me know and I'll check it out. Kelly@AMarketingConnection.com

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Disclaimer: A Marketing Connection, Inc. does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any of the recommendations or advertisements, or the quality of any products, information, or other materials displayed, purchased, or obtained by you as a result of an offer in connection with any ad in The Healthcare Marketing Connection. We recommend, as always, that you do your own due diligence before purchasing any product.

To learn more about healthcare copywriting and marketing, visit my Web site at www.AMarketingConnection.com/article_archives.shtml. There are tons of fr ee articles on a variety of helpful topics.