by Hillary Arrieta LMT, Richardson Texas
This weekend I was working as a vendor at the AMTA Texas chapter convention. I was approached by many of my fellow local massage therapists about marketing.
"How do you market your practice?" They asked.
“What's working for you?”
This is a topic that I have come to love. When I first started out, I would say that marketing made me a little bit crazy. When I thought of it, I had the impression that I would have to spend a ton of money on print, radio, or TV ads. I didn’t want to become a sales person. Now I know that marketing is so much more than sales and I find it fun and challenging!
As I discussed my current marketing process, many therapists were surprised to learn that one of my top marketing tools was my email list.
Maybe you’ve heard that saying “email is dead.” Well my friends, It’s very much alive and well.
My email list is one of the most successful marketing tools I’ve encountered, if not THE most successful.
My clients love my weekly emails. Yep, that’s right, I email my clients at least once a week. When I was trying to come up with my email marketing plan, I thought weekly emails were a bit much and that maybe it was going to come off too pushy. I didn’t want to annoy my clients.
Funny enough, I began receiving great feed back about them.
My clients LOVED that I sent out my availability so that they could hop on to my online booking site (thank you Bodywork Buddy!) and schedule right then and there. Everyone is so busy these days and having my openings delivered to their inbox every Monday morning was just another way to support my clients in keeping up with their self care.
Many of them told me to keep it coming! That they actually looked forward to my Monday email.
I also have a handy sign up form on my website that allows prospective clients to sign up if they are interested in hearing from me.
In addition to my weekly availability email, I’ve used my list to run successful semi annual massage package sales ( take that, Groupon!!) as well as sending out important information about changes in my practice. I love emailing reminders for my meditation class, and adding a link to my blog so that my clients can read about self care suggestions and current events within my practice.
I always keep the information valuable and relevant to my clients, because who is going to read boring newsletters?
If you don’t have an email list, here are some resources to get you started!
And they are free!
How do you use your email list?
Q: What inspired you to be a massage therapist?
A: I was inspired to become a massage therapist as a result of everyone at my CNA job loving their shoulder "rub and foot rubs" on our night shift as CNA, even the nurse would be at the head of the line. She would send someone upstairs to get my peppermint oil so I didn't have to smell sweaty feet.
A: I have been a massage therapist for 5 years, all of those working for myself right out of college.
A: I love meeting new clients and seeing all the results as they become regulars, watching improvements.
A: Finding the right software that can be the best thing for your business, that makes all these tasks easier to do for us, but ultimately making it easy to track stuff to reward clients, remember details of their sessions easier and allows them to schedule online so we don't play phone tag, best too is those awesome reminders!
practicing Ashiatsu DeepFeet Bar Therapy.
A: Get Bodywork Buddy now!!! The only other advice I would give is a program that no longer exists for helping with all the other business stuff. But really opening your heart to be there for the clients vs worrying about the financial part of business, worry about money and it becomes the focus, worry about the clients it builds them knowing you truly care about them... OR WAIT NO!!! GO take ASHIATSU and save your bodies now!!!! BEST THING EVER!!!