Using Video Marketing to Boost Your Online Bookings {Guest Post by Sachiyo Langlois}

If you are an Ashiatsu Therapist, I am sure that you get a lot of - " So.... what do you? " or " A~shi what?" questions.

After losing a contract with a company which used to offer an alternative medicine program to their employee, I lost about 1/3 of clients. So I had all the time in the world to do something about it. 

I saw a silly family short movie that was made and posted by my friend on the Facebook. And literally I had the light bulb moment; I decided to make my own commercial video for my business.

   

First, I asked general questions to the Ashiatsu Therapists for tips and suggestions for creating a commercial video. I wanted the video to look professional (non-sexual), informative and somewhat entertaining.

I placed my dear friend (who also made the family movie) behind GoPro camera. I showed her a few examples of how other Ashi videos look and I directed how exactly I want her to capture the strokes. I brought 2 desk lamps to brighten up the room, chose a female model client who is fit and has nice skin tone without any tan marks, chose red wine colored sheets so that will pop out against powder blue walls, I wore black or green t-shirts with black capri pants so that I look professional rather than Asian prostitute look. I also included a foot washing scene, which I was so happy with avoiding dirty foot image, etc...etc...  

We spent about 1 hour for this video shooting and the toughest part was choosing only a very few good scenes so that the total length of my video would be around 1-minute. I added caption throughout the video to explain what it is, and contact information at the end. I spent a lot of time searching for how to, but I managed to create an pretty darn good video without spending any money.

3 months later, I have also decided to make a second video doing Ashi-Thai Bodywork outdoors. This one came out even better than the first and includes the water mark / my biz logo in it. If I ever get hurt and not being able to do Ashi, I may get into this.

I have released these videos on Facebook ads with a Holiday Sale and I got a great result. Also, even people from far away (like an hour away!)

came to receive a one hour massage. I think that now, most mysteries are solved... let's make an appointment. Kind of.

My Ashi video's are posted on my "Kooma Massage Therapy" Facebook page and YouTube. Youtube share can include related but inappropriate videos so I would suggest sharing them from my FB page. Please make your contact info visible in your post and don't forget to " Like" my page. :)

Ashiastu Barefoot Massage - Go Pro camera and its video editing software  

Music by Nathan Mark ( Lindsay camera girl, her husband )

Ashi-Thai Bodywork  -  GoPro camera and iMovie software. 

I used the music from the iMovie software.

Before You Email Clients, Do These 6 Things

A question came up in the Bodywork Buddies Facebook group the other day about promotional emails not making it to client's main inbox. (Never heard of our FB group? If you've had a trial account or been a BWB member, you can join and get in on some awesome convos yourself! Drama-free quality conversations about massage biz.)

If your clients are using gmail as their email provider, your emails may be ending up in their promotions tab... or worse yet, being recognized as spam and not making it to them at all.
What are some ways we can ensure our massage clients are getting our emails?

Permission

First off, make sure they actually want them. Did you ask their permission or have them opt-in for your email in some way? If you've personally emailed with them before and are just taking your contact list from your email account and creating a mass emailing, you're not technically following anti-spamming laws. If your contacts report your emails as spam, it can hurt your chances of getting to their inbox even more.

How to fix this:

• Add an opt-in to your website and social media
• Ask clients when they are in for their appointment 
• Clients are agreeing to be on mailing list when they schedule online

Template Style

Another suggestion is to use the plain text option for your email template. While email campaigns offer lots of cool design templates and styles, the most proven is the plain text email. (Not only for making it into the main inbox, but for actually getting read.) Clients don't want a newsletter-style email, they actually want personal communications.

Spam filters are ore apt to catch HTML emails with a fancy design, so instead use the plain text option and make it more like you're writing a letter to a friend.

The plain text option is usually the boring one at the very bottom of the choices for cool templates. 

Links, Images, and Exclamation Points

Having lots of links and images in your email will make it look more spammy to the email gods.
Instead of loading up your email with lots of both, stick to only one link, and maybe one image.
Resist the urge to use lots of exclamation points in your title and text.


Personalize

Add merge tags to add client's name in subject line of your email.

Add merge tags to include the client's name in the body of your email.

Realistic Expectations

Keep in mind that even if your emails are getting to clients, they may not open/read them. Email campaign services like Mailchimp show the industry average so that you can get a good idea of how your emails are stacking up against others in the industry. According to this, email campaigns in the massage therapy field have about a 13% open rate. By that standard, my open rates of 30% and up are pretty great! 

Address Book

Before starting your email campaigns, send out a personal email to your clients asking them to make sure they have your address in their contacts so they are sure to get the latest news from you. Post a notice in your massage studio, mention it at their appointments when you ask for permission to email them, etc.


Quick Tip

If they have received your email in the promotions tab (or another tab), they can drag it over to their main inbox to ensure future emails are delivered there.


I've used examples from Mailchimp here, but these can be applied to all email campaign service companies. I like Mailchimp because you can have a free account with up to 2K contacts and it's easy to import your client list from Bodywork Buddy.

We're actually working to add email marketing into our online scheduling for massage therapists here at Bodywork Buddy. This is the next big feature we've been working on. It's taking some time, because if you know our system and how we operate - we're passionate about quality. With software, the end product that you see seems simple - but there's a lot of work that goes into getting it to that stage. So in the meantime, we recommend using Mailchimp. And we'll be sure to let you know when we have email marketing integrated into our system for some seamless marketing campaigns to your clients. 😀

Cindy Iwlew is a licensed massage therapist who has had a private practice since 1999 and cofounder of Bodywork Buddy massage software.







Today's blog post was written to the beautiful sounds of 

Florence + The Machine

Bodywork Buddy Member Spotlight: Erin Onyskow

Today's Bodywork Buddy member spotlight is Erin Onyskow. Erin is a Certified Massage Therapist and owns Discover Massage Therapy in Granger, Indiana.

Q: What inspired you to be a massage therapist?

A: What inspired me to be a massage therapist???  Hmmm… I really don’t have a cool or inspirational story for that. It just kind of fell into my lap. I signed up for massage therapy school after getting out of the vet field. I had no idea what to expect or what the hell I was doing. Due to my amazing teachers and the more I learned about massage, the more I feel in love with it. I learned that massage therapy just doesn’t affect the body but also the mind. From the elderly to infants to the chronically ill to “I just want to relax”, massage therapy has the unique versatility to inspire and heal. I was essentially hooked. I ended up graduating with honors.  

Q: How long have you been doing massage?

A: 7 years this month!

Q: What is your favorite thing about being an MT?

A: My favorite thing about being a massage therapist is that it never gets boring. From putting a smile back on someone’s face that hasn’t smiled for a while because of chronic pain or crying with someone because they just lost a loved one, massage is a multifaceted profession. Even though we “just give massages”, it affects people in many unparalleled ways, that we don’t often see.  

Q: What do you feel is the most challenging issue for massage therapists?

A: Then most challenging issue for an MT is that, essentially, to be taken seriously in our western society. Massage therapy has been the backbone of health and wellness for many other cultures, for thousands of years. America is just catching on to this fact, and even then, the public’s perception of our field can be a bit muddled. Not only do massage therapists have the exhausting task of “putting people back together” but we also should educate to alter people’s inaccurate, hardwired belief systems. Massage is so much more than relaxing music and soft lighting, it can often be, literally ripping soft tissue apart, in order for their bodies to correctly heal themselves. There is a ton of research out there, that does prove what we have already known to be true for a long time – that massage therapy does indeed work.

Q: What advice would you give to other MT’s to help build their business?

A: Advice for other MT to help build their business – don’t’ burn bridges, be patient and be your own curious, weird, bold and wonderful self. Build relationships with the other businesses around you. Prepare for problems and issues.  Develop an amazing skill for brainstorming. Have solutions ready for those problems before they come into fruition. Stay consistent and know that word spreads like wildfire.  Reputation is absolute KEY. You never know where that next new client is going to come from, so get involved – with community events, networking and hitting that pavement. Clients aren’t going to magically appear at your door. Go out and find them. Once you get the clients, your hard work is just starting. Now you have to maintain that relationship and give them a reason to keep coming back to you and spending their hard-earned money. It’s much easier to maintain clients, than to find new ones. I read a great article - while it was targeting financial planners -  the message is the same for massage therapists or anyone with a clientele based business. APPRECIATE YOUR CLIENTS. He states, “Here’s the truth: if you don’t appreciate your clients, someone else will.” Even as a solo massage therapist, with your own business, we can sometimes see ourselves as not having anyone to answer to. No bosses, no management. Wrong. Your clients are your boss. They pay your bills and keep your business open. Treat them as such. Take care of your clients and they’ll take care of you. I highly recommend that everyone read his article.  😊

11 Awesome Client Appreciation Events

Retooling Your Barefoot Massage

I had the good fortune to be a guest client for Mary-Claire and Abigail’s FasciAshi FUNdamentals class in Battle Creek, Michigan this past weekend. Even after having taught barefoot massage for 10 years and practicing it for longer, I had some “ah-ha” moments when receiving FasciAshi. (YOU GUYS, the anterior neck work is amaaazing.)

I received some of the work in the afternoon on the first day. I felt like what I received on the first day was better-than-average first-day-of-class work. It seemed to me that the way this class is structured had the students starting with full body strokes with their feet that make it easier to delve in with working with the feet for the first time, and easier to receive for the client… then working their way up to more specific strokes.

The definition of FasciAshi:

Ashiatsu barefoot massage focusing on exploration of how to engage tissue with each stroke using myofascial release, trigger point, deep tissue and ROM techniques applied by your feet.

I’m here to tell you, if you think you know all there is to know about ashiatsu and working with your feet, I can guarantee you will find some awesome value in the FaschiAshi classes. This is NOT your grandmother’s barefoot massage.

Mary-Claire Fredette
teaching how to install
bars in ashiatsu class

The guest clients on the last day of class were people I have had as guest clients for classes throughout the years, and one even said that this was the “best yet” massage from a class he’d received. And I really feel it’s not only the type of work, but in the way that it was taught - with the goal to help the therapists in class start thinking with their feet and working with intention rather than just following a routine.

Interested in learning more about these ashiatsu classes? Check them out at Center for Barefoot Massage. I’m planning to take some of their classes in 2018 myself.

What great continuing ed classes have you taken recently? Give them a shout-out in the comments, I'd love to hear what your favorites have been.

Cindy Iwlew is a licensed massage therapist who has had a private practice since 1999 and cofounder of Bodywork Buddy massage software.
www.bodyworkbuddy.com

The Biggest Facebook Setting Mistake You Don't Want to Make

This past week, I kept trying to tag a local business Facebook page in a post about how awesome they are. Facebook wasn't showing the tag once the status was posted. Then I realized there is a setting in the business page that will not allow others to tag your page.

Just wanted to pass this along in case you didn't know this was an option. You may want to make sure you have this setting set to allow people to tag your business, so when your clients brag about you on FB, they can easily send others to your business page!

Without this setting enabled, when someone tries to tag your business page on Facebook, it will only show the text and not be a clickable link to your business page. Which would be absolutely zero help to getting the word out about your business. You'll especially want this setting enabled if you offer online scheduling right from within your Facebook page. ( *Shameless Plug * Our online scheduling for massage therapists has the ability to embed the scheduler right into your FB biz page, so clients don't even have to leave FB to schedule a relaxing massage with you!)

Check out Hillary Arrieta's massage business, Gaia Bodywork, on Facebook and how her scheduler is embedded right into her business page:

Here's another helpful tip when using FB for your massage business:
When you post graphics or articles from your biz page, be sure to add a little comment in the main post encouraging clients to schedule and include the link to your scheduler. 
Keep in mind that when clients see your posts, it will most likely be from within their feed rather than directly from your page. Make it as easy as possible for them to schedule by including a link they can click to schedule. Otherwise, they would have to see your post, click onto your page, click onto schedule online, etc. Instead, just make it stupid easy with one click! :D

Amanda's business, Soothing Palms Massage, does a great job of this on FB. She shared an image from Massage Magazine, and added her own comment including her link to her online scheduler:

Speaking of Facebook, did you now we have an awesome active group for Bodywork Buddy members? If you're a massage therapist using our online scheduling, we would love to have you join us on FB!

Cindy Iwlew is a licensed massage therapist who has had a private practice since 1999 and cofounder of Bodywork Buddy massage software.
www.bodyworkbuddy.com

Iggy is the branch manager and helps keep Cindy on track with balancing out computer time with playing outdoors.

Today's post was created while listening to Amazon's Playlist '90s Hip-Hop BBQ. (We all need a break from massage music, right?!)
Happy Summer!

Seven Keys to Creating Predictable Cash Flow

Seven Keys to Creating Predictable Cash Flow

By Lynn McKenzie


As a soul-inspired entrepreneur (yes that's you!) is your income flow predictable, or is it left more to luck or happenstance? Must the planets align in auspicious design for you to: make the mortgage, pay your bills, and have a little left over for emergencies, never mind socking some away in savings.

This doesn't have to be so. One of the biggest mistakes I see spirit-led entrepreneurs make is failing to create predictable, repeatable cash flow for themselves. I'm not sure if they figure that "left to chance it will all work out somehow", or that they will "have to scrimp and suffer for a while until their business magically gets going", or what! What I do know is that using this business model involves giving away your power with money, AND it doesn't work.

It is completely possible (and VERY probable) to adopt a system that sets you up for consistent and predictable income, even if you're self-employed. There are seven keys that are the back bone of that system. In this article, we'll cover the first three:

1. Clearly and concisely identify your ideal clients - there are specific clients that you were meant to serve, they are the ones who benefit most from the deep transformative work you do, and the ones that you love, more than anything, to serve. When you really narrow your focus down to this particular group, your business will flourish exponentially compared to when you were trying to serve everybody (with a really broad offering). Better yet, your ideal clients will be able to easily self-identify with your work and will be more apt to flock to you.

2. Figure out how your particular brand of magic serves your ideal clients - your ideal clients have specific problems they want solved and it's imperative that you determine what they are. I'm talking about problems so big that are keeping them up at night worrying. In my own business, I can clearly hear my ideal clients saying to themselves: "I need to make more money", or "I need to grow my business fast". Once you've figured out the problem (or pain) your clients have, determine how what you do solves it and then market it to them in a "benefits" oriented way.

3. Create a kick-ass free offer - in order to get people to interact with you on the web in this day and age you must have a compelling free offer. It HAS to be hot, and something that makes your ideal clients think to themselves "I have to have this; it will help me to ______". Spend time and energy on this, at least equal to what you would spend on something you're going to sell, remember these are the people you're going to be selling to so you want LOTS of them, and to get lots of them it's got to be, well kick-ass. Once you've created it, assign a value to it, and be sure to mention the value on your website.

4. Build a database - once you've got your free offer in place you will need to have a way to collect the names of those who sign up for it. A database of sorts, my preference is 1 Shopping Cart. I like it because it's not only a database but has many functions including a shopping cart, auto-responder, and way to send out newsletters (yes, you need one of them too). To make the most of your database, the people on it need to hear from you at least every 2 weeks. If you think that's too much, trust me it isn't.

5. Create products and programs that are the answer the problems your ideal clients have - here's where you can bring in your spiritual guidance and channel some fabulous information. Information related to your expertise that will help your ideal clients solve the pains and problems I mentioned earlier (the ones keeping them up at night). You can create these products very simply as eBooks, audios, videos etc., just don't think too hard about it, just get going and create them! My motto is "done is better than perfect". If you find yourself stalling because you feel like you haven't got it perfected yet, know that is just your ego trying to keep you small. Remember, the world needs your special variety of magic and expertise, otherwise you wouldn't have been gifted with it.

6. Always be launching - I hate to be the one to tell you this but once you have your product or program ready to sell, people won't be banging your door down to get it, in fact they won't even know you have it unless you let them know about it in a BIG way. That big way is called a launch. A launch normally consists of sending out a series of emails or videos (and blog posts etc.) leading up to a free "preview call" that you design to introduce and sell your product or program. On this call you offer some great content but also offer your product or program at a reduced investment, for a limited period of time, usually with a number of juicy bonuses to entice buyers. This is pretty much how most online sales work. You can see why it's good to "always be launching" as this is where you make your money.

7. Follow a Mentor - the best investment I've ever made in myself, and my business, was to hire an impartial mentor. Someone who would challenge me to leap to places I didn't know possible, someone who had gone where I wanted to go and done what I wanted to do and could offer me first hand advice along with some tough love when needed. Looking back on the times in my life when I didn't have a mentor my business (and income) just flowed along at the status quo and more often than not that was struggle mode. When I compare those times to the times when I have had a mentor (like now and in the foreseeable future) my business is growing in leaps and bounds and I am thriving. I stretch myself daily and create awesome results for my clients and myself.

These keys are the backbone of a business system that works for soul inspired entrepreneurs. Of course you will want to use your spiritual guidance in your business but you want to be sure you're applying it to the areas of a business system that's proven to work. My coaching request for you is to use the keys above to map out your success plan for creating your predictable cash flow.





Lynn McKenzie Lynn is a certified Money Marketing and Soul Coach, Niche Breakthrough Secrets Coach, and is a member of the International Association of Women in Business Coaching. She is also a certified graduate of Coach Training Alliance. Visit http://theprosperityalchemist.com to receive your free audio: 3 Simple Steps to Making & Keeping Way More Money, Doing Work You Love While Delivering Awesome, Life-Changing Results for Your Clients.

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A Few New Updates! {Clear Your Browser Cache}

We published some updates this weekend that include:

-Select a default view for your calendar (day/week/month)
-Track your CEUs with the CEU Tracker (under Reports)
-Average Sessions per Week (Dashboard)
-Option to embed your Menu of Services in to your site (Not the whole microsite)
-Sessions search show all dates by default
-There is now a calendar/date picker on the Calendar page
-Service Sessions Report
-Bug fixes and Performance Improvements

You will likely need to clear your browser cache to access these new features!

This video shows a quick overview of all updates/features: