Links

Your guide to launching in 14 simple steps

https://psychologists.drrosie.co.uk/launch-in-14-simple-steps

The Ideal Client Avatar explained

https://psychologists.drrosie.co.uk/the-business-of-psychology/ideal-client-avatar-psychologists-therapists-marketing

Join the Do More Than Therapy Membership

https://psychologists.drrosie.co.uk/the-do-more-than-therapy-membership/

What is a funnel and why do psychologists and therapists need one in their marketing?

If you have decided that you want to do more than therapy in your business, and if you have ever visited a website that talks about “online marketing” it is HIGHLY likely that Facebook now targets you with lots of ads from Californian online marketing tycoons telling you how to create the perfect “funnel”.

It would be very easy to switch off and ignore that messaging because we don’t naturally enjoy the idea of funnelling people. I know I never clicked on anything with that word in it until recently. However, now I understand it, I actually think, a little like the ideal client avatar that we looked at a few episodes back, that we need to know about funnels and how to use them.

Essentially a "funnel" is just another way of talking about the journey someone takes from knowing nothing about you to working with you. It constitutes steps 3 through to 14 of the “14 steps to a simple launch” guide you can download. In my mind I break it down into four stages.

1.Making people aware of you

2. Building know, like and trust or showing them you are an expert

3. Letting them know what you offer and how it could help them

4. Making sure they know exactly how to get it (if they want it).

The idea is to move people through the four stages so they feel confident to buy what you are offering if it lines up with what they need. In this episode I am going to break these down a little to give you an overview of what you are trying to achieve at each stage.

Stage one: Making people aware of you

You may have 7 PhDs and be an absolute professional authority in helping people diagnosed with bi-polar to lead full and rich lives. You may be the best at it and your peers may be really excited that you are making an online course. But if no one who is struggling with bi-polar knows that you are the best at it you are still not going to have anyone to sell your online course to. This is where most of us are when we start out on our journey as we often don’t have much of a public profile and we often don’t really like shouting about our expertise.

Activities for this stage: Blog posts, valuable social media posts, podcasts, videos on social media, in person networking events, press coverage, good search engine optimisation, publishing research, writing a book or a book chapter. You can amplify all of these things using paid advertising once you know what works well. The aim is always to build your credibility and authority so that when people are struggling in a particular area your name comes up.

Stage two: Showing the people that are now aware of you that you are an expert

People need a lot of reassurance before they are willing to consider investing precious time or money in our products or services. This is especially true when it relates to mental health, people who are suffering feel vulnerable and are not going to want to risk taking a course that might make them feel worse. This stage is all about proving that you can help. Depending on the group you are talking to you might also want to emphasise hope f