Today I want to talk about image and images and how important these are in our hypnosis marketing. As therapists we like to dig beneath the surface of our clients issues so that we can help them overcome their problems. That means spending time with them getting to know them and working through their problems and worries over a series of sessions building a great therapeutic working alliance. A potential client however generally spends only a few seconds picking your therapy services over your competitors unless you were a referral. They are generally superficial and will see if:
Your Website Looked Nice – Such a weak word “nice” but probably the colours and images appealed.
There were Testimonials – If you have written/video proof of someone else saying you are great then you must be.
You Practice in a Good Area – In London Harley St or the Hale Clinic mean premium prices so that means you must be great. Most towns and cities will have similar chi chi clinics or areas.
Your Photo – It was a great smiling photo and you looked like a super model or were handsome (shallow but true). Alternatively you looked authoratitive and like a therapist so met your clients expectations of what a therapist should look like.
Media – You have appeared in numerous famous publications and you plastered the links on your site. If you are good enough to get in a paper/magazine or appear on the TV then you are THE EXPERT!
Statistics – You quote meaningless statistics at your clients such as unqualified and unprovable success rates. If you resolve 99% of problems then there are going to be fixed in one session!
You Link to a Guru Someone Knows – You were trained by Paul McKenna and there is a picture of both of you on your front page. This means by some form of strange osmosis you are the next best thing to seeing the man himself.
Why do These Hypnotherapy Marketing Tactics Work?
Very simply a potential client who comes across your website randomly has no idea whether you are any good or not. They are looking for really simple and easy ways to identify whether you are the real deal. The generally haven’t got the time or the inclination to research the industry inside out so they are going to pick someone who gives the impression of success. The examples I gave above are just some of the reasons one website would be more likely to stand out against others. Of course not all of the examples are ethical but they are tactics that I see employed by certain hypnosis practices time and time again to pull in customers.
Now there are of course websites that offer a client the absolute opposite impression. As I like to call them anti sales websites. They virtually propel clients to their competitors without even realising it and I come across them all the time. One I came across this morning had two white Lilies that looked like funeral flowers on the front page. Another I saw had an incomprehensible section about metaphors linked to a video about a village. Sorry but these images and videos do nothing to attract clients. Your website should just do these simple things:
- Client has problem and comes to your website.
- Your website demonstrates that you work successfully with this problem. Where possible have testimonials related to this problem.
- You present the potential client with a phone number and email to contact you as easily as possible.
Yes of course your website can become more sophisticated as you master these three basics. Sell courses. collect emails, offer eBooks and so on but get the three basics right if you are looking for client bookings. Appear confident, show authority and offer insight into your clients problem. Show that you have knowledge, skill and ability to resolve problems and you have a sale. Look quirky, bonkers and write about things that have nothing to do with these basics and your clients are lost. They have no idea why the use of metaphors can be great tool in hypnosis and they don’t care. As the saying goes “Keep it simple stupid”!
The Use of Images in Hypnosis Websites
Hypnosis marketing and image can also be important for SEO and attracting clients attention. Here are some therapy marketing tips to help you with using images on your website.
- Firstly make use of images in your blog posts and on each individual page on your website. There is nothing more boring that reading content without something to break it up. Try and make the image relatable to the content.
- If you are using an image of yourself make sure you look great. Sadly quirky looking people don’t sell products and services in our niche.
- Label your image in the alt tag sections. For those of you who are not aware a typical image may have a name like 123img.jpg. Obviously this name is totally meaningless and in no way relates to the services and products that you are offering. This means that you need to rename the file to something that Google or another search engine can recognise. Change the file to something like Hypnosis in Derby and you will now start to appear in Google image search.
- Whatever you do reduce your image sizes. Why? Your page loading time is one element that is used in your website ranking. Whenever you have an image that takes more than a second to load your potential client has given up and gone off to another website. You can edit your images with tools such as Pic Monkey, Plixr and Fotoflexer. To find out more about your page loading speed head on over to Google’s page speed tester.
- If you have a website with decorative background swirls and design beware as this can also be classed as an image and it will no doubt slow down your load times. Where possible try and create clean sites with optimised images.
- Remember that there are a number of free image sites out there where you may be able to get something that is usable on your website. In some cases the licence may require you to acknowledge the original photographer. I typically use paid websites such as canstockphoto where you can buy a bundle that allows you to download a certain number of images. Beware copying something from the internet which is owned by one of these sites without paying a fee. Expect threatening letters from their lawyers demanding large sums of money.
Get Help to Combat Your Anti Sales Techniques
If you aren’t sure about your website then get a second opinion. Leaving it to chance means that potentially you are leaving thousands of pounds on the table. With the right help you can turn your website and images from a client repellent to a client magnet. Our mentoring and hypnosis marketing services help turn failing businesses into thriving concerns. Believe it or not over 50% of our clients had no customer calls in the six months before they rang for help. Without our expertise those clients would have given up and gone back to their old day jobs (which they generally hated). If this sounds like you then give yourself a fighting chance of success by contacting us via email.