We had the privilege of interviewing Amanda Patterson, LMHC, and founder of Caring Therapists of Broward.
This spunky social media expert tested out psychology in college, and ended up loving it enough to open her own thriving practice!
After being a therapist for a couple years, and a clinical director at a juvenile delinquency program, she stumbled upon a craigslist ad for a rental space that she fell in love with.
Though she claimed to not be a spontaneous person, this huge leap resulted in an extremely successful private practice.
Amanda passionately stated, “Don’t wait until it’s perfect” when asked the best advice for opening a private practice. She urged us to “go out and do it!”, and continued to enforce that mission statement throughout the podcast.
Jumping into the Five Tips Amanda created...
Tip # 1: Get on Facebook!
Create a Business page: This tip lends to credibility and makes you searchable, and reviewable.
Be personable: People are searching the web to find out more about you personally before enlisting you professionally.
Completely free: The free marketing is such a plus for those that are just starting their private practice and don’t have a ton of extra cash to invest in marketing strategies.
Biggest referral source: We like how Amanda said, “I don’t think there’s anyone on my Facebook that doesn’t know that I’m a mental health professional”. Become known by your career and this will create an automatic connection for referrals from friends.
Be consistent in your posts: Post on a regular basis, get on your friends news feeds and point them to things they’ll want to hear about.
Tip # 2: Join Twitter!
Hashtags, hashtags, hashtags!: By using hashtags, you can find other material through the hashtag (#mentalhealth, #couplescounseling, #love), relating to whatever you posted.
Gaining followers: If you are finding people that relate to your networking, there’s a good chance they’re going to follow you back and help you gain followers! Don’t be scared to reach out through replying, retweeting, or quoting fellow tweeters in an effort to connect!
Tip # 3: Connect on Instagram!
Cater to your clientele: For those of us who have clients around the ages of teens or young adults, this tip is for you! Get connected with them on the platform they use most!
Market through Instagram: Feel free to refer people back to your blogs, pages, etc. through posting pictures that lead you to your URL’s.
Hashtags are on Instagram too!: Just like Twitter, you can see what other people are doing with the same hashtag as you, and maybe even create a relationship through that!
Tip # 4: Leveraging LinkedIn
Link up with other professionals: Use this site mainly to get in touch with other people in your field – nutritionists, therapists, psychiatrists, doctors, treatment centers, marketers, etc. Market yourself to become a potential referral for someone viewing your profile!
Build up your profile: Make sure your qualifications are on your page, your trainings, education, resume – anything that can give another viewer more reason to hire you!
Tip # 5: Blogging
Love writing?: If you enjoy blogging, give it a go! According to Amanda, this is one of the most important things she does!
Use your resources: Utilize your social media to market your blog!
Reel your clients in: Give everyone an idea of who you are; consider sending your new clients a blog post before they come in for their first session!
Collaborate: This is a genius way to connect with other therapists! Blogging can be a collaborative experience.
We asked Amanda something she had to overcome to be where she is today, and she inspiringly told us to, “push past the fear and know you have created momentum”. She explained how it was hard to leave her full time job to leap into private practice, but she is grateful for her decision. Without risk there is no chance of reward, PPS Nation!
Amanda kept reinforcing: do what you are passionate about, and align yourself with who you are and what you want to do as a clinician. She left us, again, with this powerful statement –
Just go and do it!
CLICK HERE to listen to Amanda's podcast and find out what her giveaway is. Assure you subscribe so you can stay in the loop of ALL the podcasts we release. The Private Practice Startup would also be super grateful if you can rate and review our podcasts. We are trying to be the next "New & Noteworthy", thanks again for allowing us to Inspire YOU from Startup to Mastery.
~ Dr. Kate, Katie & The Private Practice Startup Team
Comments