Do you feel like you’ve tried everything to promote your holistic business and you are
still struggling for every client?

You may have tried posting flyers all over town on those crowded bulletin boards. You
may have tried purchasing advertising in a holistic publication. Or, you may have even
tried putting your business cards in popular places – like yoga studios, whole foods
stores, or metaphysical gift shops.

These strategies are “push” strategies. You are pushing your message out to the
masses and hoping that the right people will see it, and act on it. Instead of pushing,
there are strategies that you can use to pull clients toward you. Push strategies don’t
work for two big reasons.

First, they are impersonal. When you want to engage with a client, you are asking
them to show their vulnerability on some level. They will have to engage in healing, or
participate in a workshop or a class where they will be exposing parts of themselves
that aren’t always that easy to expose. Think about the first time you participated in a
service similar to yours.

The service you offer creates a very personal experience for your potential clients. And
yes, you are a very caring, loving, supportive person. But, your potential clients can’t
really feel that through an ad or a flyer.

The other reason you may not be getting response is, it’s hard to have your voice
heard above the din. Did you know we’re exposed to over 3,000 sales and marketing
messages per day? Think about all the messages you ignore. And, you have to ignore
many of them because with everything else you have going on, you simply don’t have
the mental bandwidth to process all of it. The same is true of your potential clients.
Passive marketing efforts just don’t get through their mental filter.

So, what to do about it? Start using Pull strategies. Pull strategies allow your potential
clients to get to know you. A really good example of a pull strategy is an e-zine. Entice
your potential clients to sign up for your e-zine. Then, keep in touch with them on a
regular basis with information that is valuable to them. Advertise your products or
services through your e-zine. Your voice will be heard through your e-zine because
your potential clients have gotten to know you, and they will know that your products
and services can help them with their needs.

It’s really tough to promote your holistic business using only push strategies. Push
strategies have their place in your overall marketing plan. But, pull strategies should
make up the majority of your efforts. If you have an e-zine already, start promoting it
more heavily in online or offline networking groups. If you don’t have an e-zine,
consider starting one. It’s not an overnight fix for your business, but you will definitely
see a difference in a couple of months!

Bio:
Jenn Givler is The Catalyst for Thriving Holistic Businesses. She teaches lightworkers
and holistic practitioners step-by-step how to create a powerful practice. You can have
purpose AND prosperity. Check out her e-zine:
http://www.jgivlercoaching.com/newsletter.html

Marketing your small business is easy. Really. I know sometimes it can be frustrating
when it seems like your efforts aren’t paying off. By following these three strategies,
you’ll be on your way to marketing success.

1. Know your niche. Choosing a target market will help you focus your marketing efforts.
It will also help you

2. Start an e-zine. And if you already have one, actively promote it.

This is a strategy I use with almost all of my clients. If you build a mailing list, you will
have a group of people who have told you they are interested in your products, and, you
can consistently market to them over and over again. The key is to build your list.

You may be worried that you can’t write well, or that writing isn’t exactly your favorite
thing to do. No worries. If you’re not a writer, there are article banks where you can pick
up great content that your niche will love. Do an internet search on “article bank” and
you’ll find hundreds of sites that provide great content.

3. Be consistent. You need to be in front of people on a consistent basis so that they will
get to know you, and they will remember you when the need for your products or
services arises.

If you decide to do an e-zine, publish it consistently. If you decide to write articles, do it
on a regular schedule. Whatever efforts work for you, do them regularly.

A good rule of thumb is to spend about 1 to 2 hours per day on your marketing activities.
This will ensure that your name is consistently pushed out into the market.

4. Choose marketing activities that you love. For example, if you love networking, make
that a part of your marketing activities.

If you choose marketing activities that you love, you will be continually motivated to
carry them out. You do not have to engage in activities that aren’t authentic to you. There
are plenty of activities to choose from.

Follow a consistent plan in your marketing. Remember, people will purchase products
and services from those they know, like and trust. Allow people to get to know you by
engaging them on a regular basis, and allow them to trust you by being consistent.

Bio:
Jenn Givler is The Catalyst for Thriving Holistic Businesses. She teaches lightworkers
and holistic practitioners step-by-step how to create a powerful practice. You can have
purpose AND prosperity. Check out her e-zine:
http://www.jgivlercoaching.com/newsletter.html

One of the first things you must do for your business is define your target market. I hear
business owners tell me all the time that “anyone can use their products,” or “they don’t
want to narrow down their customer base by excluding groups of people.” I understand
that there is fear around excluding a portion of the population – you feel it’s money
walking out the door. But, do you really want to try and be all things to all people? When
you narrow your focus and choose a target market, you will be able to market your
business more effectively.

Here are three reasons a target market will help your business operate more effectively.

1. Spend your advertising dollars wisely
Your ad must be seen at least 7 times before it even registers with a potential customer. If
you market to “everyone,” where are you going to place your ad to ensure that enough
people see it 7 times? That is, enough people who are then willing to try your products or
services. That’s a lot of advertising dollars spent for simply guessing where to put your
ad.

If you have defined a target market, you can identify what publications they are likely to
read, or what web sites they are likely to visit and you can advertise accordingly.

2. Know your customers
Customers also want to know “what’s in it for me?” How do your products and services
benefit them? By knowing your target market, you can determine what to talk about with
potential customers. You will be able to discuss specifically why potential customers
will be interested in your products or services.

3. Hear it from the source and meet their needs
Once you choose your target market, do some research to determine what other interests
the people in your niche have. Find out where they like to hang out online and offline.
Start hanging out in those places too and get to know the people. For example, if your
product appeals to moms, join a few mom’s groups. When you connect with them, ask
what their needs and concerns are. This is a great way to conduct your research – nothing
like getting information directly from the source. You can then use that information to
further develop products and services for your business.

Truth be told, I was terrified to choose a target market. I felt that I would be limiting
myself. I was afraid that I would lose out on income. The truth is, because I chose a target
market, I was more successful and actually gained more business. My advertising efforts
were focused, and I positioned myself as someone my target market could trust with their
needs. Having a target market has helped me work smarter and more effectively in my
business.

Bio:
Jenn Givler is The Catalyst for Thriving Holistic Businesses. She teaches lightworkers
and holistic practitioners step-by-step how to create a powerful practice. You can have
purpose AND prosperity. Check out her e-zine:
http://www.jgivlercoaching.com/newsletter.html

You have your diploma, your shingle is up, and you have been very proudly passing out your business cards left and right. So, you wonder, why isn’t the phone ringing off the hook and your classes or appointment book filled up?

Or maybe you started your practice a few years ago and slowly began building your client base. Word of mouth referrals, local advertising, and perhaps an online presence have helped – but now what? Your business is not growing and you are finding that perhaps your old method is stale, or just not working any more.

You have not done anything wrong, but perhaps you are spread too thin. Marketing requires a significant amount of time and manpower in order to achieve results.

Marketing is a bit advertising, a bit networking, and a lot of research and hard work. Successful and purposeful marketing will have a direct impact on the overall health of your practice. Marketing is a process that is complex in nature, but quite manageable when you allocate proper resources and assistance to it. Your homework in this area will enable you to better serve those you most passionately want to help.

How you decide to market, and what will work best for you, should be determined after you ask yourself three very important questions.

• WHO am I marketing to?
• WHAT are my core services?
• WHAT benefits and solutions do my services offer?

If you give these questions all the time and thought they deserve, the rest will fall into place (with some diligence and hard work, of course!).

WHO AM I MARKETING TO?
Even in the massage therapy profession, it will pay you to have a specific niche where you concentrate your marketing. This may seem counter-productive, but many very successful professionals including Robert Middleton will back this theory up 100%. I also know this works from my own personal experience. For four years, I had marketed my business to the whole wide world – really. I did some local advertising and had a web presence, but really did not take it beyond that. I was getting business from my previous employer and some word of mouth projects that were paying the bills, but I was not growing, from either a business or personal aspect. I was not reaching my ideal client. The problem was, I had not asked myself who my ideal client was. Once I did this, it was absolutely amazing how much more clear my whole vision was, and how focused I was able to become to better serve my clients! I can now, speak to holistic service providers and ask – “what services can I offer to help you achieve your goals?”

Who are you marketing to now? Anyone within a 50-mile radius that may be in need of your services? Isn’t that an awful lot of people? Do you think you are reaching any of them any more specifically and uniquely than everyone else offering the same services?

Who do you want to reach? What if you directed your marketing efforts to senior
citizens? Or new mothers? Or chronic pain sufferers? Or those with post traumatic stress disorder?

Defining a niche or a target market from your heart - gives you very specific places to concentrate your marketing efforts. This does not mean that if you decide to market to new mothers, that you cannot accommodate an arthritis sufferer. Not at all!

What it does is create vision and focus in your message and allows you to speak directly to those you most want to serve. It helps you write better, more informative copy. It helps you connect and create relationships with your market. It gives your voice a specialist’s edge, establishes credibility and builds confidence with prospective clients. It is what will truly help clients find and choose YOU.

WHAT ARE MY CORE SERVICES?
First, establish what services you offer. It’s important to be clear about what services you want to offer as well. Do some soul-searching - - what brings you joy and inspiration? With there easily being over one hundred massage modalities you simply could not – and should not – offer everything. You may be taught and certified in many disciplines, but are there some you feel you’ve been called to share? Reiki and hot stones? Aromatherapy and Raindrop? CST? Sports massage? Specialization and expertise in a few key areas are what will bring you more clients.

WHAT BENEFITS AND SOLUTIONS DO MY SERVICES OFFER?
Once you have narrowed your list, think about what those services provide your clients. What tangible and intangible things do they come away with after a session with you? Is it peace and tranquility? Is it improved mental balance? Is it less physical pain? Is it an education in pain management through massage, meditation, and visualization? Is it love and care that nurtures self-esteem? Those are the solutions and benefits you want to emphasize in your marketing.

CASE STUDY
A massage therapist decides to concentrate her practice in pre- and post- natal mother and infant massage - marketing to mommies, mothers-to-be, and their family and friends.

She promotes her practice as “Mommy and Me Massage,” advertises with attention- grabbing headlines “The one gift that will not be exchanged,” “Just what every new mother needs,” ”Strengthen family development by learning how to massage your infant”.

She also offers gift baskets that include a gift certificate, essential oils and body care products geared towards new mother and babies. She partners with a local company that specializes in gift baskets as well as a local healthy foods store where the gift basket items are purchased in exchange for placement of brochures and flyers at the counter. She develops plenty of literature ready to be given out on topics such as the benefits of massage during and after pregnancy, and learning the art of infant massage for parents. She also speaks to midwives and other groups that recommend massage to their patients.

As you can see, the possibilities are tremendous by marketing to a well-defined niche! But you will need some help to do it all and do it well.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
There are certainly a few concrete steps that need to be taken after deciding on a
specialization and actually enjoying the influx of business from those you desire to help the most.

Using the above case study, what needed to be done after she decided on her
specialization? Certainly, a bit of time was needed to get to the end result, but what specifically?

A Virtual Assistant can assist with the left-brain tasks.

• Research and brainstorming
o The where and how of reaching your potential clients.
o Finding those who may be suitable for partnering.

• Research – raw data, statistics, and expert testimonials to back up your technique.

• Writing – having material that you can claim authorship of further lends to your position as an expert.

• The compiling of information for - and the design of - informational sheets of techniques, brochures, newsletters, ad copy, and press releases.

• The actual typing of your material.

OVERVIEW
Our first feeling as nurturers and providers is to reach the most people we possibly can. This can truly be counter-productive.

You stand to help MORE people by zeroing in on what you are the MOST passionate about and BEST suited for.

You are VERY passionate about what you do – so am I.

My passion is to help you succeed in your business.

Joy Slaughter is a Virtual Assistant specializing in business support to holistic service providers. Visit her website at: A Capital Solution. Call at (609) 558-1172 or e-mail for a FREE consultation to see if Virtual Assistance is the next step in fulfilling your dreams.

This article is free for reprint, in its entirety only including author bio.